“ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power…”
2 Timothy 1:7
For most of this world’s history, the primary source of power was wood. Despite the availability of water mills, windmills, and oil, most people used easily accessible wood for power. In the mid-1800s coal use replaced wood, and later, coal was eclipsed by petroleum. Today, we have many choices for sources of power, including solar energy and nuclear reactions. But there is actually another type of power that is essential — spiritual power. We need spiritual power for two primary reasons: 1) to overcome sin; and 2) to change the world.
Just like we have choices with physical power, there are two sources of spiritual power available to us: God's power, available through the Holy Spirit; and Satan's counterfeit power, available through worldly kingdoms. We see both of these powers on display in Jesus’ wilderness temptations.
After His baptism, Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days to fast and pray to obtain spiritual power before starting his earthly ministry. Without food, He became weak, and Satan came to take advantage of Jesus's presumed powerlessness, and to offer Him a quick “fix.” Satan showed Jesus the kingdoms of the world and offered, "All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it." (Luke 4:6 KJV emphasis added). To get this power, Satan simply required compromise to God’s law. But Jesus resisted the temptation to gain power the easy way, and a few verses later Luke records that "Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee" (Luke 4:14).
Like to Jesus, Satan offers us his counterfeit power to “overcome sin.” Satan’s solution is to call sin something other than sin, or by claiming we can do anything and live guilt-free because Jesus died for us. But God has warned us about Satan’s tactic, saying, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20). Ditching the label of “sin” won’t make sin righteous, any more than calling a dog a cat makes it a cat. But God offers us true victory over sin, as He empowers us to overcome sin, by sharing His power with us: "our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin" (Romans 6:6). Satan enslaves us by his lies, but God frees us by His sacrifice.
Likewise, both God and Satan offer us the power to “change the world.” By the Holy Spirit the first Christians "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6), and we too can do the same thing with His Spirit. Satan works through the power of the world: political agencies and worldly entertainment. He tries to tempt us to think our efforts are futile and that if we compromise on the way we witness, using worldly entertainment or political alliances we will see more fruit for our labors. But as the saying goes, “What you win them with, you win them to.” If you are “winning” souls with worldly music, movies, agendas, or alliances, you aren’t winning them to the purity of the gospel. You are using a counterfeit power to win them.
In Revelation 13 (and further explained in chapter 17), we see a worldwide movement for soul-winning to a counterfeit worship by a fallen Christian church. It uses the wrong spiritual power — the kingdoms of this world to create this spiritual revival.
Sadly, Jesus warned that many Christians would fall for these lies (Matthew 24). He told the story of ten girls with lamps, waiting for a wedding feast (Matthew 25:1–13). Five of the girls bring extra oil for their lamps, the other five don't. As the feast is delayed, the five girls who did not bring extra oil discover they have run out of light. They have no power! They hustle into the night, seeking power from the world, and they miss the coming bridegroom (Christ).
It is tempting for us today, as we see violence and hatred increasing, and love and kindness in decline, to run to world for power. To use worldly governments to legislate morality, and Hollywood to engrain it. But God has shown us that He does not work that way. Love cannot be enforced by court orders, or indoctrinated through worldly entertainment. Only the power of God's Holy Spirit can change people.
Call to Action
As we anticipate Christ's Second Coming, what is your source of power? Where do you run when things are going bad? Are your hopes pinned on worldly "progress," or are you opening yourself to the often-hidden workings of the Holy Spirit? What can you do every day to have power to overcome sin and to truly change the world?
Unless noted otherwise, scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
