Power of the Holy Spirit

“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem a until you are endued with power from on high." Luke 24:49

“Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” John 5:19

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak : and he will show you things to come .He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I , that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16: 13-15

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8

  Man is obsessed with power of all types.  Power tools, big motors, fame, influence, authority, wealth, etc... If it can make things change or move, man has struggled with it.  We often speak of seeking, or living in the power of the Holy Spirit, even more in the context of revivals.  All power is derived from God the Father, yet He has seen fit to empower man, the one created in God’s own image. 

  God is eternal, omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent (present everywhere.)  He needs no help and no outside power source to keep the universe under control, and accomplishing His will.  He is the definition of self-sufficient.  We, on the other hand, are none of those things.  We must be given any knowledge and power we possess, or can attain.  For our purposes today, let’s discuss the power of the Holy Spirit.  God in his wisdom has prescribed how we should receive power from Him.

  The Bible portrays God as triune; God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  God the Father is where all the ‘power’ resides.  Without a connection to the Father, neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit could accomplish anything (John 5:19, 16:15).  We find Jesus persistently returning to the Father in prayer, asking for His glory and power.  Then the Holy Spirit is described as proceeding from Jesus.  In our minds, it appears there is a chain of command, like a ‘spiritual corporate ladder.’  However this view forgets the perfect sharing of the members of the Trinity.  Jesus expresses their relationship as being one (John 17:11.) 

  So how is it that we receive any power from God?  Jesus prayed that we receive glory as He, by staying as “one” with God.  We must commune with God through prayer.  We pray with God showing agreement with the scriptures we understand, and then proceed back to his Word to know Him fuller.  Then share with the World!