Friday, November 5, 2004

Anointed With Power

Power is the ability to get things done. In the New Testament, the Greek word for “power” is dunamis, the power for working miracles. It is the power Jesus had.
“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power [dynamis] , who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. (Acts 10:38)
Jesus did not draw on His divine nature as the Son of God. Rather, being fully human as well as fully divine, He drew on the Holy Spirit and the power with which He was anointed in His human nature. The dyunamis with which He was anointed was the power of the Holy Spirit, and it was out of this anointing that He was able to heal all who were oppressed by the devil.

Remember the story of the woman with the issue of blood? She heard Jesus was passing by, and she crept up behind Him, saying to herself, “If I can touch the hem of His garment, I shall be healed.” She did. And she was.

Jesus turned around and said, “Who touched Me?” Well, they were in the middle of a great crowd of people pressing in. Peter’s answer was, if I may paraphrase, “Lord, who didn’t touch You?” But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power [dynamis] going out from Me” (Luke 8:46).

The touch of faith drew dynamis out from Jesus’ body. The woman experienced that power coming forth, for she was immediately healed. Jesus experienced that power going forth from Him, and knew it was by a touch of faith. This dynamis was tangible, a power that could be conveyed through a faith-filled touch, even through the fringe of a prayer shawl.

This same dynamis of the Holy Spirit is available for all who know the Lord Jesus. Before He ascended to heaven, Jesus gathered His disciples together and gave them this promise: “You shall receive power [dynamis] when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me” (Acts 1:8). This was fulfilled ten days later at Pentecost.

We have this dynamis power so we can be witnesses concerning Jesus. A witness is someone who presents evidence, someone who produces proof. As Holy Spirit-filled disciples, we have dynamis power to produce proof and bring evidence of who Jesus is and what He has accomplished for the world. It is healing power, delivering power, even power to bring the dead back to life.

Have you felt power go out of you lately?

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