FULLNESS OF POWER

“But you shall receive POWER when the HOLY SPIRIT has come upon you…”– Acts 1:8a

Allied to the Fullness of the Spirit is the FULLNESS of POWER! Just before Jesus returned to heaven to take His place at the right hand of God, He gave the disciples this word that echoes through the whole book of Acts: “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). Moving through the book of Acts, we see the fulfilment of this promise. The Holy Spirit constantly came upon the disciples with unusual fullness and supernatural power, leading to courageous, life-giving witness. Spirit – power – witness – new life – were the recurring themes of the early church. Nothing can compensate the Church or the individual Christian, for the lack of the Holy Spirit. The believer stands powerless and abashed in the presence of adversaries and adversities, until he or she partakes of this Power. The many forms of spiritual weakness that believers suffer from are directly attributable to the lack of the Spirit’s power.

Micah declared, even in the Old Testament, “But truly I am FULL of POWER by the Spirit of the LORD” (Mic. 3:8a). Why then should the New Testament believer not be able to testify of the Fullness of God’s Power? God gives unique, supernatural power, for the extraordinary challenges of an ever-expanding witness to Christ (Acts 1:8). The Lord instructed His disciples: “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high” (Lk.24:19). To be endued means to be “clothed”! This power fell upon the Christians at Pentecost, filling them with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). The unusual fullness of Power was released again and again in the early church for the special challenges of witnessing to Christ (Acts 4:8,13, 31; 6:5,10; 7:55)

Apart from the book of Acts, the letters of Paul talk of this same extraordinary power available to Christians: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph.3:20-21). There is an extraordinary power available to believers, a power that can accomplish far more than we ordinarily think or imagine. It comes by the Spirit. It accords with the riches of God's glory. It is the very fullness of God, as unimaginable as that sounds (Eph.3:19). When God sovereignly pours this power out on His church, we call it Revival! His purpose in such a revival is that our witness to Christ will have more conviction, courage, wisdom, and impact, so that God is greatly glorified as more and more peoples are reached, disciple, and added to the Lord.

Power from on high is however essential not only for the expanding witness of world missions, but also for the believer to exercise dominion over the forces of darkness and live a victorious and overcoming life daily: “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Lk.10:19).

What then is the route to the Fullness of Power? First: immerse yourself in the Word of God. Jesus was full of the Spirit because He was full of the Word (Lk.4:14; Jh.6:63). The offensive part of the armour of God is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph.6:17). In a sense, the Spirit is “sword-less” without the Word! Second: believe God’s Word; have Faith (1Jh.5:4). Stephen and Barnabas were described as being full of the Spirit and faith (Acts 6:5; 11:24). Third: pray passionately and fast (Lk.4:14; Acts 1:13; 4:24-31). Finally, obey the Holy Spirit irrespective of how you feel. Disobedience makes one unfit for the flow of God’s power. Obedience removes the clogs of doubt, fear, rationalization, and worldly preoccupation that may block the channels of flow of power!