Spirit and Power

Jesus links miracles to the witness of Father through the Holy Spirit

John 5:31-36

  1. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
  2. There is another who bears witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true.
  3. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.
  4. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.
  5. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.
  6. But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of me, that the Father has sent me.

A similar argument is made later

John 10:25-38

  1. Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
  2. But you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I said to you.
  3. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
  4. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand.
  5. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
  6. I and my Father are one.”
  7. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
  8. Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?”
  9. The Jews answered him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
  10. Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ‘?
  11. If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
  12. do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘you are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
  13. If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me;
  14. but if I do, though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him.”

There are dozens of usages of the word “power” (dunamis) in the N.T. and almost all of them refer to miracles

  • For example, in the life of Jesus
Matt 11:21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Matt 11:23 “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Matt 13:54 And when he had come to his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?
Mark 6:2 And when the Sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to him, that such mighty works are performed by his hands!
Mark 9:1 And he said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.”
Mark 9:39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in my name can soon afterward speak evil of me.
Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Luke 4:14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of him went out through all the surrounding region.
Luke 4:36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.”
Luke 5:17 Now it happened on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
Luke 6:19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him, for power went out from him and healed them all.
Luke 8:46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched me, for I perceived power going out from me.”
Luke 9:1 Then he called his twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.
Luke 19:37 Then, as he was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen,


 

Jesus promises the same power to the disciples

Luke 24:49 “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.”
John 15:26 “But when the helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify of me.
Acts 1:8 “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.”
I Jn 5:6-8 This is he who came by water and blood— Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

and this is how this power is described:

Acts 2:22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—
Acts 5:32 “And we are his witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.
Acts 8:13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.
Acts 10:38 “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
Acts 19:11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,

Paul and the other N.T. writers refer to power

Rom 1:4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
Rom 15:18-19 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient—in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
1 Cor 2:4,5 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
1 Cor 4:19-20 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.
2 Cor 12:12 Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.
Heb 2:4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?
1Thes 1:5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit.