How does Christ give us new hope? He gives us his power

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8

Oftentimes, we end the Gospel narrative at the death of Jesus on the cross for our sins. But that’s not where the story ends. Jesus rose from the dead and the same powerful Spirit that was in him and raised him now lives in us as believers.

When reading Scripture, can you see how Christ gives us his power as he invites us to partner with him in the ministry? In other words, now we can actually follow his example, and if or when we fall short, we have the gospel that forgives. For example, Joshua led the people of Israel to march around the walls of Jericho, trusting the Lord’s promise, and the walls fell down in their victory over the enemy. We, too, have the same power to knock down the walls of oppression and sin in our lives and the lives of those around us. We are not Joshua—he’s the Christ figure—but we are the people who followed him and joined in the fight.

Biblical passage: 1 Samuel 17

1 Samuel 17:52-53 “And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines…the wounded Philistines fell…they plundered their camp.”

David’s victory led to the engagement of the Israelite army. They were empowered and strengthened by David’s victory to join the battle, relentlessly pursuing the Philistines. Though we have nothing to offer, and though we did nothing to win the battle against Satan, there is still a battle ahead, and we, like the Israelites, should be empowered to charge ahead. Why? Because Christ too empowers and strengthens us through the gift of the Holy Spirit to join the fight. We can now confidently pursue the destruction of sin in our lives and our community. We may lose a battle or two along the way, but we have the gospel that forgives and keeps us fighting. We know that our God wins the war.

Additional biblical passage: 1 Corinthians 12-14

We recently began a section at church on the spiritual gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12-14. At a very high level, let’s quickly use Paul as our model and swing back through E.F.A.P. before landing on power.

Example: Paul is an apostle (1 Co. 9:1-2) and prays better than the Corinthians (1 Co. 14:18). Jesus is the sent one from God (Jn. 17:3) and prays continually as a high priest (Heb. 7:25).

Fulfillment: Paul had very clear teaching and wisdom giftings (1 Co. 3:10), but he didn’t have every gift to be able to truly lead this church. Jesus not only has every gift—he is every gift. Paul had wisdom, Jesus is wisdom (1 Co. 1:24). Paul could teach the Word, Jesus is the Word (Jn. 1:1).

Atonement: Paul was gifted yet the “least of the apostles” (1 Tim. 1:15). Paul could minister not because he earned it, but because Jesus took the punishment Paul deserved. The gifts flow not from our merit, but from mercy. Jesus needed no atonement; he was sinless. Yet, fully gifted, on the cross he became “powerless,” with no gifts being displayed as he died for our sins.

Power: Because Jesus atoned for our sins, rose from the grave, and gave us his Spirit, we now have the power of the Spirit to do some of the very things Christ did. He is the prophet of God, but we have the Spirit who knows the mysteries of God living in us (1 Co. 2:16). Though we only see and know in part (1 Co. 13:9, 12), we can still unveil Christ, and make him known more and more. Though we don’t deserve to be used by God, Jesus took on that sin. Now we can be used by God to genuinely push back darkness here on this earth. Though we are not Christ to perfection, we still carry a “part” of him that we, because of his power, can now do good like he did (1 Co. 12:7).

Jesus is our power in all of the Scriptures. If and as we see this, our life and Scripture reading will flourish.

I hope this 4-part series helps you see Christ in the Scriptures and animates your Scripture reading in beautiful and worshipful ways. Feel free to respond with any thoughts on this series.