God's Power Is Far Greater

"He isn't there to make a show, so we can say we saw it. He is there to fix people, to bless people."

A MAN possessed by a devil (unclean spirit) has any control of his speech and other physical actions taken from him. The man from the Gadarenes broke any chains the townspeople tried to tie him up with. He was seen also cutting himself with stones, and when Jesus spoke to the legion, they replied using the man’s voice. In another story, a man’s son was possessed by a spirit which threw him in the fire to injure and kill him then in the water to cause him hurt. Mind you, this is complete possession which happens only to the unsaved. A man oppressed can have a similar experience but because Christ lives in His heart, the demon or demons cannot fully control his actions (the moving of hands and feet, for instance). There are levels of it depending upon the situation, but I make these points to bring knowledge of the Holy Spirit.

He is the seal or firstfruits of our redemption. By this, the Scriptures mean, upon salvation, He comes to live within our spirit man, to give us wisdom and guidance for eternity. He teaches us His Word, pointing us toward Jesus, who reveals our loving Father (John 14:26). He is the power of the Resurrection. He raised Jesus from death. He is the power of Creation. He hovered over the waters in Genesis as God who created all that exists. But the fullness of redemption includes a glorified body (flesh and bone) like Jesus has and the final cleansing of the earth of all sickness, disease, and death, future events. He is the kingdom of God come to earth and the character of God which strengthens within us.

If we take aside the truths of His nature and character as stated in the Word of God, for a moment, we can say that He can speak through and move upon a physical body even greater (stronger) than any demonic power. But we must keep His nature and character in this thought because, whereas the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, the Spirit of God (also Spirit of the Father and Spirit of Christ, other names) was sent to us to bring abundant life. His life within us produces the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. He is here for our benefit and, we know from 2 Timothy 1:7, He is NOT the spirit of fear. He is power and love and a sound mind. 1 Kings 19:12 tells most often He is a “still small voice” within and not an outward earthquake or fire.

There are many common churchisms which refer to Him. People say they are looking for “a move of God,” or want to “see the glory.” Both of these are Him. When we say we want to “feel the Presence of God,” that’s the Holy Spirit. References to the “fire of God” are also Him. There is nothing wrong with any of these terms, except when we exclude Him from them and turn Him into an object and no longer see Him as a “person.” God is a Spirit, we are told. We must worship Him in spirit. We are also told to “walk in the Spirit,” to be “led of the Spirit,” and to “live in the Spirit.” He is our strength to walk in peace and quietness, in confidence day-to-day. He is our connection to Jesus, our Savior and King. They are One.

I’m building up to my point here, but first, we must see them as united. Though Jesus is in heaven, (He is human in a remade body), He is in us through the Spirit. The Father is in us through the Spirit because of Jesus’ shed blood. They cannot be separated, yet they are Individuals. I have heard them speak separately and in unity, as one voice, both through prophets and in the secret place. I have chosen to become aware of Them, to press in seek Their face, to know Their voice. This is of such importance, because the devil and His ilk can look like light for a time. They can imitate light but cannot sustain it. God’s truth always reveals the lies they are trying to make us believe. But we must know the truth in order to see the lie. This is our time of study of the Word, of meditation in it, and of prayer and worship.

But here’s the picture I want you to grasp. What the devil can do to a human being and in a human being, God is far more capable of. And for the right reasons. When a minister of any calling speaks to a congregation, He is not called to speak from His own mind and of His own thoughts. He is called to speak the words the Spirit gives Him. These blog posts are given to me by the Spirit, and I do not release them if they are not 100% Him. He gives His “okay,” so to speak before they are posted. My mother told a story of a Christian doctor who was doing intricate surgery, and the Spirit of God took hold of his fingers and guided him through the surgery in a finer and quicker way than he said he could have done on his own. From another point-of-view, when a minister or layperson lays hands on the sick, the Spirit uses their arms and hands to transmit the anointing (another word which is the Holy Spirit).

The devil wants to make a show. The man who sought help for his son remarked on this. How the demon would cause the boy to thrash around. But what seems fearful to a human mind should be tempered by the knowledge that God’s power is far, far greater. The Spirit of God was the hand on the wall which frightened King Belshazzar. He is the fire which fell from heaven and consumed the prophet’s water-soaked sacrifice. He is the healing of Naaman’s leprosy in 2 Kings 5. He is the voice which spoke from a donkey. He who conceived a baby in the womb of a virgin also pushed back the Red Sea. He is all-powerful or omnipotent, but He is also the source of wisdom, so how He uses His power and when and all the elements of it, will be specific and precise and good for those who seek Him. For those who don’t know Him, who are looking at what He has done yet don’t believe, though He desires all men to know Him and for all to be saved (He is love), well, there will be offense. That is the nature of man outside of God. There will be disbelief and the shunning of greater spiritual things.

He is asking us to come up higher, to go deeper, to understand more, and to trust Him to a greater extent. Stories always get repeated of strange miraculous things during times of worship and prayer amongst believers. But God will only do those types of things where there is correct knowledge and honest seeking hearts. He isn’t there to make a show, so we can say we saw it. He is there to fix people, to bless people, to be as great in them as they will allow Him to be. And there are no limits, except in what He will not do. In the Bible, we see Him move miraculously amongst ungodly nations and ungodly leaders, both Jewish and Gentile. We see Him cause miracles from the hands of the disciples, men not yet saved, as Jesus had not died yet, much less risen from the dead. We see Him resurrect the dead before Pentecost and His presence fell in the upper room. We hear a man who despised Jesus prophesy His death. “Don’t you know, one man should die for the people?”

Seek the Spirit, not the experience. Seek Him, not what He can do. He is the power of Christ which heals the body and the mind, but don’t seek faith, nor healing lines, nor ministers. In fact, for just an hour, worship without any motive but to know Him more. And let Him move you forward into the greater things He wants to do within us and through us. Things beyond imagining, from a gospel where a man walked on water.

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:” (Romans 8:16)

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25 BSB)

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,” (Revelation 1:10)

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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com