Pentecost Power Released

The power of the Gospel is manifest power. 1 Corinthians 12:7: “The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.” This power is not simply our faith in power. It is not a matter of going through a routine service and believing that the power of God is at work, invisibly. His power should be seen and be manifested. There should be effects, both physical and personal, that can be attributed to the power of God. People’s lives should be affected in some tangible way. The Holy Spirit is not a theory or a statement about what goes on in some distant world, of which we are not aware; nor is it a soft breathing influence. His power is power made manifest. 
 

There are two forms of power. The one most Christians speak of is dunamis. We can identify with that word because we use it so much in English; dynamo, dynamite, dynamics. But actually, those words express power under wraps. Dynamite is simply a grey substance, which you can carry in your briefcase. Be careful though! It is a power pack. It is latent power that is stored up. Paul use another word called energema; meaning energy. When the power of dynamite is released, it becomes energy. Energy is power let loose. In 1 Corinthians 12:6, the same word is translated “operationas” (KJV) which refers to power in operation. The “working of miracles,” in 1 Corinthians 12:10, is a combination of both words; “power operating in energy.”
 
Let’s face it. Christianity is either supernatural or nothing at all. We had, and still have, a supernatural Jesus, with a supernatural ministry. This creates a supernatural church, with a supernatural Gospel, and a supernatural Bible. Take the miraculous away and you have taken Christianity’s life away. The church becomes an ethical society, or a social club, when it is intended to be the grid system for transmitting the power of God into this powerless world.