PURPOSES OF HIS DIVINE POWER

It is believed that the Apostle Peter wrote the books of First and Second Peter. He gave his testimony in Second Peter chapter one to teach against the heresies of the false teachers and to help other disciples to stand firm in Jesus Christ. As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is very pertinent for us to be aware of certain truths that will keep us in faith and liberate us from wrong teachings and bad news that pervade the world. I strongly believe that if you know the truth, it will be easy for you to know false teachings. Apostle Peter testifies that:
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1: 3-4).
A song says, that I may know you, Lord, that I may know you/2x. And your power of resurrection and your power of resurrection. Today, the emphasis is on the knowledge of Him. I ask you, what is your knowledge of Him (Jesus)? One ultimate thing you and I need is to desire to know Jesus. The word “knowledge” is from the verb “know”. To know is to have information firmly secured in the mind or memory. It also means to have experienced something or an encounter with someone. The word “knowledge” means the state of knowing. Starting from the point of accepting Jesus Christ and his call, Peter and other disciples were properly disciplined. Jesus taught them how to pray, fast, relate and how to be great. He taught them how to teach, preach and minister to the needy. He taught them about his death and resurrection. He taught them about false teachers and signs of the end time. He taught them about his suffering and how they were going to suffer. He commissioned them for mission and evangelism (Matthew 20: 16-20).
Knowing Him should be consistent, it is not a once and for all experience. We should continue to learn at his feet. That was why Apostle Paul said, “I want to know Christ- yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10). Your desire should be to know Jesus Christ. The first thing is not to desire for His power but to know the source of the power. God is the epitome of power. He has all the power. He demonstrated his power against read sea, against the Jordan River, against the Jericho wall. He demonstrated his power over the Egyptians, the Midianites, etc. God shall display His power over your enemies and obstructers to your progress in Jesus' name.
Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaritan, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This promise comes to pass when the disciples gathered together on the day of Pentecost Acts 2: 1-4). So, anyone who belongs to the camp of God is a person of power. This power was given for certain purposes. As you celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, consider the four things below:
• As you celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, desire to know him.
• As you celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, hold firmly to the truth. • As you celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, wait patiently for the fulfillment of His promise.
• As you celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, wait patiently for the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Don’t be carried away by what is happening around you or what you are going through but be courageous to celebrate the risen Christ. May the power of God in you be activated and may whatever that is dead in your life resurrects in Jesus' name. We will continue to learn about the purposes of his divine Power. What is divine power? Power is the ability to make something happen. The divine power is the power that comes from heaven. The power promised by Jesus Christ. The power that came upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost after the Holy Spirit descended on them. Apostle Peter had direct experience with the power. Peter said, “His divine power has given everything…” (2 Peter 1:3). I am convinced that Peter’s testimony is about the Pentecost experience. Power is therefore used as are acronym: P-Purity, O-Obedience – Eph. 6:1, W-Walk, E-Exploit, and R-Righteousness – Psalm 1:6. The power we have can be protected by purity of life, obedience to God’s word, walking with God, by doing exploit for the Lord and by righteous life. So, the power was given to the disciples and to all of us who are Christians and have been baptized by the Holy Spirit for the reasons identified below:

His divine power helps us to live a godly life:

Peter said, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him…” (2 Peter 1:3). This means that they had everything they needed for their spiritual needs. Spiritual needs include their knowledge of sound doctrines, balanced knowledge of the scripture, the grace to say no to ungodliness, the authority to preach and teach the gospel, to live above persecution and challenges associated with Christian living.

His divine power enables us to participate in the divine nature:

“Through these, he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature…” (2 Peter 1:3-4). Participation in the divine nature does not indicate that Christians become divine in any sense, but only that God dwells in us through his Holy Spirit (John 14: 16-17). We share no equal nature with God. We are His temple. “Do you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honour God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20). The fact that the Holy Spirit indwells in us should help us to live a holy life.

His divine Power helps us in troubled times:

Paul was grated and greatly buffeted (Acts 19:20, 11-12; 2 Corinthians 1:8). Whatever you are passing through don’t trust in yourself, trust in God, have faith in God, have testimony to share, change your orientation, and pray (Psalm. 55:16-18), be rest assured of God’s power for you (Psalm 72:12), trust God’s power which is in you, dive into God’s word, lay hold of your special promise (Matthew 7:9-11; Ephesians 3:20). In sum, the divine power helps us to endure persecution and suffering and to stand firm in the Lord.

His divine power enables the manifestation of spiritual gifts:

Through the Holy Spirit, we have messages of wisdom, messages of knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous power, prophesy, speaking in different types of tongues, etc. (1 Corinthians 12:6-11). Spiritual gifts are God’s power in the lives of His people. God’s gifts are given by God as He pleases. All gifts are traced to the Holy Spirit. His divine power empowers us to bear the fruit of the spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5: 22-23). The Holy Spirit is like the ‘engine’ generating the fruit of the Spirit in us. The absence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is equivalent to the absence of the fruit of the Spirit in that life.

His divine power enables us to obey and do the will of God (Matthew 28:18-20).

He has given the power and authority to obey and do the work of mission and evangelism. Teaching, disciplining and baptizing people into God’s Kingdom. There is power in a shared vision of God. It is God's vision we share in recreation. Molly Turnover said, “They are His. It is part of our obedience to bring them here, we should also obey God in training, and disciplining our children. There is power in reaching out to God; there is power in working together with others. Through his power, we touch lives. Everyone is touching lives either negatively or positively. Some have the grace to touch lives but they touch it negatively. I encourage you to touch lives positively. Release what you have to win souls for Christ. Illustrate Lydia’s Pallet here, the experience of missionaries.

Conclusion

Have you received the divine power? If you have not received the divine power, you have to desire for it. You need it to live a Christian life. If you have received it, it is high time you have to make use of God’s given power. The power of God is not given to us for its sake but it is given to do His work. We should all arise, wake up and shake up the world through the work of missions and evangelism.