Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. There are two Greek words
which are translated as power in the New Testament. One is
exousia, the other is dunamis, from which we get our English
words dynamo and even dynamite. This Greek word appears about
120 times and is often translated as mighty words. Exousia, on
the other hand, relates to judicial power, while Dunamis relates
to an ability to perform. Those who heard the Lord preach
His Sermon on the Mount said that He spoke as one having authority,
that is, exousia, or possessing jurisdiction over the Word of
God. They were not enamored of His
mighty works, that is, Dunamis, but of His sovereign rule as
a commander of the truth. Yet later we see that many followed
him merely for those mighty works, or miracles, which is dunamis,
and became offended at his word. From that time many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him. Thus we learn that
he has power not just as a demonstration which can be observed by the
flesh, but that he works as one who rules in the army of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth. It is this power or
authority which can only be gloried in by those who are called by
sovereign grace to fall at his feet, worshiping him in spirit
and truth. He speaks of this authority when
he said, And other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them
also I must bring. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. We see him demonstrate this authority
when he said, Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Some would consider this to be
an invitation to a broad spectrum of humanity who may or may not
respond. Yet the reality is that this
is a command from the lips of Christ to a particular people
who will hear his voice and to whom he will give eternal life.
And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified
the word of the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternal
life believed. We see him demonstrate his authority
when he instructed Judas to do that which the Lord had appointed
him to do. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest do quickly.
This was a necessity, since him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken him by wicked
hands, and crucified and slain. These things must come to pass.
Thus he commanded it to be so. We see him demonstrate his authority
over the natural elements of the world when he commanded them
to be still. We see him command death to release
its grip when he said, Lazarus, come forth. And then we see his
deliverance complete as he commanded men to loose him and let him
go from the grave clothes which bound him with the stench of
death. We see him demonstrate his authority to teach his children
such things as they need to know when he commanded his disciples
to follow me. Then we see him teach them their
weakness when he told them to give the people food to eat.
They immediately confessed they were unable to do so. Then he
fed the people. In the same vein, he taught Peter
his weakness when he commanded him to come to him on the water
as the waves crashed around. Peter quickly learned that he
could not walk on water. In like fashion, Peter declared
his willingness to die for the Lord. But the Lord made a commandment
which caused Peter great humility. Jesus said unto him, Verily I
say unto thee, that this night before the cock crow thou shalt
deny me thrice. Some would say that the Lord
merely predicted the future, but the truth is that the Lord
designed this trial to teach Peter that he could not stand
in his own power. One of the grandest of displays
of his authority over all flesh came as the company of men led
by Judas came to arrest him in the garden. They asked if he
was Jesus of Nazareth, and he said, I am. They immediately
fell backwards as dogs cower before their master. Then he
commanded them to let his disciples go. Some see this as a request,
but it is clearly a command which they were powerless to disobey.
Yet the most glorious of all of his commands was spoken in
the weakest of moments as that one who gave his life for his
sheep. He decreed, it is finished, and then breathed his last breath,
exactly as he determined. None can bring any of his sheep
into condemnation, nor can any accuser ever stand to bear witness
against them. For he hath made him to be sin
for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Do you rejoice in His power and
authority?