This week I’d like to discuss the power of our Daddy. In the previous 3 weeks we have discussed first that Jesus has revealed that the creator of the universe is our Dad. Second we discussed that our Papa is very passionate and full of enthusiasm towards us. And third we discussed the pleasure that our Father has in us. He enjoys us every day.
As we continue to move forward and discuss our God and Dad, it’s important to know that all of these attributes work together. His passion, pleasure, and power all work together for our good. Every facet of His heart was poured out in His Son on the cross. His heart is one hundred percent completely and decidedly for us. He is against our sin but for us. And if our Dad, the creator and sustainer of the universe is for us, who can be against us? We have nothing to fear.
Let’s cut to the chase: our Papa is powerful. Let’s start with some obvious things. First, our Dad created everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Our Father and our brother Jesus worked together with the Spirit to build every galaxy, every planet, every human being, every animal, and every ocean. There’s somewhere around 50 trillion cells in our bodies. And there’s somewhere around 10 trillion galaxies in the universe. And our Dad holds every single cell and galaxy together in His hands! What a powerful Dad we have!
Second of all, Colossians 1:17 teaches us clearly that our Dad and His Son Jesus continue to hold and sustain everything! When it says “all things” it means “all things!” So yes, in a very real and practical sense, your Dad is holding your entire being together right now. If He were to “let go” you would cease to exist. Your existence is a gift from your Daddy.
Nehemiah 8:10 is a famous verse that says, “The Joy of the Lord is your strength.” I want to unpack this a little bit. Think about it like this: joy is strength. Joy gives us energy. Joy empowers us. And I’d like to propose that the Scriptures make it plain that joy is God’s strength too! In Psalm 16, which Peter quotes in his first sermon in Acts 2, it says that God resurrected Jesus into His joy! Jesus said that His Father would make Him full of gladness in His Father’s presence.
I am simply pointing out that the power of Jesus’ resurrection had a lot to do with the Father’s joy. And the resurrection of Jesus is the center of our faith. Paul backs this up by saying God’s plan of redemption for the world was according to His “good pleasure” (Ephesians 1). The power of our Father is His joy and pleasure that redeems us through His Son.
It was truly a display of the Father’s power to embrace His prodigal son with a kiss, with a ring and a robe, and with a celebration of joy with a fattened calf! The power of our Dad is that He has a forgiving heart that restores us and celebrates us. His power is what throws a party with music and dancing for us even after we squandered our inheritance (Luke 15:25).
Finally, I’d like to discuss Paul’s perspective on God’s power in 1 Corinthians 1-2. He told the believers in Corinth that the message of the cross is foolishness to the world but to those who are being saved it is the power of God. We must remember that the power of our Father is foolishness to the world. It’s not something that is going to intellectually impress everybody or be a display of miraculousness that the world will embrace.
To sit back and believe that the creator of the universe enjoys you and delights in you, and that His son saved you and made you new through His death on a cross, is pretty foolish according to the ways of the world. But Paul says that this message of our Father’s joy, power, and salvation, is His very power.
May we have the faith to embrace the foolish. Really only those who can receive this good news will have the capacity to live an abundant life of joy and purity, leading to everlasting life in our Father’s new heaven and new earth.