Dunamis
CATCH THE WIND x Campus Rush Music
Now what?
I’m sure this question ruminated in the minds of the eleven as they watched Jesus ascend to Heaven forty days after His resurrection. The last three years of their lives were defined by this Man’s ministry. They went where He went. They rested where He rested. They preached what He taught. Three years spent at the feet of their Master— His steps dictated theirs. But now the Father has demanded of Him. And they weren’t able to ascend with Him. At least not yet.
Now what?
There was work to do. The work of Jesus’ ministry didn’t end with His time on Earth. Rather, He promised the coming of greater.
“‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’” (Acts 1:8)
Jesus commanded the eleven to stay in Jerusalem until the gift He promised them arrived. This gift was the Holy Spirit and they would not be able to take the message of Christ beyond their borders without His power.
In Acts 1:8, the word “Power” translates to “Dunamis” in Greek, the language of the original manuscript. Four other Greek words in the New Testament translate to “power” but “dunamis” is the most prevalent of them all. Dunamis is inherent power— power that is given to a person and flows out, enabling them to achieve the supernatural. It is a miraculous yet natural power. It’s not natural power for us. It’s natural to the Spirit given to us which allows us to access His miraculous power.
The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, is the source of dunamis.
Fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection, the Holy Spirit descended on believers in the Upper Room. God made the descent of His Spirit undeniable as it was preceded by a sound from Heaven— the sound of a roaring windstorm. The Holy Spirit, appearing as flames of fire, settled on everyone in the room. Instantly, they were filled with dunamis and supernatural abilities. The Holy Spirit didn’t come to lay dormant. The Holy Spirit immediately began to move and work.
The dunamis of the Holy Spirit is not idle power. It is active power.
“For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.” (1 Corinthians 4:20)
After the apostles and believers received the Holy Spirit, they began their ministries. As Jesus commanded and taught them to do, they traveled beyond their borders— carrying the Good News of Christ. The active power within them enabled them to achieve all that they did. From the moment they received the Holy Spirit, they allowed His dunamis to flow through Him. They were only able to push forth the Kingdom of God by the dunamis of God. But for the power to flow through them and manifest in the miraculous, they had to be active participants. They were given new tongues and traveled to the corresponding nations. They faced persecution but persisted, knowing that the dunamis within them was greater than the power of the world. They understood that God’s dunamis was more than the capacity for accomplishing wonderful deeds. It was the active capacity for accomplishing wonderful deeds.
Again, the dunamis of the Holy Spirit is not idle power. It is active power.
“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” (Romans 8:11)
The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit had an active role in Jesus’ ministry but especially in His resurrection. The Holy Spirit enabled Him to perform miracle after miracle while existing on Earth in flesh. The Holy Spirit was also responsible for reversing the course of death and emptying the borrowed tomb. This same Holy Spirit has an active role in our lives today.
Paul affirms in Romans 8:11 that God did not give a counterfeit Spirit or leftover power. God gave us HIS power— the same power He used to set His master rescue mission in motion. God’s Spirit, which is God Himself, lives within the believer. Therefore, the dunamis of God, His power, lives within us— enabling us to do the miraculous.
“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)
We are vessels of the dunamis of God Almighty. Though our flesh-suits carry no real power of their own, they’re made powerful by the Holy Spirit. God’s dunamis is given to the believer through their faith in Christ who penetrates darkened hearts and shines the light of glory. The light of glory makes room for the power of His Spirit, who invades a fragile vessel and makes it a treasure to the mission of God and to the world He’s created.
“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
Once God fills the void of your heart, the dunamis of the Holy Spirit overflows— granting access to eternal hope, peace, and joy. Only the Spirit of God can do so. The dunamis of God powers the supernatural hope, peace, and joy that the believer is filled with. But since the dunamis of God is an active power, we have an active role in experiencing what He offers. We must first trust.
“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him.” (Ephesians 1:18-19)
Though we will never be able to fully comprehend the height, depth, length, or width of the love of God, the Holy Spirit gives us the dunamis to trust in what we can grasp. Dunamis is required to trust. God does not only give us dunamis to do, He gives us dunamis to be— to be loved fully and made complete by His love. He recognizes that the dunamis to accomplish won’t be made complete in the life of the believer without first the dunamis to understand. He also recognizes that the love He gives and expects in return requires His dunamis as it goes against our natural inclinations. Therefore, His Spirit miraculously stretches the capacity of our hearts, empowering us to receive and give love.
“Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
The dunamis of God to empower us is best seen through His grace. Grace is more than undeserved favor. It’s divine empowerment. Grace covers us but also gives us the dunamis of God’s Spirit. To see the activity of grace in our lives, we must first surrender to the understanding that we need its empowerment. In that place of surrender and weakness, we’ll see the the greatest manifestation of God’s dunamis at work in our lives. For it will be able to flow freely through us, without crashing into the barrier of pride or selfish ambition.
“I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” (Philippians 4:10-11)
Only a heart fully surrendered will be able to know and experience the dunamis of God. His dunamis is an active power that comes at a cost. Just as Christ was crucified, we must also be crucified. In order to experience resurrection, something must first die. A surrendered heart is also surrendered to the methods by which God decides to manifest His power. As His one and only Son was not exempt from suffering, neither are we. However, there is a joy to be found in sharing in the suffering of Christ, for it’s where the dunamis of God can be found. And the dunamis of God is unparalleled to what would be experienced from a life kept.
“This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.” (Ephesians 1:19-21)
Christ did not suffer without reward. On the other side of His suffering came a great inheritance. On the other side of His suffering came great authority— authority in the Heavens, in this world, and in the world to come. God honors those who share in the suffering of His Son. That honor comes in the form of dunamis.
“This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:6-7)
So we must be diligent in fanning the flames of God’s Spirit and the dunamis settled within us in the form of spiritual gifts. Christ was rewarded as a result of His obedience in suffering. He was obedient to the point of death. Because the Holy Spirit was activating His ministry, He endured without fear or timidity— as they cannot co-exist with the Spirit of God that fills Its vessels with dunamis, love, and discipline.
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Now what?
Now, access the dunamis. The Spirit of God, who is able to accomplish infinitely more, has given us His Spirit to enable us to do the same. The dunamis of the Holy Spirit must fill your hearts and minds, stretching your capacity for the work God wants to do within you and through you. The dunamis of the Holy Spirit must give you the ability to see Jesus as your Savior, Lord, and High Priest. The dunamis of the Holy Spirit must give you the ability to remain connected to the Vine. The dunamis of the Holy Spirit must give you the ability to see the glory of God, as manifested through continued revelations of the Son.
The dunamis of the Holy Spirit is not idle power. It is active power.
Accept His power and see the work of Christ continued through you in your generation.
