God's Decreeing Power & Authority
Genesis 1:6
It is amazing to me how easily we fall into the tacit idea that God's power can be limited or hindered by our own will. Everywhere we look in the Scripture, we see God speaking, acting, and accomplishing His plan without any interference or hindrance from anyone who happens to be "in the way" It is apparent from the Scripture that nothing is too difficult, too large, or too complex for God to accomplish simply by the exercise of His power and will, by "speaking" if you will. Here, and on all other of the days of the creation God simply speaks... decrees... that things come to be... and they do so! There is more at display here than simply God's power; as profound and magnificent as that is! The power of God is far larger than just overwhelming strength and ability. It is much, much more than that!
God's power speaks of his mastery over all that He has created. There is nothing about the creation that speaks of overcoming God or even hints that its strength is superior to God's strength! There is everything in the Scripture that speaks of God's ability to rule over and act on the creation in any way that he chooses, without the prior written consent of any part of it! God has nowhere limited this power and authority by anything that depends on any force other than His own intention and desire. Any talk of delegation and/or yielding this sovereignty is unsubstantiated in Scripture and is, at best, a fanciful lark into imagination. At worst, it is a doctrine that steals glory from God and gives it to a creature that is all to eager to rob his Master of that glory.
This is not to say that God does not give a measure of His power and authority to His children. He certainly does. For instance, to them that believe, God gives authority to become the children of God (John 1:12). In Acts 1 the Bible tells us that God has given us power or authority to go into the world and evangelize by means of the preaching of the Gospel. But this authority is not ours, it is not even His delegated authority. It does not originate with us but is merely exercised through us. this power is not ours in any real sense, except, perhaps, in the sense that we may act as His agent is some limited affairs of His on the earth. Even that is exciting! The power of god that created the worlds and set the stars in place. The power of the almighty which carved out the valleys and piled the mountains on high can be exercised through our agency!
In a very real way, I am glad that I do not have that kind of power at my disposal. I am not the absolute holy and just being that God is. I am beset by sin and, at times, overcome with my own interests. I would most certainly use such power in ways that are self-serving and not God-serving. Such is the lot of beings whose flesh still bears the stains and torments of sin.
It is such a marvelous thing, knowing that God is powerful and authoritative enough to actually do and accomplish what He desires! There need never be a worry that God mightn't get done what He has promised. We need never fear that some untoward thing might happen to us, or to our loved ones that might "ruin" God's best and greatest plan. Such talk is foolishness. Our will is not stronger than His! the events of our lives cannot supplant the majesty and the power of His Divine will! Glory to God!
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