God’s power is seen in many places in the Bible, first of all in creation (see Gen 1 & 2). God is the ‘Maker of heaven and earth’ (Ps 115:5, Ps 121:2, Ps 124:8, Ps 134:3, Ps 146:6), and there are many poetic descriptions of the God of creation. Job chapters 38 to 41 list God’s amazing, awesome works of creation: laying the earth’s foundation, creating the sea and setting its boundaries, making clouds, creating weather, making the stars, making different animals and birds and sea creatures. The detail and scope in these chapters are stunning; no wonder, at the end of this, that Job says, ‘Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.’ (Job 42:3) The whole of creation cries out as testimony and witness to the power of God (see Ps 19:1-4, Ps 104).
God’s power is also seen in the Exodus, in the miraculous deliverance of God’s people from the slavery of Egypt. The plagues and then the parting of the Red Sea meant the people saw God’s power before their very eyes. This was not something they could do for themselves; it was something which God did for them. It defined them; it created who they were – no longer simply slaves but the people of God. (Ex 14 & 15)
The Exodus foreshadows the death and resurrection of Jesus, who is our Passover Lamb, slain to take away the sins of the world. The resurrection shows us the wisdom of God, for here we see that death does not have the last word, but we still must walk through the way of death. Easter Sunday, with its brilliant, dazzling light and its message of supreme power and authority, is reached through the pathway of Good Friday and Easter Saturday. There is no glory without suffering; there is no power without paradox.
The resurrection shows us that God’s almighty power defeats sin, death and the grave. The same might and resurrection power which was used to raise Christ from the dead now lives in us so that God’s glory and honour may be proclaimed. God’s ‘immeasurably more’ power (Eph 3:20) now lives in us.
