Christians believe God is all-powerful. We confess in the Apostle's Creed, "I believe in God the Father ALMIGHTY." We learn in the Bible that our God is OMNIPOTENT, meaning He is more powerful than all other gods and the most potent force in the universe.
But how does God use His power? And what does it mean for Him to have power? Does power mean only that He rules over us or has the power to give or to take life?
If a person has done something deserving of death, the person that takes his life is not really exercising power. Punishing someone who has broken a rule or committed a crime is exercising justice, not power.
Power is truly exercised when the one in authority chooses to pardon the wrongdoer rather than punish him. Having ultimate power and not using it is a most powerful force. In that sense God is truly all-powerful.
God chose to use His power to pardon sinners rather than punish them. Yet because He is also a God of justice, He must still punish the sins. This He did by punishing His only Son Jesus on the cross.
When Christ was crucified, He took on Himself the punishment of our sins and the sins of the world. The almighty Father placed the sins of the entire world on His only Son. We should be on the cross, but Jesus took our place instead. God's justice was satisfied by the death of Christ, rather than our death.
God created the world and all of complex life, including human life. That shows His omnipotence, His all-powerful nature. But the greatest example of God's almighty power is shown when He chose to pardon sinners rather than punish them.
How do you exercise power in your life? With money? By giving or withholding love? By enforcing rules? Or do you feel you are powerless? Whatever the case, we have a Savior who has earned our pardon on the cross. And for that we praise and thank Him.
"For our sake God made Him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
How can you exercise power in your life now?
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