Acts 1:8 – You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses.
The power which the Lord is promising comes from heaven’s authority. That authority was given to proclaim the good news of the gospel of the kingdom. It is an authority to live a life above sin. It is an authority to set captives free from Satan’s control. In Acts 1:7, the KJV uses the word “power” from the Greek word, exousia, which means “authority”. In Acts 1:8, the Greek word for power is “dunamis,” where we get our English word “dynamite.” The Lord is giving His disciples delegated authority which comes from His Father.
Many have the idea that the benefits of receiving the Holy Spirit are limited to being born again and going to heaven. Jesus makes it clear that receiving the Spirit is so much more. The Spirit of God brings “authority” and “power” to live a life of victory over Satan’s control through sin and darkness. As we walk in the light, as Christ is in the light, we walk in delegated authority to live out His life presently and release that life to others. The Lord has delivered us from the “authority” of Satan, his kingdom of darkness, and the power of the enemy through sin.
As we have seen previously, we were set free from the “penalty” of sin. That freedom began in our spirit when it was regenerated by the renewing of the Holy Spirit. See Titus 3:4. Today we are learning that the Holy Spirit empowers us to be free from the “power of sin” in our daily walk. Sin takes root in the areas of our intellect or human reasoning, imagination, memory, affection, and conscience. It is a daily battle to bring our reasoning into alignment with God’s word. Paul instructs us to cast down imaginations that exalt against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Hurts and wounds of the past are stored in our memories. Unclean images can also be stored in the memory of our mind. Have we set our affections on earthly realms or things above, as Paul admonishes in Colossians 3:2? If we do not deal with sin daily, it is possible for our conscience to become seared and fail to work on behalf of godliness. See Hebrews 9:14; 10:22.
Today, receive the power of the Holy Spirit to live a life free from the power of sin. Let us choose to walk in the authority the Lord has given to every believer. In our daily walk, let us choose His kingdom rule over our soul, mind, emotions, and will.
Father, I choose to be an over-comer in my daily walk. I receive the authority and power that You have made available through Christ Jesus the Lord. Thank You for power to overcome the enemy, to allow the Holy Spirit to rule in my life, and to minister Your victory to others day by day.