Dunamis 2

Read Dumanis before reading this article...

I've often said that, while the New Testament was written in Greek [or Aramaic, as some believe], the writers were Hebrew...and they thought in Hebrew!

We've seen that the Greek word dunamis was translated power in the New Testament. And not just any power—power, strength, power for performing miracles, the power and influence that belongs to riches and wealth. Commonly understood as miracle-working power. The power with which Jesus is upholding all things. [Hebrews 1:3]

And we've seen that the Holy Spirit prayed that we might be strengthened with ALL POWER in our inner man.

A Hebrew would associate the word power with Old Testament concepts...like the splitting of the Red Sea.

'When Israel saw the great POWER which the LORD had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses.' [Exodus 14:31]

What was the Hebrew word used for power here? Our old friend YAD!!

The Hebrew word yad is translated several ways: hand, power, strength...when you research how it is used in the Old Testament, it is obvious that it is the powerful, strong hand which accomplishes things in the earth.

And we know from Proverbs 18:21 that the POWER [yad] of death and life are in the TONGUE!

We were created in His image...we are like Him! He has YAD, we have YAD.

Proverbs 3:19,20 explains that God used wisdom, knowledge and understanding to create the  earth...and we see in Genesis 1 that He spoke it into existence! But wait...Proverbs 24 says that we also use wisdom, knowledge and understanding to create things in our lives!

We are like Him!

[Read Yad, The Yad of God, The Yad of God 2, Strength in Your Mouth...if you search for 'yad' in the search box on the right side of the blog, it'll bring up lots of other related articles as well.]

Now I'm pretty sure Paul, or the other authors of the New Testament, didn't translate from Hebrew to English, then from English to Greek! They thought yad and wrote dunamis!

Strengthened with ALL DUNAMIS in our inner man. As Jesus said, "...the Father abiding in Me, He does the works." [John 14:10]

Then of course there's Ephesians 3:20...

'Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the POWER [dunamis] that works within us...'

Think about it. Could it be that the same power that split the Rea Sea is in the inner man of every believer?

What did God say to Moses at the edge of the Red Sea, with Pharoah's army breathing down his neck and millions of Hebrews complaining that he had brought them out of Egypt to die?

'Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to Me? TELL the sons of Israel to go forward. 

"As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go forward through the midst of the sea on dry land."' [Exodus 14:15,16]

We know it wasn't Moses' own strength that split the sea...IT WAS THE YAD OF THE FATHER!!

Then there's Romans 8:11...

'But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.'

The power that raised Jesus from the dead, dwelling in us in the person of the Holy Spirit.

There's More...
Now this will really bake your noodle.

Luke 1:35 says:

'The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the POWER of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God."'

The Greek word for power in this verse? You guessed it...DUNAMIS!! 

The power that conceived Jesus in a virgin's womb also raised Him from the dead...and according to Hebrews 1:3 is upholding all things.

And we are strengthened with ALL DUNAMIS in our inner man.

Why? Because the Triune God lives within. Because we have died, crucified with Christ, and now we are one Spirit with the Lord. 

Because the Holy Spirit prayed it through Paul.

Because He says so.

Dunamis.

Grace

The Greek word charis, or grace, is used 148 times in the NT. Ask any Christian what grace is and they will probably parrot ‘God’s unmerited favor.’
Yes, this is part of it, but if you look at a NT lexicon or dictionary, you will find that it is so much more!
It also means that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness; good will, loving-kindness, favor; benefit, bounty, recompense, reward.
John 1:14 says that Jesus was full of grace and truth…John 1:16 tells ‘For of HIS FULLNESS we have ALL received, and grace upon grace.’ No second-class Christians here, just temples of God, full of HIS fullness and grace! Meditate on THAT for awhile…
Paul's Thorn
When Paul asks to be delivered from the demon sent to torment him, God tells him “My grace is sufficient for you, for power [dunamis] is perfected [fulfilled, finished, completed, paid] in weakness.’ [2 Corinthians 12:9]
Prevailing heresies tell us that this means he had to live with some disease or affliction, even though the Word clearly says it was a MESSENGER of Satan…a demon sent to torment him. And according to Luke 10:19, we have authority over ALL the power of the enemy and nothing will injure us! Psalm 91 says we will tread upon the lion and cobra and TRAMPLE THEM DOWN.
This lie has been repeated over and over again to keep us in bondage—if God wouldn’t deliver Paul and wanted him to continue to suffer with some sort of mystical band aid to help him bear it, then there’s a good chance we won’t be healed or delivered either.
Sufficient
Another interesting word in this verse is the Greek word for sufficient…arkeo. We think it means ‘that’s good enough for you’ or ‘learn to live with it, you’ll get by.’
Back to the lexicon! Arkeo means TO BE POSSESSED OF UNFAILING STRENGTH! To be strong, to suffice, to be enough, to defend, ward off, to be SATISFIED or CONTENTED!
God was telling Paul that His GRACE—joy, pleasure, favor, delight, loveliness, good will, benefit, bounty, reward—was sufficient, or possessed of UNFAILING STRENGTH! For POWER, or dunamis [the miracle-working power that upholds the world] is perfected [complete, finished, fulfilled—TO CARRY OUT THE CONTENTS OF A COMMAND] in weakness.
In other words, where Paul was weak, the miracle working power was full of unfailing strength to do whatever needed to be done, to overcome in any situation.
Hallelujah!
His grace—that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness; good will, loving-kindness, favor; benefit, bounty, recompense, reward—possesses unfailing strength for us! Because His power—the miracle-working power, the power with which Jesus UPHOLDS ALL THINGS [Hebrews 1:3]—is made perfect or complete in our weakness.
Don’t forget…according to Colossians 1:11 the Holy Spirit prayed that we would be strengthened with ALL POWER! The very same dunamis with which Jesus is upholding all things. Not just a drop or two…ALL POWER! [read Dumanis]
And we have this treasure IN EARTHEN VESSELS! So that the surpassing greatness of the POWER [dunamis] will be of God and not from ourselves...[2 Corinthians 4:7]
There’s another prayer, prayed for us by the Holy Spirit though Paul, in Ephesians 3.
'For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with POWER [dunamis] through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints [most holy ones], what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be FILLED UP TO ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD.
'Now to Him Who is able to do FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY beyond ALL that we ask or think, according to the POWER [dunamis] that WORKS WITHIN US, to Him be the glory [splendor magnificence, most glorious condition or exalted state] in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen—so be it, may it be fulfilled, truly.'
Now that’s grace!
Full of God, full of His power, one Spirit with the Lord. Not some hackneyed phrase that nobody stops to think about, not some meaningless church buzzword.
Grace.

That Which Has Been Will Be...

 

A few months ago, I came across some wild, quantum verses is Ecclesiastes...

'That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. 'Is there anything of which one might say, "See this, it is new?" Already it has existed for ages which were before us.' [Ecclesiastes 1:9,10]

'I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear [be in awe before] Him. That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.' [Ecclesiastes 3:14,15]

'Whatever exists has already been named, and it is known what man is; for he cannot dispute with Him who is stronger than he is.' [Ecclesiastes 6:10]

The writer, Solomon, was the wisest man on the earth in his time. Although He was not born again, He had an anointing for wisdom from God. When reading Ecclesiastes, one gets the feeling that the author sees something but can't quite explain it...like he's got it right on the tip of his tongue but can't quite get it out.

From these passages it seems likely that he is seeing eternity and trying to describe it from a human point of view. It comes across a little like the concept of fixed destiny, or 'whatever will be, will be.'

But if there's one thing we know about God, He is a respecter of the free will of man. So what can this mean?

Seeing the End From the Beginning
I believe Solomon was seeing eternity and trying to put it in a linear, human perspective. What he was really seeing was what Paul describes in Hebrews 4:3, '...although His works were finished from the foundation of the world' and again in 4:10—'For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.'

God was showing him things from His point of view. In eternity, everything is already complete, not because of some locked-in, fatalistic destiny, but because time is not linear in eternity. Time is bound to the physical earth, dependent on the earth's cycles around the sun as well as her daily rotations. But in that other plane of existence, the realm of the Spirit, everything is already complete.

But it's not complete in a 'your-destiny-is-predetermined-by-God-so-why-fight-it' kind of way. It's just already happened and He can see the end from the beginning. He knows what you're going to do before you do it...if you change your mind, He sees that too! He sees the finished work, whatever you decide that will be.

Yes, His plan is also complete, finished, from before the foundation of the world. In Numbers 14:21 He says "...indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord." His works were finished from the foundation of the world [Hebrews 4:3] and He has already rested from His works [Hebrews 4:10] His plan is complete...whether you have chosen to fulfill your role in it or not. If you choose not to participate, it will get done some other way, but make no mistake about it, it is finished.

Forever Settled
Psalm 118:89 states 'Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven.' Isaiah 40:8 puts it this way: 'The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.'

Why is this good news? Because He said, eternally, that by His stripes, we were healed! [Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24] He said, eternally, that the well-being of our children would be great, that they would be taught of the Lord! [Isaiah 54:13] He said, eternally, that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! [Romans 8:1]

He even said, eternally, that all things belong to us, and we belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God! [1 Corinthians 3:22,23]

Everything He has ever said is summed up in Jesus, The Word Who became flesh, forever—for us, to us, through us!

Jesus died once for your sin [1 Peter 3:18]—the ones you've already committed, the ones you're about to commit, and the ones you'll commit 20 years from now. That sacrifice is eternal—the sprinkled blood that speaks forever! [Hebrews 12:24] And He died for all—the saved, the about-to-be-saved, and those who will not receive Him. All is all, not only in quantitative measure, but in comprehensive, eternal reality.

Keys of the Kingdom
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." [Matthew 16:19]

I always wondered about the tenses in this verse. The phrase 'shall have been' is a future perfect tense in Greek and stumped me, until I understood the implications from a Quantum Physics point of view.

Einstein is often quoted as saying 'Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.' We know that there is much discussion about the past, present and future residing in parallel, and that there is no time or space in the Spirit.

I think Jesus was confirming this. What we bind [or forbid] on earth shall have been bound [already] in heaven...what we loose [or allow] on earth shall have been bound [already] in heaven. These are definitely quantum ideas.

What does it mean? Well, consider this: we're already seated with Him in heavenly places [Ephesians 2:6]; we've already been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ [Ephesians 1:3]; and His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. [2 Peter 1:3]

Plus, we know that His works were finished from before the foundation of the world. From a quantum perspective, He told us to reign in life, and whatever that takes, He has already backed. It's sort of a quantum blank check...whatever it takes to perfom His word in our lives on the earth has already been accomplished in heaven! Hallelujah!!

The Eternal Perspective
God declares Himself to be I AM. In specific instances, He would follow that with a relevant attribute of His...I AM the One Who sees ahead and provides, I AM the Lord your righteousness, I AM the Lord your healer, etc.

Notice that He IS, eternally, in the present tense. In the ages before, HE IS. In the ages to come, HE IS. Not was, or will be...HE IS! And we are One with Him, in Him, and He's in us! Zoe—the life of God!

That which is has been already and that which will be has already been...As He said in Isaiah 55:11, "So will My Word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." In the Spirit, His Word—His commands or decrees—have already returned to Him fulfilled, because they are His Word. Every promise is fulfilled for you, now, according to 2 Corinthians 1:20. Even the seemingly far-fetched words that tell us to speak to inanimate physical objects like trees and mountains that they should obey us!

Believe God. Believe the Word. It is finished.

 

Grace

The Greek word charis, or grace, is used 148 times in the NT. Ask any Christian what grace is and they will probably parrot ‘God’s unmerited favor.’

Yes, this is part of it, but if you look at a NT lexicon or dictionary, you will find that it is so much more!

It also means that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness; good will, loving-kindness, favor; benefit, bounty, recompense, reward.

John 1:14 says that Jesus was full of grace and truth…John 1:16 tells ‘For of HIS FULLNESS we have ALL received, and grace upon grace.’ No second-class Christians here, just temples of God, full of HIS fullness and grace! Meditate  on THAT for awhile…

Paul's Thorn
When Paul asks to be delivered from the demon sent to torment him, God tells him “My grace is sufficient for you, for power [dunamis] is perfected [fulfilled, finished, completed, paid] in weakness.’ [2 Corinthians 12:9]

Prevailing heresies tell us that this means he had to live with some disease or affliction, even though the Word clearly says it was a MESSENGER of Satan…a demon sent to torment him. And according to Luke 10:19, we have authority over ALL the power of the enemy and nothing will injure us! Psalm 91 says we will tread upon the lion and cobra and TRAMPLE THEM DOWN.

This lie has been repeated over and over again to keep us in bondage—if God wouldn’t deliver Paul and wanted him to continue to suffer with some sort of mystical band aid to help him bear it, then there’s a good chance we won’t be healed or delivered either.

Sufficient
Another interesting word in this verse is the Greek word for sufficient…arkeo. We think it means ‘that’s good enough for you’ or ‘learn to live with it, you’ll get by.’

Back to the lexicon! Arkeo means TO BE POSSESSED OF UNFAILING STRENGTH! To be strong, to suffice, to be enough, to defend, ward off, to be SATISFIED or CONTENTED!

God was telling Paul that His GRACE—joy, pleasure, favor, delight, loveliness, good will, benefit, bounty, reward—was sufficient, or possessed of UNFAILING STRENGTH! For POWER, or dunamis [the miracle-working power that upholds the world] is perfected [complete, finished, fulfilled—TO CARRY OUT THE CONTENTS OF A COMMAND] in weakness.

In other words, where Paul was weak, the miracle working power was full of unfailing strength to do whatever needed to be done, to overcome in any situation.

Hallelujah!

His grace—that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness; good will, loving-kindness, favor; benefit, bounty, recompense, reward—possesses unfailing strength for us! Because His power—the miracle-working power, the power with which Jesus UPHOLDS ALL THINGS [Hebrews 1:3]—is made perfect or complete in our weakness.

Don’t forget…according to Colossians 1:11 the Holy Spirit prayed that we would be strengthened with ALL POWER! The very same dunamis with which Jesus is upholding all things. Not just a drop or two…ALL POWER! [read Dumanis]

And we have this treasure IN EARTHEN VESSELS! So that the surpassing greatness of the POWER [dunamis] will be of God and not from ourselves...[2 Corinthians 4:7]

There’s another prayer, prayed for us by the Holy Spirit though Paul, in Ephesians 3.

'For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with POWER [dunamis] through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints [most holy ones], what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be FILLED UP TO ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD.

'Now to Him Who is able to do FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY beyond ALL that we ask or think, according to the POWER [dunamis] that WORKS WITHIN US, to Him be the glory [splendor magnificence, most glorious condition or exalted state] in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen—so be it, may it be fulfilled, truly.'

Now that’s grace!

Full of God, full of His power, one Spirit with the Lord. Not some hackneyed phrase that nobody stops to think about, not some meaningless church buzzword.

HALLELUJAH!!

Dunamis

He UPHOLDS ALL THINGS BY THE WORD OF HIS POWER

...and we do, too, in our lives!

The Greek word for power in this verse is dunamis….power, strength, power for performing miracles, the power and influence that belongs to riches and wealth. Commonly translated as ‘miracle-working power.’

He upholds all things by the [rhema = spoken] word of His power.

But wait…in Colossians 1:11, the Holy Spirit prays that we be ‘…strengthened with ALL POWER [dunamis] in our inner man…’ The Greek word for power is DUNAMIS!!! And not just some dunamis, but ALL DUNAMIS!

The same power that Jesus upholds all things with.

How about Ephesians 3?

‘…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with POWER [dunamis] through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD. Now to Him who is able to do FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY BEYOND ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK, according to the POWER [dunamis] that works WITHIN us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.’

We’ve got ALL-THINGS-UPHOLDING-POWER inside us! No wonder He told us to speak to trees and mountains! 

HALLELUJAH!!!