The resurrected Jesus told his followers, “You will receive power” (Acts 1:8). We tend to be allergic to power, and often for very good reason. Some people get particularly scared when Christians start talking about power. But if we’re talking about the kind of power that God shares with us, I don’t think we need to fear.

One of the first things God does with humanity is to share his power with us. Our image-bearing responsibility is to bring forth fruitfulness out of a good creation. As author Andy Crouch says in Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power, “the deepest form of power is creation.” And so true power is the power to create and renew, to give life and to multiply power by empowering others, whereas the power that seeks to “lord it over” others is actually a diminishment and a distortion of God’s original intentions for power.

So while power is a delicate subject, we should not avoid talking about true power. For if we fail to exercise power, we fail as image-bearers. The reality is that all of us desire and use power, whether we realize it or not. Children take piano lessons in order to grow in their power to create beautiful music. We read books, not only to enjoy the creative power of others but also to spark our own creative imaginations and to gain the power of knowledge. We exercise our bodies to gain the power we need to live a useful and full life.

So the question we must continually ask is this: which version of power are we desiring and what is the source of our power? The power that we willingly disconnect from God becomes idolatrous and leads to injustice, but the power that comes from God is generous and life-giving. 

At Pentecost God sent his life-giving Spirit to empower his people for the life and mission he had called them to. Just as Jesus came down to us in his first Advent to dwell among us for a time, the Holy Spirit comes down to apply the work of Jesus to our lives and to permanently indwell us. The Holy Spirit supplies the power we need to live our faith and demonstrate the gospel to a watching world. He empowers us to trust in Christ, to grow in following the ways and teachings of Jesus, and to love and serve one another and the world. It is only in this context that we may share in God’s power. Let’s use the gift of power God has given us for his glory and the good of others.