“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory…” (Revelation 19:6–7; all Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version).

One cannot speak of God’s sovereignty without also speaking of His power. Theologians use the term “omnipotent” to describe God. That is not a term most people use frequently. Comedienne Lily Tomlin’s character, Ernestine the telephone operator, defined it as “That’s ‘potent’ with an ‘omni’ before it.” If that does not help you understand it: The prefix “omni” is from a Latin word meaning “all” or “every”; “potent” means “powerful” or “able.” Thus, “omnipotent” means “able to do everything.”

This would be necessary for divine sovereignty. Sovereignty demands the power or ability to back up one’s authority. Imagine a sovereign nation whose government is unable to enforce its laws: its citizens refuse to obey; the police cannot do anything about it. Usually, the government is unstable and easily overthrown. It may claim the authority to rule, but without power—potency—to back up that claim, it is not truly sovereign.

God has made bold claims for His authority to rule. His bold claims demand bold power. Fortunately, He is such a God.

“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).

God created the entire universe by speaking it into existence. He exercises His authority and power merely by speaking. As expansive as the universe is, it is no challenge to the power and greatness of God’s word!

Jesus said that His authority extended beyond the grave. Throughout creation, death strips every living creature of its power and authority. When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson took the oath of office and assumed the role of President immediately. Why? Because Kennedy could no longer exercise any authority. He could no longer do anything. As a dead man, he no longer had any ability or authority.

However, Jesus was not like other men in this regard:

“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father” (John 10:17–18).

Pay close attention to what Jesus said.

• “No one takes {My life} from me”: Nobody had the authority to kill Him. The Jewish leaders, Roman soldiers, and Pontius Pilate thought they were in control, but they had no authority beyond what God had allowed them (John 19:11). “I lay it down of my own accord.”
• “I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.” It is pretty easy to lay one’s life down. Thousands do that every year by committing suicide. These people are exercising the ability, if not the actual God-given authority, to choose their time and means of death. However, it is not easy to take one’s life back up after laying it down. Only Jesus could do that. The rest of us are just left to decay. However, Jesus did not merely say He had the ability to take up His life again after dying; He said He had the authority. His ability and His authority went hand-in-hand.
• He had received His authority and ability from His Father. Jesus’ ability and authority were intimately linked to His heavenly Father’s ability and authority.

All humans are limited in our ability and authority. Natural strengths and weaknesses limit us. Somebody may have legal authority to replace all of the electrical wiring in his house, but without a working knowledge of electrical wiring or training as an electrician, he would not have the ability to do so. Illness and death will eventually weaken and eliminate any ability and authority we may have.

However, Jesus does not have this problem. He has conquered death:

“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades’” (Revelation 1:17–18).

The keys denote authority. Just as keys to an apartment indicate that the holder has authority to open the door and enter, the keys of death and hell indicate the Jesus has authority over death. While physical death eventually conquers all of us, Jesus had authority over death. It did not hold Him down.

This is the God Christians worship. Death could not stop Him. His power is infinite. No problem you face is too big for Him. If His own death could not stop Him, no problem you have is too great for Him. He has the power and the authority to heal, save, restore, and deliver.

Copyright © 2020 Michael E. Lynch. All rights reserved.