God’s Power

God’s Power

In his great mercy he has given us new birth . . . into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power.

1 Peter 1:3–5

Peter addresses those “who through faith are shielded by God’s power.” He uses this description because when certain people hear the gospel—how faith alone without works makes us godly—they jump in and say, “Yes, I believe too.” They confuse their own thoughts, which they make up, with faith. We have previously taught from Scripture that none of us can do even the smallest works without God’s Spirit. How then out of our own strength could we do the greatest work—to believe? Such thoughts are nothing but a dream. If we are to believe, then God’s power must be working in us. Paul says, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom . . . that you may know . . . his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:17–19). Not only is it God’s will, but he also has the power to spend a great deal on us. For when God creates faith in us, it is a great work. It’s as if he were creating heaven and earth again.

People are being foolish when they say, “How can faith alone save us?” There are some people who believe, yet they don’t do any good works. For they think that their own thoughts are faith and that faith can exist without good works. In contrast, we agree with Peter, who says faith is a power that comes from God. When God gives faith, the individual is born again and becomes a new creature. As a result, good works naturally flow from faith.