START UP: Is All Power That Bad?

In this series, we follow the journey of Jesus as he begins his ministry to see what we can learn as we enter into a new chapter as a Church.

Scripture: Luke 4:31-37

While the Bible preaches a message of servant leadership, one where leaders use their power to serve the people following them, it is appalling how many leaders within the church have abused their power. With that being said, as we get into this passage, we will look to answer this one question: is all power that bad? How do we reconcile the concept of power with the idea of servant leadership?

To answer that question, we need to look at what the passage says about power, and the first thing that we see is that power is a gift. We, as beings created by God, have this deep connection to Him in that He has given us the power to create just as He does. This is a concept that we can see introduced in the book of Genesis as we see that humanity was created in the “Image of God.” But if power is a gift from God, why then is power used so poorly?

That leads us to the next thing that we see in this passage: power is not made for destruction. Power is misused and abused because of sin, and this abuse is evident in the demon possessed man in this passage. One of the biggest abuses of power is slavery, which is the removal of another person’s power. This is something that is still common today, including areas of South East Asia, and it is exactly what the demon does to this man. By possessing this man, the demon removed whatever power he had over his life. Clearly, God intended for power to be used in a different way.

This leads to the last thing we see in this passage, that power is meant for flourishing, not for destruction. Looking back to a couple verses ago, we see how Jesus, through quoting the book of Isaiah, stated that the oppressed would be set free. The key word to focus on here is the Greek word, “Aphesis,” which carries this connotation of freedom and release. Jesus freeing the man who was possessed is evidence of Jesus fulfilling these words, because through this act, Jesus used his power to allow this man to flourish and be set free.

At the end of the day, the message of the Bible is still servant leadership, and that is why it is all the more important to understand the power we have been given and how we use it.

Study Questions:

1.) How does the biblical concept of power influence your current understanding of power?

2.) What God given power do you currently have?

3.) With the power you have today, how are you going to use it for the ministries of tomorrow?

4.) Does the power you have help others flourish around you?

5.) How can you use God’s power to light up dark places in your community, family, church, and so on?