By: Gen. Jim – 11/1/25
“But ye shall receive POWER, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…” Acts 1:8, KJV.
Power! Men love to have it! Men will fight & kill to get it! They will do the same to keep it!
What kind of POWER was Jesus talking about when He said that to His followers? Acts 2:1 obviously refers to that day “when the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” Verse 4 says “they were all filled with the Holy Ghost & began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
According to Acts 1:8, “the Holy Ghost is come upon you,” means the same as “they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.”
So, according to Jesus’ words, the Holy Ghost gives POWER / IS POWER. My Strong’s Ex. Concordance (Gk.#1411 defines “power” as “miraculous power” (usually by implying a miracle itself); it also means “mighty, strength, wonderful (work, etc.)”.
Dunamis/δύναμις
Actually there are several spellings found in the Gk. (1) dunamai, (2) dunamoō, (3) dunastēs, (4) dunateō, (5) dunatos.
They all speak of might & strength (see Gk. 1410, 1412, 1413, 1414 & 1415). Besides these Greek words there are still others (1849, 3168, 746, 1850, 2904, 1325. These speak of power as well.) But for this lesson I stick to 1411 – “dunamis”, supernatural force/miraculous power.
Dynamis/Dunamis
According to extra Biblical literature, before becoming a Divine name or epithet, “power” (dynamis or dunamis) has had a long & diversified history. Authorities say, as a name or epithet, “power” (“P”) can be used in many different ways in Biblical & post-Biblical literature. The usage must be distinguished from more general notions of Divine Power. They tell us that all of antiquity assumed that deities have “P”, dispense it, & interfere in human life with their “P”. The degree of “P” deities were believed to control determined their status & place in hierarchies as well as the kind of CULTIC worship they received from humans. CULTIC worship of deities was not only motivated by such “P” but was itself a way of participating in it.
Attributed to the highest deities, the epithet “P” indicates total sovereignty & control, while lesser ones, e.g. angels, demons, elemental forces, & even human ‘divine men/women’ were/are agents of the former, having been endowed or changed by them. According to historians/experts, beings endowed with divine “P” then function as reps & administrators of those who are in control. In a Hellenistic environment the Gk. epithet “dynamis” could develop into a hypostasis (i.e. the underlying, essential nature of a thing; essence; the unique nature of the God) of its own & even become a name (e.g. Simon Magus who, according to Acts 8:10 was called ‘the power of God that is called great’ – hē dynamis tou theou hē kaloumenē megalē).
H.D. Betz, Chicago (Authorities, Dynamis, Legion) writes, “In most Biblical instances, ‘power’ is regarded as an attribute either of God who is in control of all powers, or of subservient divine agents acting on His behalf through delegated powers.” He says, “In the Biblical & post-Biblical literature these powers include angels, demons, stars, Stoicheia, & the Holy Spirit; in the N.T., in addition, Christ is integrated in the hierarchy.”
The O.T.
In the O.T., the imagery & language describing Divine “P” is extensive. It would take a long time to write about all this.
To start, it is God’s MIGHTY (POWERFUL!) arm that scatters & shatters the enemies (see Ex. 15:6; Ps. 89:10,13; Isa. 40:10; 48:14 et al.). The Scriptures show He IS (not was) the STRONG POWERFUL warrior (see Isa. 42:13: “The LORD shall go forth as a MIGHTY man, He shall STIR UP jealousy like a man of WAR: He shall cry, yea, ROAR; He shall PREVAIL AGAINST His enemies.” – KJV. This is the kind of God/LORD/Lord we serve!
Lord of Hosts
Frequently the LORD is called “the LORD of hosts” (1 Sam. 1:3,11; 4:4; 15:2; 17:45 = “the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel,” which can be interpreted as “Host of Heavens, Yahweh zebuoth”. The epithet of sebā’ôt which occurs over 200 times in the Heb. Bible is frequently trans. by the Gk. O.T. (LXX) by Hellenistic epithets such as ‘kyrios pantokratōr’ (see Almighty) or ‘kyrios (ho theos) ton dynameōn’, but it can also appear as a new sabaoth. While sābā’ means ‘army’, Gk. translators transposed it into Gk. cosmological concepts.
God of the Whole Earth
Isaiah 54:5 speaks of this: “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is His name; & thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called.” His army includes ALL POWERS of heaven & earth (Isa. 40:12-25; Ps. 93:95-99; 147:4-6; 148:1-4; 1 chron. 29:11; 2 Chron. 20:6; LXX, Dan. 3:52-90; et al.). So, we see that Hellenistic Judaism of the LXX reinterprets the “warrior god” in terms of a cosmic deity in control of all natural/supernatural forces.
Pt. 2
In Greek theology, according to Gk. scholars, the concept of divine POWER is understood cosmologically. The Pythagorean Ecphantus, says Prof. Betz, may have been the first to conceive of ‘divine power’ as among the primordial realities of the cosmos which to him was by nature “divine”. (see Hippolytus, Ref. 1.15; Diels Kranz 51.1 [1, 442, 12-14]. One may want to look up Aristotle’s Physics 2. Since Anaximander took apeiron, ‘the Boundless’ that encompasses everything, to be “divine” (Anaximander, 611-547 B.C., was a Gk. philosopher, astronomer, & mathematician. I love “the Boundless, that encompasses everything.” He no doubt had “eternity” in mind, & “eternity” is connected to “omnipresent”.
Other historians/Bible scholars point to the physician Eryximachos in Platos Symp. 186e it is self-evident that the god of Eros governs the cosmos thru ‘the mightiest POWER of all’ (ibid., 188d).
All these ancient names & places may be boring to the average reader, but to us who seek truth, we find them to be wise men/women of their day, in their own field of work.
Plato reports the view that the names (onomata) were first given by a supernatural power (Gk. dynamis), whether that name-giver was some sort of “spirit” (daimōn) or god (theos). (Plato: 427-347 B.C.; Greek philosopher).
Aristotle concurs (see met. 4,12, p.1019a 26) that daimnes (Gk.) are called “powers” (Gk. dynameis). (Aristotle: 384-322 B.C.; Gk. Philosopher, pupil of Plato).
These suggestions are then fully developed into an all-encompassing system by the Stoics (members of a Gk. school of philosophy founded by Zeno around 308 B.C., believing that all things, properties, relations, etc. are governed by unvarying natural laws, & that the wise man should follow virtue alone, obtained thru reason, remaining indifferent to the external world & to passion or emotion; Zeno: 334-261 B.C.; Gk. philosopher: founder of Stoicism). The Stoics, foremost by Posidonius. Accordingly, the “divine” universe is held together by a primordial “autokinētos dynamis” & the traditional gods can now be identified as specialized agents of the universal “divine power”. The deity, they believed, is a living being, immortal, rational, perfect (or intelligent in happiness), admitting nothing EVIL (into him), taking providential care of the world & all that therein is, but he is not of human shape.
What they were describing was none other than God, the Creator (Gen. 1:1; Jn. 1:1-10), The Omnipotent, Omniscient, & the Omnipresent, who “made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” – Eccl. 3:11. This is not all: “… God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” – 7:29
Pt. 3
Artificer of the Universe
One must have TOTAL POWER to be an artificer (a skillful maker of things, a deviser, inventor). Like Eccl. 7:29 says, man/woman has sought out many schemes (some versions have “inventions”). Humanity, after the Garden fall!, has played “God”. Men/women have thought themselves to be wise & powerful. In the beginning… God made man/woman UPRIGHT (i.e. straightforward) but they sought out many schemes, inventions, devices, by & through subtle & clever reasonings. The word “inventions” (KJV) (hishshebhônôth in 2 Chron. 26:15, “engines”) meant a clever scheme/invention. (heshbôn, vulgs. Bible = rationem (in vss. 25, 27) The author sought to know “the reason of things, to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness & madness.”
Olympian gods
There have always been gods & goddesses. FYI: the following list of OG & the powers represented by them:
Diogenes Laertius 7:147 (trans. by R.D. Hicks, LCL edition; see also SVF (Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta) 2.305 -2.321: De natura deorum). These ideas made it possible to interpret the popular pantheon with all its “gods” / “demons” in a philosophical manner, a possibility that profoundly changed all ancient theology (see esp. Ps-Aristotle, De mwndo 6, 396b 29, 397a 16, 397b 19 – 398a 6, 398b 8, 20-25, 399b 19-28; Cornutus, Theologiae Graecal Compendium [editor, C. Lang, 1881].
Hellenistic Era
“Dynamis” in the HE was an established divine epithet (see Cleanthes, Hymn [121; Epictetus, Ench. 53; Seneca, Epist. 107.10). Plutarch (De Is. et OS. 67, 377 F-378A) represents what can be taken as the opinion of many at his time. I quote: “… we have regarded as gods the beings who use the products of nature & bestow them upon us, providing us with them constantly & sufficiently, nor do we regard the gods as different among different peoples nor a barbarian & Greek & as southern & northern. But just as the sun & the moon, heaven, earth & sea are common to all, though they are given various names by the varying peoples, so it is with the one reason (logos) which orders these things & the one providence which has charge of them, & the assistant powers (dynameis) which are assigned to everything; they are given different honors & modes of address among different peoples according to custom.
For popular religion the concepts of “divine power” provided an enormous boast. Gods & demons could be understood as conduits of “dp” (dynamis, energeia) in all its applications. History proves that the dynamis tou theou became more important than the names which could be exchanged or accumulated or fused with each other. According to them a new practice in MAGIC arose by which the names of gods were bundles & merged so as to increase “dp”.
Hellenistic Judaism reflect these developments. The powers of the universe were easily identified with the demons & angels which was multiplied into greater numbers (see Jub. 2:2,3; 1 Enoch 40:9; 61:10; 82:8; 4 Esra 6:16, et al.). Later Jewish magic/mysticism is preoccupied with expanding systems of hypostatic entities, personi-fications, elemental spirits, demons, & angels, with which the universe is filled. These doctrines of “dp”, as Philo writes, is to maintain God’s sovereignty over all the powers, while, on the other hand, incorporating the complexities of the universe. (Philo, 20 B.C. – A.D. 50, Hellenistic Jewish philosopher of Alexandria).
Pt. 4
N.T. Dynamis
For Christian theology God is in essence POWER (Rom. 1:20: “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His ETERNAL POWER & Godhead…”)
The O.T. saints knew about this EP. Isaiah wrote: “Thus saith God the LORD, He that created the heavens, & stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth, & that which cometh out of it; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, & spirit to them that walk therein.” – Isa. 42:5. Paul wrote about this: “God that made the world & all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven & earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; … seeing He giveth to all life, & breath, & all things; … hath made of one blood all nations of men…” -Acts 17:24-26. (see also Ps. 50:8; 146:5,6; Num. 16:22; Heb. 1:1,2 et al.). From these texts, does it not appear from phenomena that there is a Being incorporeal, living, intelligent, omnipresent? One theologian wrote, “Platonists & Stoics, & even Epicureans, might in their esoteric circles cultivate the most sublime speculations about the nature of the Divine, but at every turn the traveller in the Graeco-Roman world met with frank idolatry & its moral accompaniments.”
Enoch 99:8, 9 states: “And they will become godless by reason of the foolishness of their hearts, & their eyes will be blinded through the fear of their hearts & through visions in their dreams. Through these they will become godless & fearful, because they work all their works in a lie & they worship a stone.” It is a typical Jew who is speaking there, as also in Rom. 1:19-23.
Jesus says in Mt. 6:13 “… For Yours (the Father’s) is the Kingdom & the POWER (Gk. dunamis or dunamai) & the GLORY (gk. doxa = dignity, honor, praise) forever. Amen”
Paul uses the word POWER in his epistle to the Corinthians: “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the POWER (dunamis) of our Lord Jesus Christ…” -1 Cor. 5:4. Paul wants his readers/hearers to understand who has “dunamis power”, for he names Jesus twice in this one paragraph.
In Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians he writes: “… My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength (Gk. dunamis) is made perfect in weakness,” he quotes Jesus’ words, “Therefore most gladly I (Paul) will rather boast in my infirmities, that the POWER (dumamis) of Christ may rest upon me.”
He goes on to write, “For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the POWER (dunamis) of God…”, 2 Cor. 13:4.
Peter, the bondservant & apostle of Christ Jesus writes: “Grace & peace be multiplied to you… as His divine POWER (dumamis) has given to us all things that pertain to life & godliness…”, 2 Pet. 1:3
Acts 4:33 says “And with great POWER (dumamis) the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus…” Acts 6:8 says that Stephen was full of faith & POWER (dumamis), did great wonders & signs among the people – yet, this man of God was murdered by the unbelieving Jews (7:54, 58-60). (see also Lk. 1:34; 4:14; Acts 1:8; Rom. 13:19; Eph. 3:16 et al.).
Part of Christ’s victory is to subjugate “the POWERS of heaven” (Mk. 13:25,26. Both verse 25 & 26 uses the words “powers” & “power” (same Gk. word). 1 Cor. 15:24 speaks of “all rule & all authority & POWER.”
Pt. 5
The Devil!
Jesus in Luke 10:19 says, “I give you (His followers (the AUTHORITY to Trample on serpents (demons) & scorpions (demons), & over all the POWER of the enemy…” -NKJV. The KJV reads: “I give unto you POWER (a different Gk. word, exousia = ability, privilege, force, capacity, freedom, control, jurisdiction, liberty, the right, the strength. All POWERFUL words in WARFARE!) to tread on serpents & scorpions, & over all the POWER (dumamis) of the enemy…”
It is pointed out by some Bible scholars that while the N.T. speaks of the dynamis or dunamis of the devil (Lk. 10:19; Rev. 13:2) & “the devil & his angels” (Mt. 25:41; Rev. 12:7, 9; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6). Ignatius prefers the plural, e.g. “the dynameis of Satan” (see Ign. Eph. 13:1. see my articles on “demons”).
We recall Simon Magus (Acts 8:10) being regarded as “the power of God that is called great” points to gnostic developments related to the CULT of Simon Magus & beyond (see Patristic Gk. Lexicon). Simon (read 8:9-25) used sorcery to bewitch the people, claiming that he was some “Great One” (vs.9). Sounds like some of the preachers (male/female) we have today!
We also read of Theudas’ claim in Acts 5:36 “to be somebody”, & Lk. 1:32, “He will be great, & will be called the Son of the Most High”, speaking of Jesus. Men may be great in the world’s eyes but what about in God’s sight? Simon, like Theudas, evidently had messianic ambitions.
Simon obviously deceived (bewitched) many, for they called him “the great power of God”. Was his “power” from God or Satan? We know it was not from God. Simon’s feats of magic glorified himself, just as it does many moder-day “ministers” … lots of $$, lots of followers!
Saul, who in his religous position, thought himself also to be “great”. He became an enemy of Christianity. But his encounter with the risen & glorified Christ changed his earthly life. Acts 26:18 says that Saul/Paul was going to be used of God, being sent to the Gentiles “To open their eyes, & to turn them from darkness to light, & from the POWER (Gk. exousia) of Satan unto God…” This is what happens to us at salvation – we are changed, we changed gods, from the “god” of this world to the true God of the New World Order. We received supernatural power, empowering us to do the impossible – to tread on serpents/scorpions & to cast out devils – all in the MIGHTY NAME of JESUS! To be born again (Jn. 3:3, 5) is a personal experience, a real, vivid, undeniable experience. It is the POWER of God unto Salvation!
I remember the very day I was born again (Montana, 1971, noon of Dec. 6th). The Gospel was told to us, we believed, we received (Deborah was born again at the same time). Paul says “the gospel of Christ is the POWER of God unto salvation to everyone that believes” – no matter what race or sex or class or religion. The term “dynamis” or “dunamis” is used throughout the N.T. to designate a miracle, a manifestation of God’s Omnipotence, mighty work of God. Let us also proclaim the gospel of POWER, this dynamic personal experience. Paul does more than call the gospel a proclamation of the dynamis; it is the dynamis – deliverance from the power of Satan over us! We were RESCUED!
Amen.