Power out or power on?

"“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God”

2 Corinthians 3:5 [KJV]

The stump of the tree that took out our power

A fortnight ago, my family woke to find we had no electricity in our house. During the night, a giant red gum had fallen and taken out the powerlines that brought electricity to our suburb.

Our electricity stayed off for 18 hours while repairs were done. During that time, we couldn’t switch on a light, use the internet, charge any devices, do the laundry, use a heater, or have hot water …so many things we either couldn’t do, or couldn’t do the usual way, without electricity.

I found myself asking a question this week: what if Christian women were as dependent on God as we are on electricity? We don’t expect the fridge to work without electricity, yet we somehow expect to honour and serve God without depending on Him? The Apostle Paul would bluntly tell us this is not possible, saying in 2 Corinthians 3:5, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God”.

‘Sufficiency’ means to be able or competent to do something. Paul is declaring that without God’s enabling we will not be able to do anything successfully or of value. That’s a big claim, especially in a day when we are constantly preached a religion of self-esteem, self-sufficiency, and self-empowerment. So, let’s look today at what it means to not be sufficient of ourselves, to be sufficient in God, and how to practically develop/gain sufficiency in God.

We are not sufficient of ourselves. This statement demonstrates Paul’s lack of self-reliance. The Corinthian church was attacking Paul’s credentials and Paul could have been tempted – I would have been – to try to coerce them into submission. He could have said: “I founded your church, you owe me this”; “I’m an Apostle and a Pharisee, I know better than you”; “I know these high-up apostles, I’ll tell on you” or even come in person and tried to overwhelm the Corinthians with his powerful personality and oratory. Instead, Paul simply states that his ministry was undertaken in God’s strength because of his own inadequacy and the fruit in Corinth spoke for itself, “ye are our epistle, known and read of all men” (2 Corinthians 3:2). It’s a fact. We can’t rely on ourselves to do God’s work. We are too frail physically: the Psalmist says bluntly, “We are dust” and our “days are as grass” that perishes (Psalm 103:14,15). All humanity, whether they acknowledge it or not, is dependent on God for living: God “giveth breath unto the people upon [earth], and spirit to them that walk therein”. We’re also too frail emotionally and spiritually. We’ve vulnerable to emotional disturbances, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” (Psalm 42:5), and to sin. As Romans 7:18 says, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not”. In other words, even when we try to do the right thing, we’ll fail and sin. Sin hinders God working through us. It affects our relationship with Him (Isaiah 59:2), obstructs our prayers (John 9:31, James 4:3), and triggers divine discipline (Hebrews 12:5-11, 1 Corinthians 11:30). We are completely inadequate in ourselves to do God’s work. This would be quite a discouraging thought, but thankfully, Paul doesn’t end his discussion there.

Our sufficiency is of God. Now that’s an encouragement! I can’t, but God can. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). We are “strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness” (Colossians 1:11). Jesus described what our dependency on Him should look like in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” Spiritual works can only be done in spiritual power. Your electric washing machine will only run on electricity. No other source of power such as gas will do. It’s the same with spiritual works. No human source of power will do. This is particularly true regarding preaching the gospel: “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5). But it’s also critical for anything we do as Christians. Colossians 3:17 says “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” We need to rely on God for teaching Sunday School, running a Bible Study, witnessing, or helping in a church ministry. But we also need to rely on him in secular work, in raising children, speaking to others, organising events, preparing a meal, doing the laundry – in short, in absolutely everything.

This leads to the question, how? Most of us would agree theoretically with the idea that we need to depend on God for everything. But we know that we often rely on ourselves. Much like a house needing electricity, the answer is that we need to be closely connected to the source of power, the Holy Spirit. We must prioritise a deep, ongoing relationship with the Lord – the abiding life Jesus spoke of in John 15 – to bear fruit. This involves surrendering thoughts and actions to the Lord through prayer: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Phillipians 4:6). Sin in our lives must be faced and confessed, for our faithful Lord to “forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9b). Since we can deceive ourselves from recognising sin, it is essential we allow others to help us in this area. This includes prioritising fellowship with other Christians (Hebrews 10:24-25), being guarded when relating to others caught up in sin, “lest thou learn his ways” (Proverbs 22:25), and being a faithful church member (Acts 2:42). We also need to study the Word of God, which is “quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Through reading Scripture, we understand just how strong a spiritual battle we face, how inadequate our own resources are, and how much we need to depend on the Lord and the armour He provides (Ephesians 6).  

As we wait on the Lord, may we know the reality of Paul’s testimony in each of our lives: “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God”.