By Sis. Judith U. Anyaba
I vividly remember that day, in the presence of that army, with an explosion of sounds, each different yet a blend of perfection. I knew something was happening, but I was not ready for what was happening to me, as I was also part of that perfect blend. Amid the sounds, the minister boomed, “Let’s make power available.” The sounds rose even more. I could hear The Waters boiling, and when I opened my eyes, it was as though we were in the midst of a cloud. I trembled.
I reflected deeply on what transpired in that meeting and thus came to this realisation:
“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”
(Gen 1:2-3 NIV)
Where ‘darkness’ was, the Spirit was stirred, and God spoke the ‘light’ into the darkness. Contextual reading reveals more about that ‘initial light’ which illuminated the world, followed by a ‘second light’ in the sun and the moon. Furthermore, in the beginning, we see the triune God, as the book of John 1:1 writes;
“In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God and The Word was God”. (John 1:1 NIV)
The ‘Word’ refers to a person or being in this context. This means that in the beginning, there was God, His Spirit, and His Word; the Word, who came by the Spirit of God and brought life and light into creation.
“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”
(John 1:3-4 NIV)
In another scene, the triune God is mentioned, specifically in the creation of man.
“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
(Gen 1:26 NIV)
As seen earlier, the word ‘us’ would then refer to God, His Spirit, and His Word, in oneness. If, as we read in the text, man is made in the image and likeness of God, it signifies that God intended for His nature to be reflected in man; man was meant to be an expression of the triune God, both of His family and His rule over creation. From the previous verses in Genesis 1, God ruled over creation by creating it in order and commanding it to be fruitful. In this same manner should man express God’s nature. This explains Jesus’ displeasure with the unfruitful fig tree in Mark 11:12-14.
How did God express His authority?
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”
(Gen 1:1 NIV)
We often rush in to say things like, ‘God spoke things into existence,’ forgetting that something was written before that.
The statement “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” is a statement of a completed action or thought. We know that the work only became visible right after this statement. This implies that God’s will was involved, that is, the invisible determination of God to carry out a plan. God already determined within himself to carry out the work of creation/salvation. This is why the Spirit of God, who knows the mind of God, started His quickening work by hovering over the formless plan of God in the earth, stirring the purpose of God, which He had predetermined until God spoke. The Word of God, carrying the very Life of God, brought God’s plan into visibility/existence.
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.”
(1 Cor 2:9-11 NIV)
The Man like God
As the words of the minister resounded in my mind, “let’s make power available”, I realized that we were living in God’s plan, that man should express His glory and authority. The believer is the person who can express God because he is the one indwelt by the Holy Spirit. In the darkness of our world, the Spirit still hovers. He is stirring the hearts of determined believers who know the mind of God, who are filled with the Spirit, to speak The Word of Life into dead hearts, dead situations, infirmities, and hopelessness, until the light of Christ shines in the hearts of men, and the glory of what God has done is visible to them.
The best part is that the believer is not working alone, but with his family of heaven; the triune God, the cloud of witnesses, the host of heaven, all around us. When we speak, Heaven and earth respond. We command life. We command light. Hallelujah.
“ Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]”
(James 5:16 AMPC).
