Not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit!

by Patte Smith on Monday, May 2, 2011 at 10:59am

This is the Word of the LORD... 'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit', saith the LORD of hosts. ~ Zechariah 4:6 Let us go forth today, & every day, remembering that the Holy Spirit is the One who gives us the power & authority to overcome the world, our flesh & the devil. Trust Jesus. The battle belongs to the Lord!

For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. ~ Philippians 3:3

Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts: that is...not through the multitude and strength of men, but through the Spirit of God, animating, exciting, encouraging, and strengthening them to go through the work.

Christ is the chosen of God, and exceeding dear and precious to Him; is His righteous servant, and Governor of the church, or King of saints;and who has redeemed and delivered His people from the captivity of sin, and Satan, and the law. He is the builder of His church; who has laid the foundation of it, and will bring in the headstone; and which church is built up in all generations through the conversion of sinners. And that is done, not by external force, by carnal weapons, or moral persuasion; but by the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God; and not by the power of man's free will, but by the efficacious grace of the divine Spirit. It is indeed done by power and might, but not of the creature: man. Whatever power he has to do things natural, civil, outwardly religions, and materially moral, or however in appearance, has no power to do anything spiritually good; not to think a good thought, nor do a good action, in a spiritual manner; much less to work such a work as the work of regeneration, conversion, and sanctification. He is dead in sin, and can not quicken himself. His understanding is darkened, yea, darkness itself, and he can not command light into it; his will is stubborn and obstinate, and he can not bend it, and subdue it. His heart is hard as a nether millstone, and he cannot soften it, and repent of his sins, in a truly spiritual, gracious, anti-evangelic manner. His affections are inordinate; and he is a lover of sinful pleasures, and not of God, nor of anything divine, to which his carnal mind is enmity. He cannot believe in Christ of himself; faith is not of himself, it is the gift of God, and so is repentance, and every other grace. The work of grace on the soul is expressed by a regeneration, a resurrection from the dead, a creation, and the new man, or a transformation of a man into another man; all which require almighty power to effect: regeneration is not of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God, of Jehovah the Spirit. Sanctification is called the sanctification of the Spirit, and every grace of it is a fruit of His; it is He who is the Spirit of life from Christ, that quickens men when dead in trespasses and sins, and enlightens their dark minds with spiritual light, in divine things. It is He that produces evangelical repentance in them, and faith in Christ is of His operation. It is He that begins the work of grace on the heart, and carries it on, and causes to abound in the exercise of every grace, and performs the work of faith with power. The Targum, instead of "by My Spirit", renders it "by My Word". ~ John Gill

God brings to pass His gracious purposes concerning His church, without any art or labour of man. Sometimes He makes use of His instruments, yet He needs them not. This represented the abundance of Divine grace, for the enlightening and making holy the ministers and members of the church, and which cannot be procured or prevented by any human power. The vision assures us that the good work of building the temple [a type of the Body of Christ, the church, believers, His dwelling place], should be brought to a happy end. The difficulty is represented as a great mountain. But all difficulties shall vanish, and all the objections be got over. Faith will remove mountains, and make them plains. Christ is our Zerubbabel; mountains of difficulty were in the way of His undertaking, but nothing is too hard for Him. What comes from the grace of God, may, in faith, be committed to the grace of God, for He will not forsake the work of His own hands. ~ Matthew Henry

'My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'
~ Haggai 2:5

‎"I will save them--not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the LORD their God."
~ Hosea 1:7

‎"Woe to the obstinate children," declares the LORD, "to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by My Spirit, heaping sin upon sin...
With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles."
~ Isaiah 30:1, 2 Chronicles 32:8

"And I will save them--not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the LORD their God." Hosea 1:7

'But now be strong..' declares the LORD. 'Be strong... Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with You,' declares the LORD Almighty. 'And My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear... I will shake the heavens and the earth.'
~ Haggai 2:4-5, 21

"Take the helmet of salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." ~ Ephesians 6:17 The Word is our offensive weapon. First, we must hide it in our heart & then, let us unsheathe the Word of the Lord & keep it handy to battle for life & eternity.

"Not then in great power nor in fleshly might were the things of Christ, but in power of the Spirit was Satan spoiled, and the ranks of the adverse powers fell with him; and Israel and those who aforetime served the creature rather than th...e Creator, were called to the knowledge of God through faith. But that He saved all under heaven, not by human arm, but by His own power as God Emmanuel, Hosea too protested, "I will have mercy upon the house of Judah and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow nor by sword nor by battle nor by chariots nor by horses nor by horsemen" Hosea 1:7. But exeeeding fittingly was this said to Zerubbabel, who was of the tribe of Judah and at, that time administered the royal seat at Jerusalem. For that he might not think that, since such glorious successes were foreannounced to him, wars would in their season have to be organized, he lifts him up from these unsound and human thoughts, and bids him be thus minded, that the force was divine, the might of Christ, who should bring such things to pass, and not human." ~ Cyril

Not by might, (of thy own), nor by power, (authority from others), but by my Spirit - the providence, authority, power, and energy of the Most High. In this way shall my temple be built; in this way shall My Church be raised and preserved. ...No secular arm, no human prudence, no earthly policy, no suits at law, shall ever be used for the founding, extension, and preservation of My Church. But the spirit of the world says, "These are all means to which as we must have recourse; otherwise the cause of God may be ruined." Satan, thou liest! ~ Adam Clarke

Not by might . but by my Spirit- ...So Zerubbabel need not be disheartened because of his weakness; for as the work is one to be effected by the living Spirit (compare Hag 2:5) of God, man's weakness is no obstacle, for God's might will perfect strength out of weakness (Ho 1:7; 2Co 12:10; Heb 11:34).

"Might and power" express human strength of every description, physical, mental, moral. Or, "might" is the strength of many (an "army," literally); "power," that of .man. God can save, "whether with many, or with them that have no power" (2Ch 14:11; compare 1Sa 14:6). So in the conversion of sinners (1Co 3:6; 2Co 10:4).
~ Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

“O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your Name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.”
~ II Chronicles 14:11

“Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few...
 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's"
~ 1 Samuel 14:6;17:47There is no restraint to the Lord - This is a fine sentiment; and where there is a promise of defense and support, the weakest, in the face of the strongest enemy, may rely on it with the utmost confidence. ~ Adam ClarkeThere is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few. He is not limited to numbers, and can easily work salvation by a few as by many. It is no difficult thing to Him to save by few, nor can anything hinder Him, let the difficulties be what they will, when He has determined to deliver His people. ~ John Gillit may be that the Lord will work for us-This expression did not imply a doubt; it signified simply that the object he aimed at was not in his own power-but it depended upon God-and that he expected success neither from his own strength nor his own merit.  ~ Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible CommentaryThose can never think themselves safe who see themselves out of God's protection....Jonathan felt a Divine impulse and impression, putting him upon this bold adventure. God will direct the steps of those that acknowledge Him in all their ways, and seek to Him for direction, with full purpose of heart to follow His guidance. Sometimes we find most comfort in that which is least our own doing, and into which we have been led by the unexpected but well-observed turns of Divine providence. There was trembling in the host [the Lord's enemies]. It is called a trembling of God, signifying, not only a great trembling they could not resist, nor reason themselves out of, but that it came at once from the hand of God. He that made the heart, knows how to make it tremble. ~ Matthew HenryTherefore, weary pilgrims, let us rely upon the Spirit to make our gospel ventures fruitful, that we might not believe that it is our power, our might, or our methods which accomplish the glorious good purposes of Christ, but in true humility may we praise Him saying...'Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus, in my service to God. 'Romans 15:17