Mighty To Save

Isaiah 63:1b: . . . mighty to save.

Jesus is the only one mighty enough to save. The Bible never says that any mortal man is or would be mighty to save. The words are not attributed to mortal men though many of them claim to have that power.

John 19:11: Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

Matthew 9:6: But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

Luke 5:21: And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

Even unsaved scribes and Pharisees knew that God alone could forgive sins. What they had wrong was that they did not believe Jesus was God.

John 20:23: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Many base their claim to have power to save men on John 20:23. Adam Clarke*s Commentary on the passage:

*Whose soever sins ye remit* See the notes on Matthew 16:19; 18:18. It is certain God alone can forgive sins; and it would not only be blasphemous, but grossly absurd, to say that any creature could remit the guilt of a transgression which had been committed against the Creator. . . . They who believed on the Son of God, in consequence of their preaching, had their sins remitted; and they who would not believe were declared to lie under condemnation. . . . the power of life and death, and the power of delivering over to Satan, which was granted to the apostles, is here referred to. This was a power which the primitive apostles exclusively possessed.

Spurgeon on Isaiah 63:1:

By the words *to save* we understand the whole of the great work of salvation, from the first holy desire onward to complete sanctification. The words are multum in parro: indeed, here is all mercy in one word. Christ is not only *mighty to save* those who repent, but He is able to make men repent. He will carry those to heaven who believe; but He is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of His name to bend the knee before Him. Nay, this is not all the meaning, for the divine power is equally seen in the after-work. The life of a believer is a series of miracles wrought by *the Mighty God.* The bush burns, but is not consumed. He is mighty to keep His people holy after He has made them so, and to preserve them in his fear and love until he consummates their spiritual existence in heaven. Christ*s might doth not lie in making a believer and then leaving him to shift for himself; but He who begins the good work carries it on; He who imparts the first germ of life in the dead soul, prolongs the divine existence, and strengthens it until it bursts asunder every bond of sin, and the soul leaps from earth, perfected in glory. Believer, here is encouragement. Art thou praying for some beloved one? Oh, give not up thy prayers, for Christ is *mighty to save.* You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but your Lord is Almighty. Lay hold on that mighty arm, and rouse it to put forth its strength. Does your own case trouble you? Fear not, for His strength is sufficient for you. Whether to begin with others, or to carry on the work in you, Jesus is *mighty to save;* the best proof of which lies in the fact that He has saved you. What a thousand mercies that you have not found Him mighty to destroy!

The day I was saved someone outside of and above the preacher was speaking to my heart and communicating things the preacher never said. That someone was Jesus. I trust you recall it was thus with you also and that His communications to you continue when you hear OTHER preachers and teachers.

John 7:46: The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.

John 10:27: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

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