How do we measure power in this world? In most cases, we consider somebody powerful if they are rich or if they hold a position of authority. A political ruler is the most obvious example. Donald Trump is a powerful man. Just this week, I heard a news anchor call him the most powerful man in the world. And that news anchor made it clear that he didn’t vote for Trump. Even some of his enemies reluctantly admit that he is rich and has authority. That makes him powerful.

But the Bible doesn’t measure power that way. Yes, God places people in authority, and we are to obey them (Rom 13:1-4). But the power they possess is not inherent in them. It derives from the position they occupy. In the military, we were instructed to, “Respect the position, not the man,” if we found ourselves in a position where our superior was incompetent. It was a way of saying we were to obey the one in a position of power, even if we thought they were not the best man (or woman) for the job.

So, what makes a person intrinsically powerful, regardless of his political position or the size of his bank account? Solomon discusses inner power in Prov 16:32. He says, “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” In other words, one who can control his anger is stronger than a muscle-bound man or a mighty general.

Greenstone commented on this verse. He told the story of a religious guru who said to a king, “You are the servant of my servant.” The guru meant that the king was a slave of his evil inclinations, while the guru was able to master those same feelings (Greenstone, Proverbs, 180). He told the king that the king was a weak powerful man. The religious man was telling him that he was more powerful than the king.

My guess is that the guru had a higher opinion of himself than was warranted. But the NT does speak of controlling one’s anger and fleshly inclinations. The one who does so is strong.

In Jas 3:8, James says, “No man can control the tongue.” He means that no man can control it completely, since he tells his readers to watch what they say.

In Rom 6:16, Paul says that we can indeed control our fleshly inclinations. Like James, no doubt, Paul understands that we cannot do it perfectly. But believers can be slaves to righteousness. They can be set free from the power of sin and the flesh. We have a kind of power available to us no matter how rich we are or what our political position is.

The power Paul speaks of is in the believer. It is the power of the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead (Rom 8:11). A believer can live by that power. When he does, he has control over his fleshly desires. When the believer controls his tongue and walks by the Spirit, both Paul and James would say, “That is a strong person!”

I don’t think the guru in Greenstone’s story was a believer walking by the Spirit. But if you are a believer, that power lives within you. Through Him, you can be a mighty person. Solomon, James, and Paul would all agree.

We can look at somebody like Donald Trump and be impressed with his political and financial power. But even with all that power, if Trump does not walk by the Spirit, he is a weak powerful man. He is like the king in the story.

The world will scoff at such an idea, but every single believer can be more powerful than Trump. We might be weak in the world’s eyes, due to our lack of political or financial power. But if we live by the power of the Spirit in us, we are powerful weak men.