We are designed to be dependent on the grace and power of God. Apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). Our sufficiency is of Him (2 Corinthians 3:5). God puts His Spirit in us because we need Him to comfort, to guide and even to correct us. He activates His gifts and power in us because we need it for His mission–spiritual equipment for a spiritual assignment.

We are not set up in business all on our own with a lump sum of spiritual capital and power resources, making us independent. We are not self-sufficient little “christs.” We receive, moment by moment, “out of” Christ’s fullness our fullness, like the branches of a vine receive sap. We are not vines unto ourselves, living separate existences, but we are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10).

We are not called to go into the entire world with our own little power plant so that people will think how wonderful we are. We could parade our own charisma and make the sparks fly for an hour, but soon our personal power plant will run out of fuel. We are not generators; we are but conductors of His power. Ephesians 1:22 and 23 describes “...the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” He is to fill us and move through us. We are channels, not the source. Jesus declared, “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John 15:4).

Bible References: John 15:1-8