Real power

"And you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you."

I used to belief that the Lord Jesus was talking about supernatural power of miracles, speaking in tongues, healing and all those things that excite every one.  Then, I noticed that the Lord Jesus early in his ministry send the disciples to cast devils and heal the sick.  The apostles have authority of doing many things while they were walking with Jesus.  But, the Spirit was not in them.

So, Jesus wasn't really taking about these things.  Jesus makes a promise to the believers in Mark 16:17-18.  This passage is controversial to many who deny the last 8 verses of the chapter 16 of Mark.  However; these verses are backup by Luke in the book of Acts when Paul was bitten by a serpent. 

Anyhow; the point of the matter is that the power the Lord was talking about was to be efficient on destroying the works of the devil.  Then the author of Galatians tell us that the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, peace.  In other words, this is what the Spirit of God produces in us.  And then Galatians 5:22-23 says that against these fruit; there is no law.  In other words, by living constantly bearing spiritual fruits of love, joy, peace, faith, goodness, patience, self-control, meekness, we had overcome even the law (And by overcoming the law, we overcome what separate us from God and what produces death).

The only purpose of receiving power is to destroy the works of the devil.  "Love covers multitude of sins."  If our love can turn people from the wrong path into the right one.  All this fruit of the Spirit can turn bad into good and have power to destroy the works of the devil with faith, peace, patience, etc.

Belief or works

Romans 1:17

¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith

Acts 6:31

They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household."

Belief is the only requirement for salvation.  God is the one who digs into the hearts. 

Salvation is by the grace of God.  We do not choose God; but rather God choose us.

Well, if we are saved by faith alone; what is really faith?

The author of Hebrew makes a big explanation of what is faith on Hebrews 11 and 12.  He starts by saying "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. "  But James tells us that faith without works is death or null.  In other words; if your faith does not produce works; it's no faith.  It's vain.  It's nothing.  Jesus says that faith is like a grain of mustard seed that in size is insignificant; but once you plant it; it produces a big tree that grows and gives shade to many.

So faith implies more than simply say that you belief.  It's to act upon trusting with certainty.  Faith is what causes you to walk knowing you won't fall when you stand.  It's to know that the front leg will go forward and allow the other left to stay behind and go synchronizing your walk.  You do not have to worry about the details.  You know you can walk; therefore you stand up confident without fear of falling.

To truly belief you need to experience God in your life.  A question must be answered, you must see or hear something or something has to touch your soul.  A real commitment must be produced withing you.  Something must happen. 

Jesus said to a man who went to visit him at night: "You must be born again to enter the kingdom of Heaven."

How to belief can save us?  To simply belief won't save us; but to belief in Jesus will save us.  What is to belief in Jesus?   First is to listen to what he says, understand what He did and get fascinated by his teachings and legacy.  Jesus is not like any other teacher or historical character.  The more we learn about Jesus, the more amazed who become.  

Jesus is a man capable of crying for a city; the city where he was born, the city of the people of God.  Jesus is the man capable to scream out in the midst of a multitude saying "Come to me whoever is thirsty and I will give you to drink rivers of living water.  He is the man who felt compassion of poor widows and sick homeless people.  At the same time, the rich come after Him offering Him dinners, wanting to follow Him, seeking for favors.  Jesus talks and do as if all His movements were extremely well calculated and at the same time he seems like talking nonsense.  Then later you realize how wise was every word he said. 
When you start seeing Jesus as the manifestation of God Himself; then you understand. 

Nothing about Jesus is about a man; but God.  God came to us in form of man.  He was rich and made himself poor.  He was the Almighty and lived as a servant giving His own life as a ransom for many.

To know about Jesus is very exciting; but when Jesus come to your own life; is when everything truly changes for you.  When you see that Jesus is not just a historical character; but a living being with whom you talk and whom answer prayers.  When the Spirit of God starts dealing with you.  This is our journey in the path of true faith.

Trinity versus One God

The first commandment given to God's people is
"Listen oh Israel, the Lord your God is One God."

Trinity contradicts the first commandment of God.

Then Jesus says in Matthew 28:19 to go all around the world and make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  This drives the listener to think that our Lord Jesus is taking about three different names of three different personalities called Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

This is probably where the idea of trinity comes from.

The true is that the command of Jesus is to baptize in one single name.  And this same name seems to be given to the Father, and also to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. 

So, what is the name of the Father?  In the old testament we believe the name of God is Jehovah.  The name of the Son, we are sure is Jesus, but what is the name of the Holy Spirit? 

In the book of Acts; we then see that the apostles baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus inherited a name that is over any other name and that every knee shall bow before him.  Jesus teaches us to ask everything in His name, and them the apostles also teaches us to do everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Should we use the name of Jehovah as the name of the Father since the Father is greater than the Son?

There is nothing telling us that the name of Jehovah is greater than the name of Jesus.  But the scripture tells us clearly that there is no other name under Heaven in which we can be saved neither greater. 

Did the apostles used the name of the Lord Jesus as the name of the Father and also the Holy Spirit when they baptized in the name of the Holy Spirit?

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We are trying to follow the bible literally.  Then Matthew 1:18 "she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit."

Here the father of Jesus is the Holy Spirit. 
In the upper Room Philip tells Jesus show us the Father it is sufficient to us.  Jesus responded "So long, I've been with you and yet you do not know me?"  Jesus said "whosoever had seen me; had seen the Father"  He also said: the Father and I are one.  Jesus also said; the Father is greater than I.  Jesus also said: "The Lord your God is One God."

Jesus is also called the Anointed One; "The Christ"
Jesus will be called Emmanuel which is "God with Us" because indeed He was God with Us.