Did Jesus ever use divine power for His own benefit?

[Anchorite]

Your automatic, knee jerk reaction may be to shout NO!

But think about it.

I think this topic is similar to how most preachers keep repeating, “Jesus spoke about hell more than He spoke about heaven”.

Once a popular pastor makes some riveting remark, many other Christian leaders pick up on it and echo it, without checking it out.

According to Strong’s Concordance, there are 104 references to heaven associated with Jesus, but only 28 references to hell associated with Jesus.

Back to how Jesus operated His divine power, while abandoning many of His celestial privileges, to identify with ordinary humans.

Jesus used His divine power for His own benefit when He walked on water, told Nathanael that He saw him under a fig tree, entered a locked room without opening the door, calmed the storm, vanished when done talking with two disciples He met on the road to Emmaus, passed through the midst of the mob that wanted to throw Him down a cliff.

There are also other times when Jesus mysteriously evaded enemies.

In John 8:59, after claiming, "Before Abraham was born, I am," the Pharisees picked up stones to kill him for blasphemy, but Jesus hid himself and left the temple.

When Jesus walked on the water, He also performed another miracle that benefited Him and His disciples.

They had spent roughly 9 hours fighting the headwind and were stuck in the dead Center of the lake. At minimum they still had 4 hrs yet to go.

They were exhausted and still miles from safety. The exact moment Jesus stepped into the vessel, God bypassed time and physical distance entirely.

Instead of spending the rest of the morning rowing to shore, the boat was instantly docked at Capernaum.

The Gospel accounts show a double miracle took place on the water that night: Jesus stilled the violent weather, and He instantly transported the disciples to their final destination.

Note that with no storm, normal time to cross from the middle of the lake to Capernaum would be about 5-8 hours.

 

[Riven]

Well, if he wasn't divine he wouldn't have been able to walk out of that tomb after three days. So that's kind of using your superpowers to escape an impossible situation.

If Jesus were part of the Marvel universe, he would most certainly be one of the X-Men. He would constantly irritate Charles by turning his water into wine.

 

[Anchorite]

Well, if he wasn't divine he wouldn't have been able to walk out of that tomb after three days. So that's kind of using your superpowers to escape an impossible situation.

If Jesus were part of the Marvel universe, he would most certainly be one of the X-Men. He would constantly irritate Charles by turning his water into wine.

Excellent point. Resurrecting Himself was definitely of benefit to Jesus and the entire universe.

 

[Lambano]

Did Jesus ever use divine power for His own benefit?​

Isn't that what the Wilderness Temptation was about?

 

[Anchorite]

Did Jesus ever use divine power for His own benefit?​

Isn't that what the Wilderness Temptation was about?

No. I do not think the temptations in the wilderness were about using His divine powers to benefit Himself necessarily.

The temptations were about Jesus refusing to obey any command of the devil.

Receiving all the kingdoms of the world by worshiping the devil would not have been Jesus using His divine power to benefit Himself.

 

[markalan]

Everything Jesus said and did had a purpose ... all of the miracles can be seen as conveying a Gospel truth.

If we see miracles as Jesus doing something for His own benefit, we are likely to miss the teaching He was trying to convey ... not only to the disciples but to all Christians down through the ages.

 

[Anchorite]

Everything Jesus said and did had a purpose ... all of the miracles can be seen as conveying a Gospel truth.

If we see miracles as Jesus doing something for His own benefit, we are likely to miss the teaching He was trying to convey ... not only to the disciples but to all Christians down through the ages.

But there is nothing wrong with doing something for your own benefit. When Jesus ate, drank water, slept, it was for His own benefit.

You read the Bible for your own benefit as well as the benefit of others you bless.

 

[markalan]

But there is nothing wrong with doing something for your own benefit. When Jesus ate, drank water, slept, it was for His own benefit.

Yes ... but that is not using His divine power for His own benefit

 

[Rockerduck]

When Jesus was on the earth He never walked independently He did what the Father told Him. Everything was planned up to the cross. Jesus never wavered. Jesus accomplished His earthly mission sinlessly so that He became sin, who knew no sin for our righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21

 

[Wrangler]

Egoism is the principal that all action is taken for the benefit of the one doing the action. To whose glory is divine power used?

 

[Anchorite]

Yes ... but that is not using His divine power for His own benefit

Who benefited when Jesus walked on water?

When He passed through a mob that took Him to the edge of a cliff?

When He walked through walls to enter a locked room where His disciples were hiding?

When Jesus told Nathanael that He saw him under a fig tree?

When He calmed the storm?

When Jesus supernaturally vanished when done talking with two disciples He met on the road to Emmaus?

 

[Wrangler]

Did Jesus ever use divine power for His own benefit?​

Who benefited when Jesus walked on water?

When He passed through a mob that took Him to the edge of a cliff?

When He walked through walls to enter a locked room where His disciples were hiding?

When Jesus told Nathanael that He saw him under a fig tree?

When He calmed the storm?

When Jesus supernaturally vanished when done talking with two disciples He met on the road to Emmaus?

I think your question exposes what I've come to realize is commonplace in Christendom, IDOLATRY. He was a controversial figure in his lifetime. We shouldn't pretend everything he said was recieved as divine revelation from God because it wasn't received that way.

He called a women a dog. He demanded cannibalism. Advocated for violence in plucking your eye out and cutting off your arm and told off the priesthood to their faces when it could - and did - cost him his life. I know we disagree about him lying but it seems we agree he acted for his own benefit, his own glory. Frankly, as we all do this.

Getting back to lying; deception is an important tool in war. And make no mistake, God is at war with sin and evil. Can you imagine the forces Herod and Satan would have thrown at the manger in Bethleham had they known the son of God was to be born that night? Not very prudent and the lesson of history is God's word is an unfolding of divine revelation in good time.

 

[Taken]

But think about it.

John 10:
[15] As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
[16] And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
[17] Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
[18] No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Glory to God,
Taken

 

[shepherdsword]

Your automatic, knee jerk reaction may be to shout NO!

But think about it.

I think this topic is similar to how most preachers keep repeating, “Jesus spoke about hell more than He spoke about heaven”.

Once a popular pastor makes some riveting remark, many other Christian leaders pick up on it and echo it, without checking it out.

According to Strong’s Concordance, there are 104 references to heaven associated with Jesus, but only 28 references to hell associated with Jesus.

Back to how Jesus operated His divine power, while abandoning many of His celestial privileges, to identify with ordinary humans.

Jesus used His divine power for His own benefit when He walked on water, told Nathanael that He saw him under a fig tree, entered a locked room without opening the door, calmed the storm, vanished when done talking with two disciples He met on the road to Emmaus, passed through the midst of the mob that wanted to throw Him down a cliff.

There are also other times when Jesus mysteriously evaded enemies.

In John 8:59, after claiming, "Before Abraham was born, I am," the Pharisees picked up stones to kill him for blasphemy, but Jesus hid himself and left the temple.

When Jesus walked on the water, He also performed another miracle that benefited Him and His disciples.

They had spent roughly 9 hours fighting the headwind and were stuck in the dead Center of the lake. At minimum they still had 4 hrs yet to go.

They were exhausted and still miles from safety. The exact moment Jesus stepped into the vessel, God bypassed time and physical distance entirely.

Instead of spending the rest of the morning rowing to shore, the boat was instantly docked at Capernaum.

The Gospel accounts show a double miracle took place on the water that night: Jesus stilled the violent weather, and He instantly transported the disciples to their final destination.

Note that with no storm, normal time to cross from the middle of the lake to Capernaum would be about 5-8 hours.

Jesus laid aside all of His divine power when He became incarnate. The power He operated in was the power of the Holy Spirit...the same power available to us today if God so wills it.

 

[Anchorite]

Jesus laid aside all of His divine power when He became incarnate. The power He operated in was the power of the Holy Spirit...the same power available to us today if God so wills it.

You may be correct, but I cannot find any scripture that says every time Jesus did something supernatural, He was not using His own divine power, but was operating in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I would expect scripture to say “then by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus walked on the water” and so forth.

In fact, standard Christian theology holds that Jesus did not abandon or stop possessing His divine power when He became human. Instead, historic doctrine teaches that He voluntarily veiled His heavenly glory and limited the independent use of His divine prerogatives to live as a true human. He did not call angels to help Him in Gethsemane, for example.

 

[shepherdsword]

You may be correct, but I cannot find any scripture that says every time Jesus did something supernatural, He was not using His own divine power, but was operating in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I would expect scripture to say “then by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus walked on the water” and so forth.

That's true, there is no direct reference. I guess the closest thing is:

Jn 14:12
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

I guess my second reason is just human reason. I think He limited Himself in everyway to be as we are. I hav eno proof for this though.

 

[Anchorite]

That's true, there is no direct reference. I guess the closest thing is:

Jn 14:12
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

I guess my second reason is just human reason. I think He limited Himself in everyway to be as we are. I hav eno proof for this though.

This is mysterious and not easy to understand.

We know that Jesus on earth was God manifested in the flesh. God is omniscient. But Jesus grew in wisdom and stature. Many scholars say Jesus, the Word made flesh, did have to study the scriptures, the whole Old Testament was not automatically in His mind when He was born as a baby.

What exactly did Jesus lay aside, while remaining both God and man?

Kenosis

• The idea comes from Philippians 2:7, which states that Jesus "emptied himself" (in Greek, kenosis) by taking the form of a servant.
• Mainstream Christian tradition views this "emptying" as a laying aside of heavenly privileges and an addition of human nature, rather than a subtraction of His divine nature.
• He remained fully God and fully man at the same time (known as the hypostatic union).

Evidence of Continued Divine Power

• Jesus continued to perform miracles, calm storms, forgive sins, and display profound wisdom, which point to an active divine presence.
• During events like the Transfiguration, His inherent divine glory was briefly visible rather than permanently erased.
• Rather than lacking power, His earthly life was characterized by holy restraint—choosing submission to the Father's will and the limitations of humanity over self-preservation. Thus, He did not turn stones into bread when Satan commanded Him to do so.

 

[shepherdsword]

This is mysterious and not easy to understand.

We know that Jesus on earth was God manifested in the flesh. God is omniscient. But Jesus grew in wisdom and stature. Many scholars say Jesus, the Word made flesh, did have to study the scriptures, the whole Old Testament was not automatically in His mind when He was born as a baby.

What exactly did Jesus lay aside, while remaining both God and man?

Kenosis

• The idea comes from Philippians 2:7, which states that Jesus "emptied himself" (in Greek, kenosis) by taking the form of a servant.
• Mainstream Christian tradition views this "emptying" as a laying aside of heavenly privileges and an addition of human nature, rather than a subtraction of His divine nature.
• He remained fully God and fully man at the same time (known as the hypostatic union).

Evidence of Continued Divine Power

• Jesus continued to perform miracles, calm storms, forgive sins, and display profound wisdom, which point to an active divine presence.
• During events like the Transfiguration, His inherent divine glory was briefly visible rather than permanently erased.
• Rather than lacking power, His earthly life was characterized by holy restraint—choosing submission to the Father's will and the limitations of humanity over self-preservation.

But is there any record of Him performing miracles before He was baptized in the Holy Spirit?

 

[Anchorite]

But is there any record of Him performing miracles before He was baptized in the Holy Spirit?

ShepherdSword, that is a good point. This does make it seem like Jesus, emptied of divine power, had to depend on the Holy Spirit to perform supernatural deeds. Just like we do.