I Can Do All Things Through Christ: Natural vs. Supernatural

Part Three

 

by Brian Shilhavy

Created4Health.org

 

I have written a list of 11 observations regarding this supernatural event (although this list is by no means exhaustive!):

1. Jesus came to his disciples who were in the midst of a storm (a natural event).

2. The disciples were afraid when they saw him. He came to them walking on top of the water supernaturally, and this was not something they had ever seen or experienced before, so they doubted that they were actually seeing Jesus.

3. Jesus said to them “Take courage! It is I.” He apparently did not get into the boat at that time, but was close enough to the boat to communicate with them (shouting over the winds??)

4. Peter made a request. Peter was apparently not satisfied just looking at Jesus, as some had claimed he was a ghost. He wanted to go to Jesus and be sure it was really him, so he requested that Jesus tell him to come to him on the water.

5. Jesus responded to Peter’s request and said: “Come.”

6. Once Peter had the answer to his request, he acted upon it. He got out of the boat and walked on the water supernaturally.

7. As he walked towards Christ on the water, he doubted. He was doing something that was not “natural.” He was afraid of the storm.

8. Peter made another request: “Lord save me!” (from drowning in the water) Note that Peter was a professional fisherman and probably a strong swimmer (John 21-1-9). This must have been quite some storm!

9. Jesus responded and saved him from drowning in the water during the storm.

10. Jesus spoke to him and told him what the cause was for his failure: he had “little faith” (but at least he had some!)

11.  Jesus asked Peter a question: “Why did you doubt?” It is not likely that Jesus asked this question expecting an answer from Peter, or because Jesus did not know the answer to this question. He probably asked it for Peter’s benefit, so he could learn the answer.

Principles for Benefiting from the Supernatural Power of Christ

This story has many lessons for those of us who are believers in Christ, so let’s look at some principles we can use to experience the supernatural power that Christ promises to his believers: I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. (John 14:12)

1. The disciples’ worldview and belief system did not exclude the supernatural, or the spiritual realm.

Before they understood what was happening, they attributed their experience of seeing Jesus walking on the water as seeing a “ghost.” They understood that there were things in creation outside of the natural order. If one’s belief system does not allow for the spiritual realm or the supernatural, it is not likely you will ever benefit from supernatural experiences. You may experience something supernaturally in a negative way that challenges your belief system, but your unbelief will prevent you from experiencing Christ’s supernatural power.

2. All supernatural benefits and actions are the result of knowing Christ.

Peter did not just decide to jump out of a boat and walk on water one day. He had spent time with Christ, getting to know him, and had seen how Christ worked in people’s lives. Just prior to this story, Jesus had fed over 5000 people supernaturally from five loaves of bread and two fish. One has to know Christ first, on a personal basis, and that comes from the rebirth process where we are born again spiritually. Then we need to spend time with Jesus, watching how he works in our lives and in the lives of others, cultivating our relationship with him. If you cannot benefit from Christ’s supernatural power to overcome simpler things in your life, such as controlling your anger, or loving someone who is not very loveable, then don’t expect an invitation from Christ to walk on water.

There are of course other supernatural powers in the universe outside of Christ which operate in the spiritual realm, but they are all subject to Christ:

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:13-17)

The very life-force and fabric of the universe is held in place by Jesus Christ. No power is higher than him.

3. Christ initiates the experience.

Christ came to them during the storm. They did not recognize him at first, as they were not expecting him to be there. That is the way it is with many of the storms of life we pass through. We fail to recognize that Christ is with us in the midst of the storm. We can’t control the storms, but we can be victorious over them by understanding that Christ is there with us, and has everything under control.

Understanding that Christ always initiates a supernatural experience is very important. If we don’t understand this truth, we are tempted to believe that we ourselves can manipulate the natural order via the supernatural, and this is a form of “magic” that is outside of the supernatural power of Christ working in our lives.