THE DIVINE PANOPLY
“My grace
is sufficient for thee:
For My
strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most
gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities,
That the
power of Christ may rest upon me.”
1 Corinthians. 12:9
Usually we are most conscious of our infirmities, our
weaknesses, for it is the arena where His strength is brought to its fullest
expres-sion in and through us. Now, however, we would give particular emphasis
to the phrase, “that the power of Christ may
rest upon me.”
“Upon,” from the Greek word “epi,”
meaning: “over, or upon.” It can be illustrated as when the cloud is over and
upon the mountain peak, the mountain is swallowed up into the cloud that is
over it. Christ would so envelop His people, His body. He is not afar off,
operating as if by some remote control; He
is overshadowing us day by day.
When it says, “that the
power of Christ may rest upon me,” the Amplified says, “may
pitch a tent (over) and dwell – upon me.”
Wuest expanded, “That the
power of Christ (like the Shekinah Glory in the Holy of Holies in the Tent
of meeting) may take up its residence in
me (working within me and giving me help).”
The full meaning is, to come to a place for the purpose of
fixing one’s tent there. He spreads His panoply over us. “Panoply: “anything
protecting completely or forming a magnificent covering.” The word “rest” used
here, literally means: “to tabernacle on.” When we consider that in our hour of
greatest consciousness of weakness, He is there spreading HIS POWER OVER US
LIKE A TENT, enveloping us into its strength and ability, we are truly and
magnificently covered. When Christ pitches His tent over us, to become our
covering we need no other covering. It
would not only be unwarranted; it would be anti-Christ. “Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord, that take counsel, but
not of Me; and that cover with a covering, but not of
My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin” (Isa. 30:1).
Overshadowed
as a tent, yea, to dwell within,
Cleansing by His power and love until free from sin.
From
Daily Overcoming