What does "filled with power" mean in Micah 3:8?

Question

Micah 3:8 (ESV):

But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.

What is meant by "filled with power"?

Answer 1

In Micah 3:8, "the power of the Spirit" means the same as everywhere else in the Bible - the supernatural ability to do great works as the Holy Spirit enables and decides (1 Cor 12). See Appendix 1 and 2 below.

APPENDIX 1 - Holy Spirit Power

• Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
• Rom 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
• Rom 15:19 - by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
• Luke 4:14 - Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the news about Him spread throughout the surrounding region.
• Acts 10:38 - how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
• Luke 1:35 - The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
• 1 Cor 2:4 - My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
• 1 Sam 16:13 - So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.
• Judges 14:19 - Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave their clothes to those who had solved the riddle. And burning with anger, Samson returned to his father’s house,
• Isa 11;2 - The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.

APPENDIX 2 - Function of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is also called “The Spirit of God” (1 Cor 12:3, Matt 3:16, 12:28, Rom 8:9, 14, 15:19, 1 Cor 2:11, 14, 3:16, 6:11, 7:40, 2 Cor 3:3, Eph 4:30, Phil 3:3, 1 Peter 4:14, 1 John 4:2, Rev 3:1, 4:5, 5:6), and also “The Spirit of Christ” (Rom 8:9, Phil 1:19, 1 Peter 1:11).

The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian is absolutely essential (Rom 8:9, 10). This presence of the Spirit is called a gift and is the greatest gift that God can bestow (Luke 11:11-13). Jesus also taught that the gift of the Spirit should be most prized and requested often (Luke 11:1-10). The precious gift of the Spirit is called various things in the New Testament such as:

• Sealing at the time of conversion or “when you believed”, Eph 1:13, 4:30, Acts 2:38. See Seal of God.
• Being baptized (immersed) in the Spirit. The rite of Baptism was the symbol of such a Spirit baptism at conversion, Matt 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, Acts 1:5, 2:38, 8:12-16, 10:47, 48, 11:16, 19:4, 5. See “Baptism”.
• The gift and reception of the Holy Spirit is also symbolised by fire. Matt 3:11, Luke 3:16, Acts 2:3, 4, 7:30, Rom 12:11, 1 Thess 5:19, Rev 4:5, 7, 8:5, 14:10, 18, 15:2, 19:20, 20:9, 10, etc. See also Judges 15:14.
• The Holy Spirit is likened to wind or breath. John 3:8, 20:22, Acts 2:3.
• The Holy Spirit is sometimes represented by the metaphor of oil, Luke 4:18, Acts 10:38, 2 Cor 1:21, 22, 1 John 2:20.
• The Holy Spirit and His influence on the life and lives of people around the Christian is likened to a river of water flowing out of the person, John 7:38, 39 (and 4:14).
• The Holy Spirit is effectively called “the keys of the kingdom” in Matt 16:18 and a closely related passage in Luke 11:52 (keys of knowledge). It is only by the Holy Spirit that we can understand the Bible and the character of Jesus. See below.
• The Holy Spirit is called ἄλλον Παράκλητον, that is “another comforter” (or advocate or helper), John 14:16, 26, 15:26, 16:7 (compare 1 John 2:1). Note that Jesus uses the adjective ἄλλος (allos) meaning another one similar to Jesus; as distinct from ἕτερος (heteros) meaning another of a different kind. Thus, the Holy Spirit is called a “comforter” and was to be a divine being like Jesus (1 John 2:1). Jesus bequeathed the Gift of the Holy Spirit (John 20:22, Acts 1:8, 2:1-4) to His church for several reasons:

1. To produce the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22 & 23, see especially v24-26) and so to sanctify (make distinct) the church members.
2. The above changed life is to be a distinguishing sign or seal of God’s ownership of our lives and a guarantee of better things to come (Eph 1:13, 4:30). See Seal of God.
3. To provide specific guidance for the church (John 16:7-12, 14:17, 15:26 – see also Ecclesiology, namely

• Convict of sin
• Instruct in Righteous (= right doing)
• Convict of judgement to come

4. To build up the church with spiritual (supernatural) gifts and abilities, 1 Cor 12:7, 14:12, and to influence/teach others John 7:37-39. See Rom 12:6-8, 1 Cor 12:8-10, 28-30, Eph 4:11, 1 Peter 4:10, 11, 1 Tim 4:14, Ex 35:30-33, etc.
5. To strengthen the members in their daily walk to live the Christian ideals, Eph 3:16, 17, Heb 2:4, and maintain unity in the Christian community (Eph 4:3-6). The Christian must be born of the Spirit (John 3:5) by receiving the gift of the Spirit (Acts 2:38) and walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:25, John 6:63, Phil 3:3, John 4:24). In fact the whole life of Christian is to put aside the “psychical” mind and live by the Spirit (1 Cor 2:14, 1 Cor 15:44-46, Gal 5:17, Jude 19, John 6:63, 1 Peter 3:18). In short, the Holy Spirit is the only way we can know God, 1 Cor 2:10, 11, 14, John 16:13.
6. To teach the church more of the character and work of Jesus and thus, imitate Jesus, John 7:38, 39, 15:26, 16:12-15, Rom 8:4, 11, Eph 3:17, 18, 4:3-6, 1 Thess 1:6, 4:8, 1 Cor 2:14.
7. The Holy Spirit inspired the prophets to write Scripture, and explains such spiritual truths to us. John 14:16, 17, 15:26, 1 Cor 2:6-16, Eph 1:17-19, 2 Peter 1:21, 2 Tim 3:15, 16, 1 Thess 1:5, Heb 9:8, 1 Peter 1:12, Ps 119:18. All these functions are summarized in the five instances recorded in the book of Acts of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:1-4, 4:28-31, 8:15-17, 10:44, 19:6. Again, the Christian’s reception of the Holy Spirit imitates Jesus’ reception of the Holy Spirit. John 3:34, Matt 3:13-17, 4:1, 12:28, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-23, Acts 2:1, Heb 2:4, 9:14.

In the OT the Holy Spirit is described many times in the following ways:

• Involved in creation, Gen 1;2 (compare Deut 32:10, 11), Ps 104:30
• Empowering leaders such as Saul, 1 Sam 10:10, 19:21-24; Joseph, Gen 41:38; Othniel, Judg 3:10; Gideon, Judg 6:27-30, 34:7; Jephthah, Judg 11:29-32; Samson, Judg 13:24, 14:6, 19, 15:14; 70 leaders, Num 11:17, 26, 29; Joshua, Num 27:18; Elisha, 2 Kings 2:9, 15, etc.
• Inspiring craftsmen like Bazaleel, Ex 31:3, 35:31
• Inspiring prophets like Ezekiel, Eze 11;24; Balaam, Num 24:2; Azariah, 2 Chron 15:1-7; Zechariah, 2 Chron 24:20; Elijah, 1 Kings 18:12, 2 Kings 2:16; etc.
• Involved in the everyday lives of ordinary people to make them Godly, Isa 63:10, 11, Ps 51:11, Gen 6:3, Neh 9:30, Zech 7:12, Ps 106:33, 41, Joel 2:28.
• The Spirit is given personal and divine attributes: “good” (Ps 143:11); “generous” (Ps 51:12); facilitating what might and power cannot (Zech 4:6); grieved by human rebellion (Isa 63;10); etc.
• Involved in final judgement: Isa 4:4, 32;15, 42:1, 44:3, 48:20, Prov 1:23, etc.

Answer 2

What does "filled with power" mean in Micah 3:8?

1Micah 3:8 (ESV):

But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.

What is meant by "filled with power"?

The spirit of the Lord is the power, which is the means that God uses to carry out his divine will and purpose. Being full of power by means of the spirit of the Lord , Micah was given the courage and the strength during his long ministry to accomplish his mission ,to declare the adverse declarations of God on the revolt of the Israelites. The spirit or holy spirit is the power of the LORD, as in the following verses:

J.Moffat Luke 1:34,35

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 "The angel answered her, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Most High will overshadow you; hence what is born will be called holy, Son of God."

Bible passages help us to establish whether the holy spirit is a person or not, most Christians are aware of the events that took place on the day of the Pendecost. Can a person be filled with holy spirit if the holy spirit were a person?

Acts 2:1-4 NASB

The Day of Pentecost

2 When the day of Pentecost [a]had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, [b]distributing themselves, and a tongue [c]rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different [d]tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.

Can God pour out a portion of a coequal God?

Acts 2:17 NET

17 ‘And in the last days[a] it will be,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out my Spirit on all people, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

Similarly, with Moses, God took some of the spirit from Moses and put it on the seventy elders.

Numbers 11:25 (NRSV)

25 "Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on [Moses]him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again."