Jesus Is the Arm of God

“Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; Awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old” (Isa. 51:9).

The way that the mighty men of the Old Testament talked to God appears strange, or at least different, to me. When I compare today’s often-censored and feeble prayers with their bold talks with the Lord, I feel a little afraid to think of me talking to Him that way. I guess I must be a bit feeble myself.

An example, which records this bold way of talking to God, is Psalm 44:23: “Awake! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Arise! Do not cast us off forever.” The mighty men of old certainly were bold and sure of their relationship with God to be able to say such things to Him, going so far as to accuse Him of sleeping on the job. This was after having learned about Him doing such things as burning Sodom and Gomorrah to the ground and turning Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt.

In regard to the Arm of the Lord, according to today’s verse, Psalm 93:1 explains what the Arm means: “The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength…” The Arm of the Lord refers to the Lords’ strength and ability to accomplish whatever He chooses to do. In other words, Jesus being referred to as “the Arm” signifies His Omnipotent and proactive nature.

Another verse that explains why one of Jesus’ names is The Arm of The Lord is John 14:13, which declares, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” Remember, when Jesus taught us how to pray in Matthew 6:6-15, He said, “pray to the Father.” Then He said, “I will do it.” Jesus is The Arm of The Lord. He is the One who gets things done.

What does Jesus’ proper name, The Lord Jesus Christ mean? Each of the three unified parts of His name reveals something;,together, they paint a picture. First, He is Lord, which is “an early word denoting ownership, hence absolute control” (Unger’s Bible Dictionary, p. 665). Second, He is Jesus, which Matthew defines as “you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Jesus means “Savior.” Third, He is the Christ, which means “the anointed One.” Acts 10:38 tells us about what His anointing resulted in by saying, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, who went about doing good and healing…” (Each of the three Persons of the Trinity having a part in Jesus’ earthly ministry: Acts 10:38).

Jesus’ proper name means He is Lord and has control, the Savior, the Christ who was anointed by His Father to do good and heal. Therefore, Jesus’ proper name tells us He is the Arm of the Lord who controls, fixes and brings to pass. An example of the Arm in action is found in John 1:3, which says, “All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.”

Understanding that Jesus is called the Arm of the Lord helps us understand more of the fullness of the words of John 3:16: “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall never perish, but have everlasting life.”

The Father’s only Son is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Arm of the Lord, or Arm of God, as the Trinity is a unity whose determinate council is completed by an Oneness in which the Father is the Planner; Jesus, the Executor of the will or plan; the Holy Spirit, the power that makes completion of the determinate plan of God possible. (See Eph. 1:4-12, which reveals in verse 11 that God is “operating all things according to the counsel of His will.”)

God’s determinate counsel is a projection of His sovereignty, which the Arm of God causes to be brought to completion.

A case I studied during my psychological training was that of a woman who was afraid of rabbits. She would try to claw her way through walls to try to escape from any rabbit. Her case was part of my training in the treatment of traumatic fear neurosis. Essentially, she gradually had to be desensitized by showing to her a picture of a baby rabbit from across the room in a very non-threatening way. Finally, after many steps, she was able to touch and then hold a rabbit.

This is an example of how fear can incapacitate. Emotionally, Christians must come, often by gradual steps or series of openings, to accept emotionally that He has “girded Himself with strength” (i.e., He is Omnipotent). Because He (the Omnipotent One) loved us enough to die for us, and because He is always with us, as He promised “He never will leave or forsake us” (Heb. 13:5), the Arm of the Lord will protect us. Because all this is true, “of whom shall we be afraid?” The only one God’s children should fear is the Lord Himself. Remember, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7); “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?” (Ps 27:1).

Are you afraid to die? If a heart is afraid to die, that heart and mind hasn’t been filled by the Holy Spirit with the reality that Jesus is the Arm of God. A person who is afraid to die is a person who can’t say with certainty, “If I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil” (Ps. 23). If he or she isn’t able to say “the Lord is my Shepherd,” then that person doesn’t have the heart of David. That signifies a lack of strong, healthy faith, because “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

Faith is irrefutable to a person who stands as a rock on the substance of what Jesus said and the historical evidence of the cross, bringing victory over death. Our fears will fade when our hearts open to the knocking of the Lord at the door. This opening of the heart is pictured by Revelation 3:20, which says, “If any man hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him.”

Being born again happens when Jesus is invited into a heart by means of repentant faith. The newly born child of God finds a dinner time of fellowship, honesty and love beyond his or her hopes and dreams. However, a Christian can turn away from the One with whom we dine in the middle of dinner. We can forget about Jesus and focus others or objects that can make us fearful or lustful. When our attention becomes fastened on another, we have to reopen our hearts to the beauty, love and strength of Jesus. His love is constant and powerful. Our love comes from a context of fragility and poor attention span.

We must give our attention to the beautiful One with whom we constantly dine, the Lord Jesus Christ, the mighty Arm of God. He will provide for us, protect us, and touch us when we are in need. The Lord is our Shepherd; we shall not be in want.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Arm of the Lord, and because of this He is the Vine that produces the fruit of the kingdom through yielded branches. “One Day in a Vineyard” pictures the Arm of God accomplishing the will of God.

One Day in a Vineyard

“I am the Vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

One day a vine in a field began to suffer loneliness, weakened branches fell away.
Green branches lost color and vigor; they failed to be a channel for the vines’ life.

The farmer came with a sickle in his hand to prune the vine and bring new life.
Puny branches soon began to fall and left the vine’s sap slowly going to waste.

Speaking to the vine the farmer gave comforting words and strong promises.
He said to the vine that very soon the life in the sap would start new growth.

Then, one day a new season brought living water and fresh new life to the lonely standing vine.
It became filled with joy as fresh green, spreading tiny signs of life in sprouts, began to breathe.

Branches learned their lesson and opened to their vines’ warm flow.
Fruit soon came to the vineyard again fulfilling all the farmers’ plans.

This was a very good day in the vineyard.

Today, let us neither fear the rabbits that our poor, timid souls have invented; or when a lion named Satan roars at us, for “greater is He that is within us than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Let us remember we belong to the Arm of the Lord. He will protect us and lift us out of the dangerous waters of our world’s seas. However, we must keep our eyes on Him, as Peter learned to do, and reached for His hand (Matt. 14:31).

Let us say as we come boldly to the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16) “Arise O Lord, why do You sleep? Help us, heal us and make us strong. Thank You, we pray in the blessed name of your Son, Jesus Christ, the Arm of God.”