"…This is the word of The LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith The LORD of Hosts." [Zech 4:6]
Without The Holy Spirit, there is nothing that we can truly accomplish as Christians. Everything we do outside of The Holy Spirit’s power and influence is in fact, sin. For it is written as a command, “and be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with The Spirit.” [Eph 5:18] The necessity and importance of being filled with God’s Spirit is unmistakable; for without Him empowering us we cannot glorify God, nor can we truly influence others’ lives: for any good influence we have on others must come from God, and without God’s Spirit we cannot do such. Again, in this context Peter says,
“As every man hath received a gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” [1 Pe 4:10-11]
In order for “God in all things [to] be glorified through Jesus Christ,” we need to labor and strive according to God’s provided grace and energy through His Spirit. As Paul said, “whereunto I also labor, striving according to His energy, which is working in me in power.” [Col 1:29] And again, as it says in our verse today, “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith The LORD of Hosts.” In context, The LORD was showing Zerubbabel how that he could not accomplish that which He gave him to do in his own power: he would need the power of The Holy Spirit. And, when Zerubbabel did finish the temple, that good thing which God gave him to do, he would not be able to say anything but “grace, grace,” [Zech 4:7] showing that it was not his own power but God’s.
With this truth in our minds, let us think about a car. Without fuel, it doesn’t matter how good of a condition the car is in, how new or how advanced; it doesn’t matter how powerful the engine is nor the tires: if there is no fuel, the car will not be useful. The same is true of a church, person, or ministry. There can be programs and guides, there can be activities and money, there can be buildings and materials, but if there is no Holy Spirit, there is no profit. Without the fuel, without the golden oil as it were, The Holy Spirit, there is no profit, there is no advancing, there is no glorifying God. As Christians, we must be empowered by The Spirit. We must be living our lives in such a way as to not “grieve…The Holy Spirit of God,” nor to “quench…The Spirit.” [Eph 4:30, 1 Th 5:19] We must remain free-flowing vessels of God’s power and love, through a genuine and humble abiding in, seeking of, and clinging to The Lord Jesus.