Sources of Christ's Power

As explained earlier, we know that Christ had priesthood power because “God was with him” (Acts  10:38). Christ’s atoning and saving power was given to him from God. Christ had priesthood power from before the creation – “I was with the Father [a declaration of having priesthood power] from the beginning” (3 Nephi 9:15). Even before he was born, God had given Christ this saving power and Christ was proficient at exercising it. The Book of Mormon prophet Helaman told his sons in about 30 B.C., “And [Christ] hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem [his people] from their sins because of repentance” (Helaman 5:11). This power is known as “the power of the Redeemer” (Helaman 5:11). Not only had God given Christ this power, but he mentored and prepared him to use it before the creation of the earth. When Alma (the Elder) was baptizing in the waters of Mormon, the last line of the baptismal prayer that he used was “may [God] grant unto you eternal life, through the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from the foundation‍ of the world.” (Mosiah 18:13).

During his mortal ministry, Christ said “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself” (John 5:26). This life is another description of his power to redeem. Although he had this life and power, he still had to be aligned with his Father to use it – “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” (John 14:10). The reason that God gave Christ “power over all flesh” was so “that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him” (John 17:2).

The prophet Abinadi further explained how Christ obtained power, which was by setting aside his own will and doing the will of the Father by performing the atonement:

7) Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.

8) And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men— (Mosiah 15:7-8)

To summarize, God the Father gave Christ priesthood power to redeem before the creation of the world and prepared him for his mission as Savior. Christ was able to fully exercise this power after man was on the earth and before he was born into mortality and performed the atoning sacrifice. However, it was through the atoning sacrifice that God was able to fully give Christ his power. Although Christ has been given all this power, he still has to be aligned with his Father to exercise it.