The Full Gospel is Powerful
The Full Gospel of the Kingdom - Part 2
The Gospel message of Jesus Christ is not words only. The full Gospel that the Bible teaches comes with the power of God.
“for the gospel we brought did not come to you in words only, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction.”—1 Thessalonians 1:5 (ISV)
In fact, as Paul describes it, the Gospel does not just have power. It IS the power of God!
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”—Romans 1:16 (ESV)
“For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”—1 Corinthians 1:17-18 (ESV)
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, when he declared in the synagogue that He was the anointed Messiah, He announced that His ministry was not only a ministry of words, but a ministry of life-changing power.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
—Luke 4:18-19 (NKJV)
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, declarations of the Gospel message were accompanied by demonstrations of power.
“Then Jesus began traveling throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every illness.”— Matthew 9:35 (ISV)
When the disciples of John were sent to Jesus to confirm and clarify why He came, Jesus responded by simply referring to the demonstrations of power that they themselves had witnessed in His ministry.
“So He replied to them, Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news (the Gospel) preached to them.”—Luke 7:22 (AMPC)
But this power was not limited to Jesus’ ministry alone. When Jesus sent His twelve apostles out to share the Gospel message, He gave them power to accompany the message.
“Now He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and the power to heal diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. And He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city. And as for all who do not receive you, when you leave that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’ And as they were leaving, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.”—Luke 9:1-6 (NASB)
Throughout the New Testament, demonstrations of power accompanied the gospel message.
The full Gospel message of the Kingdom of God includes the power of God. Demonstrations of God’s power are inseparable from the full Gospel message.
“For I am bold enough to tell you only about what the Messiah has accomplished through me in bringing gentiles to obedience. By my words and actions, by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of God’s Spirit, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of the Messiah from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum.”—Romans 15:18-19 (ISV)
The power of God is an integral part of the Gospel message and cannot be separated from it. Power is a necessary part of the gospel presentation. If power is missing, some people will not come to faith in Christ without it.
“Jesus said to him, ‘You people must see miraculous signs and wonders before you will believe in me.’”—John 4:48 (ERV)
Jesus’ statement is not necessarily a criticism. It is a fact. People need to see proof in order to fully place their trust in God. Demonstrations of the power of God give confirmations of the Truth that people need to see in order for them to overcome doubts and skepticism and to fully place their trust in Jesus Christ.
“Jesus answered them, I have told you so, yet you do not believe Me [you do not trust Me and rely on Me]. The very works that I do by the power of My Father and in My Father’s name bear witness concerning Me [they are My credentials and evidence in support of Me].”—John 10:25 (AMPC)
Jesus even said that if there were no demonstrations of power in His ministry, we would be justified in not believing in Him.
“If I do not do the works of My Father [that is, the miracles that only God could perform], then do not believe Me. But if I am doing them, even if you do not believe Me or have faith in Me, [at least] believe the works [that I do—admit that they are the works of God], so that you may know and keep on knowing [clearly—without any doubt] that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father [that is, I am One with Him].”—John 10:37-38 (AMPC)
“Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the sake of the [very] works themselves. [If you cannot trust Me, at least let these works that I do in My Father’s name convince you.]”—John 14:11 (AMPC)
But the power of God did not stop with Jesus’ ministry. His ministry was an example for us. His ministry was our model. Every single believer can (and should be) ministering the gospel with demonstrations of God’s power. Jesus assured us of this. Every single believer should live a life filled with demonstrations of the power of God.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”—John 14:12 (ESV)
“Just as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”—John 20:21 (ISV)
“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.’
“After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”—Mark 16:15-20 (NIV)
Three thousand people were saved through Peter’s preaching on the day of Pentecost, but his preaching was preceded by the unprecedented miracle of many people speaking clearly in languages that they had never learned. This miracle contributed to the salvation of those three thousand people.
Not long after the miracle of Pentecost, five thousand people were saved through Peter’s preaching in Acts chapter 3, but his preaching was preceded by the miraculous healing of a man who had been lame from birth. Again, the Gospel message was accompanied by a demonstration of the power of God.
It was the power of God that led to the salvation of the jailer in Acts chapter 16 after Paul and Silas had been beaten and thrown into prison.
“Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, ‘Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!’
“The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’
“They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.’ And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized.”—Acts 16:25-33 (NLT)
Throughout the New Testament, the Gospel message was accompanied with demonstrations of the power of God.
“Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began to preach the Messiah to the people. The crowds, hearing his message and seeing the signs that he was doing, paid close attention to what was said by Philip. Unclean spirits screamed with a loud voice as they came out of the many people they had possessed, and many paralyzed and lame people were healed. As a result, there was great rejoicing in that city.”—Acts 8:5-8 (ISV)
“Then he went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every illness among the people. His fame spread throughout Syria, and people brought to him everyone who was sick—those afflicted with various diseases and pains, the demon-possessed, the epileptics, and the paralyzed—and he healed them.”— Matthew 4:23-24 (ISV)
“and there they continued to preach the gospel. Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, ‘Stand upright on your feet.’ And he sprang up and began walking.”—Acts 14:7-10 (ESV)
And it was not only the apostles whose preaching was accompanied by demonstrations of power. There was no difference between the apostles and other believers when it came to demonstrations of the power of God. God’s power was evident in the lives of everyone who believed.
“And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.”—Acts 6:8 (NASB)
After Jesus sent out the twelve apostles in Luke chapter 9, he sent out seventy other disciples in Luke chapter 10; and just as He had done with the twelve apostles, Jesus sent the seventy disciples with instructions—not just to preach, but to demonstrate the power of the Kingdom of God.
“Whenever you go into a city and they welcome you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick [authenticating your message], and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.”—Luke 10:8-9 (AMP)
And those seventy disciples discovered that the power and authority given to them was not only limited to healing sicknesses!
“The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.’
“He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like [a flash of] lightning. Listen carefully: I have given you authority [that you now possess] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan); and nothing will [in any way] harm you.’”—Luke 10:17-19 (AMP)
Many Modern Leaders Reject the Power of the Gospel
The Apostle Paul warned us that in these last days there will be people who seem to be religious but will deny the power of the Gospel. We see this today in the majority of churches in America. A powerless gospel is preached that denies that divine healing is available for us today. They teach a powerless version of modern Christian living that does not include signs, wonders, and miracles. They teach that the gifts of the Holy Spirit passed away with the original apostles and are not available to us today.
Paul also told us how to respond to Christian leaders who spew these despicable heresies. He instructed us to have nothing to do with such people.
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”— 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV)
There is real danger in staying in a church that denies the power of the Gospel. If you submit yourself to that kind of a church, all of the benefits of the power of God can be denied to you.
If your child or grandchild or spouse contracts a fatal disease, do you want to belong to a church that firmly believes in the power of God to heal, or a church that doubts that it is God’s will to heal your loved one?
Another danger in staying in a church that does not demonstrate the power of the Gospel is that you will become like the church to which you submit. If your church is filled with unbelief, you will eventually become like the church to which you have joined yourself. You will also become filled with unbelief.
There are other serious dangers as well. The religious leaders who rejected Jesus became spiritually blind—unable to even see the Truth. If you submit yourself to Christian leaders who reject the power of the Gospel, you may become spiritually blind yourself, being led by spiritually blind leaders.
“Let them alone and disregard them; they are blind guides and teachers. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a ditch.”—Matthew 15:14 (AMP)
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