The Gospel is More than Salvation
The Full Gospel of the Kingdom - Part 3
The Gospel of Jesus Christ shows us the way of salvation, but the Gospel is much, much more than that. The Gospel shows us—not just the way of salvation—but the Way of Life. In the Gospel, we discover the Truth about life, death, God, and His Kingdom.
The Gospel is the message of salvation, of course, as Paul confirmed:
“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”—1 Corinthians 15:1-2 (NIV)
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”—Ephesians 1:13-14 (ESV)
But the Gospel is much more than salvation. When Jesus sent his disciples out, He didn’t send them to preach about the cross of Christ. Jesus hadn’t died yet, so the disciples didn’t have that part of the Gospel message yet. Jesus sent them out to preach what He had taught them about the Kingdom of God. That is all part of the full Gospel message.
“Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. . .. So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.”—Luke 9:1-6 (NKJV)
The Gospel is more than just the message of salvation. Salvation is a very, very important part of the Gospel, but there is much more.
The Full Gospel Includes Healing
The Gospel includes healing of our bodies, our minds, and our emotions.
“Dear friend, I pray that you are doing well in every way and that you are healthy, just as your soul is healthy.”—3 John 2 (ISV)
Even the Old Testament confirms this.
“Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases”
—Psalm 103:2-3 (NIV)
“Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows”
—Isaiah 53:4 (NKJV)
“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)
Jesus confirmed this also by healing every person that came to Him with any form of sickness, disease or infirmity.
“The whole crowd wanted to touch him, because power was going out from him and he was healing everyone.”—Luke 6:19 (CEB)
“And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.”—Matthew 12:15 (NKJV)
“When evening came, people brought to him many who were possessed by demons. He drove out the spirits by speaking a command and healed everyone who was sick. This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘It was he who took our illnesses away and removed our diseases.’”—Matthew 8:16-17 (ISV)
“And people came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind (mentally healthy)”—Luke 8:35 (AMP)
There are many, many more examples throughout Scripture. Jesus healed everyone who came to Him, consistently showing that it is God’s will for us to be healthy in mind, body, and emotions for all of our lives. This is the full Gospel of the Kingdom of God. If we believe anything less than that, we are shortchanging ourselves through our unbelief.
The Full Gospel Includes Deliverance from Evil Spirits
The Gospel also includes deliverance from evil spirits and their harmful influences.
Jesus even said that deliverance from demonic forces was a sign that the Kingdom of God had come.
“But if I drive out demons by the power of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.”—Luke 11:20 (ISV)
Jesus modeled this for us.
“he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!’ Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God!
“But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. ‘There are six days of the week for working,’ he said to the crowd. ‘Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.’
“But the Lord replied, ‘You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?’”—Luke 13:11-16 (NLT)
“That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.”—Matthew 8:16 (ESV)
“You know the contents of the message which He sent to Israel, announcing the good news (Gospel) of peace by Jesus Christ, Who is Lord of all—The [same] message which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee after the baptism preached by John—How God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the [Holy] Spirit and with strength and ability and power; how He went about doing good and, in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by [the power of] the devil, for God was with Him.”—Acts 10:36-38 (AMPC)
“So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.”—Matthew 4:24 (ESV)
When Jesus sent His disciples out to minister to others, He did not send them out powerless. He gave them His authority to set people free from the oppression of evil spirits.
“And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. . .. So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.”—Mark 6:7-13 (ESV)
“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)
“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”—Matthew 10:8 (AMP)
This authority was not temporary. The disciples continued ministering with this authority over evil spirits after Jesus ascended back to His Father in Heaven.
“Philip went down to a city in Samaria and began to preach Christ to them. The crowds were united by what they heard Philip say and the signs they saw him perform, and they gave him their undivided attention. With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many people, and many who were paralyzed or crippled were healed. There was great rejoicing in that city.”—Acts 8:5-8 (CEB)
“Crowds even gathered from the towns around Jerusalem. They brought their sick people. They also brought those who were suffering because of evil spirits. All of them were healed.”—Acts 5:16 (NIRV)
Jesus made it clear that this authority over evil spirits is given to every believer, and that demonstrations of this authority and power are a part of the Gospel ministry.
“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.”—Mark 16:15-18 (NIV)
Sadly, in the congregation of almost any traditional church today, a significant percentage of church members are sick, diseased, or suffering from depression or other mental or emotional health problems.
If we do not believe in the full Gospel message for our own lives and our own families, how can we effectively communicate the Gospel to others?
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