SERIES: UNDERSTANDING POWER PRINCIPLES
THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL - POWER PRINCIPLE ONE
OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this lesson you will be able to:
• Define "Gospel.”
• Understand the basic elements of the Gospel.
• Explain why the Gospel is powerful.
• Identify benefits of the power in the blood of Jesus.
• Identify faith as necessary for claiming the power of the Gospel.
• Experience the power of the Gospel.
KEY VERSE:
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.(Romans 1:16)
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. (I Corinthians 1:18)
Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. (Ephesians 3:20)
INTRODUCTION
• You have learned the importance of power in your life.
• You discovered the source of power in God and studied about the power delegated to Jesus Christ.
• In the last lesson you learned how spiritual power was delegated to believers.
• But how do you receive this power?
• How can you claim it for your own life and ministry?
• What are the spiritual principles by which it operates?
This outline begins a series of teachings entitled "Power Principles."
Each lesson examines a different principle necessary in order for you to receive and maintain spiritual power. The first principle is "The Power of the Gospel."
THE GOSPEL
• The word "Gospel" actually means "good news."
• When we speak of the Gospel in a Biblical sense, it refers to the good news of the Kingdom of God and of salvation through Jesus Christ.
THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF THE GOSPEL
The basic elements of the Gospel focus on the life and ministry of Jesus.
• It includes His death , burial and resurrection
The basic elements of the Gospel are summarized by the Apostle Paul:
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. (I Corinthians 15:3-4)
WHY THE GOSPEL IS POWERFUL
There is great power in the Gospel message. Paul said:
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath hewed it unto them. (Romans 1:16-19)
These verses reveal why the Gospel is powerful. It is powerful because:
a. -It is the revelation of God's power to man.
b. -It brings salvation to all men, regardless of race, color, or creed.
c. -It reveals that which may be known by men about God.
d. -It reveals the judgment and wrath of God against sin.
e. -It reveals the righteousness of God.
f. -It shows how to be justified by faith.
g. -It is the basis of the faith by which we live.
THE CROSS
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. (I Corinthians 1:18)
• The cross is the instrument of death, the wooden construction upon which Jesus died.
• The power of the Gospel is inseparable from the power of the cross and the blood shed upon it.
• The power of the cross is not in the wooden structure itself.
• The power is not in any symbol of the cross which we wear or put on our church buildings.
• The power of the cross is in what happened on that cross.
• It is in the blood of Jesus which was shed on the cross for the sins of all mankind.
Life of man and beasts is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11,14).
Because the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), and since life is in the blood, God established the principle that forgiveness of sins comes only through the shedding of blood:
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission (from sin). (Hebrews 9:22)
In the Old Testament, the blood of animals was offered as sacrifice for sin. The blood sacrifices were made over and over again whenever man sinned.
But in the New Testament, God sent Jesus to shed His blood for sin once and for all. It is no longer necessary that the blood of animals be offered as sacrifice for sin:
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place,having obtained eternal redemption for us.(Hebrews 9:12)
THE BENEFITS AND THE POWER IN THE BLOOD
The power of the cross is in the blood of Jesus.
What spiritual power is in that blood?
The blood:
a. -Was shed for the remission (forgiveness) of sins for many: Matthew 26:28
b. -Brought redemption from sin: Ephesians 1:7; 2:13; I Peter 1:2,18-19;Revelation 5:6-9
c. -Is precious, because it redeemed us: I Peter 1:18-19
d. -Cleanses us from sin: I John 1:7
e. -Purges our conscience from sin: Hebrews 9:14
f. -Speaks for us: Jesus is our intercessor and His blood cries or speaks for us: Hebrews 12:24
g. -Gives access to God's presence so we can approach Him: Hebrews 9:12;10:19-22; Ephesians 2:13
h. -Made Jesus the mediator between God and man: Hebrews 12:24
i. -Sanctifies us: Hebrews 13:12-13
j. -Is the means of justification: Romans 3:24-25
k. -Is the cup of spiritual blessings: I Corinthians 10:16
l. -Redeems us from sin and sickness: Isaiah 53:4
m. -Backs Christ's promises: When Jesus took the cup of wine and said "This cup is the new covenant in My blood" he was saying "Every promise that is part of that covenant will be kept at the cost of My own lifeblood": Luke 22:20
n. -Is the power behind the resurrection of Jesus: Hebrews 13:20
o. -Brings life: John 6:53-57
p. -Enables us to do God's will: Hebrews 13:20-21
q. -Enables us to overcome all the power of the enemy: Revelation 12:11
r. -Provides protection: When the blood of the Passover lamb was placed on the doors of the Israelites in Egypt, evil could not enter: Exodus 12:21-23
These are the reasons Paul said:
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. (I Corinthians 1:18)
A MATTER OF CHOICE
• Jesus chose to give His life for the sins of all mankind according to God's plan.
• He had the power to deliver Himself from the cross but He willingly laid down his life.
Then saith Pilate unto Him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?...vs 11Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore He that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. (John 19:10-11)
No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay itdown, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. (John 10:18)
THE RESURRECTION
• The death of Jesus on the cross was not the end of the story.
• The power of the Gospel does not conclude here.
• Three days after His death, Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
You can read about this in Luke 24:1-12.
Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it wasnot possible that He should be holden of it. (Acts 2:24)
The greatest illustration of God's power was in the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
For though He was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth by the power ofGod. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the powerof God toward you. (II Corinthians 13:4)
The resurrection of Jesus is a vital part of the power of the Gospel because through it. . .
. . . ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power.
And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of themopenly, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:10,15)
• Through His resurrection, Jesus triumphed over the power of the enemy.
• Because of it, we have power over all the power of the enemy.
• We even have power over death, because our mortal bodies will also experience resurrection.
• There is great power in the resurrection. Paul spoke of knowing Jesus in the power of the resurrection (Philippians3:10).
NB;You will learn more about this principle in "The Power Of His Resurrection."
THE FAITH FACTOR
There is one factor necessary to experience the powerful benefits of the blood of Jesus Christ.
• You must have faith in the blood:
Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in ChristJesus;Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of Him which believeth in Jesus. . .Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. (Romans 3:24-26,28)
• It is not enough that there is power in the Gospel.
• You must apply that power to your own life.
• You do this through faith. Basically, faith is believing.
• You must believe in the power of the Gospel in order to experience it.
You will learn more about the relation between faith and power later in this course.
EXPERIENCING THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL
If you have not received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and been forgiven of your sins, then you cannot experience the power of the Gospel.
To experience the power of the Gospel you must:
1. ADMIT YOU HAVE SINNED:
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
2. BELIEVE THAT JESUS DIED FOR YOUR SINS:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)
3. CONFESS YOUR SINS TO GOD AND ASK HIM TO FORGIVE YOU:
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:8-9)
4. EXPERIENCE A CHANGED LIFE:
Let the power of the Gospel work in you to change your old life-style, your sinful actions, attitudes, and thoughts:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (II Corinthians 5:17)
Dr. Tg Badia
