The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God to save (Romans 1:16). It takes great power to save people from sin and hell, and only God has this power. This is why only God can save. The awesome power of salvation operates through the gospel.
All miracles operate by spiritual power. Miracles like healing the sick, casting out demons, and raising up dead people all require great spiritual power. But being born again is the greatest miracle of all, and being born again requires the most spiritual power. If God can make a person who is dead in sin alive, then he can do anything. He already did this great miracle in our lives, causing us to become born again, and he can do more miracles in our lives today.
The power of God to save is contained within the gospel. The gospel is the message about Jesus dying for our sins and rising up again. It is the announcement that Christ has won victory over evil and given that victory to us. The gospel is the truth, and the truth sets us free.
The power of the gospel operates in our lives when we believe it. “By grace you are saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). If a person doesn’t believe the gospel, he won’t be saved (John 3:16).
Salvation is not only a one-time event when we are born again, but it is ongoing. We are BEING SAVED (1 Corinthians 1:18) from Satan, from sin, and from the flesh. This process began when we became born again, and it continues as long as we are on the earth. God’s salvation is to impact all aspects of our lives.
We are called to grow into full maturity. No Christian has yet reached full maturity, and even Paul had not yet attained to it (Philippians 3:12). Paul kept pressing toward that goal as long as he lived on the earth, and so should we.
We grow into spiritual maturity as we believe the word of God. We are saved by grace through faith. Faith unlocks the power inherent in God’s word. The more of God’s word we believe, the more divine power we will experience. To the extent that we believe God’s word, to that extent we will experience salvation.
Faith in God’s word is shown by obedience. After hearing the word of God, we must act upon it. If we believe what God says, we’ll do something about it. If we don’t believe God’s word, we won’t act. Obedience is the litmus test of faith – it reveals whether we actually believe God or not.
We need the power of God to operate in our lives to save us, because we are dealing with spiritual powers against us. We need to walk in victory over sin, which is like a master who has dominion. We need to walk in victory over Satan, who is the prince of the power of the air. We also need to walk in victory over the flesh and over the world. We can only walk in victory through the spiritual power of God.
God’s word is the sword of the spirit, and we need the word of God in order to win spiritual battles. Apart from the word of God, we are fools and blind, and we will believe lies. When we believe lies, we defeat ourselves. We need to believe the truth of God’s word so that we are set free.
The kingdom of God is not in word but in power (1 Corinthians 4:20). There is a difference between the word of men, which does not contain power, and the word of God, which does contain power. We need to adhere to the word of God so that we can experience divine power.
Jesus said that the kingdom of God is within us (Luke 17:21). The kingdom of God is within us because the Holy Spirit is within us. The Holy Spirit is the beginning of the current manifestation of the kingdom of God upon the earth. Whenever the Holy Spirit operates, the kingdom of God has an opportunity to expand. The kingdom of God is the spiritual government of God that operates through spiritual power.
God says we have not received a spirit of fear, but of power (2 Timothy 1:17). Divine power is the opposite of fear. Fear is weakness, and that which we fear has power over us. The things we fear can ultimately lead to slavery or even idolatry. Fear can lead to idolatry because we may worship that which we fear. Throughout many cultures, people fear fallen angels or demons, which is why they worship them. As Christians, we are to only fear God. When we fear God, we will worship him.
The Book of Ephesians tells us a lot about the power of God.
God’s power is working in us. This is the power that raised up Christ from the dead. We need to have our eyes opened to see this great power (Ephesians 1:19-20).
The power of God is for all believers. God wants each Christian to be strengthened with power in his inner man (Ephesians 3:16).
The power of God that works in us is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).
How do we get this power?
In order to receive this divine power, first of all, we must be born again. When we are born again, the Holy Spirit comes inside us, making our dead spirits alive. This is the beginning of the power of God working salvation in our lives.
Second, we need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Jesus defines baptism in the Holy Spirit as receiving power from God (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:8). Jesus told his disciples to wait in the upper room until they received this power. We cannot minister effectively for God without spiritual power.
Denying God’s Power
God warns us that in the end times, many people will have a form of godliness but deny the power of God (2 Timothy 3:5). They will have a dead and empty form of Christianity, and we don’t want that.
Dead “Christianity” comes from three primary errors.
1. False teaching that people don’t need to be born again causes many to deny God’s power. Some very large “Christian” groups and churches never teach about being born again. They believe that people are saved as babies when they are sprinkled with water by a priest. This is a false doctrine, and it prevents people from becoming born again and receiving the Holy Spirit through faith. This false teaching denies the power of God.
2. False teaching about the baptism in the Holy Spirit causes “Christians” to deny God’s power. Many large denominations teach that Christians do not need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Other large denominations teach that every Christian is baptized in the Holy Spirit the moment they are born again. Both of these false doctrines cause Christians to deny the power of God. If a person believes Holy Spirit baptism is not for today, he will not seek God for the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and he will therefore lack power. Conversely, if a person believes that everyone is baptized in the Holy Spirit the moment he or she is born again, then he will not seek for the true baptism in the Holy Spirit because he thinks he already has it simply because he is born again. Both of these false teachings cause Christians to deny the power of God.
3. Resisting God causes Christians to deny God’s power. Even a Christian who has been baptized in the Holy Spirit can resist God. God may speak to him and tell him what to do, but he resists conforming to God’s word. Because he does not believe the word of God enough to obey it, he will not experience its power to save him. Disobedience to God’s word leads to the denial of God’s power.
God commands us to separate from those who deny the power of God (2 Timothy 3:5). Why does God want us to separate from them? It’s because he doesn’t want us to become cold to God by putting ourselves in a spiritually dead religious environment. He also doesn’t want us to become corrupted by false teaching. He wants us to be blessed by his power, so we can experience its saving results.
God wants us to walk in his divine power. He wants us to go from strength to strength. He wants our eyes to be opened to see the power that is working in us. When we see this power, we can experience it and become sanctified and grow into maturity. May God open our eyes to see more of his word, walk in it, and unleash God’s power through faith and obedience.
Lincoln House Churches 