The Gospel 1

The Gospel

By Apostle Felix

16  I refuse to be ashamed of sharing the wonderful message of God’s liberating power unleashed in us through Christ! For I am thrilled to preach that everyone who believes is saved—the Jew first, and then people everywhere!
Romans 1: 16

The Greek word for salvation is soteria, which means,  “Rescue, safety, delivered, health, salvation, peace, wholeness.” Salvation is not only limited to salvation from sin, but it is all encompassing. The salvation in Christ also includes the gift of eternal life and security. There are no uncertainties in God. Salvation affects every part of our lives. It is not segregative, and does not leave certain parts of our lives untouched. This salvation comes through the preaching of the gospel of Christ, which the power of God.

The Greek word for power is dunamis, which is the miraculous power, ability and strength. The dunamis has inherent potential to build and destroy. However, the dunamis of God is not for destroying people’s lives, but to build them. Jesus said so in Matthew 16: 18, that upon the revelation Peter had received from the Father, Christ shall build His church. The church is an assembly of the called out ones. On the contrary, the dunamis of God has the potential to destroy the works of the devil. For this reason, Jesus was born into this world to destroy satan’s work.

8  But the one who indulges in a sinful life is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was revealed was to undo and destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3: 8

The gospel is a double edged sword that destroyed  satan’s works and the same time building the church. The gospel is the dunamis of God, which is the message of God’s liberating power unleashed in us through Christ. This power now resides you because of Christ in you. The Bible speaks of Christ in you, the hope of glory.

27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Colossians 1: 27

The power of God is the Christ, and the gospel is the message of Christ. Therefore, the power of God is in the message. A church is not identified by the manifestations of power. No, it is the message that the church is identified by. Power alone can be deceiving. Why? Because it is not the monopoly of the kingdom of God. Satan and his cohorts do perform miracles, and demonstrate the power. The church is not defined by affluence or materialism, either. This is because affluence and the material world is for the sons of men. The reason why the church is an assembly of the called out ones is because of Christ and its message. The uniqueness of the church is the message of Christ it has. The church has been built on this message, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Christ is not the surname of Jesus, but rather the title, which means, ‘The anointed One, and His anointing.’

18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luke 4: 18