The Power Of The Gospel Series

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.