The Gospel Effect

There is uniqueness to the Word of God we possess in our hands. It is the absolute evidence to the things that have been said. The gospel of Jesus Christ that has been taught bears evidence in the Word so that the truth remains intact. Evidence is a must to a truth that has been said. It is a guarantee to it. The Word is the evidence to the things spoken in the Holy Spirit concerning the Father, the Son and their Kingdom. It is the power to convince to any who takes it for the truth that has been said. Whatever a person speaks of God is true only when it is given to him from heaven. That which he speaks is the wisdom of the Spirit. He is trained by God for it and the Word stands as evidence for it. In other words, God has given the Word so that it is the source for His servants to utilize it in a manner fitting to the wisdom they received from the Spirit. This then adheres to the law that says every fact is to be confirmed by two or more witnesses. So, Luke said to Theophilus, “So that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:4).

Proclaiming the gospel of Christ is not a matter of speaking that which one sees in the Word. It is a matter of speaking that which God has given to proclaim so that it fits exactly with the Word. This then stresses the unequivocal importance of the Holy Spirit’s guidance into the truth, isn’t it? Theophilus has been taught of Christ by those filled with the Spirit. The Word that has been written to him stood as the immaculate evidence for it. Do not be mistaken. The Word is the way to fully know God, but only by the interpreting power of the Spirit that enables one to proclaim it. The one called to proclaim the gospel is taught from the Word. And unless and until God accomplishes works for him befitting the Evidence, i.e. the Word, he is not matured to proclaim the gospel according to His will. He who proclaims the gospel has been trained by Him to speak His heart to the people He chooses; many will turn into believers.

Many are confused and misinformed of the manner in which the gospel works. They do not realize that God works by His Spirit along with the Word. For only when He works in this manner the Word is the evidence to believe for those who hear the gospel. But, many have taken the Word in the written form to prove the needlessness of the Spirit and undermined the nature of God’s saving work. They distorted the gospel that saves. Consider Theophilus: that which is written to him is the evidence to all he was taught in the Spirit concerning what God did for mankind. Luke did not miss a thing beginning from the events that led to the birth of John the Baptist to the promise of Jesus regarding the Holy Spirit that repentance for forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to all nations. But sadly many nullify the gospel effect; they make it powerless by choosing to disregard the Word as the evidence to which God did through the Spirit. They failed to understand God, His stature and His power to save and perform. They failed to see when He said, “WAS IT NOT MY HAND WHICH MADE ALL THESE THINGS?” (Acts 7:50).

What do we, the churches, intend to build for God? If it is not a resting place for Him in our hearts, what else can we build that pleases Him? He is a God of such greatness that nothing made with our hands suits Him. Heaven is His throne and earth His footstool. But, He has taken the form of the Spirit that makes Him dwell in our hearts through faith. Now, that’s incredible! A miracle, something we as men cannot comprehend, but gladly accept. We gladly accept, because of the gladness we obtain with His presence in us. And this does not happen unless men consider the Word as the evidence to the gospel, which God enables His servants to proclaim. What does it mean when we say the Bible is the Word of God? It means it is the evidence to all that God is, has done and promised to do. It is the evidence to everything He reserved for mankind. And we do not deny it; for it is the evidence to the gospel spoken in the Spirit. If one does not see the Word as the evidence for what God through Christ is able to do for him, he is not saved. His life is incomplete. To have been saved means to have known the Word as the evidence that facilitates uninhibited walk with God.

The one with complete life holds on to the Word that is proof to the work of the Spirit. For this reason God led Paul to write, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia” (2 Cor. 1:1). Again, “Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:1). Not only through Paul, but also through others the Word was given as evidence to the gospel they heard and have been taught. Now, they have all been taught by one or the other. In the case of the twelve and Paul it was by Christ and by these to others and so on. All this has begun with the work of the Holy Spirit and the written Word is evidence for it. Paul deliberately addressed the Corinthian believers as the church of God and saints; he addressed the Thessalonians as the church in God the Father and Christ Jesus, the Lord. What does this say? That each time we read the Word it is imperative we see it as the proof to the gospel proclaimed. In other words, we should realize that the Word is confirming the act of God. Then, we deny denying the evidence. The advantage of this is beyond any measure. It is the strong and unequivocal belief in the God Almighty that leads to the obtaining of His gifts and every good blessing. But if we deem the Word as the lone source of God, we no longer have evidence for it; for the Word is the evidence to which God through the Spirit is able to do, because of what He has already done.

When you begin to see the Word as God’s source that confirms His acts, you will find tremendous help in your walk with Him. “But I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death; and since he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him” (Acts 25:25). When we read of Paul’s travails for the gospel, we who strive to live for Christ are encouraged. It is incredible in itself of the manner in which God saved him from the hands of wicked men. But what’s more amazing is to have the evidence of it, because it stands as a guarantee to the believing that God is with them, never forsaking them, but providing help with His righteous right hand. If you take the Word as confirmation to what He did, you have no reason to fear and doubt. And when you believe, He is working for you. Whatever you do in His name you have already been appraised as the acquitted. God constantly rejoices in you; for your efforts for His name are of His desire.

God regards you as one who seeks Him at any cost. For you have known that “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matt. 13:44). You have known His power. You gather all you strength and put your heart, soul and mind to obtain any or all things that come by it. You reject the world and its desires knowing that if you obtain His kingdom there is more to have in life than you ever had. You find peace and joy besides prosperity. You will gladly leave anything for His name knowing that you will find everything related to life and godliness; for such is your understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Therefore, see to it that you do not reject the gospel you hear. It is the power of God to lead you to the Word that you should believe. It is of the Spirit and full of wisdom. It leads you to the treasure you did not work for, because God beforehand prepared someone that worked in your stead. “They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha” (John 19:17). Again, I say, God sacrificed His Son to choose us that we through His saving work have unending joy in this life and in the one to come. The Word is the evidence for it.

Posted in 2012, Archives.