WBS.214
FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
DISCIPLESHIP 101
Part 11 – The Kingdom is in Power
1 Corinthians 4:20 For the kingdom of IAUE is
not in word, but in power.
The gospel is not just a message
to bring freedom to your life. It is a
message of conscription. You do not just get to enjoy being set free and have a
blessed personal life lived in a bubble of your own self-interests. You are
conscripted into an army that is charged with setting others free of their
captivity to the power of darkness. Congregational Christianity is focused on
building their businesses; and so focused on teaching the members of their
congregation like students that never leave college to go out into the real
world…ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the Truth. The totality of their objective is
self-growth as a purpose all in itself.
It isn’t learning in order to do the work of the ministry.
The true church of Yahushua Messiah is not
found in buildings on Sunday morning.
They are living life in the real world, conscious that their life has
ceased to be about them. It is now about
doing the will of IAUE and setting the captives free from bondage to sin,
sickness, disease and all the works of the devil. The New Testament is absolutely saturated
with declarations to this effect; but the Sunday Christian simply cannot hear
them. Today, I want to do a simple verse
by verse brief commentary on these passages of Scripture. We will take them in the order in which they
appear in your Bible.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is
come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
If you are not walking in
power, either you have not received the Holy Spirit, or you are not witnessing unto
Yahushua Messiah. The power is given to
accompany your testimony, to magnify it and to corroborate it.
Acts 2:43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs
were done by the apostles.
They received power when
they received the Holy Spirit, and they gave the Spirit the opportunity to work
signs and wonders by testifying/witnessing of Yahushua Messiah.
Acts 3:12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of
Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by
our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
Peter acknowledges that the
power was not of him. It was not present
in his life based upon his own holiness.
Power accompanies testimony; it accompanies the gospel.
Acts 4:7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what
power, or by what name, have ye done this?
8 Then Peter, filled with the
Holy Spirit, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent
man, by what means he is made whole;
10 Be it known unto you all, and
to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Yahushua Messiah of
Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom Elohim raised from the dead, even by him
doth this man stand here before you whole.
Simply asked and simply
answered, the miracle was wrought by the name of Yahushua Messiah.
Acts 4:29 And now, IAUE, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy
servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and
wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Yahushua.
33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the
resurrection of the Master Yahushua: and great grace was upon them all.
They were threatened to
cease speaking in Yahushua’s name; so the assembly prayed for boldness to
continue testifying of the Master. At
the same time, they quite reasonably connected the need to perform healings and
sign and wonders to be done in his name.
Acts 5:12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders
wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's
porch.
By this point in the
Scriptures, people will believe that the “apostles” could do healings and sign
sign and wonders. After all, they are
the only ones, so far, that seem to be doing them. They also quite comfortably believe that
there were only 12 apostles…ever.
Actually, there are 25 apostles identified in the New Testament; but we
are going to see, starting in the next few verses, that this was not restricted
to the apostles.
Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great
wonders and miracles among the people.
Stephen did not
just do wonders and miracles; he did GREAT wonders and miracles.
Acts 8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and
preached Messiah unto them.
6 And the people with one
accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and
seeing the miracles which he did.
7 For unclean spirits, crying
with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken
with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
13 Then Simon himself
believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered,
beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
Philip won over
virtually the entire city of Samaria to the Master BECAUSE they witnessed the
corroborating power of the Holy Spirit confirm his message with healings and
signs and miracles.
Acts 14:3 Long time therefore (in Iconium) abode they (Paul and Barnabas) speaking boldly in IAUE, which gave testimony unto the word of
his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
Paul and
Barnabas testified of Yahushua and signs and wonders followed.
Romans 15:13 Now the Elohim of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit…
18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Messiah
hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,
19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of IAUE; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I
have fully preached the gospel of Messiah.
20 Yea, so have I
strived to preach the gospel, not where Messiah
was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation:
Paul speaks a
blessing to the Roman believers that their hope would abound “through the power
of the Holy Spirit.” When the power of
the Holy Spirit is in demonstration, it empowers our own hope in the gospel,
the hope of the resurrection in immortal bodies, living forever with the
Master. Paul also declares that he
always accompanies his preaching with MIGHTY signs and wonders by the power of
the Spirit. He regarded that as fully
preaching the gospel; and to that end he strived always to preach the gospel
with demonstration of the power of the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of
man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not
stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of IAUE.
Paul stated
succinctly here why the Master told the first apostles and disciples to wait in
Jerusalem until they were endued with the power of the Holy Spirit. The gospel is not in word; but in power. Men’s faith was not to rest in the wisdom of
words; but in the power of IAUE.
1 Corinthians 4:19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Master will, and will
know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.
20 For the kingdom of IAUE is
not in word, but in power.
Paul was coming to put an
end to a rift in the Corinthian church, and he was going to prove the supremacy
of his message by contrasting his power in the gospel with their lack of power. They had words only. Paul warned the Ephesians that men would come
teaching doctrines to draw men away unto themselves. A message without power is an uncorroborated
message; and it is not to be believed.
1 Corinthians 12:28 And IAUE hath set some in the church, first apostles,
secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts
of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
There are those that would
say the power was only for the apostles.
We have seen that was not true.
Then they would say that Stephen and Philip were two of the seven
appointed by the apostles by the laying on of hands to do the work of the
ministry. There are also those who would
say that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were only for the first century church;
but here Paul says that IAUE has SET in the church workers of miracles and
those with gifts of healings. They are
SET, not temporarily placed. Who are
these “set” ones? They are whomever the
Holy Spirit empowers to do miracles and to heal. Every believer is “SET” in the church of
Yahushua.
2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the
excellency of the power may be of Elohim, and not of us.
We did not receive our
resurrection bodies when we came to Messiah and were born of the Spirit a new creature
in Messiah. Our new spirit in union with
the Spirit of Messiah resides in a mortal body in order to not confuse the
power displayed when we testify of Messiah with our own person. The resurrection body is going to be
something of awe and amazement. If we
were in our resurrection bodies, people would naturally connect our healing the
sick and casting out demons as something we would quite naturally be able to
do. No.
We have this power in earthen vessels in order to magnify Elohim.
2 Corinthians 6:4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of IAUE,
in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in
watchings, in fastings;
6 By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by
the Holy Spirit, by love unfeigned,
7 By the word of truth, by the power of IAUE, by the armour
of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
The demonstration of the power of IAUE is an evidence that
approves one as a minister of IAUE.
2 Corinthians 12:12 Truly the signs of an
apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and
mighty deeds.
Signs, wonders and mighty deeds are the calling cards of an
apostle. If they are not present in a
person’s life, they can be anything else in the church; but they cannot be
apostles.
Galatians 3:5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh
miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing
of faith?
Paul does not identify who this person was or who these people
were (his language could mean one or many); but obviously someone was healing
the sick and casting out demons among the Galatians.
1 Thessalonians 5:1 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in
power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance; as ye know what
manner of men we were among you for your sake.
The record in Acts 17 does not cite any miracles wrought by Paul;
but here we see that his preaching of the gospel WAS accompanied by signs and
wonders.
2 Thessalonians 1:11
Wherefore also we pray always
for you, that our Elohim would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all
the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:
12 That the name
of our Master Yahushua Messiah may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our Elohim and the Master
Yahushua Messiah.
Paul fully
expected the believers in Thessalonica to testify of the Master and to expect
that signs and wonders would accompany their witness of him in order to glorify
the name of the Master Yahushua Messiah.
The testimony is for men to believe.
The signs and wonders are to demonstrate the power of the kingdom unto
which they are giving witness.
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye
into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be
damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my
name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing,
it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover.
A casual reading
of Mark 16 would cause most to miss this point.
Yahushua was speaking to his eleven remaining apostles. He commanded them to preach the gospel. Then he said that those who believed their
preaching would be saved and that signs would follow them. They would follow those who believed…not the
eleven. They already had the power to
heal and cast out demons. The Master had
given that to them long before this moment.
Here, he is saying that the everyday, run-of-the-mill believers were
PROMISED that these signs would follow their lives.
Hebrews 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at
the first began to be spoken by the Master, and was confirmed unto us by them
that heard him;
4 IAUE also bearing them
witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of
the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?
How shall we?
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
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