The Kingdom is in POWER

 “For the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.” (1 Cor 4:20) 

The Kingdom of God is not in word but in power. That means that the Word of God without the power of His Spirit has no effect on you. Jesus said so. (Mk 7:13). Paradoxically, the Word with the Holy Spirit power is alive and can do the impossible.

Jesus explained to the Pharisees that He couldn’t do the miracles He was performing without the power of the Kingdom of God. “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God is come unto you.” (Mt 12:28). He was saying that in the Kingdom of God there are no diseases, disabled, insane, addicts, and people in bondages. And to reveal the Kingdom of God to humanity, the Gospel must have the POWER to set humanity free from bondages.

After His resurrection, Jesus gave instruction to the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit before they went out to witness, so that they would have the POWER. He said, “Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry you in the city of Jerusalem, until you be endued with power from on high.” (Lk 24:49). 

The Kingdom of God is not revealed in word but in power: miracles, signs and wonders reveal God’s Kingdom. When Jesus gave His disciples power, they were able to heal all manner of diseases and cast out demons. “And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them POWER against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.” (Mt 10:1).

And when Jesus sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God, He said, “And as you go, preach, saying, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give.” (Mt 10:7-8). Jesus did not send His disciples to preach a powerless Gospel which has no miracles, signs and wonders. To the contrary, all of the early disciples operated in power. They did not just preach a gospel of mere words without miracles, signs and wonders. The Holy Spirit was sent from the Father for miraculous power. 

Paul said, “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.” (1 Thess 1:5). And to the Corinthians, he added, “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” (1 Cor 2:4). The gospel preached by Apostle Paul was also accompanied by many miracles and wonders.

“For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” (Rom 15:18-19). 

The gospel of Jesus Christ has power; the true gospel is powerful; it is not of mere words without power. It demonstrates the POWER of the Kingdom of God. “And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, ‘The Kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.'” (Lk 10:9).

So the ultimate purpose of Jesus’ mission on earth was to bring us the Holy Spirit to empower us to demonstrate the SAME signs and wonders that He did while with us. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26). 

So in reality, the power of the Kingdom is synonymous to the Holy Spirit. He comes in no other way. He’s a demonstration of the power of God. He comes to activate Jesus Christ’s gifts in us. These gifts include, speaking in tongues, healing, prophecy, words of knowledge, etc. Each person has those gifts of the Holy Spirit and they will each be manifest as we practice them.

Every true disciple preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is followed by miracles, signs and wonders. Sick people do not want to be preached to first, but healed. People who are possessed by demons do not want to be preached at first, but set free from those demons. The disabled do not want to be preached to first, but told to rise up and walk. This is manifesting the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God is not dead but living and powerful. Thus the Word with the power of the Kingdom of God is able to do wonders. A true “Jesus Christ” Gospel has power in the Word through which signs, miracles and wonders are seen, delivering people from bondages and revealing the Kingdom of God. The difference comes in pushing through in faith till you SEE miracles happen.

Without the power, the Kingdom of Heaven cannot be revealed through miracles, signs and wonders with delivering humanity from bondages. Without accepting the MIRACULOUS power, no matter how much you read the Bible, you will neither understand it nor will it change your life. For many have accepted the Word as the Word of God, and taken a form of godliness through reading it, but denied the power which changes a person.

Today’s preaching in many churches is powerless, except perhaps in words. But how do you preach to the sick, to the disabled, to captives? They need deliverance first, not preaching. How can the Gospel we preach not heal even one person? What’s the difference then? If the greatest of these is LOVE, do we love enough to push our faith through to a breakthrough for those in need?

Most preachers claim that the signs of the Kingdom of God are such as becoming earthly millionaires, living in large houses, driving big cars, and being successful, etc. That is a sign of God’s favor but It doesn’t differ much from the message of the power-preachers promoting self-sufficiency and self-success. Abundance wouldn’t have to be wrong, but only if the signs of healing the sick, casting out demons, etc., were first part and parcel of the message.

“THESE signs shall follow them that believe”. The Holy Spirit was sent to us to perform the miraculous. Worldly success does not mean that a person is manifesting the Kingdom of God; that a person is living the Kingdom of God. Jesus said that the Kingdom of God should come FIRST in priority. “But seek first the [manifestations of the] Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mt 6:33). 

You can’t expect the supernatural when people walk in piously on Sunday morning, but the rest of the time, they are drunkards, in sexual immoralities, in adultery, boasting and showing off, money lovers, proud etc., because they have denied the power but have a form of Godliness.

“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of Godliness, but denying the [Holy Spirit] power thereof: from such turn away.” (2 Tim 3:2-7). 

Let’s ALL believe for miracles, signs and wonders as we go and preach the [MIRACULOUS] kingdom of God. Remember, it starts with our faith, pushing through. We’re ALL called to the MIRACULOUS.