The Gospel - The Power of God - Damon J. Gray

Two weeks ago, I wrote about power, biblical power—what it is, and its intended purpose. This week I want to zoom in on a very specific aspect of that biblical power—the power of the gospel. The apostle Paul wrote…

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
– Romans 1:16, ESV

Occasionally, we will listen to a speaker deliver an oration and afterward hear someone say or, perhaps, say ourselves, “Wow. That was a really powerful message.” We are saying the message moved us in some way. It affected us. It said things we needed to hear and said them in a particularly influential or memorable way. It was “powerful.”

In the opening chapter of Romans, quoted above, the apostle Paul said the power of God lives in the gospel, and that the outcome of that gospel power is the salvation of both the Jew and the Greek, speaking to the universality of the gospel message. It’s not merely a powerful sermon or powerful seminar or conference address. The gospel is infused with the power of God Almighty, the one who spoke into existence all that exists using nothing but his words.

To use that specific phrasing with the believers in Rome is noteworthy, considering the Roman Empire was driven by power, strength, and might. You invoke the power of God every time you speak the good news of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. There is no requirement for flashy salesmanship, manipulative persuasion, or a sophisticated presentation technique. The power is not in you. The power of God is present every time you speak the gospel and a person listens to you do so. In this, the gospel is much more than mere information. It is transformative power!

And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
– 1 Corinthians 2:3-5, ESV

The gospel is powerful, not because of anyone’s particular presentation skills. The gospel is powerful because it is the only message that restores humanity to a right relationship with the Creator. It is that very power to everyone who believes.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
– 1 Corinthians 1:18, ESV

The term Paul uses for power is δύναμις (dunamis). You have likely heard that this is where we get the English term “dynamite,” and that is true. It is also where we get the term “dynamo.” Dynamo speaks to the ongoing power of the gospel. The power of God in the gospel not only saves you, restoring you to a right relationship with the God of creation, the God of the universe, it is also the power that enables you to live day after day. The gospel is the dynamo of life.

For all of these reasons, the apostle Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel,” and neither are we, for the gospel is the dunamis of God to everyone who believes, both Jew and Gentile.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,e as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
– Romans 1:17, ESV