“For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake“
in power,
We have the word “in” a second of four times in this verse. Each mention is an advance on the previous “in.”
The manner in which the Thessalonians received the gospel was in the sphere of “power.” The gospel team powerfully delivered their message – in the sphere of the power of God.
The word “power” is the word for inherent power. The gospel message came in God’s inherent power, a power that is inherent to God. Power latent in God is real and compelling. This power goes beyond human capacity because it influences men.
The message the gospel team preached was more than human oratory, for it came in the power of God (Romans 1:16). Mere accuracy in communicating the gospel is not enough. The Thessalonians not only heard the message from human lips, but the power of the gospel message impacted them.
When we present the gospel in power, it compels and grips those without Christ. The reason the gospel compels the lost is that it is real. It transforms hundreds of thousands of lives. Jesus lives today in Heaven, and He lives in the hearts of people today. The gospel changed the Thessalonians too. They were different for having exposed themselves to the gospel.
Principle:
The gospel carries the inherent power of God with it.
Application:
The gospel is not drab, dull, or ineffective if we engage its inherent power. God will use the inherent power of the gospel to cause those without Christ to embrace the Son of God.
“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God‘” (Matthew 22:29).
”But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
