The Power-Full Christian: An in-depth study of the powers God has ordained for Christians

By John Bell

It is the belief of some that operating in spiritual power in the church is an option that the Christian can take or leave. That all Christians should operate in spiritual power is repeatedly taught in the Bible. The fulfillment of the great commission of Jesus Christ to "go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15) can only be done by a church that moves in the power of the Holy Spirit. This book is dedicated to elucidating and magnifying the powers that God has given the Christian to operate in. In the past, some of these powers have not been given the attention and respect they deserve. A power viewed as a duty or obligation will not be fully embraced and used. A spiritual power that is viewed as a weapon will be used to bring about victory in the Christian's life. Spiritual powers used by the church will hasten the fulfillment of the great commission and thus hasten the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The power Christian is one who basks in Holy Spirit fire. The full Christian is one who is being continuously filled and led by the Holy Spirit. May all of Christendom flow in the powers that God has ordained, and may every child of God be in reality a power-full Christian.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9781644588499

Book preview

One

The Power of the Cross: The Workings of the Spirit

All of human history is centered in one event: the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth on a cross outside the city of Jerusalem, Israel. After being brutally beaten, the Son of God was nailed to a wooden cross. He hung there for six excruciatingly painful hours and then He died. Before this event took place, all of history was pointing toward it; since it happened, all of history looks back to it. The cross of Jesus Christ is the focal point of the plan of God in creation. The Word that it takes for the plan of God to be carried out flows out of Calvary, the hill where the Son of God died for the sins of humanity.

After the Lamb of God (Jesus) was slain, He remained in the grave for three days and three nights. When He rose from among the dead on the third day, He proclaimed: All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18). In obedience to the will of His Father, Jesus gave up His life for sinners. His Father then invested all of the power of the kingdom of God into His hands in order that He might fulfill all righteousness. He was to put down all opposition to God and to His will and was to bring to a close the realm of time and the reign of death.

The power that Jesus rose with was the power to command all that His hand had made. What He had made was His to do with as it pleased Him.

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:16–18)

The power of Jesus Christ is the power for the ages. It is the power that rules over death and hell and will at the end of the millennial age destroy them by casting them into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14).

This power that Jesus Christ has is also the power of judgment. Every human who has lived past the age of accountability will stand before Him to give account of the deeds done in the body. They will be judged by Christ sitting upon His throne and by the written word of God: the Logos.

For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. (John 5:22)

He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. (John 12:48)

His power is the power to resurrect (call out of the grave) all people and to judge them and assign them their eternal dwelling place.

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28–29)

When Christ said that all power was given unto Him, He was saying that there was no power that supersedes His power. He was saying that He had the power to do whatever He pleased in the created universe, and no one could question His authority.

The power of the Christian life comes out of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made in shedding His blood at Calvary. Christians are people of the cross: they live and move and have their being in the finished work of Jesus Christ at Calvary.

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Through His finished work and by His resurrection from the dead, He has provided for the Christians to have the supernatural power of heaven to bring forth the kingdom and the will of God into the earth. Christians have the power of God the Holy Spirit within them to make them capable kingdom witnesses of the love that God the Father has sent into the world. This love is His Son, and all of mankind has to make a decision concerning Him.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Christians have the power of the cross of Christ: But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8). Christian power is given for one purpose: that is to prepare the earth for the coming reign of Christ and to call out a people for His name. By being indwelt by God the Holy Spirit, Christians have the name of Jesus upon them so that they might overcome the world system and do supernatural exploits.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 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. (Mark 16:17–18)

The Holy Spirit is the power behind the Christians’ power. God the Holy Spirit leads, guides, and empowers according to what God the Father wants done in the earth. Thus by faith, Christians yield to the power of the Holy Spirit and pray that the kingdom of God will come to the earth and that His will be done on the earth as it is in heaven. Jesus Christ must and will rule this planet for a thousand years. That is the will of God the Father. Many things must happen before that rule can be initiated including a time of great tribulation upon the earth. Christians in the earth are vessels of heaven ordained to be formed into the image of Christ and to live with God eternally.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians are equipped to spread the message of the cross of Christ which leads to God calling the people of the earth out of the darkness of the kingdom of Satan and into the kingdom of light—the kingdom of His dear Son.

The Holy Spirit gives gifts to Christians (1 Corinthians 12:7–11; Romans 12:6–8) and ministries (Ephesians 4:11–12) so that they might fulfill their calling in the earth. God has called every Christian into service and provided for them to prosper in their calling.

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (Romans 8:29–30)

Far from what many people think, the earth is not a planet just spinning around in space with things happening that have no connection or lasting value. God created the earth, and His plan is at work in