“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”‭‭Luke‬ ‭24‬:‭49‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.

The command of the resurrected Lord was clear to His excited Apostles to stay back in Jerusalem in expectation of a supernatural experience. Enduement of power was not new to middle eastern societies nor to the European neighbours of those days. In the prevalent practice of paganism, before the advent of Christ, individuals consulted sorcerers for various enchantments in order to succeed at personal and corporate battles.

The gods they worshipped through various deities also supernaturally endowed their priests after various rituals and rites with supernatural abilities to obtain knowledge and practice various forms of witchcraft and wizardry. Now, these emissaries of the gospel of Christ were to await their own supernatural encounters that would transform them into embodiments of the resurrected Christ so they would not carry out the great commission with human wisdom but with the supernatural power of God.

The advent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was not without supernatural phenomena as He came as a mighty rushing wind and cloven tongues of fire appeared visibly upon each and everyone of about 120 men and women who started speaking in other tongues (Acts 2.1-4). They glorified God in the languages of visitors from around the world who had come to worship in Jerusalem.

The wonder drew attention and opened up the people’s hearts to the preaching of the gospel by Peter the Apostle and 3,000 men, apart from women and children, responded and gave their lives to Christ. The church was born in great power and the preaching of the gospel was going to be confirmed by supernatural power as it was in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 2.22).

Not long after Pentecost, Peter and John were making their way to the temple when a beggar looked up to them for alms but instead received an instant miracle of healing. This notable miracle opened up an opportunity for Peter to preach and led to the conversion of 5,000 men to Christ, besides the women and children (Acts 5.4).

The terminology ‘Full Gospel’ has gone to mean the addition of the baptism in the Holy Spirit to the gospel we preach to make it whole. No doubt about it, all it takes to be saved is believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. However, we stop short of the fullness of Grace when we do not embrace the fullness of the empowerment of the Spirit of God. The mistake is made by some Bible teachers that the Baptism with the Spirit is the same as the Baptism by the Spirit. Contrast Acts 1:5 and 1 Corinthians 12:13.

“For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”Acts‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.“

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.

The first one is an empowerment for service while the second is an immersion into the body of Christ. The second one takes place when you believe the gospel and get born again. You are immersed into the body of Christ and become one with Him (1 Corinthians 6.17). Paul showed the contrast between the two experiences when he asked some disciples he found in Ephesus whether they had received the Holy Spirit since they believed. Look closely at this text:

“And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ So they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’”‭‭Acts‬ ‭19‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.

Here, Paul assumed they believed in the death and resurrection of Jesus but they only believed in him as far as John the Baptist preached about Christ. Paul, however, asked if they had received the Holy Spirit since they believed. Also, notice that after Paul enlightened them about Christ, he baptized them again differently from the baptism of John which they had before. This baptism was a confirmation of their salvation through believing the gospel Paul preached:

“When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”‭‭Acts‬ ‭19‬:‭5‬ ‭NKJV.

‬‬Following their baptism in water in the name of Jesus Christ, Paul now laid his hands on them and they were now filled with the Holy Spirit:

“And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”‭‭Acts‬ ‭19‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.

Notice they received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues like the day of Pentecost. They also prophesied.

We have learnt from church history that it is among those who preach the full gospel you will find miracles and a greater harvest of souls. The Lord Jesus commanded that the gospel be preached and that certain miraculous signs would follow those who believe in His name (Mark 16.15-18).

Preaching in the name of Jesus Christ is ministering in His Authority. If it is in His authority, then it is done in place of Him. As His representatives, we are, therefore, to reproduce His ministry. This is also why the promise of the Lord was that if we receive the Holy Spirit’s baptism, we would become “witnesses” of Him. The Greek word used here was originally a reference for “proof producers,” who produce evidence of the existence or claims of another.

The way we can prove Jesus is alive is by reproducing His miracles in His name. That was what Peter and John did in Acts 3.6-7. The full gospel is as full as it includes the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the miraculous.

Victor Adeyemi