Experiencing The Total Gospel Pt. 3 by Apostle Michael Orokpo: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Recap: Created to Live in the Glory of God

We have been looking at the all-important subject of the gospel, the answer to the problems of humanity. In Romans 1:16, Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Anybody under any form of affliction who has not yet received the gospel is not really dealing with that affliction as his true problem; the affliction is an alarm system revealing that he has not yet received the gospel.

We began this discussion by establishing that God created humanity to live in the glory realm of life, to function in the class of God. This is why, when man fell, Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, meaning man was created to live in that glory. God installed five things into man to make this possible: his nature and his likeness in Genesis 1:26, his authority and dominion in Genesis 1:28, his presence in Genesis 2:7, and the tree of life in Genesis 2:9. When man did not receive the life of God, his development was truncated, and the devil took over the authority God had given him. The gospel is the architecture God put in place to bring salvation from the effect of that fall.

We looked at the gospel from two dimensions: the person of Jesus and the works he did to secure salvation, and who we have become on account of those works. 1 Corinthians 1:23-25 says we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are being saved, Christ is the wisdom and power of God. By implication, we have been made kings, priests, and sons, and even our essence has been altered: as he is, so are we in this world.

Six Expressions of the Gospel

1. The Gospel of God

   Romans 1:1-4

   This is the good news that originates from God, encapsulating his eternal plans and promises as fulfilled in Christ. All the plans and promises of God are only fulfilled in Christ; anyone who is not in Christ cannot receive God's promises. This is why many believers are in church, shouting amen to every prophecy, yet cannot understand why it is not fulfilled in their lives: the plans and promises of God cannot be fulfilled outside of Christ.

2. The Gospel of Jesus Christ

   Mark 1:1

   This speaks of the good news of the person and the redemptive works of Christ. A believer's faith must be anchored on the finished works of Christ, not on the intensity of his own praying or fasting. Many pray loud and sweat and shout, yet their prayer sounds powerful but is impotent, because it is not built on the assurance of the finished works of Christ.

3. The Gospel of Grace

   Galatians 1:6-8

   Paul marveled that the Galatians were so soon removed from the grace of Christ to another gospel, and said that even if an angel preached another gospel, let him be accursed. In Galatians 3:1-5, Paul asked whether they received the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith. Everything on the platform of the finished works of Christ is not taken by effort; it is taken by faith. Ephesians 2:8 says by grace are we saved through faith, not of ourselves, it is the gift of God.

4. The Gospel of Peace

   Romans 5:1

   Paul said that being freely justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel is not only about what we receive, it is about a relationship. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. Many Christians think their relationship with God is based on performance, feeling close to God only while fasting or praying intensely. But the gospel of peace assures us that God is with us even in our weakest moments, and this assurance is why we run back to him instead of running away when we fail.

5. The Everlasting Gospel

   Revelation 14:6

   This speaks of the unchanging nature of the gospel, that it will never be edited and God will not invent another system of salvation. In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," using definite articles rather than "a way." 1 Peter 3:19 says that when Jesus went to the depths of the earth, he preached to those who died before he came, because they had no other way either. Whether before or after Christ, God has one system of salvation.

6. The Gospel of the Kingdom

   Matthew 24:14

   This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations, and then the end shall come. Jesus himself preached in Matthew 4:23, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand." This gospel speaks not only of salvation but of the reign and government of God over his people. Many believers who are saved live however they want because they have not known the gospel of the kingdom, that they were saved for a purpose and not for themselves.

The Kingdom Is a Realm of Divine Life

When a person enters the kingdom, the life of God does not merely save; it regulates. John 3:3 says except a man be born again, he cannot participate in the kingdom, and Romans 8:2 calls this the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. In the same way that a person's natural biological life eventually forces them to sit, crawl, walk, and speak like their parents, the life of God received at the new birth begins to regulate a believer to become like the Father, whether they consciously choose it or not.

• Once a person starts having an appetite for the word of God, prayer, or fasting, it is proof that the life of God is regulating them and that they are in his kingdom.
• If that life is not nurtured through feeding on the word, prayer, and worship, it remains weak, in the same way a malnourished body cannot function normally.

Sometimes death is louder than a message. A missionary who won one convert in a hostile region of Northeast India was pressed to deny Christ. When his sons and then his wife were killed for his faith, he still refused, and said, "The world behind me, the cross before me, no turning back." When he was killed, revival broke out in that region. Those who reject Christ under far smaller pressures, such as being denied a promotion, have not fed the life of God within them the way that man did.

The Kingdom Is a Realm of Divine Wisdom

Matthew 16:19 says, "I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven." As the life of God is nurtured, its potential begins to find expression, the same way a child's capacity to walk and talk lies dormant until it is fed and grows. In the kingdom, believers do not see and then believe, they believe and then see; they do not receive and then give, they give in order to receive. This wisdom turns what looks like a disadvantage into an advantage, the same way the flood that killed people was the very flood that lifted Noah's ark.

The Kingdom Is a Realm of Divine Authority

Luke 11:20 says, "If I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God has come upon you." Believers in the kingdom are not slaves; they do not cower or submit to opposition. When you confront demons, you do not beg them, you cast them out.