Part A – Review

Distinguish between the message of Salvation, the message of Grace and the gospel. In the last six years, time has been taken to expound the message of salvation gifted to the body of Christ both for use and for sharing. The message of salvation is how the message of the Gospel brings to us the message of Grace. It is worth noting that these are not mere theoretical or rhetorical messages but carriers of the unfathomable full weight of the very life of God. It includes deliverance from the power, dominion, and control of the devil Colossians 1:13a. It is further a release into a new realm called the Kingdom of His dear Son where the old is totally taken away Colossians 1:13b.

Also captured is the unconditional forgiveness of sin and its consequences to them that believe Colossians 1:14. This makes every believer a comer unto Zion from all Sinaic circumstances enjoying all the blessings in Zion (Hebrews 12:18-24). Revealed in this several in one message is the existence of Rest devoid of stress unto those who believe (Hebrews 4:3, 10-11). Additional to the endowments is the entrance into Spirituality by reason of our new nature at believing (John 16:16, Romans 8:9, 12:13, Galatians 5:25). The simple yet controversial implantation of the Righteousness of God being ours is also among the ‘gifting’ of the message of salvation (Jeremiah 23:6, Romans 5:17, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

The possession of the supernatural life of God in practical terms is an essential part of the truth Salvation, Grace and the Gospel message propound. Salvation is the taking away of our autonomous self-controlled life and the implantation of the Godhead in us (John 14:23, Acts 17:28-29).

Introduction

Although it is so much ignored, one very fundamental operational truth is that the believer is born unto greatness. As the church born to be ultra zodiacal in life and nature, there are great things that characterize us. As a necessary part, the church knowing and appropriating this truth is critical to our existence.

‘MEGAS ZAO’ as mentioned above simply means ‘Great Living’ and that is the quality of life we have. In as much as it is your life and involves you, there is no reason why you should have any fear whatsoever about smallholdings or being terrified by greatness. It is your life.

Part B

Let us examine a few of the Great Life we have as the church of God.

GREAT POWER – Acts 4:33a “And with Great Power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus:”.

The word translated Power here is ‘dunamis,’ meaning a ‘Permanent, inseparable strength as that which pertains to a host of forces which is resident in an individual by virtue of one’s nature for the performance of excellence and the miraculous’. It is one that is innate, inborn, inwrought, indispensable, essential part or one that is native to the believer. ‘Dunamis’ here is additional to the ‘exousia’, which is ‘the competence to make magisterial choices and decisions as potentate, superhuman, and also with regal authority’. This is the ability that offers mental liberty and power to belong with what and where one chooses. Exousia and Dunamis happened to us at believing and reception of the Spirit. It is most exhilarating to know that this dunamis comes properly qualified and declared as ‘Great’. To identify this power is to know it in its functionality as:

1. Being defensive in nature

Pentecost was followed by ferocious satanic attacks. This was in the form of persecution, physical violence, subtle ploys, and distractions to deflect apostles from priority. In all these things the defensive great power of the church took hold of the situation.

2. Being offensive in nature

All through the Acts, we find the apostles, by their presence, impact the frontiers of the unsettled regions of life. We know that focused light of the sun through a magnifying glass can set a paper or leaf on fire. So is the focused power of the believer on the issues of the unsettled regions of ones’ life (Acts 3:4, 9:40).

3. Being sustaining in nature

Among the early church was natural diversities, plethora of opinions, assortments of gifts that were recipe for division. However, the Great Power within could integrate all into a symphonic whole in singleness of Spirit, identity and purpose. Such is the sustaining power the believer carries (Acts 1:13, 6:1).

4. Being growth engineering in nature

The church from the upper room to every room. (Acts 1:13, 2:47, 5:14, 6:7, 9:31, 11:21,24, 16:5)

Part C

GREAT GRACE – Acts 4:33b “and Great Grace was upon them all”

Further to the many things we have said about Grace, we know that Grace is God, His eternal plan and the system of dispensing it in time (1 Peter 5:10). Just as justice is to law and partner to relationship, so is Grace fundamental to Christianity and the difference from all others.  Every Christian life must be ‘All of Grace or Not of Grace’ and not an admixture (Romans 4:4-5). The law is the standard, but Grace is the source of living (Romans 3:19). The law’s problem is power, only commanding, giving no feet and hands, contrary to Grace, who gives wings even when you are asked to walk (Romans 8:3). The worse thing that has happened to the teaching of Grace is the limitations put on it on all fronts. Some limit grace in the extent it can save, in the walk of the believer, in the extent Grace can walk you, etc. Be it known over and over again that Grace is not limited to dealing with one’s past. Grace rather takes care of one’s past, position, condition and ushers one into one’s already written history. Let’s examine the word from Ephesians 1:3-12, 2:7.

(I) Verses 3-5 speak to the greatness of grace above our past. In other words, the Grace we have today is older than our past of yesteryears (2 Timothy 1:9-10).

1. 1. We were chosen in Him – Ephesians 1:4

1. 1. Be holy and blameless

1. 1. Blessed with all spiritual blessings

1. 1. Predestination

1. 1. The pleasure of His will

(II) Verse 6 speaks to the fact that all these preplanned endowments were to the praise of the glory of His grace. In other words, grace was to be praised for all that happened. It further said that inside grace, we have now been accepted in the beloved (Matthew 3:17, 12:18, Matthew 17:5).

(III) Verses 7 – 12 also speak about the things we received in grace today after being accepted in the Beloved.

1. 1. Redemption through His blood

1. 1. Forgiveness of sin measured to the riches of His grace

1. 1. Abundance of wisdom and prudence

1. 1. Opened up the mystery of His will by personal volition joyfully

1. 1. Given us a one-stop warehouse

1. 1. Handed us an inheritance in line with His will

1. 1. Fashioned us to maintain a praiseful life

1. 1. All of these by faith only in Him

1. 1. Charis and Charisma

(IV) Looking into Ephesians 2:7 reveals that grace is not only for our past and present. In the ages to come, meaning unbroken era ahead, perpetuity of time, forever, eternity. Grace is moving to a higher level than it is now in the future for us. It’s been put showing the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us.

(V) All these above constitute grace and the statement above clearly mentions Great Grace as that which was upon the church.

Part D

GREAT FEAR – Acts 5:5b “And Great Fear came on all them that heard these things”

The severest temporal punishment with the propensity to invoke fear in all observers is here recorded among the Acts of the Apostles. Prudent for critical analysis is the fact that the apostles were not the executors of this heavy terminal punishment (Romans 12:14).

First of all it was the prophetic Spirit that had come to dwell on them by their faith in Christ and encounter with the Holy Spirit that browsed for the detection of the Spirit of falsehood and pretention. Then followed the application of the apostolic rod by the same token of their content to deal with the detection. There were these numerous scriptural promises of what would happen to same spirits around us who dare to tamper with the purity of who we are or what we possess (2 Peter 2:1).

GREAT WONDERS: Acts 6:8 “And Stephen full of faith and power, did Great Wonders and miracles among the people”

Here again, we’re beholding another deposit of God in the church is Great Wonders. When great Grace and great Power merge for the execution of anything, the inevitable is wonders that confound the minds of observers. Wonders happen when divinity provokes an event against natural laws to the astonishment, amazement, awe or marvel of observers. The Bible is filled with a lot of records of wonders such that no single writing or presentation can capture them. In Exodus 14:22, we have the parting of the Red Sea, while in Exodus 15:23-25 the waters of Mara made sweet. In Exodus 16, manna fell from above, while in Joshua 10:12- 14, the sun stood still. We can also speak of the four Hebrew brethren rescued from the furnace of fire by God Daniel 3:23-27 and many more. In the New Testament, we see all of the miracles taken to a higher level by our Lord Jesus.

For us today when Jesus ended His earthly ministry by the end of John 12 and started speaking to the actual New Testament life this is one of what He said. John 14:12 “Verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me the works that I do shall He do also; and greater works than these shall He do because I go unto my Father”. While the principal work of Christ is to bring knowledge of the one true God and faith in Him, He says His works can’t be decoupled from it. Join my words to my work to invoke the kind of faith one requires in God for living.

 The real work of Christ is here in John 17:3-8 as stated above. However early on Jesus stated that the other things He produces in wonders testifies of him in John 10: 25, 14:11. Then in the quest to surmount the threatening of the authorities the disciples prayed that the boldness to execute the mandate Jesus left us comes with the stretching of God’s 15 My Beautiful feet hands to work sign and wonders Acts 4:30.

GREAT COMPANY Acts 6:7 “ And the Word of God increased; and the number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith”

 The promise of increase and size expansion in whatsoever we are has always belonged to them that believe. In the ‘soulical’ man it was demanded of him to be fruitful and multiply as stated in Genesis 1:28. In the representation of faith (believers/spiritual) however the Lord tells Abraham in Genesis 12:2a “And I will make of thee a great nation”. The Lord makes it juicier in Genesis 22:17 “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies”

There is the clear notation of the fact that, that which represents God has God Himself as the multiplier effect. Added to this is yet the prophecy concerning us in Isaiah 60:22 “A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord shall hasten it in his time”