Page 146 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Kingdom of God

ministered to the believers in Samaria, they “returned to Jerusalem,
preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages” (Acts 8:25). In Ephesus,
“Paul entered the synagogue and spoke
boldly there for three months, arguing
persuasively about the kingdom of God”
The gospel was (Acts 19:8).

the first word on
In his epistles, Paul said that he was
the lips of the “eager to preach the gospel” (Romans 1:15),

evangelists and and that it was his “ambition to preach
the gospel where Christ was not known”
apostles in Acts. (Romans 15:20). He felt that preaching the
gospel was a sacred trust given to him by
God (Galatians 2:7). In one place he said,
“Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). It was his
desire to preach the gospel to “the regions beyond” (2 Corinthians 10:16),
the places where it had not yet been preached.

Jesus has commanded us, His missionary people, to proclaim the
gospel to all nations, people, and places (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15;
Acts 1:8). When He was training the Twelve, He sent them out to preach
the gospel (Luke 9:2). Luke says, “So they set out and went from village
to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere” (v. 6;
compare Matthew 10:5–8). Later, Jesus sent out seventy-two others to
proclaim the gospel. He told them to “Go!” for “the harvest is plentiful,
but the workers are few” (Luke 10:2–3). We too have been commissioned
by Christ to proclaim the gospel to all who will hear.

Must Be Demonstrated
The gospel of the Kingdom is not only to be proclaimed, its power is to
be demonstrated with signs following. Jesus set the pattern by combining
preaching with a demonstration of Kingdom power. Matthew wrote,
“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching
the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness
among the people” (4:23; compare 9:35). Jesus instructed His disciples
to follow the same pattern: “When Jesus had called the Twelve together,
he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure
diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal
the sick” (Luke 9:1–2).

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