The Power of the Gospel

Alfred Nobel was the inventor and patent holder of a very powerful explosive – perhaps the

most powerful explosive ever, up to the time of his invention. He got the name for his invention from the Greek word dunamis – he called it dynamite. There are few people among us who do not know what dynamite is.

      Nobel was upset because his invention was known mostly for its destructive power, as a potent weapon in war, and he himself as the progenitor of destruction. To offset this image, and because he genuinely cared about improving his world and the lot of people in it, he initiated a series of prizes which would bear his name. These were to be awarded in recognition of achievement by others to improve, not destroy the world and the people in it. The Nobel Prizes recognize the power of words and music and other arts, and the power of medicine, physics, and other sciences. One of the most coveted prizes acknowledges and encourages the power of peace – bringing peace, implementing peace, making peace, keeping peace. To my knowledge a Nobel Prize for war has never been awarded.

      The word dunamis was widely used from about 900 BC. It was used to describe the strength of an army, the power of medicine to heal, and the power of the human mind. It was used in pagan religious activities, not only to proclaim the power of their gods but also to describe the impact of religion upon the lives of people. The word means ability or strength, the power to do, move, or accomplish something.

      Paul used this word to indicate the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16). The power of the gospel is attributed to God. God’s righteousness is revealed in it – not only God’s personal righteousness, but God’s power to bring people into His righteousness (Rom. 1:17). God’s power operates in the initial salvation of man and also in his continued salvation (1 Peter 1:3-9).

      There is power in the gospel of Christ to bring one from ignorance to wisdom about the nature of God and man (Acts 17:23, Eph. 5:17).  It has power to bring one out of moral and spiritual darkness into the light (1 Pet. 2:9, Eph. 5:8).  It can resolve social conflicts and bring people to peace with each other, even in the midst of a hostile, decadent, and spiritually ignorant world (1 Tim. 2:22, Rom. 14:19. Phil. 2:15-16). Few things in human affairs are more dramatic than the changed lives of people who accept and apply the gospel of Christ to themselves and encourage the same thing in others.

      Although Jesus knew that his gospel would become a wedge between people who obeyed and those who did not (Mt. 10:34-36), he intended that his message bring peace – peace between men, peace between men and God (Eph. 2:11-17). The potential for peace and the power to make peace is there, in the gospel. There may be no Nobel Prize awarded to those who bring the gospel of peace into the lives of people, but there is a much greater and more glorious reward from God for that kind of peacemaker. They shall be called children of God (Mt. 5:9).

– Gerald Cowan