The Power of the Gospel

The Power of the Gospel, 

July 1915

By Smith Wigglesworth

(Published in Flumes of Fire)

I am convinced that there is nothing in the world that is going to convince men and women of the power of the Gospel like the manifestation of the Spirit with the fruits. 

God has baptized us in the Holy Ghost for a purpose, that He may show His mighty power in human flesh, as He did in Jesus, and He is bringing us to a place where He may manifest these gifts.

...no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 

1 Corinthians 12:3

Every man who does not speak the truth concerning this Word, which is Jesus, makes Him the accursed; 

so all we have to do is to have the revelation of the Word in our hearts and there will be no fear of our being led astray, because this Word is nothing else but Jesus. 

In the gospel of St. John you read that the Word was God, and He became flesh and dwelt amongst us and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father. 

So it is revealed that He is the Son of God — the Word of God. 

This Word (pointing to the Bible) is nothing else than the Word of God, and everything that confesses it not you can put down straight away, without getting mixed up at all, that it is not of the Holy Ghost and consequently you can wipe out all such things. 

There is no difficulty about saving yourselves, because the Word of God will always save.

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 

And there are diversities of administrations, but the same Lord. 

And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

My heart is in this business. I am brought face to face with the tact that now the Holy Ghost is dwelling within me, that He is dwelling in my body, and as John says in his epistle, the unction of the Holy One is within. 

The unction of the Holy One is the Holy Spirit manifested in us. 

So we see that straight away within us there is the power to make manifest and bring forth those gifts which He has promised, and these gifts will be manifested in proportion as we live in the unction of the Spirit of God. 

Thus we shall find out that those gifts must be manifested.

My brother here (Mr. Moser) was suffering from want of sleep. 

He had had no full night of sleep for a long time. 

I said last night, “I command thee in the name of Jesus to sleep.” 

When he came this morning he was well, he had had a good night’s sleep. 

A man came to me in Toronto and said he had not had a night’s rest for three years and that he had lost the power to sleep. 

He also said he had lost his business; what could we do for him? 

I said, “I command you in the name of the Lord Jesus to go home and sleep.” 

Without questioning me further he went home, and at eight o’clock the next morning he rung me up and said, “Can I see you? I want to see you soon. I have been sleeping at night.” 

So he came, and then said, “Can you give me power to get my business back?” 

I said, “Come to the meeting tonight.” 

He said, “I will.” 

He came, and the power of the Lord filled the place. 

Conviction settled upon that man. 

A call was made to the altar. He came, but fell on the way. 

God saved him, and that was the turning point in his life and for his business. 

Beloved, the power of the Holy Ghost is within us to profit withal. 

He says,

To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; 

to mother the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 

to another faith by the same Spirit; 

to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 

to another the working of miracles; 

to another prophecy; 

to another discerning of spirits; 

to another divers kinds of tongues; 

to another the interpretation of tongues: 

But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. 

1 Corinthians 12:8-11

Paul distinctly says that it is possible for any one man not to come behind in any gift according to the measure of faith as he receives of the Lord Jesus. 

No doubt some of you present have sometimes thought what a blessed thing it would be if you had been the Virgin Mary. 

Listen, 

“Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. 

But he said, 

Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it” 

(Luke 11:27,28). 

You see a higher position than Mary’s is attained through simple faith in what the Scriptures say.

If we receive the Word of God as it is given to us, there will be power in our bodies to claim the gifts of God, and it will amaze the world when they see the power of God manifested through these gifts. 

I believe we are coming to a time when these gifts will be more distinctly manifested. 

What can be more convincing? 

Aye, He is a lovely Jesus. 

He went forth from place to place, rebuking demons, healing the sick, and doing other wonderful things. 

What was the reason?

God was with Him.

Wherever there is a child of God who dare receive the Word of God and cherish it, 

there is God made manifest in the flesh, for the Word of God is life and spirit and brings us into a place where we know that we have power with God and with men, 

in proportion to our loyalty of faith in the Word of God.

Now, beloved, I feel somehow that we have missed the greatest principle which underlies the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 

The greatest principle is that God the Holy Ghost came into my body to make manifest the mighty works of God and that I may profit withal. 

Not one gift alone, but as God the Holy Ghost abides in my body I find He fills it, and then one can truly say it is the unction of the Holy One. 

It so fills us that we feel we can command demons to come out of persons possessed; and when I lay hands on the sick in the name of the Lord Jesus 

I realize that this body is the outer coil merely and that within is the Son of God. 

For I receive the Word of Christ and Christ is in me, 

the power of God is in me, 

and the Holy Ghost is making that Word a living Word, 

and the Holy Ghost makes me say, 

“Come out!” 

It is not Wigglesworth. 

It is the power of the Holy Ghost that makes manifest the glorious presence of Christ.