Introduction

In my work, “The Power is Available”, published in 2011, I posited that for a Christian leader to lack power is to have an incomplete seal of the Holy Spirit upon one’s ministry.  I further wrote that “Preaching without power is no preaching; teaching without power engenders blunders; prayer without power is a waste, and evangelism without power is a fruitless effort”. It is crystal clear that without the power of God, we are helpless and we cannot successfully do the work of God.

Who Are The Believers in Christ?

          In this context, the believers in Christ are those who follow Christ, who believe in His word, who obey Him and His word, and who believe that Christ is the author of salvation and the Son of God. Thus, believers in Christ will share in His death, burial, and resurrection.

Five Power Signs that will follow the Believers in Christ

          According to the book of Mark 16: 15-17, believers in Christ are entitled to at least five power signs that will help them fulfill the divine purpose in life. Let us examine these passages more closely:

15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18.They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

From the above passages, Jesus told His eleven disciples to go and preach the gospel to every creature with a condition that whosoever believes in Him and His word – the gospel preached – as a matter of urgency, must be baptized. Jesus gives a condition for our salvation here: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;” There is no doubt the fact that baptism, either water baptism or the Holy Spirit baptism is an essential credential of a true believer in Christ. Some preachers may say this is not important for a Christian to be seen as a genuine or true believer in Christ. If truly we are the followers or disciples of Christ, we must do what He did and believe His word. Jesus Christ was baptized in water by immersion and He also received the Holy Spirit baptism as a true Son of His Father, the second person in the trinity:

13Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matt.3:13-17)

The above quote has again established the fact that Jesus knows what is saying in Matt.28:19 and Mark 16:16. Besides, Peter corroborates what Jesus says in Mark 16:16 when he told the people he was addressing in Acts 2: 14-38 but I will cite only verse 38:

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

He That Believes And Is Baptized Shall Be Saved

The teaching about Water Baptism in the New Testament must be obeyed if we are truly the followers of Christ. Water Baptism stands for a sign and example of two things:

1. It is an outstanding sign and an example of the true repentance of a sinner from his/her sins. In other words, true repentance occurs when a sinner surrenders his/herself for water baptism:

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2: 38)

And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 22:16).

1. This also signifies that anyone who is baptized is joined with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection:

3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord…17 But God must be thanked, that ye were servants of sins, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you (Rom.6:3-17)

In Mark 16:16, the Bible says “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned”.  “Believe” here is the first step to salvation. To believe is the first requirement, you need to do what Jesus did, you need to possess the qualities of your Father, you need to have His mind, the mind of Christ. even, the devil/demons believe. Many people believe that there is God but never follow His doctrines and word. That kind of belief is not complete. Therefore, it cannot lead to salvation. The book of James 2: 19 says: “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble”. We can see clearly that to believe is good but is not sufficient for salvation. More so, Luke 4: 32-35 reveals that the devil believes and understands that Jesus is the Holy One of God:

And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, 34 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. 35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.

What about Matthew 8: 28-29:

28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble”. The devils that believe in one God, who believe that Jesus is the Holy One of God, and the Son of God cannot do the will of God and obey His word by following his doctrines: He that believes and is Baptized shall be Saved.   

Five Power Signs that will follow a believer in Christ

Before listing out the five “Power Signs” that will follow a believer in Christ, it must be established that only Jesus has the repository power both in heaven and on the earth (Matt.28:18). He has the everlasting dominion and indestructible kingdom:

13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.(Dan.7:13-14)

In Mark 16:15-18, Jesus says that in His name, the following “Power Signs” will follow the people who believe in Him and His word:

1. Power to cast out demons (cf. Lk.10:19)
2. Power to speak with new tongues
3. Power over serpents and scorpions (the evil spirit and the enemies) (cf.Lk.10:19)
4. Power over poisons or deadly things
5. Power to heal the sick

Power is given to believers to perform certain functions. God does not give power because you are a believer in destroying lives He has come to save. He does not give power for the fun of it. He does not give power to His children to oppress others. On the contrary, God gives the power to save lives or souls that are perishing. He gives the power to lose those in satanic captivity. The power that God gives to His children must not be corrupted and abused. The power of God given to us must be wielded with wisdom to defend ourselves in the day of trouble, save souls, and better the society in which we live.