"Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God so that from Jerusalem and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ."

                                           Romans 15:19

Some folks have taught that the term "full gospel" is simply a branch of Christianity founded in the late 1800's, which later became known as Pentecostalism.  It was described as those who believed in the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, miracles, signs, wonders, and healing.  Just as many of the fundamentalists teach today, the idea of being "full gospel" has been misrepresented as an arrogant claim of having a complete gospel opposed to those who have merely a partial gospel.

Much dispute has arisen over the last century concerning the development of the "full gospel" message.  The truth of the matter is this has always been a part of the church from its very inception (God having a remnant throughout the church age that kept alive the manifestations of the Holy Spirit).  To assume that the supernatural Acts of the Apostles ended once we had the completion of the scriptures and that this "so-called" resurgence of Pentecostalism is unbiblical is to misunderstand the entire revelation of redemption.  Reformed Theology did not have exclusive rights to being "the only" means of defining the Christian faith. Men like Calvin, Luther, and Zwingli were certainly instrumental in their day, but they weren't operating in the full light of redemption.  They may have been used by God to help open the door to the restoration of Church doctrine, but by no means did they ever replace the teacher, the Holy Spirit, who has been the true "restorer of all things" over the last five hundred years.

The message of the "full gospel" is not a new message.  Paul emphasized having fully preached the gospel of Christ to the Romans.  He also made known his own purpose and mission to the elders at Miletus, "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).  The "full gospel" is exactly what it implies.  It provides the full scope of all that Christ came to do. It is founded upon the truth that Christ came and accomplished, through redemption, the means for every believer to be re-positioned in Christ in order to re-present the economy of God to the world.

Man was placed upon this earth to help facilitate the divine will of God. Both heaven and earth were connected through the divine agency of eternal life.  Once that life was extinguished, because of sin, the ability to be that facilitator ended abruptly.  Through different means and various methods, God began orchestrating his plan to redeem mankind and restore his rightful place as a steward over the mysteries of God. Christ came and conquered death through his death, burial, and resurrection, and all those who receive his sacrifice are entitled to receive eternal life. 

This life provides a divine union with Christ and the re-establishment of the sacred task given man to steward the economy of God on earth.  This is why it was necessary for the Holy Spirit to come.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit the church would be able to carry out God's will by instrumentally influencing the world through eternal life, so that as many as are called could come to know Jesus Christ personally as their Lord and Savior.

The "full gospel" does emphasize that all the gifts, both spiritually and administratively, are available today.  Speaking in tongues, healing, divine intervention, miraculous faith, the ministry of angels, the five-fold ministry, and supernatural phenomena are very real and valid operations and distributions of the Holy Spirit. 

As believers, we have been called to live a supernatural life, to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might, to walk in the revelation of being more than a conqueror, to resist the evil one, to operate in the authority of heaven through the power of the Holy Spirit, and to continue the work that the early church began by following after the Great Commission. 

Everything God has ever done throughout man's history was not just some sovereign act of providence that was exclusive for that time, but was to reveal the heart of God that he desires to move in every generation among those who will put their trust in him and act on his Word, believing that all things are possible to him that believeth.

Christ went and sat down at the right hand of the Father and commissioned the church to take the mantel of his ministry (the sacred work of the Holy Spirit) and to go into all the world preaching and demonstrating the gospel.  That is what "being" a witness means (Acts 1:8). We are to walk even as he walked.  We are to do the works that he did.  We are to preach the gospel with power.  We are to live in dominion over all the works of the enemy.  We are to raise a standard by living separated, dedicated, and consecrated lives for Christ, and we are to take the entire message of Christ, in all its power and authority through the person and work of the Holy Spirit, and become a spiritual force to be reckoned with!