1. “Being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus” (Acts 18:25).
The spirit of the gospel reflects a fervent spirit. If we want to preach the gospel, we must be fervent in spirit. Apollos was fervent in spirit, and he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus. If we want the gospel to be released and not be held back by us, we must be fervent in spirit. We must be fervent even to the extent that we appear to be crazy. We should become a “fanatic of Jesus” to the extent that we do not care for anything but announcing the Lord Jesus.
2. “His spirit was provoked within him as he beheld that the city was full of idols” (Acts 17:16).
The spirit of the gospel involves not only a fervent spirit, but also a spirit that can be provoked when we see people sinning and perishing in darkness. When he was in Athens, the apostle Paul was provoked in his spirit because he saw that the whole city was full of idols. With his provoked spirit, he preached and released the gospel in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there, as if he were crazy (v. 17).
1. “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16; see also 2 Tim. 1:8, 12; Mark 8:38).
It is quite strange that a person can feel glorious when speaking to others about a theory of science but be ashamed to speak of the Lord Jesus and the gospel. Without a doubt, this is the work of Satan to hinder people from preaching the gospel. However, if we have a spirit of the gospel, we will not be ashamed of the Lord and the gospel. On the contrary, the more we speak of the Lord and the gospel, the more glorious we will feel. If we want to preach the gospel, we must be “thick-skinned”; if we want to be thick-skinned, we must have the spirit of the gospel. With the spirit of the gospel and “thick skin,” we will feel glorious rather than ashamed when we preach the gospel.
1. “I preach the gospel...If I do this of my own will, I have a reward”; “I will most gladly spend and be utterly spent on behalf of your souls”; “I am ready to announce the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16-17; 2 Cor. 12:15; Rom. 1:15).
We must preach the gospel of our own will. This necessity comes from the spirit of the gospel and cannot be done without the spirit of the gospel.
1. “Though I am free from all, I have enslaved myself to all that I might gain the more...To the weak I became weak that I might gain the weak. To all men I have become all things that I might by all means save some. And I do all things for the sake of the gospel that I may become a fellow partaker of it” (1 Cor. 9:19, 22-23).
All people sit on the throne of their human dignity. Both rich and poor people have a throne because both have a sense of dignity. Married women and unmarried women have a throne because both have a sense of dignity. College professors have such a throne, but elementary school teachers also have a throne. Regardless of whether a person is a manager, doctor, nurse, college student, or just a common person, everyone has a throne of human dignity. This throne of human dignity in a believer can be a great barrier to the release of the gospel. Often a brother who is a manager is unwilling to preach the gospel to a clerk, or a sister in college is unwilling to speak about the Lord Jesus to a person who has little education. Thus, in order for the gospel to come forth from them, they must be willing to come down from their throne. This is a matter of the spirit of the gospel; it cannot be done without the spirit of the gospel. The apostle Paul was full of the spirit of the gospel, so he came down from his throne, discarded his human dignity, and became all things to all men so that he might save some. He enslaved himself to all in order to gain more people. For the sake of the gospel, he was willing to lower himself so that he might become a fellow partaker of the gospel. He was a person who came down from his throne, discarded his self-importance, and was full of the spirit of the gospel. Those who are according to the pattern of Paul can release the gospel to any person of any class or position. With them the gospel is completely unhindered and unrestricted.
1. “I will most gladly spend and be utterly spent on behalf of your souls”; “What then is my reward? That in preaching the gospel I may present the gospel without charge”; “I am ready to announce the gospel to you” (2 Cor. 12:15; 1 Cor. 9:18; Rom. 1:15; see also Matt. 10:8).
The pattern of the apostle Paul in the gospel shows that a person with a spirit of the gospel will spend and be utterly spent for others’ souls. In Greek spend and be utterly spent means to spend all we have and all we are. Paul presented the gospel without charge and was always ready—spending himself—to preach the gospel. A person full of the spirit of the gospel does not care for himself and loves money even less; consequently, the gospel can be released by him. Caring for ourselves and loving money are two great barriers to the release of the gospel. Only the spirit of the gospel can break through and overcome these barriers.