So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
— Isaiah 55:11
For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
— 1 Thessalonians 2:13
And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
— Acts 11:21
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
— Acts 2:33
That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
— Colossians 2:2
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
— 1 Corinthians 2:2-5
The Absolute Necessity of Experimental Religion, by Octavius Winslow. The following contains an excerpt from his work, “Experimental and Practical Views of the Atonement.”
For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
— 1 Thessalonians 1:5
The religion of the Lord Jesus is valuable only as its power is experienced in the heart. In this respect, and in this only, it may be compared to the physical sciences which, however ingenious in structure, or beautiful in theory; yet if not reduced or reducable to purposes of practical use, are of little worth. It is so with the truth of Jesus. The man of mere taste may applaud its external beauty—the philosopher may admire its philosophy, the orator its eloquence, and the poet its poetry, but if the Spirit of GOD take not HIS own truth and impress it upon the heart, as to the great design of its revelation, it avails nothing. What numbers are there who rest in the mere theory of Christianity. As a practical principle they know nothing of it. As a thing experienced in the heart, it is a hidden mystery to them. They speak well of it as a religious system—believe its Divinity, and even defend its doctrines and extol its ethics: yet, make no approaches towards a personal and practical obedience to its claims. In a word, they know nothing of repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. It will surely appear to a spiritually enlightened mind, a subject of vast and solemn moment that, this delusion should be exposed—that, this foundation of sand should be undermined, and the absolute necessity of experimental religion, as necessary to an admission within the kingdom of glory, be strenuously and scripturally enforced.
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
— 2 Thessalonians 2:10
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