Jesus in Chicago: The Ministry of Christ in Today’s World

One would think that Jesus Christ walking the streets of Chicago would surely mean his death; and they would be correct. Jesus would be killed in Chicago the same as he was killed in Jerusalem, but not by the people you think would kill him. It would be by the hands of those you would least expect. Read the following narrative to learn how the life of Christ relates to our everyday lives and relationships with the many people we know and love.

This message is not comical in nature; neither is it a form of theatrical satire or meant to undermine the lifestyles and culture of any certain people. It is a theoretical look at the life of Jesus as in relation to the people he most identifies with, set in an environment based on today’s reality. Chicago is chosen because it is a city most mentioned when white political and social leaders need to project their failures and violent nature onto Black America.

Using Jesus’ true nature and identity from the Holy Bible, we will show how much more relatable Jesus’ life was against the same type of oppression he faced during his times as it would be if he lived in Chicago today. His ministry as a man among the people of Galilee resembles a life lived in a society that neglected and stereotyped the poor, oppresses and persecutes the innocent, and that uses tyrannical laws of the land to intimidate and unjustly persecute people who cannot fight back.

To make this reading as real and as close to life today as possible, we will begin from his birth and youth and run a course parallel to the Bible as his ministry grows and expands throughout the city of Chicago instead of Galilee. Only the most relevant teachings and circumstances of his life will be portrayed within this writing so to keep the narrative short and understandable, and mostly relatable to the reality of today.

We begin with his birth. According to scripture, Jesus was born to a couple who was not married but was engaged to be married in the near future. But when the woman was found to be pregnant, the fiancé, Joseph, was tempted to walk out on her because he thought she had cheated on him with another man. How many times have we heard the condemnation of young, Black women having children out of wedlock from the white news media, and the failures of Black men as fathers to their families? The only difference is, Jesus’ birth was ordained and inspired by God, as God made himself a body and born himself into the world. Thusly, no one can perceive God’s plan until it is completely revealed. God has a way of working things out for them who love him according to his purpose.

The cycle of life is ordained of God and people have children all the time under many circumstances. Marriage is the will of God for all humanity because it is a union meant to be honored so as to be fruitful and for humanity to multiply on the earth. Sometimes people have children before marriage and many times people who are married break up and start other families, which is not of God’s will. Divorce and remarriage is a system created by man to justify his failure to follow through on God’s union of marriage. Thus, unless there is no one who has not dishonored God’s union, there is no one who can speak against anyone else’s lifestyle.

Next, Jesus lived in Egypt for some years until the death of Herod the King, and then his family moved him to Nazareth in Galilee. So it is not hard to see and understand that Jesus grew up around people of color (who were not of European descent) and learned the ways of life and knew many people in the area and neighborhood he lived. So regardless of what neighborhood Jesus grew up in when in Chicago, he lived the life of those around him and experienced the same justices and injustices they did, went to the same schools, and walked the same streets as they.

As Jesus grew in age, he grew strong in the wisdom and power of God. This led him to seek out one of the most spiritual men in the city who would present him to the people as a prophet and man of God. John the Baptist, water baptized Jesus and afterward Jesus received the Spirit of God and from then began to teach and preach among the people of the community. “John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:” (St. Luke 3:16).

After Jesus received the Spirit of God, he was led into an area of the city of abandoned warehouses by the shore of the lake as paralleled with the passage: “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered” (St. Luke 4: 1, 2).

The devil, in this scenario would be the worse person who walks and owns the streets of Chicago; a drug dealer, gang leader and murderer. This person tempted Jesus by asking him to first prove he was a man of God. Many people want to see a change in a believer’s personality before they will offer them respect as a person of God. And when the guy said, “If you are a true man of God, turn this brick into a piece of bread” (St. Luke 4:3), Jesus answered and said: “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”

In other words, the believer must use the Word of God to fight off temptation and the attacks of the devil. They must know and understand the Word as a guide to life and a way to escape temptation and remain in the bounds of reality, which means they have to study the Word and believe in its power and lessons. Material things are not the answer to all the questions and struggles in life, but knowledge of what is right and wrong sustains a person against lies and misinformation.

Again, they guy tempts Jesus by taking him to a roof top overlooking the neighborhood and dared Jesus to jump, repeating words from the Bible that God would not allow him to be hurt if he jumped. “If you have the power of God, jump from this building; the Bible says God will send angels to catch you before you hit the ground.” (St. Matthew 4:6).

But Jesus, again using the Word of God, refuted the guy by saying, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (St. Matthew 4.7). Many times people will try to confuse a believer by using the very words of the Bible but the believer must know the will of God and how to use the Word to ward off false doctrine. The devil knows the words of the Bible better than many preachers so it is up to the believer to study carefully the words and what they actually mean.

Again, the guy offers Jesus a portion of his own wealth and power of the drug game in the streets by taking him to the top of the Sears Tower and showing Jesus the entire city and all its glory. Jesus in turn, refused and told the guy that he served God only revealing that money and power are not the answer to the problems people face, but the power of God is the greatest power on earth; which is the power to refuse corruption and greed (St. Matthew 4:8-10). This passage attempts to reveal that it is possible to live in Chicago and in some of the worse neighborhoods and still be a servant of God. It also shows that if a person can avoid the temptations of the streets or corruption at any level, they will be endowed with an overwhelming power of God.

Once Jesus overcame and rebuked the temptation of the devil, he was empowered to go to the people of the neighborhood and teach and preach about the Kingdom of God. His first assignment was to recruit other brothers from the neighborhood as his disciples. As he recruited his disciples, these were men who are called of God and from there abandon their previous life; their jobs, their friendships, and their old ways of living. They feel a strong urge to seek out God and the truth and they will sacrifice their lives to proclaim the truth among the people.

As he recruited other brothers from the neighborhood, he afterward went to the local churches and preached to the congregations. But not only did he preach the Word he also prayed for people and healed the sick in area hospitals and in homes where people lived sickly. As word got out among the community, more people came to hear him speak at the park where he would go. Once he gathered a large enough crowd of listeners, he taught them basic knowledge of the Kingdom of heaven and of God’s will. From the Sermon on the Mount, we will translate the gospel into average terms and situations of today’s inner city. He spoke:

You are blessed if you are not lusting after riches but can live modestly; you have better understanding of God than those who are rich and corrupt and you are promised the powers and rewards of the kingdom even as you live here on earth. You do not have to wait to get to heaven; these things are for you right now.

You are blessed if you are distressed by life and its injustices; because you will see the oppressor and your enemies suffer many things right before your eyes.

You are blessed if you are humble in heart and not conceited; you will find friends among you that are more like you than there are unlike you.

You are blessed if you desire to do the right thing in your heart and know to treat people right; you in turn will be treated fairly by those who are likeminded.

You are blessed if you do not seek revenge on people who have wronged you; because at some point you will need mercy for your wrongs and others will have mercy on you.

You are blessed if you have good intentions always and want to see others do well; God will come and reveal himself to you one day soon.

You are blessed if you are the kind of person that makes peace with others and attempt to bring peace between others instead of strife; you will have a good reputation among many people and have favors done for you by others.

You are blessed if people lie on you and accuse you of wrong doing for no reason; you will make many friends of those who are treated the same and they will testify to your innocence.

You are blessed when people talk down about you and mistreat you because you believe in God and in me; you will see the fall and shame of those same people in due time. (St. Matthew 5:3-12).

He taught the people that they were special because of this lifestyle and had a power unknown even to them and that people would respect them because of their character. He taught them to not be ashamed of being a good person because it pays off in the long run and that being evil would also pay off, but not to their benefit. He told them that the law of God is good if it is respected and that people who ignore God’s laws will suffer the natural punishments of wrong doing. He also taught them that they should live this life of goodness even above those of the church who taught the words of God as a method of prosperity and to benefit themselves.

He told them that anger is as bad as murder and hatred of others is detriment to their own souls and will eat away at their goodness. He told them that forgiveness and peace should be a priority in their lives to avoid strife and violence. He talked to the men and women about being promiscuous and lusting after sexual desires that had repercussions and that will bring about added struggles in life. He also advised husbands and wives to remain faithful because unfaithfulness also brings trouble and unnecessary drama. 

He taught the people to look closely at themselves and not to constantly judge others or degrade others, but to keep themselves pure of evil and corruption. He also taught the people to avoid violence and revenge because it would bring more violence and vengeful behavior from others toward themselves; he said they should ignore violent and brutal people and not be lured into their world of hate. He advised them to not stoop to the levels of thievery and to not take seriously the material things of the world because they can be taken away in a moment’s time and most importantly, they are not worth dying over.

He said if people ask you for something and you have it, give it to them and do not expect anything in return; for too many people are having a hard time just like them. He said love is more powerful than hate and if you love more than you hate, you will be a blessed soul in the eyes of God. He said if you love only them that love you, it diminishes your power of love so love them who hate you too, which will strengthen your power that much more and overpower their hate. Prayer was something he taught constantly; that if you prayed, you would be able to stand down in situations that would otherwise get you into trouble.

He said that it rains on all people and that good and bad things happen to both good and bad people. So be thankful more often when good things happen to you and to other people. And be thankful even in the bad times because you never know when something good can come from it. He said to make friends and be friendly toward all kinds of people and not just people in your neighborhood, because he said you never know when you might need somebody at any point in time. Then, he said that if the people did these things, they would be closer to knowing God.

He talked further about how to act in public while serving God, such as doing things discretely and not as a show of arrogance because God would eventually reveal your good work before many people. He told them not to pray openly in public as a show to those around but to pray in private so God can reward them openly, and not to pray loud and repetitively in public because it is hypocritical. He said to pray humbly and taught them the Lord’s most powerful prayer that covers all things for your life, which is;

“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” (St. Matthew 6:9-13).

He also taught them about fasting and how it would strengthen their spiritual state of being and that they should fast in private and not in public as a show. He advised them not to ask for and seek after riches and wealth because these things corrupt the soul, but that they should be content with the portion of life God gives them. He assured them that God would supply their needs and not leave them forsaken or abandoned and that there are others around who would help you if you asked.

He told them that if they sought after corrupt things of the world, those things would be their gods and would control their lives. He said they could not serve God and the world of corruption at the same time without losing one or the other. He followed up by telling them not to worry too much about how they were going to eat or what they were going to wear or where they were going to live because he always takes care of those who love him. He said to seek the grace and power of God first and foremost and as a reward, all these things will be given to them over time.

He went on to tell them that they should not judge people because of who they are or where they live or what they have because they, in turn would be judged the same by others. He said not to criticize people when you are not looking at yourself and your own flaws. To first get yourself right and then you can help other people get right. He said not to talk to people about the goodness of God if they simply do not want to hear it and to not try to prove you are of God or that God exist if they refuse to believe you.

He said to search out the mysteries of God and eventually you will find them. To look for the goodness of God in life and you will see it clearly, and to ask for things you know God would want you to have and not things you want only for yourself. He said if you are sincere, he will show you the things of God. And if someone ask you for something and you give them a false or wrong thing, why would God give you anything of his? If you want good things from God, you should give good things to others. This is the basic meaning of the Laws of God.

He told them to stay on the paths of truth and justice and not to veer away after false prophets and people who have no love in their hearts. He said those people have money and fame but do not treat people right or how God wants them to be treated. He said people who are angry, bitter, hateful, mean, depressing, and other evil spirits will kill the love, joy, peace and happiness in your hearts. He said that some people who claim to be believers of God are not true believers; they act and talk like they are but are full of evil, envy, and wickedness.

He taught the people to stand strong on the words of God and to do his will each and every day so when troubled times come, they may be able to withstand the storms of life and survive the fiery insults, accusations, and temptations of the devil. And when Jesus was finally done talking to the people, they were amazed at his lesson, and as Jesus walked from the park and down throughout the neighborhoods, many people followed him.

He healed people who came to him for help. He would always ask them if they believed he could heal them and many would say yes, they believed. He would answer them that their faith and the fact that they believed he could do it, would be enough to make them healed. Everyone that came to Jesus he would ask the same thing, do they believe. He came to one street corner in the neighborhood by the projects and two young guys came to him with guns and anger in their hearts and confronted him, threatening him.

Jesus showed no fear and stood completely still - completely still, as the young men came up on him. But the power in Jesus was strong enough that the demons and anger inside the young men could see that he was above their threats and they turned aside. One of the young men realized that he knew Jesus from a time in the past and decided it was not worth the risk. (The demons inside them talked with the Spirit of God inside Jesus). That was one of the great works seen by the people and they were amazed. Jesus also prayed for and healed the sick in hospitals and nursing homes.

Then he went down into the projects and into the house of a young man who entertained drug dealers and drug users, among thieves and crooks. He sat and ate dinner with them after they ordered from the nearby restaurant and he and his disciples talked to the brothers about the kingdom of God. Someone went and told the pastor of a local church where Jesus was and the church pastor and some of his congregation came to see.

When they saw this, the pastor asked one of the disciples why Jesus was eating with drug dealers and thugs, and that he must be a drug dealer or thug himself. But Jesus knew what they were talking about and went and told the pastor and his members that it is more important to spend time with drug dealers and thugs than with the people already in the church who claim they know about God. It is the sinners who need God most.

Then afterward, someone came to Jesus and told him that their daughter had died from a sickness that very hour and that they needed him to come and lay his hands on her so she could once again live. So Jesus went to the apartment of the parents and into the room of the young girl. When he saw her, he immediately said “Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleeps” (St. Matthew 9: 24). And the people in the room laughed at him aloud. So Jesus put them out of the room because of their weak faith in him. And when they were gone, he took her by the hand, and she rose up.

The essence and power of God is not hindered by the forces of humanity, but overreach them. Jesus knew that there is no death in the Kingdom of God and that a soul sleeps only, even after the body dies. So with this knowledge and faith of God, he was able to bring her life back into her body. After this, he became more famous and people came from all over to see him.

Then he called his disciple to him and gave them the same power as he had so they could go throughout the city of Chicago and preach and teach the kingdom of God and heal the sick. He told them not to go to the churches in the suburbs but to go into the low-income areas and preach to the poor. He told them not to ask for money and not to carry weapons and to not dress up as a preacher or bishop but to go dressed like everyone else.

He told them to preach the gospel of salvation only and if they went into any house or church, if the people believed them it was good but if they believed not, leave them and do not return. He said preachers will throw them out of their churches for speaking the truth and they will be accused of lying and deceiving the people, but if they take no money, they cannot be accused. He said people would call the police on them and take them to court and that they should speak only what the Holy Ghost brings to them to speak in their defense.

He said men will hate them and talk against them and that they will see families break up over the gospel and children being disowned by their parents and he said some people will even die for the sake of the gospel of truth. He told them not to fear those who could kill the body because they cannot kill the soul. He told them to flee to other cities and towns if they felt persecuted and to continue that way until the end. He encouraged them to never deny his teachings or God and they will grow more powerful by the day.

As Jesus continued to teach and preach the gospel and to heal the sick and cast out devils, the leaders of the church conspired to catch him doing something illegal. So they waited until he came to one of the corner churches to see if he would heal someone inside the church, in which the law says no one can heal on the Sabbath day in the church. So when he did, they called the police on him and accused him of trespassing on church property. But when Jesus found out, he left the church and escaped away.

Afterward, when the church leaders heard that he had cast out a devil from a blind man and the man learned to see, they accused Jesus of being the prince of the devils. Jesus explained to them that if he was the devil and cast out other devils, his kingdom would be divided, but if he cast out devils by the hand of God then he must be sent by God. The church leaders did not like this answer and they were more jealous and angry.

Later that day, Jesus walked by the lake shore and many people followed. He stood before them and taught them that not everyone will enter or experience the kingdom of heaven but only those who actually believe and stand firm on their belief. He said some will hear the word but will not understand it and the devil will come and quickly deceived them with lies. He said some will hear the word and receive it with joy but do not allow the word to take root in their soul and when troubles come because of the word, they lose faith.

Then he told of those who would hear and receive the word but the circumstances of the world like riches and fame choke the word and they lose faith also. Then he said, there are those who hear and received the word and become strong and grow in God’s grace. He explained that people must take the gospel and their salvation seriously in order to get the full effect of the power and mercy of God.

During the days of his teaching, the pastor who introduced Jesus to the people was arrested and prosecuted for being a false preacher and extorting money from the people. He was jailed and ended up dying in jail. So Jesus knew that the authorities were coming for him next even though he had not deceived the people.

One day he saw the many people following him and had compassion on them. The disciples came to him and told him the people were hungry and that Jesus should send them away so they could go to the food court at the mall and eat. But Jesus told the disciples to feed them all with the two fish patties and the half loaf of bread they had. The disciples said it was not enough for the hundreds of people but Jesus told them to bring the patties and bread to him and he prayed over them.

Within the next hour and as the word of Jesus got around the city and the many people who followed him for days, a local area restaurant sent fish sandwiches and drinks to the lake shore for the people to eat. They did not charge anything but out of the goodness of their hearts, they sent food and drinks to the crowd for the sake of Jesus and his gospel. So by the end of the day, all the people had eaten and were full. There was even food left over. God always makes a way out of no way.

Then more church leaders came to Jesus to prove him wrong and asked him why his disciples transgressed the law by not washing their hands before they ate? But Jesus said to the church leaders, “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?” (St. Matthew 15:3). Then he continued to call out their hypocrisy about honoring parents, teaching doctrines of men instead of the doctrine of God, and the fact that it is not what goes into a man’s mouth that defiles the man, but what comes out of their mouth.

He said that the mouth speaks what’s in the heart and too many people are full of hatred, lust, greed, and anger and that these are the things that make them evil, not hand-washing traditions. After this, the church leaders were angrier and further conspired how to catch Jesus some way. Then Jesus turned to the people and talked about the many false prophets they would have to learn about and deal with in life.

He told the disciples that the church leaders were going to turn him into the police and have him arrested and jailed, but one of the disciples said that would never happen and yelled at Jesus that he would not let that happen to him. Jesus told that disciple that if he were serious about following him, he would have to trust him and not doubt him.

The next day, the leaders of the church came to one of Jesus disciples and asked if Jesus had paid his taxes. The disciple came to Jesus and told him what the church leader said and Jesus told the disciple that everyone should give unto the government what is due to the government and give to God what is due to God. And then Jesus told the disciple to go down the street and get his car so they could go downtown to the largest church in the city. As they were getting in the car and pulling off, many people ran after the car cheering and blessing Jesus and his fame went all over the city.

When he arrived downtown to the church, he got out the car and the people around saw this and asked who this man was, and the crowd cheered “Jesus of Chicago!” Jesus got out of the car and walked into the church and when he seen what was going on, he started throwing out those who sold goods and services in the name of God. He turned over the ATM machine and book display shelves of books being sold and turned over the chairs of those who sat and sold video disc of their sermons. And he said, “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves” (St. Matthew 21:13).

The next day Jesus came back to the neighborhood and went and stood in the parking lot of a local church. As the disciples brought him something to eat, more church leaders came to him and asked him what he was doing there and by whose authority had he to be at this church. Jesus turned and asked them a question in return and said, “If you tell me what happened to John the Baptist and why he is dead, I will tell you by whose authority I am here.”

But the church leaders could not answer the question because they knew that the people around loved John the Baptist and they did not want them to know why he was dead because they would wonder why the church would cause the death of a man of God. So the church leaders did not answer Jesus, so Jesus told them neither could he answer their question. This made the church leaders even more upset and they wanted to take Jesus, but they feared the people.

So the church leaders began to challenge Jesus on his doctrine by asking him hard questions about the law such as questions about marriage and divorce, paying taxes and tithes according to the law, and what is the greatest commandment in the law of God. And Jesus answered all their questions and made them look foolish, which made them even more upset. He told them that the only thing that can fulfill the law is love toward one another; love toward your neighbor, and love for God. Love, therefore, fulfills the law. After this, the church leaders asked him no more questions.

Then Jesus turned to the crowd of people and started talking about the church leaders and calling out their hypocrisy in public. He talked about how arrogant they were and how they dressed in formal attire to look good but they preached the wrong things. He talked about how they sat in public in the highest and most expensive seats and called each other by flattering titles and names. He told the people how the church leaders make it hard for people to enter the kingdom of God by strict rules and traditions and ordinances, yet they themselves will not enter the kingdom.

He exposed them as robbers of the elderly and of widows and the fatherless and how they teach about money when the more important lesson of God is about salvation and truth. He talked about them being clean on the outside but dirty on the inside because of their greed and lust for the things of the world. He also called them out on how they persecuted the prophets of old and how they seek to destroy those who speak the truth today.

Afterward, he left the church and sat in the park again with his disciples and they asked him about the end times and of the end of the world. He explained to them how the world will come to confusion and about the wars and the rumors of wars, the earthquakes, and the pestilence and famines. He told them not to look for signs but to always be ready for the coming of the Lord because many people will become more angry and aggressive and iniquity will grow and evil will abound. He said many false prophets will rise in the last days and to be careful who you listen to but to read the Word and pray as much as possible to avoid deception.

Then Jesus told the disciples to prepare a dinner for the holidays because it would be soon the authorities would come for him. So they prepared a dinner and he and his disciples ate. During the dinner, Jesus knew that one of his disciples would turn him in for a reward and he told them all who it would be. That disciple left and went his way in shame because money was his motive. After dinner, Jesus left the room and went up the street to a small park to pray. He told the disciples to watch out for the police and authorities as he prayed.

Later that evening, the authorities came with the disciple that turned him in leading them to Jesus. The police surrounded the area and pulled their guns on Jesus and the other disciples. Jesus walked to the police captain and asked who they were looking for. Then two other officers came forth and grab Jesus and took him into custody. When this happened, one of his disciples pulled his gun and pointed it at the officers, but Jesus told him to put away his gun, we are not that type of people. “Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” (St. Matthew 26:52).

The police took Jesus to the church leaders and their council to gather the charges they accused him of. The church leaders called out a false witness that came and said Jesus was out there on the street calling himself the son of God, he trashed the church, and that he was going to lead a rebellion of the people and take over the government. The church leaders and council concluded that Jesus was riotous and a public menace. They asked the congregation what should be his punishment and the congregation yelled jail and death. So the church congregation started to spit on him, and slap him and push him around the church parking lot.

The next morning, the church leaders brought Jesus downtown to the courthouse before the district judge and accused Jesus of inciting a riot, spreading lies about the church leaders and trespassing on church property among other things. The judge asked Jesus was he guilty of these things and to give an account of his testimony. But Jesus answered, “Whatever.” Afterward, the judge said that he could not find any real evidence against Jesus and would turn him over to the church leaders so they could do whatever they wanted with him.

So the judge turned Jesus over to the church leaders and council and they took him and dressed him in an inmate uniform and pushed him around the parking lot. They then took him to the park where he preached and walked him down a trail as the congregation pushed him, slapped and spit on him calling him a blasphemer, a liar and a false prophet. They poured beer down his throat and placed a Chicago baseball cap on his head backward to signify a thug. Then the tied him to a tree and stretched out his arms and tied them to the branches.

As people in the congregation mocked him and called him curse words, a member of the pastor’s ministry team stuck Jesus in the side with a knife and blood poured out. Jesus yelled out to God asking him why he had forsaken him and the people in the congregation mocked him as he yelled. They left him there until it was dark outside as Jesus bled to death. Later that night, a sister and a few disciples came and took Jesus’ body down from the tree and took him to the nearest funeral home.

The funeral prepared Jesus body and the next day he was buried in the cemetery down the street. A few days later, a sister came to the cemetery to sit at Jesus’ tombstone but it had been moved out of its place. Beside the tombstone were two spirits and the sister heard in her mind that Jesus was not there but that he had risen overnight. The sister then turned and ran to the disciples to tell them that Jesus had risen and that His Spirit was alive. When the government and church leaders heard that the body of Jesus was gone, they offered money to people to say that his disciples came at night and took the body.

But the disciples waited in the place that Jesus told them to wait and as they did, Jesus’ Spirit came and appeared to them and revealed himself. He told them, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 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” (St. Mark 16:15-18).

The person of Jesus the Christ is the physical manifestation of God in human form. Since the death of Christ, the Spirit of God has come into the bodies of hundreds of millions of people who believe and receive his spirit. They walk through life daily in the spirit and can witness the acts of God and the power of the Holy Ghost. They know and understand the Word and use it to fight off evil, deception and the lies of the devil so they can stay grounded in reality. All Jesus ever asked anyone as he walked the streets of Chicago was if they believed in him, and only those who did were healed, and delivered by the gospel of liberation.