Abstract

The “full gospel” refers to a theological hermeneutic, a way of reading the world with reference to God, which takes account of Pentecostals’ innate articulations of their own theological story. This chapter critically examines the functional “logic” of the full gospel that Jesus Christ brings (1) salvation, (2) sanctification, (3) baptism in the Spirit, (4) divine healing, and (5) the impending arrival of the kingdom of God as a theological hermeneutic and analyzes its application as an organizing method in Pentecostal theology. The full gospel is essentially a liturgical narrative aiming at participation in Pentecost through a theological move to and from the altar. The full gospel functions as a descriptive and organizing mechanism of altar practices shaped by a range of personal and communal experiences originating with the symbol of Pentecost and presenting a participatory liturgical hermeneutic that yields a biblically and theologically organized and embodied theology.