2020-12-04
Good Morning Dear Ones,
One more important question remains to be discussed before moving on; that is: What is the power of God’s word and the Gospel of Jesus Christ? It seems simple on first inspection, but it involves going beyond what a newcomer to the faith might easily understand. RO 1: 16-17, [Paul speaking], “I have complete confidence in the Gospel. It is God’s power to save all who believe, first the Jews and the Gentiles. For the Gospel reveals how God puts people right with Himself; it is through faith from beginning to end. As the Scripture [Hb 2: 4] says, ‘The person who is put right with God through faith will live.’” The absolute necessity here is having faith in God (which includes all three personalities of the Trinity). We must have faith for many reasons, but a very practical one is the belief that God is capable of intangible things, which are supernatural. The last word of the previous sentence means things that go beyond the laws of the physical universe and which can’t necessarily be put to a physical test. Remember our HE 11: 1 definition of faith---“Faith is being sure of the things for which we hope, to be certain of the things we cannot see.” Those people of the ancient world who had faith, Abraham for example, won God’s approval. The words at the end of RO 1: 17 “will live,” refer to the same thing as “will gain eternal life with the Lord.” A person of faith has the Holy Spirit indwelt in his or her soul, and thus, is given the assurance that what he can’t see is really the truth or not. God has only the truth in Him; He never lies.
Because I am a Messianic Jewish person, I had the question: What about the Jews; they reject Jesus Christ’s deity? RO 11: 25 is the only place where God takes up that question I’ve found. “There is a secret truth, my friends, that I want you to know; for it will keep you from thinking how wise you are. It is that the stubbornness of the people of Israel is not permanent but will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to God.” This verse lets us know two important truths. The first thing is that God is working from a carefully considered plan for when and how things will happen. The second thing is the statement itself that the Jews will not remain in stubborn refusal that Jesus is a personality of God and therefore, has God’s power and attitudes. God’s timing is always perfect and always chosen to maximize His teaching to His people.
As for the Gospel itself, that is the account of how Jesus’ earthly and heavenly incarnations do the work of the Father. Let me share a nutshell presentation of the Gospel from 1 COR 15: 3-8, [Paul speaking], “I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins , as written in the Scriptures [IS 53: 5-12]; that He was buried and was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures [PS 16: 8-10: MT 12: 40; AC 2: 24-32]; that He appeared to Peter and to all twelve of the apostles [LK 24: 34; MT 28: 16-17; MK 16: 14; LK 24: 36; JN 20: 19]. Then He appeared to almost 500 of His followers, most of whom are still alive although some have died. Then He appeared to James, and afterward to all the apostles. Last of all, He appeared to me (Paul), even though I am like someone whose birth was abnormal [AC 9: 3-6].”
Of course, the description of the Gospel involves the supernatural, and it requires genuine faith on the part of the believer to become an integral part of his or her life! Moreover, if we see what is meant by the Covenant of Grace, it is a two-way promise between God and the believer. God agrees to protect, defend, watch over, help guide, give direction to, and heal the believer. We agree to do what we can to expunge sin from our lives, confessing it before Him and stopping the attitude or actions that offend, and profess genuine faith in Jesus Christ. I like to say, “we have faith and profess Christ, and God blesses us with all that we need to gain eternal life. God loves us with a love that goes beyond what a human can give. His love is constant, and His desire to bless us is evident (if we are willing to watch Him at work and look for it).” Faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the genuine profession of it can total transform one’s life! My own life is living proof of that. Thus, I cite RO 12: 1-2 here, “So there, my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us, I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by the complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and pleasing to Him and is perfect.”
PRAYER: O Lord, despite our human limitations of perception, we strive to better understand that great gift of Your wisdom that belief in Jesus Christ affords us. In COL 1: 26-27 and 2: 2-3, we are given what we need to know about your once secret mystery. Now, we are told that God’s mystery is Christ within us, Christ who opens the vastness of God’s wisdom to us. This is done through the Holy Spirit, our indwelt Counselor, Who helps us to understand the parts of this wisdom that we seek. Moreover, as long ago as JER 29: 11-13, we were shown the depth and consistency of the love You have for us. [God speaking] “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, not to bring disaster, plans to give you the future for which you hope. Then, you will call to Me, and you will come and pray to Me. You will call to Me, and I will answer you, for you will call to me and find Me with all your heart.” Dearest Father, you show by Your actions that we are right to be convinced that You will never abandon us. We are grateful; we offer You our heartfelt praise and thanks. In Christ’s holy/mighty name we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I have been commanded by the Holy Spirit to write a new segment of “The Spirit Speaks” called “Living by the Holy Spirit.” This subject begins next week. Sometimes people, including myself, are very hard on themselves. Half of that is the Holy Spirit as my conscience, and the other half if long-held habits of one’s emotions and rearing. Sadly, I was in my fifties before I realized that the Holy Spirit was with me and interacting in my life all the time. Most believers in Jesus Christ, who are genuine believers, figure that out earlier in their lives. And yes, I’ve professed faith in Christ since the age of 25! I have no explanation for this fact, except that I’m a slow learner. The important fact is that I finally did figure this out. There were times when my past life read like a cheap dime novel. But, every challenge I’ve had and worked through was part of God’s effort to awaken me to my long need to mature in the faith. I now know that He loved me enough to be preparing me for the ministry I have now. I’ve been richly blessed by Him sending many wonderful friends into my life wherever I have lived, and I have lived all over North America. (I was an Army brat, who married an engineer). There have been many sins that my Lord had to help me rid myself of, i.e. pride, arrogance, lying, impatience, and so on. I had to learn what true forgiveness, humility, and the other gifts of the Holy Spirit are. I had to be trained to think in eternal terms and not just earthly ones. And yes, I’ve been at times God’s “hard nut to crack.” I attest to you today and always, that RO 8: 38-39 is true. Nothing and no one can separate us from the love of God. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2020. All Rights Reserved.
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