In His Name Devotionals
THE POWER IS WITHIN THE GOSPEL
In His Name Devotionals
THE POWER IS WITHIN THE GOSPEL
There is an ancient fable about a wise mountain traveler, who one day came upon a beautiful stream. Just below the water’s surface he noticed a glittering precious stone which he gathered into his bag.
The next day, he encountered a man begging for food. As the wise traveler opened his bag to share food, the beggar noticed the beautiful precious stone and asked, “Would you give me that stone?”
Without hesitation, the wise traveler gave away his most precious stone. As the beggar left, with food and the precious stone, he thought, “This stone gives me financial security and I’ll never again worry about food or work. My financial future is guaranteed.”
However, the more he pondered what had happened, the more he became intrigued with this person who gave away such a valuable stone. So, he journeyed back and located the wise traveler. Giving the stone back he said: “I want what’s within you—that which allowed you to give away this precious stone.”
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation” (Rom. 1:16 NKJV). The most important first and last question: what’s within you?
The power to introduce God is within the Gospel. History reveals how man has groped for understanding about God. For instance, the ancient Egyptians worshipped the sun. They also thought God was in the beetle; the ox; and the owl. So, they erected statues to the sun and these animals. Certainly God is found in nature, but He’s only inferred there.
The Greeks tried to find Him in philosophy. They expressed great spiritual and philosophical thoughts in their attempt to find the universal God.
In the Old Testament we find God through a case study of how He treated His people. We see God’s wrath and power, as well as His love and righteousness.
When Jesus appears in the New Testament, we see God’s real, true, Complete Conception made known. So much so that in John 14:9 we read: “He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father.” God did not begin His plan of redemption with a creed or a manifesto. He began with a Person—His Son, Jesus. And this proclamation gathered a people—you and me, the church. This is both historically and theologically correct.
In Acts 17, Paul may have had the Egyptians and Greeks in mind when he used “the unknown god” altar to introduce God’s power through Jesus Christ. The Bible reveals the life of Christ. What He did. How He lived. His motives. His death. His burial. His resurrection. To see Jesus is to see God (John 14:9).
Let us never be “ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Rom. 1:16, 17). To know Jesus is to know God.
The power to change human nature is within the Gospel. We are familiar with many powers such as: gravity; the moon’s pull controlling ocean tides; military force; bunker buster bombs; etc. But God has provided a spiritual power that changes lives. Correcting. Restoring. Making us complete. Drawing us to greater levels of usefulness. God’s power is much greater than bunker buster bombs, gravity or any other force.
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). The power is in the gospel to change human nature. But notice what Paul says: “I have been crucified with Christ .” Co-crucified! What does that mean?
During the occupation of Palestine, the Romans crucified literally thousands of people. The cross was a terrible instrument of execution—painful! grotesque! inhuman! It was capital punishment at its worst!
“I have been crucified with Christ” means something has to die, and that something is self. The self that puts self first must have the electric chair, the gas chamber, the lethal injection—you fill in the blank. Why? Because God is calling us to change our human nature.
Only through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus can human nature be changed. Only through Jesus Christ can we reach a higher level of thinking; be restored and made acceptable to God. This is possible only through God’s power within the gospel.
As a little boy, Earnest enjoyed setting on the front porch with his mother. They lived in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains. On one was an unusual and unique formation of rock. From a distance, the mountain side appeared to be a man’s face. Earnest was fascinated by an ancient legend as old as the Indians who had earlier occupied the land. According to the legend, a stranger resembling the great stone face on the mountain would one day come into the valley. As a boy, Earnest would run to the edge of the village every time someone announced, “There’s a visitor coming into town.” “Maybe this is the visitor whose face will be like the great stone face on the mountain,” he always thought. The legend also said that the visitor would bring prosperity to the valley, and be a great leader. One day the announcement was shouted. Earnest, like others from the town, rushed to the edge of the village to see the stranger. Some were uncertain about the stranger’s face, but Earnest knew that it was not an image of the great stone face. Time marched on Earnest grew and developed. Again the announcement was made that a stranger was coming. Perhaps this would be the stranger whose face would match the great stone face on the mountain. Once again Earnest, along with most of the people, went to the edge of the village. Some thought it was the legendary stranger, others disagreed. But Earnest was sure – this face did not match the great stone face. Growing into manhood, Earnest continued looking at the great stone face on the mountain side, studying and focusing on its image. Once again the announcement was heard, “A visitor is coming to town,” and as usual everyone wondered if perhaps this would be the stranger whose face matched the great stone face. Once again they were sad because he was not the man. But this time something different happened. A shout came from the crowd: “Hey everybody, look at Earnest and look at the great stone face. Earnest’s face matches the great stone face!” Throughout a life of study and dedication, Earnest had transformed himself into the image of his adoration (adapted from “The Great Stone Face,” a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne).
What was true about Earnest is true about us. When we focus on and direct our lives toward the Creator of the universe, we become more like Him. We were created in His image and, therefore, should aspire to be in His image. And, within the Gospel of Christ, we can, because it has the power to change human nature.
Confirming this truth, Victory sent the following message to StudyJesus.com: “My husband is a good provider and a good father. He works for an oil company and so we travel a lot. Right now we are overseas. My problem has been that my husband is a nonbeliever and I did not know how to love him and love the Lord at the same time. I dreaded each time he came home because all I did was argue with him. I saw him as unclean and frankly I even began to feel that I didn’t want anything to do with him. Our marriage was on the rocks all because of me. Then early one morning a while back I was led to your website and started reading and studying about Jesus. I wanted you to know that my life has changed. I no longer argue all the time with my husband. I now try to love him because I now can clearly see that Jesus loves me in spite of my failings. And my husband has begun to notice the change in me. Just last night he told me how much he appreciated my patience and understanding. He’s now spending time with me each morning and night reading your material. Thanks to your Bible studies and through the grace and guidance of our Lord Jesus Christ I can now see that I am to build the foundation of God’s loving pattern as a wife. Thank you so much.”
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12).
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Trials, tragedies, and difficulties impact and shape us. But the Gospel has power to transform and change human nature.
The power to comfort is within the Gospel. What good is power if we are in constant turmoil? If we have no comfort? To illustrate, blow up a balloon that is painted with a face. Notice how it becomes bigger and bigger, until the face is distorted. But because it contains only air, the balloon will explode with only one little pin prick. Unfortunately society places us in the same circumstance.
Our culture produces casualties, such as: through rightsizing or downsizing in the work force—hurting quality and valuable people. Perhaps your casualty is a failed relationship; a loved one lost; or family health. But that is the culture in which we live—Always reminding us that much of life is as empty, fragile, and hollow as a balloon.
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4). Tremendous words of comfort!
The power to save is within the Gospel. Sadly, too much religion today is empty. It is too often more about pleasing men than pleasing God. To understand the power within the gospel to save, we must understand more about God’s power.
Our world needs more than a spiritual aspirin, because it suffers from more than a spiritual headache. If through our religious experience we focus primarily on comfort or being salved from pain and distress, then we have misunderstood the power of the Gospel. Yes, the gospel has the power to comfort. But more important, the gospel of Christ can reach into your life and mine, changing us and making us acceptable to God.
“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). It is fascinating to watch those who graft various plants. Engrafted plants can grow, flourish, and produce. This is what we are called to do with the engrafted Word of God, and it has the power to save.
In Paul’s day the Roman Empire was the status symbol of man’s power and influence. As the greatest military force on earth, the Romans had the power to annex territories; levy taxes; build roads; beautiful palaces; and other wonderful engineering marvels. They also had the power to destroy, and they did. Even with the power to do all that, the Roman Empire fell. It destroyed itself.
The words “dynamite,” “dynamo,” and “dynamic” come from the original Greek text of the Bible. The Gospel is the God’s power; God’s atomic bomb; God’s bunker buster bomb. The Gospel is the most powerful force of all, because it is God’s power to save.
We know about destruction. Through television, images of the tremendous destruction of war are brought into our homes. Destruction is evident. We are horrified that man would inflict on man the September 11 destruction. We saw planes crash, twin towers fall, and we were horrified—shocked at man’s power to destroy. There is no question about the power to destroy. But who has the power to save? God has the power to save. His power to save is within the Gospel. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation” (Rom. 1:16). The power to save is unique and found only through God.
So, in conclusion, the Gospel of Christ has the power to: introduce us to God; change human nature; comfort; and save.
A young boy decided to build a boat. So, after carefully selecting a piece of wood, late in the fall of the year, he began slowly carving, stroke by stroke. Laboring hours upon hours he gradually carved out and formed the bow, mast and sail. In the spring, he took his finished work to the lake. Carefully he attached a string and set the little boat afloat. He enjoyed his labor of love very much. It was beautiful, floating on and sailing across the water. As he watched it sail, a strong gust of wind caught the sails. Unfortunately, the string slipped through his fingers. He watched his little boat sail away, grieving that it might be lost forever. Tirelessly he searched for it, until one day he saw a boy sailing the lost little boat. Excitedly he ran to him. They talked, made a bargain, and he once again owned his little boat. On the way back home, tightly clutching the little boat, he thought, “Twice you were mine. First I made you. They you were lost. But now I bought you back.”
God created us. We found ourselves lost because of sin. So, what did God do? Through His Son, Jesus Christ, He bought us back! The power is within His Gospel!
Perhaps the poet, S.C. Boyce, said it best:
“One ship goes East, another West.
By the self same winds that blow.
‘Tis the set of the sail and not the gale
That determines the way they go.
Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate
As we voyage along through life.
‘Tis the set of the soul that determines the goal
And not the calm or the strife.”
We began by asking: what’s within you? Now consider this question: Is the power of the Gospel within you?
