The Gospel, The Power Of God Series

Step Three: The Gospel-God’s power to change lives

a) We become the righteousness of God

Belief in the gospel makes us “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ”. (Rom. 3:22) When Christ took our sinful position, He gave us His righteous position. We received a new, holy, and perfect spirit and became a new creation.

b) We become sons of God

The acceptance of the gospel makes us partakers of God’s divine nature and we become children of God. As partakers of God’s divine nature our way of life should always stand for truth and justice. As God’s children He pours His love into our hearts. (Rom. 5:5) so that we can love as Christ loved us and gave His life for us.

c) We become joint heirs with Christ

Believers have not only been made righteous and become sons of God but have also become joint heirs with Christ. We should also become good stewards of what has been entrusted into our care and be a source of blessing to those in need.

Illustration:

The gospel empowers the believer to live like Christ. Corrie Ten Boon, a Dutch Christian woman, and her family hid Jews during the Second World War and saved many from the deathcamps of Nazi Germany. When the Germans found out what they were doing the family were sent to a concentration camp. Corrie Ten Boon lost her whole family and one cannot even imagine the suffering she must have gone through. After the war she continued to serve the Lord preaching the good news. One of her trips took her to Germany and after a very successful meeting she decided to shake the hands of those who had accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Midway she stopped as she recognised one of the brutal Nazi tormentors from the concentration camp. She just could not bring herself to shake his hand. She asked the Lord for help and felt the love of God flow through her. She reached out and shook his hand and according to her, felt a peace and joy that she had never felt before.

Application:

Christ wants all believers to enjoy His abundant blessings. We can only do this when we see ourselves as God’s children with the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus.

Conclusion:

The cross is the power of God to God’s chosen people. When Balak, the king of Moab, offered Balaam, the son of Beor wealth to curse the Israelites, he rather blessed them saying he could not curse those whom God has blessed. When Balaam looked down at the camp of the Israelites, he saw the various tribes encamped around the Tabernacle of Meeting as commanded by the Lord. What he saw was the cross of Christ (Numbers 2). The tribes of Judah, Issachar, Zebulun made up of 186,400 men on the East side of the Tabernacle; Dan, Asher, Naphtali, made up of 157,600 men on the North side; Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin, made up of 108,100 men on the West side; and Reuben, Simeon, Gad, made up of 151,450 men on the South side portrayed the cross. Balaam could not curse those whom God has blessed. The cross and Christ crucified is the source of all our blessings.

Personal Response: