Power of God Unto Salvation
Today's meditation is based upon Romans 1:16,
"16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
We will be looking at some key words in Romans 1:16. You are welcome to use your online resources to look up these keywords in the Greek (http://www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html ) We will take time to look at each of these terms and to discuss their major importance in regards to our salvation.
The Gospel, Good News, is clearly defined by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-5, where Paul declares the three exciting elements of the Gospel.
"1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, (1)that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that (2) He was buried, and that (3) He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve."
We see that the Gospel (Good News) is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is this Gospel that saves us by the Power of God. We believe if God raised Jesus from the dead, that He will in like manner raise us from the dead. If we believe in and obey the Gospel (Colossians 2:12)
Let's explore the idea of obeying the Gospel further. In 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, we are told there are two types of folks who will receive a harsh judgment:
"when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,
dealing out retribution to those who (1) do not know God and to those who (2)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, "
Those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel will be sent away rom the presence of God. Since God is all love, light, joy, peace, comfort, and holiness, those who do not obey His gospel will be sent away from God's characteristics. They will be in the presence of the Deciever where all hate, darkness, suffering, pain and evil dwell.
No one goes to Heaven who doesn't want to (who doesn't want to be with God). We prove how much we desire His presences while we live upon this earth. If we love Him and His Son, we will obey the gospel of Jesus Christ and praise Him with our lives.
But HOW do we obey the gospel, the death, burial, and resurection of Jesus Christ? Romans 6:3-11 explains how we can obey the gospel and be placed "into Christ". We will see that we CAN obey the three main elements of the gospel to become a new creation in Christ, freed from sin, and alive to God.
"3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been (1) baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we have been (2) buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was (3) raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Baptism is the method God chose to bring us into contact with the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. It is the reinactment of the gospel. But there is more to baptism then getting wet. Colosians 2:11-12
"and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."
Baptism is more than a burial in water, it is accompanied by faith in the working of God. What work does God do in baptism? God's work involves supernatural power (dunamis) in baptism. Remember in Romans 1:16, the power of God is evidenced in the gospel. This word "power" in the Greek is also "dunamis" or supernatural power, miraculous power. What supernatural power does God exert in baptism?
In Ephesians 1:3, we read:
"3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, "
We can see that if we are "in Christ" we receive EVERY spiritaul blessing from the Father. We don't receive some now and some later...we receive all spiritual blessing when we are placed into Jesus Christ.
In the NEXT posting we will look at the power (dunamis) of God. Spend some time studying on this subject. Here are some Scriptures to help your mediation.
1 Cor 1:18, 24
1 Cor 2:4, 5
1 Cor 4:20
1 Cor 5:4
1 Cor 6:14
1 Cor 15:24, 43, 56
2 Cor 4:7
2 Cor 6:7
2 Cor 12:9, 12
2 Cor 13:4
Eph 1;19, 21
Eph 3:7, 16, 20
Phil 3:10
Col 1:11, 29
1 Th 1:5
2 Th 1:7, 11
2 Th 2:9
2 Tim 1:7, 8
2 Tim 3:5 Write in the Blog Comment section what you think this Scripture means
Heb 1:3
Heb 2:4
Heb 6:5
Heb 7:16
1 Pet 1:5
1 Pet 3:22
2 Pet 1:3, 16
2 Pet 2:11
Rev 3:8 Reflect on this passage and share your feelings.
Rev 4:11
Rev 5:12
Rev 7:12
Rev 11:17
Rev 12:10
Look forward to meditating with you this week.
Suggested Listening Assignment: Audio Message: The Truth about the Church and Salvation (Avon Malone)
