December 11, 2024 IT’S A REAL DEAL
2 Corinthians 13:4-5, 11 “For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we shall live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you. Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-unless indeed you fail the test?”
There is a lot to glean from this passage to say the least. As I read this passage and as I meditate on it, I come to one major conclusion. There is obviously more to this passage than the one conclusion I come up with. If I had the gift of teaching, or if I was a preacher, I am sure I could spend weeks expounding the truths found in this passage. But, here is the overriding message I get from this. As believers, we have been given the gospel, or you can call it ‘the faith.’ “The faith” is referring to the body of truth that God has given. There is no other truth outside this body of truth that God has given. The gospel is peculiar from the world’s perspective, it’s specific, and it did not originate with man; it came from God. The gospel is not a book of good suggestions and it’s not just a book of information. The reason for being given the gospel was not that we might gain more knowledge, but that we would be transformed by the power of the gospel. The amazing thing is how this gospel came to us. In the plan of God, it took the death of His Son to redeem us, to take us out of this world of darkness and to place us in His family and His kingdom. Just as Jesus had to die, we to are called to die to ourselves in order that He might live in us. When we are weak, when we die to ourselves, the power of God is ‘directed toward’ us-His Son comes to live in us. So it is through weakness that we live. I say all that to say that this faith, this gospel, this Jesus living in us, is a huge deal and it demands our all. God forbid that we ever take this gospel lightly or fail to recognize the fact that Jesus lives in us! We are instructed to test ourselves and to examine ourselves-to see if we are in the faith. Personal examination is needed to see if our beliefs are in line with God’s word and to see if our actions, our words, our attitudes and our desires are in agreement with the ways of God. This self-examination is not fear based, but is for our own good. So, to claim to be followers of Jesus and to say we believe the gospel, is a big big deal. We are blessed to have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God. Let us live in the light.
Hebrews 2:3a “how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation.”
Jude 3b “I was constrained to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints.”
Blessings, Buddy
2 Corinthians 13:4-5, 11 “For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we shall live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you. Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-unless indeed you fail the test?”
There is a lot to glean from this passage to say the least. As I read this passage and as I meditate on it, I come to one major conclusion. There is obviously more to this passage than the one conclusion I come up with. If I had the gift of teaching, or if I was a preacher, I am sure I could spend weeks expounding the truths found in this passage. But, here is the overriding message I get from this. As believers, we have been given the gospel, or you can call it ‘the faith.’ “The faith” is referring to the body of truth that God has given. There is no other truth outside this body of truth that God has given. The gospel is peculiar from the world’s perspective, it’s specific, and it did not originate with man; it came from God. The gospel is not a book of good suggestions and it’s not just a book of information. The reason for being given the gospel was not that we might gain more knowledge, but that we would be transformed by the power of the gospel. The amazing thing is how this gospel came to us. In the plan of God, it took the death of His Son to redeem us, to take us out of this world of darkness and to place us in His family and His kingdom. Just as Jesus had to die, we to are called to die to ourselves in order that He might live in us. When we are weak, when we die to ourselves, the power of God is ‘directed toward’ us-His Son comes to live in us. So it is through weakness that we live. I say all that to say that this faith, this gospel, this Jesus living in us, is a huge deal and it demands our all. God forbid that we ever take this gospel lightly or fail to recognize the fact that Jesus lives in us! We are instructed to test ourselves and to examine ourselves-to see if we are in the faith. Personal examination is needed to see if our beliefs are in line with God’s word and to see if our actions, our words, our attitudes and our desires are in agreement with the ways of God. This self-examination is not fear based, but is for our own good. So, to claim to be followers of Jesus and to say we believe the gospel, is a big big deal. We are blessed to have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God. Let us live in the light.
Hebrews 2:3a “how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation.”
Jude 3b “I was constrained to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints.”
Blessings, Buddy
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