The gospel of
God creates the sense of need for the gospel. Is the gospel hidden to those who
are servants already? No, Paul said, “But even if our gospel is
veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this
age has blinded, who do not believe …” (2 Corinthians 4:3–4). The majority of people think of themselves as being
completely moral, and have no sense of need for the gospel. It is God who
creates this sense of need in a human being, but that person remains totally
unaware of his need until God makes Himself evident. Jesus said, “Ask,
and it will be given to you …” (Matthew 7:7). But God cannot give until a man asks. It is not that He
wants to withhold something from us, but that is the plan He has established
for the way of redemption. Through our asking, God puts His process in motion,
creating something in us that was nonexistent until we asked. The inner reality
of redemption is that it creates all the time. And as redemption creates the
life of God in us, it also creates the things which belong to that life. The
only thing that can possibly satisfy the need is what created the need. This is
the meaning of redemption—it creates and it satisfies.
Jesus
said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will
draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32). When we preach our
own experiences, people may be interested, but it awakens no real sense of
need. But once Jesus Christ is “lifted up,” the Spirit of God creates an awareness of the
need for Him. The creative power of the redemption of God works in the souls of
men only through the preaching of the gospel. It is never the sharing of
personal experiences that saves people, but the truth of redemption. “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and
they are life” (John 6:63).Monday, December 2, 2013
Redemption—Creating the Need it Satisfies
“The
natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him …” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)