By Grace with Power
By Grace with Power
9/15 Reading Portions: 2 Samuel 11; 2 Corinthians 4; Ezekiel 18; Psalm 62-63
BLINDED
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4
We have many reasons to rejoice over our salvation through Jesus Christ. Because we were born in sin, being descendants of fallen Adam, we had two things working against us. First, we could not understand spiritual truth until God revealed it to us. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians he said, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14). By nature, we were unable to receive the truth of the gospel by ourselves. Second, the god of this world, Satan, blinded our minds to keep us from seeing the light of the gospel. In other words, the forces of our own corrupt flesh, as well as the Satanic forces of the world, kept us from receiving and embracing the truths of Christ’s gospel. This is amazingly wonderful news since God has saved us. It means our salvation has come by God’s grace alone. There was nothing we could do to earn our salvation. There is nothing we could do to secure our salvation. There can certainly be no boasting on our part because salvation is all of grace. In fact, since by nature we were corrupt and because the god of this world had blinded our minds, if we attempted to aid or assist the grace of God, our corrupt natures and blinded minds would have actually opposed the work of God in Christ. This truth not only speaks of the grace of God, it also exalts the power of God through the precious sacrifice of Christ Jesus. The perfect obedience of Jesus Christ and His holy submission to lay down His life to save sinners is God’s greatest glory. God is most glorified in our lives when we praise Him for His abounding grace and exalt Jesus Christ for the power of His life and sacrificial death.
The pow’r of Christ in saving grace—
Amazing to behold!
One day we’ll praise Christ face to face,
No longer to grow old.
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