Life and Righteousness Through The Gospel

/0 Comments/in , /by

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith… (Romans 1:16-17).

From the verse above, we observe that first, the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the Word of God concerning Jesus Christ, and the salvation that He brought—is the power of God to save men. His power to bring those who believe out of sin, into the life of righteousness, is encapsulated in the Gospel of His grace. There’s no other way to learn about, receive, or understand the righteousness of God outside the Gospel.

Then, in 2 Timothy 1:10, the Apostle Paul shares another inspiring thought: through the Gospel, life and immortality have been brought to light. What kind of life is he referring to? It’s the divine life; the God-type of life; the life that makes men sons of God, and this life is in Jesus Christ: “…this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:11-12).

Being born again, we haven’t only become righteous, but have also become the unveiling of God’s righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Righteousness has become the character of your spirit. The ability to be right, and to do right—the ability to perform righteousness—is inherent in your spirit. You can live that life of righteousness, the nature of rightness that God has given you, from inside out.

Furthermore, you have, and can live the transcendent life; the overcoming life that makes us superior to Satan, darkness, disease, sickness, failure, defeat, and death; a life that’s beyond this world! This extraordinary life, along with the gift of righteousness, was delivered to us in Christ, through the Gospel.

 

Originally published in RHAPSODY OF REALITIES DAILY DEVOTIONAL

 

The Spirit Makes The Difference

/0 Comments/in /by

And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm (Daniel 1:20).

In the days of King Nebuchadnezzar, he wanted certain young men trained, and he got them from different nations. Among them were four Hebrew boys: Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. On the day they were brought to be examined by the king, they were found to be ten times better than their peers. Why? God had blessed them with supernatural intelligence; they had an excellent spirit!

A similar example is David. The power of God came on him when Samuel the Prophet anointed him to become king of Israel, and he turned out to be a marvel in his day. He killed and decapitated Goliath as a stripling. Saul was the King of Israel at the time, and he was a great man of war, but when he faced Goliath, he was terrified. The difference was that the Spirit of God had departed from Saul, and the Spirit had come upon David. Saul had become an ordinary man, whilst David had the Spirit.

1 Samuel 18:7 says, “And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” What were they seeing in the spirit? “Ten times more!” They could have said “twelve” or “six”; but they said, “…Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. There’s something about the Spirit that causes you to do the extraordinary and unimaginable!

Now that you’re born again, that Spirit is in you, not just on you. Acts 1:8 says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…The Holy Spirit has brought the glory of God into your life, giving you guidance and direction. You can walk through “walls,” blaze through barriers, and through the darkness. He’s filled you with supernatural ability to do things that can’t be humanly explained.

Take advantage of the person, power, and ministry of the Holy Spirit in your life! He’s your advantage; He causes you to see, think, say and do things ordinary men can’t do.

Originally published in RHAPSODY OF REALITIES DAILY DEVOTIONAL