Power of God
by Ken Farmen
“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.”
(Rom. 1:16)
When it came to the gospel
of Christ, the Apostle Paul felt no shame or disgrace. He knew the impact
the good news of Christ would have on the world, and he spoke it boldly
to all he came in contact with, both Jew and Greek. The word “power”
comes from a Greek word from which we derive our word “dynamite.”
The gospel is the great power of God unto salvation.
At this point an interesting
question arises. Was God powerless to save men without the gospel of
Christ? Is it possible that the almighty, infinite, incomprehensible
God was unable to save man (whom He created) without Christ’s work
on the cross? To this we answer a definite “Yes.“ God in all
His glory and splendor cannot ever compromise His character. The Scriptures
portray Him as completely righteous, holy, and just. In His righteousness
He must turn His back upon the unrighteousness of mankind. His holiness
cannot reside in the presence of unholiness. But thanks be to God that
He is also loving, merciful and gracious. God provided a powerful way
for us to be saved by transferring our sin to the Lord Jesus upon the
cross and satisfying His justice by punishing Him in our place. Without
this work of Christ, God the Father was powerless to save men.
However, this doesn’t
mean we should picture God as having His hands tied, being defeated
and powerless to deal with the sin that had entered the world. Christ’s
work on the cross was the power of God unto salvation, but Christ is
God. The three persons are one God. God has always been in control and
Christ was the power, or the way, in which He had planned before the
earth began to bring salvation to mankind. Yet, this great power can
only be activated amongst “everyone that believeth.” Have
you believed in the Lord Jesus? Have you experienced the power of God
unto salvation? It’s our prayer that you have done so.