The Gospel of Jesus Is the Reality of God - Often Opposing the Wisdom and Theology of Man

The mind of man could never have invented the gospel of Christ. First of all the gospel is too simple for most deep-thinking minds to grasp. Paul talks about 'the simplicity that is in Christ' (II Cor 11:3). The message that precedes this one is "The Wisdom and Theology of Man Is Very Different from the Gospel: the Wisdom and Truth of God." In there we saw that the ways of Jesus are actually easy.

If God really did create this world, and the universe, and us, - isn't it best to live by his prescription of life? The Old Testament was full of laws, and no one could live by them. Many preachers have picked this up, and preach living by laws, rules, principles, precepts, standards and regulations. As I said last time, Paul calls them 'instructors' as opposed to being 'fathers of the gospel' (I Cor 4:15).

GOD'S WAYS ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM MAN'S

Some say the gospel is too good to be true (this meaning those who truly know what the gospel is and says). But the truth is the gospel is so good it could only be true. Only the mind and heart of God could invent the gospel. God says, "My thoughts and ways are far above your thoughts and ways."

But we can think the thoughts of God. It is the gospel that allows us to do so. It is the wisdom of God, and we can know God's wisdom if we believe and live the gospel. "Christ has become wisdom to us" (I Cor 1:30).

The gospel is seeing things from God's perspective. Seeing life from man's perspective is like standing on a street corner watching a parade go by. Seeing life through God's eyes is like being in a helicopter overhead looking down on the whole parade.

And Jesus says that all things of God's Kingdom are ours (Luke 12:32). All we have to do is believe the gospel for all of God's good things to profit us (Heb 4:2).

Jesus came to make life simple and easy for us. It is the mind and mouth of man that makes things complicated. Being a lawyer myself, I've always liked this statement: "It's uncertain whether the doctors of LAW, or the doctors of THEOLOGY have made the greatest strides in the lucrative business of mystery."

GOD'S WAYS EVEN OPPOSE MAN'S WAYS

Paul says that many preachers use 'the enticing words of man's wisdom' (I Cor 2:4). He says preachers beguile people with enticing words (Col 2:4). He says they don't know what they are talking about, or the damage they do (I Tim 1:7). He says their preaching actually excludes people and is not good (Gal 4:17). But their words are 'enticing' because they challenge our FLESH, and they seem right to us.

Anything that is not the gospel is 'the ministry of condemnation' (II Cor 3:6). This same verse says only the New Testament should be ministered, which means the gospel. If you are made to feel guilty and condemned in church, I'd advise you to run - not walk to the nearest exit and never look back.

God's gospel is the ministry of his righteousness in us (II Cor 3:9, II Cor 5:21). It is a free gift along with his grace (Rom 5:17). God's gospel is the ministry of reconciliation (II Cor 5:18), which actually means being ONE with God himself.

God cannot be ONE with sinners, so we declares us righteous if we believe in Jesus. He not only forgives our sin, but he forgets our sin too (Heb 8:12, 10:17). He also tells us, if we believe and trust in Christ's finished work, we should have no more consciousness of sins either (Heb 10:2). God's ways are very different from man's ways. Living by God's ways in his gospel, we have 'the key of knowledge' that religion and the theology of man takes away from us (Luke 11:52).

In the gospel, Christ becomes our life (Col 3:4).

MAN'S WORDS AND WISDOM VS. GOD'S WISDOM As I alluded to last time, we often prefer the theology of man to the wisdom of God. Why? Because, as humans, it's the way we think. It's not natural for us to think God's thoughts and to know his way and will. But in the gospel, these become a gift. Repentance really means to change our thinking and embrace God's truth (II Tim 2:25).

Jesus says repent of all other beliefs and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15).

Jesus says to enter the Kingdom of God (and truly see the reality of it) we must become like children. Children simply trust their daddy: our Abba Father God. They don't question their daddy, but believe what he says. Thus Jesus says our work - our 'job' is to believe (John 6:29).

When we truly believe the gospel, all things begin to change for the better in our lives. This doesn't mean that all things in our lives are good. Jesus said in the world we will have tribulation - problems, sickness, accidents, and even death. But we are told that it is our faith (our gospel belief) that overcomes the world.

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As The Gospel Life Coach, Roger shows how the gospel is the power of God, enabling us to live life better by accident than we ever could on purpose. www.TheGospelCoach.com. You will begin to find new coaching videos at: RogerHimesLifeCoach-GospelTranformation.com. Read regular tweets on Twitter: /TheGospelCoach

Posted on 2014-07-20, By: Roger Himes *

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