Week Five – Book Notes Beholding God in the Work of Salvation
Introduction: The gospel is the good news that God has done everything necessary to save us ultimately from sin and its consequences and to bring us to Himself. All the requirements of the God’s law have been met. By the work of the Holy Spirit, man is enabled to respond to the good news in faith and repentance, placing all hope in Christ alone and turning from all that is in opposition to Him. Although the gospel is assuredly for the good of mankind, ultimately it is for the glorification of God. Through it, sinful man is brought into direct fellowship with a Holy God by the incredible display of His love, wisdom, power, justice and holiness in Jesus Christ.
Considering what Ephesians 3:2-13 says about the gospel – if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. Therefore I ask joy not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.
- It was not fully revealed to believers in other ages.
- Includes the rescue of all mankind, not just the Jews.
- Contains the unsearchable riches of Christ.
- Displays the manifold wisdom of God.
- Is working itself out in all the world according to God’s eternal purposes.
Considering what Colossians 1:24 – 29 says about the gospel: Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.
- I rejoice in suffering for the body of Christ.
- I was made a steward of the gospel in fulfillment of God’s Word.
- The gospel unveils the “riches of the glory” of God’s hidden plan to put Christ in the hearts of His people.
- So I rejoice to preach Christ alone, who is able to transform people.
Day One: The Many Facets of the Gospel Jewel Are you willing to adjust your life to whatever God reveals of Himself in the coming days? What are the normal words we hear in our modern day churches when people talk about someone “becoming a Christian”? Usually, we hear words like “Saved” or “born again”. If that is all we hear, then we are missing something. Neglecting to communicate the complete gospel is robbing God of the glory that is Him. Since we know that our view of God will affect our view of salvation – it will impact our ways of looking at such things as what a saved person looks like and what it takes to save a soul.
Below are some words that God uses to describe the many aspects of His work in rescuing a soul. Write a simple definition of each term.
Atonement: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Propitiation: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reconciliation: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Redemption: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Regeneration: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Faith: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Repentance: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Union with Christ: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Imputation: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Justification: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Adoption: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sanctification: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Perseverance: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The significance of this list is based in two realities. First, these are the words which God Himself used to display His glory in our rescue. You might not understand God as well as you should if you are not willing to study these words in Scripture. Each regards this act of God from a different perspective but it is together they make a more complete portrait of our Redeemer. Second, it is the study of these words that aids us to comprehend the distance between God and us. As our awareness grows, the distance seems greater and we have an ever growing understanding of our need for a Rescuer. And we also begin to comprehend the width of the gap between us and God.
Day 2: The Gospel is the Wisdom of God: 1 Corinthians 1:23-24 – but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Creation shows the Wisdom of God. Psalm 104:24 – O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; The earth is full of Your possessions. But the redemption of mankind is the pinnacle of God’s self revelation and the gospel declares what the God of glory has done. Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
What is Wisdom? It is the skillful application of knowledge. The biblical word is used to describe the skill of a craftsman or artist. It also applies to a person who conducts his life with discretion and governs his desires in order to have the best life. AW Tozer writes: He knows instantly, and with a perfection of fullness that includes every possible item of knowledge concerning everything that exist or could have existed anywhere in the universe at any time in the past or that may exist in the centuries or ages yet unborn.
Isaiah 40:13-14 – Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, Or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge and informed Him of the way of understanding?
Job 21:22 – “Can anyone teach God knowledge, In that He judges those on high?
Job 9:4 – “Wise in heart and mighty in strength, Who has defied Him without harm?
Read the Passages – Daniel 2:20-22 and Job 12:13 and tell what these passages tell us about God’s wisdom?
We must remember that God doesn’t have work to have wisdom and understanding, it is His. He doesn’t gain it by observation or maintain it by diligence. Wisdom belongs to God and He gives it to men.
| God IS: | Therefore: |
| Infinite | His wisdom is without measure. He cannot learn, cannot become wiser. |
| Immutable | His wisdom is unalterable. God cannot grow old and feebleminded. He is as wise today as He was when He created all things out of nothing or when He conquered His enemies through the cross of Christ. |
| Sovereign | His wisdom is united to His perfect right to exercise His wise choices over all those who live in His realms. |
| Omnipotent | His wide plans are capable of being implemented, no matter how difficult things might appear. |
| Merciful / Just | His wisdom is shown in devising the best way to exercise pity and compassion o His enemies, while upholding the honor of His law. Thus His wisdom will never be exercised in contradiction to His moral perfection. |
Day 3: The Gospel is the Power of God: God is not mostly wise. He possesses all wisdom. This is reflected in the work of our salvation. Paul says that the gospel of Christ is also a display of the “power of God.” Nothing else matches the gospel work as an exhibition of God’s power. So when we talk about God having all wisdom, would you think that God has only some power? Of course not. God possesses all power.
What is the Power of God? Stephen Charnock wrote: The power of God is that ability and strength whereby He can bring to pass whatsoever He pleases, whatsoever His infinite wisdom my direct, and whatsoever the infinite purity of His will may resolve… God’s power is like Himself: infinite, eternal, incomprehensible; it can neither be checked, restrained, nor frustrated by the creature .. As His essence is immense, not to be confined in place, as it is eternal, not to be measured in time; so it is almighty, not to be limited in regard of action.
- Ps. 62:11 – God’s power is part of who He is and does not need to be maintained by any effort on His part.
- Job 11:7 and Ps 145:3 – God’s power is infinite and cannot be fully comprehended, measured or limited.
- Isaiah 40:28 – God’s power is immutable, incapable of alteration in any degree.
- Ps 135:5-6, Isaiah 46:10-11, Daniel 4:34-35 God’s power is sovereign, possessing the ability and the right to accomplish al that God desires.
- Ps. 89:6-8 – God’s power is incomparable.
- Romans 1:20 – God’s power is united to all of His other attributes.
Snyder then contrasts a Life of Faith and a Life of Idolatry. To live in the reality of what God has revealed of Himself is to live the life of Faith. To live believing the lie that the world fashions and calls “god” is to live a life of idolatry because you are worshipping a false god, a god who doesn’t exist. How will it change our lives to live upon the fact that we have an all powerful, all wise God?
Day 4 and Day 5: Redemption is accomplished by a Great Work for Sinners. Salvation is accomplished by two great areas of divine work
- What God must do for us (Gal 4:4, Hebrews 2:14-16, Romans 5:18, Hebrews 10: 11-14, Romans 3:25, Hebrews 2:17, 2 Cor 5:21, Romans 4:4-8, 2 Cor 5:18-19, Col 1:13, Gal 3:13, 1 Cor 1:30-31, Romans 5:1,9, Titus 3:7, Eph 1:5, Eph 2:19, Titus 2:14)
- What God must do in us (John 16:8, Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36: 26-27, Titus 3:5-7, John 3:5-8, Eph 2:4-5, Phil 1:29, Eph 2:8, Acts 11:18, Eph 2:22, John 14:21,23, 2 Cor 3:18, John 10:28)