“But unless the weight of the burden is felt the gospel can mean nothing to the man; and until he sees a vision of God high and lifted up, there will be no woe and burden. Low views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them” (A. W. Tozer).
2 Corinthians 4:4 “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”” This text should be a puzzle for all those who believe that the recitation of historical information is the Gospel. Yet Paul was eager to preach the Gospel to those in Rome. He was not just willing, but he was eager. There was something about the Gospel that made Paul eager to preach it. We can ask if something about man made him eager to preach the Gospel. We can wonder if there was something about the honor he was obtaining from the persecutions he was receiving that made him eager to preach the Gospel. But in fact, Paul tells us that he was eager to preach the Gospel because it is the power of God for salvation. He then goes on in it and says that “in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.
It is interesting to note that from Romans 1:18-32 Paul sets how man descends into sin and that is by suppressing the truth of God and exchanging the glory of God for idols. But when Paul gets to the Gospel in chapter three, he shows that it is the righteousness of God. He shows that the Gospel is all about God. In fact, he hardly even mentions man while he is talking about the Gospel. The Gospel is all about the character of God. So what was Paul doing in chapter three of Romans in explaining the Gospel that is the power of God for salvation? What was Paul doing in Romans 11:33-36 when he broke out in doxology? Paul was in worship of the living God. Paul exalted God and exulted in Him. Paul was delighted in the glory of God and thought it abhorrent that anyone would preach a different Gospel (Galatians 1:6-8). Now if Paul’s Gospel was centered upon God and was the power of God for salvation, we need to be careful that we preach the message he preached with the same focus.
As we draw back and wonder what the power of the Gospel really is, I think that we must consider the passages above in II Cor 4:4 & 6 as explaining that. The power of the Gospel is God shining Himself in the heart of a sinner and revealing the light of the knowledge of His glory in Christ. That and that alone can answer how the Gospel has so much power in the heart of sinners when God moves to work through it. In the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, that is, the Gospel is all about the glory of the righteous God and the righteousness that He gives as a gift by grace alone. The message that reveals the righteousness of God is only understood and received from faith to faith. It is interesting how II Cor 3:18 uses a different phrase and yet one that is closely tied. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (II Cor 3:18). Other passages tie in the concepts of faith glory: “with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:20). “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?” (John 5:44) and Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40).
The link between faith and glory are closely tied together. When one grows in faith, he sees the glory of God. Hebrews 11 sets out what faith is and it is essentially the sight of the soul. This means that the believer walks by faith (spiritual sight) and not by sight (physical sight). But what is it that faith grabs hold of? Can it be anything other than God Himself and His glory as seen and promised in the Gospel? “And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (I Peter 1:8). The power of the Gospel is that the one who has faith or belief is the one who sees the glory of God. This faith in God is really a trust in His glory, that is, that His beauty and expressed character is worth far more in this life and in the eternity to come. The power of the Gospel is the God shining forth His glory.
God Loves... Himself 
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