“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.””
We are now looking at the power of the Gospel and its link to the glory of God and low views of God. There is a power to the Gospel that cannot be explained by a mere recitation of historical facts. Paul says that the Gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” But faith is also that which sees the glory of God. It is by faith that we behold the glory of God. So we must link the power of God to faith and we must link the glory of God to faith. If faith is the eye of the soul or the spiritual man (Hebrews 11), then we can understand how faith and glory are linked. We can also see how the Church must have a high view of God and it must preach Him and His glory so that the power of the Gospel would be set out. Let us look at a few more passages of Scripture.
Isaiah 53:1: “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”
In this passage we see the parallel. The one who has believed the message is the same one to whom the arm (or power) of the LORD has been revealed. The message is the message of God and it is through that message that the power of God operates. Will a weak little message about a weak little God be enough for souls to be saved from the power and dominion of the evil one? We must never forget that the new birth and salvation is when God transfers a soul from the power and dominion of darkness of the evil one into the kingdom of His beloved (Col 1:13). We must not again that the power and dominion of the evil one is in darkness. The darkness must be shattered by the light and that is the Gospel. The power of the Gospel is when the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God is shone into the heart.
1 Corinthians 1:18: “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, ‘I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.’ 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
This passage in I Corinthians is another passage that, shall we say, puts meat on the bones of Paul’s statement about the Gospel in Romans 1:16. The word of the cross in v. 18 is surely not distinguished from the message of the Gospel in which man is to boast (Gal 6:14). But to those who believe in the word of the cross, it is the power of God. In what way is it the power of God? Well, in different terms than the text, because it displays the glory of God. Remember, God saves to the praise of the glory of His grace (Eph 1:6). The power of the cross is in destroying the wisdom of the wise. Now how does that work? The wisdom of the wise is seen within a particular viewpoint and worldview. That type of wisdom sounds so good to those who are humanistic and focused on the good and glory of man. However, when the glory of God’s wisdom shines through to the heart, there is the power that crushes the wisdom of men and shows how foolish the wisdom of men really is. To those who are called, Christ Himself is the power of God (v. 24).
Now, we must look again and realize that the Gospel is the Gospel of the glory of God in the face of Christ. So where does the power reside in Christ? It resides in the glory that shines in His face. It is God’s glory that overpowers the glory of wisdom and signs in this world. A low view of God destroys the Gospel.
God Loves... Himself 
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