“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 Cor 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.””
As we continue on trying to show that the power of the Gospel is really in the display of the glory of God, we will look at a few more verses that shed light on the issue. “Because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6 which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth” (Col 1:6-6). In this text we see that there is hope laid up in heaven and that the readers had heard of this in the Gospel. Then we see that it was the Gospel that came to men and it was the Gospel that bore fruit in them since the day they heard and understood the grace of God in truth. The Gospel, then, is presented in this text as the grace of God. The Gospel is also understood as that which has such power that since the day the people had heard and understood it the Gospel had been bearing fruit.
The connection between the power of the Gospel and the Gospel of the grace of God should not be missed. Can we miss the connection between the power of the Gospel that delivers from the power and dominion of the darkness of the evil one (Col 1:13) and that which bears fruit and increases since it is heard? It is a powerful Gospel that takes men from the grasp of darkness and bears fruit in the kingdom of the Beloved and the kingdom of light. It is by grace that the Gospel comes to men and gives them an inheritance. Is this grace a weak little grace? Oh no, grace is the grace of a God of omnipotent power. It is the grace of a God that is determined to defeat the kingdom of the evil one and will do it. “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (II Cor 12:9). This verse is just one that shows that grace and power are connected. The Gospel of grace is the Gospel of God that is the power of God for salvation.
“Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake” (I Thess 1:5). Again we see that Paul is concerned with more than just the word or the words only. When Paul went to preach he preached in power and with the Holy Spirit. Notice once again that power and the Holy Spirit go together. If preaching and teaching are to be done in power, the Spirit must be there and be working. It is the Spirit who opens the minds of men and gives them the true wisdom and by that overcomes their humanistic worldview and reasonings. It is the Spirit who alone can show men the glory of the Gospel and make it powerful to their souls. In some way this must be connected with God’s shining Himself in the hearts of men as the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. It is the Spirit who shows this glory and the beauty of it. That is powerful.
But is this related to high views of God? Men who have low views of God take it upon themselves to preach the Gospel in power. They try to convince men using their own wisdom. They try to have power by using rhetorical devices and theatrical displays. They may say that they believe the Gospel is the power of God for salvation, but their actions show that their true view of God has been hidden under the rubbish piles of religious notions. The true preaching of the Gospel demands a high view of God. A high view of God is when the preacher knows that God alone can open the eyes of a spiritually dead sinner. It knows that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation and that, in conjunction with I Cor 1:18-2:14; Colossians 1:13; 2:5-6 and II Cor 2:4,6 means that the glory of God must be declared through Christ. So this preacher focuses on setting out the character of God and its beauty in Christ knowing that in that the power of the Gospel resides. It is that message that the Holy Spirit will use to show how foolishness the wisdom of man really is. It is that message that shows that a man has a high view of God and His glory because He believes, loves, and trusts it and not himself. A low view of God destroys the Gospel.
God Loves... Himself 
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