"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit" (1 Pet. 3:18).
What would you say is the highest goal and greatest blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the salvation that He provides? Before reading on think about and answer that question in your own heart. Your answer could reveal whether or not you have truly believed the heart of the gospel. In 1 Peter 3:18 we find both the heart of the gospel and the highest goal of the gospel. The heart of the gospel is that Christ suffered and died on the cross for our sin (1 Pet 3:18), and was raised again from the dead for our justification (Romans 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:1-4). On the cross where Jesus suffered bled and died, he absorbed the curse of sin that we deserved and satisfied the wrath of God on our behalf. Christ crucified for us in the flesh is the heart of the gospel, but it is not the final aim of the gospel. Peter wrote that Christ suffered to "bring us unto God."
The apostle John wrote, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). "In other words, the gift of the gospel called eternal life, is not the mere extension of every earthly pleasure. It is the extension and perfection of the pleasures of knowing God and his Son Jesus Christ" (John Piper). More than escaping hell, more than gaining heaven, God himself is the greatest blessing of the gospel. "If we do not see Him and savor Him as our greatest fortune, we have not obeyed or believed the gospel" (John Piper).
No comments:
Post a Comment