Doctrine 3: The power of God in the gospel, is miraculous in every respect (verses 3,4)
1) The incarnation of the Son of God in human flesh, is both miraculous and mysterious
The gospel message in and of itself is not some magical formula for spiritual fulfillment. Nor is it the promise of a happy life. What it is as a message is the good news of God’s Son, come to earth in the flesh. This amazing event was of course, proclaimed by the angelic host upon the natural birth of Jesus in Bethlehem (Luke 2:8-15). This was no ordinary birth, of no ordinary Person. It was nothing less, than the incarnation of God the Son in human form coming to birth, at that particular time and place in human history. This was such an amazing event that the entire heavenly host was shown to be in reverent display of it. The announcement of it alone to the shepherds in and of itself must have been surreal. Imagine being outside on a lonely night tending sheep, and suddenly, the sky is lit up in an awesome display of heavenly beings praising God and proclaiming the entrance of God’s Son into the world! Continue reading →
Doctrine 2: The gospel promises are Divine, and not of human invention (verse 2)
1) The message of God’s grace comes to us through men, chosen of God
The Christian faith and message came to the world at a time in human history that was replete with human philosophy and man-made religion. Prior to this, the truth of God was contained exclusively within the Jewish community. To the world this was a cult of religious zealots, intent on separation from all who were not of their fold. They despised the Gentile world and did not hesitate to make it known to them. The Christian faith on the other hand, though an offshoot of Judaism so to speak, was quite the opposite. It sought and succeeded in turning the world upside down in the proclamation of its message. This turned the world away from a relative indifference to the Jewish religion, to one of active animosity and hostility toward its evolution into the Christian religion. Since that time, the world has been dominated by the Christian message, which has succeeded in influencing entire cultures toward its cosmology. Continue reading →
Doctrine 1: The secret, eternal, purposes of the Godhead are revealed to us in the Trinitarian nature of gospel redemption (verses 1-4)
1) The promise of salvation in Christ, is an eternal covenant decree, purposed by the Father
The Triune God is revealed to us in Scripture as One Being consisting of three distinct Persons. They are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All three are introduced in verses 1-4, as actively involved in gospel redemption. This is something revealed by Paul not only here in this epistle, but by him as well as other writers throughout Scripture. That is to say these three Persons appear regularly in Scripture, either together or separately in any given text. It was a matter of controversy in the early church to define the peculiar station or office each Person occupies within this Trinity. Jesus provides us a clue to solving this in the gospels. “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” (John 15:26). We see an order of activity within the Trinity here in Jesus’ words. Continue reading →
The Church Essential 