Jesus Christ came from
the Father as pure, holy love incarnate, lived, loved, and laid down his life
on the cross for our sins, resurrected and went back to the Father, gave
himself to us again as the Holy Spirit and now gives us grace and power to live
for Him restoring us to his likeness, the Imago Dei.
There are six distinct points in the Gospel In Short. Anything less is the Gospel short shrifted:
- · Jesus Christ came from the Father as pure, holy love incarnate,
- · lived, loved, and laid down his life on the cross for our sins,
- · resurrected and went back to the Father,
- · gave himself to us again as the Holy Spirit
- · and now gives us grace and power to live for Him
- · restoring us to his likeness, the Imago Dei.
Hollywood portrays the Gospel story as only the first two points
and usually (almost always) leaves out the third point, the resurrection and
ascension. The church mostly celebrates
the first three points. The two big
events in the Christian calendar are Christmas and Easter. The exercise of faith by many Christians
takes the form of intellectual belief in the historical validity of the first
three points. As a result, the Christian life remains only a set of cognitive ascents of
belief regarding the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. This is the Gospel short shrifted. It's like sharing only half the loaf of the Bread of Life. It is a Gospel that occasions only half the blessing of salvation when our salvation is not only from sin, but also to "the measure of the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19), holiness.
The tragedy of Christianity, especially in the West, is that too often only half of the Gospel story is understood, taught, and shared with
others. The fourth, fifth, and sixth
points are ignored. How is that possible
when the gift of the Holy Spirit by the Father and the Son is huge? In a Trinitarian perspective, the indwelling
Holy Spirit is yet another way that God comes to us with a desire that we
become complete and one with Him and with each other in Him.
Why ? So that His unending,
inexhaustible pure and holy love can
continue to be lavishly poured out into our lives giving us power over sin to
live for Him. In the context of his Holy
Spirit dwelling in us, He restores us to what He envisioned from the very
beginning, that we would be like Him in essence, holy love.
This is the full Gospel message. It is a message about God’s heart for
humanity. For God so loved the world . .
. By God’s grace, we must live and pass on the whole Gospel message. We must share all of the Bread of Life. Anything less is a half-hearted response to
God’s love.
Spirit of the Living God
Fall fresh on me. . .
Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me;
Spirit of the Living God
Fall Fresh on me.
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