December 17, 2012
The gospel of God creates the sense of need for the gospel. Is the
gospel hidden to those who are servants already? No, Paul said, “But
even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe . . .” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
The majority of people think of themselves as being completely moral,
and have no sense of need for the gospel. It is God who creates this
sense of need in a human being, but that person remains totally unaware
of his need until God makes Himself evident. Jesus said, “Ask, and it
will be given to you . . .” (Matthew 7:7).
But God cannot give until a man asks. It is not that He wants to
withhold something from us, but that is the plan He has established for
the way of redemption. Through our asking, God puts His process in
motion, creating something in us that was nonexistent until we asked.
The inner reality of redemption is that it creates all the time. And as
redemption creates the life of God in us, it also creates the things
which belong to that life. The only thing that can possibly satisfy the
need is what created the need. This is the meaning of redemption— it
creates and it satisfies.
Jesus said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32).
When we preach our own experiences, people may be interested, but it
awakens no real sense of need. But once Jesus Christ is “lifted up,” the
Spirit of God creates an awareness of the need for Him. The creative
power of the redemption of God works in the souls of men only through
the preaching of the gospel. It is never the sharing of personal
experiences that saves people, but the truth of redemption. “The words
that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).
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