A Christian Guidebook: What Is the Gospel? (5)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation… 2 Corinthians 5.17, 18
Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21.5
Not a ticket to ride
I get the impression that some believers think the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a like a Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card rather than a passage into the Kingdom of God and the joy of His Presence. When I need the card, I’ll play it. For now, I don’t think about it much, except, of course, on Sundays, when I’m worshiping with other cardholders.
Folks who think this way and whose faith in Jesus is of this nature do not consider that the Gospel should do much for them now. Yes, of course, it provides them a measure of comfort and assurance, and they have all these fine Christian friends to hobnob with from time to time.
But the old attitudes and aspirations that characterized them before they believed the Gospel are still present and active. They continue to grumble, complain, and grouse about things. They don’t seem joyful, and they are easily angered. They don’t make any time for being with Jesus in prayer and His Word, and large chunks of what they regard as their “free time” are devoted to diversions, recreation, and self-indulgences.
But there they are each week in church, holding onto their card, singing and sitting and listening to the preaching of the Word, and enjoying the “fellowship” of other cardholders, while keeping an eye on the clock.
To such people the apostle Paul would say, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified” (2 Cor. 13.5).
Christ in you
There’s the key phrase: “Jesus Christ is in you.” A person is disqualified as a Christian who does not have Christ dwelling in him. As we have seen, when one believes the Gospel, Jesus comes to dwell in that person by His Holy Spirit. From the moment of true conversion on, Christ is in a Christian, dwelling, working, teaching, and above all transforming believers and their world.
The Gospel is not a ticket to ride. It is, however, a license, a license to practice the Kingship of Jesus by being increasingly transformed into His likeness. The Good News of the Gospel is that Christ in us, the hope of glory, is at work to make us willing and able to be the kind of people who line up well with what pleases God (Phil. 2.13). The Holy Spirit, working with the Word of God, is daily transforming true believers to be more like Jesus.
Jesus is making all things new. We who believe in Him are new creatures by virtue of His dwelling in us. He calls us to set aside all those old things—attitudes, habits, dispositions, inclinations, time-wasters, and more—that are what He has saved us from and to begin growing into Him and all the newness of life He has saved us unto. If we’re not excited about this prospect, if the promise of becoming more like Jesus doesn’t thrill us and motivate us to get our time and lives in order for transformation, then we need to go back to square one—do not pass “Go”, do not collect $200—and consider whether we have truly come to know the Lord Jesus Christ at all.
But how, exactly, does that work? How does Jesus transform us into His likeness?
The privilege of the saved
Here is a mystery available only to those who truly believe in Jesus. You cannot merely patch on aspects of Jesus’ character or lifestyle, like accumulating houses on the Boardwalk, and expect to know real transformation. Putting little green houses on a game board doesn’t make you a rich person. It’s just a game, like the game a lot of putative Christians play every week, patching on their best clothes and finest Christian lingo to mingle with their friends at church. Real transformation works from the inside-out, and only those who believe the Good News of salvation can plug into that inward-working power.
The Spirit of God in a believer is the power of the Gospel, power for transformation. And it’s this power that matters, Paul insisted, not just being able to talk about it (1 Cor. 4.20). The Spirit of Jesus within a believer works to convict and convince us of any lingering or recurring sins; to point out and lead us into the path of righteousness; and to help us exercise sound judgment in practicing the Kingship of Jesus (Jn. 16.8-11). Knowing this, and thrilled at the prospect of it, Christians always seek the filling of God’s Spirit (Eph. 5.18-21). They conduct their daily lives by walking in the Spirit and not in the old ways of their former life (Gal. 5.16-23). Daily they seek more of the Spirit’s power to transform them into the likeness of Jesus, so that they may bear holy spiritual fruit in their lives and live as witnesses to the Lord (2 Cor. 3.12-18; Gal. 5.22, 23; Acts 1.8).
Knowing that Jesus is bent on making us more like Him, and on using us as agents of His grace to transform our world, Christians rejoice in the Good News of Christ, His Kingdom and salvation, and devote themselves to working out this great salvation with ever-greater fullness and fruit (Phil. 2.12).
And thus Christians are transformed to be more like Jesus. Old things pass away—sometimes after a long struggle. New attitudes, desires, aspirations, character traits, behaviors, conversation, and outlook begin to flourish as Jesus stretches out in a believer and makes all things new.
The Gospel is Good News about transformation. Believe the Gospel and be forever changed.
Search the Scriptures
1. What does Galatians 5.16-23 teach about the kind of transformation we should seek?
2. Jesus taught us to think about ourselves as salt, light, and leaven. How does each of these suggest a transformed and transforming way of life?
3. How do you understand the phrase “glory to glory” in 2 Corinthians 3.12-18? How does that apply to your being made more like Jesus?
Next steps—Transformation: Spend time in prayer reviewing the ways God has worked in you to make you more like Jesus. Be patient and think hard. Be sure to give Him praise and thanks throughout this time.
T. M. Moore
Additional Resources
If you have found this study helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Three resources can help you in realizing more of the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom of God. Our books The Kingship of Jesus (click here) and What in Heaven Is Jesus Doing on Earth? (click here for the book or here for the free PDF) explain the rule of King Jesus in our lives and world. The Kingdom Turn (order the book here or the free PDF here) goes into greater detail about what it means to practice the Kingship of Jesus.
Support for ReVision comes from our faithful and generous God, who moves our readers to share financially in our work. If this article was helpful, please give Him thanks and praise.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or you may send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
