graphic: Martha G. Brady

What if it’s even better than we thought?

What if the gospel is even more stunning that we ever dreamed?

What if it makes even less sense than we thought it did?

What if all those people who described it as scandalous and amazing

Were really understating the truth of it?

How can we know where the truth of it all lies?

One place we can start is to look at the character of GOD.

A simple, Biblical summary of GOD’s character is found in Question #4

“What is GOD?” of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (written in 1640)

(this link includes the Biblical references)

 God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in

his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

He can think in 3 dimensions, not just one.

He knows the end from the beginning because He is eternal.

He doesn’t have to guess about the future.

He knows it.

He planned it all out ahead of time!

He planned redemption before the first person was ever created.

Even before the first person committed a sin!

How amazing is that?

The sin of Adam and Eve didn’t take Him by surprise.

He had already planned for a solution to the problem of sin before it happened.

And He didn’t contract it out!

He was personally involved in the solution.

He/His Son…the second person of the Trinity

Was to come to earth in human flesh.

(I totally don’t understand their oneness/separateness)

One GOD, three persons?

He was the One who was going to pay the penalty

For the sin of the world with His death.

For sin He had never committed.

He was the innocent Lamb of GOD.

Like the spotless lambs of long ago

Who were sacrificed for sin.

So that we who had sinned in thought, word and deed

In our sins of omission and commission.

Could be saved from the penalty we deserved

For our sin.

Not only that, we could become part of the family of GOD!

Completely accepted. Totally loved and adored!

We would no longer have to live like orphans.

Striving to be accepted.

We would be able to live like sons and daughters of the King of Kings!

Loved as His beloved children.

Not because of anything we did to deserve it.

But because of His grace and mercy

That was totally undeserved.

Would we stop sinning?

No! Not completely.

Our righteous standing is based on Jesus’ righteousness.

We would still continue to fail.

Our lives would be far from perfect as

We continue to live in this broken world.

We become more and more aware of our brokenness!

But His forgiveness is rich and free.

His love is bountiful.

And in the process,

He grows us in grace

To be more like Him.

Do I understand how it all works?

No. I just know that there is nothing

I can do to earn any favor with GOD…

Either before I am in His family or after.

Amazing love.

How can it be?

That Thou My GOD

Would die for me!

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But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off
have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace,
who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh
the dividing wall of hostility 
by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances,
that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two,
so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God
in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

And he came and preached peace to you
who were far off and peace to those who were near.  
For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,
but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
in whom the whole structure, being joined together,
grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 
In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place
for God by the Spirit.  

Ephesians 2:13-22