March 10

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek. — Rom 1:16 BSB

What is meant by the word "power"? It is a term frequently used in the New Testament. We read that “the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power,” and that true faith “stands not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” So, what is power? It is a divine operation that God Himself performs in the soul. It cannot be fully explained in words, nor grasped by our mental understanding. It must be felt to be known, realized in the soul before a person can have any spiritual conception of it. As Scripture says, “Your people shall be willing in the day of Your power.”

When the gospel is applied to the soul by the Holy Spirit, and divine power accompanies it, the power itself cannot always be described by the person who experiences it. However, it is recognized by the effects it produces. Take, for instance, a sinner who is condemned by the law and feels forever under its curse. He may intellectually know that salvation is in Christ, and may even acknowledge there is no other salvation, yet he cannot take hold of Christ or escape the condemnation he feels. Why? Because the gospel has not yet come to him with power. Though he cries, prays, and pleads with God for mercy, his soul remains troubled, weighed down by guilt, fear, and bondage. This is someone longing for "power."

Now, when the Lord applies a portion of His Word to this person's soul, or when He speaks a specific promise into their heart, the power that accompanies this raises up a special faith. This faith enables the person to grasp that portion of God’s Word which speaks of Christ or holds a particular promise. This is the moment when "power" is communicated with the gospel. The gospel now comes to them not only in word, as it might have done before, but with power. Through the faith that is raised up, the person believes in Jesus for the salvation of their soul. Before this, they were incapable of believing because their faith, lacking power, left them in the same forlorn and helpless condition. They might as well have tried to create a world as to believe in the Son of God for deliverance.

But once they believe in what the Holy Spirit applies, a sweet and sacred power enters their soul. This power dispels their doubts and fears, removes guilt from their conscience, clears away the fogs and mists that have overshadowed their soul, reveals a precious Jesus, and makes the promises of the gospel shine before their eyes like dew-drops in the morning. It brings them into an unspeakable nearness to God through the Person, blood, and righteousness of Christ—something they never knew until the gospel came with power, and faith was raised up in their soul.