The Power of God In the Salvation of His People # 1

The Power of God in the Salvation of His People # 1

"Twice have I heard this; that power belongs unto God!" (Psalm 62:11).

In our first article upon this glorious theme, we practically confined our attention to the omnipotence of God as it is seen in and through the old creation. Here, we propose to contemplate the exercise of His might in and on the new creation. That God's people are much slower to perceive the latter than the former, is plain from Ephesians 1:19, where the apostle prayed that the saints might know "what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power." Very striking indeed is this. When Paul speaks of the divine power in creation, he mentions, "His power and Godhead" (Rom. 1:20, but when he treats of the work of grace and salvation, he calls it, "exceeding greatness of His power."

God proportions His power to the nature of His work. The casting out of demons is ascribed to His "finger" (Luke 11:20); His delivering of Israel from Egypt to His "hand" (Exodus 13:9); but when the Lord saves a sinner, it is His "holy arm" which gets Him the victory (Psalm 98:1).

It is to be duly noted that the language of Ephesians 1:19 is so couched as to take in the whole work of divine grace in and upon the elect. It is not restrained to the past - "who have believed according to," nor to the time to come - "the power that shall work in you". But, instead it is "the exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe." It is the "effectual working" of God's might from the first moment of illumination and conviction, until their sanctification and glorification.

So dense is the darkness which has now fallen upon the people (Isa. 60:2), that the vast majority of those even in the churches deem it is almost as easy to purify a man's heart (James 4:8) as it is to wash his hands! That it is as simple a matter to admit the light of divine truth into the soul, as it is the morning sun into our chambers by opening the shutters. That it is no more difficult to turn the heart from evil to good, from the world to God, from sin to Christ - than to turn a ship round by the help of the helm. And this, in the face of Christ's emphatic statement, "With men this is impossible" (Matt. 19:26).

To mortify the lusts of the flesh to be crucified daily to sin, to be meek and gentle, patient and kind - in a word, to be Christ-like - is a task altogether beyond our powers! It is one on which we would never venture, or, having ventured on, would soon abandon - but that God is pleased to perfect His strength in our weakness, and is "mighty to save" (Isa. 63:1).

That this may be the more clearly evident to us, we shall now consider some of the features of God's powerful operations in the saving of His people.

1. The Power of God in REGENERATION

Little as real Christians may realize it, a far greater power is put forth by God in the new creation, than in the old - in refashioning the soul and conforming it to the image of Christ, than in the original making it. There is a greater distance between sin and righteousness, corruption and grace, depravity and holiness - than there is between nothing and something, or nonentity and being. And the greater the distance there is, the greater power in producing something. The miracle is greater according as the change is greater. As it is a more signal display of power to change a dead man to life, than a sick man to health - so it is a far more wonderful performance to change unbelief to faith and enmity to love - than simply to create out of nothing. There, we are told, "The gospel of Christ ... is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes" (Romans 1:16).

The Gospel is the instrument which the Almighty uses when accomplishing the most wondrous and blessed of all His works, that is the picking up of wretched worms of the earth and making them "fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light" (Col. 1:12). When God formed man out of the dust of the ground, though the dust contributed nothing to the act whereby God made him, it had in it no principle contrary to His design. But, in turning the heart of a sinner toward Himself, there is not only the lack of any principle of assistance from him in this work, but the whole strength of his nature unites to combat the power of divine grace. When the gospel is presented to the sinner, not only is his understanding completely ignorant of its glorious contents - but the will is utterly perverse against it. Not only is there no desire for Christ, but there is inveterate hostility against Him. Nothing but the almighty power of God can overcome the enmity of the carnal mind. To turn back the ocean from its course would not be such an act of power, as to change the turbulent bent of man's wicked heart.

~A. W. Pink~

(continued with # 2)