The church lives by the gospel. The gospel is the heart of the Christian’s life.
The gospel is all about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done (and continues to do and will do in the future).
The gospel is the declaration that the crucified one is now king of kings and lord of lords.
The gospel is about the oneness of Jesus and his people/his bride. The gospel means we are in Jesus and Jesus is in us.
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The gospel meets our every need in every circumstance of life.
Do you need the forgiveness of sins? It’s found in Jesus and the gospel.
Do you need strength to overcome sin and fight the good fight? It’s found in Jesus and the gospel.
Do you need hope in a dark world?It’s found in Jesus and the gospel.
Do you need endurance in the midst of trials and opposition and slander? It’s found in Jesus and the gospel.
Everything you need is found in Jesus and the gospel. All of God’s grace and mercy to a fallen world and rebellious sinners are found in Jesus and the gospel.
Again, the gospel is Jesus. Jesus is the gospel. The gospel is the story of Jesus. The gospel is the power and grace of Jesus. The gospel is Jesus, crucified, resurrected, and ascended – all for us, and for our salvation.
The gospel calls us to pin all our hopes on the risen Christ. The gospel means his victory is our victory. The gospel means we are his and he is ours.
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John Calvin on union with Christ:
“As long as Christ remains outside of us and we are separated from him, all that he has suffered and done for the salvation of the human race remains useless and of no value for us. Therefore, to share with us what he has received from the Father, he had to become ours and dwell within us. For this reason, he is called our head and the firstborn among many brethren.”
“Although we may distinguish them, Christ contains both of them inseparably in himself. Do you wish then to attain righteousness in Christ? Then you must first possess Christ. But you cannot possess him without being made partaker in his sanctification because he cannot be divided into pieces. Since therefore, it is solely by expending himself that the Lord gives us these benefits to enjoy, he bestows both of them at the same time, the one never without the other. Thus, it is clear how true it is that we are justified never without works and yet never through works. Since in our sharing in Christ, which justifies us, sanctification is just as much included as justification.”
“We see that our whole salvation in all its parts are comprehended in Christ. We should therefore take care not to derive the least portion of it anywhere else. If we seek salvation, we are taught by the very name of Jesus that it is of him. If we seek any gift of the Spirit, they will be found in his anointing. If we seek strength, it lies in his dominion. If purity, in his virginal conception. If gentleness, it appears in his birth, for by his birth, he was made like us in all respects that he might to feel our pain. If we seek redemption, it lies in his passion. If acquittal, in his condemnation. If remission of the curse, in his cross. If satisfaction, in his sacrifice. If purification, in his blood. If reconciliation, in his descent into hell. If mortification of the flesh, in his tomb. If newness of life, in his resurrection. If inheritance of the heavenly kingdom, in his entrance into Heaven. If protection, security, and abundant supply of all blessings, in his kingdom. If untroubled expectation of judgment, in the power given to him as Savior to judge. In short, since rich store of every kind of good abounds in him, let us drink our fill from this fountain and from no other.”
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Martin Luther on justification by faith in the context of union with Christ:
“And so, faith not only justifies, it unites the soul with Christ as a bride is united with her bridegroom. At this point, a contest of happy exchanges takes place. Is that not a happy household, when Christ, the rich, noble and good bridegroom takes the poor despised, wicked little harlot in marriage, sets her free from the devil and all evil, and decks her out with all sorts of good things?”
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