How The Gospel Energizes You
What gives you energy?
For many people in Hawaii, it’s getting out in the ocean, or hiking to the top of a mountain. For others, it’s going to a show. Or maybe it’s going to a party and meeting a lot of new people. For some, it’s their thrilling career.
For Paul, it was the gospel that energized him most. Look at what he prayed for the Colossians:
May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col 1:11-14)
That’s the gospel! The Father took the initiative to qualify you to receive his inheritance, and he did it by delivering you from darkness through the redemption of his son.
Now, let’s be honest. When you hear that you’re “qualified,” it probably doesn’t immediately fill you with energy and enthusiasm. It’s not the most stirring word ever invented. It kind of sounds like you just qualified for a used car loan. “Hey, I qualified for a Toyota Tercel? Awesome!”
Let’s dig a little deeper to understand the significance of that word. The first place you see this word in the Bible (at least in the original Greek) is in the story of John the Baptist. He was the first Christian rock star. He was out at the Jordan River, and people were coming out to confess their sins and be baptized. John was the most popular guy in Israel.
Even Jesus was a fan of John the Baptist. He said, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist” (Matt 11:11). Wow. According to the Son of God, there’s no one else who’s ever been born in human history who’s greater than John. No one who’s ever been more holy, or loving. More wise, or compassionate. More bold, or strong. John really was a rock star!
But listen to what John said to people: “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry” (Matt 3:11). He’s talking about Jesus, and he’s saying, “I’m not worthy (in other words, “I’m not qualified” — same Greek word — “I’m not adequate”) to even carry his sandals. Carrying someone’s sandals was job of a servant. A slave.
Here’s the greatest man who’s ever lived, and he’s saying, I’m not even worthy to be a slave in the house of Jesus. I’m not qualified! But now, Paul says to you … you are worthy. You!!! You’ve been made worthy to share in the inheritance of the saints.
Who gets an inheritance? Sons and daughters! It used to be that you weren’t worthy to carry the sandals of Christ, but now God has made you worthy to be part of the family of Christ. Not a slave in his house, a member of his family. You get to be with him forever. That’s the inheritance!
As John Piper has written, “If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?”
The answer is, we could never be satisfied in heaven, if Christ wasn’t there. He’s the best thing in the universe! Think of the celebrity you would most like to spend a day with. Jesus is infinitely more powerful, popular, engaging, funny, and wise. And through his redemption and deliverance you’ve been made worthy to be with him now and forever.
Isn’t that energizing?