The Power of God 2

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek (Romans 1:16).

 

Now we have Augustine, as a 30-something, trapped in his ambition for worldly influence and power, wanting above all else to be a philosopher and teacher (he studied rhetoric as a way of gaining influence and persuasion over others).  He studied skepticism from the Roman philosophers, and, although he deeply desired wisdom, his skepticism kept him from seeking wisdom through the scriptures or through the church.  In fact, he doubted whether man could really find wisdom, even though he had been granted a brief vision of the beauty of God some years earlier. 

 

All of Augustine's training, knowledge, and desires held him from the truth he so desperately sought in his soul.  His situation is perfectly described in Romans 7, where Paul cries out: "Unhappy man that I am; who will rescue me from this body of death?"  At it was at this very impasse, where Augustine found it impossible to help himself, that God intervened.  One day, while discussing his dilemma with a friend, Augustine heard a child singing in the garden outside his window:  Take up and read; take up and read.  Inspired, Augustine picks up the open Bible in his study and reads the first passage he sees: Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts (Rom. 13:14).

 

For Augustine, it was a "Eureka!" moment, a moment of divine wisdom and understanding.  For the first time, he understood that Christ was given to him to accomplish in his flesh what his own determination and desire could not.  He understood that by "putting on Christ," His humility conquers our pride; His holiness conquers our sin; His obedience lines up our rebellious will with God's plans for us.  He finally understood what is written in Zachariah:   not by might, not by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.  When St. Paul says, "...who will deliver me from this body of death?" he goes on in the next chapter to cry out:  "Thanks be to God; it has already been done...for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."

 

The Gospel of Jesus is the power of God to grant freedom to all those trapped by the "flesh," meaning not only the body, but the "natural" way of doing things -- the mind, the emotions, the body.  There are natural powers and there are spiritual powers.  If we do not "put on Christ Jesus" and allow Him to deal with our lives in his strength and power, then we are condemned to using "the weapons of this world" to fight our battles.  But putting on Christ Jesus gives us a new kind of existence, the same existence we will have in the next life -- where we will no longer take up swords to fight with, but will use the power of the Spirit of Jesus to hasten His kingdom on earth.

 

I am convinced that Scripture is a healing, a cleansing, a teaching, a renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2), and a growing in the Spirit of life.  Once Augustine no longer attempted to read the Scriptures as he read philosophy -- with his intellect, -- and once he took it up with a search of his heart, it began to teach him the wisdom of God, given to us in Christ Jesus.