The Wisdom and Power of God

Heshimu Colar

The very same attributes of Christ which man has despised, God has used for the salvation of His elect. God used what we hated to bring about our salvation, and now we bless Him for the very same attributes we once hated. God transforms sinners who hate Him into saints who love Him.

We perverted, twisted, and did our best to mutilate the glory of God. "And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things (Rom 1:23)." Human beings have rejected Christ to worship bugs and other god’s of our own imagination. Yet, God made the Christ we despised to be sin for us. God took the attributes of His glory, which we tried to pervert, and He used them to perfect our salvation. He saved us by the Christ we hated. He saved us by the grace we rejected. He saved us by the Gospel we neglected.

Our enmity for the Lord Jesus Christ is the reason God’s fury and hatred is upon all sin. God, in Jealousy for His own glory and the glory of His Son, swore to punish sin with the everlasting torment of His wrath. His anger was righteously kindled against us because we denied the Just One, and rejected the manifestation of His glory. God’s wrath was kindled against us because of our attitude towards His Son. Yet, God in the exaltation of His own glory confounded our sinful wisdom, and He placed His only begotten under the penalty of our transgression. The anger God had against us for despising His Son was placed upon His Son. Now, in justice, the love God rightfully has always had for Christ is now freely, without any cause in us, given to us (Rom 3:23-26).

We despised God’s power, but He used it for our salvation. He predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, and because it was God’s predestination, nothing in the universe could ever stop it. We were angry that He works all things after the council of His own will, but He worked all things out to bring us into glory (Eph 1:5, 11).

We hated being called sinners and having our wounds exposed to the holiness of God’s Law. Yet, now we have found all forgiveness as sinners. Christ came to save sinners. He did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Only the sinner obtains what he most needs: forgiveness. The so-called righteous man receives from God what he least expects: to be condemned. The person who is trusting in their own righteousness will receive the wages of sin while the person who bows to Christ denying all of their own righteousness obtains eternal life.

We were angry that the works of Christ alone would be accepted before His holy throne. But God has made us accepted in the Beloved (Eph 1:6). He has accredited all of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ to my account as if I was the One who did it. The very works of righteousness we once despised have been used for our own salvation. The works we hated are now the works whereby I stand complete in the sight of God. "Ye are complete in Him (Col 2:10)."

We were angry at God’s command to bow to Him. We hated any authority over our souls except our own. We did not mind giving a little time and lip service to Christianity, but we rebelled against total surrender to the Gospel and Will of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, at the foot of His Throne in humble submission, we can see all of the blessings of the Covenant which were hidden from us in the days of our unbelief. We did our best but failed to produce true happiness and solid peace. Now we see the blessedness of our God and receive the fruit of the Spirit even His "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, (Gal 5:22-23)."

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are might; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence (I Cor 1:27-29)."

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