What is it about the name of Jesus that enables us to be saved for eternal life? It is that the name signifies God's power as a gift to us, enabling us to demonstrate His righteousness.
That power has always been available for righteousness, but mostly only as a covenant to God's People Israel, who had compacted with God to live only for Him.
God's enablement for Man to do right has always been made available since the creation of Man. Man was created in God's image precisely so that we could act like God. But the power to live everyday in righteousness so as to serve God as an example to others came only through the covenant relationship that God established with Israel, or with any individual who similarly wished to live in constant relationship with God.
This is the difference between occasional acts of righteousness and living in righteousness. Power comes when we choose to live in righteousness, or in covenant with God. By "power" I refer not just to an enablement to do right, but more, to sense God's power with us so that we live in relationship with Him.
But the power to live in righteousness was lost in Israel when they, as a nation, abandoned God. Then God made His power available to all only through a new covenant basis, through the name of His Son Jesus. In this way, the standards for living in constant relationship with God came through the knowledge of what the name Jesus represented, which was the power of God not just to make righteous but also to render eternal forgiveness. Men could then live not just in constant relationship with God, but also in an eternal relationship with God.
So when the apostles preached Salvation by the name of Jesus, they promised that the knowledge of God's power would be presented to men who received Jesus, recognizing in him the power of God to live in righteousness forever and ever. This is not just for those who wish to do right by God occasionally, but for those who wish to please God all the time and live in regular fellowship with Him. But more, it is the promise that this power will be with us forever, blessing us with His presence and righteousness.
That power has always been available for righteousness, but mostly only as a covenant to God's People Israel, who had compacted with God to live only for Him.
God's enablement for Man to do right has always been made available since the creation of Man. Man was created in God's image precisely so that we could act like God. But the power to live everyday in righteousness so as to serve God as an example to others came only through the covenant relationship that God established with Israel, or with any individual who similarly wished to live in constant relationship with God.
This is the difference between occasional acts of righteousness and living in righteousness. Power comes when we choose to live in righteousness, or in covenant with God. By "power" I refer not just to an enablement to do right, but more, to sense God's power with us so that we live in relationship with Him.
But the power to live in righteousness was lost in Israel when they, as a nation, abandoned God. Then God made His power available to all only through a new covenant basis, through the name of His Son Jesus. In this way, the standards for living in constant relationship with God came through the knowledge of what the name Jesus represented, which was the power of God not just to make righteous but also to render eternal forgiveness. Men could then live not just in constant relationship with God, but also in an eternal relationship with God.
So when the apostles preached Salvation by the name of Jesus, they promised that the knowledge of God's power would be presented to men who received Jesus, recognizing in him the power of God to live in righteousness forever and ever. This is not just for those who wish to do right by God occasionally, but for those who wish to please God all the time and live in regular fellowship with Him. But more, it is the promise that this power will be with us forever, blessing us with His presence and righteousness.
