II Timothy 1:9 “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,”
Periodically we must check the foundation of our homes to make sure that there are no severe erosions, cracks, etc. For, we could wake one morning to the sounds of our home crashing around us. Similarly, we must frequently check the foundation of our “gospel”-House to make sure that our beliefs and teachings are still according to the Word of God. Paul gives us an inspection checklist in these passages. The very first thing to check is, do we truly believe and teach the Sovereign “power of God”? That is do we believe and teach that “God” “doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35); that “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1); that “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27); that “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22); that it is “God which raiseth the dead” (II Corinthians 1:9); that “there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (I John 5:7); that our Lord-Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16); that our Lord is “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (I Timothy 6:15); and “that there is none other God but one” (I Corinthians 8:4). It is this Blessed and Faithful “God” that enables us to endure “the afflictions of the gospel”; that is, “the afflictions” that come often upon the faithful Children of God who will not, in any circumstances, compromise “the truth of God” (Romans 1:25); for, “they that worship” “God” “must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24)!