THE FIRST THING THE GOSPEL DOES TO A MAN

'That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.' - 1 Corinthians 1 vs 31

Greetings dearly beloved in the LORD JESUS CHRIST. I trust GOD that this teaching will bless you and enlighten you in the knowledge of CHRIST and HIS finished works. AMEN.

Okay. In other to know and decipher this subject, let's see the parable of Matthew 20;

'For the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of an estate who went out in the morning along with the dawn to hire workmen for his vineyard.
After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
And going out about the third hour (nine o’clock), he saw others standing idle in the marketplace;
And he said to them, You go also into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will pay you. And they went.
He went out again about the sixth hour (noon), and the ninth hour (three o’clock) he did the same.
And about the eleventh hour (five o’clock) he went out and found still others standing around, and said to them, Why do you stand here idle all day?
They answered him, Because nobody has hired us. He told them, You go out into the vineyard also and you will get whatever is just and fair.
When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, Call the workmen and pay them their wages, beginning with the last and ending with the first.
And those who had been hired at the eleventh hour (five o’clock) came and received a denarius each.
Now when the first came, they supposed they would get more, but each of them also received a denarius.
And when they received it, they grumbled at the owner of the estate,
Saying, These [men] who came last worked no more than an hour, and yet you have made them rank with us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.
But he answered one of them, Friend, I am doing you no injustice. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?
Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this man hired last the same as I give to you.
Am I not permitted to do what I choose with what is mine? [Or do you begrudge my being generous?] Is your eye evil because I am good?' - Matthew 20 vs 1 - 15 {AMPLIFIED BIBLE TRANSLATION}'

Waowwww! What am interesting passage we've just read. In summary of this story, the labourers who started working in the Vineyard at the concluding hours of the day, were paid the same wage as the workers who started working in the vineyard at the early hours of the morning who bore on their body the burden and the scorching of the heat of the day. Uhmmm. What does this reveal? It's obvious now. The first thing the Gospel does to a man is that "The Gospel strips a man off his self-boasting." The workers who started work early in the morning are the category of men who have seemingly good works of righteousness (And this category in the parable was referred to the Jews who had the Law of Moses, and thought that they were righteous and better than every other people;) the workers who started work in the evening (the concluding hours of the day) are the category of men who don't have such height of righteous qualifications (This category in the parable are the gentiles who were held by the Jews to be publicans/sinners.) But you know what, the both category gets the same righteousness in CHRIST JESUS - such that, the seemingly strong is not more righteous than the obviously weak. - Think on this. Waowww! This is the expression and manifestation of the lavish generosity of GOD's grace. See what HE said in the verse 15 of our above Bible passage;

Am I not permitted to do what I choose with what is mine? [Or do you begrudge my being generous?] Is your eye evil because I am good?

You see, HE connects the equal wage they all received to HIS generousness. Hallelujah! Remember, JESUS spake to the people in parables because at that time, the unveiling of those parables were not legal to be established in the earth because JESUS at that time had not died and resurrected from the dead; so the era of the Law was still in operation so long as the Messiah had not died and resurrected, hence the Gospel of the Grace of GOD (which is the unveiling/interpretation of JESUS' parables) could not take the stage on earth at that time until the LORD died and was buried and resurrected from the dead. Hallelujah! So this parable we've just seen is another unveiling of the Grace of GOD towards us all. AMEN. Hallelujah!

Dearly Beloved, know you this day that in CHRIST JESUS, all men have attained perfect righteousness, the righteousness which is of GOD, we've all attained it in CHRIST. Hallelujah! So you see, the man who was once confident in his works has lost his boasting, he has need to humble himself to accept the free gift of righteousness which is of GOD in CHRIST JESUS; the man who was weak and feeble can't boast of his self-effort neither because in the first place he doesn't have anything in himself to boast of, he joyfully clings to the grace of GOD seeing He has found hope which he never could imagine. Hallelujah! If you were sensitive as you read, you would notice that the weak man who had no righteous qualification is more favoured (just like those labourers in the vineyard who began working in the evening, and didn't get scourged by the heat of the day). Why is this so? The man of righteous works suddenly feels his pride is taken from him, he suddenly feels his self-efforts accounted for nothing, that ego he held so dear to him which he used as a reason to despise others and count himself more noble than others is suddenly made void and nought. Oooo, he's sober! But the weak and sinful man, He's rejoicing with joy unspeakable full of Glory! Because He thought judgment was coming on him, and lo, He got justification; not just that He got justification, He got it for all eternity without a price. What a joy! Hallelujah!

Waoww! In CHRIST we all have equal righteousness, the righteousness of JESUS. So therefore be glad, rejoice and hold confidently the Grace of GOD in CHRIST JESUS. AMEN. Ooo how I love the verse 14 of our above Passage;

Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this man hired last the same as I give to you.

GOD determined that in CHRIST all men have equal righteousness (which is the righteousness of GOD), so that no man can boast. Glory to GOD!

'For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.' - Ephesians 2 vs 8 - 9 {KING JAMES VERSION}

Uhmmmm! Glory to GOD. AMEN.

'And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are,
So that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and] boast in the presence of God.
But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, [revealed to us a knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as] our Righteousness [thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God], and our Consecration [making us pure and holy], and our Redemption [providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin].
So then, as it is written, Let him who boasts and proudly rejoices and glories, boast and proudly rejoice and glory in the Lord.' - 1 Corinthians 1 vs 28 - 31 {AMPLIFIED BIBLE TRANSLATION}

Hallelujah!!

GOD has Blessed you.
- Jenning U. Angel