Gospel Power

I read this this morning on Tullian Tchividjian's (yes I spelled that correctly) blog.  It's origninally from John Calvin's preface to Pierre Robert Olivétan's French Translation of the New Testament (1534).  Tchividjian credits Justin Taylor with the line breaks which make it easier to read.  I'm only posting the beginning of it and then giving you a link to go to Tchividjian's blog to read the rest.

Calvin wrote:

Without the gospel

everything is useless and vain;

without the gospel

we are not Christians;

without the gospel

all riches is poverty,
all wisdom folly before God;
strength is weakness,
and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God.

But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made

children of God,
brothers of Jesus Christ,
fellow townsmen with the saints,
citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven,
heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom

the poor are made rich,
the weak strong,
the fools wise,
the sinner justified,
the desolate comforted,
the doubting sure,
and slaves free.

It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe.
It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone.

Now, please go read the whole thing, and read it again, and again until it begins to fully inform your identity in Christ.  The whole thing is posted on Tchividjian's blog.