“What effect should the gospel have on us, though? “He must in-crease, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). For in the gospel is revealed the glory of the living, triune God, and in his light we creatures and sinners are exposed for the little wretches we are. The more we see of the gospel, the more the three persons of the Trinity (and their work of revelation, redemption, and regeneration) are glorified, and so the more we diminish. Through the gospel, we come to realize that without God’s revelation, we are left groping in the darkness of ignorance. Without the redemption of the Son, we are utterly lost in our guilt and alienation from God. Without the Spirit’s work of regeneration, we are helplessly mired in our sin. In the gospel, God is exalted, and we delight to be abased before him. And only then, when he is lifted up, are people drawn to him (John 12:32).”
Michael Reeves
“Times of reformation and renewal in the church have always been marked by this perspective. A fresh sight of the glory and grace of God awakens people both to who he is and to who they are. Unlike how they once thought, they realize that he is great, glorious, and beautiful in his holiness—and they are not.”
Reflection:
The good news of God’s grace should impact us in certain ways. If it doesn’t produce a certain response in us, then we can be sure that we haven’t understood it correctly. On the one hand, in the gospel, we learn that God is so good and willing to stoop down to love us. But on the other hand, in the gospel, we learn how utterly unable we are to save ourselves or fix this world.
So the gospel simultaneously humbles us and exalts us—it shines a light on the depth of our darkness and it shines a light on the height of God’s grace. We need to see and come to depend upon the triune God. Without Him, there is no revelation (understanding of the truth), redemption (forgiveness of our sins), or regeneration (renewed and healed life with God). We will know that the gospel has pierced our hearts when our prayer is, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
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