Well, I guess it's time for my first real post. This is an article I wrote as a result of studying the use of the word "gospel" in the New Testament. It became very clear to me, especially when I considered the places where the verb form of the word occurs, that "gospel" is not used technically of a certain few propositions about Jesus which an unsaved person must believe in order to be saved, but rather of the entire scope of good news about Jesus. This shouldn't be a surprise, since Mark referred to the whole book he wrote as "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ," but since it was different than what I had been taught, I was surprised by what I found. So, this article summarizes the view I ended up with. I hope this can be helpful, even to people who are not involved in the "promise only" gospel debate. All of us as Christians can benefit by a careful study of how terms are used in the New Testament.
Preaching the Gospel, Believing in Christ
In looking at the area of sharing the gospel, or good news, with the lost, two questions are vital to answer. One is, what is the gospel? The other is, what must a sinner believe in order to receive eternal life? In brief, the gospel is the message about Jesus which we preach (whether to unbelievers or believers, though I am speaking specifically about preaching it to unbelievers). The response which God requires from sinners is that they believe in Jesus Christ, or put their trust in Him alone to save them. Both of these elements are seen clearly in Ephesians 1:13, where Paul says, "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation." They heard the good news about how God provided salvation for them through Christ, and in response they trusted in Christ alone and were saved.
The Gospel
The word translated "gospel" in our English Bibles simply means good news, and is used in a variety of contexts. In the gospels it is mostly used of the "gospel of the kingdom," which was a broad term encompassing the good news that the promised King had come, the good news about how to enter His kingdom by faith, and many other teachings about the kingdom. In the rest of the New Testament the noun form euangelion, "good news," and the verb form euangelizo, "preach good news," are also used broadly about different aspects of the good news concerning Jesus. Sometimes the word gospel is used specifically about Christ's death and resurrection, by which He purchased salvation for all who would believe in Him (1Cor. 15:3-8), and sometimes it includes other aspects such as the fact that Jesus is going to judge the world (Rom. 2:16). Sometimes it is used more generally referring to all of the good news about Jesus Christ by which people are not only eternally saved, but also by which they grow and are established. This is apparent, for instance, in Rom. 1:15, where Paul declared his desire to "preach the gospel" to the believers in Rome, and in Rom. 16:25 where he said that God was able to establish them according to, or by, his gospel.
Because preaching the gospel is a broad term which means proclaiming the good news about Jesus, we may notice as we read through the Bible different aspects of the good news being emphasized at different times. For instance, Paul told the Corinthians that the gospel he had preached to them was that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that He was buried, that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures, and that He was seen by certain witnesses, including Paul himself (1Cor. 15:3-8). When we read Paul's evangelistic message in Pisidian Antioch, however, recorded in Acts 13:16-41, we don't see exactly the same elements. In that sermon, as recorded under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we see mention made of Jesus' death, burial, ressurection, and the fact that He was seen by witnesses, but not specifically that His death was "for our sins." Does this mean that Paul did not preach the gospel in Pisidian Antioch? No. He preached the good news about Jesus, including the fact that "through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses (Acts 13:38-39)." Certainly those who believed in Christ at that time were later taught much more about Him, but what they heard in that initial sermon and that which they heard later could all be referred to as the gospel which was preached to them.
Another example we could look at of preaching the gospel in the New Testament is Peter's message to Cornelius and his family in Acts 10:34-43. Later, in Acts 15:7, Peter looks back on that occasion and specifically refers to the message he presented there as "the gospel." In that message, Peter, like Paul in Acts 13, told of Christ's death, burial, resurrection, and appearance to witnesses, but as in Paul's message in Pisidian Antioch, he did not specify that Jesus' death was in the place of sinners or "for sins." He also included some other elements in his message, such as the fact that Jesus had gone around doing miracles (Acts 10:38), and that God had appointed Him the Judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42). Then he taught that "whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins (Acts 10:43)." He wasn't finished with his message, but at that point Cornelius and those with him did believe in Christ for eternal salvation and were saved.
Throughout the New Testament, it is consistent to say that preaching the gospel means telling the good news about Jesus Christ. Different aspects of the good news may be included and emphasized, though when the good news was preached to the unsaved, it always included the element of salvation coming by faith alone in Christ alone. When a person hears about the Lord Jesus Christ and believes in Him alone to save him and give him eternal life, he is saved.
Believing in Jesus
The gospel is the good news about Jesus which we tell people. The response by which people receive eternal salvation is believing in Jesus Christ for the free gift which He offers. Throughout the New Testament, where the object of faith is stated, the object is almost always specified as being Jesus Christ Himself. This is true whether we look in the book of John, where we see "that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16)," or the book of Romans, where we see that the righteousness which God offers is "through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:22)." Believing in Jesus Christ means believing, or trusting, in Him alone to save us and to give us eternal life as He has offered.
As we preach about Jesus, we should give as much information as we can about why we need a Savior, who Jesus Christ is and how He provided salvation by His death for sins on the cross. One good way to do this might be to read or study through the book of John with someone and address each of these issues as it comes up. With less time available, individual verses addressing these areas could be used. The end goal is that the listener will be convinced of the Lord Jesus' ability to provide eternal life to all who believe in Him for it and to place their confidence in Him. We preach the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ, to bring people to saving faith, which is confidence or trust in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteThis is excellent. I couldn't agree with you more. As you say, the "gospel" is a broad term that includes "the entire scope of good news about Jesus Christ...the good news about how God has provided salvation for (us) through Christ."
I love what you say here: "Different aspects of the good news may be included and emphasized, though when the good news was preached to the unsaved, it always included the element of salvation coming by faith alone in Christ alone. When a person hears about the Lord Jesus Christ and believes in Him alone to save him and give him eternal life, he is saved."
In a sense, you could say that Jesus Christ Himself IS the "good news"--so the entire scope of biblical truth from Genesis to Revelation that relates to Him could be included in the preaching of the gospel, depending upon the audience and what they need to hear in order to be persuaded to believe in Jesus for His offer of eternal life. This is evident when we look at the various sermons in the book of Acts. For example, Stephen practically gives a survey of the entire Old Testament in his sermon recorded in Acts 7.
I once of heard of a missionary who said that he had spent a long time teaching and preaching to a group of people and yet he could not convince them that the gospel was true. Then one day they started reading the Gospel of Matthew. After the reading just the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew, the people were suddenly persuaded of the truth of the gospel and believed. In the culture of these people, genealogies were held in high regard, so when they saw that Jesus had a genealogy, that was the very thing they needed to believe in Jesus for eternal life.
But as you noted, no matter what "different aspects" of the gospel we preach to people, it is never a complete gospel if we leave out the offer of eternal life that Jesus makes to everyone who believes in Him. All the other truths about Jesus converge on that one all important truth, and without that core message, all the other facts about Jesus are meaningless.
Thanks for posting this article. I might print it and put it in my bible for future reference or to give to someone.
Gary
Hey Gary,
ReplyDeleteGlad it was a blessing. I wanted to take what I had found and state it as succinctly as possible, so others could benefit from it. By all means, feel free to pass it on to anyone who's interested. I found that understanding the broad use of the words "gospel" and "gospelize" have really helped the NT make more sense to me, and I hope I can be a help in passing that on to others, whether it's people with some background in the promise only debate or simply someone trying to dig into the Bible and see how all the pieces fit.
Ken
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this very helpful article on the "gospel." I had a friend call me today and ask if I thought there was a difference between the "gospel of the Kingdom," and the "gospel of Christ" or the "gospel of grace." I suggested that she go to your blog and read what you had to say here.
I would still like some more help in understanding what the particular message was when Jesus or John the Baptist preached "the gospel of the Kingdom." How exactly did that differ with the gospel of Christ? Do you think the message of eternal life found in Christ alone was preached in the gospel of the Kingdom message?
I'm really looking forward to reading more of what you've been learning. Thank you for sharing your insights with us. EXCELLENT~!!!
Rejoicing because of Jesus,
Diane
:-)
Hey Diane,
ReplyDeleteIn short, I think what is called the "gospel of the kingdom" included the message of how to enter that kingdom by faith, as well as other teachings about the kingdom, but I was thinking of saving why I think that for another post. So, maybe that will be the next one in a week or two. If we're going to talk about the use of the word "gospel," that would be the next logical thing to discuss.
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm still in the process of thinking these things through. I've found Zane Hodges book "Harmony With God" to be very helpful to knowing how the command for all men to repent, and the change in the word save (Mark 16:16). I see these verses as key to understanding the gospel message to be preached:
And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.
Mark 16:15,16
The expected result from believing this gospel was water baptism and belief which brings this type of salvation.
We know from the gospel of John the word "save" there means being saved from condemnation by simple belief in Jesus promise of eternal life (John 3:17; 5:34; 10:9).
After Pentecost Luke, Peter and Paul do not use the word "save" apart from the gift of the Holy Spirit, and forgiveness of sins (fellowship forgivness not positional). Which if you look in John 20:23 the only place in John's Gospel which mentions forgiveness of sins, is not free gift language. Of course now this fellowship forgiveness is granted at the moment of faith.
As we know during the transition period there was a brief time where a baptism of repentance was FOR the forgiveness of sins (it was a condition for those who had heard the call for the baptism of repentance),( Acts 2:38; Mark 1:4).
In Luke 24:46,47 Jesus gives an overview where repentance is NOT for the forgiveness of sins but that "repentance AND forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
I see the death burial and resurrection as essential truth to be believed for this type of salvation that Jesus is speaking of in Mark 16:16.
The content of the living water has not changed (Jesus-eternal life-believe). It's life in His name Jesus who is the Christ, WHOEVER BELIEVES WILL NOT BE CONDEMNED. But the type of salvation that Jesus is talking about in Mark 16:16 is more then simply not being condemned.
Preaching repentance AND forgiveness of sins is the natural path to Harmony with God and to escape temporal judgment. Both of these are personal having to do with fellowship with God, and not judicial . The death burial and resurrection are KEY to not only proving that Jesus is the Christ but as ambassadors we plead with sinners to be reconciled to God. The gospel itself being proof that reconciliation on Gods part (satisfied His justice) has been completed for everyone by Christ on the tree. Now their part is to be reconciled to God by believing the gospel.
Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, AND that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. "And you are witnesses of THESE THINGS. (Luke 24:46-48)
What Zane called "the simple gospel" is believing the core of the gospel. That is that Jesus is the Christ the One who guarantees eternal life to all those who believe. But the full gospel message must include the death, burial, and resurrection so that the one being baptized understands that they are also being saved by His life.
I'll stop right there, and you can tell me if I'm not understanding something right. Iron sharpens iron:)
alvin:)
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteI believe the intent of the gospel is not to just give people eternal life but to make disciples. That is why we don't find the word gospel in the gospel of John it's cocern is giving people life:)
off ta bed....alvin:)
Hey Alvin,
ReplyDeleteI guess because I don't see the word "gospel" being used in a restricted, technical sense, I don't think the gospel has really changed. I think there are just different aspects that are emphasized. So Peter could say that he preached the gospel to Cornelius when he led him to faith in Christ, and Paul could just as accurately say he wanted to preach the gospel to the believers in Rome. So if I tell an unsaved person how to have eternal life by believing in Jesus, I believe I am preaching the gospel. At the same time, if I tell a believer how to have fellowship with God by repenting, I am also preaching the gospel. For that matter, if I am teaching someone about how Jesus is going to return and set up His kingdom, I believe that is also preaching the gospel. I think that broad of a use of the words, noun and verb, holds up throughout the New Testament and makes sense of all the uses. So, when Jesus said "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature," I think He was telling His disciples to go out and tell His whole story. The result would be salvation to those who believed in Jesus(and were baptized- which was expected of believers), and condemnation to those who didn't believe (no mention of baptism). Whether salvation in that verse refers only to justification or to something more is a good question, but either way, I think any good news about Jesus which is preached is the gospel.
I think it is true that there is more that a person must understand and believe in order to maintain fellowship with God than what it takes for a person to receive eternal life, but again, I think both messages are gospel.
Anyway, that's how I look at it. I think we're looking at the same basic ideas from different angles, but I also won't be offended if people don't agree with me. I'm just sharing what I've found and hoping it will be a help to people.
Ken
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteThank you for giving me your answer to my question above. Your answer makes sense to me.
Also, I've enjoyed reading your, Alvin, and Gary's comments here. I appreciate so much Christians who love to examine God's Word and discuss the issues with one another in a way that honors Him. Your insights are very helpful. Thank you so much. I plan to continue to follow your blog. It's all about learning what God means by what He says in His Word. I love being a Berean, and I thank the Lord that He has brought good teachers across my path.
Praying for you and asking always that Jesus Christ will be glorified as we all learn together.
In HIS love,
Diane
:-)
Hey brother Ken,
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't long ago I would have agreed with you on this one, but sense have had to repent of my views . . . ha!ha! So we will have to agree to disagree. I believe Paul's gospel was Christ crucified, and at the core was Jesus as the Christ. Meaning the One who guarantees the one who believes in Him everlasting life.
I'm convinced that the salvation Jesus is talking about in Mark 16:16 requires water baptism. In fact it is commanded in Acts 10:47-48. This type of salvation is more then eternal life, but the saving of the life "In Christ." It takes in the mystery of the gospel where the flesh has been crucified with Christ. This gospel was given to Paul for the Gentiles which is the One new man a new creation in Christ. It is a full-salvation not only from the presence of sin but the power of sin. Discipleship is required for this type of salvation. Repentance is preached and the forgiveness of sins. It's the gospel of peace:)
Just got off work, so got to get to bed or I would have given more Scripture to back this up.
alvin:)
Hi Alvin,
ReplyDeleteJust a thought and a question from your comment above.
Wouldn't Paul's gospel just be another aspect of the gospel as Ken said? In other words... Paul is presenting the "good news" that deals with the aspects of "salvation" as taught by Paul.
For Paul the word "saved" includes more than John's use of the word. Paul's just teaching an aspect of the "gospel" that John didn't expand on. I don't quite see how Ken's understanding of "gospel" would be different from yours???
Help me out. Thanks so much.
I'm enjoying the discussion.
Diane
:-)
Just doing some more thinking on this.
ReplyDelete:-)
Alvin, you said...
"I believe the intent of the gospel is not to JUST give people eternal life but to make disciples. That is why we don't find the word gospel in the gospel of John, its cocern is giving people life"*
Ken, you said...
"I think it is true that there is more that a person must understand and believe in order to maintain fellowship with God than what it takes for a person to receive eternal life, but again, I think both messages are gospel."*
Thanks for making me think.
:-)
Diane
Sounds to me like they're both saying the same thing too, Diane. Maybe I need to get out my theological magnifying glass? Both of their comments look good with the naked eye.
ReplyDeleteGary
Well Alvin, I can see some difference in what I'm saying and what you're saying, but no stress. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but hope to generate some good thought and discussion.
ReplyDeleteKen
Thanks Ken,
ReplyDeleteSorry I've taken so long to reply, things been kind of hectic right now for me. I can tell I need to do more study and thinking on this subject. Thanks for you kind spirit.
alvin:)
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteIn reponse to Diane's question : Wouldn't Paul's gospel just be another aspect of the gospel as Ken said? In other words... Paul is presenting the "good news" that deals with the aspects of "salvation" as taught by Paul.
For Paul the word "saved" includes more than John's use of the word. Paul's just teaching an aspect of the "gospel" that John didn't expand on. I don't quite see how Ken's understanding of "gospel" would be different from yours???
Paul is preaching something brand new that was unknown in the OT, It's called the "mystery of Christ" (Eph 3:1-9). So Paul's gospel for this dispensation of grace for the Gentiles "In Christ" is a circumcission not made by hands but on the cross. This made the Gentiles fellow heirs of the blessings of Abraham by faith in Christ. Jesus death, burial, and resurrection is key to Paul's gospel because the believer receiving the promise of the Spirit is baptized by the Spirit into the One body. All spiritual blessing being in Christ Jesus. This salvation is a full salvation where the believer by faith is crucified with Christ and risen in Christ to live unto God. Paul's gospel made the death, burial, and resurrection essential to be believed for this type of salvation. Although Paul's gospel uses the eigth sign to prove that Jesus is the Christ. Anyone believing Paul's gospel was born of God (1 John 5:1).
In fact how would we understand "forgiveness of sins" apart from believing in Jesus death, burial and resurrection for sin. And that is the gospel that is to be preached "repentance and forgiveness of sins" (Luke 24:46-49). For the salvation that Jesus is talking about in Mark 16:16 baptism is a requirement to be saved, and not just believing. Jesus makes clear though the eternal condemnation is on the one who does not believe, not on the one who is not baptised. This is how discipleship and the gift of eternal life is placed together in the gospel, people are called not just to believe but to be baptised. Even if you look all the way back to Genesis 12:1-3 you have the promise of the Seed packaged with Abram having to leave his family (12:1). He was saved in John's sense of the term the moment he believed God for the Seed in Gen 12:3, but was not saved in Jesus sense of the term in Mark 16:16 until he went out. Really the gospel that we present is a paradox in the sense we are presenting something that cost everthing (discipleship,baptism) with something that is free (eternal life). The reason we are having to defind them (Free-Grace) is because of Lordship salvation or Calvinism which makes discipleship a condition to get to heaven. They may say that's not true, but their faith must have works. We on the other hand can offer the living water as a gift that can be taken freely, but warn that discipleship cost everything. I believe the bible seperates these in the gospel of John by showing that the gift of eternal life is just that a gift that can be taken freely even if someone does not follow Christ, therefore He does not commit Himself to them ( John 2:23-25; 12:42,43).
alvin:)
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteHere is the bottom line:
To become part of the church the body of Christ one had to believe the revelation that Jesus is the Christ. The content of the Christ is to believe Jesus promise of everlasting life. But to experince the salvation of Paul's gospel message was to be baptized by water which was a picture of the reality of being baptized by the Spirit into Christ death, burial, and resurrection. This was new and had to do with the promise of the Spirit. Therefore Paul's gospel message was the mystery of Christ, and one needed to believe in the cross for this salvation.
So where Ken and I difer is I believe the gospel that Paul preached the cross was central to that message and must be communicated for that type of salvation.
Here are the verses that pertain:
Luke 9:20,21
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."
And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one.
Jesus didn't want them to tell anyone because He wanted this revelation to come from the Father.
Matthew 16:15-18
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?
Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it.
The content of the Christ is found in (John 3:16,36; 4:10,13-14; 5:24; 6:43,47; 11:25-26; 20:31 Jesus-eternal life-believe).
If I'm wrong anywhere here Ken please correct me.
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ( 1 Cor 1:21-24)
alvin:) PS, I'll just listen now for what you all have to say:)
Hi Alvin,
ReplyDeleteGoing back a bit, the main reason I wrote this article was to write about what I found when I studied whether the Bible says a person receives eternal life by believing the gospel (and if so how it would be defined) or specifically by believing in Jesus. As I studied it out, it became clear to me that the words evangelion and evangeleo are used much more broadly and non-technically than what a person must believe to go to heaven. I believe it refers to both justification truth and sanctification truth. What I am picking up from you is the idea that the word is used technically of a certain set of propositions, and that the propositions Paul preached were different than what had been preached before by others.
I agree that Paul used the word "saved" to refer to more than the reception of eternal life, though I'm not convinced he never used it to refer to that (as in Eph. 2:8-9). My disagreement (and it's a friendly one, and I think a small one) is that I don't think the word gospel is used technically, whether it is used referring to what Jesus preached, what the 12 apostles preached, or what Paul preached. Here's a few reasons I think that, specifically as relates to Paul-
First of all, Paul seems to use the term gospel very broadly. For example, in Romans 2:16, he seems to be saying that the fact that God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ was part of the gospel which he preached. At the end of the book of Romans, (15:15-16) he says that he wrote boldly to them because it was his job to minister the gospel of God to the Gentiles. He seems to be implying that everything he wrote in the book of Romans was gospel. This type of use of the word seems to be consistent throughout his writings.
The other thing that struck me is how Luke, who was a disciple of Paul, used the noun and verb forms of the word in Luke and Acts. In the book of Luke, he records Jesus "preaching the gospel" (see Luke 9:6 and 20:1). He doesn't call it the gospel of the kingdom, but simply the gospel. Then in Acts, without any further explanation, he refers to the apostles as also "preaching the gospel" (Acts 8:25). Then later, he referred to Paul and Barnabas "preaching the gospel" (Acts 14:7, 14:21). So, it seems that Luke made no great distinction in what was preached by Jesus, the apostles, and Paul. My point is not that there was no difference in what was preached, but that Luke felt comfortable calling it all "the gospel."
So, check it out and see what you think. I used the E-sword program to do a search for all the occurences of the noun and verb forms, just using the Strong's numbers, then looked at the context, and it all seemed to point to a broad, non-technical use of the word. If any of you other readers aren't familiar with E-sword, check it out. It is a free Bible study program that has a lot of good features. To get the most out of it, you need to purchase some add-ons, but even with just what you can get for free, there are some great helps. Anyway, Alvin, I appreciate your thoughts, and hope you've benefited by looking at what I wrote.
Thank you both Ken and Alvin for making me think. I appreciate both of your insights very much. Your friendly and gracious comments bring glory to God, and I enjoy reading them.
ReplyDeleteBecause of His great love,
Diane
:-)
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteI believe as you do that "the gospel of grace" includes both justification truth and sanctification truth because it is a Way (Acts 19:23), the way of faith (Gal 2:20-3:12). And once you have entered by faith alone in Christ alone you walk by faith which is in accordance to grace, as Christ is being formed in us (Gal 4:19).
When Paul talks about his gospel "by my gospel" ( Rom 2:16), I believe he has in mind a technical set of propositions which is called the "mystery of Christ" which was given him for the Gentiles by Jesus Himself in this dispensation of grace (Eph 3:1-7). Which proved to the Gentiles they were accepted in Christ and had been reconciled through the cross making One New Man. And if believed brought the salvation Jesus is talking about in Mark 16:16. The eighth sign of the cross (death, burial, resurrection) was one of those propositions to be believed proving that Jesus is the Christ, and is a proposition that opens up the "mystery of Christ" which is the New Man the Last Adam a new race (1 Cor 15:45-47). This is a new creation where there is neither Jew nor Gentile ( Gal 3:26-28). Where the flesh is removed making the believer one with Christ and risen in newnes of life (Col 2:9-14). In Christ was a salvation that was BRAND NEW, it was not only being saved from eternal condemnation but being saved by His resurrected life.
The gospel Paul preached was Christ crucified and resurrected and was the new Way for the church age believer. This was a full salvation which by faith placed the believer into Christ and seated him with Christ at the right hand side of the Father (Eph 2:5,6).
Paul said he did not come to baptize but to preach the gospel, but water baptism was the response that was expected of the one who had believed Paul's gospel. Water baptism which now saves us giving us a good concience toward God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ ( 1 Peter 3:21).
This is why I believe that Paul's "gospel of Christ" was Christ not only crucified but risen, and when one believed this gospel faith and baptism were required for this new salvation "in Christ."
Ken, your just going to have to straighten me out brother . . . .Ha!Ha! show me where I'm going wrong? This is how I see it from my study of the word. no stress though:)
Alvin:)
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your studies and what you have shared . . . iron sharpens iron . . . . and I agree that gospel means simply "good news." I believe the good news Paul is preaching is "In Christ" where the wall between the Jew and the Gentile is tore down in the One New Man. Water baptism pictures how the believer has been saved by being placed in Christ by the Holy Spirit. Christ cruicified shows the way in which this salvation took place being delivered from the flesh, and raised in newness of life in Christ.
alvin:)
Hi Ken, here is just a few more of my thoughts on this subject than I’ll leave yah alone . . . .ha!ha!
ReplyDeleteThe apostle John said:
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God (1 John 5:1a).
John shows us that the meaning of “the Christ” is what Jesus said to Martha that He was the resurrection and the life. That the one believing Him would live if he died, and if he lived and believed he would never die. To believe in Jesus as the Christ was to know God, and to be eternally secure.
The gospel of John over and over has Jesus offering the gift of eternal life-whoever believes in Him has eternal life at the very moment they believe, but they didn’t experience resurrection life “In Christ,” because the promise of the Holy Spirit was not yet given. It was only then that a full salvation “In Christ” by way of the believer reckoning Himself dead in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection that he was released to live unto God “In Christ.” The cross brought this type of salvation, being saved by Jesus life “In Christ.” ( Romans 6:3-6)
If Christ is in you the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:10,11)
The Way of faith “In Christ” by way of the cross was unknown until Paul revealed it though his gospel. By faith in Jesus death, burial, and resurrection was the Way to enter into this salvation of being saved by His life. This was BRAND NEW, it was the new Way. (Acts 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22).
Only one who believed in Jesus as "the Christ", and was a disciple could experience the salvation that was"In Christ."
1 Peter 1:3
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…
Eph 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner 0f Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—if indeed you heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have written briefly already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel…
1 Cor 4:15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
1 Cor 8:6 “yet for us there is One God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live”
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
To fall from grace was to start all over again: You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. (Gal 5:4)
Gal 4:9 My little children, for whom I labor in birth AGAIN until Christ is formed in you….
Here I am Lord, alive from the dead what would you have me to do?
Alvin:)
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteI’ve changed my mind again. . . . I come to see that Christ is at the CENTER of the everlasting gospel before the beginning of time to the end of time when Christ will deliver the Kingdom to God the Father and all authority that God may be all in all (Rev 14:6; Eph 1:3,4; John 17:3; 1 Cor 15:24-29).
The gospel of grace that is “In Christ” was God’s plan to bring everything under subjection to the authority of Christ” and then once everything is put under His feet, He will deliver all authority “back” to the Father that God may be all and all. So whether the gospel is talking about the promise of the Seed or a prostitute washing Jesus feet, or Jesus bringing in His Kingdom it’s all about God in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself so that God is all in all.
alvin:)
Cool. I don't know if anything I wrote helped you in thinking through it all, but I hope so. I started the blog because I felt like in my studies I came across some things that were not only true, but very helpful in making sense of the Bible and helping others to understand it, and I wanted to pass those on. I hope anyone else reading along has benefitted as well, and we'll see how it goes with later posts.
ReplyDeleteKen
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteI listen to my brothers and sisters who have the main thing right. That's why I kept listening to Zane because when I knew the gft of eternal life was "Absolutely Free" I gave him a fair hearing on everything else . . . . . and I know Gods word NEVER contradicts itself. When Jesus said "Most assuredly I tell you he who believes in Me has everlasting life." He ment just what He said . . . . the one who has believed His promise ALREADY has everlasting life springing up . . . . . .Praise the Lord!!!!!!!
I think you and Diane were saying pretty much the same thing, and I found these two statements by you guys kept making me rethink. Then when I went back and restudied Galatians I seen that Paul when defending the one gospel went back to Abram when the gospel was preached to him, and then all the way forward to when the Seed became flesh in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul tells us right in the first chapter that the Son was revealed in him that he might preach the gospel to the Gentiles. So I saw that Paul put it ALL under the One Gospel, and at the center of that Gospel is Christ because ALL the goodnews has to do with the grace that is found ONLY in Him . . . . . .Amen!!!!
Justice is getting WHAT you deserve-Mercy is NOT getting what you deserve-Grace is getting what you DONT deserve:)
We cant do anything to deserve the grace that is found in Christ, and once we are In Christ we cant do anything to not deserve it because we couldnt do anything to deserve it in the first place . . . . . sooo there is plenty of room to grow in that grace. . . . . . the promise is by grace , and that is why it is CERTAIN (Rom 4:16) to those who believe:)
Ken: So, it seems that Luke made no great distinction in what was preached by Jesus, the apostles, and Paul. My point is not that there was no difference in what was preached, but that Luke felt comfortable calling it all "the gospel."
Diane: To me I still see the word "gospel" to mean good news. Add something with that word and it zeros in on what good news is being discussed.
Alvin says Amen to brother Ken and Sister Di Di:)
Thanks Alvin,
ReplyDeleteI have ALWAYS appreciated your insights, and I always check out what you say. Thanks for being a true Berean. Ken is just so nice to allow us to share our insights on his blog.... right or wrong. That's what's neat about being a Berean. God will open our eyes to see more clearly as we study with an honest and open heart to hear HIM~!!!
:-)
I'm learning from both of you, and am thankful to the Lord for sending such good free grace friends across my path. I'm looking forward to learning a lot more from both of you in days and months to come.
All because of HIS wonderful grace,
Diane
:-)
I love this article.
ReplyDeleteEvery time anybody, (i.e. the Apostle Paul, or you or I) gives "THE" Gospel to a person or a group, we should tailor our "Gospel" to the audience. That was Zane's point, which has been grossly distorted and misunderstood to mean that Zane endorsed some sort of one-size-fits all mini Gospel.
I heard Josh McDowell speak twice over the last 4 months, and I was very impressed by how thousands of copies "Mor than a Carpentr" are being used to lead US Muslim's to believe in Christ. Please consider making a donation to Josh's ministry to print more. They NEVER have enough and they cannot advertise the need for obvious reasons due to repercussions.
(Please do not post this fact anywhere and connect it to Josh!)
The average Muslim is open to hear the testimony from the Bible regarding Jesus. For the most part they are told a lie their whole lives. Even though Josh's message is sort of Campus Crusade-ish, he really zeros in on telling people the Biblical facts about the person and work of Christ and challenges them to believe in Him for their salvation. He gets to witness to a lot of people who are outside of the culture.
My point is that I think a lot of us GES folks witness to people who are IN the US church. We need to get out of our culture. I give them a different "Gospel" than I would have to give to a person who is basically ignorant of who Jesus is and what He did. I wish I could go to other cultures more.
I think "some" "Free Grace" people think that GES folks who track with Zane would go into an area totally ignorant of who Jesus is, and give them the same "Gospel" (i.e. set of facts) they would to an unbeliever who has been attending a church in Dallas for 50 years. I wish Zane would have been able to travel to other cultures more. I think it would have silenced a lot of criticism. OF COURSE, he would not have changed his view of the sine-qua-non of faith alone in Christ alone for everlasting life. That is really the "core" we try to communicate whether the person has the entire Bible memorized, or if they have never heard the name of Jesus.
Let's communicate the "Gospel" differently for each person we witness to, and always be aware that we are not trying to get people to pass a Christology 101 exam, but to get them to believe in Jesus for their everlasting life! If you are like me, I almost ALWAYS get sidetracked when I witness to people, and it is extremely difficult to get BACK to the core message which I open with. Most people I witness to know all of the facts about Jesus, but they think that their works are needed in one form or another.
-Don Reiher