Sunday, September 27, 2009
V1. n.2. Luther and the Gospel
“[Luther] created by a dogmatic criterion a canon of the gospel within the canon of the books. He wrote: ‘Those Apostles who treat oftenest and highest of how faith alone justifies, are the best Evangelists. Therefore St. Paul’s Epistles are more a Gospel than Matthew, Mark, and Luke. For these do not set down much more than the works and miracles of Christ; but the grace which we receive through Christ no one so boldly extols as St. Paul, especially in his letter to the Romans.’ In comparison with the Gospel of John, the Epistles of Paul, and 1 Peter, ‘which are the kernel and marrow of all books,’ the Epistle of James, with its insistence that man is not justified by faith alone, but by works proving faith, is ‘a mere letter of straw, for there is nothing evangelical about it.’ It is clear that the infallibility of Scripture has here, in fact if not in avowal, followed the infallibility of popes and councils; for the Scripture itself has to submit to be judged by the ultimate criterion of its accord with Luther’s doctrine of justification by faith” (Moore, History of Religions, Scribner, 1926, p. 320).
“In the course of time Luther came practically to set up a canon of Scripture within the Canon. Probably most Bible students actually do this in practice to varying degrees. Luther’s virtual canon consisted of three Pauline epistles as forming the central core: Romans, Galatians and Ephesians. To these he added John, 1 John, 1 Peter, and Acts. The least valuable book in the New Testament was Revelation, and he found little more value in Hebrews, James, and Jude. What governed his choice was that he regarded as supreme the great doctrine of Justification by Faith. This, he held, is the essence of the Gospel, and by it all the rest must be interpreted. It was this that caused him to place the three Synoptic Gospels on a lower level. It was not that he thought less than anyone else of the importance of Christ’s own words, His life, death, and resurrection — nobody could read the epistles without realizing the immense importance to Paul of, at least, the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It was because the Gospels do not clearly and evidently deal with the central doctrine of Justification by Faith, and this was for Luther, the touchstone by which the golden Truth is disclosed” (Norman Snaith, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, London: The Epworth Press, 1956, p. 12).
Readers should ponder these extraordinarily revealing facts. Leaving one dogmatic system, the Roman Catholic Church, Luther substituted another dogmatic system. He declared that the Gospel (Christianity) is not primarily found in Matthew, Mark and Luke! In other words the teaching of Jesus is not really the Christian Gospel. Rather, said Luther, the Gospel is most clearly found in Romans, Galatians and Ephesians, and certainly not in James!
Most churchgoers have been unconsciously influenced by this very damaging method of reading the Bible. The effects of Luther’s “pick and choose” procedure are heard everywhere in contemporary presentations of the Gospel. We are constantly told that the Gospel is to be defined firstly by the book of Romans (cp. the “Roman Road” method of evangelism). But according to Heb. 2:3 Jesus is the model preacher of the saving Gospel. This means that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the primary source of the Christian Gospel. There is a reason why God has given us three parallel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke) of Jesus’ version of the Gospel. And that Gospel centers on the Kingdom of God as its fundamental and principal topic. But you would never suspect this if you examine contemporary invitations to accept the Gospel.Luther’s notion that Matthew, Mark and Luke are unimportant for defining the Gospel exercises an unfortunate control on most modern preaching. One dogma has been replaced by another equally paralyzing one. It is esssential, therefore, that Jesus’ own label for the Gospel — “the Gospel about the Kingdom” — be reinstated in the position it deserves, in honor of Jesus as the master-teacher. Nov. 1998
“In the course of time Luther came practically to set up a canon of Scripture within the Canon. Probably most Bible students actually do this in practice to varying degrees. Luther’s virtual canon consisted of three Pauline epistles as forming the central core: Romans, Galatians and Ephesians. To these he added John, 1 John, 1 Peter, and Acts. The least valuable book in the New Testament was Revelation, and he found little more value in Hebrews, James, and Jude. What governed his choice was that he regarded as supreme the great doctrine of Justification by Faith. This, he held, is the essence of the Gospel, and by it all the rest must be interpreted. It was this that caused him to place the three Synoptic Gospels on a lower level. It was not that he thought less than anyone else of the importance of Christ’s own words, His life, death, and resurrection — nobody could read the epistles without realizing the immense importance to Paul of, at least, the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It was because the Gospels do not clearly and evidently deal with the central doctrine of Justification by Faith, and this was for Luther, the touchstone by which the golden Truth is disclosed” (Norman Snaith, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, London: The Epworth Press, 1956, p. 12).
Readers should ponder these extraordinarily revealing facts. Leaving one dogmatic system, the Roman Catholic Church, Luther substituted another dogmatic system. He declared that the Gospel (Christianity) is not primarily found in Matthew, Mark and Luke! In other words the teaching of Jesus is not really the Christian Gospel. Rather, said Luther, the Gospel is most clearly found in Romans, Galatians and Ephesians, and certainly not in James!
Most churchgoers have been unconsciously influenced by this very damaging method of reading the Bible. The effects of Luther’s “pick and choose” procedure are heard everywhere in contemporary presentations of the Gospel. We are constantly told that the Gospel is to be defined firstly by the book of Romans (cp. the “Roman Road” method of evangelism). But according to Heb. 2:3 Jesus is the model preacher of the saving Gospel. This means that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the primary source of the Christian Gospel. There is a reason why God has given us three parallel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke) of Jesus’ version of the Gospel. And that Gospel centers on the Kingdom of God as its fundamental and principal topic. But you would never suspect this if you examine contemporary invitations to accept the Gospel.Luther’s notion that Matthew, Mark and Luke are unimportant for defining the Gospel exercises an unfortunate control on most modern preaching. One dogma has been replaced by another equally paralyzing one. It is esssential, therefore, that Jesus’ own label for the Gospel — “the Gospel about the Kingdom” — be reinstated in the position it deserves, in honor of Jesus as the master-teacher. Nov. 1998
V1. n.2. Contemporary Evangelism and the Biblical Good News
By Anthony Buzzard
The contemporary invitation to accept salvation runs along the following lines:
“If you have never put your faith and trust in Christ, I urge you to do so now. Christ loves you and He died for your sins. Your hope of salvation is in Him alone. By a simple prayer of faith you can invite Him into your heart and join the millions through the ages who have come to Christ and become part of His church. Then become active in the church.”
Backed by a verse from Ephesians (1:7, 8), the evangelical call seems plausible enough: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us.”
The purpose of this study is to show that the offer of salvation as presented in the outline above omits vital information; that it will induce a false sense of security; that it is a partial Gospel.
The popular Gospel is true as far as it goes. What is omitted from the Message makes it untrue to the Bible. The Good News (Gospel) brought by Christ and preached by the disciples was not concerned with forgiveness of sin alone. It was the proclamation of the Kingdom or Reign of God (Luke 4:43). It is that central element of the Gospel which is entirely absent from nearly all contemporary appeals to accept salvation. In order to understand what is meant by the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, we must examine the Scriptures. Unless we do this, we shall not know what Christ is asking us to believe, and consequently we shall be unable to respond to His call for repentance and belief in the gospel of the Kingdom (Mark 1:14, 15; Acts 8:12).
If you are doubtful whether an understanding of the Kingdom of God is necessary for salvation, consider the following facts: The New Testament disciples were sent out to preach the Gospel, before they even understood that Jesus was to die for the sins of mankind. This must lead us to the conclusion that the death of Christ for our sins and His resurrection is not the entire Gospel Message.
In Luke 9:6 we find that “the disciples departed and went through the towns preaching the Gospel.” Later we read: “Then Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said to them: ‘We are going up to Jerusalem and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and be spitefully treated and spat upon; and they will scourge Him and put Him to death: and the third day He will rise again.’ And they understood nothing of all this: His words were hidden from them. They understood nothing of what He was saying” (Luke 18:31-34).
What was it that they had been preaching, then, while still ignorant of the coming death of Christ? The answer is found in Luke 9:2: “He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God.” In verse 6 this is defined as the Gospel. They had been preaching the Gospel, but with no understanding of the death of Christ for sin. The facts about Jesus’ death and resurrection were added to the gospel message about the Kingdom after his resurrection (Acts 8:12).
How much about the Kingdom of God have you heard in contemporary preaching of the Gospel? Probably the Kingdom of God is not even mentioned!
It is reasonable that we should inquire what the disciples preached as the Gospel after the death of Jesus for the sins of the world. The answer is found in the book of Acts, the record of the early Church’s preaching:
“And when they believed Philip announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women” (Acts 8:12).
In verse 14 of this chapter it is said that the people had thus “accepted the Word” (or Message). We learn from this that the Good News of the Kingdom and the Name of Jesus Christ is summarized under the single term: The Message. So in Acts 19:8 Paul spent three months “persuading the people about the Kingdom of God.” In this way the whole of Asia heard the Word (Message) of the Lord Jesus (v. 10). Paul described his own preaching as the proclamation of the Kingdom of God (Acts 20:25) and later, from dawn to dusk, he expounded and declared the Good News of “the Kingdom of God and the things concerning Jesus” (Acts 28:23, 31).
We see, then, that the Gospel was still the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, as it always had been. The information about the death of Christ was added after His crucifixion.
The evidence is conclusive that the Apostles did not simply invite the people to believe in the death of Jesus for their sins; nor was His resurrection all that they preached. They also proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom of God. All these elements are needed for the full Gospel. A half-Gospel or a mutilated Gospel will not lead anyone to salvation.
If you have not believed in the Kingdom of God, or if you are in doubt about what this is, you have not accepted the Good News of the Bible. Your attention may never have been called to the need for believing in the Kingdom of God as well as the death and resurrection of Christ. It is possible to attend church for years and hear nothing about the Kingdom of God, Jesus’ own gospel message.The crucial question for your salvation is, therefore: have you repented and believed the Good News of the Kingdom of God? To do this was the very first command of Jesus (Mark 1:15). Without an understanding of the Kingdom of God there can be no belief leading to salvation. The parable of the sower shows that the “Message about the Kingdom” (Matt. 13:19) must take root in your heart. It is essential to find out what is involved in believing “the Good News of the Kingdom of God” (see Matt. 4:23, 9:35, 24:14). Only those “hearing and believing the Message [Word]” about the Kingdom (Matt. 13:19) are promised eternal life in the Kingdom (John 5:24). And belief in the gospel and the practice of a corresponding lifestyle must be held fast until the end. Nov. 1998
The contemporary invitation to accept salvation runs along the following lines:
“If you have never put your faith and trust in Christ, I urge you to do so now. Christ loves you and He died for your sins. Your hope of salvation is in Him alone. By a simple prayer of faith you can invite Him into your heart and join the millions through the ages who have come to Christ and become part of His church. Then become active in the church.”
Backed by a verse from Ephesians (1:7, 8), the evangelical call seems plausible enough: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us.”
The purpose of this study is to show that the offer of salvation as presented in the outline above omits vital information; that it will induce a false sense of security; that it is a partial Gospel.
The popular Gospel is true as far as it goes. What is omitted from the Message makes it untrue to the Bible. The Good News (Gospel) brought by Christ and preached by the disciples was not concerned with forgiveness of sin alone. It was the proclamation of the Kingdom or Reign of God (Luke 4:43). It is that central element of the Gospel which is entirely absent from nearly all contemporary appeals to accept salvation. In order to understand what is meant by the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, we must examine the Scriptures. Unless we do this, we shall not know what Christ is asking us to believe, and consequently we shall be unable to respond to His call for repentance and belief in the gospel of the Kingdom (Mark 1:14, 15; Acts 8:12).
If you are doubtful whether an understanding of the Kingdom of God is necessary for salvation, consider the following facts: The New Testament disciples were sent out to preach the Gospel, before they even understood that Jesus was to die for the sins of mankind. This must lead us to the conclusion that the death of Christ for our sins and His resurrection is not the entire Gospel Message.
In Luke 9:6 we find that “the disciples departed and went through the towns preaching the Gospel.” Later we read: “Then Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said to them: ‘We are going up to Jerusalem and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and be spitefully treated and spat upon; and they will scourge Him and put Him to death: and the third day He will rise again.’ And they understood nothing of all this: His words were hidden from them. They understood nothing of what He was saying” (Luke 18:31-34).
What was it that they had been preaching, then, while still ignorant of the coming death of Christ? The answer is found in Luke 9:2: “He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God.” In verse 6 this is defined as the Gospel. They had been preaching the Gospel, but with no understanding of the death of Christ for sin. The facts about Jesus’ death and resurrection were added to the gospel message about the Kingdom after his resurrection (Acts 8:12).
How much about the Kingdom of God have you heard in contemporary preaching of the Gospel? Probably the Kingdom of God is not even mentioned!
It is reasonable that we should inquire what the disciples preached as the Gospel after the death of Jesus for the sins of the world. The answer is found in the book of Acts, the record of the early Church’s preaching:
“And when they believed Philip announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women” (Acts 8:12).
In verse 14 of this chapter it is said that the people had thus “accepted the Word” (or Message). We learn from this that the Good News of the Kingdom and the Name of Jesus Christ is summarized under the single term: The Message. So in Acts 19:8 Paul spent three months “persuading the people about the Kingdom of God.” In this way the whole of Asia heard the Word (Message) of the Lord Jesus (v. 10). Paul described his own preaching as the proclamation of the Kingdom of God (Acts 20:25) and later, from dawn to dusk, he expounded and declared the Good News of “the Kingdom of God and the things concerning Jesus” (Acts 28:23, 31).
We see, then, that the Gospel was still the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, as it always had been. The information about the death of Christ was added after His crucifixion.
The evidence is conclusive that the Apostles did not simply invite the people to believe in the death of Jesus for their sins; nor was His resurrection all that they preached. They also proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom of God. All these elements are needed for the full Gospel. A half-Gospel or a mutilated Gospel will not lead anyone to salvation.
If you have not believed in the Kingdom of God, or if you are in doubt about what this is, you have not accepted the Good News of the Bible. Your attention may never have been called to the need for believing in the Kingdom of God as well as the death and resurrection of Christ. It is possible to attend church for years and hear nothing about the Kingdom of God, Jesus’ own gospel message.The crucial question for your salvation is, therefore: have you repented and believed the Good News of the Kingdom of God? To do this was the very first command of Jesus (Mark 1:15). Without an understanding of the Kingdom of God there can be no belief leading to salvation. The parable of the sower shows that the “Message about the Kingdom” (Matt. 13:19) must take root in your heart. It is essential to find out what is involved in believing “the Good News of the Kingdom of God” (see Matt. 4:23, 9:35, 24:14). Only those “hearing and believing the Message [Word]” about the Kingdom (Matt. 13:19) are promised eternal life in the Kingdom (John 5:24). And belief in the gospel and the practice of a corresponding lifestyle must be held fast until the end. Nov. 1998
V1. n.2. Gems from the Commentaries
Col. 1:16. The opening words of this verse as translated in many versions give the impression that Jesus was the creator of the universe in Gen. 1:1. But note: “The Greek ‘en auto’ does not mean ‘by Him’” (Expositors Greek Commentary on Colossians, p. 504).
Meyer, Ellicott, Moulton/Milligan give the word a causal sense: “Because of Jesus” all things were created. This, of course, is a very “different story.” The creation performed by the One God of Israel, the God and Father of Jesus, was with Jesus in mind as the purpose for the creation. Jesus, we might say, was the occasion for the creation. But Jesus himself was the prophesied Son of God (2 Sam. 7:16), the Messiah. He came into existence as Son of God through the miracle of the New Creation wrought in the womb of his mother (Luke 1:35): It was “precisely because of” (dio kai) the virginal conception that Jesus was the Son of God. The causal link is most clear. “Because of” his special creation in Mary, Jesus is called the Son of God. Luke was not an adherent of much later post-biblical creeds which said something quite different. Nov. 1998
Meyer, Ellicott, Moulton/Milligan give the word a causal sense: “Because of Jesus” all things were created. This, of course, is a very “different story.” The creation performed by the One God of Israel, the God and Father of Jesus, was with Jesus in mind as the purpose for the creation. Jesus, we might say, was the occasion for the creation. But Jesus himself was the prophesied Son of God (2 Sam. 7:16), the Messiah. He came into existence as Son of God through the miracle of the New Creation wrought in the womb of his mother (Luke 1:35): It was “precisely because of” (dio kai) the virginal conception that Jesus was the Son of God. The causal link is most clear. “Because of” his special creation in Mary, Jesus is called the Son of God. Luke was not an adherent of much later post-biblical creeds which said something quite different. Nov. 1998
V1. n.2. The Christian Gospel in the New Testament: How well have we followed Jesus?
Ecc. 7:12: “The advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves its possessors.”
Scholars say:
“There can be no question that in our Lord’s teaching the Kingdom of God is the representative and all-embracing summary of his distinctive message.”
“Preaching about the Kingdom of God sums up the ministry of Jesus, the apostles, disciples and Paul.”
“Exctracting the Kingdom of God from the message of Jesus would be like blasting away the foundation of a skyscraper.”
Anyone picking up the Scriptures will know that the Gospel is perhaps the most important word in the Bible. It describes what a Christian must believe in order to gain immortality (salvation in the Kingdom). The Gospel has a “label,” an identity marker. This defines what the Message is all about. Jesus was the first and definitive preacher of the Gospel. He said: “The reason why I was commissioned was to preach the Gospel about the Kingdom” (Luke 4:43; Heb. 2:3; 1 Tim. 6:3). (All texts cited should be carefully examined in their context.)
Christians are to carry on the work of Jesus. This follows from the fact that we are meant to be followers of the example set by Jesus. No less than 18 times in Matthew, Mark and Luke and Acts the Gospel is defined as the Gospel about the Kingdom. This shows us what Gospel Jesus preached and what Gospel the apostles preached. Luke ends his second book (Acts) by telling us that Paul preached the Gospel about the Kingdom (Acts 28:23, 31). In his farewell speech to the Ephesian elders Paul described his whole career as “the proclamation of the Kingdom” (Acts 20:25). When Jesus spoke to crowds he “welcomed the people and began talking about the Kingdom” (Luke 9:11). When the public came to meet Paul in Rome “he welcomed them and testified to the Gospel about the Kingdom” (Acts 28:30, 31).
The Bible is a textbook and revelation of God’s Plan for the human race. John the Baptist and Jesus were the first preachers of the Gospel of the Kingdom (Matt. 3:2; 4:17, 23, etc.). Jesus announced shortly before his death that “this Gospel about the Kingdom” will be proclaimed to all the nations. In Mark’s account, Jesus said “the Gospel will be proclaimed...” (Mark 13:10). Note carefully that “this Gospel of the Kingdom” (Matt. 24:14) defines “the Gospel” (Mark 13:10). The latter is simply a shorthand form of the full definition: “This Gospel about the Kingdom.”
The word Gospel appears some 101 times in the New Testament. In every case it refers to “this Gospel about the Kingdom.” There is only one Gospel.
The Gospel about the Kingdom is the unifying thread tying together the ministries of Jesus and the Apostles. Christian unity can be restored around a common decision to preach the same Gospel as Jesus preached.
Do you hear the phrase “Gospel about the Kingdom” today? Its absence from contemporary “gospel-preaching” suggests that the heart of the faith has been obscured. This could account for the fragmentation of the Church into hundreds of differing denominations.
The following list of expressions provides first the “master definition” of the Gospel and gives the equivalent gospel titles found throughout the New Testament. All evangelism in the Bible is evangelism about the Kingdom of God as Jesus preached it. All invitations to salvation are invitations not “to go to heaven,” but to inherit the Kingdom of God. Following Jesus involves using his terminology, not our own. To speak like Jesus (allowing, of course, for translation into our mother-tongues!) means to think as he did and does.
If one combines references to “the Gospel of the Kingdom,” “the Gospel” and “preaching” or “proclaiming,” there are some 325 references to the Gospel of the Kingdom. “Believing” in the New Testament means believing in “the Gospel about the Kingdom and in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12). The next verse (Acts 8:13) says that Simon “believed,” i.e., believed in the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Name of Jesus. That is the meaning of Christian faith (in Simon’s case belief did not last)
In Acts 28:24 some were persuaded by the Gospel of the Kingdom (v. 23) and some did not believe. To believe, therefore, in the New Testament is to be persuaded about the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is the key which unlocks the secret to the teaching of Jesus and gives us knowledge of God’s Plan for ourselves, the whole of the human race and the future of this earth.
The “parent definition” of the Gospel comes from Jesus himself, as the model exponent of the Gospel. Jesus was the original herald of the Message of the Kingdom (introduced briefly by John the Baptist — Matt. 3:2). The Gospel comes with a specific definition:
THE GOSPEL ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD (Matt. 3:2; 4:17, 23; 24:14; 9:35; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9:2, 6, 11, 60; 10:9; 16:16; Acts 8:12; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31)
A variety of interchangeable phrases describe the same Gospel about the Kingdom:
=THE WORD ABOUT THE KINGDOM (Matt. 13:19; see 2 Tim. 4:1, 2; Rev. 1:9)
=THE GOSPEL OF GOD (Mark 1:14 (= “believe in the Kingdom,” v. 15); Rom. 1:1; 15:16;
2 Cor. 11:7; 1 Thess. 2:2, 8, 9)
=THE GOSPEL (Matt. 11:5; Mark 13:10; 14:9; 16:15; Luke 3:18; 4:18; 7:22; 9:6; + 80 times)
=THIS GOSPEL ABOUT THE KINGDOM (Matt. 24:14)
=THIS GOSPEL (Matt. 26:13)
=THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD (Acts 20:24)
=PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM (Acts 20:25)
=DECLARING THE WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD (Acts 20:27)
=THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION (Eph. 1:13; Rom. 1:16)
=THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST (Mark 1:1)
=THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST (2 Cor. 9:13)
=THE GOSPEL OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST (2 Cor. 4:4)
=THE GOSPEL OF THE BLESSED GOD (1 Tim. 1:11)
=THE MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL (Eph. 6:19; Rom. 16:25)
=YOUR (GOD’S) WORD(S) (John 17:6; 17:8, — “receive WORD”)
=THE WORD OF GOD (37 times) = HIS WORD (Tit. 1:3; 1 John 2:5)
=THE WORD (46 times)
=THE WORD OF TRUTH (2 Cor. 6:7; Eph. 1:13 Col. 1:5; 2 Tim. 2:15; James 1:18)
=THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Tim. 2:25; 3:7; Tit. 1:1; Heb. 10:26)
=THE TRUTH (50 times)
=REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS OF SINS IN JESUS’ NAME (Luke 24:47)
=THE WORD OF THE LORD (Acts 8:25; 12:24; 13:48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10; 19:20; 1 Thess. 1:8; 4:15; 2 Thess. 3:1; I Pet. 1:25)
=THE WORD OF THE GOSPEL (Acts 15:7)
=OUR GOSPEL (1 Thess. 1:5; 2 Thess. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:3) =THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS (2 Thess. 1:8)
=THE WORD OF HIS GRACE (Acts 14:3; 20:32)
=GRACE AND TRUTH (John 1:14)
=THE WORD OF THE CROSS (1 Cor. 1:18)
=THE WORDS OF GOD (John 3:34; 8:47; Rev. 17:17; 19:9)
=THE WORDS OF THE LIFE OF THE COMING AGE (John 6:68)
=MY (JESUS’) WORD (John 5:24; 8:31, 37, 43, 51, 52; 14:23, 24; 15:20; Rev. 3:8)
=MY (JESUS’) WORDS (Matt. 24:35; Mark 8:38; 13:31; Luke 6:47; 9:26; 21:33; John 5:47; 14:10, 24; 15:7)
=MY TEACHING (John 7:16; II Tim. 3:10)
=THESE WORDS OF MINE (Matt. 7:24, 26)
=MY SAYINGS (John 12:47, 48)
=MY (PAUL’S) GOSPEL (Rom. 16:25)
=MY (PAUL’S) WORDS (Acts 26:25)
=MY (PAUL’S) MESSAGE (1 Cor. 2:4)
=MY (PAUL’S) PREACHING (1 Cor. 2:4)
=THE MYSTERY OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD (Matt. 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10)
=THE PREACHING OF JESUS CHRIST (Rom. 16:25)
=THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST (Col. 4:3; Eph. 3:4; Col. 1:27)
=THE MYSTERY (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 1:9)
=THE MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL (Eph. 6:19)
=THE MYSTERY OF THE FAITH (1 Tim. 3:9)
=THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS (1 Tim. 3:16)
=THE WORD OF LIFE (Phil. 2:16)
=THE MYSTERY OF GOD (Rev. 10:7)
=THE WORD OF FAITH (Rom. 10:8)
=THE WORD OF GOD’S MESSAGE (1 Thess. 2:13)
=THE WORD OF CHRIST (Acts 10:36; Rom. 10:17; Col. 3:16)
=THE ABIDING WORD OF GOD (1 Pet. 1:23)
=THE IMPLANTED WORD OF GOD (Jam. 1:21)
=OUR REPORT (“the word of hearing”) (John 12:38; Rom. 10:16)
=THE FAITH (32 times)
=THE WORD OF THIS SALVATION (Acts 13:26)
=THIS SALVATION (1 Pet. 1:10)
=THIS SALVATION OF GOD (Acts 28:28)
=OUR COMMON SALVATION (Jude 1:3)
=THE FAITH ONCE AND FOR ALL DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS (Jude 3)
=THE MANIFESTATION OF TRUTH (2 Cor. 4:2)
=THE WORD OF RECONCILIATION (2 Cor. 5:19)
=THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT (Eph. 6:17)
=THE WORD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (Heb. 5:13)
=THE WORD OF MY PERSEVERANCE (Rev. 3:10)
=THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY (Rev. 12:11)
=THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS (Rev. 1:2, 9; 12:17; 19:10; 20:4)
=THE GOSPEL ABOUT THE COMING AGE[1] (Rev. 14:6)
Christians in the Bible are those who believe the Gospel of the Kingdom (Mark 1:14, 15). All “preaching” has one aim: to convey the Gospel of the Kingdom and to secure intelligent belief in it (Acts 8:12). George Ladd remarks that “Jesus divides society into two antithetical camps: those who understand and believe in the Gospel of the Kingdom and those who do not” (Matt. 13:19; Luke 8:12)
Christians are described as “believers,” whose faith is modeled not only on the faith of Jesus but on the faith of Abraham:
Abraham is “the Father of all who believe” (Rom. 4:11).
Christians are those who “belong to the faith of Abraham” (Rom. 4:16).
Christians are to “walk in the steps of our father Abraham” (Rom. 4:12).
“The gospel was preached in advance to Abraham” (Gal. 3:8).
“Those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer [Christian]” (Gal 3:9).
“Jesus Christ came to confirm the promises made to the fathers” (Rom 15:8).
The promises made to Abraham and Abraham’s belief in those promises appear in the New Testament as belief in the Gospel about the Kingdom of God. The land promise made to Abraham appears in the teaching of Jesus as the promise of the Kingdom/earth (Matt. 5:3, 5). The promise guarantees the inheritance of the Kingdom/land (earth) and dominion in it (Rev. 5:10). The inheritance was given to Messiah (Gal 3:19) as the singular seed (Gal 3:16) and the corporate seed are those united to Christ by sharing his faith. “If you are Christians, you are reckoned as the seed of Abraham and become heirs of the promise” (Gal 3:19).
The Gospel of the Kingdom has suffered an eclipse because systems of Bible teaching, current in America and receiving massive distribution, have systematically excluded the Gospel of the Kingdom. The theory is that Jesus’ Gospel of the Kingdom is not relevant for us. A false distinction has been drawn between the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Gospel of grace. This contradicts Acts 20:24, 25. In addition it has been said that Jesus “came to do three days work.” This is not what Jesus taught (Luke 4:43; Luke 19:10; I Tim. 1:15).
For evidence of the Gospel deprived of the Kingdom see the New Scofield Reference Bible on Revelation 14:6 and the article “Gospel” in Unger’s Bible Dictionary. Nov. 1998
[1]Eternal Gospel is a mistranslation. The Gospel is not eternal; it is Good News of the Coming Age of the Kingdom. “Aionios” in Greek means “to do with the coming age.” “The aionios Gospel is not in Christian language the ‘everlasting Gospel,’ but ‘the Gospel concerning the Kingdom-age’” (Nigel Turner, Ph.D., Christian Words, T&T Clark, 1980). “Eternal” (“everlasting”) is thus in many passages equivalent to “millennial” or “having to do with the age to come of the Kingdom.”
Scholars say:
“There can be no question that in our Lord’s teaching the Kingdom of God is the representative and all-embracing summary of his distinctive message.”
“Preaching about the Kingdom of God sums up the ministry of Jesus, the apostles, disciples and Paul.”
“Exctracting the Kingdom of God from the message of Jesus would be like blasting away the foundation of a skyscraper.”
Anyone picking up the Scriptures will know that the Gospel is perhaps the most important word in the Bible. It describes what a Christian must believe in order to gain immortality (salvation in the Kingdom). The Gospel has a “label,” an identity marker. This defines what the Message is all about. Jesus was the first and definitive preacher of the Gospel. He said: “The reason why I was commissioned was to preach the Gospel about the Kingdom” (Luke 4:43; Heb. 2:3; 1 Tim. 6:3). (All texts cited should be carefully examined in their context.)
Christians are to carry on the work of Jesus. This follows from the fact that we are meant to be followers of the example set by Jesus. No less than 18 times in Matthew, Mark and Luke and Acts the Gospel is defined as the Gospel about the Kingdom. This shows us what Gospel Jesus preached and what Gospel the apostles preached. Luke ends his second book (Acts) by telling us that Paul preached the Gospel about the Kingdom (Acts 28:23, 31). In his farewell speech to the Ephesian elders Paul described his whole career as “the proclamation of the Kingdom” (Acts 20:25). When Jesus spoke to crowds he “welcomed the people and began talking about the Kingdom” (Luke 9:11). When the public came to meet Paul in Rome “he welcomed them and testified to the Gospel about the Kingdom” (Acts 28:30, 31).
The Bible is a textbook and revelation of God’s Plan for the human race. John the Baptist and Jesus were the first preachers of the Gospel of the Kingdom (Matt. 3:2; 4:17, 23, etc.). Jesus announced shortly before his death that “this Gospel about the Kingdom” will be proclaimed to all the nations. In Mark’s account, Jesus said “the Gospel will be proclaimed...” (Mark 13:10). Note carefully that “this Gospel of the Kingdom” (Matt. 24:14) defines “the Gospel” (Mark 13:10). The latter is simply a shorthand form of the full definition: “This Gospel about the Kingdom.”
The word Gospel appears some 101 times in the New Testament. In every case it refers to “this Gospel about the Kingdom.” There is only one Gospel.
The Gospel about the Kingdom is the unifying thread tying together the ministries of Jesus and the Apostles. Christian unity can be restored around a common decision to preach the same Gospel as Jesus preached.
Do you hear the phrase “Gospel about the Kingdom” today? Its absence from contemporary “gospel-preaching” suggests that the heart of the faith has been obscured. This could account for the fragmentation of the Church into hundreds of differing denominations.
The following list of expressions provides first the “master definition” of the Gospel and gives the equivalent gospel titles found throughout the New Testament. All evangelism in the Bible is evangelism about the Kingdom of God as Jesus preached it. All invitations to salvation are invitations not “to go to heaven,” but to inherit the Kingdom of God. Following Jesus involves using his terminology, not our own. To speak like Jesus (allowing, of course, for translation into our mother-tongues!) means to think as he did and does.
If one combines references to “the Gospel of the Kingdom,” “the Gospel” and “preaching” or “proclaiming,” there are some 325 references to the Gospel of the Kingdom. “Believing” in the New Testament means believing in “the Gospel about the Kingdom and in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12). The next verse (Acts 8:13) says that Simon “believed,” i.e., believed in the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Name of Jesus. That is the meaning of Christian faith (in Simon’s case belief did not last)
In Acts 28:24 some were persuaded by the Gospel of the Kingdom (v. 23) and some did not believe. To believe, therefore, in the New Testament is to be persuaded about the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is the key which unlocks the secret to the teaching of Jesus and gives us knowledge of God’s Plan for ourselves, the whole of the human race and the future of this earth.
The “parent definition” of the Gospel comes from Jesus himself, as the model exponent of the Gospel. Jesus was the original herald of the Message of the Kingdom (introduced briefly by John the Baptist — Matt. 3:2). The Gospel comes with a specific definition:
THE GOSPEL ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD (Matt. 3:2; 4:17, 23; 24:14; 9:35; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9:2, 6, 11, 60; 10:9; 16:16; Acts 8:12; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31)
A variety of interchangeable phrases describe the same Gospel about the Kingdom:
=THE WORD ABOUT THE KINGDOM (Matt. 13:19; see 2 Tim. 4:1, 2; Rev. 1:9)
=THE GOSPEL OF GOD (Mark 1:14 (= “believe in the Kingdom,” v. 15); Rom. 1:1; 15:16;
2 Cor. 11:7; 1 Thess. 2:2, 8, 9)
=THE GOSPEL (Matt. 11:5; Mark 13:10; 14:9; 16:15; Luke 3:18; 4:18; 7:22; 9:6; + 80 times)
=THIS GOSPEL ABOUT THE KINGDOM (Matt. 24:14)
=THIS GOSPEL (Matt. 26:13)
=THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD (Acts 20:24)
=PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM (Acts 20:25)
=DECLARING THE WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD (Acts 20:27)
=THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION (Eph. 1:13; Rom. 1:16)
=THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST (Mark 1:1)
=THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST (2 Cor. 9:13)
=THE GOSPEL OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST (2 Cor. 4:4)
=THE GOSPEL OF THE BLESSED GOD (1 Tim. 1:11)
=THE MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL (Eph. 6:19; Rom. 16:25)
=YOUR (GOD’S) WORD(S) (John 17:6; 17:8, — “receive WORD”)
=THE WORD OF GOD (37 times) = HIS WORD (Tit. 1:3; 1 John 2:5)
=THE WORD (46 times)
=THE WORD OF TRUTH (2 Cor. 6:7; Eph. 1:13 Col. 1:5; 2 Tim. 2:15; James 1:18)
=THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Tim. 2:25; 3:7; Tit. 1:1; Heb. 10:26)
=THE TRUTH (50 times)
=REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS OF SINS IN JESUS’ NAME (Luke 24:47)
=THE WORD OF THE LORD (Acts 8:25; 12:24; 13:48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10; 19:20; 1 Thess. 1:8; 4:15; 2 Thess. 3:1; I Pet. 1:25)
=THE WORD OF THE GOSPEL (Acts 15:7)
=OUR GOSPEL (1 Thess. 1:5; 2 Thess. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:3) =THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS (2 Thess. 1:8)
=THE WORD OF HIS GRACE (Acts 14:3; 20:32)
=GRACE AND TRUTH (John 1:14)
=THE WORD OF THE CROSS (1 Cor. 1:18)
=THE WORDS OF GOD (John 3:34; 8:47; Rev. 17:17; 19:9)
=THE WORDS OF THE LIFE OF THE COMING AGE (John 6:68)
=MY (JESUS’) WORD (John 5:24; 8:31, 37, 43, 51, 52; 14:23, 24; 15:20; Rev. 3:8)
=MY (JESUS’) WORDS (Matt. 24:35; Mark 8:38; 13:31; Luke 6:47; 9:26; 21:33; John 5:47; 14:10, 24; 15:7)
=MY TEACHING (John 7:16; II Tim. 3:10)
=THESE WORDS OF MINE (Matt. 7:24, 26)
=MY SAYINGS (John 12:47, 48)
=MY (PAUL’S) GOSPEL (Rom. 16:25)
=MY (PAUL’S) WORDS (Acts 26:25)
=MY (PAUL’S) MESSAGE (1 Cor. 2:4)
=MY (PAUL’S) PREACHING (1 Cor. 2:4)
=THE MYSTERY OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD (Matt. 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10)
=THE PREACHING OF JESUS CHRIST (Rom. 16:25)
=THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST (Col. 4:3; Eph. 3:4; Col. 1:27)
=THE MYSTERY (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 1:9)
=THE MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL (Eph. 6:19)
=THE MYSTERY OF THE FAITH (1 Tim. 3:9)
=THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS (1 Tim. 3:16)
=THE WORD OF LIFE (Phil. 2:16)
=THE MYSTERY OF GOD (Rev. 10:7)
=THE WORD OF FAITH (Rom. 10:8)
=THE WORD OF GOD’S MESSAGE (1 Thess. 2:13)
=THE WORD OF CHRIST (Acts 10:36; Rom. 10:17; Col. 3:16)
=THE ABIDING WORD OF GOD (1 Pet. 1:23)
=THE IMPLANTED WORD OF GOD (Jam. 1:21)
=OUR REPORT (“the word of hearing”) (John 12:38; Rom. 10:16)
=THE FAITH (32 times)
=THE WORD OF THIS SALVATION (Acts 13:26)
=THIS SALVATION (1 Pet. 1:10)
=THIS SALVATION OF GOD (Acts 28:28)
=OUR COMMON SALVATION (Jude 1:3)
=THE FAITH ONCE AND FOR ALL DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS (Jude 3)
=THE MANIFESTATION OF TRUTH (2 Cor. 4:2)
=THE WORD OF RECONCILIATION (2 Cor. 5:19)
=THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT (Eph. 6:17)
=THE WORD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (Heb. 5:13)
=THE WORD OF MY PERSEVERANCE (Rev. 3:10)
=THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY (Rev. 12:11)
=THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS (Rev. 1:2, 9; 12:17; 19:10; 20:4)
=THE GOSPEL ABOUT THE COMING AGE[1] (Rev. 14:6)
Christians in the Bible are those who believe the Gospel of the Kingdom (Mark 1:14, 15). All “preaching” has one aim: to convey the Gospel of the Kingdom and to secure intelligent belief in it (Acts 8:12). George Ladd remarks that “Jesus divides society into two antithetical camps: those who understand and believe in the Gospel of the Kingdom and those who do not” (Matt. 13:19; Luke 8:12)
Christians are described as “believers,” whose faith is modeled not only on the faith of Jesus but on the faith of Abraham:
Abraham is “the Father of all who believe” (Rom. 4:11).
Christians are those who “belong to the faith of Abraham” (Rom. 4:16).
Christians are to “walk in the steps of our father Abraham” (Rom. 4:12).
“The gospel was preached in advance to Abraham” (Gal. 3:8).
“Those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer [Christian]” (Gal 3:9).
“Jesus Christ came to confirm the promises made to the fathers” (Rom 15:8).
The promises made to Abraham and Abraham’s belief in those promises appear in the New Testament as belief in the Gospel about the Kingdom of God. The land promise made to Abraham appears in the teaching of Jesus as the promise of the Kingdom/earth (Matt. 5:3, 5). The promise guarantees the inheritance of the Kingdom/land (earth) and dominion in it (Rev. 5:10). The inheritance was given to Messiah (Gal 3:19) as the singular seed (Gal 3:16) and the corporate seed are those united to Christ by sharing his faith. “If you are Christians, you are reckoned as the seed of Abraham and become heirs of the promise” (Gal 3:19).
The Gospel of the Kingdom has suffered an eclipse because systems of Bible teaching, current in America and receiving massive distribution, have systematically excluded the Gospel of the Kingdom. The theory is that Jesus’ Gospel of the Kingdom is not relevant for us. A false distinction has been drawn between the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Gospel of grace. This contradicts Acts 20:24, 25. In addition it has been said that Jesus “came to do three days work.” This is not what Jesus taught (Luke 4:43; Luke 19:10; I Tim. 1:15).
For evidence of the Gospel deprived of the Kingdom see the New Scofield Reference Bible on Revelation 14:6 and the article “Gospel” in Unger’s Bible Dictionary. Nov. 1998
[1]Eternal Gospel is a mistranslation. The Gospel is not eternal; it is Good News of the Coming Age of the Kingdom. “Aionios” in Greek means “to do with the coming age.” “The aionios Gospel is not in Christian language the ‘everlasting Gospel,’ but ‘the Gospel concerning the Kingdom-age’” (Nigel Turner, Ph.D., Christian Words, T&T Clark, 1980). “Eternal” (“everlasting”) is thus in many passages equivalent to “millennial” or “having to do with the age to come of the Kingdom.”
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