What is the Gospel?
What exactly is the “gospel”?
Is it really as simple as the good news that Christ suffered, died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures? What do the Scriptures say?
That’s exactly what we’ll be looking at in this series. As it is written, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter: but it is the glory of kings to search it out.”
It may come as a surprise but the biblical concept of the gospel, or good news, did not originate with the New Testament. Not by a long shot! In fact, what is generally called the Christian gospel is actually the original Jewish gospel - or good news - that began almost 4,000 years ago with the call of Abram.
Why is this important? And why should it matter to you today?
In this introductory episode to our inaugural series “What is the Gospel” we’ll discover that there are actually many aspects in the Bible of the one true gospel - all of which are holy, true and indispensable. Not only to salvation, but also justification, righteousness, sanctification, holiness, eternal judgment, glorification, rewards, place in the kingdom of God, closeness to Christ, inheriting the kingdom as co-heirs of Christ and attaining to the first resurrection out from among the dead.
When you consider what the Scriptures actually teach concerning the calling, destiny and inheritance of the saints, it should be evident that the “gospel of salvation” is just the starting point. Absolutely necessary and indispensable, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But it is not the full counsel of God nor is it the full gospel proclaimed by Christ and the apostles.
We simply cannot understand the fullness, power and glory of the New Covenant and our inheritance in Christ unless we have a full and complete understanding of the gospel proclaimed by the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation.
Our hope and prayer therefore is “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” Ephesians 1:15-21
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.