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Gospel
Recently, I watched one of the many “talking heads” online discussing the notion of the Gospel and the idea that many Christians have varying understandings of what the Gospel really is. Indeed, there are many theories of the atonement, and while important, that isn’t our purpose here (I am in the process of writing a short book on the topic, so stay tuned!). Our purpose here is to ask, what is the Gospel in a broad sense and how is it presented in the Scriptures?
In the broadest sense, the term we translate as “gospel” comes from the Greek word, εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion — from which we get the word “evangel”). Literally, the term means: “good news.” The term shows up 89 times in the New Testament and once in the Greek Translation of the Old Testament. Commonly, the term is also found with qualifiers. For instance, it is referred to as “the Gospel of the Kingdom” three times in Matthew (Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 24:14) and similarly, in Mark 1:15, we are to “repent and believe in the Gospel” for the “Kingdom of God is at hand.” It is also referred to as “the Gospel of God’s Grace” (Acts 20:24), the “Gospel of the Son” (Romans 1:9), the “Gospel of Christ” (Romans 15:19; 1 Corinthians 9:12; 2 Corinthians 9:13; 10:14; Galatians 1:7; Philippians 1:27; 1 Thessalonians 3:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:8), the “Gospel of the Glory of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4); “God’s Gospel” (2 Corinthians 11:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:2,8,9; 1 Peter 4:7); the “Gospel of your salvation” (Ephesians 1:13); the “Gospel of Peace” (Ephesians 6:15), the “Gospel of the Glory of the Blessed Lord” (1 Timothy 1:11), and an “Eternal Gospel” (Revelation 14:7). In addition, the scriptures make it abundantly clear that this Gospel is something to be preached or proclaimed (Luke 9:6; 20:1; Acts 8:25,40; 14:7,21; 16:10; Romans 1:15; 15:20; 16:25; 1 Corinthians 1:17; 9:16,18; 15:1; 2 Corinthians 2:12; 8:18; 10:16; 11:7; Galatians 1:8,9,11; 3:8; 4:13; 2 Timothy 2:8; 1 Peter 4:6). Curiously, the one reference found in the Greek translation of the Old Testament comes from 2 Samuel 4:10, where we find David slaying a man seeking to profit from killing Saul’s son and seeking to relay his deed as “good news” — a false gospel indeed.
If we are to draw some conclusions from these Scripture references, they should circle around two ideas: the Gospel is Christ’s and the Gospel ushers in the Kingdom of God. In other words, there is nothing about the Gospel that is our doing — it is God’s doing and God’s alone. And though we benefit from it, it revolves around Christ and His doing. Further, the point of the Gospel does not revolve around us gaining happiness either in life or death, it involves Christ making us a part of His Kingdom and, since it is Christ’s Kingdom, He is King and as part of that Kingdom, we must abide by His Law. Hence, in what we know as “The Great Commission” the emphasis is placed on teaching people to be disciples who obey all that Jesus taught.
So, yes, the Gospel is about atonement, but atonement is just the beginning of the Gospel. It is about remaking the world into a new creation where there will no longer be sin or death. That means that the conclusion of the Gospel is found in the remaking of the heavens and the earth that will come with our Lord’s return, but it also means that the Gospel begins with the very first words of Genesis and the whole history of mankind, as recorded in the Bible, is part of the Gospel. Frankly, the Gospel begins even before God made the heavens and the earth, for this was His eternal plan. And so, to put it simply, the Gospel is not so much about who is saved, but it is about who reigns in His eternal kingdom and how He preserves a people for Himself to be part of that kingdom. Indeed, in that time, every knee will bend and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
I Don’t Care
(What you want, what you really, really want…)
In the mid-nineties, the Spice Girls had a hit song called “Wannabe,” which contained the refrain, “I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want. So tell me what you want, what you really, really want…” The tune was catchy and spoke of the nature of friendship and relationships, but it also provided an apt commentary on our Western culture. Burger King’s tagline is “The way you want it.” Chik-fil-A stresses, “It’s our pleasure to serve you.” Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, used to say, “There is only one boss, the customer.” Slogans that tout the importance of customer satisfaction abound in our culture today. It’s how businesses succeed in building a loyal customer base. Further, as someone who has been in small business himself, a satisfied customer is what you ultimately want, and the businessman should strive to give his or her customer what they “really, really want.”
Yet, churches are not businesses. Nevertheless, church leaders fall into the trap of thinking of themselves as businesses. Surely, when attendance goes up, revenue tends to go up. When attendance drops, revenue drops. Yet, while the purpose of a business is to generate revenue, the purpose of the church is to build Christ’s kingdom. And these, my friends, are two very different goals. Nevertheless, churches often circulate surveys and other questionnaires asking the people in the pews what they want in a pastor, what they want from the pastor, what they want as part of the worship service, and what kind of programs the people want…what they really, really want.
The problem is that the church is a Kingdom, or at least, the local church is meant to be a microcosm of the Kingdom of Heaven. And, Kingdoms have Kings. In the case of the church, these Kings are not mere figureheads like the King of England, but it has a real King with real rules and commands, and the King expects His citizens to obey said rules. In fact, the King has established offices in His Church to ensure that His laws are taught to His citizens, that they are trained and equipped to carry them out, and to discipline said citizens when the citizens refuse to submit to His authority.
Who is this King over the church? It is Jesus Christ the Lord. Who are His ministers? They are Elders, Deacons, and Pastor-Teachers. Deacons are charged with ensuring that the poor, the widows, and orphans are cared for and treated with equity. Elders are charged as overseers over the body, and Pastor-Teachers are given the awesome responsibility to teach and equip the citizens of Christ’s Kingdom for ministry, so that the people are also able to live their lives as disciples, obeying all that the King has commanded.
And so, within the Kingdom of Christ, what is important is not what the people want, what is important is what the people need to train them to be good and productive citizens of the church. Of what value, then, are polls and questionnaires? What is important is not citizen satisfaction, but the satisfaction of the King. In fact, the citizens will discover, if they submit to the will of the King, that they will find far more satisfaction in the things that satisfy the King than in the things that they think will satisfy themselves.
And so, what you (or I) might want (or think we might want) is irrelevant in the life of the church. The only thing that is relevant is what Christ wants. And so, as a Pastor-Teacher in the church, I really don’t care what you want, what you really, really want; I care what Jesus wants, what He really, really wants.
King of the Jews
“And Jesus was placed before the Governor and the Governor inquired of him, saying, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ But Jesus said, ‘You say so.’”
(Matthew 27:11)
“And Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ But he answered him saying, ‘You say so.’”
(Mark 15:2)
“And Pilate questioned him saying, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ But he answered him saying, ‘You say so.’”
(Luke 23:3)
As the second of the trials begins, the line of questioning shifts somewhat. The Jews were pressing Jesus repeatedly as to whether he was the Christ and the Son of God. Now that the Judge is no longer a spiritual authority but a political one, he begins asking about Jesus’ political office. Now, it should be said that the Messianic office was political in nature — a kingly office — but the Messianic office is also prophetic and priestly, comprising the three spheres of leadership found in Old Testament Israel. Pilate is a Roman Prefect, this idea of Messianic office does not concern him except if it were to encroach on the political realm that he represents — that is of the Roman Empire. And thus, the nature of Pilate’s question.
But just as Jesus responded to the questions about him being the Son of God (Luke 22:70), he responds to Pilate as well, placing the ball back in Pilate’s court. Though some might see this as nothing more than a fancy debating technique, the sheer fact that Pilate is questioning Jesus implies that people think he may genuinely be the “King” of the Jews.
So, what is a king? A king is a ruler, he instructs and gives commands, and he is a protector of his people as well as an avenger with respect to his enemies. A little later, Jesus will speak of the nature of his kingdom — being a heavenly one and not an earthly one — but, from Pilate’s perspective, this ought to give him pause. Yet, what is more important is the language of the Jews. Here there is a bit of confusion. For Pilate, the Jews were ethnic Jewish people who lived within the various territories of the Roman empire (not just the realms of Judea and Galilee) and who practiced their faith in the synagogues and in the temple. Yet, Scripture tells us a different story. Paul writes that it is not the children descended by flesh that are truly Israel, but those descended through the promise — by faith (Romans 9:6-8; Galatians 3:29).
The citizenship of a believer is not on earth (Philippians 3:20), but citizens in heaven — where Christ rules as King and Lord. In this line, the analogy is sometimes made that our churches are outposts or even embassies of heaven in enemy territory — places of refuge from the wickedness of the world and places that represent another kingdom of which we are a part (just one reason the State has no right to make rules concerning the church). Does that mean that Christ has no rights to rule in this world? Not at all, as creator, he is Lord of all his creation, yet fallen creation has entered into rebellion against their rightful Lord and has followed the “prince of the power of the air” — Satan himself. One day, our Lord has promised to return to wipe away his enemies utterly, but not until he brings to himself all of his elect throughout the ages. Once all the elect are gathered into the church and the last martyr dies for their faith, then He will come again and remake heaven and earth free from sin and once again the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth will be one under the single head of Jesus Christ the Lord.
Thy Kingdom Come
“May your kingdom come; may your will come to pass, as in heaven, so too on earth.”
(Matthew 6:10)
“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
(Matthew 6:10, KJV)
Beloved, in heaven, the angels wait, ready and prepared—anxious to serve God’s every command. Their actions define absolute obedience, and while they wait for God’s next task, they stay busy worshiping before the throne. So, tell me, does that describe your life? Is perfect obedience to God’s will what you are striving toward? If you are praying this prayer, then that is what you are asking God to make your life look like. In heaven there is no hemming and hawing about doing what God commands, it is simply done. To pray that his will would be done on earth is to pray that your life and every life around you will be conformed to that same image.
Now, there will come a time, when God remakes the earth, free from the effects of the fall, that His will will be done as eagerly on earth as it is done in heaven. But right now, I don’t think that most of us fall comfortably into that category. I know that I wrestled with my own calling to the ministry for 5 years before God finally said, “enough.”
When you pray this prayer, you are asking God to conform you to obedience. You are asking him to conform your every desire to his will. Sadly, as I reflect on my own life and my own struggles to grow in obedience, I am not entirely sure whether I am ready for God’s will to be done in my life as it is done in heaven. Are you ready? Were God to call you to sell everything you own and leave for the mission field, would you be willing and ready to do it or would you hem and haw and find excuses not to? Abram was 75 years old when God called him into service.
As you reflect on this portion of the prayer, reflect on your motives for doing things in life. Is Jesus the reason you do what you do? Is he the reason you get up in the morning? Is the reason you draw breath to do God’s will? Do you live or do to the glory of God? This is what you are praying for when you pray this prayer.
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