 |
The Gospel Truth |
Dear Brethren,
What is the Gospel? And, how
important is it? Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God,
and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at
hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel.' (Mark 1:14-15)
Gospel simply means 'good news,'
or 'good message.' Jesus proclaimed the good news, and told us
to believe it. But what is this good news that we must
believe? It is the good news of the Kingdom of God. Jesus'
good news was that God's Kingdom would replace the kingdom of
Satan that we find ourselves in. Jesus also taught what the
Kingdom of God would be like, and how we must change in order to
qualify for it. We must come out of the kingdom of Satan (Luke
11:18, Acts 26:18).
Jesus said that '...the
Kingdom of God is like unto... a tree' (Matthew
13:31-32). In the Garden of Eden, the two trees represented the
Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan (Genesis 2:9). To have
a part in the Kingdom of God, we must have God's Spirit which
places us in the Family of God, makes us Children of God, and
Children of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 13:38, 1 John 3:2).
God's intention was that Adam would take of the 'Tree of Life,'
which represented His Spirit, and that Adam's family would grow
into a great nation and Kingdom of God.
Adam's pedigree, or family tree,
would have begun with God '...Adam,
who was the son of God.' (Luke
3:38). But, by taking of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, Adam chose Satan as his father, and the kingdom of Satan
for all of his children 'You
are of your father the devil.' (John 8:44). As a
result of that wrong choice, the death penalty was incurred for Adam's
family '...in
the day that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die.' (Genesis
2:17). That death penalty was Bad
News for
mankind! The Good
News that is
able to supplant the bad news, is the Gospel
Truth. Man can find life and salvation in the Kingdom
of God through Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4, 11). The Gospel is
the promise of the Kingdom of God.
The good news is this: This
present evil world of Satan's will soon be replaced. Mankind is
blind to the good news of the glorious Kingdom of God because
Satan is now the God of this world, and the world is his kingdom
(Ephesians 2:2). 'The
Gospel is hidden to those who are lost. The god of this world
[Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them.' (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
God's plan will soon be put back
on track when the kingdom of Satan is displaced. Jesus Christ,
the prophesied Messiah, will establish the Kingdom of God in all
the earth! The good news for the Church of God is this: We
live according to the rules, customs and way of life of the
Kingdom of God now! Paul clearly shows that converted
Christians have come out of Satan's kingdom and have been
transferred into the Kingdom of God. 'Giving
thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us
from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the
Kingdom of his dear Son.' (Colossians
1:12-13).
Picture the world today, with all
of its adultery, idolatry, hatred, wrath, strife, heresies,
envying, murders, drunkenness, and such ... (Galatians
5:20-21). That is Satan's kingdom, and it is in exact
opposition to God's Kingdom (Matthew 13:38). We can see the
consequences of Satan's kingdom in the lying, killing, stealing,
hate and fear so prevalent in the world around us.
On the other hand, the Kingdom of
God is the actuality of God's perfect way of love, truth, peace,
enlightenment, law and life. God's Kingdom is more powerful
than Satan's. Jesus told His disciples, 'If I cast out
devils by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God is come
unto you.' (Matthew 12:28)
The Gospel was preached to Abraham
(Galatians 3:8, Hebrews 11:10). Moses preached the Gospel to
the Israelites (Hebrews 4:1-2). Daniel and the prophets were
inspired to write about the Gospel (Daniel 2:44, Romans 1:1-2).
Too many of the brethren of the
Church of God have believed that the Kingdom of God is something
that is off in the future that we are waiting for. Jesus said
that the 'Kingdom
of God is at hand.' (Matthew 4:17) By that He taught that
it is for those who will believe
the Gospel, even here and now. Jesus taught the
disciples that the true Kingdom of God was spiritual in nature.
Jesus will yet return as an earthly ruler from God, but it will
be to establish God's perfect law of love that has been missing.
The question we should be asking
ourselves is this: Am I a good representative of the Kingdom of
God, now? While on earth, Jesus was the perfect representative
of the Kingdom. We
are to follow in His steps and be representatives of the Gospel
as well. Paul gave his job description this way: 'I
am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly to
make known the mystery of the Gospel.' (Ephesians
6:19-20)
The Gospel of Christ is the
message of the Kingdom that Jesus Christ preached. He did not
come only to proclaim the True
Gospel, but He came in order to conquer Satan's
kingdom, making possible the establishment of the Kingdom of God
on earth. His atoning sacrifice - paying for the sin of the
world makes the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God possible.
The life and miracles of Jesus are
not the gospel. But, we must understand that Jesus' life, death
and resurrection are central to the fulfillment of the Gospel
and our being in the Kingdom of God. We have been disqualified
from the Kingdom by our own sins. There is no way that we can
work our way back into God's good graces to be able to inherit
the Kingdom of God (Acts 20:24). Once disqualified from the
Kingdom of God, we are worthy of death.
Jesus is our Savior. From the
foundation of the world it was God's plan that Jesus make the
fulfillment of the Gospel possible by redeeming sinful mankind. 'Jesus
hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now
made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who
hath abolished death, and has
brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.'
(2 Timothy 1: 9-10)
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'The Gospel Truth' |
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