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Topic: The Gospel Of Jesus Christ
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Carol Swenson
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Gospel of Grace vs. Gospel of the Kingdom
And the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)
Many Christians believe that the gospel of grace must be preached in all the world to all nations before the second coming of Christ will materialize. A careful reading of Matthew 24:14 will reveal two crucial facts that are often misunderstood.
1. It is the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven that must be preached and not the gospel of grace before the consummation of the end.
2. The preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven is set forth as the end and not the second coming of Christ.
The 'end' as used in Matthew 24:14 comes from the Greek word 'telos' which means the final consummate end of all things. And this only happens after the one thousand year reign of Christ on earth (known as the Millennial Kingdom). This word differs from the word 'end' used in Matthew 24:3 which is a Greek word 'sunteleios' in reference to the accomplishment of certain events before the close of the present church age.
** According to the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, the gospel of grace refers to the good news pertaining to the grace of God. 'That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.'
++ The gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven is the good news pertaining to the establishment on earth of a corporeal kingdom which will rule and reign for one thousand years in fulfillment of God's covenant to David (2 Samuel 7:8-16).
Paramount to the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom is the call upon the nation of Israel to REPENT of her disobedience to the commandments of God. After the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, the nation was called to REPENT of their rejection and crucifixion of their Messiah.
** Central to the gospel of grace, individuals are called upon to BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation of their spirit (Acts 19:43; 16:30-31; Romans 1:16; John 3:16).
++ Under the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom, signs, wonders and miracles were manifested to authenticate the messengers and the messages (Mark 16:16-20).
** The preaching of the gospel of grace is to be accompanied by the Word of God from Scriptures, illuminated by the Holy Spirit and those who hear are to accept by faith.
In Matthew 24:14, the Lord Jesus focused on the end of the world, rather than the end of the church age. The preaching of the kingdom will come during the millennial age to all the nations of the world before the consummation of the end of the world.
Therefore, this end of the world will not come until after Christ has returned to earth, ruled and reigned for one thousand years and put all enemies under His subjection, including death, before delivering all things to God the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24-26).
As Christians, our task is to preach the gospel of grace to all people. The return of the Lord Jesus is not solely dependent upon the success of the churches and missions organizations to fulfill this prophecy, though it is their mandate to disciple the nations (Matthew 28: 19-20). The fulfillment of the prophecy regarding the second coming of Christ is the prerogative of God alone.
The time of our Lord's return has been set by God as given to us in Acts 15:14 and Romans 11:25, when the number of the Gentiles together with the remnant of Israel is fulfilled to form the Body of Christ. When that prophecy has been fulfilled, then our Lord will return.
Adrian Fah
The Prophetic Times
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Carol Swenson
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Member # 6929
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The Gospel Of Jesus Christ
"Gospel" means "Good News". A gospel presents the Good News that Jesus Christ has made salvation available to all people, not just Jews.
"What is the gospel?"
As Paul makes clear, there is actually only one gospel:
1 Corinthians 15:1-8,11 [1] Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. [2] By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. [3] For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, [4] that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, [5] and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. [6] After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. [7] Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, [8] and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. [11] Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
The Gospel According to Isaiah 700 B.C.
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Immanuel means "God with us." It is important to remember that Israelite names were descriptive phrases. It was not unusual for a person to have several names, e.g. (1) Saul and Paul, (2) Peter, Simon and Cephas.
Isaiah 9:6-7 [NIV] [6] For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. [New American Bible: upon his shoulder dominion rests] And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [7] Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12 is called the "suffering servant" passage.
Isaiah 52:13-15 [13] See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. [14] Just as there were many who were appalled at him -- his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness -- [15] so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.
Isaiah 53:1-12 [1] Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? [2] He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. [3] He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. [4] Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. [5] But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. [6] We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. [7] He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. [8] By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. [9] He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. [10] Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. [11] After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. [12] Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Friend, that is the gospel, just as clear and certain as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John!
"Does the gospel need to be defended?"
Philippians 1:16 [Persons who preach Christ out of goodwill] do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.
If Paul thought the Gospel needed defending, who are we to disagree? But understand that God told us what defenses to present: (1) Eyewitness testimony of Peter, Paul, James and Jude; (2) Luke researched it; (3) fulfilled prophecy.
"Is there a penalty for distorting the gospel?"
Galatians 1:6-9 [6] I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- [7] which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. [8] But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! [9] As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Jesus voluntarily underwent a horrible, torturous, humiliating death for our sake. He wants to be remembered and honored for His loving sacrifice, and justly so. Hence, through Paul He has warned that He will not ignore those who teach a different gospel, such as salvation by good works or that we can become gods ourselves (e.g., Mormonism), and He will punish those who distort the truth.
"Why are there four Gospels?"
Actually, there are at least six Gospels which have been accepted by Christianity as divinely inspired: Isaiah Chap. 9, 53, 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, 11, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Actually, there are two answers as to why there are four Gospel books. They aren't offered as competing answers, they are both correct. They answer the question from different perspectives.
Each of the Four Gospels portrays a different aspect of Jesus:
Matthew -- The prophesied Messiah of the Jews
Matthew was written for a Jewish audience. It's primary purpose is to prove that Jesus is the promised Messiah by showing how He is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah.
Mark -- Human Jesus, Obedient Servant
Jesus was not simply God with the appearance of a human. Jesus actually was fully human. When He became human He left His divine powers in heaven and came to live among men as a man. (He was able to perform miracles because He was filled with the Holy Spirit.) It is often taught that Mark portrays Jesus as an obedient servant, even obedient unto death.
Luke -- Savior of all mankind
Luke was written for a Gentile audience. They were not familiar with Hebrew prophecies about the Messiah nor did they care about them. One of his major themes is that Jesus came for all mankind.
John -- God Incarnate
John, the last Gospel, was written around 96 A.D. It's primary purpose is to show the deity of Christ.
Thus, we see two major thematic contrasts, involving Jesus' nature and His purpose.
Mark shows Jesus the human being and John shows Him as Son of God.
Matthew shows Jesus as Savior of the Jews and Luke shows Him as Savior of all men.
It is important to understand that these are not contradictions -- they are merely different aspects, different perspectives. Consider an analogy: one person writes a magazine article about Smith's accomplishments as a businessman and another writes about Smith's accomplishments as an author.
Each of the four Gospels had a different target audience.
Matthew -- Jews
Matthew was written for Jews. It's primary purpose is to prove that Jesus is the promised Messiah by showing how He is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah.
Mark -- Gentile Romans
Mark was written to Romans, who were Gentiles. He explains Jewish words and customs. The Romans were people of action, not contemplation. Mark is the shortest Gospel. It emphasizes what Jesus did rather than what He said. It repeatedly talks about immediately, a word that emphasizes action and results. It does not have the long discourses -- The Sermon on the Mount of Matthew Chapters 5-7 and the Sermon on the Plain of Luke 6:20-49.
Luke -- Gentile Greeks
Luke wrote for a Greek Gentile audience. He included almost all of Mark's text. Luke is referred to as a physician by Paul in Colossians 4:14. Luke's Greek is flowing and eloquent and shows evidence of a strong education. His writing evidences the meticulous attention to detail one would expect of a physician interested in proving that indeed he had "done his homework":
Luke 3:1-2 [1] In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar--when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene-- [2] during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.
From God's perspective Luke serves two purposes: (a) The Greeks were philosophers, well-educated and knowledgeable in a wide variety of world views. Luke presents the intellectual and philosophical basis of the Christian philosophy and world view. (b) By detailed investigation and reporting, Luke establishes the historicity, i.e., the historical accuracy, of the events reported in the Gospels and some of Paul's writings.
John -- Those facing false teachings.
John, the last Gospel, was written around 96 A.D. It's primary purpose was to combat heresies that had developed in the 60+ years since Christ's ascension, particularly those that denied the divinity of Christ. Gnosticism was teaching that Jesus was God in the appearance of a man and that the way to salvation was knowledge and understanding about God, not faith. Adoptionism taught that Jesus was only a human who was adopted by God and elevated because of His obedience, not the second person of the Godhead, eternally co-existent with the Father.
"Which Gospel was written first and which last?"
Isaiah was written about 700 B.C., 1 Corinthians was written before 68 A.D. and before the "four" gospels. Scholars generally agree that Mark was written first, around 66 A.D., then Matthew, then Luke, and finally John around 96 A.D.
Complete article at
http://www.godonthe.net/evidence/gospels.htm
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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