Gospels
Related to Our Lord Jesus Christ
At the close of my last post to this blog titled: “The
Gospel of Jesus Christ – Man’s Second and Last Chance”, I wrote that this follow-up
post would address the additional blessings (beyond our eternal salvation) available
to believing Christians,…and it would address other New Testament names
associated with that Gospel. However, while in the process of developing that
post I felt it necessary to first provide more clarification regarding the use
of the term “gospel” in reference to the Lord Jesus. (As noted earlier, according
to our Strong’s Expanded Concordance the term “gospel” does not appear
in the Old Testament / Torah or Tanakh.)
The first and primary clarification is to distinguish
between the “Gospel of the Kingdom” preached by the Lord Jesus to the
Nation of Israel during His Earthly Ministry, (Matthew 4: 17, 23; 9: 35; 10:
1-7); and the Gospel that the Ascended Lord revealed and taught to the Apostle
Paul for the benefit of all mankind. The latter one was the “Gospel of Jesus
Christ “ that I discussed in the previous post and will discuss further
below. As you may recall, the Gospel of the Kingdom was to be the fulfillment
of the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12: 1-3; Exodus 19: 1-6), but Israel refused
to accept the Lord Jesus as their Messiah. As a result of Israel’s rejection,
the Ascended Lord turned to Saul of Tarsus (later named Paul) to bring the
message of eternal salvation directly to the Gentile world through the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. (Acts 9: 1-15; Chapters 13 and 14; 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4;
Romans 10: 9-13)
The distinction between these two gospels became a source
of strong disagreement between their respective supporters, even as both groups
supported our Lord Jesus. The issue: “Should Paul be allowed to evangelize Gentiles
without their adhering to the Laws of Moses and Hebrew tradition?” The more
established “Kingdom Gospel” followers had been part of the Lord’s Earthly
ministry (including some as Apostles), and were based in Jerusalem. They were
deeply seated in the Law of Moses and Israel’s traditions, with an eye on the
Lord’s “Second Coming” to be King over their Kingdom. The opposing Gospel
supporters were a small team headed by the Lord’s new convert, Saul of Tarsus /
Paul. Paul was adamant that the “new” Gospel revealed to him by the Ascended
Lord could not be altered, and must be shared directly with the Gentiles,
especially outside of Israel’s borders.
This conflict was ultimately resolved at the historic “Jerusalem
Council” meeting. After Paul and his team had traveled there, and after an
apparently contentious debate / argument, the following momentous agreement
was reached. That agreement shaped
our Scripture and Christian theology from then on. The Jerusalem “Kingdom” leadership,
understanding “the grace that was given to (Paul)…gave to him and Barnabas the
right hands of fellowship; that (Paul and his supporters) should go unto the
(Gentiles without interference ) and they
(the Jerusalem Apostles would continue) unto the Circumcision (Jews).” (Galatians 2: 9; Acts 15: 1-29) (https://www.gotquestions.org/Jerusalem-Council.html )
The next point of clarification I’d like to make is to
note that the citation of the “Gospel of Jesus Christ” is one of several
titles that are used in the Scripture to identify the same “Good News” concepts
that lead Christian believers to their eternal salvation…that our Lord Jesus
is the Son of God; He died for our sins; was buried; and rose again on the
third day. (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10: 9-13) Other names given to this Gospel (G) include
the:
· Christ’s
Gospel (2 Corinthians 2: 12)
· G of
the grace of God (Acts 20: 24)
· G of
God (Romans 1:1; 15: 16; 2 Corinthians 11: 7; 1 Thessalonians 2:2, 8)
· G of
His (God’s) Son (Romans 1: 9)
· G of
Christ (Romans 15: 19, 29; 1 Corinthians 9: 12, 18; 2 Corinthians 4: 4, 9: 13,
10: 14…)
· G of
peace (Romans 10: 15; Ephesians 6: 15)
· G of
your salvation (Ephesians 1: 13)
· G of
our Lord (2 Thessalonians 1: 8)
· G of
the Blessed God (1 Timothy 1: 11); and as cited by the writer, the Apostle
Paul…
· “My
Gospel” (Romans 2: 14-16; 16: 25) / “Our Gospel” (2 Thessalonians 2: 14).
Each of these references speaks to the same Gospel which,
since its inception, has been directed by the Lord to both Jews and Gentiles.
(Romans 3: 28-30) This does not violate
the Agreement reached at the Jerusalem Council because God knew what lay ahead
for the Jerusalem Church. Further, the Scripture documents that James, Peter and John who participated in shaping
that Jerusalem Agreement continued their mission only to the Circumcision (Note
their respective messages / “Books” near the end of the Bible), even as did
Paul to the Gentiles. (Acts 18: 1-11)
[Note as an aside: Remember that since 70 AD, when Rome
destroyed Israel’s Temple in Jerusalem, and the people were without a priesthood,
those who weren’t killed were dispersed throughout the known world. That
dispersion lasted until the most recent centuries, as prophesied in Ezekiel
Chapter 37. Note also that the latter
verses of that Chapter speak to the coming to fruition of the Gospel of the
Kingdom. The prophets were not aware of the current 2,000 + years of the “Church
Age”, in which we speak to the Gospel of Christ as noted above. This is
another example of how God keeps things “secret” until He chooses to reveal
them. (Deuteronomy 29: 29)]
Now, with regard to the many blessings made
available to those who believe the Gospel of Christ (by whatever name it may be
called)…I want to re-state the list I previously posted on February 26, 2023,
with one addition:
Those who believe are impacted in all three areas of their
being: Body, Soul and Spirit (3 John 1:2) Through faith (Hebrews
11:1, 6), the believing person:
- becomes a
Christian, having been baptized into Jesus Christ,
into His death, burial and Resurrection. (Romans 6:3-5)
- who previously
did not believe, and God had regarded as an enemy (Romans 8:7-9), that
person has been reconciled to Him through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans
5: 8-10, 2 Corinthians 5: 17-19)
- has all sins,
past, present and future forgiven, their punishment having been paid through
the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 10: 43, Romans 8:1, 2
Corinthians 5: 18-19, Hebrews 9: 11-18, 22,28)
- becomes a new
creation / creature in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians
5:18-19) and is translated into His Heavenly Kingdom. (Colossians 1:13,
Philippians 3:20-21)
- has become a
member of the spiritual Body of Christ. (1 Corinthians Chapter 12)
- becomes the
righteousness of God in Christ and becomes both a son of
God and a joint-heir with Christ. (Romans 8: 14-17)
- has become
sanctified / purified internally by renewing of the soul through faith.
(Acts 26: 15-18)
- has become an
Ambassador for Christ in this present time on the earth. (2 Corinthians 5:
20)
- is in-dwelt
with the Holy Spirit, Who quickens / awakens the person’s internal spirit,
providing knowledge, wisdom and guidance. (Romans 8: 1-27)
- has his/her
name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, bringing eternal life. (John
3:16-17, Revelation 21: 27)
- can freely
request the many blessings of God, including healing “by His stripes”
(Isaiah 53:5), and safety and protection (Psalm 91), among other
blessings.
- has comfort
knowing that their prayers have been heard by God, regardless of whether
or not God’s answer is what he / she hoped for. (Proverbs 15:29, Romans 8:
26-27, James 5:16)
- is comforted
knowing that whatever trials or difficulties that person may face, the
Lord will always be with them. (Deuteronomy 31:8. Hebrews 13:5)
- has the support
of the Holy Spirit to break any generational curses or iniquities. (Exodus
34:7, Numbers 14:18) …and
- received the blessing
of the continuing opportunity for Communion with our Lord Jesus, who also serves
as our Advocate with our Father in Heaven. (1 Corinthians 10: 16; 1 John
2: 1)
These Gospels and the blessings received by those who have
believed them over the centuries are true evidence of the Almighty God that we
serve.
Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson
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