I find it most interesting, as well as quite disturbing, that the very first words written in what we today refer to as the New Testament canon (comprised of twenty-seven ancient documents) are an indictment against those early disciples of the Messiah Jesus who had lost sight of the true nature of the "Gospel" that had been faithfully delivered unto them. Notice Paul's salutation "to the churches of Galatia" (Paul's epistle to the Galatians was written in 49 A.D., thus becoming the very first of the twenty-seven books of the NT to be written), the apostle Paul got right to the point:
"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of the Messiah, for a different gospel, which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of the Messiah. But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed (anathema). As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to (other than, more than) that which you received, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:6-9, NASB).
Paul was quite upset that the glorious "Good News" he had shared with those in Galatia was being twisted into something very different from what had been originally delivered unto them; indeed, that which had been "glad tidings" was now a perverse distortion. In the wording of the paraphrase known as The Message, Paul calls this a "variant message," and "not a minor variation; it is completely another, an alien message, a no-message, a lie about God - Yehovah" ... it is "turning the Message of the Messiah on its head." What was the problem in Galatia that prompted Paul to pen this epistle? Freedom in the Messiah was under attack by legalistic religionists. Jesus liberated us from the Law; in him we are free! "It was for freedom that the Messiah set us free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. ... For you were called to freedom, brethren" (Galatians 5:1, 13; NASB).
Eugene H. Peterson (1932-2018), an American theologian and pastor who wrote the above-mentioned NT version known as The Message, made the following observation in his introduction to the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians:
"Paul learned that Jewish religious leaders of the old school had come into those churches he had founded, called his views and authority into question, and were reintroducing the old ways, herding all these freedom-loving disciples of the Messiah Jesus back into the corral of religious rules and regulations. Paul was, of course, furious. He was furious with the old guard for coming in with their strong-arm religious tactics and intimidating the disciples of the Messiah Jesus into giving up their free life in the lord Jesus. But he was also furious with the disciples of Jesus for caving into the intimidation. His letter to the Galatian churches helps them, and us, recover the original freedom, true freedom in the Messiah Jesus."
As we can clearly perceive, the "gospel" was extremely important to the apostle Paul, so much so that he was willing to forcefully confront all who opposed it. But what exactly was this "good news" that Paul proclaimed and defended? There are several places in the NT writings that speak of "the gospel" and of "preaching the gospel" and of those who preach it, but these phrases do not, in themselves, identify that "gospel." In Matthew 11:5 and Luke 7:22, we are informed by Jesus that "the poor have the gospel preached to them." But what was it? In Acts 8:25 we are told that some of the disciples "were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans." But what was it? Jesus was "preaching the gospel" in the temple (Luke 20:1). But what was it? Paul and his companions, as they passed through several cities, "continued to preach the gospel" to them (Acts 14:7). But what was it?! Paul told the brethren in Corinth, "I preached the gospel of God - Yehovah to you without charge" (2 Corinthians 11:7). But what was it he preached to them?! Whatever it was, it was "of God - Yehovah." But, again, no specifics are enumerated. The author of Hebrews wrote, "We have had good news preached to us, just as they also" (Hebrews 4:2), but once again we are given no further insight in that verse as to the nature of that "good news." There are many such places in the NT writings where the noun "gospel" and the verb "preach the gospel" appear, yet a great many of them say nothing about the content of this "gospel" message or why it was so vital to these early disciples. Little wonder, then, that so many disciples over the past two thousand years have come up with differing understandings of what constitutes "the gospel."
The Greek word for "gospel" is "Evangelion," which appears 77 times in the NT writings, 61 of which are used by Paul in his epistles. No other NT writer focused on the "gospel" more than Paul. It was the central theme of his teaching and superseded all else. "For the Messiah did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel" (1 Corinthians 1:17). The Greek verb meaning "preach the gospel" is "evangelized," and it appears 55 times in the NT writings, 22 of which are by Paul. Luke used it 25 times (10 in his gospel account and 15 in the book of Acts). Both terms simply mean "good news, glad tidings" and the proclaiming of this unto others. The word for the person preaching the gospel is "evangelists," from which we get our English word "evangelist." It is used only three times in the NT writings: Acts 21:8, Ephesians 4:11, and 2 Timothy 4:5.
It should probably be pointed out here that the word "gospel" is sometimes employed in the Scriptures to refer to something less redemptive or salvific in nature. For example, Paul wrote to the brethren in Thessalonica, "Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you" (1 Thessalonians 3:6). Another example is that of the message of the angel Gabriel to Zacharias about how his wife would bear to him a son (who would be John the Baptist). "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I have been sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news" (Luke 1:19). In both cases, the nature of the "good news" (gospel) message delivered is specified. We know what it is because we are told in the passage what it is. Such specificity is not always provided, however, in the many other places where "gospel" and "preach the gospel" are mentioned, thus leading some believers and scholars over the centuries to speculate as to the specifics of this "good news."
This speculation has led to an enormous amount of confusion over the years over what exactly constitutes the "gospel," a confusion intensified by many who have conflated "gospel" and "doctrine" As a result, there are Christians who firmly believe that the many teachings and traditions of the church are an integral part of the Gospel. In time, for some rigid fundamentalists and legalists, "preaching the gospel" came to be more focused on "getting right" what we do for God - Yehovah, than on appreciating what God - Yehovah has done for us! I have heard countless "gospel" preachers over the years deliver "gospel" sermons that have had little or nothing to do with the powerful "glad tidings" of what God - Yehovah has done for us through His Son. Indeed, such misguided teaching and preaching constitutes that "different gospel" that "distorts the gospel" of our lord and Savior (Galatians 1:6)
As previously noted, there are quite a few places in the NT writings where the word "gospel" and the phrase "preaching the gospel" appear without any reference in the immediate context as to what this "good news" was/is.
Thankfully, however, there are ample other places where this word and phrase are used where we are informed as to the content of the message. Recently, I went through every passage in the NT where this word and phrase appear, and I made a list of those passages in which the nature of the "good news" was specified in the text or context. I found the result of this research quite stunning: both in what it revealed the glad tidings to be, and what it revealed the glad tidings not to be. In the remainder of this current issue, I want to share with you those findings. I think you will find them to be quite eye-opening.
As I collected examined and reflected upon these passages within the NT writings, I found that when the authors identified the specific content of what they referred to as the "gospel" (good news, glad tidings), that identification ranged from rather general to quite specific in nature. On one end, for example, there are several places where it is simply stated to be "the gospel of God - Yehobah" ... "the gospel of the Messiah" ... "the gospel of the Son." In Greek phrases where we find "of" used in the English rendering, this can be somewhat confusing to the reader, for such phrases may be a Subjective Genitive (referring to the source: the good news that God - Yehovah and/or Jesus themselves proclaimed; i.e., the content came from them), or an Objective Genitive (meaning that the good news proclaimed is about God - Yehovah and/or Jesus), or a Plenary Genitive (in which both of the above meanings and applications may be in view at the same time: i.e., the good news is both from God - Yehovah and/or Jesus, as well as about God - Yehovah and/or Jesus). This same problem is faced by those who seek to understand the apostle John's phrase "the doctrine - teaching (words) of the Messiah," with great theological debate occurring over the centuries because of which meaning one chooses.
Whichever view one chooses, the message is nevertheless clear: The "good news" delivered unto mankind originates from God - Yehovah, not man, and is all about what He has done and will do for humanity! The "gospel" is not of men, nor is it about men, contrary to many of the "different gospels" promoted by men. Paul stresses this point repeatedly in his writings, especially in Galatians 1:11-12:
"For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus the Messiah." Here Paul speaks of source.
In Romans 1:1-3 he speaks about content:
"I was called and set apart for the gospel of God ... concerning His Son." It is a declaration of glad tidings from the Father about His Son, Jesus the Messiah.
Paul gave even greater clarity to "gospel content" in his epistle to the brethren in Corinth
"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. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word, I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance, that Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, NIV).
For Paul, the "gospel" - the glorious Good News - was focused on Jesus' sin-offering sacrifice on the cross and the subsequent resurrection from the dead! "For the Messiah did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of the Messiah would not be made void. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ... God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ... We preach the Messiah crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentile's foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, the Messiah the power of God - Yehovah and the wisdom of God - Yehovah" (1 Corinthians 1:17-24).
The Good News is delivered to men, and men are to continually deliver the Good News to others who need to hear it. It is all about God dealing with the "sin problem" through the sin-offering sacrifice of His Son, and of how we may overcome the consequence of sin, which is death, by Jesus' victory over death at his resurrection! Sin is dealt with; death is defeated; life is assured - from God - Yehovah through Jesus the Messiah. These are "glad tidings" indeed. Thus, when we preach the "gospel," we preach Jesus the Messiah and the message he constantly preached about the coming kingdom of God! "And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Messiah is Jesus." (Acts 5:42, ESV).
Notice how important the message of the kingdom of God - Yehovah is:
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God - Yehovah and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.Philip went to Samaria and began proclaiming the gospel message to them; "But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God - Yehovah, and the name of Jesus the Messiah, they were baptized, both men and women." (Acts 8:12).
Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God - Yehovah has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the lord Jesus the Messiah with all boldness and without hindrance. (Acts 28:28-31)
As "saved ones," we also become, as I noted above, "a kingdom of priests" (this is also sometimes translated as "a kingdom and priests. Part of the "Good News" we experience is that we are indeed a kingdom: subjects in this great realm ruled by our God and Father Yehovah. Many of the parables of Jesus are what scholars refer to as "kingdom parables," for they deal with the King, with His kingdom, and with His subjects. Thus, it is not surprising to find the wonderful "glad tidings" associated time and again with the word "kingdom." In Matthew 4:23 and 9:35 we find Jesus’ proclaiming "the gospel of the kingdom."
In Matthew 24:14 Jesus said, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world." In Mark 1:14-15, we read that Jesus "came preaching the gospel of God, saying, '...the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.'" In Luke 4:43 Jesus declared, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God, for I was sent for this purpose" (cf. Luke 8:1). Jesus said, "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; but since then, the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached" (Luke 16:16). Philip "was preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12). In Acts 20:25, the apostle Paul stated, "I went about preaching the good news of the kingdom." Yehovah is our King; we are His beloved subjects ... He is our Father; we are His beloved children. Yes, Good News indeed! Now that is "preachable," as one old pastor said.
The Gospel revealed unto mankind is designed to bring joy, peace, gladness, and hope. It is GOOD news, GLAD tidings. "Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior, who is the Messiah the lord" (Luke 2:10-11). Philip preached the good news about Jesus to the Ethiopian eunuch, and the latter, we are told, "went on his way rejoicing" (Acts 8:39). Paul told the Ephesian elders that it is "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).
What news could possibly be more joyful in nature than the knowledge that we, who are sinners, are nevertheless called by God to have a place in the Theocratic Government Jesus will establish when he takes his place on the throne of David at Zion. We are indeed saved by grace! "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!" By His grace, love, and mercy, we may enter, through simple, trusting faith, into a state of peace with the Lord God - Yehovah. The apostle Peter was "preaching the good news of peace through Jesus the Messiah" (Acts 10:36). In Ephesians 6:15, Paul refers to it as "the gospel of peace." We, who were at one time "enemies" of the Lord God - Yehovah because of sin, are now at peace with Him. And that is "good news" indeed.
What a gift our God has given us in His Son!! In him we have life; in him we have peace, in him we are new creations - members of the New Humanity. "For he himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, to create in himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And he came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were nearby. For through him, we both have access by one Spirit to the Father - Yehovah" (Ephesians 2:14-18).
Now that is good news. That, says Paul, is "the hope of the gospel which you have heard, which is preached in all the creation that is under heaven, whereof I Paul am made a minister" (Colossians 1:23). Indeed, "life and immortality are brought to light through the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:8-11). And central to ALL this joy, hope, peace, and life is Jesus the Messiah! Let us never forget Him, or what his God and Father Yehovah have accomplished for us through him! "Remember Jesus the Messiah, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel" (2 Timothy 2:8).
At this point, I need to be rather bold and blunt with some of my fellow disciples of Jesus. There are some out there who are proclaiming the Glad Tidings of/about Jesus the Messiah "out of envy and strife" (Philippians 1:15). Some translations read, "because they are jealous and quarrelsome" ... "because they are envious and contentious." Paul rejoiced that "the Messiah was proclaimed" (vs. 18), but he lamented the fact that some were doing so "out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives" (vs. 17). Some people today are doing the same. Possessed with a sectarian spirit and a love more for tradition than truth, they "weaponize" the gospel and use it to blast those who differ with them on petty party particulars, while those lost in the darkness of this world perish on their church steps.
Those who preach a steady diet of denominational distinctives and party perceptions, practices, preferences, precepts, and sacred sectarian shibboleths, are "distorting the gospel of the Messiah, ... preaching a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, ... and are preaching a different gospel" (Galatians 1:6-9), and even "preaching another Jesus, whom we did not preach" (2 Corinthians 11:4). These are "false brethren" who seek to bring those free in the Messiah "into bondage" to their rigid religious rules and regulations (Galatians 2:4), and Paul urges us to never give in to them, not for a single moment, "so that the truth of the gospel" may remain with us in unblemished form (vs. 5). Paul was so upset by these legalists and their perverted "gospel" (which he says had NO "good news" associated with it - Galatians 1:7a), that he wrote these shocking words, "I wish that those who are troubling you would even castrate themselves!" (Galatians 5:12).
Yes, there are some today, like those whom Paul rebuked (and Peter and Barnabas were among them), who are "not walking uprightly according to the truth of the Good News" (Galatians 2:14). We are called, brethren, to preach the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of the lord Jesus. The gospel message is all about him, not about us. It's about a Redeemer who brought the message of redemption, the message about the coming kingdom of God - Yehovah.
Let us each, therefore, remember daily "to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called" (Ephesians 4:1), and to "conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the good news message of the kingdom" (Philippians 1:27), which simply means that you and I must "live in a way that brings honor to the Good News about the message the Messiah Jesus preached. ... working together and struggling side by side to get others to believe the Good News Message of the soon coming Kingdom of God - Yehovah"
Note:
We should not forget that the Gospel - Good News as it fell from the lips of Jesus and Paul has a specific label. It is always “the Gospel about the Kingdom of God - Yehovah.” Jesus uses his Kingdom message (the reason for which he was commissioned (Luke 4:43) to recruit the saints - holy ones whom he gathered around him. This is the core of the subject matter of the Gospels.
The Old Testament text plot from which this matter is taken is certainly the book of Daniel and principally the seventh chapter of Daniel (along with the 2nd chapter which likewise teaches us about the Kingdom which is to supersede present nation-states, not by development but by catastrophe (Daniel 2:44). The Kingdom, it is quite clear, will not come by evolution but by revolution. But such a revolution is appropriate only when the Messiah Jesus returns.
Written by Al Maxey and edited by Bruce Lyon
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