The Real Gospel of Jesus Christ
Is the gospel a message about Jesus Christ, or is it the message He
brought? You need to understand the real good news of Jesus Christ!
by Bill Bradford
When Jesus Christ came to live on earth as a human,
He brought with Him a message called "the gospel." What was this message
Jesus preached?
Many have been taught that the "gospel," the "good news," is the story
of Christ's life, birth, earthly activities, death and resurrection.
Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 are often used to support this
definition of the gospel of Christ:
"... I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you,
which also you received and in which you stand . . .unless you believed
in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received:
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 ..."
Is this the full definition of the gospel message Christ preached?
As we shall see, Christ's gospel message includes much more than simply
the story that His life and death lead to our salvation. It includes not
only what salvation really is and how God intends to save the human race
from its present dilemma, but it reveals our glorious destiny in the
Kingdom
of God.
The gospel of the Kingdom
Let's first look at the message Christ Himself proclaimed while on
earth. Mark records for us, in Mark 1:14, 15, what Jesus preached during
His ministry: ". . . Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the
kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God
is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.'"
Mark says this gospel is the news of the Kingdom of God, and this is
the gospel we are commanded to believe in.
As mentioned above, the word "gospel" literally means "good news."
Jesus brought as His gospel the "good news of the Kingdom of God."
Matthew also records for us the subject matter of Jesus Christ's
preaching. In Matthew 4:17 he writes, after Jesus' temptation by the
devil: "From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, 'Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.' " Matthew's term for the content of
Jesus Christ's preaching is "the kingdom of heaven," another term for the
same message. Jesus began preaching the message of God's kingdom from the
very beginning of His ministry.
Luke also confirms that Jesus preached the Kingdom of God, noting that
Christ said, "Because for this purpose I have been sent" (Luke 4:43).
Luke's account continues in Luke 8:1: ". . . He went through
every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings [the
gospel, or good news] of the kingdom of God . . ." Later Jesus
sent the 12 disciples to preach this same gospel of the Kingdom (Luke
9:2). After that, He sent 70 others, instructing them to speak also of the
Kingdom of God (Luke 10:9-11).
After His death and resurrection, but before He ascended to His Father,
He "presented Himself alive" to the apostles, again "speaking of the
things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3).
Paul describes his own preaching in Ephesus as relating to "the kingdom
of God" (Acts 19:8). He discussed that Kingdom in most of his letters to
individual churches. He referred to himself and his companions as "fellow
workers for the kingdom of God" (Colossians 4:11). When Paul met the Jews
in Rome, he preached to them about the Kingdom of God and Jesus (Acts
28:31).
It is noteworthy that Paul used the Old Testament scriptures—"the Law
of Moses and the Prophets"—to preach the Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ
(Acts 28:23). The Bible has a consistent message from the beginning of the
Old Testament to end of the New Testament concerning the Kingdom of God.
The Bible is also clear why Jesus Christ brought this message of the
Kingdom of God.
A literal kingdom
What is the Kingdom of God? Is it the Church? Is it something that
resides in the hearts of Christians? Let's begin in Daniel 2.
It becomes apparent, when we read Daniel 2:28-44, that the Kingdom of
God is a literal kingdom that has not yet been established on earth. In
this passage we see that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had a dream in
which he saw an image of a huge man. This image consisted of a head of
gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron
and feet a mixture of iron and clay.
Daniel, a prophet of God in Nebuchadnezzar's court, interpreted the
king's dream for him. Through God's inspiration, Daniel revealed that the
four parts of this image were actually four successive world empires. By
God's inspiration Daniel identified the first of the kingdoms, the head of
gold, as the Babylonian Empire (Daniel 2:38).
The next two kingdoms are identified in Daniel 8:20, 21, which records
a later vision that foretold the second and third empires. These two
kingdoms are named as "the kings of Media and Persia" and "the kingdom of
Greece." History has confirmed that the Babylonian Empire was succeeded by
the Medo-Persian Empire and the Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great.
In chapter 7 these four kingdoms are pictured again, this time as four
beasts. The vision in this chapter characterizes the empires as wild
animals, predicting that their method of rule and domination would be
cruel and oppressive. The fourth kingdom featured in chapter 7 is
described as especially cruel.
We know from history that Alexander's Grecian kingdom was succeeded by
the Roman Empire, the latter depicted here as challenging the very
authority of God and persecuting His saints (Daniel 7:25). This entity is
shown in vision as having 10 horns (verse 7), which are 10 extensions or
resurrections of the fourth great empire to arise.
These resurrections of this fourth kingdom continue through history to
our day, and the final resurrection is depicted as existing at Jesus
Christ's return (verses 8-14).
It is in the days of this fourth kingdom that God will replace these
earthly kingdoms with His kingdom, according to Daniel's prophecies. "And
in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which
shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other
people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it
shall stand forever" (Daniel 2:44).
We see that the fourth kingdom continues to rule until Christ returns
to establish His kingdom here on earth.
God's kingdom-foretold repeatedly in Daniel—is the same kingdom Jesus
Christ spoke about. There can be no mistake about the nature of the
Kingdom of God. The four kingdoms described in Daniel 2, 7 and 8 ruled
over people and lands. They were to be world empires with dominion
and power to rule, warring against and conquering other nations. They
had kings, governments and laws. They were literal kingdoms, whose
ruins are visible to this day.
So, too, will the Kingdom of God be a literal sovereignty ruling over
the whole earth. ". . . The God of heaven will set up a kingdom
which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other
people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it
shall stand forever," said Daniel of this kingdom (Daniel 2:44).
This kingdom was the subject of Jesus' gospel. Jesus will return to the
earth and establish the Kingdom. He will be the King of the Kingdom of
God. "Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in
heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of
our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!' "
(Revelation 11:15).
Entering the Kingdom
When Jesus came preaching the Kingdom of God, He said it was "at hand"
and commanded people to repent and believe the good news about it (Mark
1:14, 15).
His kingdom is something we must enter (Mark 10:23, 25). Jesus warned
of obstacles that can prevent our entrance into the Kingdom (Matthew 5:20;
19:23-25; Mark 9:47; Luke 18:17; John 3:5).
Jesus was at that time inviting people to repent so they could enter
the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15). His parables described what the Kingdom
is, when it would come and how a person could enter it, and He clarified
the requirements for and obstacles to entering it.
When does a person enter
the Kingdom of God? Upon conversion,
Christians become children of God and heirs of the kingdom (Romans 8:16,
17). But they will not inherit the kingdom until the kingdom comes. Paul
explains: "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I
tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet
will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed" (1 Corinthians 15:50-52).
Many people stop reading after the first four verses of this chapter,
thinking they describe the entirety of the gospel Paul preached. But, by
continuing to read the chapter, we see clearly that there is much more to
the story. Paul goes on to explain more about the resurrection from the
dead and entrance into the Kingdom of God. We "inherit," or enter, that
kingdom "at the last trumpet" (verse 52), the great blast that signals
Christ's return to rule the earth forever (Revelation 11:15).
Salvation through Jesus' life, death and resurrection is indeed a part
of the gospel message, but it is not exclusively (as many assume) the
gospel message. Jesus Christ died, was buried and was resurrected (1
Corinthians 15:1-4) for a reason: so we could have everlasting life in the
Kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5, 16).
We can accept Jesus' command to repent and believe this gospel message.
We can turn to God for forgiveness and reconciliation through Jesus Christ
and begin to live by the laws of the Kingdom of God as taught by Jesus
Christ. Those who refuse to live by God's holy laws will be refused
entrance into the Kingdom of God and eternal life (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10;
Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5).
Entering the Kingdom of God is synonymous with salvation. Thus, without
understanding what the Kingdom of God is, we don't understand what
salvation is.
Humans not in the Kingdom
This resurrection from the dead is to take place when Jesus Christ
returns at the last trump and the kingdoms of this world become the
kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Those who are resurrected from
mortality to immortality will have entered His kingdom. The people who
remain in the nations of the earth who are not resurrected will not yet be
in the Kingdom of God because they are still mortal (human); they will be
ruled by the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God's rule of the earth will
consist of the reign of Christ and those who have been given eternal life
(Revelation 20:4-6).
Jesus Christ is setting up His kingdom on this earth with His
resurrected saints so that all may have eternal life in the Kingdom of
God. God's desire is that everyone has the opportunity to escape death and
inherit the Kingdom of God, each in one's own time (1 Corinthians
15:20-26).
The message Jesus brought is called, appropriately, the good news of
the Kingdom of God. It really is good news, the most wonderful news
imaginable for mankind. Jesus Christ is asking you to believe that good
news and "seek first the kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:33).
This publication is named for the same message Jesus proclaimed. Look
for more articles in The Good News magazine explaining the teachings of
Jesus Christ about the coming Kingdom of God and what you should do to
enter that glorious kingdom. GN
Related Resources
The
Kingdom of God: The Heart of Christ's Message
The central theme of Jesus Christ's message was the Kingdom of God.
What did He teach about this Kingdom, and why is there so much confusion
about it?
What Is the Gospel
of the Kingdom of God?
Is the work of organized religion the Kingdom of God on earth today?
This is the central idea that shapes the view of the religious world.
But is this the same Kingdom of God the Bible describes? In this lesson
you'll discover the biblical answers to these important questions.
Are
We in the Kingdom of God Now?
Some verses about God's kingdom, like Colossians 1:13, seem to imply
that Christians are now in the Kingdom of God. Is this true?
What
Will the Kingdom of God Mean for You?
In this magazine we often write about what the Bible refers to as the
Kingdom of God—the divine government Jesus will establish after
He returns to earth. But what will the Kingdom of God do for you? Why
should you look forward to that period of time? You need to know the
answer!
Confusion
About the Kingdom of God
There is a kingdom yet to come from God. Jesus instructed believers
to pray for the Kingdom to come.
Are
There Other Gospels?
The Bible calls the gospel "the gospel of the Kingdom of God" (Mark
1:14) or simply "the gospel of the kingdom" (Matthew 4:23, 9:35, 24:14).
But the biblical writers used other names for it as well. For instance,
the Bible speaks of the "gospel of Christ" and the "gospel of God." Do
these names refer to various messages or different gospels?
|
