The premise of this series is that each gospel writer would not have assumed his readers had access to all the other NT books, or had our modern theological mindset.
We should assume each book would contain enough details to describe the essentials of our faith. For example John should give enough details to achieve the goal of vs 20:31
"But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (NIV)Or Luke writing to Theophilus an orderly account of everything so "so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. " (Luke 1:4 NIV)
Why shouldn't we assume these 4 books answer the question "what is the gospel"?
So here is my summary of what stands out to me. I'd love to hear what others think.
Summary :
- Jesus preached a lot about the kingdom of God or kingdom of Heaven
- These teaching about His kingdom are often referred to as gospel or good news
- Jesus says the/a reason he was sent was to preach the good news of the kingdom of God
- The disciples went out preaching about the kingdom of God/Heaven
- There are many parables that describe the kingdom of God
- Some references to the kingdom of God seem to be present tense and something to be received now. Some references to the kingdom of God are future tense.
- Something about this kingdom is especially good news for the poor
- We must have some child like quality to be part of it
- Jesus is frequently called Messiah, King, Lord, Savior, Son of God
- Jesus tells his disciples to go and preach the gospel to the whole world... and they did
- Walking with Jesus is compared to walking in the light as opposed to darkness
- John mentions many examples of believers who believed in Jesus' name, that He was/is the savior, the messiah, the son of God, or Lord.
The beauty of this is, I suspect it is a good news message that all Christian traditions can agree on. This isn't a gospel message highlighting distinct beliefs of one tradition. These are basic teachings that are widely accepted.
I don't think it's a watered down gospel either. There is nothing simple about claiming Jesus as Lord. Being a child of the King brings great rewards, but also great responsibility.
Related Posts:
- Gospel in the Gospels
- Gospel in Matthew
- Gospel in Mark
- Gospel in Luke
- I'm a believer - what John has to say about being a believer
- Gospel in John
- What is the Gospel? - lists verses related to gospel in 'the gospels'
- Gospel in other NT verses
- Dr Dwight Pryor on-Kingdom Of God - Part 1
- Dr Dwight Pryor on-Kingdom Of God - Part 2
- Was Jesus as smart as Steve Jobs - Richard Wilson talks on the topic of the good news
4 comments:
Jon,
I'm glad that you wrote this series. I agree that the gospel is all about the kingdom of God. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is part of the gospel, but it is not the entire gospel.
It looks like the gospel is not just about knowing the kingdom of God or entering the kingdom of God but actually LIVING in the kingdom of God... now... here.
-Alan
Thanks Alan for the encouragement.
I agree.
"your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven."
This can be a prayer for ourselves in the present.
Thank you for your blog. I am really looking forward to reading more of it. I am downloading the two video teachings of the Kingdom of God that you recommended right now. I am currently teaching through the Kingdom of God at the church I pastor, and I believe it may be the most important series I have ever taught. We are missing so much by not understanding it! Thanks, again. I will try and follow you as regularly as I can. God bless you and yours and your ministry.
Thanks Erick, I appreciate feedback. I'm pretty sure I don't have it all figured out with regards to the gospel of the kingdom. But I think it was the central theme of Jesus' teaching, and likely of the early followers as well. So I'm trying to share what I can.
Hope some of my thoughts make sense. I'd also recommend the Richard Wilson link "Was Jesus as smart as Steve Jobs".
God Bless!
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