|
Gospel of the Kingdom
“
"When you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is
near" (Luke 21.31).
Our world
desperately needs some good news.
Today's headlines
are filled with bad news-wars raging around the globe; famines
devastating entire countries; environmental catastrophes and natural
disasters such as earthquakes, droughts and floods killing multiple
thousands of people; grinding poverty holding entire nations in its
brutal grip; violent crime increasing in spite of man's best efforts to
deal with it-the litany of tragedies and bad news is relentless.
Accidents and
diseases kill thousands every day. Tragically, accidents, suicides and
murder are leading causes of death among teenagers and young adults in
economically and technologically advanced nations. Drug and alcohol
abuse and sexual promiscuity are rampant, bringing epidemics of broken
marriages, broken homes and broken lives.
Baffling new
diseases spring up around the world, defying the best attempts of
scientists to contain or cure them. Other diseases, long thought to have
been conquered by medical science, resurface with deadly vengeance,
having grown resistant to the medications that easily cured them only a
few decades ago.
Even religion, to
which many look for solutions, is often a part of the problem. At any
given time, wars and armed conflicts flare and burn, fanned by the fires
of religious fervor. Wars are fought not only between major religions,
but between sects of the same religion, supposedly out of devotion and
service to the same God.
Human
existence threatened
In this century,
more than 150 million people have been killed in war alone. Well over
100 million more have died from diseases and natural disasters.
Terrifying nuclear, chemical and biological weapons have the capability
to annihilate armies-even entire nations-in seconds. Government leaders
grow increasingly worried about such frightening weapons of mass
destruction falling into the hands of terrorists who stop at nothing to
achieve their ends.
Why do we see so
much sadness, sorrow and suffering around us? Where is it all headed?
Why is the world in such a precarious condition? With all this bad news,
is there really any hope for the future of humanity?
Almost 2,000 years
ago, Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, came to earth prophesying a
wonderful future for humanity after an intense period of earthshaking
calamities. His message, called "the gospel," means "good news"-the very
good news the world so desperately needs.
But what exactly
is this good news-this gospel-Jesus Christ preached? Is it
only a wonderful story about Jesus Christ's birth, life, activities,
death and resurrection? Certainly these are an integral part of the good
news of God's plan for humanity (Mark 1:1). But there is so much more to
His message.
Message of
salvation
We will see that
the good news Jesus Christ brought is not just a message about His life
and death leading to our salvation; His message also concerns the
meaning of salvation and how He intends to save the human race from its
present problems. The gospel reveals the glorious destiny of mankind!
Sadly, humankind
has reduced the gospel to the story about the person of Jesus Christ
while neglecting and overlooking the deeper and vastly more encompassing
message He brought. He most certainly brought good news-the most
wonderful news this tired, troubled world can hear!
An entire section
of the New Testament is devoted to the historical record of the message
Jesus Christ taught while on earth. This portion of the Bible,
appropriately called "the Gospels," comprises the first four books of
the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The writers of these
accounts all tell us that Jesus' primary message was the gospel of
the Kingdom of God.
Mark tells us:
"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 1:14, 15, emphasis ours
throughout). "The gospel of the Kingdom of God" is the message Jesus
Christ instructs His followers to believe. . . .
Scripture occasionally calls the gospel by names other than "the gospel
of the kingdom of God." For instance, the Bible speaks of "the gospel of
Christ" and "the gospel of God" (Romans 1:1, 16).
The term "gospel
of God" simply shows it originated with God. God delivered the message
to earth through His servants. Peter tells us the gospel was sent from
God through Jesus Christ. Notice Acts 10:36, 37: "The word which God
sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus ChristñHe
is Lord of allñthat word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all
Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached ..."
The gospel of God
is God's good news about the Kingdom of God. The gospel of Jesus Christ
is the good news Jesus brought as God's messenger. All are the same
gospel; all are part of the wonderful news of what God has in store for
humanity. In a similar manner, Paul sometimes used the term "my gospel"
(Romans 2:16; 16:25; 2 Timothy 2:8). This does not mean the message
originated with Paul, nor was it a gospel about Paul. It was a message
he received directly from Jesus Christ. "... The gospel which was
preached by me ... came through the revelation of Jesus Christ," he said
(Galatians 1:11, 12). Paul's use of the term "my gospel" is proper
because he was the one who proclaimed it.
The good news is
also called "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). From the
beginning we are called by grace, justified by grace and saved by grace
(Galatians 1:6, 15; Romans 3:24; Ephesians 2:8). The "gospel of grace"
is another appropriate term that focuses on a different aspect of the
same gospel Jesus preached: God's enormous love for us, expressed by His
grace toward mankind.This message is also called "the gospel of your
salvation" (Ephesians 1:13). Since our entrance into the Kingdom of God
is synonymous with our salvation, there is no conflict in these terms
for the gospel. Each complements and strengthens the other.
"The gospel of
peace" is also used to describe the good news (Romans 10:15; Ephesians
6:15). The Kingdom of God will bring peace to the earthñan important
result of our believing in and acting on the gospel of the Kingdom.
Prophesying of God's Kingdom, Isaiah said, "Of the increase of His
government and peace there will be no end" (Isaiah 9:7).
All these terms
describe the same gospel. They simply emphasize different aspects of the
same wonderful message. Jesus Christ came preaching the gospel of the
Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14, 15), taught His disciples to preach the same
message (Matthew 10:7) and continued to preach it when He appeared to
the disciples after His crucifixion (Acts 1:3). After Jesus rose from
the dead, the apostles preached the same gospel, but with the added
understanding of the meaning of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection.
Although the terms that describe it may vary, the message is always the
same.
The glorious truth
is that this whole magnificent message is one seamless gospel, and "it
is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes ..." (Romans
1:16).”
Gospel of the Kingdom
http://www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/bk5/
|