"The Gospel of..."

The word “gospel” gets used in many ways: gospel music, “gospel truth,” the four gospels, gospel message, gospel invitation, full gospel, old-time gospel. Such expressions may evoke certain feelings and moods, but a clear meaning can be hard to pin down; the term gets fuzzy.

“Gospel” translates a common Greek word in the New Testament meaning “good news.” "Good" may seem like an understatement: think of the headlines of a newspaper “extra” when WWII ended (you know, “Extra, extra, read all about it!”): “PEACE” - “War in Europe Ends” - “Japan Surrenders.”

So what news story does the Bible celebrate with big, chunky head­lines? One approach to this question is to track down the NT occurrences of phrase “gospel of.” Gospel of what? Or of whom?

Seven times it’s “the gospel of God” (based on the ESV). The headlines feature the Lord, not you or me or this fleeting life. God is the source and subject of great news.

Three times it’s “the gospel of the kingdom”—declaring God’s life-transforming reign spreading through the world.

And ten times we have “the gospel of Christ” (or “the Son” or “the Lord Jesus”), focusing on what God achieved through Jesus Christ’s life-death-resurrection. God’s reign commences and moves toward consummation through Jesus’ cross and crown!

Then, providing greater clarity, we have (once each) “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24, an announcement of amnesty for rebel sinners), “the gospel of your salvation” (Eph 1:13, forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life for all who truly trust in Jesus), and “the gospel of peace” (Eph 6:15, not just the cessation of hostilities but the bestowal of ultimate joy and rest in the magnificent presence of Christ).

I’ll mention one other expression, “the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor 4:4). The good news is not about you—about how special you are to God or how much you’re worth. It’s all about the radiance of Jesus Christ—the Blazing Brightness before which we look up, stand in awe and revel in the joy of praise to the One who is all-glorious and infinitely worthy of all passionate devotion!

The gospel, then, isn’t just about coming to faith in Christ in the first place, but also about living in light of the best news of all time!

Speaking of the gospel, make sure to check out the info and resources at t4g.org and thegospelcoaltion.org.

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