Lesson 6: Gospel

KEY ISSUES

The gospel is the message preached by Christ and by His Church about God's coming Kingdom, the restoration of His government on earth, and how mankind can enter that Kingdom and government. It includes the message of what Jesus has done, is doing and shall do—and ultimately is the message of the entire Old and New Testaments. The primary purpose and commission of the Church is to proclaim this gospel in all the world as a witness to all nations, and to baptize and teach those who respond.

Lesson 6 Audio MP3

OVERVIEW

The word "gospel" means simply "good news." The gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news that He is coming again to establish His Kingdom on this earth in place of man's governments, and the good news of how we can become part of that government as sons of God. Hence, the gospel is called "the gospel of the Kingdom of God" (Mk. 1:14), and it is this gospel which Christ came preaching (same verse). As Jesus went on to say, repentance and belief in the gospel go hand in hand (Mk. 1:15).

In its broadest sense, the gospel includes the whole story of the Bible—the whole panorama of what God is doing with mankind, especially God's plan of salvation and forgiveness of sins.

A MESSAGE OF HOPE

The true gospel is a message of hope given to a world in danger of destroying itself. Christ's return is the essential component of the biblical message. The reason for His return is the establishment of His Father's Kingdom on earth, putting an end to bad government. Christ is putting a stop to man's unhappy and unsuccessful rule. Hence, Christ's return and coming Kingdom is the subject of the message that He commissioned His disciples and Church to preach to all nations until His return.

In John 18:33 Pilate asked Christ, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth." That is the true gospel. Christ, destined to rule this earth as the King of God's Kingdom, was to preach this message the good news to the world. He came to bear witness to the truth—to tell the world that God's Kingdom is going to rule this earth whether mankind believes it or not.

The Disciples of Christ had no doubts about the message Christ was preaching. They understood He was coming again to put an end to this present evil age and to replace it with the glorious Kingdom of God that Daniel described (Dan. 2:7). The fact that the apostles asked Christ when His Kingdom would be set up proves that they knew about that coming Kingdom and had great expectation of it. Christ's answer to their question was that His Kingdom would not be set up until the gospel of that Kingdom should be preached to all the world as a witness (Mt. 24:14).

The message of the coming Kingdom of God includes, as an integral part, the preaching of spiritual salvation for all through Jesus Christ—that He died for our sins (I Cor. 15:1-3) and that He was resurrected (v. 14). The only person who has already been saved is Jesus Christ, who was resurrected from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God the Father. He is the pioneer of our salvation, the one who has gone on ahead and shown the way (Heb. 2:10). When He returns, at the end of this age, those who have died in Christ in previous years shall be raised from the dead and given eternal life to rule with Him. Previous to His return, salvation shall have been offered only to a minority; at His return, it shall be made available to all.

Thus, the true gospel is God's message to man through Christ about His coming Kingdom and how humans may enter it. This is the true destiny of man—to become members of God's family. This potential of being born of God as His children in His family is universally applicable to all mankind—It is the potential of men and women, Jews and Gentiles, all races and peoples, for we are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28).

The gospel of the Kingdom of God can be traced from the patriarchs of Old Testament prophets, through the ministry of John the Baptist, and finally to Jesus Christ who greatly expanded our understanding of His coming Kingdom and showed how men might enter it as members of the God family. Christ commissioned the disciples to preach it in all its important aspects. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt. 28:19-20). "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Mt. 24:14).

THE GOSPEL TO THE WORLD

The early disciples followed Christ's command to preach this gospel of the kingdom as a witness to all nations. The Church of God also follows this command and views as the primary reason for its existence the commission to preach the gospel of the kingdom to all nations in accordance with Jesus Christ's instructions. The church today strives to continue fulfilling that commission with ever-increasing effectiveness, following in the tradition of Elijah the prophet and John the Baptist (Mal. 4:5-6), by preparing the way for Christ's return through the announcement of that gospel message.


SUMMARY

PLEASE READ THESE SCRIPTURES IN YOUR OWN BIBLE.

  • ...The term Gospel means ;Good News’. Christ preached this good news message in his ministry. Please read Mark 1:14-15.
  • ...Christ came to be a ruler a King. Please read john 18:37.
  • All mankind regardless of gender or race are potential members of God’s ruling family. Please read Gal 3:28.
  • ...The Gospel message will be preached as witness and then the end of this age will occur. Please read Matt 24:14.

QUESTIONS

Please answer the following questions before proceeding to Lesson Three.

  1. The term ‘Gospel’ simply means
    • a. Good News…of the coming kingdom of God.
    • b. Preaching hell fire & heaven.
    • c. Simply being good. (A)
  2. Will the present worldly systems of government/religions continue forever? Yes or No…(No)
  3. What must be done before the current worldly systems end according to Mathew 24:14 and Mathew 28:19-20?
    • a. We must have voluntary unity of all churches.
    • b. The Gospel must be preached to the world as a witness. (B)
  4. The Gospel also includes the totality of the message of how all mankind shall enter into God’s Family, into God’s Kingdom. What verses state that all people, all races all nations are eligible? (Gal 3:26-29)
  5. The church is to preach the Gospel to all nations before the return of the Messiah as a______?
    • a. Witness to the sinful world.
    • b. Part of a new order to convert everyone now. (A)
  6. The gospel message of today is like the work of John the Baptist it is to prepare the way for Christ second coming as John prepared the way for his first coming, true or False? (true)

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