Asking what the essence of the gospel is may seem to be a silly question. Most everyone would immediately say its essence is salvation but that is not what its basic nature is. Matthew 4:23 gives the basic nature of the gospel. “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” The essence, that is the basic nature of the gospel, is the goodness of the kingdom, which does contain salvation. You could also say it the way Luke does in Acts 20:24 “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me– the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” The gospel is an invitation into the kingdom of God. It only begins to show the wonders planned for you by God’s grace. The basic nature, then of the gospel, is God’s goodness to you in preparing your salvation and a way and place you can enjoy that salvation.
Matthew 4:23 shows that Christ was a busy man going through the land preaching the gospel of the kingdom. This is the gospel of heaven. It is the grace and glory of God. It is the kingdom that came to earth with him to be the believer’s home. The gospel is the charter of this kingdom. It contains the oath used by the king at his coronation. In that oath, he promises to all who will hear and believe on him as the King of kings and Lord of lords salvation, entrance into this great kingdom. Membership in this kingdom is the essence of the gospel.
It is because of this kingdom connection that the unsaved cannot comprehend the gospel. II Corinthians 4:3 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.” Those who have no invitation to join the kingdom cannot understand this glorious kingdom that is coming. This is why some fail to stay on course with the teaching of Scripture, because they see salvation not as a guide into the glory of heaven but as a free pass with no need for diligence. They fail to understand salvation is a process that brings one to the gates of heaven with the purpose of them becoming a part of this great kingdom. Salvation without the kingdom would be worthless.
I run across people every now and then that seem to think the gospel was new with Jesus. They see it as something God had to do because man wouldn’t cooperate with him. This is really tragic because God doesn’t make mistakes and the redemption of a people for himself has been in his heart for all eternity. In Genesis 3:15 when God was dealing with Adam and Eve about their sin, he makes a promise. He makes it to mankind through his charge to the serpent. He says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.” In Galatians 4:4 we are shown who this seed of the woman is: “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law.” It says the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent and the serpent will strike the heel of the seed. A head wound is considered in most cases to be a fatal wound. A heel wound is not. Satan nailed Jesus to the cross and killed his body but he could not kill his spirit and thus Jesus’ body was raised from the grave.
Hebrews 2:14 talks about Satan’s wound. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death– that is, the devil...” Jesus through his resurrection brings the work of Satan to an end and on that last great day, he will cast Satan into the pit of fire where he can never again harm men. This shows that the gospel was in the heart of God for all eternity and was part of his plan from before the beginning of time. Ephesians 1:4 says, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” The prophet when shown what was to come in this world declares. “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths. The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3). This is a look at the gospel coming into the world through Jesus. He also says in Isaiah 29:18 “In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.” This is a clear reference to the coming gospel as Paul shows in II Corinthians 4:4 “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” The gospel is the answer to this blindness and this has been declared from the very beginning. It was prophesied that a Messiah would come and deliver his people from the power of sin, Satan and death. Listen to the words Jesus opened his ministry with from Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners.” This gospel of God’s grace is the foundation of the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament. There is no separation in God’s plan. He foreordained all that has happened and everything had a purpose to prepare men and the world for the coming of Jesus Christ and this wonderful redemption he brought. The essence of this gospel is to bring a people unto God so they might live with him for ever. The only way into this goodness of the kingdom of Heaven is through faith in Jesus Christ. |
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