04/02/11
Greetings,
The core of Christianity is the gospel of the kingdom. Why do I say this? This is this gospel that Jesus preached.
“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,” (Mark 1:14)
Many times the gospel of the kingdom and the gospel of Jesus Christ get treated as if they were the same thing. Let’s get our bearings fixed by first defining the word “gospel.” There are three different Greek words that are translated to “gospel” in the Bible. The first is euaggelizo which means to “announce good news.” The second word is euaggelion, a derivation of the first simply meaning “a good message.” The third word is proeuaggelizomai which means “to announce glad news in advance.” When we talk about the gospel of the kingdom, we are essentially discussing the good news of the kingdom and its implications for us. Likewise, when we talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are discussing the goods news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose on the third day victoriously. Below is a reference to the gospel of Jesus Christ:
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;” (Mark 1:1)
Our confusion is mainly the result of misplaced emphasis. In other words, we put our focus on the wrong word. We think that when we see the word “gospel” we are always discussing the same thing. This is akin to saying that every time we see the word “large” we are talking about the same thing. By using the word “large” I could be referring to a large box, a large car, a large house, and so forth. The word large tells me something about what I’m actually referring to.
It is not so different with the word gospel. Gospel simply means “good news.” If I went to a hospital and had a successful heart surgery I could, in essence, turn around and tell you the gospel of my heart surgeon. Why? His talent and ability meant good news for my heart! With this said, we need to understand that the Bible talks about the good news of the kingdom of God (or heaven) and the good news of Jesus Christ. Both are found in scripture. The important thing to understand is that just because they are both good news for us, they are not the same thing.
The gospel of Jesus Christ provides the power necessary for our salvation.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)
We openly recognize that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith. Without the gospel of Jesus Christ there is no salvation. Without salvation, we cannot be redeemed to God. The entire foundation of Christianity is removed with the removal of this gospel. If Jesus wasn’t fully God and fully man and if He did not die for our sins being raised to life on the third day, there would be no purpose for Christianity. There would be no power in it and our faith would become nothing more than dead, empty religion.
The gospel of Jesus Christ provides the necessary information for sinners to become believers. However, this is not where the Christian faith was intended to stop. Once we receive Jesus we are spiritually translated into His kingdom. Our spirit is reborn and we begin to exist in the dimension of God while simultaneously existing on earth.
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” (Colossians 1:13)
This is crucial for our understanding. We are translated into the kingdom “of” Jesus. This means that Jesus has a kingdom. Furthermore, Jesus is King over His kingdom. The gospel of Jesus introduces us to the good news of the Person, but the gospel of the kingdom introduces us to the good news of His dimension and reality. In other words, if the gospel of Jesus Christ is level one then the gospel of the kingdom is level two. We can simplify this with a working definition of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the dimension where God is King.
Let’s explain this a bit further. The gospel of Jesus Christ is evidenced when a sinner repents and receives Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Although there is no observable change (except for their mood, facial expression, and potentially some tears) the new believer will begin to experience a relationship with a Person that will change their life. The gospel of the kingdom has different evidence. Consider how Jesus explains it.
“But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.” (Luke 17:20)
What is Jesus saying here? He is saying that one kingdom is displacing another. Devils are members of the kingdom of darkness. The kingdom of darkness has excessive territory in the earth—all of which is held illegally. The kingdom of God is a different kingdom. It is a higher dimension. When it comes upon a group, a home, a city, or a nation, it displaces the kingdom of darkness and takes over that territory. It overtakes and overcomes. This is why when the kingdom of God came upon Israel through the ministry of Jesus demons were displaced.
Let’s look at this a different way. Pretend that Chuck (arbitrary name) is a Chinese citizen. Chuck does not have a Mongolian visa. If he goes to Mongolia, they have the legal right to arrest and deport him. He has no right to be there. Now let’s say Chuck is doing his business in China, but suddenly Mongolia takes control of the Chinese government and makes all former Chinese citizens illegal. According to the new law that has taken effect, Chuck must leave. They have taken control of the territory where he was doing his business and legally taken away his rights. As the ruling power they can now make the laws. In this example Mongolia represents the kingdom of God, China is the kingdom of darkness, and Chuck would be a lowly devil.
When we are dealing with the kingdom of God we are dealing with the manifestation of God’s reality in the earth. This kingdom has the power and potential to displace the kingdom of darkness from entire geographies. This is only part of the gospel of the kingdom and it is certainly good news! However, this also raises the bar for us because the kingdom of God cannot manifest and take territory from the kingdom of darkness without our cooperation.
“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.” (Matthew 24:14)
What many have failed to realized is that it is not the preaching of the gospel of Jesus that will precede the second coming, but it is the gospel of the kingdom. This involves the display of the power of God through His people, releasing the kingdom and reality of God across entire geographies. God’s reality includes the unity of His people. If we want Jesus to come back soon, we need to get with the program and unify to cooperate with His agenda.
Discussion
1. Is the gospel of Jesus the same as the gospel of the kingdom?
2. What is the gospel of Jesus?
3. What is the gospel of the kingdom?
4. What are the implications of Matthew 24:14?
5. Why is unity important when considering the concept of God’s kingdom?
