The Gospel - Explained

The Gospel is a central message in Christianity and in fact, the whole Bible. Understanding its meaning is essential for anyone seeking to know God and follow Jesus. In this short guide of The Gospel - Explained, we will explore what the gospel is.

You will discover its most basic definition and its message using quotes from the scripture that Jesus and the apostles would have used and the records from them in the New Testament.

Above all, this page will be a witness to you. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matt 24:14

Definition: What is the Gospel?

The word "gospel" comes from the Old English word "Godspell," which means "good news." The Gospel refers to the salvation that God offers to humanity through Jesus Christ.

The Gospel is the proclamation of the good news of the coming Kingdom of God and that Jesus, the Son of God, has come to reconcile sinners to God through his life, death, and resurrection.

The most basic definition of the Gospel is found in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (NIV)

This passage summarises the essential elements of the Gospel: that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose again on the third day as the “first fruits” of the Kingdom of God. This is the good news that the apostles proclaimed to the early Church and that Christians continue to proclaim today.

The gospel was often referred to as “the gospel of the Kingdom of God” by the messengers in the New Testament as this is truly what the message is about.

 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Mark 1:15

What is the Kingdom of God?

The kingdom of God, like all other worldly kingdoms, has three parts.

• The King

• His subjects

• A realm

The above verse from Mark can be translated in three connected ways: That the kingdom of God is within you or the kingdom of God is close by and at hand. As such, Jesus was referring to Himself as the King that was near them; the kingdom to be soon created within mankind through the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit and the Kingdom that was to come at His glorious return to this Earth in the near future.

It must be understood that this guide is a short retelling of the message of the Gospel as a witness to you. To fully understand it for yourself, if you have ears to hear and a heart compelled by the calling of God to listen and heed, you must read and study the Word of God for yourself and be like the Bereans who “received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

The Beginning of the Gospel

This Kingdom of God was actually established on Earth at the beginning of history and the first 11 chapters of Genesis announce it.

God created the Earth and the Heavens and He created Adam in His image to have dominion over (rule) this creation. Adam and his wife (two of one flesh) Eve decided they knew better than God. Eve was tempted. She saw something that looked good, she desired it and that she thought was good so she reached out and took it and shared it with Adam (Genesis 3:6). This was a violation of the one rule that God gave them.

Adam failed to pass the test of living according to God's Word. Therefore sin (the breaking of God's commandments) entered the world through one man and he lost his right to rule the kingdom God had created and was banished from the garden and receiving eternal life at that time (Gen 3:22-24).

The punishment for sin

God warned Adam at the start that if he should eat the fruit of the one tree he was commanded not to, he would die (Gen 2:17). Adam broke that rule, ate of the fruit and from that sin, death entered the world for mankind (Romans 5:12; Rom 6:23).

But why? Why would God kill Adam simply for eating the fruit of a certain tree? It was not the fruit that killed Adam, it was the act of doing what he wanted to do instead of living the way God commanded. This act denied Adam and his descendants (mankind) the right to rule this Earth as an eternal being.

This sin of mankind continued for generations until the flood in the days of Noah. God brought the flood to eliminate all the descendants of Adam from the earth in the hope to start anew through Noah and his children (Genesis 9:1).

Again, sin was to prevail as Genesis tells. Of all the manners of sins, pride and egotism were mentioned once again. Genesis 11:1-4 tells of the building of the tower of Babel and how the people said “let us make a name for ourselves”. So God confused their tongues and the people were scattered. Babylon and man's ways would not take the place of a heavenly ruler.

So in these 11 chapters, we see God creating the realm, creating man to rule over it but man rejecting the creator and therefore losing his right to rule.

The Promise

The Gospel is not a new message but rather the fulfilment of God's plan of salvation that he revealed throughout the Old Testament. Jesus and the apostles would have used quotes from the Old Testament to explain and support their message of the Gospel as no other scriptures had been written.

A note to remember: Never let anyone tell you that all you need is the New Testament as you need the whole Bible to get the whole truth.

In Genesis 12 God calls Abraham out from his homeland. Here in Genesis 12:1-4, we see the promises of God. Firstly, to make from Abraham a great nation (Gen. 13:16) and even many nations (Gen 17:4) and secondly that through his family, all the nations will be blessed.

As we read further in Genesis 17, Abraham was to have two sons. One son (Ishmael) was to become a nation with 12 Princes and the other son (Isaac) was to become many nations with many Kings and fill the Earth.

Again in Gen 22: 17-18 God confirms how Abrahams's descendants will be many as the sands on the sea and stars in the heavens and also that from him, the earth will be blessed. This blessing was to be Jesus who would come to reconcile all mankind to God.

The Gospel in the Old Testament

The gospel was shown to the prophets and to God's chosen people throughout the ages of mankind. Firstly it is important that the people of Israel knew that it was their sins that had cut them off from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) and that the soul that sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:4).

In the first Passover, we have the forerunner gain of Christ. The people had to sacrifice a lamb and put its blood over their doorways in order to avoid death when the angel of death visited the last plague upon Egypt.

God gave Israel a complete set of instructions on how to live in the Commandments at Mt Sinai (Exodus 20:2-17 and Deut. 5:6-21) yet the breaking of one of these laws meant that they would have to make a sacrifice in order for their sins to be forgiven. This sanctuary, priesthood and daily sacrifices would continue for centuries as men would continue to sin.

These rituals were many and varied for sins and can be seen throughout Exodus and Leviticus. In Leviticus 17:11 where we are told that “the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul”.

It is only until Jesus Christ became our Passover that an end would come to the sacrificial traditions and sins would be forgiven forever when a person accepted Christ as their personal sacrifice and turn from a life of sin to a life of living the way Jesus did.

This was known beforehand as in Isaiah 53:5-6 "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

This passage describes the suffering servant who would come to bear the sins of the people. Jesus is the fulfilment of this prophecy and he bore our sins on himself in his death.

In Jeremiah 31:31-34 it was foretold that a new covenant would be made. This New Covenant would be written upon men’s minds and hearts so that they would know how to live according to God's laws of liberty.

Read Isaiah 52:13 to Isaiah 53:12. You will see that it is fact a prophetic version of the gospel of the New Testament and Jesus. It is a clear outline of the rejection, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus!

Now we have the Internet you can search for biblical scriptures that point to the life of Jesus and His need to come and so there is no need to fill this article which is meant as an outline of the gospel.

So in a nutshell, what is the Gospel?

God created the heavens and the Earth and he intended Adam to rule this kingdom of God.

Adam sinned and therefore he failed to qualify as the ruler.

Through sin, death entered the world and therefore it became that all descendants of Adam and Eve would die as all have sinned as we all have done.

Commandments were given and contracts were made between God and mankind. Every time, mankind broke these contracts and therefore there was a need for a new contract (Hebrews 8:6–13).

The new contract was that God himself in the form of His Son would become flesh (John 1:1-4,14), become a man and would become a perfect sacrifice (John 1:29) and pay the penalty for the sins of everyone that accepted Him (John 3:16) as their personal saviour (sacrifice) 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Romans 10:9.

In this way, you can become a new person (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 12:2; 1 John 5:1-5), have your sins forgiven or blotted out (1 John 1:9; Isaiah 44:22), receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) and you are given the right to become a son (or daughter) of God (John 1:12-13; Romans 8:13-14; Eph 1:5; 1 John 3:9-10). You can become a joint heir with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17) to inherit the coming Kingdom of God (Rev 21:7) soon to be established on Earth (Daniel 2:34-35; John 14:3; Luke 21:25-28; Acts 3:19-21; Revelation 5:10; Revelation 11:15).

The Gospel is the good news of salvation that God offers to humanity through Jesus Christ. It is the message that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day. Soon Jesus will return with a loud trump and bring the dead that are in Christ with Him and change all those that are His to be like Him and to the end of His Kingdom of peace on Earth, there will be no end. This message is not new but rather the fulfilment of God's plan of saving those that choose Him and is revealed throughout the Old and New Testaments of His Word. 

Understanding the Gospel is essential for anyone seeking to know God and follow Jesus and living a life in Jesus will be a new article to follow soon.

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Sin entering the world:

Genesis 3:6-7 - Adam and Eve disobey God's command and eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which leads to their awareness of their nakedness and shame.

Genesis 6:5-6 - The wickedness of humanity leads God to regret creating mankind.

Psalm 51:5 - David acknowledges that he was born in sin and in need of forgiveness.

Punishment for sin being death:

Genesis 2:17 - God warns Adam that eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil will result in death.

Ezekiel 18:4 - The soul that sins shall die.

Need for a Messiah:

Genesis 3:15 - God promises that the offspring of the woman will crush the serpent's head, which is understood to refer to the coming of a saviour.

Isaiah 53 - The suffering servant is described as bearing the sins of the people and being punished for them, leading to their redemption.

Jeremiah 23:5-6 - The Lord promises to raise up a righteous branch from the line of David who will execute justice and righteousness in the land.