MAY 7, 2020

The concept of the Gospel cannot be defined or explained only by the etymological meaning of the word, or worse, by the religious definition that modern times have assigned to it; the Gospel must be understood from the Revelation that the Holy Spirit assigns to it in the Holy Scriptures.

In the epistle to the Galatians, the apostle Paul discovered by the Spirit that God evangelized Abraham (3:8), and explains that such an act did not consist in “informing” him about his future plans with him and his descendants, but in the faculty that Abraham received to “believe” in him, that is, to generate faith in the Word of God, to such a degree that as the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews also discovers by the Spirit, Abraham believed that God was able to give Isaac back to him even after his death,

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, ¹⁸ of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: ¹⁹ accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. Hebrews 11:17-19

God evangelized Abraham when he discovered the purpose of his presence on earth, and said to him, “In you all the nations will be blessed“. It was not to prosper him for we all know from history that he dwelt in Canaan as a stranger; the Gospel to Abraham meant a dowry of Revelation, faith and purpose.

Such teaching helps us to understand that the Gospel is Revelation of the very essence of God, the Gospel is nourished by faith in the Word; no announcement of the Good News has true meaning if the message does not promote the value of faith in God, a message based on highlighting only personal benefits is not a true gospel message; the Gospel reveals to the person by the Spirit God’s purpose for him.

³⁴ Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: ³⁵ but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him…. 11:18 ¹⁸ When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. Acts 10:34-11:18

In his epistle to Timothy, the apostle acknowledges that God’s mercy reaches out to people to transform their lives so that they may glorify the Lord with them.

¹² And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; ¹³ who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 1:12-14

The Gospel is Revelation of purpose, it is discovering by the Spirit to the person the meaning of living hidden in Christ, it is showing the service that God wants each one to develop for the benefit of the body of Christ. Hence, in the testimony of the apostle John, every person occupies a leading position within the Kingdom,

¹² But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: ¹³ which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13

Paul presents this same teaching by the Spirit as the harmonious integration of the members into one body, where all the members exercise a spiritual function of establishing the Kingdom,

¹⁵ If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? ¹⁶ And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? 1 Corinthians 12:15-17

The Gospel is therefore not just a message, it is Revelation that commissions the person to move in the Spirit by establishing with their decisions and actions the spiritual support for other members to move in the same way.

⁴ Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. ⁵ Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: ⁶ who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: Philippians 2:4-6

It could be that some only have information about Jesus, because it could be that the Gospel they approached only contemplated the information of a historical Jesus; upon discovering that the Gospel “attributes” essence and divine substance, today it is convenient that we discard everything that is merely informative, and begin, like Abraham, to discover the power of transformation that the promise of his life in Jesus gives to the person who believes.

Pastor Montoya