The gospel message is the story of the promised coming of Jesus the Messiah, his itinerant ministry, his crucifixion, death, and resurrection, the announcement that God’s kingdom authority has been restored on the earth in his person as Lord of lords, his ascension into heaven after which he poured out the Holy Spirit, and his promised return as the glorious Son of Man, who will judge the living and the dead.
Where we begin a gospel presentation can vary depending on the understanding of our listeners and the leading of the Holy Spirit. We can go all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Or we can start before creation, as John’s gospel does.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:1–5 (NASB95)
We probably should include some reference to how mankind got into the sin predicament we find ourselves by Adam’s disobeying God’s clear command and trying to live independently from him.
The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:16–17 (NASB95)
We might mention how ever since sin has been passed down from generation to generation, leaving us in a hopeless predicament of being alienated from God and sentenced to death.
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— Romans 5:12 (NASB95) remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Ephesians 2:12 (NASB95)
We should tell people how God promised to send a Savior all the way back in the garden.
And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:15 (NASB95)
We can include his promise to Abraham that one of his descendants would be a blessing to the entire earth.
“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” Genesis 22:18 (NASB95)
We might mention his promise to King David that one of his offspring would rule over God’s kingdom forever.
When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 2 Samuel 7:12–13 (NASB95)
We could relate how Isaiah promised that a virgin would have a child upon whose shoulders the kingdom of God would rest.
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6–7 (NASB95)
We might wish to include a reference to Isaiah 53 which describes what the Lamb of God would suffer for our sake.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. Isaiah 53:5–6 (NASB95)
Then we come to that point in history when God fulfilled all those promises as recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We can share how Jesus went about doing good and liberating all those held captive by the devil, fulfilling the messianic promise found in Isaiah 61 and quoted by our Lord in Luke 4:18.
“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, 19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” 20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:18–21 (NASB95) “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38 (NASB95)
All this led up to his crucifixion, when he offered himself to God as the Lamb to take away our sins.
but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, 13 waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. 14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Hebrews 10:12–14 (NASB95)
Then came the resurrection whereby he was confirmed as the Lord of all.
Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, Romans 1:1–4 (NASB95)
After that he ascended to heaven and poured out the Holy Spirit, thus fulfilling the feast of Pentecost and launching the church into the Great Commission.
“Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, 35 UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.” ’ 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” Acts 2:33–36 (NASB95)
We still wait for his Second Coming as the glorious son of man prophesied by Daniel.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. Philippians 3:20–21 (NASB95)
In Jesus the Lord, the kingdom of God has taken root on the earth and is growing through the preaching of the gospel.
In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. Daniel 2:44 (NASB95)
Wherever God’s kingdom is established, people come under the authority and rule of the king, our Lord Jesus.
Eventually God’s kingdom will fill the entire earth with the glory of God.
but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD. Numbers 14:21 (NASB95)
When we voluntarily acknowledge the authority of our Lord Jesus, we share in that authority, which he vests in his church, his representatives on the earth.
“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Revelation 5:10 (NASB95)
This series of teachings will show how the gospel message proclaims and calls people to surrender to our Lord’s authority in relationship to four of his titles or roles as prophesied by John the Baptist.
But first let us see why God’s authority had to be restored in the first place.
How We Lost the Authority God Gave to Us
When Adam sinned against God in the garden, at the most fundamental level it was a rejection of the authority and supremacy of God.
Satan convinced the first Adam and his wife Eve that God did not have their best interests in mind by forbidding them from partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He tricked them into doubting the Creator’s love and appealed to their apparently innate desire to be like God. The first Adam decided to disobey God’s clear command in an attempt to liberate himself and Eve from the supposed confines of dependency upon a less than trustworthy God.
By trying to be independent from God, Adam opened the door to satanic rule over all creation.
God vested the first Adam with tremendous authority over the earth and its creatures.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:26–28 (NASB95)
In Adam, God gave man authority over the earth but not the heavens. But almost from the beginning man has tried to leave our appointed habitation in an effort to be like God by penetrating and conquering the heavens. (e.g. the tower of Babel)
When Adam obeyed the serpent (Satan), he became a slave to the evil one and to sin, thus bringing everything over which Adam had been given authority under Satan’s dominion.
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. Romans 6:16–18 (NASB95)
I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; John 14:30 (NASB95)
By obeying Satan, Adam and his descendants became slaves to the prince of darkness, but thanks be to God, he sent his Son, the “last Adam,” to rescue us!
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13–14 (NASB95)
Jesus informed the independent from God, self-righteous Pharisees that they were not only slaves to sin but were spiritually related to the evil one in a most significant way.
You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44 (NASB95)
Salvation through Christ, at its most basic level, it is mainly concerned with who is our father.
Are we enslaved to the prince of darkness or have we been born again into God’s kingdom in which we are now his beloved sons (and daughters)?
Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:6–7 (NASB95)
There is a profound difference between the covenant of law and the new covenant of grace. Law evaluates and condemns us based on our performance. Under the new covenant we are justified based on the performance of the Righteous One, our Lord Jesus. We are credited with our Lord’s right standing before God.
In Christ, we are born again into God’s family in which we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us [election] in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless [justification] before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons [sonship, reconciliation] through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgivenes [propitiation] s of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight Ephesians 1:3–8 (NASB95)
The biggest question every person will be asked is, “Who is your father?” For the believer, it is Abba, thanks to what Jesus accomplished on our behalf!
This is why Jesus said that we must be born again. There is no other way to enter the kingdom of God except through the new birth.
“Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ John 3:7 (NASB95)
After he rose from the dead, he informed his disciples that his Abba Father had become their (and our) Abba Father!
Jesus said to her [Mary], “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’ ” John 20:17 (NASB95)
The greatest blessings Jesus bestowed upon us come through being reconciled to Abba Father, being born into his family, and receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit, who now lives Christ’s life in and through us.
The gospel, then, is mostly concerned with announcing who Jesus is and what he accomplished on our and God’s behalf. The gospel invites our hearers to be reconciled to God, receive the Holy Spirit, and partake of all spiritual blessings in Christ, which includes reigning with him for eternity.
The gospel commands (invites?) our hearers to repent from our self-directed way of life and submit ourselves to God’s authority by acknowledging that Jesus is Lord, which opens the door for us to receive all God’s blessings in Christ.
We are told that if we confess Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. (Romans 10:9-10)
Faith contains two main components: belief and allegiance. We believe the gospel message and we declare allegiance to our Lord Jesus.
These two things are two sides of what it means to be a disciple. Both are necessary. Belief without allegiance is mere lip service. Allegiance without belief is some kind of dutiful legalism. When the two work together it creates a dynamic faith that leads to our being obedient to God’s Spirit, thus bringing glory to God.
The gospel, therefore, commands us to come under Jesus’ authority prior to being given authority.
Satan tried to destroy mankind, but God’s heart is to redeem us and elevate us to rule and reign with him. Everything Satan tried to take illegitimately, God gives to his bride, the church.
First, we receive authority to become children of God.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right [exousia - authority] to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who 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 (NASB95)
As children of God and representatives of Christ, we are also given authority to preach the gospel and proclaim his name to the world.
What an amazing thing that we are allowed to speak on God’s behalf!
In the following teachings, I will show how the gospel includes proclaiming Jesus’ authority in four main areas, which were mentioned by John the Baptist when he introduced Jesus to the Jews as their Messiah.
- Jesus has authority to forgive sins as the Lamb of God.
- Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and earth as the risen Son of God and Lord.
- Jesus is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit and has been made Lord of the Great Commission harvest.
- Jesus has authority to judge all people as the divine Son of Man.
All four of these aspects of Jesus’ authority are integral to the gospel.
God wants us to be “gospel fluent” and become familiar with each aspect of Christ’s authority and incorporate them into our gospel presentations. We do not have to mention all of them in every presentation, but we should be able to do so. The Holy Spirit custom tailors what we share with people based on what they need. Having the entirety of the gospel story at hand is very helpful and properly equips us to represent Christ well.
