Focus: The Gospel Of Christ

Text: Rom.15:29

"And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the GOSPEL OF CHRIST."

All the unsearchable riches of Christ are stored in the gospel. By wholeheartedly embracing the gospel of Jesus Christ we expose ourselves to all the limitless blessings of Christ. The gospel is truly good news and a tiding of great joy to all men.

The GOSPEL is good news about the:

*Grace and glory of God

Paul is called "to testify the gospel of the GRACE of God," and preaches "the GLORIOUS gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust" (Act.20:24; 1Tim.1:11). He tells us that Satan has blinded the minds of men "lest the light of the GLORIOUS gospel of Christ" should shine in their hearts (2Cor.4:4). The gospel unveils to us the grace and glory of God. Our salvation commences in grace and culminates in glory. Isaiah says, "And the GLORY of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together…" Luke picks up that same Scripture and says, "And all flesh shall see the SALVATION of God" (Lk.3:6). 

God's salvation and glory are ours to see. His revealed glory guarantees our salvation, and His salvation connects us to His glory.

The gospel impacts our lives with the grace of God and imparts to us the glory of God.

*Overthrow and Ouster of Satan

The gospel announces to us the victory of good over evil, of life over death, of righteousness over sin, of blessing over curse, and of love over hate. The gospel tells us of Satan's utter defeat and total destruction. The gospel declares to us in clear terms that in Christ God has perfectly restored the original goal of creation. The believer in Christ is assured of a return to the Paradise of God.

*Salvation of God

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation for whoever believes in Christ. By way of the cross and in Christ, God has saved man from sin, Satan, death, and hell. In Christ we are forever saved.

*Peace of God

Peter tells us, "The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching PEACE by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)" (Act.10:36). The gospel of Jesus Christ is the gospel of peace, and it is peace FROM God, peace WITH God, and the peace OF God (Rom.1:7; 5:1; Phil.4:7). Paul describes a piece of the Christian's armor as "your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace" (Eph.6:15). Paul declares, "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" (Rom.10:15). Paul also talks about "peace in believing" (Rom.15:13).

*Eternal life of God

John tells us, "And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life" (1Jh.2:25). Again he says, "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son" (1Jh.5:11). Through the gospel of Christ God offers life as He has it in Himself. It is God's own kind of life. In Jh.3:16, we are told that "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE" (Jh.3:16). Every believer in Christ possesses the life of God in him. The gospel is life-begetting and life-imparting.

*Logic and love of God

The gospel is a clear demonstration of the love of God for humanity. The gospel is a revelation of the logic or wisdom of God. Through the gospel we experience the reality of the wisdom and love of God.

I pray for you to fully embrace the fullness of the blessing of the gospel. I pray you yield your whole life to the culture of the gospel. I pray that you experience the grace of God and be filled with His glory, that you come to know in your personal experience the victory of Christ over the devil, that you know the peace of God that surpasses knowledge, that you enjoy the life of God in your soul, and that you encounter the infinite logic of God and the love of God in all its dimensions of depth, height, width, and length. The gospel has in its vast store all the blessings and resources of Christ for the believer in Christ.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter