“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). First, foremost, right up-front Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our savior, our redeemer, God in the flesh preached and taught one thing: the gospel. The word “gospel” comes from the old English word “god-spell” meaning “good news”.
A. What then is the “gospel” Jesus preached? It was the gospel of the “good news” of the coming Kingdom of God! There is no other gospel. Jesus preached and instructed his disciples/apostles to preach the one and only true gospel of the coming Kingdom of God. See Jesus’ own words concerning the gospel of the Kingdom of God (Matt. 4:23a; 6:33; 9:35; 24:14; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:43; 6:20; 8:1,10; 9:1-2,11; 11:2; 12:31-32; John 3:3,5; Acts 1:3).
B. Peter preached the gospel in Acts 2:17-39. The first New Covenant sermon consisted of the following points about the gospel of Jesus Christ. 1) History and prophecy 2) Jesus is Lord and Messiah and His kingdom is coming 3) The Holy Spirit guides the Church of God 4) Introduction of the Holy Spirit being poured out on all races of mankind to spiritual salvation to be saved by repenting of sins, baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit for the remission of all sins 5) Spiritual salvation was now available to all mankind and not just physical salvation of Israel.
C. Paul preached this same gospel around the Roman empire to Jew and to Gentile. “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.” (I Cor. 15:3-5 NKJV).
D. Peter preaches this same gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified for the remission of sins to the first gentile converts, Cornelius and his household.
- God the Father told Jesus what to preach. The gospel of the Kingdom of God comes directly from God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ to us (John 12:49-50; John 1:1). We enter into His Kingdom at His triumphant return only by repentance, belief and baptism into his body the Church of God (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; I Cor. 15:50-58: I Thes. 3:13b; 4:13-18; 5:23).
- There are four parts to any kingdom 1. Land/territory, 2. A ruler such as a King, 3. Laws to obey in the Kingdom and 4. The subjects of the kingdom. These are all physical and not spiritual therefore the church is not the Kingdom of God. The church is to represent God’s future Kingdom as ambassadors here on earth (II Cor. 5:20). Our job is to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God!
- Jesus directed His disciples/apostles to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:1-2; 10:1, 2, 9; Matt. 28:19-20).
- The Apostles specifically preached the gospel of the Kingdom of God after the death and resurrection of Jesus. After his resurrection and before his ascension Jesus spent 40 days “speaking of things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). From the very beginning to the very end Jesus preached one thing and one thing only, His gospel of the coming Kingdom of God. Philip preached the Kingdom of God (KOG) Acts 8:12; Paul preached KOG Acts 20:21-25; 28:30-31; Preached to the gentiles Acts 19:8; 28:23, 31. In fact Paul is recorded preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God 81 times in the New Testament. The terms Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven (used interchangeably in the Bible) are used hundreds of times in the New Testament by all the gospel writers and early apostles.
- God pronounces a curse on anyone who would preach any other gospel than His gospel of the Kingdom of God (Gal. 1:6-9; Rom. 10:16; Matt. 13:19).
- The gospel of the Kingdom of God is to be proclaimed until the end of times when Jesus returns in His ultimate glory as King of Kings and Lord of Lords to rule over this entire earth (Reminder: land, subjects, laws and ruler are the four parts of a kingdom). Jesus was born to be a king but his kingdom was not of this world but of a future world (Matt. 24:14; Luke 1:31-33; John 18:36-37; I Cor. 15:50-54). The return of Jesus to set up His kingdom and rule this world will not be a secret but will come at the sound of trumpets and all the world will know He has returned (Rev. 2:26-28; 3:21; Rev. Chapters 19-22; Luke 1:33; Isa. 9:5-6; II Pet. 1:11).
It is our duty to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God.