Gospel Context [ 40:20 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Gospel Context: The Whole-Bible Story

God’s ultimate purpose in throughout history is to create a people to dwell in his presence, glorifying him through numerous varied activities by enjoying him forever. The story begins with God in eternal glory, and it ends with God and his people in eternal glory. At the center stands the cross, where God revealed his glory, perfection, beauty, and value through his Son Jesus Christ. Before the true obedient Son, stepped into history, there were 2 rebellious sons that were created and to live in God’s presence: Adam and Israel. It was through these 2 sons that God’s revealed humanity’s darkness, ugliness, corruption, and sinfulness. The biblical story of redemption must be understood within the larger stories of Adam and Israel before we get to Jesus. The story-line is as follows:

First Adam (read Genesis 3:1-15), and later Israel (read Exodus 32), was placed in God’s sanctuary (the garden and the Promised Land, respectively), but both Adam and Israel failed to be a faithful, obedient steward, and both were expelled from the sanctuary God had created for them. But Jesus Christ—the new Adam, the new Israel—was faithful and obedient to God. He accomplished everything Adam and Israel could not. Though the world killed him, God raised him to life, which meant that death was defeated. Through his Spirit, God pours into sinners the resurrection life of his Son, creating a new humanity “in Christ.” Those who are “in Christ” move through death into new life and exaltation in God’s sanctuary, there to enjoy his presence forever.

The work of Christ on earth, and especially his crucifixion and resurrection, is the climax of history; it is the great turning point at which God actually accomplished the salvation toward which history had been moving throughout the Old Testament. The present era looks back on Christ’s completed work but also looks forward to the consummation of his work when Christ will come again and when there will appear “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13; see Rev. 21:1–22:5).

Story Bookends
The “bookends” of the biblical story concept illustrates that in the third-to-last chapter of the Bible (Revelation 20) God removes his enemies—Satan, death, and evil—that entered the story line in the third chapter of the Bible (Genesis 3), thus completing the story of redemption. The last two chapters (Revelation 21–22) don’t simply restore the first two chapters (Genesis 1–2); they go beyond them to a world that is fully ordered and holy, in which God is fully present with his people, completing the story of creation.

Gospel Re-Definition
With such a full, rich story-line that presents so many characters, themes, and varieties of literature, it means that there are many entry points and patterns of the Gospel. With each theme, character, or literary form, there are more layers of meaning and impact. For example, Israel’s rhythm of Creation-Fall-Redemption-Restoration can be redefined for the lens of home/exile, God/covenant, and kingdom:

Finding Our Place in Story
The story of redemption does not end at the end of the book of Acts, nor the book of Revelation. It carries forward into the history of the Church and will continue until Jesus returns. When we become Christians by believing the Gospel, this means that we have found our place in the Biblical narrative. Although we may identify as prodigal sons, like Adam, or as loyal older brothers, like Israel, we all continue to need the gracious restoration that Jesus accomplished through his death and resurrection. We may begin our stories in the rebellion of Adam, and then Israel, but, by God’s grace, our stories can end in the adoption and honored Sonship that our New Adam and New Israel, Jesus, accomplished through his cross.

What is the Gospel? [ 34:37 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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The Message of the Gospel

As the central message of the Bible, the Gospel is the good news about the redemption of the world through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Humanity has rebelled against God, deserving death and judgment. God has promised forgiveness and restoration by becoming a human to suffer death and judgment in our place. The Gospel is historical, theological, personal, and social in dimension.

Consider the Biblical summaries below:

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures

John 3:16-21 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

Romans 5:18-19 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Acts 17:24-31 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ 29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

What God does with the Gospel

When God graciously redeems people in the Gospel, he causes them to be transformed through illumination, repentance, and faith. Illumination is spiritual vision that causes us see the beauty, value, and satisfaction of Jesus in the Gospel. Repentance is mournful confession of our sin and rebellion. Faith is enjoying all that God promises to be for us in the Gospel. Faith and repentance are inseparable realities, often considered 2 sides of the same coin. They are always present together.

When we first experience illumination, repentance, and faith, it is called conversion.

As we continue to experience illumination, repentance, and faith, it is called sanctification.

Our rebellion against God takes 2 main forms: disobedience (overt or open) & obedience (covert or undercover). Open rebellion is the easiest to spot as disobedience takes shape in visible ways: infidelity, addiction, violence, etc. Undercover rebellion is trickier because it masks deep rebellion with visible obedience: religious observance, strong morals, responsibility, etc. We all tend to gravitate toward one extreme or the other, so transformation can come from different places. Consider Luke 15:11-32 (the parable of the Prodigal Son), where both the older (faithful) and younger (wayward) brother are both estranged from the father. Consider also the way Paul speaks to the Galatians vs. the Corinthians:

Galatians 2:15-16 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Gospel life is lived between these extremes.

Discussion Questions:
1. How would you summarize the Gospel in a couple of sentences?
2. Can you think of some other concise statements or pictures of the Gospel in the Bible?
3. In the statement “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures” what are some things that it implies are true?
4. Why is it important to preach/teach the gospel to both unbelievers and believers?
5. We mentioned that rebellion takes 2 forms (open & undercover) – which form do you tend to gravitate towards?

Resources for Further Study:
“What is the Gospel?” by D.A. Carson (Audio – MP3)
http://theresurgence.com/files/audio/don_carson_2007-05-23_audio_what_is_the_gospel.mp3
“What is the Christian Gospel?” by John Piper (short article)
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/taste-see-articles/what-is-the-christian-gospel
“The Quest for Joy” by John Piper (short article)
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/resources/quest-for-joy
“The Centrality of the Gospel” by Tim Keller (article)
http://www.redeemer2.com/resources/papers/centrality.pdf
“What is the Gospel” by Dan Hewitt (short video)
http://vimeo.com/12425590

Understanding the Gospel Download

We have just begun our small group ministry at HCC. We currently have 2 small groups, one meeting on Tuesdays and the other meeting on Fridays. The Tuesday group is currently geared towards discussion of recent sermons at HCC. The Friday group is charting it’s way through a large (19) series of lessons on “Understanding the Gospel”. Below is more info on this Friday small group series:

Goal: We want to grow into the Gospel by understanding the contours and categories presented in the Bible since we believe the Gospel is the lens through which we understand the Bible and life. This includes looking at the Gospel as the overarching story-line of the Bible, looking at smaller pictures, patterns, and themes of the Gospel, and looking at the meaning of Gospel terminology. Consider this something like “Gospel Foundations”. Here is the break-down:

Gospel Big Picture:
1. What is the Gospel? (The Message)
2. What is the context of the Gospel? (The Whole-Bible story)
3. Why the Gospel? (Depravity, Idolatry)
4. Without the Gospel (Curse and Judgment)
5. The Gospel as Promise (Blessing and Grace)

Gospel Accomplished:
6. Incarnation (God becomes one of us)
7. Prophet, Priest, King (The spectrum of Jesus’ ministry)
8. Atonement (Satisfying God’s wrath)
9. Redemption (Buying back slaves to sin)
10. Resurrection (Victory over death)

Gospel Applied:
11. Regeneration (Resurrecting our souls)
12. Faith/Repentance (Confessing our sins & trusting Christ)
13. Forgiveness (Clearing the debt of sin)
14. Justification (Declaring us righteous)
15. Reconciliation/Union (Because of hostility)
16. Adoption (Because of rebellion)
17. Sanctification (Because of corruption)
18. Preservation (Because of helplessness)
19. Glorification (To complete the download)

Resources for further study:
Greg Gilbert, What is the Gospel? (Crossway, 2010) 128 p. – $10.23 on Amazon
John Stott, The Cross of Christ (IVP, 2006) 380 p. – $17.16 on Amazon
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Cross: God’s Way of Salvation (Crossway, 1986) 224 p. – $12.23 on Amazon
John Murray, Redemption: Accomplished and Applied (Eerdman, 1984) 192 p. – $10.40 on Amazon
Robert Letham, The Work of Christ (IVP, 1993) 284 p. – $14.96 on Amazon