“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth.” Revelation 14:6
Dear Ones:
What is the “gospel?” We know that it means “good news.” In both the Old and New Testaments, we find that it is expressed as “good tidings.” In Luke’s gospel, when the angel came to announce the birth of Christ to the shepherds out in the fields, he declared: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” (2:10) This news of which he spoke was, from God’s standpoint, perfectly and completely “good.” There was nothing in this announcement that was not permeated with the goodness and love of God. The angel made it very clear that it was a subject of great joy, for it would bring enormous and everlasting benefit to all who would hear and believe it. And thirdly, the announcement of these good tidings was not limited to the nation of Israel, but for “all people.” What was this news, this Gospel? It was first and foremost the declaration that God had just fulfilled a promise that He had made in the Garden of Eden after Adam sinned. On that dark day, sin entered into the world. Man became a sinner instead of a saint. He became blind and a slave to sin and Satan. What could he do to save himself, and deliver himself from this position and perspective of death and destruction? The answer is…nothing. Man was plunged into the night, and depths of darkness, where there was no hope in and of himself, to save or deliver himself. BUT GOD. It was God who would immediately declare His initiative, having already put in place a plan, a work, a divine design, to save man. He would declare to the serpent (Satan): “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Gen. 3:15) God declares a way of hope, and it is in the revelation of Christ’s victory over Satan on Calvary. But, what of the meaning of this Gospel, its everlasting quality, and its power to transform individuals, people, and nations?
The goodness of God is magnificently revealed by the Gospel’s eternal, unchanging nature, and the present benefit and blessing that it brings to the believer. It’s power resides in the truths which compose it. It is as these truths of God are revealed, the truths concerning His person and Christ’s saving work on the cross, that God’s power becomes actively operative in the heart of the individual. God, by these truths, intervenes in the life when the truth is revealed. The Lord Jesus made this so very clear when He said: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (Jn. 8:32) Essential to God working in the heart is the receiving of the knowledge of the truth concerning Him. God will never bless idolatry, which is a wrong concept of God, and the consequent worship of that “image,” or perception. God always blesses His word, which is the truth. Secondly, the Lord Jesus spoke of the power of the Gospel: “If the Son, therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” (Jn. 8:36) Here is power, the working of the Son of God, by the Spirit, in the heart, to transform the life. The essential elements of the Gospel therefore are first, the truth, and secondly, the power of God.
In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he speaks of this “…gospel which I preached unto you.” (15:1) Their response to hearing the truth was twofold. It was received, and the stand of faith was taken by the believers. The result was that they were saved. The elements of the Gospel were these: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” He was buried, and rose again the third day, again, “…according to the Scriptures.” He was seen by Peter (Cephas), then the twelve, and by about five hundred other brethren.
Dear Father, Enable us to grasp the truth and power of this everlasting, transforming Gospel. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad