This Is Appendix 140 From The Companion Bible.
The Greek word evangelion means good news, glad tidings; and these good tidings, which may be concerning various and different subjects, must be distinguished. See Philippians 1: 10, note. There is, first :-
This was proclaimed from the first, for
example after the Fall, and it was proclaimed to men as men, by God, the
Creator, to His creatures. Its message was that the Creator alone to be
feared and worshipped, and men were to have no other gods beside Him. He
was the holy and righteous One, and He was, and is, and will be the only
and final Judge of men. God proclaimed this from the first, and among
its heralds were ENOCH, "the
seventh from Adam", who proclaimed His coming for this judgment
of the ungodly (Jude 14, 15); and
NOAH, a herald of righteousness and of coming righteous judgment
(Hebrews 11:7 and 2 Peter
2:5).
When the "calling on high" shall have
been given (Philippians. 3: This is the Gospel proclaimed by the Creator to His
sinful creatures after the Fall; and it will be proclaimed again at the
end. Hence its name "everlasting". Then followed :-
To Abraham and his seed was the good news
proclaimed, and the promise given that God would make of him a nation in
whom all the families of the earth should be blessed (Genesis
12:1 -
3).
This good news was gradually expanded and developed.
In Genesis 15: In Genesis 15: In This "good news" was first heralded by angels sent
specially from heaven; and the exact terms of the proclamation are
recorded. The angel of Jehovah spoke from the glory of Jehovah, and said
:-
Thus the good news concerned a
Person, Who would "save His people from their sins"
(Matthew 1:21) : the Saviour
Whom God had anointed (Messiah), appointed, given, and sent. [At this
point see and note the object and subject of Christ's ministry as set
forth in Appendix 119.]
In the proclamation of this Kingdom the Lord taught
in Parables; for there were "mysteries" (that is to say,
secrets) which concerned the rejection, and consequent
postponement and abeyance of the Kingdom, which could not openly be made
known, but only in private ("in the house", Matthew
13: It had been foreseen, and therefore foretold, that
His People would not receive Him, and would reject Him (Isaiah 53, etc.)
and put Him to death. This would not affect the fulfilment of all the
promised glories connected with the Kingdom. See Luke 24: True, Christ had been put to death; but God had
sworn to David, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh,
He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne (Acts 2: This proclamation was made by Peter and the Twelve
in the capital of the Land (according to Matthew 22: In Acts 28 this was brought to a conclusion by a
formal rejection on the part of "the chief of the Jews"
(Acts 28: All these "mysteries" (or
secrets) concerning the postponement and abeyance of the
Kingdom were spoken "in parables", "because (the
LORD said), it is given unto you (unto the disciples) to know the
secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them (to the People) it is not
given" (Matthew 13: There was nothing in Old Testament prophecy that
told of what the Lord reveals in these Parables of the Kingdom : how it
would be rejected, and to what lengths the People would go in the
rejection of the King; what would happen in consequence; how a second
offer would be proclaimed, and how that too would be rejected : and what
new revelation would be made in consequence.
All this was hidden in the parables spoken by the
Lord, yet revealed to the disciples, and written for our learning
(Matthew 13: The following parables set forth the proclamation
of the Gospel of the Kingdom, from various points of view :-
This, the first parable, covers the whole
ground.
The "seed" was "the word of
(or concerning) the Kingdom". When repeated later (Luke
8: The First Sowing was
"by" the wayside. This must have been the proclamation
by John the Baptist (Matthew 3. Mark 1: The Second Sowing was by Christ
Himself (Matthew 4: The Third Sowing was by Peter and
the Twelve, and "by them that heard Him" (the Son,
Hebrews 2: The Fourth Sowing is in the future.
It will be the final proclamation of "the Gospel of the
Kingdom", immediately preceding and during the Tribulation
(Matthew 24:
The servants first sent forth were John the
Baptist, the Twelve, and the Seventy, and these were sent to those who
had been previously bidden. But "they would not come".
The "other servants" who were next
sent were Peter, the Twelve, and "them that heard Him"
(Hebrews 2: They proclaimed that "all things were
ready". Nothing now was wanting. The "sufferings"
had been fulfilled and the glory was ready to be revealed (Luke
24: But instead of repenting they "took His
servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them"
(Matthew 22: "But the King was wroth, and sent His
armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their
city" (Matthew 22: The last servants sent will go "into the
highways" of the world. Here we have, again, a reference to the
yet future proclamation of "the Gospel of the Kingdom".
Now, this marriage-feast is postponed; and all
invitations to it are in abeyance. Its future fulfilment is yet to
take place. This is referred to in Matthew 24:
This was spoken in immediate connection with
the blessedness of eating bread in the Kingdom of God.
Again we have the Four Ministries, as in the
above parables.
The supper was made by "a certain
man", and many were bidden. This bidding was the ministry of
John the Baptist. It is set forth as a simple statement of a past and
accomplished fact. This was the First Ministry (verse The Second Invitation was sent to
those who had been already bidden by John. It was sent by "His
Servant", Who was none other than the Lord Jesus Himself. His
Ministry is expressed in one sentence : "Come; for all things
are now ready" (verse The Third Invitation was sent, not
to those who had been already bidden, but to another class altogether.
It was sent by "The Master of the House", Who has
perfect right and authority to invite whom He will. He sent
"quickly" : that is to say, very soon after the return
of the second servant; and "into the streets and lanes of the
city". This was the ministry of Peter, the Twelve, and Paul.
The Fourth Invitation is yet
future, as shown above in the other parables. It will be sent forth by
"the Lord" (verse Thus the present dispensation (since the
destruction of Jerusalem and dispersion of Israel, which took place
shortly after Acts 28, has nothing to do with the Kingdom, and the
proclamation of the good news connected with it is postponed and in
abeyance. Meanwhile, and during this dispensation, we have :-
This is the Gospel unto which Paul the Apostle
was separated (Romans 1:1), and is
supplementary to "the Gospel of the Kingdom", of which it
was another aspect.
"The Gospel of the Kingdom" was first
proclaimed by John the Baptist and the Lord. But both were rejected and
put to death.
The Lord, however, was raised from the dead and the
Gospel of God has to do with a risen Messiah. It characterizes the
ministry of the Acts rather than that of the Gospels; especially Paul's
share in it.
The Gospel of a risen Messiah, re-proclaimed as
about to come and restore all things, was the burden of the apostolic
proclamation during the dispensation of the Acts. See Acts
2: "With great power gave the
Apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and great
grace was upon them all" (4: This too, was the burden of Paul's proclamation, as
we may see from Acts 17: In spite of all their sins, and their heinous crime
in murdering His beloved Son, He would blot out all their sins and
fulfill all His promises. Truly, this was in very deed :-
This is why, in the canonical order of the
books of the New Testament, God's overruling is seen in the fact that
the first writing which comes to us following on the
double rejection of His Son (in the Gospels and the Acts)
is the word and good news of His grace in Romans 1:1. In spite of all
that we should consider the unpardonable nature of Israel's crime, the
first written words which meet our eyes are these :-
"Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, a called
Apostle (or, an Apostle by Divine calling), separated to God's Gospel
(or glad tidings), which He before promised by means of His prophets in
sacred writings concerning His Son, Who came of the seed of David
according to the flesh, Who was demonstrated [to be] God's Son, in
power, with respect to [His] holy spirit [body, Here we have the sum and the substance of the good
news of the grace of God.
It was not new. It was promised before and written
down by His prophets. The sufferings, death and resurrection and glory,
were all foretold. But now "those things, which God before had
showed by the mouth of all His prophets that Christ should suffer, He
hath so fulfilled. THEREFORE, Repent ye, and turn again that your
sins may be blotted out, so that [haply] may come seasons of refreshing
from the presence (or face) of the Lord, and [that] He may send Him Who
was before proclaimed (or according to all the critical texts,
"was foreordained") for you-even Jesus Christ"
(Acts 3: Thus "God's Gospel" was based on the
prophecies of the Old Testament, and was the logical development of
them.
It is in this that it is distinguished from that
which had not been before revealed by the prophets in the concluding
verses of Romans. That epistle begins with what had been written in the
Scriptures; it ends with what had never been written till
"now", when the SECRET which had been kept in
silence from times eternal, or during [the] times of [the] ages was then
at length made manifest (Romans 16: The time had come for this secret to be revealed,
and to be committed to prophetic writings. This revelation is contained
in the three Epistles written by Paul from his prison in Rome, to the
Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.
Thus "the Gospel of the Kingdom" was
the proclamation by and concerning the Messiah made by John the Baptist
and Himself, and is the subject of the Four Gospels.
"The Gospel of God" is the
proclamation concerning the same Messiah, made by the Twelve, the
apostle Paul, and "them that heard" the Lord, during the
dispensation of the Acts of the Apostles, and is the subject of their
testimony and of their writings and the earlier Epistles of Paul. Seeing
it was good news sent after the resurrection of Christ, it is all of
pure grace and favour, and hence is "the Gospel of the Grace of
God".
(2 Corinthians. 4:4). This is connected with Christ's exaltation as
Head over all things to His church, which is His body, which is
developed and revealed more fully in the Prison Epistles (Ephesians
1:21 -
23.
Philippians 2:9 - 11. Colossians
1:14 -
19).
It not only involves the present glory of Messiah, but includes the
final defeat of Satan, the crushing of his head, and the subjugation of
all spiritual beings, be they powers, principalities, authorities,
dominions, or thrones, etc.
Hence, it is Satan's great aim now, at this present
time, to blind the eyes of them that believe not, so that they may not
learn of his coming defeat, as foretold in Genesis 3: Knowing his object, and being "not ignorant
of his devices", we know also what should be our own object :
videlicet, the making known this good news which he would seek to hide;
and proclaiming "the Gospel of the glory of Christ".
1 The second time being in John 12:37 - 41. |