B i b l e S t u d y
Lesson: The Truth About the Gospel
1. Did Jesus Christ command that true Christians repent and believe the Gospel? (Mark 1:14-15). Did Jesus preach the Gospel of the Kingdom and heal all manner of sicknesses and diseases? (Matthew 4:23, 9:35). Did Jesus command His disciples to preach the Gospel to the whole world (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15).
Note: The Gospel is the good news message of the Kingdom of God that Jesus Christ preached about. And for those few God is calling now, that message includes the knowledge of how we may enter that promised Kingdom.
2. Did God inspire the apostle Paul to pronounce a double curse on all who would pervert, twist or teach another gospel than the true message Jesus brought? (Galatians 1:8-9).
3. What does the word ‘Gospel’ mean? Note: The word ‘gospel’ is translated from a Greek word that means "good message," that is, "good news." But, the Gospel is the good news of what? No clearer verse can be found to answer that question than Mark 1:14. Read it in your own Bible: "Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God." There it is: The Gospel is the good news of the coming Kingdom of God!
4. This Kingdom is spoken of in both Old and New Testaments? In the Old Testament what did Daniel say about this Kingdom? (Daniel 2:44-45). What did Isaiah say? (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Note: It is quite clear that what the prophets speak of here is indeed a literal kingdom -- with laws, rulers, domain and subjects -- not merely a spiritual or ethereal kingdom set up in "men's hearts."
5. Jesus Christ will be the King of this millennial Kingdom of God. Will the Spirit of the LORD rest upon Him? (Isaiah 11:1-10). Will Jesus judge in righteousness? How will He slay the wicked? What will the wolf do? What will the earth be full of? Will the Gentiles seek Him?
6. Does the prophet Micah also speak of this Kingdom being set up in the latter days? (Micah 4:1-5). Will the law and the word of the LORD go out from Jerusalem? Will Christ judge many people and rebuke strong nations far off. Will they beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks? Will nations not lift up their swords against other nations and neither shall they learn war any more?
Note: The Kingdom of God is a literal kingdom to be set up here on earth during the Millennium after the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It will break in pieces the kingdoms of this world and rule the physical nations of this world, with Jesus Christ as the head. It will be a time of peace, prosperity and tranquility, when all of God's perfect laws and ways will be administered
7. Does the New Testament emphasize, that those who are saved in this age will rule with Jesus Christ over these nations as kings themselves, but with eternal life as spirit beings? (Revelation 3:21).
8. Will we, the Saints, rule with Jesus Christ as kings and priests to our God? (Revelation 5:10). Will we reign on the earth? Will we reign with Christ for a thousand years? (Revelation 20:6).
Note: We, the Saints, will be members of God's own Family (1 John 3:1-3, 1 Corinthians 15:35-58, Romans 8:12-17). Therefore, the Kingdom of God is, in its spiritual sense, the Family of God, its members on the God-plane. And when the time comes in God's plan that all physical humans who will qualify for that Kingdom have qualified and have been born into that Family, then that Kingdom will be only spirit beings who are literal children of God. This is good news. And it is the very same good news ("Gospel") that Jesus Christ brought!
9. Was Jesus' coming and His role as the announcer of the Gospel precisely told by Malachi? (Malachi 3:1). Was Jesus called the Word? (John 1:1-3 ).
Note: Jesus Christ was the messenger who brought -announced -- the good news of the coming Kingdom of God. No wonder He is called "the Word," for He is the communicator of God's great plan to humanity. Yet, the message was not His message. Who’s message was it? (John 12:49-50, 14:24).
10. Did Jesus preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God everywhere He went? (Mark 1:14-15, Matthew 9:35, 24:14). Is the gospel of the kingdom to be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations? Will the end then come?
11. Did Jesus’ disciples preach the same Gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus preached? (Luke 9:1-2, 10:1-2, 9, Acts 8:12, 20:25, 28:30-31, Matthew 24:14). Did the apostles preached the Gospel of the Kingdom to Jews and gentiles alike? (Acts 10:34-38).
Note: Jesus’ apostles were not confused about the message. They prefaced their preaching with the explanation that Jesus Christ was the Messiah -- the "Messenger of the covenant" who was expected (Malachi 3:1-3) -- and they used the unanswerable reality of the resurrection to prove it.
12. Did the apostle Paul proclaim the Gospel? (1 Corinthians 15:1). Did salvation come through the Gospel that Paul preached? (Verse 2). Did part of this Gospel message include the fact that Christ died for our sins? (Verse 3). And was buried, and He rose and was resurrected on the third day according to the Scriptures?" (Verse 4, Matthew 12:40).
In Conclusion: For the few whom God is calling now, the Gospel message includes not merely the announcement of the Kingdom of God, but the details of salvation and of how one can enter and be born into that glorious Kingdom in the first and better resurrection (1 Corinthians 15 and Hebrews 11).
Scriptures
1.)(Mark 1:14-15) Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, {15} and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
(Matthew 4:23 KJV) "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people."
(Matthew 9:35 KJV) "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people."
(Mark 16:15) And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
(Matthew 28:19-20 KJV) "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: {20} Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
2.) (Galatians 1:8-9) But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. {9} As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
3.)
4.) (Daniel 2:44-45) "And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. {45} "Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure."
(Isaiah 9:6-7) For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. {7} Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
5.) (Isaiah 11:1-10) There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. {2} The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. {3} His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; {4} But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. {5} Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist. {6} "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. {7} The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. {8} The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. {9} They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. {10} "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious."
6.) (Micah 4:1-5) Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. {2} Many nations shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. {3} He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more. {4} But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. {5} For all people walk each in the name of his god, But we will walk in the name of the LORD our God Forever and ever.
7.) (Revelation 3:21) "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
8.) (Revelation 5:10) And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth."
(Revelation 20:6) Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
(1 John 3:1-3) Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. {2} Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. {3} And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
(1 Corinthians 15:35-58) But someone will say, "How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?" {36} Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. {37} And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain; perhaps wheat or some other grain. {38} But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. {39} All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. {40} There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. {41} There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. {42} So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. {43} It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. {44} It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. {45} And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. {46} However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. {47} The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. {48} As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. {49} And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
{50} Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. {51} Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; {52} in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. {53} For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. {54} So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." {55} "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" {56} The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. {57} But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. {58} Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
(Romans 8:12-17) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors; not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. {13} For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. {14} For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. {15} For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." {16} The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, {17} and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
9.) (Malachi 3:1). "Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me [this role was fulfilled by John the Baptist]. And the Lord [Christ], whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant [i.e., the bringer of the Gospel -- the good news], in whom you delight"
(John 1:1-3) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. {2} He was in the beginning with God. {3} All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
(John 12:49-50) "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. {50} "And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."
(John 14:24) "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.
10.) (Mark 1:14-15) Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, {15} and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
(Matthew 9:35) Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
(Matthew 24:14) "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
11.) (Luke 9:1-2) Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. {2} He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
(Luke 10:1-2) After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. {2} Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
(Luke 10:9) "And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'
(Acts 8:12) But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.
(Acts 20:25) "And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.
(Acts 28:30-31) Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, {31} preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.
(Matthew 24:14) "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
(Malachi 3:1-3 KJV) "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. {2} But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: {3} And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness."
(Acts 10:34-38) Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. {35} "But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. {36} "The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ; He is Lord of all; {37} "that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: {38} "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him
12. The Resurrection of Christ
(1 Corinthians 15:1-4) "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, {2} by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you; unless you believed in vain. {3} For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, {4} and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."
(Matthew 12:40) ""For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."