What is the Gospel?

[TriuneUnity]

Let’s put Paul aside for the moment, shall we?

Rather, let us focus strictly on the words of Christ (just pretend you are an early Christian who has never, ever even heard of Paul!). Let’s simply have the “pure gospel” as it comes from Christ alone.

Now again: where and when does Christ, in preaching the gospel to the multitudes, ever speak, for example, of his ‘dying for our sins’?

My reason for quoting Paul was his statement than he received the gospel… meaning that his teaching on the gospel was given to him by Christ directly. As for Christ speaking to the multitudes, his death and resurrection was primarily preached to his disciples. Though later, he begins to proclaim it to the scribes and pharisees. He references it in several parables to the crowds. You are right, in that Christ focuses heavily on the kingdom of God drawing near or being at hand… However, this kingdom is inaugurated through his death and especially triumphant resurrection and ascension to God’s right hand.

 

[One_in_Christ_1]

But specifically, where?

So none of the Christians understood the gospel of Christ prior to Paul’s conversion???

The gospel was foreshadowed and preached throughout the Old Testament.

Galatians 3:8
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”

Genesis 15
And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

The OT points to Jesus Christ according to Jesus Himself.

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

 

[One_in_Christ_1]

Let’s put Paul aside for the moment, shall we?

Rather, let us focus strictly on the words of Christ (just pretend you are an early Christian who has never, ever even heard of Paul!). Let’s simply have the “pure gospel” as it comes from Christ alone.

Now again: where and when does Christ, in preaching the gospel to the multitudes, ever speak, for example, of his ‘dying for our sins’?

Isaiah 53

53:1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? [1]
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected [2] by men;
a man of sorrows, [3] and acquainted with [4] grief; [5]
and as one from whom men hide their faces [6]
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief; [7]
when his soul makes [8] an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see [9] and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, [10]
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, [11]
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

 

[raumzeitmc2]

My reason for quoting Paul was his statement than he received the gospel… meaning that his teaching on the gospel was given to him by Christ directly.

And I agree with you. As St. Paul says,

“I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:11-12

I might just note here that Paul says he “received” the faith; he did not arrive at it through “bible study,” “private interpretation” or any other man-made means. In other words, not by works! That ought to be the pattern of all who call themselves Christians. That is what is meant by tradition i.e., something received, and then handed down.

As for Christ speaking to the multitudes, his death and resurrection was primarily preached to his disciples. Though later, he begins to proclaim it to the scribes and pharisees.

And yet none of these understood him! Certainly they had no concept of a Messiah who would die for men’s sins i. e., “the gospel!”

He references it in several parables to the crowds.

And again, they simply could not grasp his meaning! At any rate, I think we agree: Christ never explicitly speaks of dying for the sins of men when preaching the gospel.

You are right, in that Christ focuses heavily on the kingdom of God drawing near or being at hand… However, this kingdom is inaugurated through his death and especially triumphant resurrection and ascension to God’s right hand.

And of course this kingdom of God is Christ’s Mystical Body (M.B.), his Church. Indeed, it is Christ! And because the M.B. is Christ, it must therefore be a continuation of both the Incarnation and the work of the Redemption.

Cyril’s immediate object was, of course, quite different from that of Augustine. The former’s whole purpose was t defend the unity of Christ against Nestorius. But all the Christian dogmas are very intimately linked together, and the relation between the dogma of grace and the dogma of the Incarnation is the closes of all. Both express the same necessity for union of God and man in the work of salvation: the dogma of Christology is concerned with the union of the human and divine natures which is necessary in order to give us our Saviour, whereas the dogma of grace treats of that union of human effort with divine grace which is necessary for every salutary act.

Thus, guided by the same Spirit in quest of the same truth, yet each intent upon the development of his own doctrine, the Doctor of the Incarnation and the Doctor of Grace unite in a common teaching, which represents Christianity as the Incarnation, extended by means of grace to the whole “body” of Christ.

“Augustine and Pelagianism” in The Whole Christ, Emile Mersch, pp. 408-409.

And:

The history of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, reproduces the very history of Saviour. In the words of Pius X:

“Must not the Church become daily more like Christ? Must she not become the living image of Him who bore so much and such bitter suffering”? 21

Not only the Incarnation, but the Redemption as well is being continued in the Church. This doctrine, which has the authority of all Tradition behind it, has been expressed, like that of the Church as the Mystical Body, in the documents drawn up in preparation for the Vatican Council. The proposed decrees De doctrina christiana, which were submitted to the Fathers, gives the union of the members with the Head as the reason why Christ’s satisfaction is one with the satisfactory works of Christians.

Ibid, p. p. 569.

The gospel was foreshadowed and preached throughout the Old Testament.

True, but no 1st century Jew understood “the gospel” in the sense of savior who dies for men’s sins!

 

[TriuneUnity]

And I agree with you. As St. Paul says,

“I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:11-12

I might just note here that Paul says he “received” the faith; he did not arrive at it through “bible study,” “private interpretation” or any other man-made means. In other words, not by works! That ought to be the pattern of all who call themselves Christians. That is what is meant by tradition i.e., something received, and then handed down.

And yet none of these understood him! Certainly they had no concept of a Messiah who would die for men’s sins i. e., “the gospel!”

And again, they simply could not grasp his meaning! At any rate, I think we agree: Christ never explicitly speaks of dying for the sins of men when preaching the gospel.

And of course this kingdom of God is Christ’s Mystical Body (M.B.), his Church. Indeed, it is Christ! And because the M.B. is Christ, it must therefore be a continuation of both the Incarnation and the work of the Redemption.

I don’t disagree with much of anything you’ve posted here, raum. I think it’s on the money. The gospel is a stumbling block to Jews, who were expecting a triumphant, earthly Messiah, and foolishness to Greeks because they could not conceive of a gospel wherein the glory of God is revealed in His dying on a cross. Jesus hid the gospel in parables as a form of judgment. He revealed to those whom He chose, who were his disciples, who then clearly proclaimed the message once the Spirit fell on the Church at Pentecost, and led them into the Truth.

 

[raumzeitmc2]

I don’t disagree with much of anything you’ve posted here, raum. I think it’s on the money. The gospel is a stumbling block to Jews, who were expecting a triumphant, earthly Messiah, and foolishness to Greeks because they could not conceive of a gospel wherein the glory of God is revealed in His dying on a cross. Jesus hid the gospel in parables as a form of judgment. He revealed to those whom He chose, who were his disciples, who then clearly proclaimed the message once the Spirit fell on the Church at Pentecost, and led them into the Truth.

And God bless you too, Tri!

Later, my friend.

 

[julieandrews]

The gospel is the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that provides full and free deliverance from the power and penalty of sin according to the grace of God alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Why is this such wonderful news?
You and everyone else have been born with a fatal condition. This condition is called sin. Why is this condition so serious? Because God is sinless and hates sin, for sin is rebellion against His perfect and righteous standard. And your sinful actions makes you an enemy of God (Romans 3:23; James 4:4). God made man imperishable, in His own image (Genesis 1:27). He made man so that he may have continual fellowship with Him. But when sin came, the intimate fellowship between man and God changed.

DUI Attorney

 

[asmrbd]

Hello raumzeitmc2,

The Gospel is the Good News. The good news is that the Savior, God in flesh came to die for our sins. we received that which we do not deserve, grace and did not receive what we deserve, hell. The good news was not complete until he died and rose again, defeating death.

2Ti 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
The whole Bible is Good News and points to him alone. 1 Cor describes the gospel, and that is the word of God.

It says he preached the gospel of the Kingdom. A heavenly kingdom, not an earthly one.
It does not give details. His death and ressurection are major distinctives of Christianity.

Jesus mentioned publically many times he would die and be raised again.

1. In a parable of the servants being sent and lastly the master, they and the master were all killed. This referred to the prophets of Israel, followed by Jesus.
2. He said this temple, his body will be destroyed and raised again in three days. He referenced Jonah, three days and three nights.

John

 

[ralphinal]

Easy with that TU. Much of it looks Catholic

 

[asmrbd]

Hi,

What is TU?

Thanks,
John

 

[TriuneUnity]

Easy with that TU. Much of it looks Catholic

Pffft…

 

[ralphinal]

Hi,

What is TU?

Thanks,
John

TrinueUnity’s initials

 

[raumzeitmc2]

The whole Bible is Good News and points to him alone.

Not to “him alone,” but to the “whole Christ,” Head *and *members!

From Fr. Mersch’s work, The Whole Christ.

Augustine himself gives us no information on this matter of literary dependence. The only source which he mentions are the writings of a certain Ticonius, of whom we must say a few words here.

Ticonius was a peculiar individual. Though a Donatist, he was less bitter that the others; he was fair-minded enough to acknowledge publicly the justice of the Catholic claims on certain points, and was finally excommunicated by his own co-religionists. Even then, however, he remained in schism, and in his place of retirement wrote several famous treatises. One of theses was the Book of the Seven Rules, which will occupy our attention for a few moments.

The Seven Rules are seven exegetical methods, seven keys, by means of which, the author asserts, one can determine the meaning of the most difficult passages of Scripture. The first, entitled Of the Lord and of His Body, is the method of which we have been speaking.

Ticonius observes that the Scriptures refer to Christ and to the faithful indiscriminately. It is left to the exegete to distinguish the two.

Then he cites numerous instances of this complication of the thought in the Holy Books, and illustrates how the distinction is to be made. For example, Christ tells us in the Gospel that the Son of man will return very soon. In reality there is question here of the birth of the Church; in the same breath and without distinction, the Saviour speaks of Himself and of His ‘body.’ Ticonius explains:

We may say that the whole Church is the Son of man, since the Church, that is, the children of God assembled in one body, is said to be the Son of God, one man, and even God, according to the words of the Apostles: “against all that is called God or is venerated” (2 Thess. 2:4). What is here called God, is the Church. 14

Augustine had the Seven Rules in his possession at the beginning of his episcopate. It is known that during this period he wrote sever letters to Aurelius, bishop of Carthage, asking his opinion of the book. Again, in the first edition of De doctrina christiana he breaks off at the very point where in the completed work he explains the Rules.

Though he gives no express approbation of the Rules during the next quarter century, he clearly shows himself favorably inclined toward them. They guide him in De genesi ad litteram, written between 400 and 415; then in 419 he cites them and makes use of them in Quaestiones in Heptateuchum.

At last, in 426, when he come to complete the work De doctrina christiana, he takes a definite stand. Beyond a word of caution that the author is a schismatic, and a remark to the effect the Rules are not quite so all-sufficient as they claim to be, he gives them his full approval. They are of great assistance, he says, in understanding Scripture. He then quotes the Rules and explains each in a separate chapter for the benefit of the faithful.

pp. 417-418.

Note 14, p. 593: Ticonius, Regulae, P. L, Vol. 18, 18.

Referencing Augustine (pp. 424-425):

In this one man the Saviour continues His Passion, just as in him He prolongs His prayer. The blood of the Agony still flows through the wounds of the martyrs.

The Apostle says: ‘I make up in my flesh what is lacking to the suffering of Christ’ (Col. 1:24). ‘I make up,’ he tells us, ‘not what is lacking to my sufferings, but what is lacking to the sufferings of Christ; not in Christ’s flesh, but in mine. Christ is still suffering , not in His own flesh which He took with Him into heaven, but in my flesh, which is still suffering on earth.’ 37

Yet these suffering remain Christ’s sufferings. The sole difference ist that when His suffering pass into the Church they take on, so to speak, a catholic extension. ‘You all kill Me,’ says the Psalm (Ps. 61:4).

What does the Scripture mean when it tells us of the body of one man so extended in space that all can kill him? We must understand these words of ourselves, of our Church, of the body of Christ. For Jesus Christ is one man, having a Head and a body. The Saviour of the body and members of the body are two in one flesh, and in one voice, and in one passion, and, when iniquity shall have passed away, in one repose.

And so the passion of Christ is not in Christ alone; and yet the passion of Christ is in Christ alone.

For if in Christ you consider both the Head and the body, the Christ’s passion is in Christ alone; but if by Christ you mean only the Head, the Christ’s passion is not in Christ alone. …

Hence if you are in the member of Christ, all you who hear me, and even you who hear me not (though you do hear me, if you are untied with the member of Christ), whatever you suffer at the hands of those who are not among the members of Christ, was lacking to the suffering of Christ.

It was added precisely of because it was lacking. You fill up the measure; you do not cause it to overflow.

You will suffer just so much as must be added of your suffering to the complete passion of Christ, who suffered as our Head and who continues still to suffer in His members, that is, in us. Into this common treasury each pays what he owes, and according to each one’s ability we all contribute our share of suffering. The full measure of the Passion will not be attained until the end of the world. 38