The Simple Answers… To Life’s Most Important Questions.
Bible Study Course Lesson 2 – 1
Could you tell me, in ten words or less, WHAT the gospel IS? Not what books talk about it (“the gospels”), nor who brought it (“Jesus”), but WHAT it actually IS? Do you really know – and if you have an answer, can you prove it from the Bible? Gospel is a word which means literally “good news”. It’s not a fancy religious term, it simply means a happy announcement. When a couple gets married or has a baby their announcement is, literally, gospel! It is good news they are sharing with their friends! So the gospel of God is simply GOOD NEWS about something. But what? Mark 1:14-15. The gospel is the good news about the KINGDOM of God! The good news about God’s Kingdom coming to rule this Earth! (Matthew 6:10).
Is the good news about Jesus, or is it about something else? Matthew 4:23. So whose Gospel is it? 2 Corinthians 2:12. Is it Jesus’ gospel, or His Father’s gospel? John 12:49. Is it a gospel about Christ, or a gospel OF Christ, FROM Christ? 2 Corinthians 4:4. The world believes that the gospel was about Christ – that the good news was about Him! But He said that wasn’t true! It was a gospel He brought, it was His good news to tell, but the subject of the good news was His Father’s Kingdom!
Why did Jesus come? John 1:18. Where did Jesus get His information? Luke 10:22. Jesus’ gospel wasn’t about Himself! HE didn’t talk about Himself! All the things He said were about the FATHER. It was to reveal the FATHER that Jesus came! Not His own gospel, or the gospel of His OWN Kingdom, but the gospel of His FATHER’S KINGDOM.
What was the goal of Jesus’ gospel – to get people to believe in Him? John 5:24. When someone confesses Jesus is Lord, is it for Jesus’ glory? Philippians 2:11. Did Jesus come to do His own will? John 5:30. Did He seek His own glory? John 8:50.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Jesus came to announce the Kingdom of His Father, the good news that the Earth was going to be ruled by a better King than the one now ruling it (John 12:31). So we know what the gospel is now – the good news that the Kingdom of God is coming. But that just raises another question – what IS the Kingdom of God? Most believe it was something “set up in men’s hearts”; others believe it is the church; others believe it is something that we’ll create by ourselves on this Earth when we “all love one another”.
Do you really care what a bunch of men think it might be when you can plainly read in your Bible what it will be? The world believes the kingdom is a spiritual, invisible, hard-to-pin-down metaphor. So is it a spiritual kingdom… or a real, visible, literal kingdom? The answer is found in Daniel. The story begins in Daniel 2:1, and continues through the chapter. But for this question, the key verses start in Daniel 2:37-38. Nebuchadnezzar was the head of this statue; a KING of KINGS, RULER of all the Earth. Notice that he was a LITERAL head of a LITERAL empire!
With POWER, strength, and GLORY, literally ruling over all kingdoms, peoples, animals, and birds. Surely no one would claim that Nebuchadnezzar was king over men’s hearts! Or that he headed a SPIRITUAL kingdom! No, it is plain that he was a literal ruler over a literal, earthly kingdom, making laws, executing judgments, and all the things a king does on Earth. Daniel says that after Nebuchadnezzar there would be three other kingdoms – these are still literal, earthly, human kingdoms (Daniel 2:39-44), corresponding to Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome. But then in verse 44, Daniel reveals in the days of the final ten divisions of the fourth kingdom, God will set up a NEW kingdom – one that “shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms”! Notice that wording! First, God’s Kingdom breaks in pieces – it destroys – the POWER of these kingdoms. Then it CONSUMES them! It absorbs them into itself once they are broken! This Kingdom then FILLS THE EARTH (Daniel 2:35).
Notice this new kingdom God sets up doesn’t fill HEAVEN. It fills the EARTH. It first crushes, then absorbs, the KINGDOMS of this Earth! Because it is a kingdom FROM heaven, not a kingdom IN heaven! Now read Revelation 11:15. In that specific day – at the second coming of Christ – the kingdoms of this world BECOME the kingdoms of Christ; which is why He is KING OF KINGS! Because these other kings over these other kingdoms will be subservient to HIM in His PHYSICAL, LITERAL, kingdom! Read Daniel 7:27. Notice this Kingdom is UNDER the whole heaven; not IN heaven, but UNDER heaven – on the EARTH! This is why Revelation 5:10 says we shall reign on the EARTH – because God is going to set up His Kingdom here, ON THE EARTH. Not in the hearts of men!
His Kingdom will be a literal kingdom, just as Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander and Caesar were literal kings, ruling literal people – the difference is, the rulers will be the saints of the first resurrection who care for the people, not for themselves!
A BETTER KINGDOM
Read Hebrews 11:8-17. Notice in verse 8 how impressed God is that Abraham simply OBEYED and went to the place that “he would afterwards receive for an inheritance”. Living there, as did Isaac and Jacob who were heirs with him of the SAME promise (verse 9). Verse 10 says Abraham wasn’t satisfied with any of the kingdoms on this Earth. Instead, he confessed he was looking for another country – one whose maker, builder, and King is God. He spent his time on this Earth as a refugee – someone who has fled the countries of this world, but not yet found a country where he can belong – the Kingdom of God.
When Jesus was here, was He here as a King? John 18:36. He made Himself “of no reputation”, adopting “the nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:7-8). He asked no more of Abraham than He did of Himself – to be a “stranger in a land not his” (Genesis 15:13). The same thing He expects of us! Go back and read the parable in Luke 19:11-27. Then read the similar parable in Matthew 25:14-34. Jesus compares the situation to a man (Himself) going into a far country (heaven) to RECEIVE a kingdom (Luke 19:12). He hasn’t yet received His Kingdom! And therefore, neither have we!
When He RETURNS (verse 15), after RECEIVING the kingdom, He will come in glory (Matthew 25:31) – as a King, at His second coming! He says this happens after a “long time” (verse 19), and when He comes, His REWARD is with Him! (Revelation 22:12). What is our promise? 1 John 2:25. How do we receive eternal life – is it given to us now, or must we INHERIT it? Luke 10:25. Can we inherit it now, or is it in the FUTURE that we shall be heirs?
Hebrews 1:14. What exactly are we going to inherit – besides eternal life? Matthew 25:34. So the inheritance is yet future – and the inheritance is eternal life in the KINGDOM OF GOD! This is the GOSPEL! And this is why the scripture said “life and immortality” are brought “to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10) – this is what the gospel is all about! We now have access to the promise of eternal life and an eternal inheritance of the Earth! (Matthew 5:5). But for today, we await an inheritance which is “reserved in heaven” (1 Peter 1:4). The inheritance is STORED there – but the inheritance will be brought by Jesus when He comes back, because He said “my reward is with me” (Revelation 22:12).
But is this inheritance conditional? Galatians 5:21. Who will not inherit the kingdom of God? 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Does such a person have ANY inheritance with God? Ephesians 5:5. But why do we have this inheritance – an inheritance comes from a dead ancestor, so from whom are we inheriting it? Romans 8:17. So we are heirs to the SAME inheritance as Jesus Christ – and where does His inheritance come from? Hebrews 1:1-2. And, through Christ, do we become literal sons of God – and therefore, heirs just as He is an heir? Galatians 4:7.
These are powerful scriptures, but they ARE scriptures! They ARE infallible! You are to receive a portion of the SAME inheritance Jesus Christ received! But why you? Why me? WHO will have a portion in this inheritance? James 2:5. Notice that word PROMISE used there; that is the key! This inheritance was promised to them that love Him; those “rich in faith”. But WHEN was it promised? Who was the first person to receive this promise? Galatians 3:18.
THE PROMISE TO ABRAHAM
Do we receive the thing promised immediately? Hebrews 6:12. Did Abraham receive it immediately? Hebrews 6:13-15. But did receiving the promise of the inheritance mean instantly receiving the inheritance? Or was he just an HEIR to the promise? Hebrews 6:17. It’s time now to go back and read the original promise itself in Genesis 12:1-3. Remember, Abraham was originally called Abram until God changed his name (Genesis 17:5). How did Abraham react to God’s command? Genesis 12:4. The next portion of the promise was made in Genesis 12:7. God again commented on it in Genesis 13:14-17.
Notice that Abraham was in Canaan at the time! This was a LITERAL piece of property being promised to Abraham! The main promise was made in Genesis 15, when the terms were all laid out and the agreement ratified (signed) by both parties. In verse 1 God promises that He (God) would be Abraham’s shield and “exceeding great reward”. Abraham wanted to know how God would give him a reward, since he was old and childless. In Genesis 15:4-7,18 God promised him a son (Isaac). In verse 5 He promised him millions of offspring. Then the key – verse 6. Abraham BELIEVED God, he had FAITH, and God counted that faith for righteousness! Paul talks about that a great deal, which we’ll get to in a moment. Verse 7 finally gets to the real POINT of all this; the inheritance was LAND. Land on the Earth! In verse 18 God makes a COVENANT with Abraham. God had made verbal promises, but this was the first BINDING CONTRACT God made with him! This was a covenant of FAITH, one which God made with Abraham because he “believed God”. One God ratified by passing between the pieces of the sacrifice (Genesis 15:17) and accepting it.
The terms of the covenant were simple; because Abraham believed God, God would give him the land from the Nile to the Euphrates – most of the Middle East – as a literal inheritance. But he wasn’t going to inherit it in this lifetime! Speaking of Abraham, the Bible says he “died in faith, NOT having received the promises, but having seen them afar off” (Hebrews 11:13). That is, he only received the PROMISE, but not the THING PROMISED. He still hasn’t received it! But he died in FAITH, believing he WOULD receive the promise – the inheritance of the Kingdom of God!
HEIRS OF ABRAHAM
Was the promise made to Abraham alone? Acts 7:5. Who is the “seed” of Abraham to whom these promises were made? Genesis 26:1-4. God was speaking to Isaac there – why did Isaac inherit these promises? Genesis 26:5. Was the same promise made to Isaac’s “seed” – his children – as well? Genesis 35:9, 12. Because of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God gave His promises to all the children of Israel (Romans 9:4). The adoption into the family of God was their birthright – it belonged to THEM. As Jesus said, “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). Paul said there was much advantage in being a Jew (Romans 3:1-2). To inherit the blessings of Abraham, you must be an Israelite. But Paul prefaced the above statement by saying the TRUE Jews are Jews in the spirit, not the flesh! (Romans 2:28-29). What does that mean? What does it mean to be a “spiritual Jew”?
To whom belong these promises? Romans 9:4. Why do they belong to them? Romans 9:5. But can they be accessed by anyone else? Romans 9:6. Are ALL the children of Abraham entitled to this inheritance? Romans 9:7. Why did Abraham receive these promises? Romans 4:1-5. The reward promised to Abraham in Genesis 15 was promised fifteen years before Abraham was circumcised; 430 years before the law of Moses was written. It was a reward based on faith, and grace, and not the works of Moses’ law. Remember the lessons on grace and faith; Abraham believed that God existed, that God rewarded those who obeyed Him, and that he was obeying Him. Because he was obeying God in every way he knew how, he had complete faith; so God overlooked his sins of ignorance through grace, because of his faith! And promised to do the same for his children!
Now read Romans 4:6-9. Abraham received this blessedness – this grace to overlook his sins, AND the promises – without being circumcised. Why? Read Romans 4:11. Abraham received this blessing without being circumcised SO THAT he could be the FATHER of ALL THAT BELIEVE. Notice that! Abraham is the father of anyone and everyone who has true faith in God! Whether you carry Abraham’s blood or not, if you have the faith that Abraham had, you can be a child of Abraham! (Romans 4:12-13) You aren’t his physical child. Your body is not patterned after his, not built with his DNA. But you can still be a SPIRITUAL child, with your SOUL patterned after his, built with FAITH like his!
This was not a promise made through the law of Moses, this was a promise made possible only through faith! Romans 4:14 says if it was a promise of the law, then the promise of faith is meaningless – in other words, if children of Abraham inherited his promises no matter what, whether or not they acted faithfully, then faith has no meaning! So God gave the promise to Abraham WITHOUT the works of the law of Moses, through FAITH – faith built on his obedience (Genesis 26:5). So that the inheritance could be passed on to his descendants on the condition that they have faith as well! Romans 4:16.
INHERITANCE BY LAW OR GRACE?
Let’s say you had spent your life building a city, caring for and protecting the people in it. And as you got old, you wanted to make sure your successor took care of what you’d built with your life (Ecclesiastes 2:18-21). So you have to choose among your sons who shall be your successor. The eldest has the right, by law, to rule. Yet he is a fool. But you are the king. You make the laws based on what’s best for your people! So do you make the inheritance by law, by the son who is first in line… or do you make it by faith, by the son who is most likely to love your people?
And what if all your sons are fools? Do you care more for them, or for the thousands of people who trust in your leadership? So do you make the inheritance by law, and choose the son who is least evil… or do you make an honorable general your heir? Adopting him into your family by grace because of his faith in the principles you live by? Abraham’s children rejected God, and sought to kill Jesus – something their father did not do! (John 8:40). If they were children Abraham would be proud of, what would they do? John 8:39,56. What do spiritual daughters of Sarah (his wife) do? 1 Peter 3:6.The promises of God are given by faith, not by genetics, so that the Kingdom of God can be given to the spiritual child of Abraham IF he would be more proud of you than of his literal children! And you are the spiritual child of Abraham, Gentile or not, IF YOU BELIEVE as Abraham believed! Romans 4:20-24.
Under the law, could Gentiles receive this inheritance? Ephesians 2:11-12. In the PAST – that is before Christ – you WERE strangers from the covenant of promise! The promise made to Abraham could not apply to you! But Ephesians 2:13 shows that is no longer the case! And Ephesians 2:19 makes it clear you are no longer STRANGERS to that covenant, but fellow-citizens with the Israelites! How did the coming of Christ make it possible for Gentiles to inherit these promises? Galatians 3:29. Even Greeks and Gentiles and women can become part of the covenant? Galatians 3:28. How? Galatians 3:26.
Jew, Gentile, man, woman, it doesn’t matter as long as you have faith; that faith then will entitle you to be an heir with Abraham “according to the promise” – not an heir to a different promise than was given to Israel, but a part of the VERY SAME PROMISE!
BEING PART OF THAT PROMISE
If you were a literal son of Abraham, does it mean you automatically inherit the blessings? Romans 9:4-7. To inherit Abraham’s estate, you must act like Abraham – be in his image AND in his likeness! (the same pattern as Genesis 1:26!) Paul proves this by showing that Ishmael, Abraham’s other son, did not receive the blessings God gave to Isaac. Isaac was the child born because of Abraham’s faith in Genesis 15:5-6, so he was called the “child of promise”, or the “child of God” (Romans 9:7-8), a title which Paul says we share (Galatians 4:28). Us, the spiritual children of Abraham!
On the other hand, Ishmael was born because Abraham and Sarah doubted God, so Paul calls him the “child of the flesh” (Romans 9:8-9). Which Paul says applied to the literal Israelites, those whose inheritance was expected under the law. Isaac also had two sons, only one of which received the promises (Romans 9:10-13), and for the same reason. Jacob had faith, and Esau didn’t, and the son with faith inherited the promises. But did Jacob’s children, the nation of Israel, have faith in the gospel? Hebrews 4:3.
Paul uses these examples to prove that just because you’re born an Israelite, doesn’t mean you’ll receive the promise; and just because you’re born a Gentile, doesn’t mean you can’t receive the promise. Paul cites more examples of this later, in Romans 9:25-26, 30-31. Why did Israel fall away? Romans 9:32-33. Because they lacked faith, they didn’t recognize Jesus when He came, in fact they killed Him. So naturally they didn’t get the reward expected by the law of inheritance – they disqualified themselves so He wrote them out of the will! On the other hand, the Gentiles did recognize and accept Him, and they will get the reward originally promised to the Jews who rejected Him. Jesus Himself said this in Matthew 8:11-12; these “many” that come from the “east and west” are Gentiles, and they will be sitting down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom; but many of the CHILDREN of the Kingdom – the Jews standing there, who rejected Him – will be “cast out”, because the promise is not of the law, but of FAITH!
So if anyone, Jew or Gentile, has faith in Jesus and believes this gospel, they can be saved, and adopted into the family of Abraham! And yet if anyone, Jew or Gentile, rejects Jesus – or accepts Him with their lips, but doesn’t show faith to back it up – they will find themselves “cast out”. Does this mean God has given up on Israel altogether? Romans 11:1-2. Did Israel obtain what it was seeking (the promise given to Abraham)? Romans 11:7. Who did? (Same verse). Who is this “election”? Romans 11:11. Why did Israel fall away – so the Gentiles could be “elected” (chosen) instead? Romans 11:12,14.
And now in Romans 11:16, Paul launches into a simple parable; the olive tree is Israel. The wild olive tree is the Gentiles. And each person is a branch of one of those trees. Now read Romans 11:17-24. Many in Israel were “broken off” of their natural tree because of unbelief (verse 20). They won’t receive the inheritance to which their birth entitled them, because they didn’t act like Abraham! On the other hand, through FAITH, the Gentiles can be grafted into the natural olive tree in their place, and partake of the ROOT (Jesus, see Revelation 5:5) and fatness (promises/inheritance) of the natural olive tree (the house of Israel). The trunk of this tree, to keep with the analogy, would be Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Most fruit today grows on trees that are grafted; and once the grafting happens, it is as much a part of the tree as any of the native branches. It shares sap and grows fruit and gives back energy gathered through the leaves just like any other branch. So you, if you have faith, can be grafted on to the same olive tree as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! And if a part of the true church of God, then regardless of color, gender, or nationality, YOU ARE AN ISRAELITE! It’s very important you understand these principles because YOU ARE NOT A GENTILE anymore! Because “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Christianity is not a Gentile religion! It is STILL a Hebrew religion! Still a religion of Abraham’s descendants! If you are not a child of Abraham, YOU WILL NOT BE SAVED!
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
If you’re a Gentile, then in times past you were unable to access this covenant of promise, but the GOOD NEWS Jesus brought is that NOW, even if you aren’t Israelite by birth, you can become one by faith! Faith CONVERTS you into an Israelite and places you into the family of Abraham – and by extension, into the Family of God, and makes you a part of the Kingdom of God. You are given the SAME promises and the SAME reward as the Israelites. That is the gospel! (Ephesians 3:6). Read Galatians 3:7-9. Did you notice verse 8? The gospel was preached to ABRAHAM! 2,000 years before Christ! And the gospel preached to Abraham was “in you shall all nations be blessed” because through adoption into his lineage, all nations would have access to Christ! No wonder it is called GOOD NEWS! It means that now ANYONE, of any color, any nation, male or female, can now have access to what was once a VERY exclusive promise made only to the firstborn male children of Abraham!
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