Our reading this morning from
II Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians 4, verses 1-5 for
our text today. My subject this morning is the
glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The glorious gospel,
or subtitle it, A Short Summation of the Gospel. We'll be looking
at many passages today. We'll begin with 2 Corinthians
4, verses 1-5. As we look at this subject, we
wonder exactly where we might put our vessels in, in this great
body or great ocean of truth that has neither bank or bottom,
as an old Puritan used to say, There are many places where we
could put our vessel in this great lake of truth. And again,
I'll say before we read, that there are many in our generation,
many who go to church and have done so for quite a while, been
faithful in church, and this may sound presumptuous, but have
never heard the gospel. Then there are others that have
heard the gospel with their ear, but not with their heart or their
mind or their understanding. So this morning we want to look
at a short summation of the gospel, the glorious gospel, 2 Corinthians
4, and verse 1 through 5. Therefore, seeing we have this
ministry as we have received mercy, we faint not, but have
renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness
nor handling the Word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation
of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in
the sight of God. Now Paul says, I've received
a ministry and received the gospel. But verse 3, if our gospel be
hid, it is hid to them that are lost. One in whom the God of
this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves,
but Jesus Christ the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus'
sake. Now in verse 4 you have the statement,
the glorious gospel of Christ. I feel this morning somewhat
like an old-time preacher from the 17th century, who took up
his pen to write an article, and the first words that he wrote
were these, Oh my soul, what is that subject which thou art
about to contemplate? End of quotation. Now, from such
a sentiment as that, it would seem that two feelings there
were that rushed concurrently through the mind of that creature. Number one, the depth and the
breadth of the subject that was before him that was to be considered. And then number two, his own
feeling of inadequacy as a mere mortal, that he might fathom
the great mystery of the deep things of God. And with that
in mind, I say, and what is this subject that we have before us
this morning? It is a prominent subject in
the New Testament Scripture. You'll find it very, very prominent
there. It's called the gospel of God
in Romans chapter 1 and verse 1. It is called the gospel of
Christ in Romans chapter 15 and verse 19. It is even called the
gospel of your or our salvation in Ephesians 1 and verse 13.
It is called the gospel of the grace of God in Acts chapter
20 and verse 24. It is here called the glorious
gospel as well as in 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 11. Now,
I did a quick count in the concordance, and it shows that this word gospel
is summed 100 times in the New Testament scripture. At least
100 times it is mentioned, and that in 18 books of the New Testament
say something about the gospel. Most of them, of course, are
from the Apostle Paul, which is not a surprise to those who
know the calling and the ministry of the Apostle, for he claims
to have been separated unto the Gospel. Romans chapter 1 and
verse 1. Christ calls him in Acts 9.15,
a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name. in this place and that. He said in Galatians chapter
1, in recounting his path, that God separated him from his mother's
womb that he might reveal the Son of God in him. Galatians
1.15. Now something else about this
word gospel as it is used by the writers in the New Testament. And that is that the word appears
both as a noun and as a verb. The noun, which refers, as you
remember, to a person or a place or a thing and so forth, is the
word that I would probably butcher if I tried to say it, but it
refers in the noun form to the content of the gospel, the message,
the meaning. And in the biblical sense, it
refers to that message or gospel of the salvation of deliverance
by and through Jesus Christ and the death that He died. that
God has, in the giving of His Son in the death of the cross,
made a way for the saving of sinners from their sin. One expositor referred to it
this way, quote, as God's doctrinal declaration concerning the salvation
of sinners, unquote. And therefore, to which we might
add, and will consider, in all of its particular, in all of
its constituent parts are the maker of the gospel. It has to
do with God's way of saving sinners and of rescuing them from their
misery and their bondage and their enslavement into sin. And then in the verb form, It
is the announcement. It is the making of the declaration. The actual preaching or declaring
of the glad tidings as they are in Jesus Christ. The active setting
forth of the message of the gospel which all centers around the
crucified Christ and his death upon the cross. To preach Christ. Him crucified for the sin and
the guilt of His people. And this as the one and only
way of salvation. So then, when we speak of the
gospel, what do we mean and what are we to literally understand
by the use or the hearing, biblically, of the word or the term gospel
by the hearers of it. Now some writers, as John Gill,
John Brown, two of my favorites, take time to show that the word
gospel is used in various ways in the New Testament. For example,
the first four books of the New Testament are referred to as
gospel. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
And we call them gospel, each one of them giving a history
of the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of the
Son of God. And the word gospel is used in
reference to the gospel administration, rather in contrast to the administration
of the law or the old economy. And you see a long contrast of
that in 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Now sometimes it is summed
up under three heads, the gospel of our Lord, as Paul does in
1 Corinthians 15, verses 1-4. He sums it up, the Gospel, as
the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord God's
Holy One. How that Christ died according
to the Scripture, was buried according to the Scripture, and
was raised again according to the Scripture. Probably, He uses
these three because his subject here is the resurrection of the
dead and God's doctrinal declaration concerning the salvation of men
as we just said. And under these doctrinal declarations
are such things as John Gill mentioned, the doctrine of peace,
the doctrine of pardon, the doctrine of righteousness, the doctrine
of salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ. John Brown called it
the pardon and acceptance of guilty sinners, the purpose of
God according to election, the covenant of grace, Christ as
the mediator, end quote. in His person, in His offices,
and in His state, we therefore see Christ's relationship unto
the Gospel. And, of course, of the bestowing
of the great spiritual blessing, such as justification, adoption,
sanctification. All of these flow through Jesus
Christ and from Jesus Christ unto His people. All of these
fall within the scope of the gospel. When we preach either
one of these, we are preaching the gospel of our Lord. Even Paul writes in Romans 3,
verse 24 through verse 26, that sinners are justified freely
through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, whom God has
set forth a propitiation for the remission of sin to declare
his righteousness in justifying sinners by faith in the Son of
God. So while the gospel may be summed
up, as Paul does, as the death of burial and the resurrection
of Christ, yet we say that everything that has to do with the saving
of the elect may justifiably be reckoned as gospel truth and
part of the gospel of our Lord, part of the good message, part
of the glad tiding. That is, to sum it up, that the
gospel provides everything which sinners lack because of their
depravity, and it covers every transgression of the holy law
of God. providing, as one put it, everything
which the law in every or any form demands of them, freeing
them from the curse of the law, but also fulfilling in them the
righteousness of the law by and through the death of Christ.
Now, before we descend more into the particulars, let us consider
a couple of points to ponder to put into perspective the gospel
as it is treated in most every generation. Number one, let us
remember and let us remember by hearing that what is passed
off today as the gospel and what is often called the gospel and
what the general public and the average churchgoer think of when
they hear the gospel is really, in fact, some form of degree
of perversion of the gospel, making it, according to Paul,
another gospel, which is not another, not the same gospel
that Paul preached unto them, Galatians 1, verse 6 and verse
7. 2 Corinthians 11, and verse 4. He speaks of another gospel,
another Jesus, and another spirit. Now the Jews, for a comparison,
regularly perverted the gospel by seeking to require that it
be joined together with the law in order to salvation. And they
insisted that believing Gentiles submit under circumcision for
the rest or the completion of this salvation. Now, they did
the same thing with the law. They had turned it into a covenant
of works. And so it is today. Such additions
to the gospel as baptism or a particular church or denomination holding
out to the end keeping a certain day, or whatever it might be,
what is held for today as being the gospel, I tell you, is far,
far too popular and is far too well tolerated by the world to
be the true gospel of the grace of God. Ten thousand people in
one place, loving and clapping and rejoicing over the gospel,
not likely. But secondly, there is an inability
in what Owen called the animalus homo, that is, the natural man,
cannot receive, he cannot discern, he cannot know the spiritual
things of God Almighty. Paul is very clear in 1 Corinthians
chapter 2 about that matter. As for an example, take Nicodemus
in John chapter 3. Nicodemus was a lifetime Jew,
a lifetime adherent to Judaism, and was a teacher and ruler of
the law and of others. And yet he could understand a
natural birth, but he could not know a spiritual birth. We know from Scripture there
is a difference from one hearing or having a notional knowledge
of a thing and having a spiritual saving knowledge of that thing. While the first, a notional knowledge,
may somewhat reform the life or somewhat check iniquity in
the life of an individual, yet only a spiritual revelation or
understanding will produce conversion and sanctification in an individual
and genuine fellowship with God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So only and internal work of
the Spirit can set the gospel in a clearer light than either
the natural mind or a great degree of mundane education can accomplish. So our conclusion from all of
that is the gospel message is not popular with the mass of
people when it is presented in its true essence and true nature. Not even with regular church-going
folk. This may again sound far-fetched
and pretentious, but many hold the gospel in contempt. Others
regard the gospel as foolishness and many are satisfied with a
weakened and watered down version that is not the gospel of Christ
at all. Now the gospel is the message
of all that Christ has done and all that Christ is. The gospel is the message of
all that Christ has provided for the salvation and the eternal
blessedness of his people everlastingly. The gospel is this, Jesus Christ
has given His life, has shed His blood for many. In fact, this was the main purpose
of the incarnation, to save His people from their sin. Having
died for them, raised up again from the dead, he ever lives
a mediatorial and an intercessory life at the right hand of God
the Father in heaven. There he is, our advocate. There he is, our intercessor.
There is he, our high priest, applying the sacrifice of himself
made at the cross. Now, some might raise the question,
if the gospel is so glorious. If the gospel is the good news
of a free salvation, if it is the power of God unto salvation,
as Paul said in Romans 1, 16 and 17, then why is it so poorly
received in the world? Why do so many resent it? Why do so few believe it? and cleave unto it in love and
in joy. Let me go back a moment. Remember
the complaint of the prophet Jeremiah found in Isaiah chapter
53 and in verse 1. The prophet complained, Lord,
who hath believed I report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed. Paul cites this in Romans chapter
10 and verse 16 and as proof that not all had believed or
obeyed the gospel and that should not be a surprise in light of
Isaiah 53 and verse 1. For the prophet in that blessed
oracle said that the message of Messiah would be declared
far and wide in the end of chapter 52, that Messiah would be lowly,
that he would be mean in appearance and in pedigree, his visage more
marred than any man," Isaiah 52, 14. And as Calvin understood
the prophet to mean, nobody will believe these things. Who will
believe such a thing? One so marred than any man, one
of lowly origin and not a thing of beauty to the outward eye. Calvin also took these sentiments
as refuting, quote, the ignorance of those who think that faith
is in the power of every person, unquote. We must not think that,
for Paul has taught us differently. How few believed even the Lord
Jesus Christ's very own words when He were here in the flesh. Though many were called, under
the ministry of the apostles in the era, yet many more did
not believe and did not receive the gospel. And they opposed
and they persecuted the apostles for preaching it, being enemies
for the gospel's sake, as Paul said in Romans 11 and verse 28. And now let us come at last to
speak of some of the particular of the several truths which are
concerned in and are considered a part of the gospel. Those things that are a part
of the glad tiding. The good message. The glad tiding. The gospel of salvation. which Calvin defined as, quote,
the promulgation of grace exhibited in the God-man Christ Jesus,
unquote. Promulgation to make known, to
set in motion, to put it in place, that is, to declare the gospel
or to proclaim it. For the gospel is not limited
or restricted at the death, the burial, and the resurrection
of the Lord's Christ. But there are several constituent
or components further that make up the wonderful truth of the
gospel, all of them being part of the good news of Jesus Christ,
which together make up the whole of what we call the gospel. For example, in Luke, the second
chapter, a wonderful event, the incarnation of the Savior. When the fullness of time had
come and Christ was born of a woman, there in the seventh verse, and
the announcement of the angels of God unto some shepherds in
the field." Now notice this, shepherds in the field, not the
kings, not the rulers, not the magistrates, and not the ruling
ecclesiastics of the day. Not the scribes, not the Sanhedrin
was this appearance and announcement made. Sanhedrin. In verse 10
and 11 of Luke chapter 2, Fear not, for behold, I bring you
good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto
you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ
the Lord." Let us not miss the names that are applied unto him. A babe born in Bethlehem. Savior is born, a Savior, a Deliverer. Christ, He is called, Christos,
the Messiah, the Anointed One. And He is also called Lord, Kurios,
the Supreme One, the Governor, the Ruler, the Controller, the
Sovereign One. Thomas Goodwin, a Puritan, made
this point that the Lord is, that is, the Son Christ has indeed
a dual lordship. Now let's think about that for
a moment. Christ, he said, hath a dual
lordship. Number one, he called natural,
absolute, and underrived. How is that? As the second person
in the Godhead, eternally and everlastingly existing in the
Godhead. Very God of God. And this lordship is common to
all of the Holy Three, or the Divine Trinity. Natural lordship. But secondly, Goodwin's headed
here. He had what Goodwin called a
dispensatory lordship. I'll get it right in a minute.
Given by commission and authority from God. for effecting all of
the Father's will. And then we read when He was
raised from the dead in Acts 2, and I believe it's verse 36,
He hath been made Lord and Christ. Thus the good news. The Word
became flesh. It dwelt among us. God was manifest
in the flesh as the God-man in His incarnation. He had not died,
he had not been buried, he had not risen from the dead had he
not become incarnate in a body that God had prepared for him. It was a legitimate part of the
gospel, the incarnation, the good news. Unto you is born this
day a Savior which is Christ the Lord. Paul writes, This is
a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. First Timothy chapter 1 and verse
15. Next of all, consider whether
the doctrine of election be a part of the gospel, the good news,
the glad tidings. Paul is not bashful to tell the
saints of God, the believers, that they owe the blessing of
God's saving grace to their having been chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1 verse 4, He has chosen
us in Him before the foundation of the world. He tells the church
at Thessalonica, 2 Thessalonians 2 and 13 is where you'll find
it, God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. And
he firmly ties the knot between election and the gospel in 1
Corinthians 1, verse 4 and 5. Knowing, brethren, your election
of God, for our gospel came unto you in a special way, Paul geared
his ministry toward the elect. in 2 Timothy 2. And verse 10,
of all that Paul endured, even being stoned to the point of
death, he said, I endure all things for the elect's sake,
that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ
Jesus with eternal glory. Titus 1.1, Paul's apostleship. he said, was according to the
faith of God's elect. The good news is there are some
who are elect. God chose them. Christ died for
them. And in them the Spirit works
regeneration. And in the Spirit's hand, the
gospel becomes the gospel of their salvation. Ephesians 1.13. Quoting from Joseph Hussey, a
preacher and writer from the era about 1700, quote, By preaching
the gospel, the word of God, it is carried home to the elect
of God, Again, preaching the gospel has to do with the elect
of God in order to their conversion answerable to the settlement
of their relationship in Christ. Their election is confirmed by
their calling. Their faith is the faith of God's
elect. And the gospel draws it forth
when it is, shall I say, according to God's sovereign tending of
that individual, and draws that faith out and fixes it firmly
upon Jesus Christ in their conversion. Now, the gospel is the power
of God unto salvation, and Paul said because Therein is revealed
the righteousness of God." Romans 1, 16 and 17. One author, John
Murray, pointed out, it does not mean that it has been disclosed
for human consideration or free will acceptance. That's not what
he means. But as Murray wrote, this righteousness
of God is made manifest in saving effect. That is, in saving sinners. This righteousness revealed in
the Gospel is a saving righteousness. It can only be known in the Gospel,
yes, and that only by a revelation. The Gospel declares it, proclaims
it, that a righteousness is imputed unto the believing elect as seen
in the case of Abraham long ago. And there is just grounds for
God not imputing their sins unto them because, as in Romans 3,
24 and 25, being freely justified by His grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth a perpetuation
through faith in His blood. Now those verses, Romans 3, 24
through 25, let me call your attention. There are three terms
here in this short passage of Scripture, all having a bearing
upon the salvation, and all three of them are declared as part
of the gospel. Looking at it again, you'll see
that the three words are justification, redemption and propitiation in
those verses of Scripture. Let's look at them individually.
Justification, which by the way, is the leading theme of the Roman
epistle. Justification by faith. A justifying righteousness is
the theme of Roman. Though all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God, Romans 3.23, yet are some made righteous. being freely, freely justified. Now, this word justify, justification,
is a forensic term. It's a legal term. It's a term
that has to do with a court of law. It is the passing of a sentence. It is the opposite of condemnation. Condemnation is one. Justification
is another sentence. passed by God. It is not an internal
work in the elect per se, except as it is revealed in the preaching
of the gospel of Christ our Lord. Now justification, Paul makes
clear, is not a result of the works of the law. or personal
behavior. It is not a result of personal
morality. It is not a result of good works.
But as Paul put it, it is by the freeness of the grace of
God, being justified freely by the grace of God. Now, our second
word there is the word redemption. And redemption in the biblical
and in the gospel sense has the meaning to set free from slavery
by the proper and suitable giving of a ransom or the paying of
a price. And the price of ransom is the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said in Matthew 20 and verse
28, in that upper room in the supper with His disciple, the
Son of Man came to give His life a ransom for many. You have it in Ephesians 1 and
verse 7. in whom we have redemption through
his blood, even the forgiveness of sin according to the riches
of his grace. And again, catch this, redemption
is not by might or by overpowering, but is by price strictly as we
look at it. As Gil wrote in his book, The
Body of Divinity, our English word redemption is from the Latin
word meaning to buy, or to buy again, or to buy back. And Gil
noted that in the Greek New Testament several words are used in the
affair of our redemption, which signify the obtaining of something
by the paying of a price. A proper price has been paid,
and that is called a ransom. Thus Paul tells the Corinthians,
you are bought with a price. You'll find that in 1 Corinthians
6, verse 20, and again in chapter 7 and verse 23. Be not the servants
of men, ye are bought with a price. And we are redeemed. We are bought. The ransom is paid. the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider that passage in 1 Peter
1, verses 18 and 19. You are redeemed, not with corruptible
silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the Lamb without
spot and without blemish. Now you go back to the Old Testament,
you study the various redemptions that were practiced under the
Mosaic law or economy, and I think you'll find that in each case
redemption was by the paying of a price. One paid off his
brother's debt. One paid off his brother's land
or his mortgage. It was the paying of a price. It was not taking it by the might
and the strength of war or an army. Redemption is buying. And the third word that we had
there, wonderful word, the word propitiation, another part of
the good news of the gospel and the glad tiding. We quickly consider
four verses in the New Testament that use this word. Twice the
word is in the little epistle of 1 John. 1 John uses the word
twice. Chapter 2 and verse 2, he writes,
He is the propitiation for our sin. And in chapter 4 and verse
10, he says, God sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
sin. We had it there in Romans 3 and
verse 25. whom God set forth a propitiation. And in Hebrews 9 and 5 you have
this word again, and in the King James it is translated as mercy
seat. There was the notion among the
heathen that their gods need to be appeased. in order that
they might win their favor. But in the Christian gospel,
the death and the blood of the God-man made a satisfaction to
God for the sins of the elect. They appeased God's wrath against
the sin of man, and they turned away the sword of justice off
of the elect as Christ met the demands of the law. Now, Paul
says, God set him forth. There in Romans 3.25, the margin
has it, foreordained. He was foreordained in the eternal
purpose before the world to give Himself a ransom and as a propituary
sacrifice. God publicly set forth His Son
as the propitiation for sin. Paul says to declare at this
time His righteousness for sins that have passed through the
forbearance of God. Now notice it close. God set
Him for a propitiation. I John 4, verse 10, God sent
His Son to be the propitiation for our sin. By His propitiation,
There are two things here that stand out mightily. Number one is the inflexible
justice of God and the curse of the law satisfied by the death
of Christ. have all had their demands met
in the atonement of Christ, in His propituary death, our Lord
has satisfied. Secondly, as a result of Christ
being made a propitiation in behalf of the elect, in behalf
of that or in connection with that, God remains perfectly and
absolutely righteous in justifying sinners and the ungodly without
keeping or without having kept the law." God is righteous in
justifying such person, justifying the ungodly. Now, let's move
on. There is another word. The word
reconciliation is also a blessed component of the Christian gospel. God and sinners reconciled. We sing in a certain hymn. We
can't think of it. right now. God and sinners reconciled. Now, reconciliation supposes
estrangement, separation, and enmity, just as condemnation
just as justification supposes condemnation, just as redemption
supposes bondage, just as propitiation supposes exposure to the wrath
of God. In Romans 5 and 10, Paul writes,
we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son. And that
great passage in 2 Corinthians 5, 18 through 21, that God has
reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ not imputing their trespasses
unto them. We were enemies to God. We were
alienators. We the offenders, and God the
offended. Nor was the estrangement one
and simply one-sided, as seen by Christ's propitiation. They were transgressors. They
were guilty. They were transgressors of the
law. But it was also on God's part
as well. His, therefore, receiving the
propitiation from the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, could
not except their sins be atoned for. God look upon them and be
reconciled and bring them into His favor. Reconciled by His
death. Reconciliation between God and
man. Reconciliation between Jew and
Gentile. Reconciliation between man and
man. That great reconciliation declared
in the gospel. Paul calls it a ministry of reconciliation. He has given unto us the ministry
of reconciliation. God, through the death of Christ,
will be reconciled to such as once were His active enemy. And there are those who can be
at peace with God because He has reconciled God and man in
the death the redemption, propitiation, and reconciliation made in the
death of our Lord and of our Savior. What a glorious gospel
do we have to preach! What good news to the alarmed,
convicted, and concerned and awakened sinner! And what hope
is set forth in the glory of the gospel. I will end with just
two things very quickly. Number one, let us be careful
we do not mix law and gospel up so that both lose their distinguishing
feature. And number two, let us remember
that the gospel knowledge, saving faith, believing on our Lord,
believing the gospel is a divine revelation. How is it that once
we did not believe, then we did? How is it that some hear and
never believe? Because it is or takes a revelation. Christ must be revealed and those
who have faith see Him and hear Him in the gospel and are drawn
therefore unto him by the preaching of the gospel. And they find
peace with God, peace in their soul, delight in the great salvation
of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes, the glorious gospel
of Christ our blessed Lord.