The Gospel

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. (Col 4:2-4)

I know. Long quote. But it's one sentence, so I didn't have a choice. In this sentence Paul asks the Colossian Christians to devote themselves to prayer. It should include thanksgiving as an attitude. But Paul's biggest concern was an open door for the word. Paul called it "the mystery of Christ" because the gospel is clearly that. And he asked them to pray "that I may make it clear." Imagine that. An Apostle devoting his life to the gospel asking them to pray that he might make it clear. Didn't he have the practice already? Didn't he already make it clear? Apparently that's not how it works. So here I am trying to make an attempt at a clear presentation of "the word", the "mystery of Christ", the gospel.

The term "the gospel" comes up in the New Testament. One of the first things Jesus did in His ministry was to preach the gospel. What was He preaching? "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15) Well, in its simplest terms, folks, there you have it. That's "the gospel". Repent and believe. Done. Next!

Of course, that's not going to hack it. You'll need more than that. So we find Paul's very clear description in 1 Corinthians.

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. (1 Cor 15:1-8)

That's it. It is the place to stand, the place to lay your trust, the place to hold fast. It has two primary components. First, Christ died. Second, Christ rose again. Not "sort of". Not figuratively. There were witnesses. Lots of them.

That's it. That's the simplest gospel. Christ died for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2). He took our sins with Him (2 Cor 5:21). Christ rose leaving death behind (1 Cor 15:20-26). Indeed, "As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." (1 Cor 11:26) Something to always keep in mind.