|
The gospel is not everything, yet in the final analysis it cannot be tamed into a single simple formula with a number of points that must be recited to everyone, in every time and place. There is an irreducible complexity to the gospel. I do not mean that the gospel can’t be presented simply and even very briefly. Paul himself does so on numerous occasions (e.g., Rom 10:9). The gospel is a clear and present word, but it is not a simplistic word.1 Though in the previous chapter I gave an example of a gospel outline that I believe is broadly useful today, I want to resist the impulse, mainly among conservative evangelicals, toward creating a single, one-size-fits-all gospel presentation that should be used everywhere, that serves as a test of orthodoxy.
The Bible Doesn’t Give One Standard Gospel Outline
In Galatians 1:8, Paul condemns anyone who preaches “a gospel other than the one we preached to you.” In 1 Corinthians 15:11, he takes pains to show that the gospel he declares is the same as that preached by Peter, John, and the others: “Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.” It would be impossible for Paul to condemn a “false gospel” and affirm the preaching of Peter as “the gospel” without assuming a consensus body of gospel content. And yet it is obvious that the various biblical writers express the gospel in significantly different ways.
For example, when the Synoptic writers speak about the gospel, they constantly use the concept of “the kingdom,” but this phrase is virtually missing in John’s gospel, which emphasizes, rather, receiving “eternal life.” On the one hand, we can say that this difference does not at all constitute a contradiction, because when we compare Matthew 25:31 – 46 and Mark 10:17 – 31 with John 3:3 – 6, 17, we see that entering God’s kingdom and receiving eternal life are virtually the same thing. Reading Matthew 18:3; Mark 10:15; and John 3:3 – 6 together reveals that conversion, the new birth, and receiving the kingdom of God like children are basically the same move.2
Nonetheless, the terms eternal life and the kingdom are not mere synonyms. The Synoptics use kingdom so often because their orientation is more toward the future.3 The terms convey somewhat different aspects of God’s salvation. As many have pointed out, John seems to emphasize the individual and the inward aspects of being in the kingdom of God. He takes pains to show that the kingdom is not an earthly, sociopolitical order (John 18:36). On the other hand, when the Synoptic writers speak of the kingdom, there is a somewhat more external and corporate emphasis. They lay out the social and behavioral changes that the gospel brings.4 The kingdom of God does take corporate shape, and it does have major implications for how we live. It is a new order of things in which money is not made an idol (Mark 10:17 – 31) and the hungry, naked, and homeless are cared for (Matt 25:31 – 46). John and the Synoptic writers reveal complementary aspects of the gospel, stressing both the individual and corporate dimensions of our salvation.
So John and the Synoptic writers present the gospel in somewhat different ways. And when we look at the apostle Paul, we find yet another, different set of emphases. While Paul uses both “kingdom” and “life,” he more centrally focuses on the concept of justification. So is this a different gospel? No. Paul stresses the intercanonical theme of the law court. Jesus takes the curse of the law, the legal penalty for sin, so we can receive the blessing of Christ’s obedience (Gal 3:13 – 14). Simon Gathercole has shown that there is no real contradiction between the Synoptic writers, John, and Paul.5 In Jesus, God substitutes himself for us and, on our behalf, pays the debt (Mark 10:45; John 12:20 – 36; 1 Tim 2:6); defeats the evil powers (Col 2:15; 1 John 3:8); bears the curse and divine wrath (Matt 27:45; Gal 3:13; 1 John 2:2; 4:10), secures for us salvation by grace, not by our works (Eph 2:8 – 9; 2 Tim 1:9), and even becomes for us an exemplar (1 Tim 1:16; Heb 12:2; 1 Pet 2:21). At the heart of all of the biblical writers’ theology is redemption through substitution.
The Gospel Must Be Tied to the Bible’s Story Line and Themes
Over the last several decades, as anthropologists and linguists studied “meaning making” through language in a given society, they began to divide their study into two approaches: a synchronic approach, which is concerned with the whole structure of a language at a given time, and a diachronic approach, which looks at how language and meaning change as a result of life experience.
Theologians also stress reading the Bible both synchronically and diachronically. The synchronic approach is sometimes called the systematic-theological method (STM), which tends to deal with Scripture topically. It organizes what the Bible says by categories of thought: The Bible is about God, sin, the Holy Spirit, the church, marriage and family, prayer, and so on. It looks at every text on a particular topic and synthesizes them into a coherent set of statements or principles. This method is especially sensitive to the Bible’s unity in expressing a view of God, humanity, sin, grace, the world, and so on. As I pointed out in the previous chapter, it tends to be particularly useful in answering the gospel question “What must I do to be saved?” We believe we can read the Bible this way because it has a single author — God — and because as rational creatures we respond to the beauty of truth. In this perspective, the gospel appears as God, sin, Christ, and faith. It brings out the means of salvation, namely, the substitutionary work of Christ and our responsibility to embrace it by faith.6
To read the Bible diachronically is to read along its narrative arc, and this is often called the redemptive-historical method (RHM), which tends to deal with Scripture historically. It organizes what the Bible says by stages in history or by the plotline of a story: The Bible is about God’s creating the world, the fall of man, God’s reentry into history to create a new people for himself, and eventually about a new creation that emerges out of a marred and broken world through Christ. The method discerns the basic plotline of the Bible as God’s story of redemption, as well as the biblical themes (e.g., covenant, kingship, sanctuary) that run through every stage of history and each part of the canon, climaxing in Jesus Christ. This approach is especially sensitive to the differences in historical eras and among biblical authors. It is particularly helpful in answering the gospel question “What hope is there for the world?” We believe we can read the Bible this way because God used human beings to write his revelation — and because as hope-based creatures we respond to the beauty of narrative. In this perspective, the gospel appears as creation, fall, promise and prefigurement, Israel, Christ’s redemption, and restoration. It brings out the purpose of salvation, namely, a renewed creation.
There is no ultimate reason these two approaches should contradict one another.7 In fact, using both approaches does justice to the miraculous fact that the Bible is both unmistakably divine and providentially human. I would go even further and warn that failing to use both approaches invites danger. The STM, carried out in isolation from the RHM, can produce a Christianity that is rationalistic, legalistic, and individualistic. Similarly, the RHM, carried out in isolation from the STM, tends to produce a Christianity that loves narrative and community but shies away from sharp distinctions between grace and law and between truth and heresy.
One approach that draws from both the story line and the themes of Scripture is to read the Bible through intercanonical themes. In his essay “The Biblical Gospel,” D. A. Carson warns against reductionistic versions of the gospel that do not tie into the Bible’s story line.8 Carson has posited that there may be twenty or so intercanonical themes that hold the Bible together.9 The gospel unifies and gives meaning to these many threads that run through the Old and New Testaments. A person can explain the gospel from beginning to end through any of these themes, but no single theme gives the full picture.
The table below highlights a few of these. In the next three sections, we will highlight how the gospel can be expressed through each theme.
| HOME/EXILE | YAHWEH/COVENANT | KINGDOM |
| AT CREATION MADE FOR: | ||
| a place of rest and shalom | a faithful covenant love relationship with God | God’s kingdom and kingliness |
| SIN IS/RESULTS IN: | ||
| self-centeredness, destroying shalom | unfaithfulness, causing God’s curse and wrath | idolatry, causing enslavement |
| ISRAEL IS: | ||
| exiled in Egypt, then Babylon | called to faithfulness but is unfaithful | looking for a true judge/king |
| JESUS IS: | ||
| the rejected but resurrected Lord, who breaks the power of death | the suffering servant but new covenant Lord, who takes the curse of sin | the returning true king, who frees us from the world, flesh, Devil |
| RESTORATION: | ||
| the garden-city of God | the marriage supper of the Lamb | true freedom under the reign of God |
The Exile and Our Homecoming
Home, according to Scripture, is a place where life flourishes fully — spiritually, physically, and socially. It is a place where physical life and health are sustained and where our most intimate love relationships are nurtured. It is place of rest, of shalom.
The story of the human race, however, is one of exile and longing for homecoming. Death and disease have distorted and defaced God’s good physical creation. Society is a Babel filled with selfishness, self-exaltation, and pride. Exploitation and violence mar and ruin human community. The world as it now exists is not our true home. We were made for a place without death or parting from love, without decay, and without disease and aging. We are, therefore, exiles and aliens here. Why? Because the human race turned from God to live for itself; our first parents were turned out of the garden of God and banished from the face of God, in whose presence is our true home. We are alienated from God, our true selves, one another, and the creational environment.
Some of the questions that arise when we look at the story of the Scriptures through this theme are these: “How can we be brought home? How can the creation be healed and restored? How can death and decay be overcome?” The gospel answers these questions by telling us that Jesus leaves his own true home (Phil 2:6 – 7), is born away from his earthly parents’ home, wanders without a place to lay his head and without a home (Matt 8:20), and is finally crucified outside the city gate, a sign of his exile and rejection (Heb 13:11 – 12). He takes our place and experiences the exile — the alienated state — that the human race deserves. He is cast out so we can be brought home. This is summed up in Luke 9:31 (the Greek exodos is translated “departure” here) — Jesus’ death and resurrection are the ultimate exodus and the ultimate escape from exile. When Jesus rises from the grave, he breaks the power of death and becomes a living foretaste of the new heavens and the new earth that will be our true home. He will reconcile “all things” (Col 1:16 – 20) and remake the world into the garden city of God (Rev 21:1 – 8; 22:1 – 2).10
This “home” and our sense of it are hinted at in all of our varying forms of homesickness. And it is this sense of home that steers us clear from any number of false home-goings and idolatries.
| RELATED THEMES | |
| Rest and Sabbath | Sin has left us restless. How can we enter God’s rest? |
| Justice and Shalom | The fabric of the world is broken. How can we restore shalom? |
| Trinity and Community | We were made for personal and interdependent community with God and his people because we reflect the triune God. How can we become part of this community? |
The Covenant and Its Fulfillment
Yahweh reveals himself to be the faithful covenant God. In the covenant relationship, the covenant Lord becomes our God, and we become his people. A covenant is absolutely binding, and indeed the Lord always does what he says. He is absolutely faithful to his word and promises. In turn, he asks us to also be faithful, to do what we say we will do. This poses a problem, for we continually break our word.
Just as the exile/homecoming theme points to our need for the world healer, the Yahweh/covenant theme shows us our need to be saved from our transgressions of the law. This theme raises questions like these: “How can God be both faithful and true to his law and word and faithful and committed to us? How can God be holy and still love his people? How do the holiness and love of God relate in the covenant?” Isaiah points to a resolution when he speaks of the need for both a covenant Lord and a suffering covenant servant. Jesus takes the curse of the covenant so that the blessing of the covenant could come to us (Gal 3:7 – 14). He fulfills the covenant promise of Genesis 3:15 — he is wounded and yet destroys the work of Satan. Jesus fulfils the Abrahamic covenant as well — he truly is the blessing that comes to all nations. His life as the perfect sacrifice fulfills the Mosaic law (Heb 8 – 10).
So, in response to the great question “Are the covenant blessings of God conditional or unconditional?” — the answer is yes. Jesus, as the obedient and faithful covenant servant, absolutely fulfilled the conditions of the covenant through his life and his suffering in our place, making it possible for him, as our faithful covenant Lord, to love us unconditionally. At the cross, both the law of God and the love of God were fulfilled and satisfied. In the city of God, there is no more curse (Rev 22:3) because the Passover Lamb of God bore the sins of his people. We will be his people — his bride — and he will be our God (Rev 21:2 – 3). History is consummated in the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:6 – 9). The ultimate love relationship we were built for will be fulfilled.
| RELATED THEMES | |
| Righteousness and Nakedness | We experience shame and guilt. How can our sins be covered? |
| Marriage and Faithfulness | We long for true love and closure. How can we find it? |
| Presence and Sanctuary | We are made to flourish in the presence of God. How can we stand in it? |
The Kingdom and Its Coming
As the exile/homecoming theme points to our need for the world healer and the Yahweh/covenant theme shows our need to be saved from our transgressions of the law, the kingdom theme shows us the need for a liberator from slavery. As Romans 1:25 tells us, whatever we worship we serve, and since we all must worship something, we are enslaved to various forces and powers in this world. The search for a true leader, judge, and king absorbs much of the history of God’s people (see Deut 17:14 – 20; 2 Sam 7). None of these leaders fully succeed in protecting the people from falling into idolatry, servitude, and exile. This raises one key question: “How can any king be powerful enough to liberate us from slavery this great?”
The answer announced in the gospel is that God himself must come. Mark 1:1 – 3 declares that Jesus is the divine King returning to take up his kingdom.11 The power of Christ’s kingly rule is now present among gathered Christians (Luke 17:20 – 21), liberating people from false masters and enslaving idols. Among the disciples, the kingdom is a new human order in which power, money, recognition, and success are properly reordered in light of the registry of the kingdom. It is not that these things no longer matter but that they become transposed by the unleashing of Christ’s new creation — by service, generosity, and humility (Luke 6:17 – 49). Jesus’ kingship is not like human kingships, for it wins influence through suffering service, not coercive power. We enter it not through strength but through the weakness of repentance and the new birth (John 3) and becoming like a child (Matt 18:3 – 4).
Christ’s liberating rule is not fully here. All his disciples are to pray for it to come, according to Matthew 6:10, and at the end of time we will receive it in completion (Matt 25:34). But finally the day comes when the city of God will descend. It contains the throne of God — the seat of the kingdom (Rev 22:3) — from which the renewal of all things proceeds (Rev 21:3 – 6). This is the ecstatic enthronement depicted in Psalms 96 – 98. When God returns to rule, even the rivers will clap their hands and the mountains will sing for joy that their liberator has finally come (Ps 98:8; Rom 8:21 – 22). The freedom and joy of the kingdom of heaven will come to earth.
Although each of these themes emphasizes a unique aspect of the story of the Bible, there is no contradiction — only harmony — among these different ways of communicating the gospel. The Bible’s story line tells us at least four things:
1. What God wants for us (Creation)
2. What happened to us and what went wrong with the world (Fall)
3. What God has done in Jesus Christ to put things right (Redemption)
4. How history will turn out in the end as a result (Restoration)
This story can be — and is — told in multiple ways, using multiple themes, since both sin and salvation are multidimensional. This does not mean the gospel cannot be presented simply, nor does it contradict the earlier statement that “the gospel is not everything.” All of these ways of presenting the gospel must still emphasize that it is news — an announcement of what God has done and will do. However, whenever we flesh out the good news, even in a very brief way, we will put it into the context of one or some of these themes, and when we do this, we will shade things a bit toward some aspects of the biblical story and away from others.
| RELATED THEMES | |
| Image and Likeness | Loving God supremely is the only way to truly love anything else and become your true self, to become truly free (2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15). |
| Idolatry and Freedom | Serving God supremely is the only way to freedom. |
| Wisdom and the Word | Submission to the Word of God is the way to wisdom. |
The Gospel Must Be Contextualized
The gospel is not a simple thing. We know this because its expression in the themes of the Bible is inexhaustibly deep and rich. But a second reason we know it is that humanity, in both its perfect design and fallen nature, is also complex and varied. The gospel has supernatural versatility to address the particular hopes, fears, and idols of every culture and every person. This points us to the need for contextualization.
In 1 Corinthians 1:22 – 25, for example, Paul explains that when he spoke to Greeks, he first confronted their culture’s idol of speculation and philosophy with the “foolishness” of the cross, and then he presented Christ’s salvation as true wisdom. When he spoke to Jews, however, he first confronted their culture’s idol of power and accomplishment with the “weakness” of the cross, and then he presented the gospel as true power. One of these gospel forms was tailored to Bible-believing people who thought they would be justified by works on judgment day, while the other was tailored to pagans. These two approaches can also be discerned in Paul’s speeches in Acts, some of which were given to Jews and some to pagans. Luke provides three summaries of Paul’s gospel preaching.
1. In Acts 13, Paul communicates to Jews and Gentile God-fearers.
2. In Acts 14, Paul addresses noneducated pagans.
3. Acts 17 is a digest of Paul’s sermon to philosophers and educated pagans.
It is instructive to see how his audience’s capacities and beliefs shape the way Paul presents and argues for the gospel. Different cultural audiences respond to different approaches of nuancing and shaping the same message.
Gospel contextualization is an enormous subject requiring great care, and so the third part of this book is dedicated to it. It is only necessary at this point to observe that one of the reasons the gospel is never given in exactly the same form is not only the diverse richness of the biblical material itself, with all of its intercanonical themes, but the diverse richness of humanity. Paul himself presented the gospel content in different ways — using different orders, arguments, levels of emphasis, and so on — to different cultures. And we should too. The gospel is so rich that it can be communicated in a form that fits every situation. It is a singular message, but it is not a simple message.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Have you or others you know ever felt a pressure to create or adopt a “single, one-size-fits-all gospel presentation that should be used everywhere, that serves as a test of orthodoxy”? What is the appeal of this? What are the risks?
2. Which of the intercanonical themes described in this chapter most resonated with you? Which intercanonical theme would best resonate with non-Christians in your ministry context? With people in your own church? What new ways of communicating the gospel does this open up for you?
3. Read the three passages in Acts cited at the end of the chapter. Jot down a few notes about the differences among Paul’s gospel presentations. What does this exercise tell you about your own audience’s “capacities and beliefs” and how they should shape the way you present and argue for the gospel?