Gospel of Salvation vs Gospel of the Kingdom

[Bible2]

His_disciple3 said in post 34:

 

there is a strong teaching going on now pertaining to the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven , this false teaching states that the two kingdoms are two totally different kingdoms . . .

 

That idea is indeed mistaken, for the Gospels use "kingdom of heaven" and "kingdom of God" interchangeably to refer to the same aspects of God's kingdom. For just 3 examples, compare Matthew 8:11-12 and Luke 13:28-29. And compare Matthew 13:31-33 and Luke 13:18-21. And compare Matthew 11:11 and Luke 7:28.

[Ezra]

 No one preaches the kingdom of God as the focus of the Gospel. Everyone I ever heard preaches that Jesus will save us from our sin so we can be in heaven with him forever. Never, ever is any kingdom mentioned at all. When Jesus says the kingdom of God must be preached unto all nations as a witness, my question is, when do we start preaching that, because nobody is preaching that now.

When the Gospel is preached, an integral part of the Gospel message is (and should be) "You must be born again".  The minute you preach that, you are indirectly preaching the Kingdom of God (Jn 3:5-8):

³ Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

⁴ Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

⁵Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

⁷ Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

⁸ The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

 

The New Birth is the entrance into the Kingdom of God. This corresponds to what Christ said to His disciples: "The Kingdom of God is within you".  As stated before all Bible Truth should tie into the Kingdom of God, because that is precisely what God is presently establishing in the Church, and will one day establish externally, physically and literally on earth. For the present Jesus says "My kingdom is not of this world".  It is not external and He has not established His throne on earth.  He is allowing sin and evil to exist for a season while souls are being saved and entering into the Kingdom without any visible evidence.

[firestormx]

 

 No one preaches the kingdom of God as the focus of the Gospel. Everyone I ever heard preaches that Jesus will save us from our sin so we can be in heaven with him forever. Never, ever is any kingdom mentioned at all. When Jesus says the kingdom of God must be preached unto all nations as a witness, my question is, when do we start preaching that, because nobody is preaching that now.

When the Gospel is preached, an integral part of the Gospel message is (and should be) "You must be born again".  The minute you preach that, you are indirectly preaching the Kingdom of God (Jn 3:5-8):

³ Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

⁴ Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

⁵Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

⁷ Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

⁸ The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

 

The New Birth is the entrance into the Kingdom of God. This corresponds to what Christ said to His disciples: "The Kingdom of God is within you".  As stated before all Bible Truth should tie into the Kingdom of God, because that is precisely what God is presently establishing in the Church, and will one day establish externally, physically and literally on earth. For the present Jesus says "My kingdom is not of this world".  It is not external and He has not established His throne on earth.  He is allowing sin and evil to exist for a season while souls are being saved and entering into the Kingdom without any visible evidence.

 

 I never said the Gospel of salvation was wrong, I said it was incomplete. The gospel of salvation is focused on Jesus and the church, while the Gospel of the Kingdom is focused on Jesus, Israel and all of God's children, the Jew first, then the gentile. Please reread posts # 26, 30, 35. Those posts help expound the point I'm trying to make. The only other thing I know to say about it is this. The cornerstone is the most important part of the foundation but it's not the only piece of the foundation. It seems to me that you keep talking about the cornerstone while I keep talking about the entire foundation. Thank you for your input. I think we are talking past each other, so I say thank you for your thoughts and I will honestly take them to God in prayer.

Edited June 9, 2015 by firestormx

[Retrobyter]

Shalom, Ezra.

 

 

 

Shabbat shalom, Ezra.

 

 

Sorry, bro’, but that is wrong. Paul didn’t have a different “gospel” than did Yeshua` (Jesus)!

Who said that Paul had a different Gospel? Did you miss reading this?

But at its core it was the Gospel of Salvation by grace through faith in the Person and finished work of Christ, which is the Everlasting Gospel.

There is no denying that "the Gospel of the Kingdom" is the phrase which is limited to the time that Christ was on earth.  But as mentioned above, it is the same Gospel of salvation by grace through faith.

 

 

Did you miss something in your reading? It was NOT "limited to the time that Christ the Messiah was on earth!” Look again:

 

Matthew 24:14

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

KJV

It is called "the Gospel of the Kingdom" while Christ is still on earth, and in His own words because He is still present and the King-Messiah.

 

From the Acts of the Apostles onwards, there is no mention of "the Gospel of the Kingdom".  While "the Kingdom of God" is mentioned again and again, the Gospel is called (from Acts onwards):

 

1. The Gospel

2. The Gospel of the Grace of God

3. The Gospel of God

4. The Gospel of His Son

5. The Gospel of Peace

6. The Gospel of Christ

7. Christ's Gospel 

8. The Glorious Gospel of Christ

9. The Everlasting Gospel

10. My Gospel (with reference to Paul)

 

 

Sorry, again, but you have left out some pertinent things that need to be addressed. First of all, let’s define some terms:

 

The word “Christ” is a TITLE for the One called Yeshua` Natzaretiy (Jesus of Nazareth) that identified Him as God’s CHOICE for Israel’s King. “Christos" is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “mashiyach,” and BOTH words mean an “Anointed (One).” But, what does “anointed” mean? Some feel the word mean “to pour oil over someone,” but that’s not right. “Mashach” is the Hebrew word that means “to RUB or PAINT with oil":

 

OT:4886 mashach (maw-shakh'); a primitive root; to rub with oil, i.e. to anoint; by implication, to consecrate; also to paint:

KJV - anoint, paint.

 

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

 

If someone applies cream rinse to his or her hair in the shower, he or she is “anointing his or her head with oil.” It wasn’t enough to just POUR the special formula of olive oil (Exodus 30:22-33) over someone’s head; one also had to MASSAGE it into his or her scalp! THAT was the sign of selection. It’s rather like a father in his pride massaging the shoulders of his son standing before him.

 

One who is ANOINTED to be king, however, is NOT necessarily a king, yet! It’s more like our term “president-elect.” Just as a president-elect is DESTINED to be the new president after being sworn into office is not yet the president officially, so the mashiach is DESTINED to be the new king but may not yet officially be the king!

 

David was so anointed in 1 Samuel 16:11-13 but he didn’t become king of the Jews until 2 Samuel 2:4! Then, he finally became king over all Israel in 2 Samuel 5:3! As the "son (descendant) of David," Yeshua`s kingship should have taken the same path. He was “anointed” (“chosen” and “selected”) by God to be Israel’s next (and final) King when He was immersed. And, just as it was predicted to David about Shlomoh (Solomon) in 1 Chronicles 22:7-10, so it was also true about Yeshua`: He, too, was and is God’s Son!

 

Secondly, there’s nothing special about the word “gospel.” It’s simply an older-English word for “good news” (“god-spell,” or “good-news”). The Greek noun is “euaggelion”:

 

NT:2098 euaggelion (yoo-ang-ghel'-ee-on); from the same as NT:2097; a good message, i.e. the gospel:

KJV - gospel.

 

And the verb form is:

 

NT:2097 euaggelizoo (yoo-ang-ghel-id'-zo); from NT:2095 and NT:32; to announce good news ("evangelize") especially the gospel:

KJV - declare, bring (declare, show) glad (good) tidings, preach (the gospel).

 

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

 

Our word “evangelize” is a transliteration of this Greek verb, and an “evangelist” is one who tells this "good news."

 

Now, answer a simple question: Is it possible to have more than one news item that would be considered “good news?” Again, the word “gospel” is a TAG! It’s a word that has been fictitiously elevated to the status of a LABEL!

 

So, Yeshua` (Jesus) was “born (to be) King of the Jews.” (Matthew 2:1-2) Obviously, He was NOT their actual King, yet! Herod the Great was! Yeshua` was just a baby! In fact, Herod viewed Him as a THREAT to His kingship and tried to assassinate Him by blanketing the area with murder! (“Rachel weeping for her children,” Matthew 2:16-18) And, in death, Pilate declared Him to once again to be the King of the Jews, making HIS “sentence” THEIR sentence, infuriating the Jews! (John 19:19-22)

 

You said, “From the Acts of the Apostles onwards, there is no mention of "the Gospel of the Kingdom".  While "the Kingdom of God" is mentioned again and again,the Gospel is called (from Acts onwards):

 

1. The Gospel

2. The Gospel of the Grace of God

3. The Gospel of God

4. The Gospel of His Son

5. The Gospel of Peace

6. The Gospel of Christ

7. Christ's Gospel 

8. The Glorious Gospel of Christ

9. The Everlasting Gospel

10. My Gospel (with reference to Paul)."

 

Why are you divorcing the two?

 

1. The good news

2. The good news about God’s grace

3. The good news from God

4. The good news about His Son

5. The good news about peace

6. The good news about the Messiah

7. The Messiah’s good news

8. The glorious good news about the Messiah

9. The ever-enduring good news

10 Paul’s good news (which is the same as Yeshua`s, btw)

 

Isaiah 52:4-10

4 For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.

6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.

7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation (rescue); that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.

9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation (rescue) of our God.

KJV

 

And, what did Paul quote?

 

Romans 10:14-15

14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher (Greek: keerussontos = "an herald")?

15 And how shall they preach (Greek: keeruxoosin = “shall they herald (as a public crier)"), except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

KJV

 

Notice, however, that He did NOT FINISH the quote! Why not? Because, Yeshua` LEFT THEM (Acts 1:7-11) and said that He wouldn’t be back until they could say “Baruwkh haba’ b-shem YHWH!” Until they could "WELCOME HIM (THE COMER) BACK in YHWH’S authority!” (Matthew 23:37-39 cf. Psalm 118:26)

 

You say that "Christ is still on earth" and "He is still present.” Why? Because ...

 

Matthew 28:18-20

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world (age). Amen.

KJV

 

But what about His other sayings?

 

John 14:1-3, 16-20, 26-29

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

...

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

...

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

KJV

 

What about the record we have from Luke?

 

Acts 1:6-12

6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld (watched), he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven (the sky) as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.

KJV

 

His promise in His parable was that He would return, come again, come back:

 

Luke 19:11-15, 26-27

11 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.

12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.

13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

...

26 For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.

27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

KJV

 

Don’t get the cart before the horse!