Jesus Creed

Gospel 39

Wednesday November 26, 2008

Categories: Gospel
We now turn to Romans in looking at what "gospel" means -- and one thing ought to be clear by now. This word is not very often defined. We get things like the gospel "of the kingdom" and the gospel of the death, burial and resurrection, but more often we see things like "preaching" the gospel or just "gospeling" (or evangelizing). Romans 1 now.

1: 1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God- 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

The gospel is about Jesus Christ -- and Jesus is "the Christ" (Messiah) and the Son of God (see also Rom 1:9). There is a powerful royal christology at the heart of the gospel. But we should not convert this into an idea; the gospel is about a Person: Jesus.

The gospel emerges from God's Story of Israel -- the Scripture's Story.

The gospel involves the Spirit and the Resurrection.

The gospel declares that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Advertisement
Comments
RJS
November 26, 2008 10:02 AM

These posts are great - even if they don't garner much comment.

But what gets me here is no mention of crucifixion - Spirit and Power and Resurrection as the essence of the declaration that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Georges Boujakly
November 26, 2008 11:11 AM

RJS,
Isn't it resurrection from the dead? Is it too much of a jump to make from dead to crucifixion? Is that what you mean?

RJS
November 26, 2008 11:23 AM

Georges,

No, what I meant is that in Paul's summary here the crucifixion isn't mentioned.

The key element is not the sacrifice of Christ, it is resurrection from the dead. Now this is just a summary and in other places Paul talks about preaching "Christ crucified." So I am not saying this isn't important, just that it isn't primary here.

Chris E
November 26, 2008 3:08 PM

#3 RJS
I'm not sure this is a summary of the gospel. Paul doesn't say it is. Rather, I think vv 4-6 are summaries of the person of Jesus (i. e. descended from David, declared to be the Son of God, etc...). The gospel is about this Jesus, but we are not told exactly what the gospel is. That exposition launches in v 16.

Post a Comment

By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.



Please type the text you see in the box below to verify your post and help us prevent spam. You have a limited time to type - you may wish to compose your comment in a separate document and paste it here upon completion.

Type the characters you see in the picture above.

Advertisement

Search This Blog

About Jesus Creed

Scot McKnight is a widely-recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. He is the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University (Chicago, Illinois). A popular and witty speaker, Dr. McKnight has given interviews on radios across the nation, has appeared on television, and is regularly asked to speak in local churches and educational events. Dr. McKnight obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Nottingham (1986). Click to continue reading Scot McKnight's Bio...

View Scot's Speaking Schedule

Contact Scot at Facebook

feed icon Subscribe

RSS Feed

Receive updates from Jesus Creed

Calendar



Add to Technorati Favorites

Blogroll

Daily Prayers:

Emerging Movement:

Other sites I frequent:

Recommended Online Readings:

Scholarly Books I've written:

Scholarship Online:

Stuff online:

Advertisement

Advertisement


About Beliefnet

Our mission is to help people like you find, and walk, a spiritual path that will bring comfort, hope, clarity, strength, and happiness. More about Beliefnet.

Legal

Copyright © Beliefnet, Inc. and/or its licensors. All rights reserved. Use of this site is subject to Terms of Service and to our Privacy Policy. Constructed by Beliefnet.

Advertisement

Report as Inappropriate

You are reporting this content because it violates the Terms of Service.

All reported content is logged for investigation.