Evangelical Christianity and Orthodoxy have given connotative, re-purposed, religious meanings to terms and certainly the gospel is one such word. This is one of the reasons that I like the NRSV. It simply gives the English equivalent to gospel which is the phrase good news. For the most part, the way that evangelical Christianity views and defines the gospel, it is not really, good news. However, the gospel is indeed good news. It proclaims that the reign of God is here. The reign of God is among humanity, and in humanity. Further, the driving focus of the reign of God (it can likewise be called kingdom of God,) is FAVOR. Favor you ask? Yes, God's favor toward humanity and the creation.
To emphasize this, two New Testament writers are extremely important. One is the Apostle John, and the other is the Apostle Paul. Both John and Paul emphasized God's favor/grace. I want to refer to it as favor here in this post, but when I write about favor, I am also writing about grace. There is yet another New Testament author that is also integral in the idea of God's favor, and it is the author of Hebrews. This author was likely a disciple of the Apostle Paul, and was greatly influenced by the mystical revelation Paul received.
The synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke have a far less mystical tone and a far more historical tone than does the Gospel of John and parts of the writings of Paul. The Gospel of John and a significant part of the writings of Paul are far more mystical than strictly historical. That is not to say that the mystical revelation of John and Paul is not historically accurate. Rather it is to point out that their writings are more universally mystical. I purposefully use the term mystical because I believe that the word spiritual has a connotation within Christian dogma that makes it much less a favorable term for my purposes. It should also be pointed out that when I say a significant part of Paul's writings I am speaking of the mystical revelation aspects of his writings, and not the rabbinical commentary that Paul was also known for. I have discussed that in another post entitled Paul the Mystic; Paul the Rabbi. Paul's mystical revelation explains the favor of God for all of humanity without purposed, reciprocal expectation on the part of God. God knows that favor is the best way to supernaturally produce love and obedience. It is the favor of God that leads one to change ones mind toward loving one another.
So what is the good news? What makes it good news? The good news is that God was in Christ reconciling the world. The good news is that God is love. The good news is that God keeps no record of wrongs. The good news is that God is a loving parent. The good news is that God is in us and we are in God. The good news is that we have a mediator between us and God, the first born that was chosen to be such from before creation, Jesus the Christ. The good news is that Papa raised Jesus from the dead to show us that we are all eternal. The good news is that the reign of God is already here. The good news is that we can pattern ourselves after Jesus. We can comfort all those who mourn. We can bind up the broken hearts of the broken hearted. We can proclaim liberty to those who have been captive all their lives because of the fear of death. The good news is that we are free to love, and we can feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless and visit the sick and those in prison. The good news is that we have the capability to turn the other cheek. The good news is that we are free to love one another. The good news is that we have a pattern within the life of Jesus to see what Papa is like. Jesus said if you have seen me you have seen Papa. One would not know that were it not for the more mystical gospel of John. Likewise, one would not know that God is love if John had not told us so. Paul defined love and part of the definition was not keeping a record of wrongs.
That is why John and Paul are so important in understanding the more universal gospel of God's favor which is an intricate part of the gospel of God's kingdom. There is absolutely no bad news in the gospel, because if there was it would not be the gospel/good news.
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing this!!
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