9 Aspects of the Gospel that Go Beyond Justification or Heaven

In my last post I tried to show how the gospel ultimately benefits God and is therefore really the good news for Him. The gospel is not just something for man; it is something for God. The New Testament presentation of the gospel goes far beyond what many Christians may have in mind when they hear the word.

The gospel is not just your “come to Jesus moment,” turning over a new leaf, a mission trip, a campaign, a musical genre, or even a theological doctrine. And it’s certainly not health, wealth, and happiness.

Below are 9 aspects of the gospel that go beyond the typical discussions of justification or getting to heaven.

The gospel of the kingdom

“And Jesus went about in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness among the people” -Matt. 4:23

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” -Matt. 24:14

The gospel of the grace of God

“But I consider my life of no account as if precious to myself, in order that I may finish my course and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus to solemnly testify of the gospel of the grace of God” -Acts 20:24

The gospel of peace

“And coming, He announced peace as the gospel to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near” -Eph. 2:17

The gospel of the glory of Christ

“In whom the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers that the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine on them” -2 Cor. 4:4

The unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel

“To me, less than the least of all saints, was this grace given to announce to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel” -Eph. 3:8

The mystery of the gospel

“And for me, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known in boldness the mystery of the gospel” -Eph. 6:19

“Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel, that is, the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept in silence in the times of the ages” -Rom. 16:25

The gospel of His Son

“For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers” -Rom. 1:9

The faith as the gospel

“But they only heard this: He who was formerly persecuting us is now announcing as the gospel the faith which formerly he ravaged” -Gal. 1:23

The gospel of the promise made to the fathers

“And we announce to you the gospel of the promise made to the fathers” -Acts 13:32

This one could use just a little explanation. This comes from Paul’s preaching in Acts 13. The promise is not the promise to Abraham, but the promise to David mention in verse 23, which was first given in 2 Samuel 7:12-14. Later in verse 33 Paul says that “God has fully fulfilled this promise to us their children in raising up Jesus, as it is written in Psalm 2, You are My Son; this day have I begotten You.”

Paul picks up this thought again in Romans 1:3-4, “Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was designated the Son of God.” Thus this gospel concerns how a human seed could become a divine son. This is the gospel of God’s economy, the gospel of sonship, and the great truth of deification.

Seeing the gospel in light of these verses has helped me tremendously over the years.