A Servant of the Gospel of His Grace
(Ac 20:24; Col 1:23)
God is good(Ps 119:68).
He does what is good and
He gives what is good(Ps 85:12).
Faith is receiving the good news that comes from God and
The life of this faith is becoming a servant of the gospel of His grace to share in its blessings(1Co 9:23).
Everyone wants to hear good news:
Patients suffering from incurable diseases want to hear about new drugs;
Nations at war want to hear about their victory;
Those on death row want to heard about a clemency etc.
The good news that all men must hear, however, is the gospel of salvation(Eph 1:13).
All creation was made by the good God and
They were good in His sight(Ge 1:4, Ge 1:10, Ge 1:12, Ge 1:18, Ge 1:21, Ge 1:25, Ge 1:31).
Though Adam ate the forbidden fruit(Ge 2:17), The fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, and sinned(Ge 3:4-6),
It was for him to also know good and evil, i.e., life and death,
Like one of the Triune God, the Son(Ge 3:22; Mk 3:3) -
Hence, it was rather a good thing.
The Law that God gave Moses comprised of
Commandments and regulations regarding worship;
It is good(Rm 7:12) for one can know that,
Once the commandment came sin sprang to life and he died(Rm 7:9),
While he could be forgiven and live by making atonement for his sins(Lev 6:7).
The sanctuary materialized this and
Reminded that God is good.
On top of the testimony where the commandment was contained was
The atonement cover where forgiveness of sin was declared(Ex 25:21; Lev 16:2).
Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again, because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body(Jn 2:19-22),
He would fulfill the prophecy and
Bring good news of great joy to all souls(Is 41:27; Lk 2:10).
The gospel is the Son of God coming in flesh,
His suffering in flesh and His word(Mk 1:1, Mk 8:35; Is 53:5, Is 53:8; 1Pe 2:24).
It was received as good tidings by
The poor, the prisoners, the sick, the prostitutes and the tax collectors(Mt 4:23; Lk 4:18), who will
Enter the kingdom of heaven first(Mt 21:32).
As He died, Jesus said, "It is finished(Jn 19:30), declaring that He:
1. Fulfilled the Father's good work and sent Him the good news of victory(Ge 3:22; Is 40:9; Jn 10:17-18);
2. Judged the enemy, the devil(Is 14:12-15; 1Jn 3:8); and
3. Filled souls with good things, i.e., the blood of redemption(Ps 107:9).
He rose and sat on the heavenly throne of grace prepared for Him(He 1:2), and
Became the Father's joy forever(Mt 3:17).
The Holy Spirit whom He sent comes to
Those who received good news and
Proclaims the gospel to the world.
The content of the gospel is:
1. The righteousness by faith(Gal 3:8, Gal 3:11);
2. Salvation from sin, death and hell(Rm 1:16);
3. Born-again by the imperishable seed(1Pe 1:23-25);
4. Co-heirs with Christ(Eph 3:6); and
5. The resurrection of the body(Jn 11:25; 2Ti 1:10).
A servant of the gospel(Eph 3:7) is he who
Heard the greatest news of joy of his life as grace(Ac 20:24) and
Has the eternal gospel(Rev 14:6).
Therefore, he risks his life in preaching the gospel(Ac 20:24; Rev 20:4), for
In the Law, not keeping it was woe while
In the gospel, not preaching is woe(2Ki 7:9; 1Co 9:16).
He puts every effort to become the first fruit on earth(Rev 14:6, Rev 20:5) and
Participate in the first resurrection, i.e., the blessings of the gospel(1Co 9:23), and
No muzzle will be put on his lips(1Co 9:7-14).
O Lord,
I have heard the greatest news of joy of my life!
In doing the greatest good - the work of giving life to souls(Mk 3:4) -
Let me not spare anything, even my life. Amen.
