LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Three Gospels
"And to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel..." (Romans 16:25).
One thing that puzzled us for a long time, is how Paul could have the audacity to call the gospel 'his' gospel. He says in Romans 1:15 that he would like to preach the gospel to the Romans as well. What gospel is he talking about, since he is not writing to unbelieving people who do not know the Lord Jesus, but to brothers in Christ? And all of them already mature brothers, as he himself presents us in Romans 16!
At the beginning we see in the Scriptures the gospel of grace: "But I count nothing dear to myself, neither count my life dear to myself, provided I finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, that I may testify the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). This gospel speaks to us of all the grace of God that is given to us in Christ on that cross. The gospel of grace is Christ crucified, the word of the cross: "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18).
When we believe in the gospel of grace, we are born again and enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3-5). Once in the kingdom, the Lord presents us with the gospel of the kingdom. The gospel of grace tells us of the good news in Christ for our salvation, the gospel of the kingdom tells us of the good news about the kingdom in Christ: "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom..." (Matt. 4:23).
Much of Jesus' preaching was about the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel for the children of God. If we hear about the gospel of the kingdom before hearing the gospel of grace, we run the risk of believing that salvation is by works, but it is not. The gospel of grace is all the grace given to us by God in Christ, since the gospel of the kingdom is for the saints who are in Christ to participate in His kingdom: "This is a faithful saying: if we are dead with him, we shall also live with him; if we suffer, we shall also reign with him" (2 Tim. 2:11-12).
Now we come to the third gospel, the gospel of Paul. This, which he calls his gospel, is nothing more than the revelation of the mystery given to him by God, the mystery of Christ which is the church, the unfathomable riches of Christ, the dispensation of the mystery that was hidden for generations: "To me, who am less than the least of all saints, this grace was given to preach among the Gentiles the gospel of the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph. 3:8-9).
There are not three gospels, but only one: the gospel of God. The good news of great joy that God gave to man in Christ; the righteousness of God that is revealed from faith to faith.
The gospel of grace, like the gospel of the kingdom and the gospel of Paul tell us of all that God gave us in Christ, the Son of the living God, "concerning his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:3-4).