CONTENTS
Chapter 1: The Gospel in His Eternal Self-Existence
Chapter 2: The Gospel in His Pre-Existent Appearances
Chapter 3: The Gospel in His Prophecies
Chapter 4: The Gospel in His Matchless Birth
Chapter 5: The Gospel in His Impeccable Life
Chapter 6: The Gospel in His Gospel-Preaching
Chapter 7: The Gospel in His Gospel-Wonderworking
Chapter 8: The Gospel in His Matchless Propitiation
Chapter 9: The Gospel in His Magnified Resurrection
Chapter 10: The Gospel in His Gospel-Ascension
Chapter 11: The Gospel in His Gospel-Coronation
Chapter 12: The Gospel in His Gospel-Intercession
Chapter 1:
The Gospel in His Eternal
Self-Existence
God the Son existed from everlasting
to everlasting (John 1:1, “In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”).
The Word always
was, and the Word was always distinct from God the Father, and yet, the Word
was and is God. The Son has the power of
being in Himself as the eternal self-existent One. The Son was not created by the Father. Neither was the Son created by Himself in the
absurdity of self-creation. The Son is
not an exalted angel, but the Ever-Eternal Son of God. He existed from the beginning, that is, from
all eternity.
That which is
from the beginning bears the Gospel in Himself, because in Him is true, eternal
life. The Gospel of God the Son could
only be what it is by His eternal self-existence. If the Son lacked His eternal self-existence,
the Gospel would be barren. If the
Gospel was barren, it is devoid of spiritual life in Christ. If it is devoid of spiritual life in Christ,
it is unworthy to be embraced as the life of life in its saving power to bring
the sons of men out of spiritual bondage in sin by Satan.
Treasure this day
the Gospel of the Son, because it is the power of God unto salvation. Without the power of God unto salvation, it
is nothing but the opinion of men, and falls short from the divine truth of God
in Christ.
The Gospel conquers the stony heart
of unregenerate men by the ever-life of the Son. It conquers that which is in rebellion to its
lusts in all unrighteousness, because the Gospel is true and of God.
The Spirit calls
the Gospel the Gospel of Christ and the Gospel of God. Only in this way could the Gospel bring life
out of spiritual death. The Gospel has
its power because the power is in the Word and the Spirit, but also in the
power of Him who is the center of the Gospel.
The One whom is the center of the Gospel is God the Son. The Gospel brings life because God the Son
has the power of life in Himself. Only
God could make His message a message unto divine life.
Thus the life-ministry and
death-ministry of God the Son that avails in opposition to the religions of men
by the divine Son of Man! O the riches
of the divine Son of Man! His purpose in His eternal self-existence
bears the truth of the Gospel, because of Who He is. Without His eternal self-existence as the
divine Son of Man, He is but a passing hero, but with it, He is power itself by
His very being. Amen.
Chapter 2:
The Gospel in His Pre-Existent
Appearances
God the Son pre-existed before
creation and before His birth in Bethlehem (Genesis 18).
His pre-existence shows that He indeed worked wonders as God the Son in
the Old Testament history of God’s people.
Who do we see in the burning bush
save that which is Christ Himself as the Eternal Almighty who took upon flesh
(John 1:14)?
His pre-existence shows His activity
as God the Son, and yet, it was a concealed matter in a sense, but revealed by
the Spirit of God in the Word of God.
What does this have to do with the
Gospel? Everything! Without evidence
of His pre-existence He is at best a great man and at worst a fraud. The Gospel recognizes that God the Son worked
in the life of the Old Testament saints, and it was Him who they hoped would
come, even as He came as the God-man to save His people from their sins.
The Gospel of the divine Son of Man
(as He calls Himself, in fact, it is His favorite title of Himself) is rooted
in the truth of His existence, because only God could bring life out of death;
freedom out of bondage; liberty out of captivity; and forgiveness and cleansing
of sin out of a hell-bound unforgiveness, and godliness out of ungodliness;
righteousness out of unrighteousness, and acceptability with God out of
condemnation, damnation and punishment.
His
pre-existence is eternal; His life before His birth is real; and His work
before His overall ministry was determined between the Members of the Godhead
in eternity pasted.
Behold, the divine Son of Man before His birth
as awesome, magnificent, holy, righteous, pure, upright, and God-designed for
the glory of His name! Amen.
Chapter 3:
The Gospel in His Prophecies
God the Son is prophesied in the Old Testament
Word of God by Isaiah the prophet in Isaiah 53.
The prophecies reveal His mission of His earthly life and ministry. They reveal the Father’s intended purpose for
the divine Son of Man in time and space in the Person of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
He is the One who is harmless,
undefiled and separate from sinners: who
lived a life of complete perfection in unchangeable glory. His life was meant to live in our place: He was born for us; He grew in wisdom as a
man for us; He was tempted by Satan for us; He proclaimed the Gospel for us; He
prayed for us; He endured the decision of the agony of His Cross by a holy
submission.
He is the One who died that death may die! He died
so we would become His righteousness by imputation; He took upon our sin; He
gave us the light of His purity; He endured the Father’s wrath for us; He was
forsaken for us; He was in unity with the Father by His ultimate obedience for
us; He fulfilled the Scripture for us by being the ultimate offering for sin.
What magnificence! What splendor! What blessedness! What depths of undying love by the divine Son
of love!
Every
prophecy of Him is profound and true! He
came to live and die as said of old so His chosen few might be with Him in
glory. Amen.
Chapter 4:
The Gospel in His Matchless Birth
God the Son, the divine Son of Man, was born by
the Virgin Mary, and His birth is matchless, and there was not a birth like
Him. The
Virgin Mary is true in every respect, and there is no room to reject it. Christ was born of a Virgin because to
the divine appointment of God the Father by the overshadowing of the Holy
Spirit.
God the Son’s birth is matchless,
because hardly is ever One born of a Virgin.
God the Son’s birth is supernatural, because it was by the Holy
Spirit. God the Son’s birth was holy,
because in the formation of the Christ in her womb was the Divine Savior of the
Father.
His
birth is unequaled; His birth is triumphant over impurity; His birth was
predestined in eternity pasted; His birth was blameless, righteous, and true.
O the depths of the riches of Christ! O how I will magnify Him and Him alone,
because it He alone who lived and died for me: the Son of the Blessed, yea, He was even born for me because He would
later die for me. Amen.
Chapter 5:
The Gospel in His Impeccable Life
God the Son lived a perfect life
(John 8:46, “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth,
why do you not believe Me?”).
We now come to
the most sacred of holy matters: the very
life of the Lord Jesus Christ! His
life was that life of the divine; of the purist ways; of the holiest ways; of
the most righteous ways!
Christ as God and
man never sinned a sin, because He was Incarnate Holiness, and Righteousness,
and to Him who awe the glory of glories!
To Him alone do we awe the matchless praise and thanks due to His
name!
The unchangeableness of His superlative
holiness in perfection is the foundation of our imputed righteousness, and it
is a light that never fades, and a testimony of God upon His Son that always
pleases the One in whom we obey in His will, yea, even the Father!
The life of Christ is all about greatness, and the
approbation of every right way: who would
dare speak above Him who is above all mere men?
Therefore,
blessed be His way of excellence and sweetness of the way of the honey of His
heavenly righteousness! Indeed, this is
the essence of the Gospel. Amen.
Chapter 6:
The Gospel in His Gospel-Preaching
God the Son preached and proclaimed
the Gospel of faith and repentance to God the Father by His kindness through
the power of His Spirit.
The Gospel of His preaching is the
crux of His heavenly ways, and for the conviction of sin by His approved
teachers, pastors and elders.
The Gospel of Christ is His ways of
righteousness in light of the Ten Commandments.
The Gospel of faith is about embracing the promise of God in the
forgiveness of sin by the commitment of faithful repentance unto life.
The Gospel of His preaching is the way of life;
the way of heavenly bliss; the way of being right with God. It is by His kindness that He grants us
repentance, because by nature we are corrupt, but because of His kindness we
apprehend repentance over our sins, and conquer by His abounding grace unto all
manners of righteousness and holiness.
The
Gospel of God the Son is about spiritual life, and not the rules of men. It is about purity that fits into the hand of
grace, and being ever-conformed to His image.
O what blessedness in His Gospel! when the religions of men promote
their unavailing traditions! But we have
the tool of forgiveness, yea, His teaching of repentance over every kind of sin
unto all goodness and upright ways!
Chapter 7:
The Gospel in His
Gospel-Wonderworking
God the Son did miracles as signs of
His deity as a Man who was favored under the hand of God the Father. Miracles
came by the hand of Christ. It came by
all manners of healings, and wonders for God’s excellent glory!
The Gospel is a type of miracle,
because when the Spirit comes under the ways of His Word, and applies the work
of Christ to a person, the heart is changed, and the believer in Christ
embraces repentance over-against sin.
Christ performed miracles unto
miracles, and He was so rich in graciousness upon people, that even the world
could not contain the books that could be written about His awesome ways! However,
the Divine Word gives us what we need to know unto all spiritual life and
godliness and for every good work.
God surely works wonders in Christ
by the wonder of His Spirit and His kindness by biding us to pass under His
gracious hand through dedicated repentance.
Even so, amen.
Chapter 8:
The Gospel in His Matchless
Propitiation and Expiation
God the Son submitted to death to
give His people life. The life He gave
His people was by totally satisfying
the justice of God by Christ, and by removing our sins as far as the east is
from the west.
Are
you a theologian of the Cross? Do you
realize what depths of spiritual blessedness is in the Cross? Our of death, life!
The Cross is the central of redemption: the Mediator who paid the ransom to His
Father; the Redeemer who provided the full satisfaction for sin, and rendered
mere human endeavors to take away sin as folly, because His atonement was fully
acceptable in our place.
Would
someone dare to add to His merits of His life and death? Would some dare pronounce His work as anyway
insufficient? Would someone dare say
that as the God-man He did not accomplish full redemption in conquering sin?
Death is the consequence of sin, and through
death the enemies of God sought to destroy the Christ of the Word of God. Yet, by
the way of the Cross He submitted to death and turned Satan’s plot on its head,
and so by death, He might avail life!
Hail
the King of redemption: even Christ the King!
Amen.
Chapter 9:
The Gospel in His Magnified
Resurrection
God the Son lived a perfect life and
died a perfect death, and He rose from the dead as our bodily, risen Savior and King.
Let us magnify His resurrection from
the dead! He confirmed His heavenly mission; He verified His God-appointed way;
He conquered sin and Satan, yea, even Judas, by His righteous will to bring
life out of death, and so we would become right with God.
O magnify the Lord with me! So even this day, we might one day share in
His resurrection by the Last Resurrection!
What perfection! What heavenly
fulfillment! Amen and amen.
Chapter 10:
The Gospel in His
Gospel-Ascension
God the Son ascended into heaven
after His resurrection. His ascension is
about completing His ministry, and sending the Holy Spirit to be with His
people.
The ascension is all about God’s
glory. When He departed, He did so in a
cloud which represents His Shekinah glory.
Let us be about this doctrine
because it is about His glory, and it is about uplifting the divine Son of Man.
Christ is the exalted One; the One who ascended
on High, and why does this doctrine get so little attention in
Christianity? We have become self-obsessed about ourselves, and we need to proclaim
His glory by His ascension.
Christ ascended as our great High Priest who
sits at the right hand of God the Father.
Who has the seat of cosmic
authority? Christ! Who is the only Ascended, inherent
God-man? Christ! Who has authority to
Judge all men? Christ! Who is the Advocate? Christ!
For His people, He acts as a Defense Attorney before God the Father
against Satan, and the Father accepts His work alone in the place of His
people. Truly, truly, amen.
Chapter 11:
The Gospel in His
Gospel-Coronation
God the Son ascended on High, and
the purpose of it was His coronation. He
is crowed as the King of kings. Let us dwell much on this.
He is crowned with the crown of crowns: at the Cross they crowned Him with thorns,
and it symbolized sin, and Christ came to abolish it by His death. And yea, He is crowned with the King of
crowns as the divine King, the Son of Man, who reigns forevermore.
Where should we go but to the King? Who can lend a helping hand but the King
Eternal? Let us dwell on this for all circumstances, because in Him we have guaranteed
hope.
Amen and amen.
Chapter 12:
The Gospel in His
Gospel-Intercession
God the Son intercedes for His
people: He does not intercede for
unbelievers or reprobate men and women. He
intercedes for the elect who have converted.
He intercedes for them because He
paid for their sin.
Because the Father accepted the unified work of
divine Son of Man, the Spirit applies it to His believing ones, and by His
grace of intercession, He protects us, and uses His work to plead our spiritual
success to gain heaven at His appointed time.
The Gospel is all about
intercession; the Gospel is all about Christ availing His ways alone for His
people alone because He alone can save to the uttermost.
Amen,
amen, what matchless wonders! So be it;
the King is our Intercessor!
