GOSPEL

Signifies good news, and is that revelation and dispensation which God has made known to guilty man through Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer. Scripture speaks of "the gospel of the kingdom," Mt 24:14, the gospel "of the grace of God," Ac 20:24, "of Christ," and "of peace," Ro 1:16 10:15. It is the "glorious" and the "everlasting" gospel, 1Ti 1:11 Re 14:6, and well merits the noblest epithets that can be given it. The declaration of this gospel was made through the life and teaching, the death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord. The writings which contain the recital of our Savior’s life, miracles, death, resurrection, and doctrine, are called GOSPELS, because they include the best news that could be published to mankind. We have four canonical gospels—those of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These have not only been generally received, but they were received very early as the standards of evangelical history, as the depositories of the doctrines and actions of Jesus. They are appealed to under that character both by friends and enemies; and no writer impugning or defending Christianity acknowledges any other gospel as of equal or concurrent authority, although there were many others which purported to be authentic memoirs of the life and actions of Christ. Some of these apocryphal gospels are still extant. They contain many errors and legends, but have some indirect value. There appears to be valid objection to the idea entertained by many, that the evangelists copied from each other or from an earlier and fuller gospel. Whether Mark wrote with the gospel by Matthew before him, and Luke with Matthew and Mark both, or not, we know that they "spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," while recounting the works and sayings of Christ which they had seen or knew to be true, using no doubt the most authentic written and oral accounts of the same, current among the disciples. They have not at all confined themselves to the strict order of time and place. GOSPEL OF MATTHEW. The time when this gospel was written is very uncertain. All ancient testimony, however, goes to show that it was published before the others. It is believed by many to have been written about A. D. 38. It has been much disputed whether this gospel was originally written in Hebrew or Greek. The unanimous testimony of ancient writers is in favor of a Hebrew original, that is, that it was written in the language of Palestine and for the use of the Hebrew Christians. But, on the other hand, the definiteness and accuracy of this testimony is drawn into question; there is no historical notice of a translation into Greek; and the present Greek gospel bears many marks of being an original; the circumstances of the age, too, and the prevalence of the Greek language in Palestine, seem to give weight to the opposite hypothesis. Critics of he greatest name are arranged on both sides of the question; and some who believe it to have been first written in Hebrew, think that the author himself afterwards made a Greek version. Matthew writes as "an Israelite indeed," a guileless converted Jew instructing his brethren. He often quotes from the Old Testament. He represents the Savior as the fulfillment of the hopes of Israel, the promised Messiah, King of the kingdom of God. GOSPEL OF MARK. Ancient writers agree in the statement that Mark, not himself an apostle, wrote his gospel under the influence and direction of the apostle Peter. The same traditionary authority, though with less unanimity and evidence, makes it to have been written at Rome, and published after the death of Peter and Paul. Mark wrote primarily for the Gentiles, as appears from his frequent explanations of Jewish customs, etc. He exhibits Christ as the divine Prophet, mighty in deed and word. He is a true evangelical historian, relating facts more than discourses, in a concise, simple, rapid style, with occasional minute and graphic details. GOSPEL OF LUKE. Luke is said to have written his gospel under the direction of Paul, whose companion he was on many journeys. His expanded views and catholic spirit resemble those of the great apostle to the Gentiles; and his gospel represents Christ as the compassionate Friend of sinners, the Savior of the world. It appears to have been written primarily for Theophilus, some noble Greek or Roman, and its date is generally supposed to be about A. D. 63. GOSPEL OF JOHN. The ancient writers all make this gospel the latest. Some place its publication in the first year of the emperor Nerva, A. D. 96, sixty-seven years after our Savior’s death, and when John was now more than eighty years of age. The gospel of John reveals Christ as the divine and divinely appointed Redeemer, the Son of God manifested in flesh. It is a spiritual, rather than historical gospel, omitting many things chronicled by the other evangelists, and containing much more than they do as to the new life in the soul through Christ, union with him, regeneration, the resurrection, and the work of the Holy Spirit. The spirit of the "disciple whom Jesus loved" pervades this precious gospel. It had a special adaptation to refute the Gnostic heresies of that time, but is equally fitted to build up the church of Christ in all generations.

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Gospel. Gospel
A word of Anglo-Saxon origin, and meaning “God’s spell”, i.e., word of God, or rather, according to others, “good spell”, i.e., good news. It is the rendering of the Greek evangelion, i.e., “good message.” It denotes (1) “the welcome intelligence of salvation to man as preached by our Lord and his followers. (2.) It was afterwards transitively applied to each of the four histories of our Lord’s life, published by those who are therefore called ‘Evangelists’, writers of the history of the gospel (the evangelion). (3.) The term is often used to express collectively the gospel doctrines; and ‘preaching the gospel’ is often used to include not only the proclaiming of the good tidings, but the teaching men how to avail themselves of the offer of salvation, the declaring of all the truths, precepts, promises, and threatenings of Christianity.” It is termed “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 4:23), “the gospel of Christ” (Rom. 1:16), “the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15), “the glorious gospel,” “the everlasting gospel,” “the gospel of salvation” (Eph. 1:13).

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GOSPEL. → Called
* GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM Mt 4:23; 24:14
* GOSPEL OF GOD Ro 1:1; 15:16; 1Th 2:8; 1Ti 1:11; 1Pe 4:17
* GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST Mr 1:1
* GOSPEL OF CHRIST Ro 1:16; 1Co 9:12,18; Ga 1:7; Php 1:27; 1Th 3:2
* THE DISPENSATION OF THE GRACE OF GOD Eph 3:2
* THE GRACE OF GOD Ac 20:24
* GOSPEL OF SALVATION Eph 1:13
* GOSPEL OF PEACE Eph 6:15
* THE KINGDOM OF GOD Lu 16:16
* GLORIOUS GOSPEL OF CHRIST 2Co 4:4
* PREACHING OF JESUS CHRIST Ro 16:25
* MYSTERY OF CHRIST Eph 3:4
* MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL Eph 6:19
* WORD OF GOD 1Th 2:13
* WORD OF CHRIST Col 3:16
* WORD OF SALVATION Ac 13:26
* WORD OF RECONCILIATION 2Co 5:19
* WORD OF TRUTH 2Co 6:7; Eph 1:13
* WORD OF FAITH Ro 10:8
* WORD OF LIFE Php 2:16
* MINISTRATION OF THE SPIRIT 2Co 3:8
* DOCTRINE ACCORDING TO GODLINESS 1Ti 6:3
* FORM OF SOUND WORDS 2Ti 1:13

→ Compared to
* A mustard seed Mt 13:31,32; Mr 4:30-33; Lu 13:18,19
* Good seed Mt 13:24-30,36-43
* Leaven (yeast) Mt 13:33
* A pearl of great price Mt 13:45,46; Lu 13:20,21
* A treasure hidden in a field Mt 13:44
* A householder Mt 20:1-16
* A feast Lu 14:16-24

→ UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO Isa 40:8; Ps 46:4,5; 89:15; Mt 4:23; 11:4-6; 13:17; 24:14; 28:18-20; Mr 1:14,15; 13:10; 16:15; Lu 1:67-79; 2:10-14,34; 4:18,19; 7:22; 10:23,24; 16:16; 17:20,21; Joh 1:16,17; 4:14; 8:32; 12:35,50; 13:20; 17:7,8; 18:36; Ac 2:11; 5:20; 10:36; 13:32,33; 14:3; 16:17; 20:24,32; Ro 1:16,17; 10:15-18; 15:29; 16:25,26; 1Co 1:18,21,24,25; 2:4-7,9; 4:20; 9:16,18; 15:1,2; 2Co 3:6-11,18; 4:3,4,6; 9:15; 10:4,5; Ga 2:2; 3:8; Eph 1:13,14; 3:8-11; 6:15,17,19,20; Col 1:5,6,23,26-29; 1Th 1:5; 2:13; 2Th 1:10; 2:10,14; 1Ti 1:10,11; 2:4; 3:16; 4:6; 2Ti 1:10; 2:3; Heb 4:2; 5:13; 6:1; 7:19; Jas 1:18,21,25; 1Pe 1:23,25; 4:6; 5:12; 2Pe 1:16,19; 2:2,21; 1Jo 2:8; Jude 1:3; Re 14:6,7 → CALLED THE NEW COVENANT Jer 31:31-34; Heb 7:22; 8:6-13; 9:8-15; 10:9; 12:22-24 → PROPHECIES RELATING TO Ps 46:4; Isa 2:3-5; 4:2-6; 9:2,6,7; 25:7; 29:18,24; 32:3; 35:5; 40:9; 41:27; 42:6,7; 43:18-21; 46:13; 49:13; 51:4-6; 52:7; 55:1-5; 60:1-22; 61:1-3; Eze 34:23-31; 47:1-12; Joe 2:28-31; Mic 4:1-7; Mt 24:14
* See CHURCH, PROPHECIES CONCERNING
* See JESUS, KINGDOM OF
* See JESUS, MISSION OF
* See KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

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(1) General References to Mt 4:23; Ac 20:24; 1Co 9:12; 2Co 4:3; Eph 6:19; Php 1:27 1Th 1:5; 2Th 1:8 --SEE Preaching, LEADERS (2) Prophecies Relating to Isa 2:3; 29:18; 52:7; 61:1; Mt 24:14 --SEE Gentiles, WORLD-WIDE Missions, MISSIONS (3) UNIVERSAL, to be Preached throughout the World Mt 24:14; 28:19; Mr 13:10; 16:15; Lu 24:47; Ac 1:8 Col 1:23; Re 14:6 SEE Gentiles (1), WORLD-WIDE Salvation (4), SALVATION Missions, MISSIONS Good Tidings, TIDINGS, GOOD TIDINGS, GOOD Divine Call, INVITATIONS

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gospel. Gospel, n. GOD's word through CHRIST

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Gos″pel (?), n. [[OE. gospel, godspel, AS. godspell; god God + spell story, tale. See God, and Spell, v.]] 1. 1. Glad tidings; especially, the good news concerning Christ, the Kingdom of God, and salvation.
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Matt. iv. 23. The steadfast belief of the promises of the gospel. Bentley. ☞ It is probable that gospel is from. OE. godspel, God story, the narrative concerning God; but it was early confused with god spell, good story, good tidings, and was so used by the translators of the Authorized version of Scripture. This use has been retained in most cases in the Revised Version. Thus the literal sense [of gospel] is the “narrative of God,” i.e., the life of Christ. Skeat. 2. 2. One of the four narratives of the life and death of Jesus Christ, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
3. 3. A selection from one of the gospels, for use in a religious service; as, the gospel for the day.
4. 4. Any system of religious doctrine; sometimes, any system of political doctrine or social philosophy; as, this political gospel. Burke.
5. 5. Anything propounded or accepted as infallibly true; as, they took his words for gospel.
If any one thinks this expression hyperbolical, I shall only ask him to read Œdipus, instead of taking the traditional witticisms about Lee for gospel. Saintsbury.