In recent years it has become far
more apparent that most Christians have a misconceived conception of the
gospel. As the reading of biblical scholars trickle down or (better) percolate
up, the average Christian is becoming more aware of the deficiencies in our
inherited definition of the gospel. Either from positive takes or by negative
reactions, many believers are noting the possibility that a better definition
is available. The traditional conception of the gospel, as passed down from the
Reformers is popularly understood as follows: Jesus is born as God incarnate,
lives a sinless life, is crucified on a cross, taking the penalty from God for
our sins, so that he takes our sin, we take his righteous sinless life, which
enables God to grant us mercy, so that when we die, we go to a reward in
heaven, rather than sent by God to hell for eternal conscious torment. We could
perhaps simplify this definition of the gospel with the term “justification by
faith” or even as “God grants salvation to those who believe”. Now, there are
some significant problems with the broader definition, but even if we
summarized the gospel as “personal salvation”, we would still be mistaking a
part for the whole, placing the other parts askew, and obscuring the necessary,
overall framework. The problem is a misconception based on minimization; we’ve
inherited a minimized gospel definition which results in a misunderstanding of
its nature. Worse than the lack of accuracy, this misconceived gospel
definition greatly affects how we then understand all the other subjects the
gospel touches in the bible – significant subjects! While many more learned yet
still mistaken Christians are aware of the fuller definition, they still prefer
that which they learned in youth to the voluminous evidence to the contrary, standing
athwart biblical scholarship, yelling “Stop”, on little islands of choice
prooftexts, slowly sinking beneath the waves.
I would like to address a few of those prooftexts, while
primarily focusing on Paul’s introduction to the Epistle to the Romans (1:1-17).
This letter has been traditionally appreciated as the summa theologiae of
Paul’s thought, particularly by the Reformed tradition that sees justification
by faith as the gospel. In this regard, I want to look at several of the
phrases Paul uses in his introduction, noting how they relate to the overall
biblical understanding of the gospel as the Kingdom of God and its king, and
showing that Paul’s understanding of the gospel conforms to the overall
biblical picture.
Romans 1:1 – “gospel of God”
Is this the same gospel that Jesus taught in the Gospels:
the good news of the Kingdom of God (Matt 4:23; 6:10; 9:35; 24:14; Mark
1:14-15; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 16:16; Acts 8:12; 20:25; 28:31)?
Romans 1:1, 4, 6, 7, 8 - “Christ”
The word “Christ”, of course, is a title referring to an
anointed figure (a messiah), popularly understood to be a coming king like
David.
Romans 1:3a – “concerning his son”
The “son” refers more to the king of Israel (see Ps 2:6-7;
Acts 13:33-37; Heb 1:1-13 [Ps 110:1]; 5:5-6 [Ps 110:4]; Matt 26:63; Luke 4:41;
John 1:49; 11:27; 20:31; Acts 8:37; 2 Cor 1:19; Gal 2:20; Eph 4:13; 1 John
5:20), than the second of the trinity.
Romans 1:3b – “descendent of David”
Throughout the Gospels, particularly in Matthew, Jesus is identified
with David (Matt 1:1, 6, 17, 20; 12:3; Luke 2:11), as the Son of David (Matt
9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30; 21:9, 15; Luke 1:27, 32, 69; 2:4; 3:31; John 7:42),
and with Davidic passages applied to him (Matt 2:2, 9-10 [see Num 24:17]; 2:6
[see Micah 5:22]; 21:5 [see Zech 9:9; Gen 49:11; Num 24:17]; 22:42-45 [Psalm
110:1]).
Naturally, the references and links to David is to establish
Jesus’ messianic kingship, but the reference goes even deeper than that. We
have a first oblique reference to David in Gen 49:10-11 with the prophecies of
Jacob about his sons:
“The scepter
shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until
Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. He ties his
foal to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; he washes his
garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes.”
Note the scepter. Note the foal (ʿayir), the female
donkey ('āṯôn), and the female donkey’s colt (literally “son” [bēn]).
Jump to Numbers 22. The prophet Balaam is ordered by Balak,
king of the Moabites to curse the Israelites (vv. 6-20). Balaam rides a female
donkey ['āṯôn] to do so (vv. 21-33). In chapter 24, Balaam predicts a
star and scepter shall come forth from Jacob that will crush Moab and possess
Edom (vv. 17-18). We know this is referring to David because of 2 Samuel 7-8.
When King David lived in his house and Yahweh has defeated his enemies, he
attempts to build a house (a Temple) for Yahweh (2 Sam 7:1-7). Yahweh responds by
promising that after David dies, he will raise up a descendant who will build
that house (vv. 8-13). Significantly, Yahweh promises that this descendant’s
kingdom will be established forever (vv. 13, 16). In the following chapter, David
defeats Moab and Edom, fulfilling the Numbers 24 prophecy.
The question then becomes when and how will God fulfill his
covenant promise to David and establish his kingdom forever (Pss 2; 18; 110; Isa
9:7; 2 Chron 13:5; 21:7; 33:7; Isa 9:7; 16:5; 22:22; Ezek 34:23; 37:24-25; Hos
3:5; Jer 23:5; 30:9; 33:15-26; Amos 9:11). Psalm 89 is a good example of the
continued reaffirmation of God’s promise to establish a Davidic kingdom forever:
“I have made
a covenant with my chosen; I have sworn to David my servant, I will establish
your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations” (vv. 3-4)
Yet, the idea of a human king over Israel seems to conflict
with God’s original intent that he should be king over Israel – a plan Israel
had rejected (1 Sam 8; Judg 17:6; 18:1; 21:25). So while we read passages about
a Davidic messiah’s eternal kingdom (particularly Psalms 2, 8, 89, 110, and
even Daniel 7), we also see continued references to Yahweh as king, both of
Israel and all of creation (Exod 15:18; 1 Chron 16:31; Psalm 5:2; 10:6; 24:8,
10; 29:10; 44:4; 45:11; 47:2, 6-8; 68:24; 74:12; 84:3; 93:1; 95:3; 96:10; 97:1;
98:6; 99:1; 145:1; 146:10; Isa 6:5; 24:23; 33:2; 41:21; 43:15; 44:6; 52:7; Jer
8:19; 10:10; 48:15; 51:57; Mic 4:7). Jesus appears to note this tension between
a human king and God as king in Mark 12:35-37 (Matt 22:41-46; Luke 20:41-44),
citing Psalm 110 as a riddle:
“How is it
that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself said in
the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make
your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in
what sense is He his son?”
At his trial, Jesus will apply both Psalm 110 and Daniel 7:13
to himself (Mark 14:62; Matt 26:64; Luke 22:69), the latter reading,
“I kept
looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a
Son of Man was coming, and he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented
before him.”
The following verse reads:
“And to him
was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men
of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed (v. 14)”
The vision is then interpreted in verses 18, 22, and 27:
‘The saints
of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever,
for all ages to come’ … the Ancient of
Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One,
and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom … ‘Then the
sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole
heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His
kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and
obey Him.’
In both passages cited by Jesus, we have evidence of a human
figure being given the kingdom along with God himself. An even stranger passage
comes in Zechariah 9:9:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt (ʿayir), the foal (bēn) of
a donkey ('āṯôn).
Deutero-Zechariah (chps. 9-14) alludes to the Genesis 49:11
prophecy about the Davidic messiah.
However, as the context makes clear, the king here is Yahweh
himself (9:1, 4, 6-8, 10-16). Zechariah 14 makes this explicit:
“And the
LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only
one, and his name the only one” (v. 9).
“Then it
will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against
Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts”
(v. 16).
It appears that Deutero-Zechariah has combined the messianic
David figure (see references to David in chps 12-13) with Yahweh himself.
Certainly, Matthew and John regarded Jesus as both the
Davidic messiah and Yahweh himself.
When Jesus makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem the week
of Easter, both writers quote the Zechariah 9:9 prophecy (Matt 21:5; John 12:15).
However, while both mostly follow the LXX in their quotes, they both diverge with
the wording of the donkey but not in the same way. Looking at the Greek of
Zechariah 9:9, it’s apparent that the LXX translator missed the reference to
Genesis 49:11. Both Matthew and John attempt to rectify the LXX’s error,
bringing their Greek closer to a reference to Genesis 49:11.
עירה וְלַשֹּׂרֵקָה בְּנִי אֲתֹנוֹ (Gen 49:11)
τὸν πῶλον αὐτοῦ καὶ τῇ ἕλικι τὸν πῶλον τῆς ὄνου (LXX Gen
49:11)
וְעַל־עַיִר בֶּן־אֲתֹנֽוֹת (Gen 49:11)
ἐπὶ ὑποζύγιον καὶ πῶλον νέον (LXX Zech 9:9)
ἐπὶ ὄνον καὶ πῶλον υἱὸν ὑποζυγίου (Matt 21:5)
ἐπὶ πῶλον ὄνου (John 12:15)
If this is what Deutero-Zechariah
is doing, then not only does it fall into line with the conception of Christ
from the Gospels and other early Christian sources; it points to a single
messianic figure who is also the coming of Yahweh.
Paul also identified Jesus with
Yahweh. In 1 Corinthians 8:6, Paul quotes the monotheistic Shema prayer of
Deuteronomy 6:4 and includes Jesus within it. In both Romans 14:11 and
Philippians 2:10, he will apply Isaiah 45:23 to Jesus. In the latter passage,
Paul says that Jesus “existed in the form of God” but “did not regard equality
with God a thing to be ἁρπαγμὸν.” A similar idea appears in Colossians 1:15-18.
What mattered most of all is that this
coming messiah, this descendant of David, would bring this eternal kingdom,
whether human or divine, bringing this eschatological Kingdom of God to earth
as it is in heaven.
Romans 1:4 – “declared the Son of God with power by the
resurrection from the dead.”
Jesus was put to death for falsely claiming
to be the King of the Jews (Matt 26:63-66; 27:11, 29, 37; Mark 14:61; 15:9, 12,
18, 26; Luke 22:70f; 23:3, 37f; John 18:33, 39; 19:3, 7, 19, 21 [see also Matt
27:54; Mark 15:39; cp. Luke 23:47]). The resurrection vindicated his claim
(Acts 13:33).
Romans 1:9 – “the preaching of the gospel of his son”
Again, a reference to kingship.
Romans 1:16 – “the gospel … is the power of God for
salvation”
Does this refer to the traditional
view that the gospel is about how one gets “saved”? Is it about justification
by faith? No. Rather, what Paul is referring to is what he himself saw on many
occasions. When the gospel of the Kingdom of God is preached, the Spirit calls
people who hear it to accept the message in faithful obedience. You can see
this by looking at 1 Thessalonians 2:12 and 2 Thessalonians 2:14. The gospel of
the Kingdom is preached, and God calls them into that Kingdom. In 1
Thessalonians 2, Paul speaks to them the gospel of God (2:2, 4, 9), and, thru
the process of that preaching/proclamation, “God calls [them] into his own
kingdom and glory” (v. 12). As he notes in his follow-up letter, God calls them
through their proclamation of the gospel (2 Thes 2:14). The content of the
gospel isn’t about how one gets saved, but its proclamation does save. The good
news of the Kingdom of God is power for salvation, even if the specific content
of the gospel isn’t salvation.
Many who prefer to keep hugging the
cherished familiar definition of the gospel they heard as children, will hunker
down for their last stand in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2.
“Now I make
known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you
received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved.”
However, like complementarians
circling the wagons around 1 Timothy 2:12 but suddenly surprised by 1 Timothy
4:14, 5:1-2, 17, 19, the traditionalists have little ground to on which to
stand. As in the Thessalonians, reference to the gospel’s saving power does not
contradict the all the other references to the gospel as the good news of the Kingdom
of God.
Again, Jesus is referred to as
Christ, or king (v. 3). Again, his resurrection from the dead vindicated his
claim to be the king of the Jews (v. 4). In verses 5-9, Paul lists numerous
witnesses to that resurrection.
Around 30 CE, the disciples have
witnessed the death and resurrection of Jesus. Luke wants to explain what
happened afterwards. So, Jesus was speaking to them concerning the Kingdom of
God (Acts 1:3). The disciples ask about restoring the Kingdom to Israel (1:6).
Jesus replies that only the Father knows (1:7), BUT they are to receive the
Spirit in power and be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends
of the earth (1:8). So right off the bat in Acts, the subject of concern in the
disciples’ commission is the Kingdom. This should be no surprise given the
numerous, notable examples (Luke 1:33; 6:20; 8:10; 9:11, 27, 62; 10:9, 11;
11:2, 20; 12:31-32; 13:18, 20; 13:29; 17:20-21; 19:11; 21:31; 22:29; 23:42,
51). Just as in Paul, Luke understands that the gospel is the Kingdom (Luke
4:43-44; 8:1; 9:2, 60; 16:16), which is why it was being preached, proclaimed,
and taught even before the crucifixion and resurrection. In Luke 9:1-6, Jesus
commissions the disciples to go out preaching the gospel (v. 6). What is this
gospel that he commissions them to preach (prior to his death and
resurrection)? The Kingdom of God (v. 2).
So, when the Spirit is poured out
in Acts, and Peter gives his first recorded sermon to launch the Church, it's
on the promised descendent of David on the throne (2:30), who would be
resurrected (2:31), to which the disciples are *witnesses* (2:32; see 1:8
again). In the sermon’s climax, Peter quotes Psalm 110 about a king given
dominion over the world and seated next to God (see also Acts 5:31; 7:56). He
identifies Jesus' as the christ/king. Of course, in Luke 20, Jesus follows up a
discussion on the resurrection with one on the christ/king/descendent of David
in Psalm 110. During his trial, Jesus is asked if he is the christ/king. He
affirms it, citing Psalm 110 and Daniel 7 (Luke 22:66-71). So, Jesus is put to
death for claiming to be the christ/king (Luke 22:71; 23:2-3, 11, 35, 37-39,
42). Joseph of Arimathea (who Luke notes was waiting for the Kingdom of God)
takes Jesus' body (23:51). The resurrection is God overturning the verdict,
vindicating Jesus as the true christ/king.
Back in Acts, Phillip preaches the
gospel of the Kingdom of God (8:12), as does Paul (20:25; 28:23). In fact, the
preaching of the Kingdom of God is the last line of the book (Acts 28:31). Paul
preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God in Rome (28:31) as a witness
(28:23), goes back to the start of the book: preaching the gospel of the
kingdom towards the ends of the earth as witnesses to the resurrection that
proved Jesus was the king of that Kingdom.
Back to 1 Corinthians 15, remember
that Paul’s objective here is to explain the general resurrection at the end of
the present age to gentiles somewhat unfamiliar with this distinctively Jewish
idea. In doing so, he naturally points to the most obvious (and so far only) example:
the resurrection of Jesus. And since the resurrection vindicated Jesus’ claim
to be the king of the Jews, and his crucifixion “enthroned” him in his Kingdom,
and since the final, general resurrection of believers coincides with the full
consummation of the Kingdom, it should no surprise that Paul mentions the
gospel of the Kingdom of God and a few of the relevant passages. Again, Paul
refers to Jesus’ kingly title of Christ throughout this passage. In verse 23, he
refers to Jesus’ final appearance as a parousia, a technical expression
to denote the arrival or visit of a king. Some 13 years after Paul’s letter to
the Corinthians, when Emperor Nero visited the city of Corinth, advent coins
were struck that carried the legend Adventus Augusti Corinth. The Latin
word advent here corresponded to the Greek word parousia.
Importantly, in verse 24, Christ hands over the Kingdom to the
Father, when he has katargese all rule, power, and authority. In verse
25, Paul expounds Psalm 110:1, the kingly psalm mentioned by Jesus at his trial
and Peter at Pentecost, both identifying Christ as king of the Jews and
denoting the coming of the Kingdom of God. In verse 27, he quotes Psalm 8:6, a
psalm that mentions “son of man” (a phrase which Jesus called himself, and in
which he linked to Daniel 7 and quoted with Psalm 110 at his trial). Psalm 8 is
also a probable allusion to Adam and God granting authority to “him” (Gen
1:26-28). Paul had just mentioned Adam in verse 22 and will do so again in
verse 45. The reference to Adam in verse 22 approximates a similar reference in
Romans 5:14.
So, while in 1
Corinthians 15, Paul continues his assertion that the proclamation of the
gospel of the kingdom of God is a power to salvation by the simultaneous
calling of the Spirit, his explanation for the resurrection, both of Christ and
all believers, necessarily contains Kingdom of God language, verses, and
references. Therefore, we can understand why Paul refers to the gospel in
Romans 1:16 as “the power of God for salvation.”
Romans 1:17 – “For in it the righteousness of God is
revealed.”
Here we have one of the most
significant ideas of Romans, perhaps, as many believe, the single point that
Paul wants to convey to the Roman church. Significantly, as the New Perspective
on Paul has shown, the righteousness of God (θεοῦ δικαιοσύνην) refers to
Yahweh’s characteristic faithfulness to the covenant he made with Abraham and
the other patriarchs (Gen 12, 15, 17). It is not an attribute that can be
imputed into the believer.
In Mark 12:26-27 (Mat 22:23-33; Luke
20:27-40), Jesus answers a question from the Sadducees about the authenticity
of the resurrection. In doing so, he notes the incident of Moses and the
burning bush, quoting Exodus 3:6, in which Yahweh says, “I am the God of your
father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Exodus 3
does not refer to any sort of resurrection; so why did Jesus say (in Luke
20:37) that Moses showed the dead are raised (see also Matt 22:29-32; Mark
12:26-27)? Here Jesus isn't citing the passage as proof text for the
resurrection, but rather pointing to what the passage says about the character
and nature of God, which then results in resurrection. Exodus 2 ends noting the
bondage and affliction of the Israelites, and that God is remembering his
covenant with the patriarchs, which had predicted the Egyptian enslavement and
liberation (Gen 15:13-14). So, in Exodus 3 (a mix of the J, E, and P sources),
God identifies himself to Moses as that God of the patriarchs (v.6), the one
who hears the affliction of his people (v.7), who liberates (vv.8-9), who keeps
his promises (v.8). In vv. 14-16, there's a repeat of God's identification with
the patriarchs twice more, adding his name: Yahweh. Based on the verb "to
be", it indicates both a character & relationship: "I am what I
am, I will be what I will be." A name to be remembered thru all
generations (v.15). Yahweh is saying that his character and nature is one in
which the Israelites of all generations can depend, that he is with them, and
that he keeps his promises. That's part of the covenant, beginning with Abraham
and the other patriarchs.
So, again, Jesus is pointing to a
Pentateuch passage, recording an event after the death of the patriarchs of the
covenant, which references the covenant, references the patriarchs, and
expresses the dependability of God's character as evidence for the resurrection.
The way the redactor put the Pentateuch together (& the way the Yahwist put
his narrative together) the calling of Abraham & the election of Israel
(Gen 12) is about how to fix the fall of humanity from Genesis 3 to 11 and
onward. Part of that fall is the introduction of death in humans (Gen 3).
Again, the Gospels are about the
good news of the Kingdom of God and God becoming king through Jesus; from his
David-like anointing by John the Baptist to his enthronement on the cross.
Mark opens his “beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ (1:1) with three
references to the exodus. Verses 2-3 of the first chapter mix Exodus 23:20 and
Malachi 3:1a (which is referencing Exodus 23:20) and Isaiah 40:3 which is a
part of Deutero-Isaiah's new exodus motif.
Malachi 3:1b predicts Yahweh appearing in his Temple (see Mark 11:15). The
"dead" Moses appears in Mark 9. Yahweh has returned to the Temple
like Malachi 3:1 predicted. The glory of God is now in Jesus, not the Temple.
The theophany of the burning bush is being referenced by the greatest theophany
of them all. Jesus is about to have his Last Supper, a Passover meal. He's
about to be crowned king of the Jews on the cross, during Passover. His death
will be a baptism (Mark 10:38-39), later understood by Paul as like the parting
of the Red Sea (1 Cor 10:1-4). He's about to launch the greatest Exodus of them
all in his resurrection.
So, in Mark 12:26-27, Jesus is talking
about resurrection just days before his own, affirming its validity by
referencing a theophanic story about the character, dependability, covenant-faithfulness
(righteousness) of God. That's exactly how Paul himself describes the gospel in
Romans 1:17.
In conclusion, as can be seen from
the terms & phrases he uses, Paul is making many references indicating that
his understanding of the gospel as the Kingdom of God and Jesus as its king
conforms with that of the Gospel writers and Jesus himself. Rather than being
about justification by faith or how one gets “saved”, the gospel is about God’s
rule and reign thru Jesus Christ, which then brings salvation in its
proclamation, but also peace, justice, and healing.
"Thinking Eternally, Acting Locally." - Neal August
