About the Gospel
1.2 - Foundations of the Christian Faith
The English word “gospel” means “good news.” The word comes to us from Old English. The word for “good” in that age was spelled “god” with a single “o” (not to be confused with God), while the word for “story” or “message” was “spel.” Put these two words together, and you have “god-spel.” As the language changed over time, this was altered to “gospel.”
So, when we speak of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are talking about the “good news” that God is “reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19).
The Greek word used in the New Testament for “gospel” is Evangelion. From this word, we get the word “evangelist,” who is a bringer of the good news. Two more words derived from this root are “evangelism” and “Evangelical.”
In short, the Gospel is the good news that God loves the world and offers salvation from sin through his Son, Jesus Christ.
Your assignment: Read the following scriptures to see what God’s Word says about the Gospel.
John 3:16–17
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
1 Corinthians 15:1–5
1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.
Romans 5:15
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
John 1:12
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
1 John 5:11-12
11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Isaiah 53:4–5
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
Psalm 103:1–13
1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
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