The Actual Gospel of Jesus Christ (Part 3)
as presented by the early church
The gospel of peace through Jesus Christ.
Acts 10.36 reads, “You know the message God sent to the people of
Without delving deeply into the similarities between the Greek word ‘eirene’ and the Hebrew ‘shalom’, I will comment briefly.
According to the book “Christian Words” by Nigel Turner, “In the LXX…eirene was ‘health’ and ‘well being’, in the sense of abatement of Gods wrath, with spiritual security. Almost always it rendered shalom, peace, welfare, prosperity – especially peace with God.” He goes on the say, “Christian Greek takes a step forward when eirene becomes personalized as no less than our Savior Himself, who is our peace, reconciling Jew with Gentile, and both with God.” (Eph. 2.14)
This is the aspect of peace we will pursue now; how this relates to the gospel. To put the passage we opened with in context, Peter was praying and received a vision of unclean animals (animals the Jews by tradition were not allowed to eat), mingled with clean animals, being lowered from heaven in something like a sheet. When told to take and eat he responded, “Surely not, Lord…I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice speaking to him replied, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and as Peter was reflecting on this, three men form a gentile centurion, Cornelius, came to the house seeking Peter. The Holy Spirit instructed Peter to go with them for he had sent them, himself.
The remainder of the story, as well as the message preached, are contained in Acts 10.9-48 and repeated in 11.1-18. The importance of the story for our study les in the fact that this was the beginning of God’s direct revelation to the Jewish believers that God’s purpose in Christ was:
“…through him to reconcile to God all things on earth or in heaven, making this peace through his blood shed on the cross.” (Colosians 1.19,20 – Goodspeed)
How this relates to the gentiles is stated in Col. 1.21-23.
“Once you were alienated from God…But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight…” (N.I.V.)
In the book of Ephesians Paul gives us the clearest presentation of this truth. Chapter 2, beginning at verse 22, reads:
“…therefore, remember that formerly you who are gentiles…were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world, but now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away (gentiles) and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household…” (N.I.V.)
This had been one of those verses in scripture that troubled me as a pre-millennialist; that I just wasn’t able to justify with my pre-tribulation theology concerning the plan of God for the nation of
Please, let me clarify this point. I am not calling anyone ignorant for believing in the current Millennialism. It’s not a matter of intelligence, but rather of perception. It’s a known fact that there are primitive tribes of people who were unable to ‘read’ a photograph simply because they had never been exposed to one. In much the same way, we have our perceptions structured by the input we receive from the people we put our trust in to teach us the truth. The greater the trust, the less likely we are to verify the facts for ourselves and the more vehemently we will safeguard THEIR truth.
Paul, here, is stating clearly, emphatically, that the Jews and the gentiles are part of a new work of God, and yet a work whose beginning actually predated the Mosaic Law. As Eusebius, the early Church historian, has stated; “Should anyone, beginning from Abraham, and going back to the first man, pronounce those who have had the testimony of righteousness Christians in fact, though not in name, he would not be far from the truth. For as the name Christians is intended to indicate this very idea, that a man, by the knowledge and doctrine of Christ, is distinguished by modesty and justice, by patience and a virtuous fortitude, and by a profession of piety towards the one and only true and supreme God; all this was not less studiously cultivated by them than by us. They did not, therefore, regard circumcision, nor observe in types and symbols, because these things do not belong to Christians.”
Through Christ, God no longer limits His election to the Jews but had taken the steps necessary to include the gentiles in His election.
But it goes farther than that. He actually destroys everything that stood as a barrier between the two; alienation from citizenship, exclusion from the promises and denial of relationship with God. Each of these areas are dealt with in Christ, opening up salvation to the gentiles on exactly the same level as the Jews. But instead of the gentiles being required to convert to Judaism as they had in the past, God placed salvation on a new level; faith in the good news of Jesus Christ. The gentiles needed faith, the Jews needed faith. The same faith was required for the salvation of all nations, peoples and tribes.
But was this new? Did God do something unheard of and totally unexpected? The early church evidently didn’t believe so. Again Eusebius states, “…we should plainly suppose, that the first and most ancient religion known, that of those pious men that were connected with Abraham, is the very religion lately announced to all in the doctrines of Christ.”
In Ephesians 3, from verse 5 on, Paul states there is a mystery that God has revealed to him. That this mystery had been revealed to men in other generations but not as fully as to Paul and his fellow apostles and prophets, because their knowledge was through revelation by the Spirit of God at the fullness of time. Jesus had said on the cross, “It is finished.” This was the time for the mystery to be revealed, brought to light. What is this mystery?
“This mystery that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise of Christ Jesus.” (v.6 N.I.V.)
Please note, we are not sharers together of the promise of Christ, in the plural, but rather we are joint participants in the many facetted promise of God, which finds its culmination in Christ Jesus. Throughout the Old Testament we find figures and symbols of Christ and glimpses of the glory of the age he would usher in. But these were merely shadows. The reality is in Christ. God’s promises find their completion in Christ Jesus.
How can we think or say we are preaching the gospel if we don’t mention this incredible truth? This IS the gospel, part and parcel. And what’s more, though this was ‘kept hidden in God,’ (v.9) nevertheless it has always been part of God’s eternal purpose (v.11).
Jesus Christ is our peace, and “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
GENTILES AS HEIRS
Acts 15.9, 14-18; 26.22, 23; 28.28
Romans 2.28, 29; 3.21, 22, 28, 29; 4.3, 11-17, 23, 24; 8.16, 17; 9.24-26, 30-32; 10.12; 11.7, 11, 19, 20; 15.8, 9, 12, 16, 25, 26
1 Corinthians 2.7; 12.12, 13
2 Corinthians 6.16
Galatians 3.7, 8, 13, 14, 26-29; 5.6
Phillipians 3.2, 3
Colossians 1.19-22
JESUS, OUR PEACE
Romans 5.1, 2
Colossians 3.15
John 14.27; 16.33
Phillipians 4.7
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