The Gospel According to Paul: Part 1

Why the title? What is the gospel according to Paul? Of course, there is no "gospel" written that was allegedly written by the apostle Paul. There are ancient gospels that are not in the Christian Canon but, none of them are from Paul. And yet, Paul defined the gospel more specifically than any other writer. In the gospels, the term is indicative of a writing that tells of the time of Jesus' earthly ministry, but there is a difference between the term gospel, and the writings called gospels. It is with this in mind that I use the title, the gospel according to Paul. He came on the scene later than all the other writers. However, he received revelation later than any other writer. It was later in a transition that was taking place within the pages of the writings. It was a transition from John the Baptist, a strictly Jewish Old Testament prophet, to Jesus the embodiment of the gospel, to the crucifixion and resurrection, to the institution of the New Covenant, to a strictly Jewish church, to the inclusion of the gentiles, and the anticipation of the one new man/new creature. This makes Paul's revelation progressively more complete than the others which in turn makes Paul's definition of the gospel, or in other words, the gospel according to Paul more important in our understanding of the New Covenant Saint that is the "one new man."

The New Testament scripture is replete with the term good news. The the title of the four gospels essentially means, the good news according to, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John respectively. Furthermore, there is some question to exactly what the good news is. Jesus use of the term is linked to his fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1-3. He is quoted as saying as much in Luke 4:16-21. So the gospel is best described in Old Testament terms as the following: Isa 61:1-3 CSB  "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners;  (2)  to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn,  (3)  to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the LORD to glorify him." Let's list it in a bullet list:

• bring good news to the poor
• heal the brokenhearted
• proclaim liberty to the captives
• freedom to the prisoners
• to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
• and the day of our God’s vengeance
• to comfort all who mourn
• to provide for those who mourn in Zion
• to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning
• festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair
• And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the LORD to glorify him

With the above description, the foundation point of Jesus reference to the good news that was proclaimed and fulfilled, let's look at what Paul says. Rom 1:16-17 CSB  "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.  (17)  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith."  Salvation has more than one meaning in the pages of the New Testament. In the gospels, it most certainly means salvation from the impending judgment of Rome on Jerusalem and all of Judea. However, Paul's use of the term is more in line with the current evangelical connotation of the word.

In the synoptic gospels, the words, saved and salvation are connected to being saved from the impending judgment, but in John's gospel and Acts, saved and salvation are akin to redemption and being made right with God. In those works salvation is the result of justification and redemption. This is true to a lesser degree in Luke's gospel, and to a much greater degree in Luke's Acts of the Apostles. The good news according to Paul is that Jesus perfect faith in the Father has set humanity to rights with God.

The red letter Christians, those who emphasize the words of Jesus over Paul miss this transition and in effect create two gospels. The truth is that the gospel is the gospel, but Paul's revelation of justification and redemption are much more complete and emphasize a spiritual reality rather than physical salvation. In this series we will look at the reasons that Paul's revelation for the "one new man" has ultimate importance. In many of the pages of the New Testament writings, there is a sense of both physical and spiritual salvation with a transition that will limit the physical salvation to 70AD leaving only spiritual salvation from that time forward.