Gospel # 2 - THE OBJECT OF THE GOSPEL

LUKE 19:10

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

            The Son of Man is the Lord Jesus Christ. By this appellation, He is described in His voluntary humiliation for man’s redemption. In His own eternal nature, He was “ the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father.” The brightness of the Fathers glory, and “the express image of His person.” But though “in the form of God.” “Equal with God,” “the fellow of the Lord of hosts.”   “He took upon Himself, the likeness of man,” and “the form of a servant,” God was manifest in the flesh,” and thus became the Son of man.” The Son of Man, the Son of God, the Prince of peace, was, in the writings of the Proverbs, which states, “the Lord possessed Me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old, from everlasting I was established”, Prov. 8:22-30. He was made of a woman, made under the law, that He might redeem them that died under law and became captives of Satan, as a result and consequence of the rejection of God’s plan for Spiritual salvation in the garden. Thus meaning that Satan was allowed to hold the departed in separation from God, until the ransom price were paid, in which Satan demanded the life of the Son of God.

            Both good and evil were held in bondage. —Redemption was one of the first objects to be fulfilled, the Son of   Man would give His life, His blood as a ransom price paid to Satan for the full pardon of all the spirits. Hosea said, "Come let us return to the Lord". For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day that we may live before Him”, Hosea 6:1-3. Such was accomplished in redemption in order to fulfill Hosea. But God’s plan could not be changed in any way, either by God Himself, or by man’s rejection. Thus Heb. 2:14 —15, clearly shows that the death of Christ not only destroyed the power of Satan who had control over the departed spirits; but redeemed the righteous spirits and delivered them to the Father. In the English language this is called a resurrection. It is to be noted that Hosea said such would occur at the third day, meaning first the First fruit, which was Christ, Then after Christ, the graves were opened and the saints came out, Matt. 27:51-53. John informs us in Rev. 14:1-5, that 144,000 had been purchased as first fruits, unto God and the Lamb slain. All written was in past tense. The law demanded this event be fulfilled. Paul, then informs us that at Christ’s coming, the rest would be raised, 1 Cor. 15:24. If even one Iota had failed to be fulfilled, it would have destroyed the whole Gospel plan of God.

            Jesus said, “ I have not come to abolish the law or the prophets, but I come to fulfill.” Isaiah, being Led by the Holy Spirit said in regards to redemption; those who died in an evil state will not live; they will not rise God has destroyed them {condemned}, Isa. 26:13-21.However the righteous dead will live; their corpses will rise, they will awake and shout for joy. The earth will give birth to departed spirits.

            The accomplishment of this event, as well as Hosea is described in Matt. 27:51-53, which resulted in a partial resurrection. I say partial because those of Rev. 14:1-5 were the first. When this wonderful event, and the incarnation of the Son of God, was accomplished, He came, in the expression of the text before us, He came from God to man, from Heaven to earth, from the most exalted personal glory, to the deepest personal humiliation and distress, to lay down His life as a sacrifice for sin, and for redemption. To give Himself, the just for the unjust, a ransom paid to Satan for His own rebellious creatures. The Father spared not His own Son, but freely delivered Him up for guilty man.

            The Son came in a body, which was prepared for Him, content to do the Father’s will. The Holy Spirit formed Him in His human nature His Tabernacle of flesh; and He thus became a man, a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief; and as the captain of salvation to the son’s of God, He was made perfect through sufferings.

            This coming of the Son of God to be the Son of Man, that He might effectually seek and save that which was lost, is the whole subject of the Gospel.

            The sacred Scriptures of God announces glad tidings of good things to perishing men, Isaiah chapter 51:1ff, because they fully proclaim and exhibit this one great fact, that “ Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” that the Son of God has come, to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself at the end of the world, {AGE}, see Heb. 9:26, for the end of the world!

            The word Gospel means glad tidings, the glad tidings provided by an all sufficient and powerful God, and redeemer Jesus Christ, this is a part of God’s work accomplished before the creation of the world, Heb. 4:3, Proverbs 8:22-30. Since the Gospel entails laws within itself, laws which provided salvation, and grace, as well as redemption, the law of the Gospel demands fulfillment of all these events during God’s fullness of time, or His time frame, The Gospel law demanded that after the death of the Son of Man, He must ascend back to the Father to receive His glory, the time had not come yet for all things to be fulfilled that was written. After His ascension He was to return {second coming} to bring all things together and fulfill all things which were written, “ Now He said to them, these are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” The law of the Gospel made it very clear, that such fulfillment would occur during His own generation, Matt. 24:34, Luke 21:32. In speaking of the great judgment Jesus said, “ The queen of the south shall rise up with this generation at the judgment.” Matt. 12:42, Also speaking of the impending judgment, Jesus said,” truly I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation,” Matt. 23:29-39. The law of the Gospel demanded judgment, during the generation in which Jesus lived.

            The fulfillment of all the Gospel was not totally fulfilled, until Christ returned. 1 Pet. 1:3-7, at this appearing He would bring salvation in full, so long as the Temple stood, and the Jews continued to worship there salvation was by promise, Acts 2:39. 1 Pet. 1:13, grace was to be brought at His coming.

            Therefore, if I take the position that the law of the Gospel, the Law of Moses, and the prophets, and the Psalms, have not been totally fulfilled, and is yet to come; then I must admit that, redemption is not affective until some time in the future, that salvation is yet to come, that grace is yet to come. Peter made it very clear that salvation, and grace would be brought at the second coming.

            Jacob made it clear that the scepter would not pass from Judah until Shiloh comes. Removing the Scepter from Judah meant that Judah would no longer exist, yet the Scepter was not removed from Judah when the Son of God came in the flesh, suffered and died, but it was removed by Shiloh when He appeared the second time, opening the doors to all Israel for judgment. {See Gen. 49:10}.

            God laid the iniquity of us all upon the Son of man. This same Son of man has become a propitiation for the sins of the world, that whosoever believes in the whole Gospel plan of God should not perish, but have everlasting life. The whole Gospel plan refers to God’s rules and regulations as was written in the beginning by God, He made no mistakes, and no errors. To believe in Him for salvation is to lay aside all of man’s traditional ideas, and, “ Study to show thyself approved by God,” 2 Tim 2:15.

            Jesus said, “ If you love Me, you will keep My commandments,” John 15:10, John 14:21.

This is the glorious intelligence of the Gospel. The Son of Man has come; He came in physical life to demonstrate His love for mankind by shedding His blood on the cross. He died and went back to the Father to receive His Kingdom, and return to earth with His Kingdom, so says Luke 19:12 ff, and Dan. 7:13-14, therefore, this Christ in whom we depend upon for salvation, for friendship, for the indwelling of His love and mercy has borne the sinners burden. He has made an end to sin for those who believes and loves Him, more than the world.

            The text before us displays in simple terms, the object and purpose of the Gospel, the design for which the Son of God came into the world, and to accomplish the fulfillment of God’s completed scheme of redemption. Without total fulfillment, the results is that we have a limited salvation, a limited grace, a limited atonement, and limited forgiveness. If God could not effect fulfillment, then how can we expect Him to effect the articles of faith, within the Gospel plan? How could the text before us have any concrete meaning if these articles attached thereto, have as yet to be fulfilled, then we have 2,000 years of lost people! Could it be that God forgot to have them fulfilled? God forbid even the thought.

            In discussing the important subject which is thus presented, we may consider, first, the announcement of Christ at Matt. 5:17, “I did not come to abolish the law or the prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to FULFILL.” Consider for the record, John 3:18, “ He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe in Him, has been {past tense} judged already, because, he has not {past tense}

Believed in the only begotten Son of God.”  Just take a guess, how many people do you know that believes the statement here made by Christ? ---“ I did not come to abolish the law or the prophets, I did not come to abolish, but to FULFILL.”  Twice in this one verse Christ says, “I did not come to abolish.”

            The fact is that if the Father sent His Son to fulfill all His works, what happened? Did Christ disobey the Father? NO! What’s wrong then? The error lies with unbelieving mankind. Is this scenerio believable? Consider the condition in which the true Gospel finds the whole race of men!

            The following is a retrospective question, if the Gospel was not to fulfill all of God’s works, then what was the Gospel to accomplish Scripturally? It is here displayed in a single phrase, “I came to seek and save the lost.”

            Sin against God is man’s own invention. I must consider the fact of man’s fallen state established in itself; and would labor to impress upon your minds, a clear understanding and conviction of its extent.

A thorough perception of man’s needs as guilt creatures lies at the very root of all attempts to understand and gain the remedy, which God has so mercifully provided. To acquire this, must be our present purpose. Man will never turn and accept God’s terms of the Gospel, until he is clearly and thoroughly convinced that in this age, we have the reality of all that God has promised. Only then will he be convinced of his guilt and ruin.

            Another object of the Gospel finds man under a burden of inconceivable guilt. For every precept of the Divine law testifies against sinful man. There is not a duty required of man, there is not a suffering that Christ, and the Son of God has not endured. You were born into a sinful world, and since your birth you have gone astray. One transgression would have exposed you to everlasting banishment from God; and your iniquities have been multiplied as the sand of the seashore. Every hour of man’s life, because it is spent in unbelief, and rebellion against God, is a record of man’s condemnation by God. Man’s guilt in the sight of God, is therefore inconceivable by man. Until man has come to understand that salvation comes through belief, and that belief comes through God’s written Word. And has nothing to do with man’s traditional interpretation of what man thinks that God had written. God’s Word is complete, and man’s interpretation is clearly prohibited, 2 Pet. 2:20-21.                                                           

            Man’s guilt in the sight of God, is inconceivable by man. Until man have written down every sinful purpose and feeling of your lives, and taken the amount of condemnation which the aggregate of these sinful purposes has necessarily brought upon you, you can have attained no just measure of guilt. It as high as Heaven; what can you know? Without laying bare your soul to Jesus Christ; it is as deep as hell; what can you do? Believe that God’s Word is complete and fulfilled in this age. It is utterly beyond the compass of our minds to calculate, or comprehend, the extent of actual guilt, which lies upon every soul to whom the Gospel brings its comfort through its intelligence and offer of salvation. It is a load, which the arm of the Omnipotence alone can unload from off the soul of any sinner; and the power of the Gospel to save, Rom. 1:16, which announces that this guilt has been borne mankind by one mighty, who came to “seek and save the lost.” Does the Gospel find you lost in a state of extreme personal corruption and lacking in holiness?

Only mankind as individuals can truthfully answer this question. But to help, would you accept some suggestions that might help to bring your soul under the Gospel rule, and plan for salvation. The Holy Spirit gave specific instructions for a well-balanced life in the body of Christ, first, “ study to show thyself approved by God, a workman who needs not to be ashamed; rightly dividing the Words of truth,” 2 Tim. 2:15. In this lies our personal corruption. We have more interest in watching T. V. than we do in Bible study, and then we turn and say, “I just don’t have time,” and, “ we are on the internet, entertaining our self.

            Such activity heaps upon the soul misery. And second when we hear some dynamic preacher on TV or from the pulpit preach on subjects that has been white washed, so you hear a shallow account of the Gospel which leads one to believe that only the preacher can understand the Bible, so you pass on to him your responsibility of the study, so we get the idea that all I have to do is listen! I think you get the idea. If you don’t, then I will tell you, there was in history when the Roman Catholic Church chained the Bible to the pulpit, in that way people could not study; they had to accept what the Priest said. The Gospel finds man lost in a state of enmity to God.

The natural mind of every man is enmity against God, and will not be subjected to His will. In some people, it may break forth into more open acts of hostility than in others. But it is no less really enmity to God, when it is dressed up with a fair exterior, or shut up and concealed under false professions of friendship. There is a direct and positive hostility and opposition between the mind of God, and the mind of every unconverted sinner. They pursue opposite and wholly inconsistent ends.

            Many people may be wholly unconscious of any distinct purpose of opposition to the complete will of God, and they may deny that they have such. The simple reason is they do not stop to consider what the will of God is; a second reason is that they have never learned what the will of God is. But ignorance is no excuse, and is no longer accepted by God.

            The Gospel finds man lost in a state of utter inability to return to God, or to restore himself to the Divine image, or favor of God. So far man is from being able to recommend himself to God, that every imagination of the thoughts of the heart is only evil continually. The Spirit of God alone can enable you to will, or to do, anything that is really good. You have not a wish to be reconciled to God, until He imparts it.

            Man’s dispositions and affections are so entirely averted from Him, and man has loved darkness, rather than light and have harbored sin in their soul. This aversion of man’s minds from God forms an utter incapacity in themselves, to return to Him. Ezekiel might prophecy to dry bones, with as much hope, as I would preach the Gospel to mankind. Man’s heart has become like Pharaoh’s it is like stone.

No longer do I hear from the mouth of people, what can I do for the Church, rather one is heard to say, well what can the Church do for me, that I myself cannot do? And usually the Church that offers the most entertainment, and shallow teaching, such as world burning, the end of the world, the second coming, will be filled, while the small Church which is sincere with God, attracts but few.

            Truthfully, I have no wish to overstate this subject. But a sincere discernment of this condition by ourselves is indispensable. Until we each become acquainted through the Holy Spirit, with our own necessities, it is vain to direct our notice to the gracious provisions, which God alone has revealed in the Gospel for our rescue and relief. The Son of God, took not upon Himself the nature of angels, nor the guilt of angels, but He took upon Himself the seeds of Abraham, and made Himself an offering for sin, Heb. 9:26

            The object of the sacrifice of the Son of God, was to redeem man from the sins of the world, to re-new his life through obedience to His Word, to bring him forth as a new creature, a Spiritual creature, a creature which would love God with all his heart, mind and soul. Such was the attitude of Abraham, and because God found in Abraham faith, and obedience, the Gospel was preached to him by God Gal. 3: 8. And God said concerning Abraham, “Since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation of the earth will be blessed? For I have chosen him, in order that he may command his children and his house hold after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; in order that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him. Gen. 18: 18-19. Since Abraham received the Gospel during his lifetime, we cannot say it first begin at Pentecost, Because Abraham was commanded to teach his children, and their children, and all his households. It is possible to see the Gospel being preached all the way to Jacob, and beyond. However we must understand that this was the physical Covenant of the Gospel, for the Spiritual had to wait for Christ to offer Himself a sacrifice for sin, which was forgiven at obedience to baptism.

            Jesus came to seek a world that was lost; a world that had started forth as it were from its proper beginning, a new and glorious earth filled with subjects who would welcome the gift that God had sent from Heaven, especially since the Gospel had been preached to Abraham. But on the contrary, Jesus found subjects who rejected Him and called for His death. The same remains true to this day.

            I pray dear reader that your countenance is lifted up because of this lesson; now turn your heart to the Lord.                              JEM.