Gospeled to Gospel
- Jeremy Carr
- Nov 23, 2009
By: Jeremy Carr, Acts 29 Pastor - Augusta, Georgia
The church is founded on the person and work of Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:18). Following Peter’s proclamation of Jesus as Christ, Jesus announces his promise to build his church. In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit empowers the preaching of the gospel through Peter that results in the forming of a gospel community. We see in Acts 2:42-47 certain characteristics of this new community: devotion to teaching, fellowship, and worship. Verse 46 notes that they had “glad and generous hearts.” This raises the question: did their glad and generous hearts cause gospel community, or did gospel community cause their hearts to be glad and generous?
Salvation Forms a Gospel Community
By definition, “fellowship/community” (koinonia) is one of participation. The essence of gospel community is one of investment and investing: both having a share and giving a share in (New Dictionary of Biblical Theology). Their hearts are not glad and generous because of the work they do themselves, nor necessarily the work that’s been done to them by others, but rather the common salvation experience of having been gospeled by Christ Jesus himself. Having a share in the gospel, this community then gives a share in the gospel.
Gospel as a Verb
Using gospel as a verb, we see the essence of Christian mission (Total Church). Having been “gospeled” by Jesus Christ, the church is to “gospel” one another. This reflects the image and nature of God and displays the work of Christ.
The New Testament is full of practical instructions of how to gospel one another: love one another (John 13:34,1 John 3:11), fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7), forgive one another (Eph. 4:32 ), accept one another (Rom. 15:7), serve one another (1 Peter 4:10), teach one another (Col. 3:16), be patient with one another (Eph. 4:2), bear one another's burdens (Gal. 6:2), pray for one another (James 5:16), submit to one another (Eph. 5:21), encourage one another, and build one another up (1 Thess. 5:11).
We Gospel Because We’ve Been Gospeled
What if we do not see these instructions merely as commands to follow, but rather reflections of how we as a gospel community display the work of Christ? We gospel because we’ve been gospeled:
•We love one another (John 13:34, 1 John 3:11) because God is love (1 John 4:8).
•We fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7) because of the Trinitarian fellowship of our God (2 Cor. 13:14)
•We forgive one another (Eph. 4:32) as God in Christ forgave us (Eph. 4:32).
•We accept one another (Rom. 15:7) because we’re accepted by God in Christ (1 Peter 2:5).
•We serve one another (1 Peter 4:10) as Jesus came to serve and give his life as our ransom (Mark 10:45).
•We teach one another (Col. 3:16) because Jesus is the true word of God incarnate (John 1:14).
•We are patient with one another (Eph. 4:2) because God’s kindness and patience leads to repentance (Rom. 2:4).
•We bear one another's burdens (Gal. 6:2) as Christ Jesus bore our griefs and transgressions (Is. 53:4).
•We pray for one another (James 5:16) as Christ did for us (John 17) and continues to do (Rom. 8:34).
•We submit to one another (Eph. 5:21) as Jesus submitted to the will of the Father (Phil. 2).
•We encourage one another and build one another up (1 Thess. 5:11) just as Jesus builds his church (Matt. 16:18).
Do we see the gospel as something we do or as something we expect others to do for us? Do we understand that to gospel we must first be gospeled? May we be obedient to gospel one another as a display of Christ Jesus’ gospeling of us.