Gospel--This is derived from two Anglo-Saxon words, god (good), and spell ((news), and therefore is equivalent to the Greek term “good tidings.” The complete revelation of the goodness of God was reserved until in the fulness of time the Lord Jesus Christ appeared. It is in His Person and work that God’s way of salvation, through faith in Him, was made known to men. In that revelation we discover four cardinal and essential features.
(1) His Incarnation, by which God was manifested in human nature, as full of grace and truth.
(2) His atoning Sacrifice on the Cross, by which the barrier between God and sinners was removed, and their reconciliation made possible.
(3) His Resurrection, by which that Atonement was sealed and ratified, followed by His Ascension in our nature to the right hand of God, there to plead the sacrifice offered upon the cross, and to pour down the gifts and graces of His Holy Spirit.
(4) His second coming in power and glory to set up His kingdom upon earth, to gather His living saints to Himself, to raise from death those who are asleep in Jesus, and then finally to call all the buried myriads of mankind from their graves and to judge the quick and the dead, thus to effect the final triumph of good over evil.
Such in the main is the Gospel message on its historical side, and because it is such, it is the “power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” [William Burnet]
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