“[The gospel] regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life
was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness
was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection
from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord”
(Romans 1:3-4).
The Gospel, which is the good news of salvation, is centered around the Son of God and the Son of man. Paul himself explains that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and that “sin pays its wage – death” (Rom. 3:23; 6:23).
We could only be saved by Someone who had life within Himself, Someone who was God and at the same time, lives as a sinless human, because He could not atone His own sins as well as those of others.
Paul summarizes the gospel and says that God becomes man, through His incarnation as a descendent of David’s family (Rom. 1:3; 5:15; 2 Cor. 5:19; 2 Tim. 2:8). In the book of Revelation, John talks about the Lord as a root and branch of David (Rev. 5:5; 22:16). Root because He existed as God from the beginning, always; and branch because He was born as a human, as a descendent of David’s lineage. Jesus was divine and human at the same time: He was “God with us” (Matt. 1:23). He was the Son of Mary and the Holy Spirit. He was not Joseph’s son. He was the Son of man, but also the Son of God.
Jesus was given up in order to “save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21), but He would be useless as a dead Savior. Both the incarnation as well as the resurrection of Christ show the love and power of God and guarantee our salvation. Isaiah had prophesied: “For to us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given” (Isa. 9:6). He lived a life without sin, died in our place, and resurrected from among the dead.
Christ’s resurrection ensures our salvation, because “If he be not risen there is no Son of God; and the world is desolate, and the heaven is empty, and the grave is dark, and sin abides and death is eternal” – A. Maclaren – The apostle Paul himself says – and repeats: “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.” “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Cor. 15:14, 17).
The Bible exposes the origin of evil as “the mystery of lawlessness,” and to resolve and counter that mystery, there is “the mystery of godliness,” (2 Thess. 2:7; 1 Tim. 3:16), because only an unexplainable love could have done for us what was done. The never-ending years of eternity will not be enough to study such an amazing and immense love.
This is the good news of the gospel:
The Son of God was made the Son of man so that we,
the children of men, could become children of God.
May our gratitude and commitment be permanent!
God bless you, may you be filled by His Agape Love…