Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures... (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
The gospel is the joyous declaration
that God is restoring His creation, and receiving into His kingdom
all who turn from their sin, and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.
God has come, in the person of His Son,
to save sinners by His grace, from His wrath, and for His glory,
while honoring the holiness of His name.
Each of us has sinned, and gone astray,
defying our Creator, and deifying the created,
loving the darkness, and hating the light,
and the penalty for our rebellion is eternal punishment and exile.
Sin, as cosmic treason, has subjected us to God’s wrath and curse,
leaving us hopelessly condemned and defenseless before Him.
But God, being rich in mercy,
sent His Son, the shining brightness of His own glory,
to bear our sin, blame, and shame, as our Savior and Substitute.
For us, He endured God's wrath, and became a curse
to satisfy the justice that stood against us
and open the only fountain that can cleanse us from sin’s guilt and power.
After three days, Jesus conquered the grave,
rose bodily from the dead, by the glory of the Father,
and is now exalted in heaven, with all power and authority,
offering forgiveness, righteousness, resurrection,
and eternal blessedness, in God's all-satisfying presence,
to all who repent, and call upon His worthy and wonderful name.
The gospel announces the enthronement of Christ as King,
the inevitable increase, and coming consummation of His kingdom,
when all things will be made new,
and celebrates the plundering of Satan’s kingdom,
as God rescues and restores those formerly bound by sin and Satan,
for their everlasting joy in Him, to the endless praise of His glory and grace.