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,
in a way that honors the holiness of His great name.
Each of us has sinned and gone astray, in thought, word, and deed,
worshiping the created in place of the Creator,
loving the darkness and hating the light,
and the penalty for our rebellion is eternal punishment and exile.
Fully deserving God’s wrath and curse for our cosmic treason,
we stand hopelessly condemned before Him, without defense or excuse.
But God Most High is also God Most Merciful,
and in mercy, He sent His Son, the shining brightness of the Father’s glory,
to bear our sin, shame, wrath, and curse, as our Savior and Substitute.
In our place, He hung condemned—crucified by men, and crushed by God.
The death of Jesus silenced the justice that called for our condemnation
and opened 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.