The Gospel Is Meant For All Of Life All The Time
Human language cannot wrap its arms around the glory of Christ in the gospel of grace. Finite beings can say true things about God but they can never say everything there is to know about God. Everything we have in God’s Word is true. It is not as if when we say “love” that God has a different definition than us. Rather, when we say “God is love” (1 John 4:8) we are saying something profoundly true and yet God is so infinitely love that it is more than we can imagine.
That is why Colossians 1:18 says that Christ is “preeminent”. He is incomparable. He is matchless. He has no rivals. It is true there is no possible way we can exaggerate the glories of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Were someone to have memorized the entire dictionary and have such a mind to use the right words at the right time they would still fall short of how glorious Jesus Christ is.
The most glorious words, thoughts, and affections we have for Christ pale in comparison to who He really is. This is something only the Beatific Vision can show us. Even when we see the glory of Christ we will still not see all there is to see. Though it will be extravagantly more it will not be in totality. God is always infinite and, therefore, there will always be more of Him to see in the face of Jesus Christ. This is what will make heaven so joyful, satisfying, and full of splendor.
It is true that the gospel is not the only message in Christianity. Rather, it is the all-encompassing message. But, this comes whenever you only view the gospel in its most strict and limited sense—The birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. The Bible gives short versions of the gospel (1 Cor. 2:1-2) and longer versions of the gospel (Luke 24). The gospel is both simple and complex. There are not different “gospels” but rather this one gospel is so rich that we can tell it in 30 seconds and at the same time not be able to tell all of it in 30 years. The whole Bible tells us the whole gospel because the whole Bible tells us about the whole Christ.
To be sure, the gospel never turns into good advice. It is always good news. But, this good news empowers us to live in light of God’s commands—which is part of the good news! Whenever the Triune God and His grace is not at the center of what we proclaim then we are failing to proclaim the gospel (no matter what else we might say that can be true).
All other truths are at the brightest when the gospel shines its light on them All commands, genealogies, recollections of history, poetry, miracles, ethics, or whatever else in Scripture shines brightest when the Light of Jesus Christ shines upon it. In and of themselves, everything without Jesus Christ is merely the Letter (2 Cor. 3:1-18). They have no power in themselves to bring change to us. It is as we believe in Christ that we can then see, understand, and use these truths in the way they weren’t meant to be seen, understood, and used.
Therefore, it is wrong to say that the gospel is merely first in rank among the messages of the Bible. It is the message of the Bible (1 Cor. 15:3-4). And everything in Scripture is meant to be understood in light of the gospel of grace. This is how Jesus understood the Scriptures:
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
Luke 24:27
This is important because if we’re not careful we can make it seem like the gospel is just the most important message among all others. In that case, we could infer that instead of having to embrace the gospel in all of life we can just embrace the gospel in most of life. As long as it’s the message we embrace more than any other then we’re fine. That is diminishing the glory that is in the gospel. The gospel is infinite in glory and it affects all of life. Revelation 4:11 makes very clear that God created all things and by His will they existed and were created. 1 Corinthians 10:31 also definitely says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” How can you live all of life for the glory of God if you neglect the fact that Jesus Christ is the radiance of God’s glory (Heb. 1:3)?
The gospel doesn’t hide merely in the church building or in the house where we have Bible studies. It doesn’t stay where we have our private devotions or in the coffee shop where we meet others to talk about Jesus.
The gospel changes the way we look at the past, present, and future. It changes the way we honor God through performing surgeries, writing history, predicting this week’s forecast, managing others’ finances, running marathons, writing fiction, being a nurse, raising children, cutting the grass, studying philosophy, applying ethics, building a house, and everything else you can think of. Grace changes everything. It changes the way we think. It changes the way we work. It changes the way we treat others. It changes the way we react to others when they sin. It changes the way we react whenever we’re convicted of sin. The gospel is not merely number one on the list of other messages. It is on totally different playing field.
This means that for all of life we must meditate on, feast upon, and delight in the Person & Work of Christ. The moment we think we have come to understand it all should be the moment we humble ourselves in confession and repentance.
“C.S. Lewis was surely right to warn Christians last century never to speak of those who are ‘too heavenly minded to be of any earthly use’. Lewis knew enough about how the gospel works to affirm it is precisely those who are most heavenly minded who leave the longest and deepest impressions on their contemporaries, and ultimately on history. A deep and intimate knowledge of Christ resolves most ‘practical’ issues on the Christian life. Those who live most fruitfully on earth realize they have priceless treasure in heaven. This is precisely the way Jesus taught His followers to live in His kingdom.”
- Sinclair Ferguson
The gospel of grace is the greatest motivation for godliness. It is the greatest guide for holiness. But, it is not merely motivation and guide—it is power! Romans 1:16 says that the gospel of Christ is the “power” of God for all of salvation. It is never less than motivation but it is also power.
What does this mean? It means the more we dive into the depths of the riches of the gospel of grace to meditate on it and apply it to our lives then we will be transformed. When we are confronted with Jesus Christ in His glory then we will be sanctified into His image (2 Cor. 3:18).
The gospel is not merely something we think about, remember, and then proceed to do our best to copy. Matter of fact, it is borderline blasphemy for us to truly believe this statement: Preach the gospel; if necessary use words.
The gospel is words about The Word. To say that we could somehow preach the gospel without words is implying that somehow we could show others by our mere actions what Christ has done for us. That is impossible! This is an incredibly prideful statement for us to think that our sinful selves could somehow be sufficient to show people Jesus by our actions.
The gospel is not us. The gospel applies to us but it is not us. It is Jesus Christ!
When we believe the gospel, the Holy Spirit powerfully works within us to enable us to walk in confession, repentance, faith, holiness, and godliness. This should change the way we think about all of life. When I see Jesus in the Word, God is at work in my life through the faith that He has given me. There is a real spiritual change that happens that affects my body and soul when I behold Jesus by faith.
The gospel is everything for all of life all the time.