Sojourner #073: Paul's Gospel: A Gospel For The Nations

Colossians 1:3–6 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,  4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of  the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,  6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does  among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.  

I grew up in a small Southern Baptist Church where I was taught the gospel and the Great Commission.  One of the biggest influences in my understanding of the inseparable nature of gospel and missions was  a lady named Clarabel McDonald. She was born in 1902 and later served as an SBC missionary to China  and Hawaii from 1936-1940.

Before she died in 1999, I was blessed to be discipled by her and witness her zeal for the gospel and her ambition to persevere in Christ’s mission. Her stories of the past were vivid, her demeanor was bold, and her gospel that compelled her to serve the nations also compelled her to continue to serve the local church. 

Clarabel embodied her calling in a way that was inseparable from her life-- it was her life. This pointed me  back to think of the apostle Paul and his missional vision for the nations. This article will briefly explore  three considerations of Paul’s missional-gospel and its relevance for the contemporary Christian.  

The apostle Paul’s thinking of the inseparable nature of “gospel and mission” was deeply personal. Insomuch that he often referred to the content and character of Christ’s good news as “his (my) gospel.” (Rom 2:16, 16:25) His personal attachment to what he had received from Christ was more than merely a  message to be delivered from a disaffected heart, but a message that involved his life being conformed to the body of truth he proclaimed. It also involved his physical body to be subjected to the sufferings  associated with representing Christ in a hostile world. (2 Cor 11:16-33)  

When we consider our calling and commission to make disciples of all nations, we must ask ourselves a  few questions. Does “my gospel” move me toward a vision for reaching the nations? Does “my gospel”  carry the weightiness of the transforming truth of Christ to all peoples? Does “my gospel” compel me to  share the hope of Christ with my neighbors? Why was “Paul’s gospel” so compelling toward missional  sacrifice? Three considerations:  

1. Paul considered his gospel to have been something entrusted to him. (1 Tim 1:12)  

Paul’s gospel was one of heavenly origin. It was not a message given to him by man but he received it as  a revelation from Jesus Christ (Gal 1:12). Therefore, because of what he had received, he logically became a steward, an ambassador, a representative, and one who was sent from Christ to proclaim the  gospel. He was to be regarded as a servant of Christ, and as a steward “of the mysteries of God.” (1 Cor  4:1) 

Paul’s personal stewardship of God’s gospel also reinforced his claim that his gospel was superior to  other false gospels. Because he had received his gospel from Christ, his sound doctrines were authentic.  There were false gospels to be discerned and Paul had to equip the church to discern the true gospel from false ones, affirming the unique power of the gospel he preached (Galatians 1:8-9). 

2. Paul considered his gospel to have been something empowered for expansion. (Acts 1:8) 

Christ’s commission (Matt 28:18-20) and empowerment (Acts 1:8) were realized in Paul’s zeal for the  nations to hear the gospel. He understood the concentric circles of expanding geographical missions.  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to  the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16) This progression of Kingdom purpose for all people  created a holy ambition to carry the gospel to the frontiers of Paul’s world. (Romans 15:20-21)  

Paul’s gospel was one embedded in redemptive history. His gospel was the outworking of God’s  fulfillment of His Old Testament promises to His people. Among all of the types, and shadows of Christ in  the Old Testament, Paul’s gospel for the nations was a fulfillment of Gen 12:3. God’s promise to Abraham  where all nations would be blessed through him was being fulfilled by the expansion of Christ’s kingdom.  Redemptive history was being written through the divine desire for fulfillment in the person and work of  Jesus Christ. He gathers sinners and redeems them from all peoples of the earth.  

3. Paul considered his gospel to have been something effectual in worldwide missions. (Col 1:5-6)  

Paul’s vision for global missions was revealed in his articulation of the gospel and his doing of the gospel.  He expressed an operational psychology of faith that the gospel that had been entrusted to him would in  fact produce fruit among all nations. (Col 1:5-6)  

The gospel that had been brought to Colossae by Epaphras, was a global gospel that is able to effect and  bear fruit all over the world. There is no nation, culture, or neighborhood beyond the transforming power  of Paul’s gospel (God’s gospel). Paul did not separate the gospel from its inherent purpose to subdue the  world and usher in God’s new creation in Christ Jesus. (2 Cor 5:17)  

Paul’s gospel, Christ’s gospel, the gospel we have received from Christ’s Word, cannot fail. The  preaching of the gospel concerns God’s Son, a promise God made in the Old Testament. This promise  was fulfilled in the incarnate, crucified, risen Christ.

Paul’s gospel and mission was directed toward  bringing the nations, both Jews and Gentiles, together as the people of God by preaching the  transforming gospel of Jesus Christ. Every new convert, every baptism, and every gospel proclamation, bears witness to the working of God’s gracious gospel bearing fruit all over the world.  

Conclusion: 

Paul’s gospel (entrusted, empowered, and effectual) is the kind of gospel that goes through the  whole world, and wherever it goes, it bears fruit and increases. The same gospel that saves sinners  in our small towns and personal encounters is the same mighty gospel that sweeps across all creation  with the glory of Christ.  

The gospel you believe can be taken — should be taken, must be taken — to every people group on the  planet. It will be as relevant there as it is in your own heart, with tremendous power. It is a gospel bearing  fruit in the whole world. 

Can you claim that the gospel you have received is from Christ? Is your gospel unique and  distinguishable from the world’s twisting of religious truths? Does your gospel compel you to share Christ  with your neighbors? Can you pray for missionaries to be sent representing your desire for the nations? 

Pray and ask God to stir your heart toward your gospel call and gospel mission. Christ’s gospel – Paul’s  gospel – our gospel, is a gospel for the nations.

About The Author:

Dr. Eric Reaves serves as an elder and staff pastor at Harvestfield Church in Rainbow City, Alabama, where he faithfully and quietly labors to shepherd Christ’s flock in accordance with the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). A bricklayer's son, his life and ministry are marked by a kind of quiet, long-suffering endurance that remains, in every case, a testimony to God's grace in the lives of ordinary men. 

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