The Gospel Is From God

Romans 1:1
Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, marked away unto the gospel of God,

In Romans 1:1, Paul calls the Gospel “the Gospel of God.” The genitive “of” in “the Gospel of God” indicates origin, and therefore we can understand it as “the Gospel from God.” What is the significance of the Gospel being “of God"? For one, it means that the Gospel is true. God cannot lie; Yes, it is impossible for him to lie (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2; 6:18)! This means that every element of the Gospel is true, and will remain true forever. There will never be a time when anything in the Gospel becomes untrue. Therefore, we can trust the Gospel to be the truth that God reveals to us.

Psalms 18:1 expresses the Christian’s love for God: “I love you, Jehovah, my strength!” The Hebrew word for “to love” here is rācham, which means to love with a fervent, affectionate love that can be felt in one’s bowels. Because we love God, anything that comes from him is precious to us. The Gospel is a precious gift from God. Therefore, we should treasure the Gospel as our prized possession. We should be eager to learn, believe and preach the Gospel and all its elements, and to enjoy the effects of the Gospel in our lives and in the world around us.

However, loving God does not only involve affections, but also actions. First John 5:3 says, “This is the love of (= for) God, that we keep his commandments.” But, how can we do that if we do not know his commandments? Because the Gospel contains truth from God, it is our light and guidance through life from God. In the Gospel, God has revealed all the truth we need to live in this world: about himself, about ourselves, about the world, about life, about all the good that we should aspire toward, and all the dangers to avoid, and even all his commandments. Therefore, knowing the Gospel is the first step to loving God practically.