387 do you understand the true Gospel

Do you understand the true gospel?

If we truly understand the gospel message that Yahshua our Messiah brought, we will also understand the rest of the Scriptures. Yes, it is because of a major misunderstanding of the good news that Yahshua proclaimed that many sincere students of the Scriptures could not understand other Scriptural teachings for centuries. Rav Shaul pronounced a double curse on anyone who dare teach a different gospel to the one that he taught. Rav Shaul was personally taught by Yahshua for a period of three years and it was for this reason very important to him that those who are teaching Elohim’s congregations have the correct understanding of the gospel, so that they in turn will be able to teach this truth, without distorting it in any way.

Let’s therefore get a better understanding of the true gospel by making a study of the promises that YHVH made to father Abraham in Genesis and ending with Rav Shaul’s letters and prison experiences for his hope of the promises made to our fathers in the faith. The point is that the true gospel is best understood, when the rest of the Scriptures are used to define it. This is the exact opposite of the way Churchianity preach the gospel, since they insist on defining it through the one short passage in the writings of Rav Shaul in first Corinthians 15: 1 – 4, without considering Messiah’s teachings, as follows: ‘Now I make known to you brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, (2) by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.(3) For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (4) and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. ’But by only reading these four verses of first Corinthians 15, it is impossible to get the gist of what Rav Shaul is explaining in the rest of the chapter, which is essentially about the resurrection of the dead in and through Messiah and finally entering the Kingdom of Elohim, as resurrected or changed spiritual children of Elohim. He even explains about two resurrections after Messiah, one at Messiah’s return, and the second during the great white throne judgment in verses 20 – 24, saying: ‘But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, the first fruit(s) of those who are asleep. (21) For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah all shall be made alive. (23) But each in his own order: Messiah the first fruit(s), after that those who are Messiah’s at His coming, (24) then comes the end (ones), when He delivers up the kingdom to the Elohim and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.’Rav Shaul stressed that he was declaring the same gospel to the congregation in Corinth, that he received from Messiah personally, as attested in Galatians 1: 11, 12, 15 – 18, as follows: ‘For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. (12) For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Yahshua Messiah. (15) But when He who had set me apart, even from my mother’s womb, and called me through His grace, was pleased(16) to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, (17) nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me;but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. (18)Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas(Peter), and stayed with him fifteen days.’

Rav Shaul definitely did not teach the entire gospel in the first four verses of first Corinthians 15, as some incorrectly assumed, but told us exactly how those of us in Messiah will one day be born-again as Spiritual children of Elohim by the resurrection from the dead, like Messiah was. He even goes so far as to say in verses 51 & 52: ‘Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep (or have died when Messiah returns one day), but we shall be changed (from physical to Spiritual Beings), (52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet (Yom Teruah); for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall all be changed.’ Is this good news or what! The true gospel is definitely not only a message about Messiah’s death, burial and resurrection; it is also about Elohim’s coming Kingdom in which we may become Spiritual sons and daughters of Elohim, and co-rulers with Messiah, if we truly start following the way of Elohim, as Messiah showed us. In his letter to the Galatians where he also spoke about the true gospel, he said in verses 6 -9 (of Galatians 1): ‘I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Messiah, for a different gospel; (7) which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of Messiah. (8) But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. (9) As we have said before, I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.’

But, which gospel did Rav Shaul received from Messiah? A quick search of the word ‘gospel’ in the Scriptures can be very confusing. The ‘gospel of Elohim’ or the ‘gospel of the grace of Elohim’ is used 9 times in the Renewed Covenant. The word ‘gospel’ is used more than 60 times, and connected with Yahshua the Messiah more than 12 times as part of the phrase ‘gospel of the kingdom’ and 5 times as the ‘gospel of the kingdom of Elohim’. In fact Rav Shaul used the word ‘gospel’ in each and every letter that he wrote to the congregations and teachers in the diaspora, except in his letter to Titus. But to fully understand the true gospel, we need to start our study the first time the gospel was taught in the Scriptures. We read accordingly from Galatians 3: 8, ‘And the Scripture, foreseeing that Elohim would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS SHALL BE BLESSED IN YOU. ”Do you understand what Rav Shaul is saying here? Yes, the gospel was preached to Abraham and as an introductory statement this is important, because it shows that the gospel was known from ancient times, and it was taught to Abraham by YHVH himself. Two phrases are repeated a number of times to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, namely: ‘Nations will be blessed’ and ‘The blessing of the nations comes through Abraham.’ In fact the quote in capital letters in Galatians 3 comes from Genesis 22: 18, as follows: ‘And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.’ The blessing was not to come from Abraham himself, but from the ‘seed’ (or offspring) of his body. Genesis 22: 18, is the second time that Elohim appeared to Abraham through an Angel. The first time was when Elohim told Abram to leave his father’s household and country, and go to a land which He would show him. At that time Elohim told Abram that He would make a great nation of him and that He will bless all the families of the earth through him. The gospel to Abraham was that all nations would be blessed through his seed. This leaves us with two questions, namely: What is the blessing? And who is the seed?

To answer these questions, let’s turn to the book of Acts where the first Nazarene martyr was on trial before the Sanhedrin. At that occasion Stephen told the account of Abraham, and explained the promise given to Abraham, in Acts 7: 2 – 5, saying: “Hear me, brethren and fathers! The Elohim of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, (3) and said to him, ‘DEPART FROM YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME INTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU.’ (4) Then he departed from the land of the Chaldeans, and settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, Elohim removed him into this country in which you are now living (meaning the Promised Land). (5)And He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground; and yet, even when he had no child, He promised that HE WOULD GIVE IT TO HIM AS A POSSESSION, AND TO HIS OFFSPRING AFTER HIM. ”When Elohim made this promise Abraham had no child through whom the promised blessing could come. Elohim also promised the land to Abraham as an everlasting inheritance. Abraham was to inherit and possess the land Elohim allowed him to dwell in, through his promised seed. Rav Shaul told the congregation of Elohim in Rome that Abraham was actually promised the world, saying in Romans 4: 13,‘For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through righteousness of faith.’ However, while Abraham lived he did not inherit one square foot of what he was promised.

We read accordingly from Hebrews 11: 8 – 11 and 39 & 40, as follows: ‘By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. (9) By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; (10) for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is Elohim. (11) By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. (39) And all these(our fathers and mothers in the faith), having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, (40) because Elohim had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect (as spiritual children of Elohim).’ The gospel message was in part about inheriting the world, whose builder and maker is Elohim. However, this leaves us with an apparently unsolvable problem. Abraham was promised an eternal inheritance of the world, but he died and is still in his grave. How can he conceivably receive his inheritance, on which he only lived as an alien during his human life on earth. At this point we need to reconsider the promise of Abraham’s seed more closely. Who was this seed, and why was he necessary?

Let’s start by finding out who the one seed of Abraham was. Abraham’s generations spanned 42 by the time we get to the Renewed Covenant. Even so, to determine who or what the seed of Abraham was, we read from Galatians 3: 16, ‘Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds.” As referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is Messiah. ’Yes, Yahshua the Messiah is the one seed of Abraham through whom Abraham and his heirs will inherit the Promised Land. We see further according to Hebrews 1: 2, Elohim’s Son, Yahshua is appointed ‘heir of all things.’ Turning back to Galatians 3: 29, we read: ‘And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to (the) promise(made to Abraham in Genesis 17: 6 – 12).’Elohim’s and the Hebrew way of looking at an inheritance is the same way we look at an inheritance from an earthly parent. The property belonged to them – since they acquired it legally, but they are happy to give it to their children. Similar to what Elohim did with Abraham, a parent may specify a certain condition that has to be fulfilled, before the children can inherit the property, even though it was not earned through any effort of their own. Our inheritance from Elohim differs from an earthly inheritance in that (a) We will die never to live again, unless Elohim forgives our sins or law-breaking; and (b) Unless Elohim resurrects our physical bodies to immortal Spiritual bodies, our inheritance will be of no benefit to us. Rav Shaul described to the congregation in Galatia how these two problems may be overcome in Galatians 3: 13& 14, saying: ‘Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law (the death penalty we earned by violating Elohim’s Torah teachings for our benefit), having become a curse for us—for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON THE TREE”— (14) in order that in Messiah Yahshua the blessing of Abraham, might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.’

Rav Shaul explains the prospect for us to live again, because Messiah took our death penalty upon Himself. In his letter to the Ephesians Rav Shaul added in Ephesians 1: 13 & 14, saying: ‘In Him (Messiah), you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Set-apart Spirit of promise, (14) who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to redemption of Elohim’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.’ Rav Shaul makes it even clearer to the congregation in Rome, in Romans 8: 9 – 11, saying: ‘However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, he does not belong to Him. (10) And if Messiah is in you though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. (11) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Yahshua from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Messiah Yahshua from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.’ But, more importantly Rav Shaul continues in Romans 8: 14 – 17 saying that in addition to be resurrected to immortality because we received the promised Set-apart Spirit, we can also become heirs with Messiah, in this way: ‘For all who are being led by the Spirit of Elohim, these are sons of Elohim. (15) For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Avinu! Father!” (16) The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of Elohim, (17) and if children, heirs also, heirs of Elohim and fellow heirs with Messiah, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.’

YHVH obviously explained the true gospel to Abraham, and it was for this reason that Yahshua said to the Jews in John 8: 56, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” Messiah fulfilled the promise to Abraham in part. Now Abraham’s offspring are able to inherit the earth for an everlasting possession, through the sacrifice of Abraham’s one seed, Yahshua. Rav Shaul’s way of defining the true gospel did not change when he wrote to the Corinthians. However, unless Churchianity reads and understand the whole 15th chapter of first Corinthians, they will not understand the true gospel about the way human kind are able to enter Elohim’s Spiritual Kingdom as kings and priests under Messiah. In this letter to the Corinthian congregation Rav Shaul explains the gospel using different phrases to what he used to explain it to the Galatians, but communicating the same message, namely (a) that the seed of Abraham, Messiah died for our sins; and (b) that He was resurrected from the dead to receive the blessing of His inheritance—the Kingdom of Elohim. As Elohim’s perfect example, Yahshua showed us how we could also be born-again one day at His return, when those of us who remain faithful to Elohim’s Torah and testimony of Yahshua, will be resurrected. The resurrection to the inheritance promised to Abraham is the main theme of first Corinthians 15.

However, it is also necessary to approach the gospel that Messiah preached in Mark 1: 14 & 15[1] from a different perspective to prove that it is truly about a resurrection through Yahshua Messiah to inherit the kingdom of Elohim. Rav Shaul related to the congregation in Philippi how he was imprisoned for proclaiming the true gospel in Philippians 1: 7 and 16 & 17, saying: ‘For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. (16) The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; (17) the former proclaim Messiah out of selfish ambition, rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.’We see from what is recorded in Acts 23: 6, why Rav Shaul was on trial, as follows: ‘But perceiving that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Shaul began crying out in the Council (Sanhedrin), “Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of a Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!” We see further from Acts 24: 20 & 21, Rav Shaul saying before Felix: “Or else let these men themselves tell what misdeed they found when I stood before the council, (21) other than for this one statement which I shouted out while standing among them, ‘For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today.’” Festus also said concerning Rav Shaul before King Agrippa in Acts 25: 18 & 19,”And when the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of such crimes as I was expecting; (19) but they simply had points of disagreement with him about their own religion, and about a certain dead man, Yahshua, whom Shaul asserted to be alive.” Shaul himself said before King Agrippa in Acts 26: 6 – 8, “And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by Elohim to our fathers;(7) the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve Elohim night and day. And for the hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews. (8)Why is it considered incredible among you people if Elohim does raise the dead?”

Rav Shaul continued telling King Agrippa about Yahshua’s conversation with him in Acts 26: 14 – 18, in this way: ‘And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, “Shaul, Shaul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’‘(15) And I said, “Who art Thou, Master?” And the Master said, “I am Yahshua whom you are persecuting. (16) But arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; (17) delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, (18) to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to Elohim, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”’ Rav Shaul said the same thing to the congregation in Colossae in Colossians 1: 9 – 14, in this way: ‘For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, (10) so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Master, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of Elohim; (11) strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of al steadfastness and patience; joyously (12) giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.(13) For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. (14) In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.’

At this point it is clear that we are definitely not already in the Kingdom of Elohim yet, since flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Elohim, as Yahshua also told Nicodemus in John 3: 3 – 6, saying: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of Elohim.” (4) Nicodemus said to Him “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” (5) Yahshua answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of Elohim. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Those who inherit the Kingdom of Elohim will become part of the ruling class under Yahshua our coming High Priest and King of kings, and will be changed into the Spiritual children of Elohim, when we are resurrected, similar to the way Yahshua became the Son of Elohim, by His resurrection, as witnessed in Romans 1: 1 -4, as follows: ‘Shaul, a bond-servant of Messiah Yahshua, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of Elohim, (2) which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, (3) concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, (4) who was declared the Son of Elohim with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the spirit of holiness, Yahshua Messiah our Master.’ Those of us who have been immersed into Yahshua’s saving name have Elohim’s Kingdom within us; that is the Spirit of Elohim, by which He will raise us to eternal life. Rav Shaul finally explained to King Agrippa in Acts 28: 22 & 23, saying: ‘But we desire to hear from you what your views are; for concerning this sect (of the Nazarenes), it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere.” (23) And when they had set a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of Elohim, and trying to persuade them concerning Yahshua from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, form morning till evening.’

The entire Scriptures confirm the account of the gospel of the kingdom of Elohim. The Torah details the account of the gospel given to Abraham. The Prophets prophesy about the coming of Messiah to fulfill the promises made to Abraham. The Writings proclaim Messiah’s return to restore the kingdom to the united nation of Israel, during His millennial reign. The Renewed Covenant similarly witness of Messiah’s message, His death, burial, and resurrection so that we can also inherit the Kingdom of Elohim. Messiah also told the apostles sent forth by Him, to proclaim their witness to His resurrection so that the world would understand that He fulfilled the promise to the fathers. One example being in Acts 1: 7 &8, where Yahshua said to His apostles: “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; (8) but you shall receive power when the Set-apart Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria; and even the remotest part of the earth.”

Rav Shaul received the gospel message directly from Yahshua, and delivered it to those of us called out of the religions of the world. The distorted gospel taught by Churchianity teaches that repentance is not required by their congregants, since Messiah (or C*h*r*i*s*t* as they prefer to call Him) did everything for them, and all they need to do is to believe. By twisting the original gospel of Messiah, some in Churchianity teach that the Kingdom of Elohim is already here and that the reward of the saved is to go to heaven at death. However, perverting the true gospel brought a double curse on those who hold such teachings, since it robs them from the forgiveness of sins and an inheritance as rulers in the Kingdom of Elohim. We need to understand that the true gospel is the promise of an inheritance to Abraham and his seed, Messiah Yahshua. It is the good news of Elohim; grace through Messiah in order to inherit the Kingdom of Elohim on earth, for all eternity, when we are resurrected at Messiah’s return.

We conclude by reading Rav Shaul’s admonishing in Philippians 1: 27& 28, in this way: ‘Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Messiah; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; (28) in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from Elohim.’ Think about it!

[1]Mark 1: 14 & 15: ‘And after John had been taken into custody, Yahshua came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of Elohim, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of Elohim is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”’