The Gospel Of God
THE GOSPEL OF GOD
The gospel of God is the subject of the book of Romans (1:1). Christians are accustomed to saying that there are four Gospels: the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. However, Paul also refers to his Epistle to the Romans as a gos pel. The gospel in the first four books of the New Testament concerns Christ in the flesh as He lived among His disciples before His death and resurrection. After His incarnation and before His death and resurrection, He was among His disciples but not yet in them. The gospel in Ro mans concerns Christ as the Spirit, not Christ in the flesh. In Romans 8 we see that the Spirit of life who indwells us is simply Christ Himself. Christ is in us (vv. 9-10). The Christ in the four Gospels was among the disciples; the Christ in Romans is within us. The Christ in the four Gospels is the Christ after incarnation but be fore death and resurrection. As such, He is the Christ outside of us. The Christ in Romans is the Christ after His resurrection. As such, He is the Christ within us. This is something deeper and more subjective than the Christ in the