Synonyms for “Gospel.”
Synonyms for “Gospel.”
§ 8. In a beautiful order Dr. Chemnitz arranges the synonymous names which are attributed to the doctrine of the Gospel in the Holy Scriptures into the following classes.3 (1) Some are general, as when it is called “the Law,” “the Word,” “the testimony,” “precept,” “doctrine,” “mandate,” “truth,” “the way of truth.”
(2) Some are something like a comment on, a circumlocution of, or an explanation of the word “Gospel,” as when it is called the “good word of God,” “the good doctrine,” “sound speech,” “sound doctrine,” “proclamation [κήρυγμα].”
(3) Some are taken from the efficient cause, namely, those that speak about the Author of the Gospel or when it is called “the voice of God,” “the Word of God,” “the Gospel of God,” “the witness of God,” “the witness of Christ,” “the witness of the Spirit,” “the doctrine of the Spirit,” “the words which God has sent,” “the wisdom of God,” “the mystery of Christ,” “the good intent of the will of God,” etc. Here pertain the names taken from the instrumental or ministerial cause,4 as when it called the “Gospel of the apostles” or “the doctrine of the apostles.”
(4) Some indicate and describe the subject5 or material of the Gospel, as when it is called the “promise,” “the Gospel of Christ,” “the word of Christ,” “the doctrine of the Savior,” “the Gospel of the kingdom,” “the knowledge of salvation,” and “the promise of life eternal.”
(5) Some are taken from the effects of the Gospel, as when it is called “the words of life,” “the word of grace,” “the Gospel of salvation,” “the Gospel of peace,” “the law of liberty,” “the Gospel of the glory of the blessed God,” “the Gospel of the kingdom”—for it calls us to the kingdom of grace, it reveals to us the good things of that kingdom, and it transfers us to the kingdom of glory.
(6) Some are taken from its object, as when it is called “the word of faith,” “the hearing or preaching of faith,” “the law of faith.”
(7) Some names are metaphorical, as when it is called “a pleasant fragrance,” “good seed,” “good wine,” “a sweet sound,” “a spring of water flowing to eternal life,” “the true light,” “food,” “forage,” “water of refreshment,” “a table,” “an overflowing cup,” “a rod,” “a staff,” etc.
** Thus the Gospel is compared to a spring: (a) with respect to necessity, (b) with respect to utility, (c) with respect to purity, (d) by reason of its sweetness, (e) by reason of community. (Cf. Psalm 84.) **
To these the following must be added: (8) The class of names taken from the adjuncts6 of the Gospel, as when it is called “the eternal Gospel,” “the secret good-pleasure of the divine will,” “mystery,” etc.
(9) Likewise, there are the names taken from the accidental effects and adjuncts, as when it is called “the word of the cross,” “the offense of the cross,” “the foolishness of God,” “the foolishness of preaching,” “the fragrance of death,” etc. For these fit this doctrine not of themselves but by accident.7
All the names which are ever attributed to the Gospel in the Scriptures can be assigned to these classes. Some are proper; some are figurative—but both [kinds] are taken from the causes or from the effects or from the subjects or from the adjuncts.