More Than the Cross: Rediscovering the Fullness of Paul’s Gospel

More Than the Cross: Rediscovering the Fullness of Paul’s Gospel

When we hear the word gospel, many immediately think of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4—the clear and powerful declaration that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. This is undeniably the core of our salvation message—the good news that justifies the believer by grace through faith. But is the gospel limited only to the cross event?

According to Paul, the gospel is far broader. It’s not only the entry point into salvation, but the whole scope of what Christ has accomplished for us and what God is now doing through the Body of Christ.

The Gospel: Not Just Good News, But the Whole Counsel of Grace

Paul refers to this as “my gospel” (Rom. 2:16; 16:25)—a divinely revealed message centered on the finished work of Christ but expanding far beyond Calvary.

He writes that his apostleship was given “according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness” (Titus 1:1). This gospel includes:

Romans 8: Progressing Towards Spiritual Sonship

Romans 8: Progressing Towards Spiritual Sonship

As we have explored the transformative truths of Romans 6 and 7, we see the essential steps in the believer’s journey—being dead to sin and delivered from the law. These foundational realities pave the way for the joyous achievement found in Romans 8. When these truths become functional through obedience to the Word and yielding to righteousness, we experience freedom from condemnation and enter a season of spiritual growth, progressing toward spiritual sonship.

Romans 8 captures this culmination—a triumphant declaration of the Spirit's work in us, enabling us to walk in newness of life, free from the flesh and aligned with the Spirit. This sets the stage for even deeper maturity, where we embrace Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians: “Be no more children, but grow up in the Lord” (paraphrase of Ephesians 4:14-15). Let us now dive into Romans 8:1-11 and explore how the Spirit of God operates within us to produce life, peace, and the fruits of righteousness.

Romans 8:1-4 - No Condemnation: Walking in the Spirit

Romans 8 opens with a triumphant declaration: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1). This is the epitome of our deliverance from sin and the law. We are no longer condemned, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed us from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). What the law could not accomplish due to the weakness of the flesh, God has done through the sacrifice of His Son (Romans 8:3).

How do I get closer to God for good and never sin again?

How do I get closer to God for good and never sin again?

QUESTION:

How do I get closer to God for good and never sin again?

ANSWER:

Your question takes me back to Romans 7. You are facing the same internal conflict as Paul did when he wrote the passage outlined below. Before you read it, consider that in this very passage there are some important things to learn. I will expound on them below.

Rom 7:18-24 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. (19) For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. (20) Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (21) I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. (22) For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: (23) But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. (24) O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

So, what do we learn from this that can answer your question?

As grace believers, what is our primary objective? (Part 4)

Paul’s Encouragement to Increase in Knowledge and Understanding

Start this series of posts with: Part 1

Paul’s letters are full of statements that encourage one to learn, to increase in one’s knowledge of God’s Word, and to gain understanding of it, so that it embeds in one’s heart and becomes part of the outflow of one’s life, in thinking, reasoning, speech, and actions. You cannot go far in Paul’s epistles and not read statements that encourage growth and increasing in knowledge and understanding.

In Romans, the foundational epistle that establishes us in ‘the faith’, Paul immediately starts to fire up our minds, compelling us to think upon things, or to know things, coercing our learning and understanding. Have a look at the following statements that we encounter so early in the mystery curriculum,

The Journey: Part 9 - The Babes in Corinth and the Children of Galatia

Start here at the Introduction: The Journey Begins

The Journey: Part 9 - The Babes of Corinth and the Children of Galatia

What is sanctification? It is the life-long progressive growth of your knowledge of the written Word of God and the subsequent and inevitable changes that this knowledge brings to your life after salvation. Most believers, however, stop right there at salvation. After the initial revelation of justification through the cross of Christ, there is not much growth after this. They never push on to studying the Word and seeking the deeper things of God. It always reminds me of the parable of the Sower in Matthew 13.