Deeper Reflection
THE GREEK WORD FOR “GOSPEL” OR “GOOD NEWS”, IS euaggelion (the verb: euaggelizō – “preach-the-gospel”) – a key word repeated six times in 1 Thessalonians (v.5; 2:2, 4, 8, 9; 3:2). The term is used synonymously with “the word of God” (1:6, 8; 2:13). The English words, evangelise and evangelism, are derived from this Greek term. In our present day, when we say “preach the Gospel”, we have in mind non-believers as the audience. But biblically, the Gospel is for both nonbelievers and believers. The “gospel of God” is “promised beforehand” by God “through His prophets in the holy Scriptures” (Rom 1:1-2). In other words, the Old Testament is the Gospel. In New Testament times, the Gospel was preached through expounding the Scriptures – the Old Testament. The centre of the Gospel is “Jesus Christ our Lord”, for the Gospel is “concerning His Son” (Rom 1:3-4). The Old Testament is “everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Lk 24:44); and the New Testament centres on Christ, and hence, “the gospel of Christ” (1 Thess 3:2). So, the whole Bible is the Gospel. When Paul preached the Gospel, he did not stop at the conversion of non-believers, but continued to preach and teach it to new believers for growth in discipleship. Paul’s ministry of the Gospel is: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Col 1:28).