I have heard countless sermons, preaching and teaching that ends with the cross of Christ, and forgiveness of sins. And that is gospel truth. But not the WHOLE truth! Tragically, much “gospel” preaching ends with only the death of Christ and forgiveness of sins extended to the hearers. This is a truncated gospel. It is a good beginning. It is sufficient for eternal life (remember the thief on the cross?)

The gospel though, gives us so much more in Christ than forgiveness of sins only. We cannot live by faith believing only in forgiveness of sins through the shedding of the blood of the spotless and sinless Son of God on Calvary. That would be to live by faith just in the death of Christ. A believer and follower of Christ, a genuine gospel disciple of Christ, cannot merely live in the realization and awareness of Christ’s death alone. That would keep us in a neutral and stationary position in life, perhaps being happy and glad that our sins have been forgiven, and the guilt and condemnation before God removed. That is a great deal! But not the only deal!

The glory of God’s gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ, is that God the Father has given us in God the Son, the very glory of heaven contained in the Person and Presence of the very Gift and Promise of God the Holy Spirit! Acts 2:33 “Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.“

This is the “full gospel”, the “total gospel”, the “complete gospel”, the gospel that belongs to NO denomination or Christian persuasion, but having its one and only source in God alone, through grace alone, by faith alone, demonstrated in Christ alone, in Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone! Acts 2: 38 “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

It is the very Person of the Holy Spirit who brings Christ to us in personal and intimate ways of communion with the Holy Trinity. The Son did not remain in the tomb. That was the substance of the Spirit’s argument through Paul in 1 Corinthian’s chapter 15, the resurrection is a reality! Jesus Christ rose again and was granted the seat of Honor and Authority before God at His right hand of glory. Then, the Son received from the Father, the Gift and Promise of the Spirit which He had made to the Son, which the Son in turn, poured out (to use Peter’s words in Acts 2) upon His brethren on the day of Pentecost. The lost of the 1st Adam has now been found by grace alone, through faith alone in the 2nd and last Adam, the Life-Giving Spirit! (1 Cor 15:45, “So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. NASB)

This is the glory of the gospel of God in Christ to His people: as Zechariah prophesied in the sad days after the return of the exiles, God is determined to dwell with His people. He offers Himself in Christ and His Spirit, all the human heart longs for; the need for genuine relationship, for security in that relationship, and for pleasure in that relationship. It also fulfills the desire of the human heart for achievement. And this is genuine and true achievement, that which is achieved by grace, and through faith alone. Believers are called to live lives of victory. This victory is the victory of believing that Christ is the Son of God. And living life through faith in Christ brings us to victory over every opposition and challenge of life. Truly as we live in the Light of God’s Son, Christ, we experience clarity and confidence to live out God’s enormous potential within us by faith. A believer never needs to live life scared or timid. In Christ, all the blessings of heaven, contained in the Person of the Spirit, is made available for an “abundant life” (John 10:10). It is a life of faith, and a life of love, unto God, for worship, and unto men, for service. It begins first and foremost with God Himself through the Spirit of His Son. And this unfathomable gift of being united with the Triune God is offered through grace, and by faith alone.

Would you receive this “indescribable gift”?