The Gospel: Good News Of The Kingdom

It’s easy to think of the gospel as something that started with Jesus – something new that sprang up in the New Testament and was carried across the world by his followers.

But look a little deeper, and you’ll find that this good news has been unfolding since the very beginning.

Yes, it centres on Jesus – but it is more than a message of personal salvation. It is the announcement that God reigns. That in Jesus, the true King has come. This good news stretches all the way back to the garden of Eden and continues into the age to come. It is hope for all people, and for all of creation.

A Little Background On The Word “Gospel”

“Good news” is the English translation of the Koine Greek word ‘euangélion’ (εὐαγγέλιον) (εὖ eû “good” + ἄγγελος ángelos “messenger”). In Old English, it was translated as ‘gōdspel’ (gōd “good” + spel “news”). The Old English term was retained as ‘gospel’ in Middle English Bible translations and has subsequently been carried forward into modern English translations.

Incidentally, our modern words evangelise and evangelist come from the original Greek and carry the same meaning – one who preaches or tells good news, a ‘messenger of good’. The writers of the gospels are sometimes known as the Four Evangelists, for this reason.

The message of ‘good news’ is taught throughout the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and it’s certainly no coincidence that these books are collectively known as The Gospel.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the equivalent word for “good news” is בְּשׂוֹרָה (besorah), from the root basar, meaning “to bring news” or “to proclaim.”

It’s used in passages where messengers announce victory, blessing, or the reign of God. One of the clearest examples is Isaiah 52:7: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news… who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’”

This idea of proclaiming that God reigns carries forward into the New Testament’s gospel of the kingdom – showing that the good news is not a new invention, but the unfolding of a very old promise.

But What Is The Good News?

The gospel is described as “the good news of the Kingdom of God and the things which concern Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12). Jesus himself preached the coming of the kingdom of God. It was the heart of his message, a topic he talked about more than any other.

Together with John the Baptist, and later men like Paul the Apostle and Peter, he announced the arrival of God’s reign – restoring what had been lost, renewing what had been broken, and calling people to turn toward the life of the kingdom.

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.” – Mark 1:14, KJV

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ . . . And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom…” – Matthew 4:17, 23, NIV, KJV

“But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptised.” – Acts 8:12, HCSB

“For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ – with all boldness and without hindrance!” – Acts 28:30-31, NIV

So the good news is not just that we can be saved, but that God’s kingdom has come near in Jesus, and that we are invited to live under his gracious and just rule.

In The Beginning…

God’s purpose, from the beginning was to fill the earth with people He could call His family, who were like him in every way. God created humans with this in mind and established the principle of free choice. He wanted us to choose Him, to want to be like Him.

This kind of living, that reflects a desire to honour God and demonstrate His character to the world is what God calls the beginning of the kingdom of His son (Colossians 1:13). Wherever God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven, the kingdom is present.

Unfortunately, when given the choice, humanity chose wrong. Motivated by pride and selfishness and driven by impatience, we tried to “make ourselves like God” on our terms, not His. This choice – our rebellion – brought about its awful consequence: mortality and separation from God’s presence. This is the story of Adam and Eve and their banishment from Eden.

Jesus Is King!

Yet God did not abandon His purpose. From the very beginning, His desire has been to dwell with His people and fill the earth with His glory. Even in the face of human failure, His plan was never derailed. What seemed like a setback was already held within His eternal purpose -to redeem, to restore, and to reconcile all things. In love, God set in motion the unfolding of this plan, one that would bridge the divide between heaven and earth through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” – 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, BSB

The saving acts of God – through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus – bring reconciliation (“atonement”) between God and humanity.

But they also inaugurate the new creation. Through Jesus, God has begun to set the world right.

The gospel is not just about saving souls. It’s about a King who has conquered death, defeated the powers of evil, and now reigns – inviting us to become citizens of a kingdom not built on domination or pride, but on justice, mercy, and love.

The Message Isn’t New

It would be easy to assume that the gospel only began with Jesus’ public ministry. Yet, this message isn’t new at all – it’s as old as God’s promise. Revelation 14:6 calls it ‘the eternal gospel‘, proclaimed to every nation, tribe, and people.

In Galatians 3:8, Paul writes, “Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’” (See Genesis 12:3) Paul is referencing a time in Abraham’s life, shortly after he left Ur, when God blessed him and told him the purpose He had with him.

“I will bless those who bless you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.” – Genesis 12:3, CEV

This blessing is further clarified by the words of Peter the Apostle in Act 3:28, where he was addressing the Jews, Abraham’s descendants. He tells them, “You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in your descendants will all the families of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” – Act 3:25-26

This blessing was always about the kingdom – about the reign of God coming through the promised descendant of Abraham, who would bring justice and peace to the earth.

It was a promise that Abraham “rejoiced at the thought of” (John 8:56  NIV) and that Jesus himself confirmed was no afterthought: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25:34, ESV.

Our Purpose Is God’s Purpose

Our purpose and the reason for our creation is to be part of God’s family and His kingdom. The good news is that through Jesus, we can be.

We are welcomed not only into salvation but into citizenship in a new kind of kingdom, where love rules, grace abounds, and hope never dies.

God has always been King. But in Jesus – crucified, risen, and exalted – the reign of God has been revealed in a new and powerful way.

His kingdom has come near, and we are invited to live under His rule even now, as we await the day when it will be fully and finally established on earth as it is in heaven.

Until then, we are called to live as people of the kingdom – announcing with our lives and our words that Jesus is Lord.

That is the gospel. That is the good news.