I am leading a Bible study on Wednesday nights at our church on the book by Scot McKnight called, “Embracing Grace.” In it, he defines “the gospel” as,
“The gospel is the work of God to restore humans to union with God and communion with others, in the context of a community for the good of others and the world.”
I love this definition because its a very holistic definition (though i am sure not perfect). It deals with personal salvation of human beings and the restoration of their relationship with God, it deals with the work of God in restoring man to each other, it deals with the importance of community (or the Church) in this and finally it deals with that fact that the gospel has implications not only on the individual but on the entire created order. Also, the gospel does not only effect our response to God, but effects how we live in light of who God is and what he cares about.
Scot goes on to share the “flow of grace:”
God embraces you and me and
God embraces others and
God embraces the whole created order.Then:
You and I embrace God back and
We embrace others and
We embrace the entire created order.
That my friends, is a high calling…