Question: What difference is there between the gospel preached by John the Baptist, Christ and his apostles, and the one revealed to Paul by the ascended Lord?

The Gospel of the Kingdom and the Gospel of Grace are two important concepts in Christian theology that emphasize different aspects of God's message. Here’s a breakdown of the differences between the two:

Gospel of the Kingdom

• Definition: The Gospel of the Kingdom refers to the announcement of God's reign and rule over creation, emphasizing the establishment of God's kingdom through Jesus Christ.
• Key Themes:
• Kingdom of God: Focuses on the sovereignty of God and the coming of His kingdom (Matthew 4:17).
• Repentance and Transformation: Calls for repentance and a change in lifestyle to align with God’s will (Matthew 3:2).
• Signs and Wonders: Often accompanied by miracles and signs that demonstrate the power of the kingdom (Mark 1:14-15).
• Ethical Teachings: Emphasizes the ethical and moral standards of the kingdom, as seen in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).
• Audience: Primarily directed toward Jewish audiences during Jesus’ ministry, highlighting the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah.

Gospel of Grace

• Definition: The Gospel of Grace centers on the unmerited favor of God, emphasizing salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death and resurrection.
• Key Themes:
• Salvation by Grace: Teaches that salvation is a gift from God, not based on human effort or works (Ephesians 2:8-9).
• Faith in Christ: Emphasizes belief in Jesus as the Son of God and acceptance of His sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins (John 3:16).
• Justification: Focuses on the concept of being justified before God by faith, rather than adherence to the law (Romans 5:1).
• New Covenant: Highlights the new relationship established with God through Christ, available to all, including Gentiles (Hebrews 8:6).
• Audience: Broadly directed toward all people, Jew and Gentile alike, underlining the inclusive nature of God’s grace.

Summary of Differences

| Aspect | Gospel of the Kingdom | Gospel of Grace | |------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------| | Focus | God’s reign and establishment of His kingdom | Salvation through faith and God’s unmerited favor | | Key Message | Call to repentance and transformation | Justification by faith and grace | | Audience | Primarily Jewish, emphasizing fulfillment of prophecy | Inclusive to all, both Jews and Gentiles | | Ethics | Moral and ethical standards of the kingdom | Faith in Christ as the basis for salvation | | Scriptural Basis | Found throughout the Gospels, especially in Jesus’ teachings | Central in the Epistles, especially Paul’s letters |

• Conclusion

  
  While both the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Gospel of Grace are integral to the Christian faith, they emphasize different aspects of God's message. The Gospel of the Kingdom focuses on God's rule and the ethical implications of His reign, whereas the Gospel of Grace emphasizes salvation through faith and the grace of God available to all. Both are essential for understanding the full scope of the Christian message.

What this doesn't point out is that the gospel of grace will one day end when the last believer is baptized into his body and calls us up to meet him in the air, after which the tribulation starts, during which the gospel of the Kingdom will once again be in effect.

For further reading on end time perspectives, see the Echatology post within this forum here -> https://discord.com/channels/932986569902673950/1157856956325826671

Just to be clear, there is only one gospel for our salvation, which is the same one revealed to the Apostle Paul by the risen Lord himself: [1 Cor 15:1-4 mkjv] If you are trusting in solely the gospel preached by John the Baptist, I would ask you to explain what it was that Aquilla and Priscilla had to instruct Apollos in after learning it from their fellow tentmaker, Paul?

[Acts 18:24-28 nkjv]

Yes, God is immutable, the same forever - El Olam. He also progressively reveals what he wants his creation to know according to his timeline - [Deut 29:29 nkjv] His covenants show how he deals specifically with mankind across time, not in the same way every time. Is promising not to destroy the earth again with a flood changing his eternalness, or his mind, will and emotions, the very image we were created in.

"But, brother, that contradicts Galatians 2:6-7!" "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ."

So let's stop and think about it... what gospel was it that they were preaching? ||The only one that God had declared for them: the gospel of the kingdom,|| We know it wasn't the same one that Paul preached, most clearly stated in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.

• What do you believe he meant by 'not another'?
• Is there any evidence of a corrupted version of the gospel of Christ being taught during the time Paul was circulating his epistles among his nascient churches in Asia Minor?
• We see that there are false prophets in Peter's time, but what would they have been teaching?

While most of the NT was written around the same time that Paul was sharing the gospel of the grace of God to both Jew and Gentile, according to most chronologists, James was the first book written, while some believe that Matthew was also completed.
The crucifixion was still fresh on their minds, around 14-18 years afterwards.

• What were the themes of James and Matthew?

• During his 2nd missionary journey, Paul wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians. What were those focused on?

• They simply could not have known about this gospel which God had not yet revealed to anyone on earth. Ofc, the Son and Spirit knew, but he told his disciples it wasn't for them to know, so no 'special knowledge' was available to get around it.

• They often weren't ready to receive every truth. Things usually don't go well for those who try to go ahead of His plan.

Galatians was the first of the Pauline epistles

Those Pharisees in the synagogue at Jerusalem believed on the name of Jesus of Nazareth, that he was their Messiah, the Son of God. His death, burial and resurrection were not part of their belief, only who he was, as shown by his signs and wonders. The gospel they responded to was that their King was come and ready to usher in the long-promised kingdom. but they would need to go through the tribulation in order to see it with there own eyes, or by believing the gospel during it to be immediately martyred.

[1 Pet 1:6-7] [James 5:7-8] [1 Thes 4:15]

There are two main concepts that the majority of Christendom aren't taught or prefer to ignore:

1. The gospel of the kingdom is all under the law! Peter and the eleven preached that Jesus was the Messiah, to Jews only:

2. The earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth was to the nation of Israel:

3. (Matthew 10:5-7) "These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand."
4. (Matthew 15:24) "But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
5. (Romans 15:8) "Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:"

6. (Galatians 4:4-5) "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law**, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

7. 'Hebrews', whether or not they recognized Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, were still under the law!!! 'Christians' are under grace, therefore 'Hebrew Christians' cannot exist as both under the law and grace.

8. The gospel of grace was completely unknown to anyone before the ascended Lord revealed it to his apostle, Paul:

9. The OT prophets saw the shadow of this next stage in God's plan, but couldn't make it out plainly:

10. [1 Pet 1:10-12]

11. this was the opposite direction from the kingdom gospel, now going to the Gentiles:

12. [Acts 15:13-17]

13. Scripture is clear that the mysteries revealed to Paul were hidden from the beginning:

14. [Rom 16:25][1 Cor 2:7][Eph 3:5][Eph 3:9][Col 1:26]

Just as we are created in the image of God, not physically, as the Godhead is invisible, but in his will, mind and emotion. It's in this mind of Christ we are to have that he asks to reason with him. Let's stop and think about it: what one word seems to dominate the OT and its extension, the NT narratives and Jewish epistles? ||"The Kingdom!"? Definitely, but probably not like you'd think...||

How many instances do you think speak of God's in both testaments?

Ofc, I mean that prophesied promised "||kingdom|| of God", not simply the words "of God" (forgot to put quotes around it in the poll question)

Of every mention that wasn't the name of a geophysical object, the promise of God made to Abram, a nomadic Syrian from Ur of the Chaldees, where the wise men came from who sought the newborn King, then already almost two years old according to Herod's decree. Interesting that God spoke to these unknown number of same people that ancient rulers rulers had at hand as trusted advisors on all matters: the Chaldeans.

Just so there's no confusion about what I teach as being unorthodox, here's a copy of an article showing the founder of the Evangelical Theological College (renamed in 1936) was preserving orthodoxy.

KINGDOM GOSPEL VS. GRACE GOSPEL

Strong objection is offered by Covenant theologians to a distinction between the Gospel of the Kingdom as preached by John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Disciples, and the Pauline Gospel of the Grace of God. One Covenant theologian states that to make such a distinction is "unfortunate," and "dangerous." He with others contends that the Kingdom Gospel is identical with the Gospel of divine Grace.

Here nevertheless will arise an absurdity which does not deter this type of theologian, namely, that men could preach the Pauline Grace Gospel based as it is on the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ when they did not believe Christ would die or be raised again (Luke 18:31-34)

• Dr. Louis Sperry Chafer, Founder and President of Dallas Theological Seminary (1924-1952)