The word "Gospel" has lost its meaning during the passing centuries. Each Creed and church and religious organization has believed that it alone contains the fulness of the everlasting "Gospel" of Jesus Christ in its doctrines and its orthodoxed beliefs -- or its unbeliefs. Often the meager little truths of Christ's Gospel have become so lost or buried in the accumulation of untruths they are difficult to find.
The word "GOSPEL” is from two old Anglo-Saxon words, which meant literally, "God-spel," or "God's Story," or "God's Message." This message or spell is not just in words, but in the power of the vibrating glory which it establishes in the souls of men. It is the TRUTH contained in a joyous, reverent understanding of adoration that could not possibly be squandered or dissipated in any unseemly display of outside demonstrating, for it is the inside reality of God's own message of majestic power.
Neither did the word "Gospel" mean the books of the New Testament, which were written years after Christ's ministry, by those who had associated with Him. The books were written to preserve the record of His ministry on the earth. The books of the Bible are beautiful and authentic and true but they could not possibly contain the fulness of the "Gospel" for the "Gospel" or "God-spel," in its fulness, was the exalted FEELING of assurance or KNOWING, generated in the soul of each as he followed the dynamic message of Christ's plan of perfection.
"The Spell of God" is the vibrating glory of ecstatic, breathtaking wonder which flows through one's entire being when he is in tune or in contact with God as he travels the Pathway of fulfillment. This is the Path and the power of sanctification. This is the "God-Spell!"
This beautiful information is given by Paul in I. Thes. 1:4-5, as follows: "Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.
"For our gospel came not in word only, but also in POWER, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance, as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake."
Then we have this glorious information revealed in II. Tim. 1:9. "God; who hath saved us and called us to an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN."
This testifies of the sacred, eternal calling which rests upon those who were fore-ordained to serve in the fulness of their divine capacities as the light and love of God would be released through them to bless a world and enfold all things and conditions in God's divine LOVE.
The very word "Gospel" means the "fulness of God's LOVE" -- the very awe and wonder of His love and the glory of its outpouring! This great "spell of God's wonder" includes the vibrations of His power which are released through that glory generated within the souls of men as they become enlightened by the unfolding knowledge and understanding of His precepts of Eternal Truth.
This glorious "Gospel" of Jesus Christ therefore is not just a message of words, printed in the scripture or otherwise. It is the penetrating of that Spirit of Almighty God into the center of a man's soul to awaken love and praise and thanksgiving within his heart. It is the FEELING of the glory of TRUTH, not just the HEARING of it. It is the breathtaking "SPELL" of the power of God being released into the human soul of those who permit their hearts to be opened to that love and in turn send it out under divine control and supreme majesty.
"The letter (or written word) killeth. But the Spirit, giveth LIFE!" -- "EVEN LIFE MORE ABUNDANT!" Which, in its fulness, is "LIFE ETERNAL!" This "life more abundant" is developed and brought forth as one learns to LIVE pure and holy, with a spirit so contrite and humble it can continually receive more truth, "until it is glorified in TRUTH and KNOWETH ALL THINGS!" And in this development one naturally grows into the powers of "LIFE ETERNAL" so that "he need never die!" This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the message He came to give. This is the Promise that awaits those who LIVE the laws He gave. This is the "God-spell" that fulfills every Promise. It contains the very fulness of the Gospel of the Kingdom that is not in WORD -- but in POWER. It is contained in man's fulfilling Christ's commandments and in the vibrating KNOWLEDGE of the UNBREAKABLE COVENANT which they contain. "BE YE DOERS OF THE WORD, NOT HEARERS ONLY, THUS DECEIVING YOUR OWN SELVES."
"If ye do as I say, then am I bound; but if you do not as I say then you have no promise!" With each and every PROMISE is the unbreakable WORD of God. In every PROMISE there is contained the unbreakable Covenant of its fulfilling if man will only live up to his part of the COVENANT. Every PROMISE contains this irrevocable Covenant of God contained within its fulfilling. Each Covenant or PROMISE is eternal, unbreakable and everlasting. Each PROMISE or COVENANT is new to every individual who takes it upon himself to LIVE by the PROMISE IT CONTAINS. Each PROMISE stands forever in the eternal, dynamic POWER OF GOD'S eternal COVENANT of fulfilment to all who will only LIVE THE LAWS pertaining to it. "THEN IS GOD BOUND!" AND THE FULFILLING IS SURE!
EVERY PROMISE IS A COVENANT, Unbreakable, eternal!
A Covenant is a sacred, binding contract between two or more. No PROMISE or COVENANT could possibly apply just to one individual. And it is binding upon both parties. In this case, God and man. Therefore HIS PROMISES belong to us! They were HIS to give and ours to fulfill! And the rewards of their fulfilling is OURS!
"There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven, before the foundations of the world, upon which every blessing is predicated; and if we receive any blessing (or promise) from God it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." Or put it this way: "There is a COVENANT IRREVOCABLE DECREED IN HEAVEN, (upon which all blessings are predicated) and if we receive any blessing from God it is by OBEDIENCE TO THE COVENANT or LAW or PROMISE upon which it is predicated. Thus stands the eternal word of God. And it cannot fail! Neither can it return unto Him unfulfilled or void!"
In every PROMISE is contained the power of God's eternal COVENANT of fulfilment, if man will only LIVE the laws pertaining to it.
Take any of God's dynamic PROMISES, select your own, and LIVE it! And as you fulfill any one of those glorious PROMISES you will naturally grow into the perfection of LOVE. And no matter which Promise or law you select to live by you will discover that in perfecting yourself in its fulfilling you will have perfected LOVE and then you will discover that every PROMISE leads to the same end -- PERFECTION and Eternal Life!
Below I shall list just a few of His special PROMISES: "If your eyes be single to my glory your whole bodies shall be filled with Light and there shall be no darkness in you. And that body which is filled with Light shall comprehend all things * * * and I will unveil my face unto him!"
"Turn unto me in every thought!" is having eyes single to His glory.
"Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and you will have fulfilled all the laws and the Commandments!" And you “WILL RECEIVE EVERY PROMISE EVER GIVEN!"
"He who is thankful in all things SHALL BE MADE GLORIOUS!"
"Cast darkness (negation, doubting, fear and lust) from among you and you shall be ordained of God and all things will be subject unto you, both in heaven and on earth; the life and the Light; the Spirit and the Power * * *" etc.
"The nearer man approaches perfection the clearer are his views and the greater his enjoyments until he overcomes the evils of his life and loses every desire for sin and like the ancients arrives at the point where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his MAKER and is caught up to dwell with Him!"
Or take this one: "He that keepeth HIS Commandments RECEIVETH TRUTH AND LIGHT, UNTIL HE IS GLORIFIED IN TRUTH AND KNOWETH ALL THINGS!"
These are just a few of the PROMISES of Almighty God! Yet they each lead to that same dynamic ending of being "BORN OF THE SPIRIT!"
Therefore this glorious "Gospel of Jesus Christ" is not just a message of words, printed in the scripture, or otherwise. It is the penetration of Truth and the Spirit of Almighty God into the center of a man's soul to awaken LOVE and PRAISE and THANKSGIVING within his heart. It is the FEELING of the glory of TRUTH, not just the HEARING OF IT. IT IS THE ACTUAL KNOWING OF TRUTH! It leads to the KNOWING OF GOD, WHICH IS LIFE ETERNAL! And this alone is the fulness of TRUTH -- or the PROMISES or of the COVENANT!
"The letter (or written word) killeth. But the Spirit giveth LIFE" -- even "LIFE MORE ABUNDANT!", which leads one on to "LIFE ETERNAL!" And this gift of Eternal Life does not include death, or any of life's flaws and failings, for these are overcome by obedience, which most of us learn through such suffering.
As one becomes "A doer of the word, not just a hearer only, not having deceived himself," he will receive the fulness of God's Promises and the Covenants which they contain.
The fulness of the "Gospel of Jesus Christ" is the KNOWING, or EXPERIENCING of His dynamic, everlasting PROMISES as they become one's own. As His PROMISES are accepted, through FAITH, one begins the transformation of himself into that majestic LOVE of all perfection. This is the Kingdom in which "all else is added unto him," every righteous desire is fulfilled and every blessing is bestowed. It is where all knowledge is revealed and all power is granted. This is the "FULNESS OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!" It is that holy, divine contact with God. And it is not in WORDS. It is a vibrating reality of living power.
It is not made manifest through demonstrations or proclamations. It is manifested silently as the cells of the carnal flesh are gradually transformed into flesh divine. It is manifest through perfect love, expressed in every word and thought and act as the "mind and lips lose the power to hurt and wound!" This is the "Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness!"
It is not a Kingdom of words or preaching or haranguements. It is a Kingdom of joyous understanding as the doors of one's mortal intelligence opens the gates to his own spiritual nature. Then such a one is prepared to "COMPREHEND ALL THINGS!" It is the manifestation of God's POWER being brought forth in the fulfilling of His Holy PROMISES. "For my kingdom is not in word but in POWER saith the Lord."
To make it more comprehensible, let us turn to Christ's own words; John 14:15-17, as follows: "If ye love me, keep my commandments!" And His Commandments were entirely of Love perfected.
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.
"Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not." (It is because a man has no FAITH that he cannot believe. Those who do not have FAITH can only accept what their five mortal senses bear witness of, therefore they can never receive of this glorious Witness of Truth and Light which is from the unseen, spiritual world).
"Neither can they know him; but ye know him for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. * * *
"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue in my love."
"These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." (John 15:9-11).
(I. John 2:3-5): "And hereby we do know that we KNOW HIM, if we keep His Commandments.
"He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
"BUT WHOSO KEEPETH HIS WORD, IN HIM VERILY IS THE LOVE OF GOD PERFECTED: hereby know we that we are in him." And if the LOVE OF GOD IS PERFECTED IN AN INDIVIDUAL YOU MAY BE SURE HE HAS "FULFILLED ALL THE LAWS," AS the GREAT COVENANT DEMANDS.
I have beheld high potentates of religious orders walk around clothed in the robes of their proud self-righteousness, believing that whatsoever they speak must be acknowledged by God and fulfilled because THEY have spoken it. And their works and their words are a mockery and a lie. And they know nothing of the Truth, "for the TRUTH is not in them." Neither do they know God. They have only professed to KNOW HIM "And have blasphemed against Him in the midst of His Holy House."
"No man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!
"And the LAW IS NOT OF FAITH!"
"THE PROMISES ARE OF FAITH" And according to Galatians the laws were only given because of the wickedness of the people. But the Patriarchs lived by the PROMISES according to FAITH.
"If ye love me ye will KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS," declared Christ. He also testified: "If ye keep MY Commandments ye need never die!" His laws are revealed in that greatest Sermon ever given on the earth -- that sacred, all-inclusive SERMON ON THE MOUNT, which mankind has never really accepted. And even that most precious of all discourse will be completely fulfilled as one fulfills those two greatest of all commandments of LOVE!
In that Sermon on the Mount is contained the rules beyond all drab, mortal living, or creed-bound preaching. This Sermon, in its fulness is contained in the fifth, sixth and seventh chapters of St. Matthew. And it is the latter part of that most famous of all Sermons that the witness against those who profess and proclaim in vain is recorded as follows: "And many shall say unto me, in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not performed many mighty miracles in thy name . . .?" etc. And He will profess: "Depart from me, ye that work iniquity, I know ye not!" It is not the ones who profess most loudly who are his sheep, but those who LIVE his teachings in a devotion beyond words -- as they accept the Covenant and reality of His PROMISES and fulfill them.
Yes, "Write the works of Enoch as a Prophet, Priest and Seer; write of his life of purity and love, and how he changed his carnal flesh to flesh divine without descending through the gates of death." And not only write of his works as you engrave them upon your hearts, but "LIVE THEM, and you will KNOW of their power for you too can EXPERIENCE these same things!" These are the PROMISES! And in them is contained the fulness of God's everlasting Covenant!
These higher instructions are the "Fulness of Christ's everlasting Gospel!" And they contain the fulfilling POWER and the Covenant of their completion as they are accepted and LIVED.
All the little "do's" and the "don'ts" and the "wills" and the "wont's," which are only the childish toys of make-believe in the game of pretending, belong to those who are "NOT WEANED FROM THE MILK OR DRAWN FROM THE BREASTS." These childish things become outgrown as one steps out of the crib that has grown too short and leaves the scant covering behind that is insufficient to take care of this comfort. And one moves into the reality of the "ETERNAL TRUTH AND POWER OF LOVE, MADE PERFECT!"
"For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing of a better HOPE did, by which WE DRAW NIGH UNTO GOD!" (Heb. 7:19).
The fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is when the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or the glorious, dynamic "God-Spel" of HIS PROMISES AND COVENANTS brings forth "that which IS PERFECT," as promised in I. Cor. 13:9-11.