“As his apprentices, we pass through a course of training, from having faith in Christ, to having the faith of Christ (Gal. 2:16-20). As a proclaimer and teacher of the gospel of his kingdom, I do not cease to announce a gospel about Jesus. That remains forever foundational. But I also recognize the need and opportunity to announce the gospel of Jesus (Mark 1:1)—the gospel of the present availability to every human being of a life in The Kingdom Among Us. Without that, the gospel about Jesus remains destructively incomplete.” –Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, p. 320
I remember first discovering Dallas Willard in my early 20’s and thinking, “Why has nobody ever taught me this stuff about the Kingdom?” I felt like Willard was describing a whole new Christian life from what I had learned thus far.
The gospel about Jesus is what I grew up hearing—“if you say the prayer to accept Jesus into your heart you get to be in heaven with him someday!” But the gospel of Jesus—that is what Jesus talked about and demonstrated in everything he did—is how the Kingdom of God can transform everything, here and now!
Let me see if I can break it down a bit:
Willard helped me to understand these things theologically—to know how to proclaim the full gospel. Then, when I came to Novo, I was equipped with practical tools to begin living in the Kingdom. I experienced what it was like to partner with God to advance his Kingdom.
I was now not only able to proclaim the Kingdom and have head knowledge about it, I was able to demonstrate the Kingdom because I was actually experiencing it and I was equipped with practical tools.
At the heart of this gospel of the Kingdom (gospel “of” Jesus) is that it's available NOW! Jesus, as well as Paul, emphasized the nearness and availability of the Kingdom of God. Look at how Jesus began his ministry:
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ’The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’" –Mark 1:14–15
So why is this important? Many reasons!
Willard’s last sentence in the paragraph from The Divine Conspiracy above has some strong language; if we fail to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, then the gospel about Jesus remains destructively incomplete. There is so much to say on this, but to put it simply, if we leave out the gospel of Jesus, the gospel of the Kingdom, we fail to make disciples and apprentices in Kingdom living but instead make only converts. Much of what Willard writes about is that a huge problem with our ministry as a global church is our lack of disciple-making. A major reason for that is that the gospel “about” Jesus is all we have proclaimed. We have sold people “fire insurance” or made them “vampire Christians,” just coming to Jesus for his blood and salvation. We must reclaim the full gospel where the gospel “about” and the gospel “of” are inseparable.
Another important shift for me was the value of experiencing the Kingdom every day. Do we understand the gospel of the Kingdom and good news that Jesus proclaimed? Are we experiencing it? Are we apprenticing to Jesus in Kingdom living ourselves? Are we actively partnering with our King to expand his Kingdom and proclaim and demonstrate it? Here’s the thing friends, if your answers to these questions are primarily “no,” please don’t go to a place of guilt or shame. For me, it required vision and understanding as well as equipping. For most of my Christian life I didn’t know these things were possible. I needed to know what was possible and I needed the tools to get there. This is part of our calling and joy at Novo and we would love to come alongside you if you have a hunger for more. Our Spiritual Authority Cohort prayer training is a great place to begin.
Friends, the gospel of salvation, the gospel about Jesus is forever foundational. But by itself it’s incomplete. May we all continue to follow Jesus’s example in Kingdom living, step into our true identity as children of the King, and partner with him in expanding the Kingdom through proclamation and demonstration of this incredibly good news!
FOR REFLECTION
Take some time to journal about the gospel of Jesus… what are the things he offers and the good news he proclaimed that you have experienced or want to experience more deeply
Consider reading through the gospels this year, and begin to mark in your Bible or journal all of the good news that Jesus proclaims and offers. Warning: it’s incredibly deep, full, rich, and compelling!
Consider digging deeper into understanding partnership with God in Kingdom living. The two resources from Novo that were most helpful to me on this journey were Sam Metcalf’s “Word, Deed, and Power: The Three Dimensions of the Gospel” and Novo’s Spiritual Authority Cohort practical prayer training.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Thrash is the President of Novo-US. He and his wife Jamie and their three kids live in San Juan Capistrano, CA and they love country music, playing games, and road trips. Their family motto is “With God; Invest in People; Laugh, Play, Dance, and Celebrate” and they do their best to live that out with joy and passion.