Vision for Mission: Nurturing an Apostolic Heart

Ses s i on 2: The Power and Verac i t y of the Gospe l 21

1. Romans 1.1-4

2. 1 Corinthians 15.1-8

3. Elements of the Gospel

a. The glory of Christ: The Good News is associated with Christ’s person and his atoning work on the cross.

b. His victory over death: The Good News emphasizes the centrality of his resurrection from the dead.

c. The absolute veracity of God’s Word: The Good News confirms that Christ’s incarnation, death, and vindication over death happened precisely as the Old Testament Scriptures had testified and affirmed, 2 Cor. 1.19, 1 Cor. 1.17, Rom. 10.14-17, Gal. 1.15ff., 2 Thess. 2.13ff.

B. The Gospel as human cooperation with God: the Gospel as identity of the apostle

1. No human statement, no constrained report, no dispassionate recital

2. The apostle’s entire person was included in the presentation of the Gospel.

1 Thess. 2.4-13 – but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of