What is the GOSPEL of THE STATE?

You read that right, THE GOSPEL OF THE STATE. This post is not to be confused with article about “the state of the gospel”. This is about the gospel of the state. The word state meaning a centralized human government.

There is a gospel of the state being proclaimed all over the world. And I would argue it is the most popular and widely embraced gospel message on earth. Whether we live under democracy, monarchy, socialism, or a communism. The gospel of the state is preached within them all.

So what then is exactly the gospel of the state?

The Gospel of The State is the false good news and proclamation that the state, the centralized orginization of human government. Can and should be provider, protector and have the position of loving god or parent over a group of nations, an individual nation, a state, or a city.

Adam Collier

Almost every politician, embraces, teaches and many even proclaim with religious fervor their personal take on this gospel.

This gospel has been with us since the very beginning, in the Bible the story is that Cain killed Abel. He then was driven out and he went out to build a city called Enoch (see Gen 4:17). A city and its government with the intention of replacing God, to replace what Cain had lost in the garden after he had killed his brother Abel. Replace the provision, the protection, and even the very presence of God.

Most peoples of the earth fall for some version of the gospel of the state. Many Christians even, have more excitement, passion, and knowledge about their version of the gospel of the state. Than they have for the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Can Human Government Be Good?

The word gospel simply means “good news”, the idea that human government can be good apart from God is the foundation under this gospel of the state. Human government sets out to provide food, housing, physical protection, justice, entertainment and community. To create human government from scratch we must have a concentration of people in one place cooperating peacefully.

Gospel of the State – the Corruption of Human Government

Don’t get me wrong, human government has its place. The service of officials unto a nation, a community or a state is necessary on some level.

The pooling of money for the common good, to create roads, and systems that are impossible without cooperation. And perhaps even to set up safety protections for citizens that are agreed to. As well as for the provision of justice. However, we take it too far when we view those organizations as capable of doing what they are not capable of. We take it too far when we give individuals and agencies, God-like status and powers over ourselves and others.

Gospels of the state flourishes, grows and is spread most where there is: A concentration of power, money and even teachings about what government could and should be.

The state progressively strives to become the defender of the citizenry who have embraced the message being proclaimed. Politicians become preachers of the gospel of the state in increasing passion and conviction.

I think it’s best to look at the issue of governmental power in the context of a gospel. Because a religious gospel message is is the closest approximation of how state power, political messages and religious like fervor is displayed in nations of people.

Which particular gospel of the state might have you embraced?

Things Worth Teaching

Much of what is taught in churches is out of context that its not worth teaching in my opinion. To randomly teach the contents of an epistle or a Proverb out of the context and setting in which it was intended leaves the hearer with a shallow understanding. They may think their learning is deeper and richer than it really is.

I believe the only thing worth teaching to a group of Christians is the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. This gospel is outlined below in at least 24 sessions.

I have attempted to teach this great story via video series on YouTube and on Facebook but here is an outline of how I would break it up. This gospel, to do it justice, should be broken up in 25 to 75 different sessions. All of which are connected and fit nicely together. What I am calling here the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Chrsit is God’s story of creation and recreation and our place and purpose in His unverse. it is not the ABC’s of making it into heaven. Or out of hell. It is not the Romans Road to salvation. It is a full discipleship endeavor to bring a person from conversion to participating in Christian gatherings. Those things are tiny subsets and side stories to the reality of this matchless story of God.

  1. The Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ
    • Precreation, the reason God chose to create, Gods eternal purpose. 1
    • The act of Creation (Genesis 1, Proverbs 1, Jesus Creating) 2
    • Eden, what it means, the first house of God. 3
    • The Fall, Sin and our attempt to get back 4
    • Noah and Babel 5
    • The Nations and Abram 6
    • Israel 7
    • Israel and the Prophets 8
    • Israel, David, The Psalms, and Their Messiah 9
    • The coming of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ 10
    • The kingdom of Jesus Christ 11
    • Seeing the magnitude of Jesus Christ 12
    • The death of Jesus Christ 13
    • The Resurrection of Jesus Christ 14
    • Pentecost 15
    • The ecclesia age 16, 17, 18
    • Paul’s gospel Ephesians 1-3, Romans 6-8, 19
    • Training Sessions in Gathering, being filled in the Spriit – 1 Cor 12, Eph 5, 20-26
      • 1 Cor 12 every member 20
      • 1 Cor 12 every member 21
      • Face to face open faces beholding 2 Cor 3 22
      • The Lords Supper meetings 23
      • Other gaherings 24

Something close to this is what I plan to teach and train a group of Christians in, if ever given permission from the Lord and from a group of gathering Christians.

elderly woman with a microphone outdoors

All Christian Gospels Merge in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ

It is nice to think that “the gospel” is a fixed, well-defined message, which is easily summarized in 5 minutes or less. A message essentially about getting into heaven. If it could be that then those who preach it are free to dance around it and point people to it when they are ready. Like it is a final convincing sales call, or a tool with which to close sermons or homilies.

This is Not So At All !

This may even seem to be the case in the New Testament. But I think this is because the New Testament is mostly letters from apostles written to the people who had embraced their particular gospel. And these letters were apostles who were still discipling and helping particular groups of Christians.

At the time there were dozens of other gospels circulating about God. Just like today. However, the apostles from the New Testament had their’s given to them by Jesus Christ himself.

That gospel has since been scrambled today, and the versions of Christian gospels are many today, even in evangelical churches. Of varying accuracy and fidelity to that of the New Testament. But I believe that we are gradually finding our way back to that original story of the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

The Christian Gospel is not fixed, even across “evangelical” churches.

When we hear the word the gospel, we should think of a preachers entire message, taken as a whole over time. Not just the theology of Salvation (Soteriology), the “ABCs”, or the “Romans road” to heaven.

In truth, a preahcers entire message is their gospel, spoken and unspoken. Also, any Christian who reaches out, his/her entire message is their gospel. Some gospels we here in churches today, I believe, compared to that of the apostles gospels are trash. Some are partially true, and some are great. We can measure them by the standard that is Jesus Christ himself. Without him, without truth itself, anything is valid, pick what you like to hear.

A gospel is not only communicated with what is taught or preach, but it is also how preachers behave in Christian meetings, and even in private. What happens in Christian gatherings meetings, who is allowed to dominate. Who is told to sit down, who is told to give, what words to repeat to their pew-neighbor. All of that comprises a Christian gospel, it is a message, sometimes spoken with words, sometimes spoken with acts, sometimes spoken by what is left out. About God and about Jesus Christ himself and about his kingdom.

And the particular gospel that we do embrace early on, often makes our Christian lives.

  • If its money centered, so will we be money-centered and will measure others, our own, and everyone’s spirituality by money issues.
  • If it is church-centered so will we be church centered judging others accordingly. With little depth beyond our church situation of the moment. Sometimes with our groups altogether backsliding as a team, drifting away from the Lord. Accepting whatever is taught without question, like loyal groupies.
  • If its legalistic, obesessed with sin, and in blocking sinners, so will we be legalistic, judging all the sinners and libertine Christians harshly.
  • If it is libertine and indifferent toward sin so will we be, judging all the legalist Christians harshly.
  • If it is making the world a better place for poor old God, then that’s our focus and often our obsession.

But if it can be Jesus Christ

BUT if it can be Jesus Christ, if we can handle him, if we can accept Him. If it is the story of Jesus Christ since before the foundation of the world. If it is the story of Jesus Christ starting a new humanity (his ecclesia) and his new creation. If it is the story of the kingdom of God.

Then our gospel is founded on a real spiritual rock. And we judge everything and every one by him alone, (not money, not church, not sin). And we become able to spiritually understand and handle anything that comes our way because he is the increasing and gradual summation and center of the entire universe.

And other Christians become precious sources of Him, they are not competition. They are not just someone to try to disciple and lead around. And extract a salary from. They are not someone to gather around ourselves and make a part of our church kingdom. What we think of other Christians is a good measure of the particular gospel that we have embraced.

The gospel of the kingdom begins before creation (Eph 1, John 17.) explaining WHY God created us and everything else.

It continues with the creation event (how we got here.)

The fall of man and the nefarious spiritual powers affecting us and the world system.

The selection of Abraham and his Hebrew descendants.

The coming of the messiah the perfect human, the new Adam intended to get humanity back on track to the original intent, the eternal purpose, his enduring resolve.

It includes the suffering and resurrection of Jesus Christ, killing off the old humanity from Adam & Eve and starting a fresh and new humanity.

And the new humanity the beginning of the new creation. The body of Jesus Christ sitting (for now) within the midst of the old creation which is in decline and is experiencing eviction from the earth.

This gospel story, thrills and excites me, it has changed my life and it continues to do so. I trust it will you as well.

A great book on teh gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ according to the Apostle Peter.

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