Fulfilling the Gospel

Which verb do you associate most with the gospel? Is your first instinct to pick a verb connected to your five-fold wiring? Perhaps you evangelists go to testifying, proclaiming, or announcing the gospel. Maybe the apostles land on advancing or establishing the gospel. Teachers are preaching, defending, or contending for the gospel. Shepherds emphasize living the gospel. And likely, the prophets are into demonstrating the gospel.

In Romans 15:18–19, Paul uses a verb not often connected with the gospel, yet foundational in understanding the multiple dimensions of the gospel of Jesus: Fulfill the gospel.

“For I would not dare say anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed, by the power of miraculous signs and wonders, and by the power of God’s Spirit. As a result, I have fulfilled the good news about the Messiah from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum.”

If you are into Greek words, fulfill is pleroo (play-rah-oh), commonly used in connection to the fulfillment of a prophecy. It points to arrival or completion. So in what way does Paul fulfill or complete the gospel? By being a vessel for Christ to accomplish the mission to the Gentiles through all the dimensions of the gospel: word, deed, and power. The good news of Jesus is fulfilled by a disciple through preaching, establishing, defending, living, demonstrating (choose your favorite verb) the gospel in word, deed, and power. That is to say, the gospel in word only has not arrived fully. The gospel in deed only is incomplete. The gospel in power only is partial.

The gospel is multidimensional because Jesus is multidimensional. We can only fulfill the multidimensional gospel by connecting with the multidimensional heart of Jesus. Because Jesus functioned from a heart of compassion, wisdom, boldness, humility, justice, mercy, truth (and so much more), he naturally demonstrated the good news in word, deed, and power to the world. The outward demonstration of word, deed, and power was a result of the posture of his heart.

In my life on mission, I have found that as I get more disconnected from the multidimensional heart of God, the gospel I present gets narrow and one dimensional. When I am disconnected from his compassion, I am disincentivized to pray for the sick. When I become unmerciful I am quick to judge. And on it goes. But, like Paul, I want to be a fulfiller of the gospel! And this means, even though there may be one dimension of the gospel that seems easier to me, and one dimension that fits the description of my five-fold wiring, I need to press into the heart of Jesus to fulfill the dimensions where I am weaker. Discipline and enthusiasm will not be enough. Only in the secret cave with Jesus will I connect with his heart in order to fulfill the gospel on the road of mission.

Questions for Reflection

• Which verb do you lean toward when it comes to the gospel? Which dimensions of Jesus do you naturally connect with? Where are you weaker?

• Ask Jesus what dimensions of his heart he wants to highlight to you today.