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Brothers, God Is the Gospel | John Piper · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to the deep dive. This is where we take, you know,
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a whole stack of sources, articles, research notes, and
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really try to boil them down to the key insight, giving you a
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shortcut to getting informed on something vital.
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For this deep dive, we are zeroing in on a really central
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concept within Reformed thought. What truly is the ultimate
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purpose? What's the highest good of the
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gospel message? We're going to unpack this using
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teachings from a respected voice, John Piper, and also some
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foundational insights from Jonathan Edwards.
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Our goal is to get a really clear picture of what makes the
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good news, genuinely good news. You might think you already know
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the answer, but prepare for some clarifying insights, maybe even
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some surprising ones. That's right, we'll be looking
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closely at a critical distinction, the difference
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between God's gifts, all the things he gives us and got
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himself within the gospel message.
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Seeing their rules clearly, we really aim to show you what
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gives all those precious promises of the gospel their
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true value, where the ultimate worth is found.
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OK, so let's dive right in then. The core argument this deep dive
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is presenting. What is the ultimate aim of the
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good news? What's the final goal here?
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Well, the core assertion from our source, mainly Piper here,
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is pretty straightforward but also quite profound.
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God himself is the highest, the best, the final good in the
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Gospel. What that means is when you
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believe the good news, the greatest gift, the ultimate
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prize purchased by Christ's death and resurrection, is the
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enjoyment of God Himself. So not just what God gives us,
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but actually gaining God. Precisely, it's gaining God is
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the ultimate goal. The source Piper actually puts
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it very bluntly. God is the gospel.
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That's the essence of it. Now, he also acknowledged the
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real human challenge here in this fallen world, even for
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believers, our affections, our desires for God himself separate
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from his benefits. They're always prone to, well,
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lesson to fate. That makes sense.
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We tend to focus on the blessings, the help we get.
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We do. We drift towards the gifts
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rather than the giver. And so our source points out,
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the ongoing work of the Spirit and the Word is crucial.
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Their role is to continually reorient our hearts, to tilt our
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affections back so that the desire for God himself is
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restored, reignited. It's a constant dynamic process.
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OK, so God himself is the ultimate goal.
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To really get our heads around this, our sources layout 6
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essential steps, right? Six interconnected parts that
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make up the gospel. And these are all crucial.
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Like if you took one away, the whole thing wouldn't hold
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together. What are these foundational
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steps? Yes, these steps really provide
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a solid framework. The first one is seeing the
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gospel as a plan. This means it wasn't, you know,
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a reaction or a quick fix. It actually originates in the
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mind of God, planned out before the world was even founded.
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For creation itself. Exactly.
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It was a purposeful agreement worked out within the Godhead
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between the Father and the Son. It shows incredible forethought
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and divine intention. And there's biblical backing for
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this idea of a plan. Oh, absolutely.
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Think about First Corinthians 15 verses 3 and 4.
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When Paul talks about Christ's dying for our sins and rising
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again, he says it was according to the scriptures.
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That points to a divine design, A pre-existing plan.
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And even more clearly, Ephesians 1, verses four and five tell us
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we were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, and
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predestined for adoption according to the purpose of His
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will. Wow.
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So salvation isn't accidental, it's rooted in God's eternal
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purpose. That's the foundation.
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It's God's initiative from start to finish.
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OK, so it starts as a divine plan.
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What's the second step? The second step is is the Gospel
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as an event. This moves from the eternal plan
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to, well, history. Who refers to the actual
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historical reality of Jesus's death and resurrection.
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It's not a myth, not just a nice story.
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It happened in real time, in a real place.
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This is the historical bedrock of Christianity.
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It absolutely is, and again, First Corinthians 15.3 to 4 is
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key here. Confirming Christ died for a
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sins, was buried, was raised on the third day.
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These are presented as historical facts.
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The point our sources stress is crucial.
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Without historical Jesus, who actually lived, died and
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physically rose again, the good news just evaporates.
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It loses all its power and credibility.
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His resurrection is the anchor. A plan rooted in eternity,
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enacted in history. That makes sense.
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So this historical event, what did it actually achieve?
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That leads to the third step, I imagine.
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It does. Step 3 is the gospel as an
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achievement, and this is huge. It details what Jesus actually
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accomplished through his life, death, and resurrection.
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There are several key facets here. 1st, and this is maybe
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hard to grasp sometimes, is the absorption of God's wrath.
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We're talking about God's holy, righteous anger against sin.
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It's not petty anger. It's His settled opposition to
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all that contradicts His goodness and holiness.
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And humanity stands under that wrath because of sin.
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Yes, John 333 says plainly that whoever does not obey the Son
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shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
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Galatians 3.13 tells us Christ became a curse for us.
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He took the curse of God's judgement.
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Romans 8.3 says God condemned sin in the flesh by sending his
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Son. So Jesus on the cross absorbed
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the full measure of that divine judgement that our sin deserved.
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He removed the greatest thread hanging over us.
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He took the hit for us, essentially.
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In the most profound way possible, yes.
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Secondly, part of the achievement was the payment for
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sins. Sin creates a debt before God, a
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moral failure that needs to be addressed.
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Jesus paid that debt completely. Isaiah 53 verses 5 and 6 paint
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this picture so vividly. Pierced for our transgressions,
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crushed for our iniquities, The Lord laying on him the iniquity
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of us all. First, Peter 2.24 says he bore
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our sins and his body on the tree.
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So the debt is cancelled, paid in full.
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Paid in full by his sacrifice, the slate is wiped clean for
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those who trust in him. But there's more.
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The third achievement is the provision of perfect
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righteousness. It's not enough just to have our
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sins forgiven, our negative record cleared.
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To stand before a holy God, we need a positive, perfect record.
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And we don't have that on our own.
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Not even close. But Jesus lived a life of
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perfect obedience, and when we're united to him by faith,
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his perfect record, His righteousness, is credited to
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our account. It's counted as ours.
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That's the concept of imputation.
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Exactly Romans 5.99 says by the one man's obedience the many
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will be made righteous. In 2nd Corinthians 5.21, that
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amazing verse, for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no
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sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
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It means we stand before God not just as pardoned criminals, but
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his righteous children, clothed in Christ's own perfection.
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That's incredible. Wrath absorbed, sins paid,
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righteousness provided. Is there a fourth aspect to the
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achievement? Yes, the final piece of this
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achievement is the conquest of death and obtaining eternal
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life. Sin brought death into the
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world, both physical and spiritual separation from God.
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Jesus, through his death and resurrection, defeated death
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itself. Romans 6.23 says the free gift
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of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Hebrews 2 verses 14 and 15 tell us He shared our humanity so
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that through death He might destroy the one who has the hold
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of death, that is the devil, and free us from the fear of death.
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So he broke Death's hole. He did.
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He disarmed it and secured for believers a life that never
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ends, a life of fellowship with God.
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So all these things, wrath absorbed, thins paid,
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righteousness provided, death conquered, eternal life secured.
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These were achieved definitively by Jesus in history,
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accomplished by God for us. OK, that's a monumental
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achievement, an event achievement.
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How does this incredible achievement actually get to
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people? What's Step 4?
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Step 4 is the gospel is a free offer.
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All that Christ accomplished is freely offered to everyone.
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It's not for sale. You can't earn it.
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You can't work for. It it's purely a gift.
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Purely a gift received by grace through faith alone, not by our
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good deeds or efforts. Romans 3.28 is so clear one is
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justified by faith apart from works of the law, that Ephesians
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2 verses 8:00 and 9:00. For by grace you've been saved
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through faith, and this is not your own doing.
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It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one
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may boast. So no boasting allowed.
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None at all. And this offer is universal.
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It's indiscriminate. It goes out to the whole world.
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Whoever believes, as John 3.16 says, Romans 10.13, everyone who
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calls in the name of the Lord will be saved.
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It's wide open to anyone who will simply receive it by faith.
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A. Free offer, open to all.
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Then how does it become real for someone?
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What's the application step? Five Yes.
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Step 5 is the gospel as an application.
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This is where the objective work of Christ becomes a subjective
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reality in a person's life. It happens through the
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proclamation of the gospel message as the Holy Spirit
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works. The fundamental mechanism here,
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particularly emphasized Reformed thought, is our union with
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Christ. You see this phrase in Christ
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all over the New Testament. Right.
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Like being in Christ Jesus. Exactly.
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Romans 16.7 mentions people in Christ before me.
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Romans 6 talks about being united with him in his death and
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resurrection. Galatians 3.26 as we become
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children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
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It's through faith that the Spirit unites us to Christ or
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graphs us into Him. And because we are united to
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Him, everything He achieved becomes ours.
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So through this union we receive the benefits.
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Precisely, we receive forgiveness of sin.
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Ephesians 1.7 talks about redemption through His blood,
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the forgiveness of our trespasses.
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Acts 10.43 says everyone who believes in Him receives
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forgiveness. We are counted righteous in
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Christ. Philippians 3.9 talks about
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gaining the righteousness that comes from God through faith.
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Romans 5.1 says because we're justified by faith, we have
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peace with God, we had a right standing, and we receive eternal
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life. John 3.1 seats again.
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Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal
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life. First Timothy 1.16 speaks of
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believing for eternal life. This isn't just duration, it's a
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quality of life. Life connected to God Himself,
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starting now and going on forever.
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OK plan, event achievement, free offer application through union
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with Christ, bringing forgiveness, righteousness,
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eternal life. Now as you said earlier, this is
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often where we stop thinking about the gospel and those are
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amazing troops like changing. But our sources, Piper
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especially, insists the picture isn't complete yet.
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There's a 6th step, a final goal that gives meaning to all the
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others. So what is the highest, the
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best? The final good?
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In the good news, what's step 6? This is really the heart of the
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matter, the capstone. Our sources challenge us to see
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that all those wonderful benefits, justification,
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forgiveness, escaping wrath, get eternal life.
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They are not the ultimate end in themselves.
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They're incredibly precious, absolutely necessary, but they
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are means to an even greater end.
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Piper makes the striking point that unless they lead to this
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final goal, they aren't actually good news in the fullest sense.
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You could technically want forgiveness or heaven without
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wanting the ultimate good they point to.
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So what is that ultimate good? The answer drawn especially from
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Second Corinthians chapter 4 verses 4 and 6 is seeing and
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savoring the glory of God in Christ.
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Verse 4 speaks of unbelievers being blinded by Satan quote to
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keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of
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Christ who is the image of God. And verse 6 says God has shown
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in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of
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God in the face of Jesus Christ. Seeing the glory of Christ.
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Not with physical eyes, presumably.
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No, not physical eyes. It's a spiritual sight, a
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perception with the eyes of the heart, as Ephesians one puts it.
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It's a heart level apprehension, a spiritual tasting and
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delighting of the beauty, the worth, the magnificence of
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Christ, who perfectly reveals God.
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So the point is, the gospel isn't just facts or benefits.
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It's supremely good news because in the events and through the
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benefits, we get to see and savor the glory of Christ, the
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image of God, that sight, that experience, that is the ultimate
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good news. Christ glory isn't just related
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to the gospel, it is the gospel's climax.
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Wow. OK, so the glory of Christ seen
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and savored is the good news. That really changes how you view
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the other steps. Can you connect the dots for us?
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How do those benefits we discussed earlier serve this
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ultimate purpose? Yes, absolutely.
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Viewing it this way puts everything in perspective.
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Think about justification. Why is being declared righteous
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good news? Fundamentally, it's good news
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because it removes the barrier of guilt and condemnation,
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allowing you to stand accepted before the infinitely glorious
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God whose beauty you were made to see and enjoy forever.
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It gives you access to his glorious presence.
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So. Justification is good because it
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leads to seeing God's glory. Exactly.
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And forgiveness. Why is forgiveness such good
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news? Because it cancels all the sins,
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cleanses the conscience, removes the spiritual blindness that
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prevents you from seeing and delighting in the glory of
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Christ, who is the image of God. Sin obscures that glory.
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Forgiveness clears the view. What about the removal of wrath
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and salvation from hell? This is good news not merely as
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an escape from eternal misery, but as an entrance into eternal
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pleasure, the pleasure of beholding and enjoying the glory
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of God in the face of Christ forever.
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You're saved from something terrible to someone infinitely
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wonderful. OK, that makes sense.
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It's not just avoiding the negative, but gaining the
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ultimate positive. Right, and eternal life itself,
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what makes it good news? Jesus defined it in John 17.3.
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And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true
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God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
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It's not just endless time, it's endless deepening relational
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knowledge and enjoyment of God Himself seeing His glory unfold.
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Knowing God is eternal life. That's the essence of it.
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And finally, even the future freedom from pain, sickness and
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conflict in the new creation. Why is that good news?
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Because in that freedom will no longer be hindered or distracted
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by suffering or earthly limitations will be free for the
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fullest, most uninterrupted, ecstatic enjoyment of the glory
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of Christ, the image of God. So you see, all these precious
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gospel benefits are pathways. They are necessary means.
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But the ultimate destination, the supreme treasure, is God
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himself enjoyed in his glory. That brings us back to the core
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idea. God Himself is the gospel.
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Yes, at first. Peter 3.18 states it so
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concisely. For Christ also suffered once
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for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring
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us to God. That's the goal, bringing us to
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God. This means knowing Him
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personally, seeing Him clearly without the filter of sin, being
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with Him, being changed into His likeness, and enjoying Him with
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capacities for joy that frankly we can only imagine now.
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Capacities that heaven will provide.
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As the psalmist says in Psalm 16.11, in your presence there is
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fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures
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forevermore. That is the ultimate point.
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This understanding that God himself is the ultimate good,
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the destination of the gospel. It feels like it connects with
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deeper currents in Christian thought.
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Our sources mentioned Jonathan Edwards, right?
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He lived much earlier, but his ideas seem to echo this.
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They really do. It's fascinating how consistent
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this theme is. The quote from Edwards that
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Piper often uses beautifully illustrates this idea of God at
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the beginning and end of all things, especially salvation.
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Edwards wrote something like this.
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I'm paraphrasing slightly. The revulgence, the shining
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brightness shines upon and into the creature and is reflected
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back to the luminary, the light source.
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The beams of glory come from God and are something of God and a
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refunded back again to their original.
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OK, unpack that a little refulgence.
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Beams of Glory refunded back. Yeah, it sounds a bit archaic,
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but the idea is powerful. Think of God as the sun, the
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ultimate luminary, radiating his glory, His refulgence, his light
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imperfection. These beams of glory shine out
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from him and onto and into us, his creatures.
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But it doesn't stop there. This glory, which is something
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of God himself, isn't meant to be just absorbed and vanish.
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It's meant to be refunded back, reflected back to its source,
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back to God through our seeing it, valuing it, delighting in
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it, and praising Him for it. So God's glory goes out from
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him, and the goal is for it to return to Him through our
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response. Precisely, Edwards concludes
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that thought by saying something like so that the whole is of God
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and in God, and to God, and God is the beginning, middle, and
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end in this affair. It's this incredible picture of
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God being the source of all things, the sustainer of all
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things, and the ultimate goal or end of all things.
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His glory is the point. This fits perfectly with the
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idea that God himself, the experience of his glory, is the
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highest good of the gospel. Edwards provides this rich
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historical theological framework for understanding Piper's more
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contemporary statement that God is the gospel.
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That connection across centuries is quite compelling.
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OK, we've gone through the plan, the event, the achievement, the
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offer, the application and landed on this ultimate good
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seeing and savoring God's glory in Christ.
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So bringing this home for the listener, what does this deep
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dive mean for you? How does really grasping that
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God is the gospel change things practically?
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Well, I think it changes everything, potentially.
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It fundamentally reorients your whole perspective on salvation,
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on what the Christian life is really about.
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It shifts your focus, doesn't it?
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From primarily thinking about receiving benefits from God
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which are wonderful, to receiving God Himself is your
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supreme treasure, your highest joy.
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So it reframes why the benefits matter.
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It's exactly it leads to a much richer appreciation for
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justification, forgiveness, eternal life, all of it.
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You start seeing them not just as things you get, but as
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precious, absolutely vital pathways to the ultimate goal,
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knowing and enjoying God forever.
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Forgiveness isn't just fire insurance, it's clearing the way
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to see the face of the One you love.
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It should also foster, ideally, a greater longing for God
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Himself, not just for his blessings, not just for relief
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from trouble, but for Him, for His presence, His character, His
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beauty. And it addresses that challenge
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you mentioned earlier about our affections lessening.
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Yes, that spiritual tendency to drift towards the gifts instead
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of the giver. Understanding God Himself is the
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goal, makes that drift something to actively fight against.
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It becomes a call really, to consciously pursue Him above all
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else. To ask yourself, am I seeking
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God in this or just seeking relief?
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Am I pursuing His glory or just my comfort?
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It encourages you to cultivate that desire for God Himself,
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knowing He is the only one who can truly satisfy the deepest
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longings of your heart. It makes finding your joy in Him
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the central project of your life.
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That's the essence of what paper calls Christian hedonism.
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God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.
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What a rich exploration today, really getting to the core of
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the good news. We've seen how the gospel
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unfolds in these essential steps, but ultimately culminates
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in the greatest reality. God Himself is the highest, best
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and final good. He is the destination.
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And if Christ suffered the righteous for the unrighteous
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specifically to bring us to God, then perhaps the thought to
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leave you with is this. How does knowing that God
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himself is the gospel shape what you're truly seeking in your
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daily thoughts, in your worship, and what you hope for in the
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future? Does your heart's deepest
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longing truly aligned with the Gospels greatest treasure?
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God himself. A challenging and vital
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question. We trust.
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This deep dive is giving you some clarifying insight, maybe a
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fresh perspective on the good news.
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We'll be back next time with more crucial ideas to unpack.
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Until then, keep seeking understanding and finding your
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delight in truth.