Everybody believes in a gospel.

What do I mean by that? Everybody has a worldview that informs their understanding of life, and within that worldview there is a gospel. Their gospel, or “good news,” promises to deliver them to the way things ought to be. Thus, when one talks about their worldview, what they really are espousing is their gospel. 

What draws someone to a particular worldview? It is the promises of that particular gospel which incline the heart to trust and the mind to believe in the person or entity to deliver that promise. In the Christian faith, our good news is this: we believe Jesus is the eternal Son of God who became man to redeem a fallen humanity by His perfect life and sacrificial death that we would be saved from sin and death, the punishment of our rebellion against God, and joined to Christ, indwelt by the Spirit, to everlasting life in which we will know the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, beholding the glory of God for all eternity (Jn 17). The good news of this gospel is not merely escape from Hell, the right punishment upon humanity for rebelling against God. The good news is that we are delivered to eternal glory of the highest good, greatest treasure, most joyful and awe striking bliss, to be in the presence of the One True God for all eternity, in which there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore! Stated another way, GOD is the good news of the gospel! To know Him is what attracts and anchors our faith and affections for all eternity in the person of Jesus Christ.

I have learned that every gospel (worldview) can be understood under the Gospel Framework: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and New Creation. Each movement in this framework has sub themes that every person seeks. I have found this framework particularly helpful to understand the power of the one true gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as the false “gospels” others believe. This series of articles seeks to explain these subthemes for you. We hope that you find this gospel framework helpful for your own soul, and for understanding the false gospels of others so that you may speak the gospel of Jesus to their hearts and minds. Also, that you would be equipped with the armor of the Light: the helmet of salvation, shield of faith, breastplate of righteousness, boots of peace, and the sword of the Spirit, that you would stand against the fiery arrows of the devil. 

The first movement in the Gospel Framework Creation. Under this heading, we find the following themes: truth, identity, belonging, purpose, significance, and fulfillment. The first theme we will focus on is truth. 

The primary questions to ask about truth are the following: Who determines what is true? What or who is the source– is it man, or God? Where do you find this truth? And how do you know it is true? Is there a method to determine it? How do you know it is valid and justifiable, as opposed to an opinion? What is the scope of this truth; how far reaching is it? Your answers to these questions outline your epistemology— how you know what you know.

First, who determines what is true? The answer is God; He is the Creator of all things (Col 1:16). The only man ever to be the source of truth was and is the Son of God, because he is both God and man. Jesus declared, “I am… the truth” (Jn 14:6). Thus, Jesus is the measure of all things, not man. How do we know? We look to the revelation of God in Scripture (Psalm 119:160, Jn 17:17, Heb 6:18, 2 Tim, 3:16). We accept His word as self-authenticating, the only source that can be, for God has testified to Christ Himself (Jn 8:18). How do we know it is valid and justifiable? Because Jesus claimed to come from God the Father as His Son (Jn 6:37), and he validated Scripture (Mat 5:18). Jesus was crucified, dead, buried, and he rose from the grave (1 Tim 3:16), therefore, by His resurrection He proved to be the source of truth. Furthermore, we have testimony of man and angels that He is seated at the right hand of the Father (Jn 16:28, 20:17; Acts 1:1-9). The scope of truth expands the universe, for so reaches His word and His Spirit (Psa 19:1-6; 139:7). 

Truth is of utmost importance. Truth was the entry point of Satan’s attack on humanity, the image of God, in the garden of Eden: Genesis 3:1–5

[1] Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” [2] And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, [3] but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” [4] But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. [5] For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

Satan questioned the source of truth: “did God actually say…?” And then denied the truth: “You will not surely die.” Then he redefined it: “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil.” This same attack, by questioning, denying, and redefining truth, has been employed to this very day. Paul, the apostle, declared Satan the “prince of the power of the air, the spirit now at work in the sons of disobedience.” Through Satan’s deception, [he] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. If one is deceived and blinded from the truth, one cannot see the gospel of the glory of Christ. Truth is essential for the gospel. 

Thus, the first theme of one’s creation framework is truth. Where you find truth determines everything that follows. If you look to the world as your source, you are looking to people and knowledge that has been blinded to the gospel of the glory of Christ. Your gospel is already false. But if you look to Christ and His Word, you will find that much of what you have believed– even what you may still hold on to, now has been challenged by the word of God. As we behold Him with unveiled face, we are being changed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. This beholding will complete our transformation on the Day of Christ, For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 

Seek His truth. That is where your creation story begins!