The Gospel of God/Elohim - The Master Builder

 The Gospel of God/Elohim – the Master Builder

Lately, I’ve been dwelling on the “Gospel of God/Elohim” after seeing a translation from the “morphological GNT translation” that is used by the NASB95.  Normally it says, “The gospel of the kingdom of God/Elohim”.  But here are a few other verses in the NASB that leave out the Greek word for kingdom.   

Mark 1:14 “And after John had been taken into custody, Yeshua came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God/Elohim”.

2 Corinthians 11:7 “Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God/Elohim to you without charge?”

1 Thessalonians 2:8-9 “Having thus a fond affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God/Elohim but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God/Elohim.”

1 Peter 4:17 “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God/Elohim?”

Romans 1:1-2 “Paul, a bond-servant of Messiah Yeshua, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God/Elohim, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures”

Galatians 3:8 “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God/Elohim would justify the Nations by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations shall be blessed in you’".

According to Hebrews, the first gospel – good news - to be proclaimed was to Abraham: "For when God/Elohim made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, 'Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.' And so, after he had patiently endured, Abraham obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all disputes. Thus Elohim, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for Elohim to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…” (Heb. 6:13-20 emphases added).  There is abundant good news in the above passage.  When writing to Timothy, Paul reminds him of the gospel that was entrusted to him: “… according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God/Elohim, with which I have been entrusted” (1 Timothy 1:11).  

Elohim promised to multiply into the “fullness of the nations” Abraham’s life through his and Sarah’s son, Isaac, and then in the next generation, Jacob, ad infinitum. True to this promise, in our day the “fullness” has become very ‘full’ and is made up of the ones who respond to this gospel of God with the faith that was inherent and inherited from the forefathers.  Having this faith, we believe that the God of Israel did what He said He would do for Abraham and his progeny through Isaac and Jacob, and that is to multiply and then make them/us a blessing in the nations.

 Elohim’s multiplicity was accomplished when His people were under the curse of iniquity and sin as “sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2).  But after Yeshua came to redeem them, they became the promised “blessing”.  ^“Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7). Paul reiterates here what he said in Romans 4:16: “For this reason it is by faith, that it might be in accordance with grace, in order that the promise may be certain to all the seed/descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all… “  (emphasis added).

If it were possible for Elohim to lie, we would have no hope and our faith would have nothing to draw from. Elohim made one oath, and that was to Abraham. This oath is the testing ground of His very own nature. If He did not remain faithful to this promise, He would have had to relinquish His claim to holiness, righteousness, and faithfulness.

According to the above-quoted scriptures (from Hebrews 6), there are two immutable, unchanging, permanent things that Elohim has ordained, predestined, sealed, and finalized, and they are: "blessing I will bless and multiplying I will multiply you [Abraham]". Elohim's faithfulness to this covenant is our hope, which is an anchor for our Israelite soul. Your identity as sons of Abraham is a witness of the “Gospel of God”, who is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - “the God of the living” (Mathew 22:32). Yeshua proclaimed the gospel of God and taught us to pray “Our Father… “  

The fact that Elohim has a “Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world” (Hebrews 1:2), demonstrates powerfully, among other things, His way of culminating His salvation, redemption and “restoration of all things” plan which, by necessity, had to conform to this pattern. What is the pattern? It is a “building”. In this case, a building made up of “living stones” (1^st Peter 2:5). “Son”, “ben” in Hebrew, is rooted in “building” (b.n.h), layer upon layer, generation after generation (hence the genealogical listings in Scripture). The Master Builder not only had to have a “Son” – ben – who is the “foundation stone” (Is. 28:16; Ps. 118:22) as well as the “top stone” (Zech. 4:7), and a “a tested stone” of His Temple, He also had to ‘build’, gradually, layer by layer, a living structure made up of selected stones. It is no wonder that when Jacob blessed Joseph, he used the term “ro’eh even Yisrael”, “the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel” (Genesis 49:24). The very word “stone” – “even” (pronounced like the name Evan) – is made up of the letters “alef’, “bet” and “noon”. Alef and bet makeup “av” – father, while bet and noon make up “ben” – son.

When Sarah sought to have a son through a surrogate mother, she said: “…perhaps I shall obtain children through her" (Genesis 16:2). “I shall obtain children” in the Hebrew original is designated by one word, “Iba’neh” – I shall be built by having a son. Notice that the verb used stems from the root, b.n.h, pointing to “building” and to “son”. In Genesis 30:3, we read about Rachel using the exact verb in precisely the same circumstances.  

Thus, the sanctuary or temple of the Almighty is made up of a chronology of living stones of those who have had the faith of their forefathers, “son” after “son”, reaching a “fullness” that receives “the promise to Abraham or to his seed/progeny that he would be heir of the world” (Romans 4:13 emphasis added). Notice the Hebrews’ quote above, regarding Elohim’s Son being the “heir of all things”.

When Elohim issues a word, it is more than an utterance, it is life. The words spoken to Abraham – the good news of the plan of redemption and restoration – started to materialize through him and have not stopped since.

The good news of Elohim’s Son, is that He came to restore the house of Jacob and set up the Father’s kingdom in that house by building it with living stones.  Therefore, “Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.  Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; when he was one I called him, then I blessed him and multiplied him" (Isaiah 51:1-2 emphases added).  Today, you are the witnesses of the Gospel of God/Elohim and His Son.