...Theology of the Four Gospels The first three gospels are sometimes called the 'synoptic' or same view gospels. This is because they each cover teaching and miracles by Jesus that are also covered in another account. The fourth gospel, John, writing later, recounts Jesus' other words and miracles that have a particular spiritual meaning. All four gospels present Jesus as both the Son of God and son of man. In this paper information will be provided that describes the major theological differences between the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Information will also be provided that describes a theological perspective of the gospel of John. Finally, information in this paper will include how ones understanding of the various theological perspectives presented in the four Gospels can be used as an additional tool to facilitate the proclaiming of the Four Gospels. Theological Differences between the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John The Gospel According to Matthew The first three books of the New Testament have been identified as the synoptic gospels. These books are Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The first book of the New Testament is identified as the book of Matthew. Matthew was one of the first twelve disciples of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 9:1; 10:1-4 and therefore an eye-witness. Matthew records more of Jesus' teaching concerning God's heavenly kingdom than the other writers, Mark, Luke, or John. In the first four books of Matthew, the miracle story of Jesus’...
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...Summary of the Chapters In chapter one of Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, J.I. Packer doesn’t waste time explaining the general truths. He already expects his readers to know that God is sovereign over His world. He is the author and source of all things, therefore, our prayers do not force the Lord of all to do anything. Packer wants his audience to realize that because the God is sovereign, we cannot save ourselves. Our salvation comes through Him and in Him; it is nothing we did ourselves. Packers gives two examples, that he believes can prove that God is sovereign in salvation. The first, he argues that we (Christians) thank God for our salvation. By doing so we acknowledge that God is solely responsible for our salvation. We do not thank ourselves for being saved, do we? No, because we know that it is God who is in control. The second way we acknowledge that God is sovereign in salvation, is that we pray for the conversion of non-believers. Packer defends his reasoning by saying, “Do you limit yourself to asking that God will bring them (non-believers) to a point where they can save themselves, independently of Him?”[1] Again, by praying to God for the salvation of others we practice the act of acknowledging God is sovereign. Proven now, that God is sovereign, in chapter 2 the author explains what an antimony is and how to deal with hardships that come along with it. An antimony is an appearance of a contradiction between conclusions which seem equally...
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...Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels Chapter 1: What are the Gospels? | Four Gospels, One Jesus | What are the four Gospels? | * Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each paint a unique portrait of Jesus Christ | | * The Gospels exhibit both unity and diversity, bearing witness to the same Jesus | | (unity) but viewing them from unique perspectives (diversity) | What are the four unique portraits | * Matthew presents Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, the fulfillment of the Old | each Gospel paints of Jesus Christ? | Testament hopes | | * Mark portrays Jesus as the suffering Son of God, who offers himself as a | | sacrifice for sins | | * Luke portrays Jesus as the Savior for all people, who brings salvation to all | | nations and people groups | | * John portrays Jesus as the eternal son of God, the self-revelation of God the | | Father | | * Christology refers to Jesus’ person and work | What is the difference between the | * Mark is more dramatic, it is a powerful and vivid story; Matthew is the most | four Gospels? | structured of the Gospels; Luke is the most thematic, like God’s love for the lost, | | the role of the Spirit, and Jerusalem’s role in God’s plan resurfacing repeatedly; | | John is the most theological of the four, with more explicit statements | | concerning Jesus’ identity and purpose. | What are synoptic Gospels? | * Synoptic Gospels (from the Greek word synopsis...
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...Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code -Bible did not arrive from heaven: or not divinely inspired, God-breathed; product of man -Man created it as a historical record and has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definite version of the book -Jesus Christ was a historical figure of staggering influence -Over 80 gospels were considered for NT, but Constantine the Great chose the 4 of Matt, Mark, Luke, John -Was Constantine a Christian? Hardly – He was a lifelong pagan who was baptized on his deathbed, too weak to protest -In Constantine’s day, Rome’s official religion was sun worship – the cult of Sol Invictus, or Invincible Sun – and Constantine was its head priest -After crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Christ’s followers had multiplied exponentially and Constantine changed religion to Christianity because he was a good businessman, because he could see that Christianity was on the rise and he simply backed the winning one -Historians still marvel at the brilliance with which Constantine converted the sun-worshipping pagans to Christianity -Fused pagan symbols, dates, and rituals into growing Christian tradition, he created a kind of hybrid religion that was acceptable to both parties -transmogrification the vestiges of pagan religion into Christian symbology are undeniable -Egyptian sun disks became the halos of Catholic saints; Pictograms of Isis nursing her miraculously conceived son Horus became the blueprint...
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...The four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John 1. Introduction The term Gospel means good news, a message which was desperately needed (Guthrie, 1965: 11). According to Talbot (2013: 69) gospels can be divided into 2 groups namely the Synoptic gospels- Matthew, Mark and Luke and Gospel of John. He explains that Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the synoptic gospels because they have so much in common. Kotze (6), outlines their similarities and differences as follows: |Mark | |Matthew | |Luke | |Total: 661 verses | |Total :1068 verses | |Total: 1149 verses | |600 verses parallel to Matthew | |505 verses parallel to Mark | |380 verses parallel to Mark | |61 verses peculiar to Mark | |235 versus parallel to Luke | |235 versus parallel to Matthew | | | |328 verses peculiar to Matthew | |534 verses peculiar to Luke | There are suggestions due the similarities and differences that (1) Mark was the original writer and was copied by Matthew and Luke (2) Matthew was original writer copied by Luke, and Mark made a shorter version. The material where obtained from the following suggested sources: (1) Oral tradition – the good news spread by word of mouth before it was written down (2) An earlier...
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...20. Some Differences Between the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John The Synoptic Gospels-Matthew, Mark and Luke-offer such strikingly similar accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ that, according to one author, “they can be placed side by side and viewed horizontally” (Harris 103). In contrast, the Fourth Gospel, the Gospel of John, stands alone in its portrayal of Jesus Christ. The differences in the Synoptic Gospels and John relate to content of each and the variation in purpose or point of view. According to one author, “The Fourth Gospel…is so different from the other three in …content…, that it has few parallels with the Synoptic accounts” (104). For example, Matthew, Mark and Luke record thirty miracles. John records a total of seven (He calls these miracles “signs.”) and only one is recorded by all four gospel writers: the feeding of the 5000 with the few loaves and bread and fishes (Biblecenter). Obviously, the writers differ in what the miracles indicate. The Synoptics are “basically descriptive in their approach” while John, who seeks to demonstrate the divinity of Christ to his readers, is more “reflective” in his selection of the signs he wishes to include (Angelfire). He makes the purpose of his selectivity clear, however, when he acknowledges that while Jesus did many more signs than those included in the book of John, his purpose is that men would come to believe that He was indeed the Son of God and “that believing”, … they would...
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...The New Testament begins with a collection of four books known as the Gospels. These books together give a complete account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Gospels consist of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. While these are four different books they are all telling the same story. The word "gospel” actually translates to mean "good news,” which is exactly what is contained in the these four books as they tell the story of Jesus's time on Earth. Each book gives a different vantage point of Christ's ministry. One of the most important things to understand about these books is the time period in which they were written. Once the reader understands the historical circumstances surrounding these writings they then have the...
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...Evangelism Paper Part ONE - Evangelistic Method #1 The Four Spiritual Laws is an intellectual method of evangelism, which, as it’s title suggests, identifies four spiritual laws that direct an individual’s relationship with God. It was created by Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, in 1952. The four laws, as sited on CampusCrusade.com, are: (1) God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life. (2) Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for his life. (3) Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin. Through Him you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life. (4) We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives. An advantage of this method is that it begins with positive note, “God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life,” which may cause non-Christians to be more receptive to the message. Due to the fall and sin, mankind is at variance with God (Ephesians 2:13-16) and there may be a tendency to reject a message concerning God without ever hearing the message. However, starting with such a positive introduction may cause an individual to “lower his guards” so he can hear the Gospel. Another advantage of this approach is that it can be easily communicated in print form and makes for a useful tract, especially considering the positive opening law. One disadvantage of this method...
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...Online The Four Spiritual Laws The Four Spiritual Laws are basic and to the point ways on how to inform men and women of the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. If you know of someone who you think is ready to hear the gospel, the Four Spiritual Laws is a simple organized way of sharing the gospel. The First Law is that “God loves you, and offers a wonderful plan for your life.” As God made the ultimate sacrifice of having his only Son die on the cross for you and me, he did it out of love so that we may live with Him forever in heaven. John 3:16 is the perfect verse in explaining the ultimate sacrifice, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV). The Second Law is “Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God's love and plan for his life.” The Bible clearly states that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Thus why Jesus was sent to die on the cross, so that he may build a bridge between us, sinners, and God. God had a plan so that sinners may experience God’s love and be able to see the path God has for us. The Third Law states that “Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin. Through Him you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.” Jesus died in our place, he took the beating and suffering so that we wouldn't have to. Then Jesus Christ conquered death...
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...are learning about Christ’s life often hear the word “gospel” and do not know what it means. With some quick research one can learn that the word gospel comes form the Greek work euangelion, which means good news. But that does not solve what exactly is the good news is. One will also learn that there can be a distorted gospel or more than one gospel according to Galatians chapter one, verses six through nine, and he or she can be confused as to what the gospel really is and unsure if what he or she is reading is true. It says, “...not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ…If anyone is preaching you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him...
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...The life of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ is our perfect example in everything we can do in this life. In the scriptures we can find many different good examples of how we should and live our lives. One of the most amazing examples we found in the scriptures is how Jesus Christ treated the people according to their problems. At the same time he was the perfect example as a leader. We also cannot forget how he was his relation with Jewish leaders. The Jewish leader made many changes to the gospel and taught incorrectly; therefore Jesus mission was to teach the gospel correctly and the spiritual way to understand every doctrine and principle. Defend the right is something that God is expecting of us, in the bible, more specific the four gospel we learn how Jesus Christ had to defend the right vs the error. Even though the critics and his death that was part of the plan. How the four gospel impact my life One of the most beautiful stories in the bible that impact my life is the love that Jesus shows during his mortal life. Days before his death, he prayed to our heavenly father for every single of his disciples and followers. In the prayed we can learned how important is for Jesus every single person, also how is his marvelous love for every single of us. Also how he asked to our Heavenly father the importance of the unity into Him ad our father in heaven. I consider the four gospels a sacred and powerful scriptures, I cannot imagine how would be the bible records without any modification...
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...Running head: THE KING The King Who Wore a Crown of Thorns Patty Bennett Composition 111 Professor Matson April 28, 2009 Introduction “The Passion of the Christ” is a film which blasted into theatres with high expectations. Many families rushed to the theatres to see the movie which had been advertised. Although, the language was in Aramaic, the language of that time and place, the subtitles were in English and were easy to read. Using the four gospels, according to Kathleen Corley: “Gibson’s artistic choices make the film faithful to the meaning of the Gospels, as understood by the church” (Kathleen Corley 3). This film focuses on one man, the beating, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This paper is based on the movie that recounts the final twelve hours of Christ’s life according to the bible, as interpreted by Mel Gibson. Who is this man? The lead character is known as Jesus. The film starts out in the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus went to pray after the Last Supper. One of Jesus’ disciples betrayed him. Gibson catches an awesome effect when the high priest throws Judas a bag of coins for telling him where Jesus was, in slow motion. Likewise, Luke 22:5 “And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.” For Judas’ selfishness, Jesus was arrested for thirty pieces of silver. The high priest’s ambition was to see Jesus die. The leaders of the...
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...Evangelism Paper Part ONE - Evangelistic Method #1 The Four Spiritual Laws is an intellectual method of evangelism, which, as it’s title suggests, identifies four spiritual laws that direct an individual’s relationship with God. It was created by Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, in 1952. The four laws, as sited on CampusCrusade.com, are: (1) God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life. (2) Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for his life. (3) Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin. Through Him you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life. (4) We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives. An advantage of this method is that it begins with positive note, “God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life,” which may cause non-Christians to be more receptive to the message. Due to the fall and sin, mankind is at variance with God (Ephesians 2:13-16) and there may be a tendency to reject a message concerning God without ever hearing the message. However, starting with such a positive introduction may cause an individual to “lower his guards” so he can hear the Gospel. Another advantage of this approach is that it can be easily communicated in print form and makes for a useful tract, especially considering the positive opening law. One disadvantage of this method...
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...Method: The Four Spiritual Laws are a way of sharing the good news of the salvation that is available through faith in Jesus Christ. It is a simple way of organizing the important information in the Gospel into four points. Advantages of Using This Method – This method was developed by Bill Bright in 1957 and can be found in the pamphlet Have You Heard of the Four Spiritual laws. The method is easy to understand and simplifies the gospel to the basics. It can take a simple believer and turn him/her to an evangelist. The Four Laws are (1) God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our life (John 3:16, John 10:10), (2) Man is sinful and separated from God. He can’t know and experience God’s love for his life (Roman 3:23, Romans 6:23), (3) Sin can only be forgiven through Jesus Christ will we know God’s plan for our life (Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 15: 3-6, John 14:6), (4) We must receive Jesus Christ individually as Savior and Lord to know and experience his plan for our life (John 1:12), Ephesians 2: 8-9), (John 3:1-8), (Revelation 3:20) There are a few disadvantages to these spiritual laws. The first disadvantage is that the message of the gospel is watered down and this allows a conversion that is too quick. This is not a good idea for non-believers. It also suggests that a person can be saved easily by the prayer of salvation and no other work has to be done. Lifestyle Evangelism Summary of Method Lifestyle evangelism is the idea that by living a Christ centered lifestyle...
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...relationship between the synoptic Gospels | | The New Testament of the Bible begins with the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These four books are a biography of the life Jesus Christ. Most want to views these books as photographs of the life and ministry of Christ, but they should really be viewed as portraits of Christ. A photograph takes a picture and shows you exactly what is there, while a portrait can add different perspectives on the same image. If four people each painted a picture of a sunset each painter would show the sunset from a different perspective (1). Each author of the books of the Gospels adds his own views into each book. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the synoptic Gospels. The word synoptic in Greek means “seeing together” this is appropriate for these books because of the common viewpoint. While John is known as the supplemental Gospel, and has very different characteristics from the other three books.(2) If we view the Gospels as a modern day biography we would want to see all the facts of Jesus's life and them all to be laid out in chronological order. The authors of the Gospels however were basing their versions of Jesus's life off of ancient biographies. These works were not written in chronological order, but were written with specific facts to show the significance of one's life. The way the Gospels were written was very understandable to the people of that time. (1) The synoptic Gospels share an over reaching chronology...
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