From Jesus to Paul and Beyond: How the Euangelion Shapes the Entire New Testament

In multiple previous posts we have explored what the word euangelion meant in its first-century context (the original, what exactly is the Gospel) is the best example and can be read here:

Euangelion – What exactly is the Gospel – A Greek Word Study

If you wish you may find it helpful to read it first as a reference before proceeding on in this post. Also our earlier post on Christos (what exactly does it mean that Jesus is the Christ) may also be a useful reference as well. Now let us continue:

As can be seen from those original posts the Gospel (Euangelion) wasn’t a vague religious term or a synonym for “personal testimony” or simply “good news” or “glad tidings”. Instead in the Greco-Roman world, euangelion was always a royal announcement:

A declaration of world-changing good news about a king and his kingdom.

When a new emperor ascended the throne or a great victory was won, heralds would proclaim the euangelion across the empire: “Good news! Caesar has won. Caesar reigns.”

The early Christians took this loaded political term and applied it — shockingly and subversively — to Jesus of Nazareth. They weren’t merely saying “good news, you can go to heaven someday.” They were saying:

Good news! Jesus is King — right now — and His Kingdom has begun.

But that royal announcement doesn’t just appear once in the Bible. It unfolds across the entire New Testament, from the lips of Jesus in the Gospels to the pen of Paul in his letters. And if we follow that story, we not only see what the euangelion really is — we also discover how far we’ve drifted from it.

1. The Euangelion According to Jesus

Before Paul ever preached a sermon, Jesus was announcing the euangelion:

“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news.” (Mark 1:15)

Every first-century Jew knew what “kingdom” meant — it was the long-promised reign of God breaking into history, setting things right, defeating evil, and restoring creation.

When Jesus said the Kingdom was “at hand,” He wasn’t talking about leaving earth for heaven. He was saying that heaven’s rule was breaking into earth. He was announcing the arrival of a new reality — God’s reign — and inviting people to turn from their old allegiances and swear loyalty to Him.

But here’s the part we often miss: in that moment, Jesus was the messenger of the Kingdom. The decisive battle had not yet been fought. The crown had not yet been placed upon His head. The Gospels are full of previews of the Kingdom — healings, exorcisms, forgiveness, and table fellowship — but the decisive euangelion moment was still ahead: His victory over sin, death, and the powers.

2. From Announcement to Coronation: Paul’s Euangelion

This is where Paul picks up the story. He doesn’t replace Jesus’ Gospel; he completes the announcement.

For Paul, the euangelion is not just “Jesus loves you” or “here’s how you get saved” — it is:

Jesus is the risen and enthroned King who has defeated His enemies and inaugurated God’s Kingdom on earth.

Look at how he begins Romans:

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus… set apart for the gospel of God… regarding his Son… appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 1:1–4)

Paul is saying: The same Jesus who announced the Kingdom in Galilee has now been enthroned as King by His resurrection. The euangelion is that He now reigns in power — and that reign is the long-awaited fulfillment of God’s promises.

This is why 1 Corinthians 15 is not just a “resurrection proof text.” It’s a royal victory proclamation:

Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures (the battle with sin). He was raised on the third day (the vindication and enthronement). He will put all His enemies under His feet (the ongoing Kingdom mission). The last enemy to be destroyed is death (the final victory).

In other words, Paul is showing how the Kingdom Jesus announced has now been fully inaugurated — the war won, the King enthroned — through cross and resurrection.

However, 1 Corinthians 15 (especially verses 1-4) often get ripped out of context and get called the entire gospel. While it is true, it is the entire gospel. It cannot be ripped from the fact that the word gospel means royal announcement of a kingdoms reign and its king. The King portion of the Gospel is also embedded in to first Corinthians 15: 1-4 in the word Christos (which we have the unfortunate habit of transliterating Christ but instead should always be taken as) meaning the promised anointed king of God’s coming kingdom.

Now there is one more piece to making this actually a good news Royal announcement for everyone. The fact that a kingdom is reigning and a king has been enthroned is good news only if that kingdoms governance and law are of proper quality for those it reigns over. In scripture a huge important piece of this Gospel announcement is not just the fact that it’s God‘s kingdom, but is also in the fact that it’s God‘s kingdom that he created all humans for and the evidence of this is the fact that it’s law is love.

Paul is clear that all humans have the law of God written on their hearts (Romans 2), And according to Jesus, all of God‘s law hangs on the law of love (Matthew 22:37-40). So therefore, this is the kingdom of God that rules by the law of love that we were all created for and long for. Jesus, the Christos was established as the king of this kingdom only after he committed the greatest act of love there could possibly be, and then he is placed as the Christos or better said, the promised anointed king of God‘s kingdom of love.

So when one takes the components of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and say (as many have) that the gospel is summed up in the fact that Jesus died for our sins and rose again, but detach that from the fact that this is that means by which a good news announcement of the kingdom, and Jesus, as the promised anointed king are established. Then we leave out the important fact that the the reason that he did those things was as an announcement of a kingdoms reign beginning in the establishment of Jesus the King and therefore his rule of love is coming “on earth as it is in Heaven.”

3. The Euangelion as the Law of Love

The euangelion is not just the means of victory — it is also now the law of the Kingdom. The same self-giving love that won the battle is the standard by which citizens of God’s Kingdom live.

When you pledge allegiance to King Jesus, you are not signing up for a private religious experience — you are joining a Kingdom whose constitution is the agape love of God as revealed in Jesus on the cross. This is why Paul can say, “The only thing that counts is faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6) and “Love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10). And James literally calls love the royal law of the Kingdom (James 2:8).

4. The False Gospels We’ve Settled For

Somewhere along the way, we’ve shrunk the euangelion into something much smaller — and much less challenging:

A private “ticket to heaven.” A moral self-help program. A sentimental story about love without the reality of allegiance to a King.

The New Testament refuses to let us settle for these counterfeits. The euangelion is not advice. It is not a suggestion. It is an announcement:

Jesus is King. His Kingdom is here. Allegiance to Him changes everything.

5. The Euangelion Then and Now

From Jesus to Paul to the apostles who followed, the pattern is clear:

Jesus announces the Kingdom’s arrival (euangelion in the Gospels). Paul declares the Kingdom’s enthronement (euangelion in the letters). The church lives under the Kingdom’s law of love until the final victory is complete.

This is why the earliest Christians could boldly proclaim their euangelion in the face of Rome’s imperial euangelion. Caesar claimed to bring peace through conquest. Jesus brought peace through self-giving love — and His resurrection proved that His reign would outlast every empire.

That is the euangelion then. That is the euangelion now. And that is the euangelion forever.

With this being the case, I somewhat recently posted on this blog of how I share the gospel with someone keeping all what the biblical Euangelion truly is in mind. You can find that and its entirety, here:

The Gospel of the Kingdom: The Good News of God’s Love