The gospel is the “good news” proclaimed to a world engulfed in darkness. God wants all of humanity to be saved and provides opportunity for people to come to Him through the proclamation of the gospel. This principle is underscored in the last book of the New Testament. In Revelation 14:6-7 it says, “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’”

From this one passage, we learn many things about God’s desire regarding humankind. God wants the gospel preached to “those who dwell on earth.” He wants the gospel preached to every creature regardless of their “nation,” “tribe,” or “tongue.” Finally, God wants people to revere Him and to worship Him as the Creator of heaven and earth.

God wants the gospel taught to every creature who dwells upon the face of the earth. Mark 16:15-16 says, “And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” The great commission or an expression of God’s desire for humankind to be saved is expressed in various places throughout the Bible. God wants people to have eternal life with Him in heaven.

In the vision that is mentioned in Revelation 14:6, the gospel was continually proclaimed to those dwelling on earth. Part of the good news is God’s longsuffering of humankind in response to His word and the gospel. 1 Timothy 2:3-6 says, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” God was not required to tell man anything or make any sacrifices to secure the souls of lost humanity. He freely offered Jesus, and Jesus willingly came to seek and save the lost. Luke 19:10 says, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

It was eternally in the mind of God for the church to proclaim the gospel to the world. Ephesians 3:8-12 says, “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach [Paul preached the gospel—Romans 1:16—JOT] among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.” This is one of the reasons why the church of Christ is exceedingly important—the proclamation of the word.

All people can be saved regardless of their ethnicity, gender, or national origin. The Bible says, in Galatians 3:26-29 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Jews and Gentiles (i.e., all people) are appropriate subjects for the salvation that is offered through faith in Christ at the point of baptism.

God wants the reverence and respect that is due Him from the beings that were created in His spiritual image (cf. Genesis 1:26). Fear, or reverence, is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” If

one does not revere God, His commandments hold no power. The one who does not revere God has no chance at eternal life, because he will reject the wisdom that is obtained from the knowledge that is revealed in the word of God.

Finally, God wants to be worshipped by His creation. Jesus makes this abundantly apparent as He interacts with the Samaritan woman. John 4:23-24 says, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." We have no choice in whether we can worship God or not. The word “must” implies an obligation from which one cannot escape.

Moreover, the standard is in “spirit and truth.” The would-be worshippers of God must have the correct attitude (spirit) and the correct doctrine (truth) to properly worship Him. The truth is arrived at through studying God’s word. John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

In conclusion, human vessels were always entrusted with proclaiming the truth to lost human beings. 2 Corinthians 4:5-7 says, “For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” Every example of conversion found in the book of Acts was human vessels proclaiming the gospel to other human beings who were lost. The same model applies today (Galatians 1:6-10). Christians in our age need to follow the model established by the first century church.