Cultural Nuances Affecting Gospel Communication Across Cultures

The term "Gospel" originates from the Anglo-Saxon "god spell" or "good spell," meaning "good news" or "good message," which translates the Greek euaggelion ^{[1, 2]}. This "good news" primarily refers to the message of salvation for humanity as preached by Jesus Christ and his followers ^[2]. Over time, the term also came to denote the four inspired historical accounts of Christ's life and teachings found in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John ^{[1, 2]}. These were composed in the latter half of the first century, with Matthew and Mark preceding the destruction of Jerusalem, Luke around A.D. 64, and John toward the end of the century ^[1].

The communication of this Gospel message across diverse cultures involves navigating various nuances. The Bible itself illustrates the early spread of the Gospel to different peoples. Colossians 1:6 notes that the "gospel is bearing fruit and growing" throughout the world, indicating its global reach even in the early church ^[3]. This expansion required adapting the message to new contexts while retaining its core truth.

One significant aspect of cultural communication is the use of language. The New Testament records instances of speaking in "various languages" (1 Corinthians 12:30), which served as a "sign" to unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:22). This suggests an early recognition of the need to communicate the Gospel in ways that are intelligible to different linguistic groups. The early apostles, such as Paul, were instrumental in taking the Gospel beyond Jewish communities to the Gentiles ^[7]. This outreach inherently involved crossing cultural boundaries.

The Gospel is described as a "traveler" that rapidly spreads throughout the world, proclaiming "glad tidings of great joy to all people" ^[11]. This imagery highlights the dynamic and expansive nature of Gospel communication. The message is not confined to one culture but is intended for "all the world" ^[11]. The spread of the Gospel is seen as a "particular dispensation of providence and grace" that will eventually reach every corner of the earth ^[6].

However, communicating the Gospel across cultures is not merely a linguistic translation; it also involves understanding and addressing cultural frameworks. The "mysteries of the kingdom of God" are given to some to know, while to others they are presented in parables, indicating that understanding can be influenced by one's spiritual receptivity and cultural context ^[12]. The Gospel message, while singular, can be "perverted" if its core tenets are altered to suit particular preferences or cultural biases ^[4].

The concept of "sowing spiritual things" through the preaching of the Gospel is likened to a sower planting seed ^[5]. Just as seed needs to be sown in fertile ground to bear fruit, the Gospel message needs to find a receptive place in the heart, which can be influenced by cultural understanding ^[5]. The "word and ordinances" of the Gospel are described as "windows" that let light into "congregated churches of Christ," suggesting that the means of grace are essential for spiritual illumination within a community ^[9].

The directive to "Say among the Heathen, that the Lord reigneth" (Psalm 96:10) underscores the universal scope of the Gospel and the call to proclaim Christ's reign to all nations ^[10]. This involves presenting the Gospel in a way that resonates with the cultural understanding of the audience, while maintaining its integrity. For instance, the practice of greeting "with a holy kiss" (Romans 16:16) was a cultural custom adopted into early Christian churches as a symbol of fellowship, demonstrating how cultural forms could be imbued with new Christian meaning ^[8]. This illustrates the dynamic interplay between cultural practices and Christian expression in the early church.

Sources

Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Gospels — The name Gospel (from god and spell, Ang. Sax. good message or news, which is a translation of the Greek euaggelion) is applied to the four inspired histories of the life and teaching of Christ contained in the New Testament, of which separate accounts are given in their place. They were all composed during the latter half of the first century: those of St. Matthew and St. Mark some years before the destruction of Jerusalem; that of St. Luke probably about A.D. 64; and that of St. John towards the close of the century. Before the end of the second century, t”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Gospel — A word of Anglo-Saxon origin, and meaning "God's spell", i.e., word of God, or rather, according to others, "good spell", i.e., good news. It is the rendering of the Greek evangelion, i.e., "good message." It denotes (1) "the welcome intelligence of salvation to man as preached by our Lord and his followers. (2.) It was afterwards transitively applied to each of the four histories of our Lord's life, published by those who are therefore called Evangelists', writers of the history of the gospel (the evangelion). (3.) The term is often used to express collecti”
Colossians “Colossians 1:6 (BSB) — that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God.”
Galatians “Galatians 1:7 (Geneva1599) — Which is not another Gospel, saue that there be some which trouble you, and intend to peruert the Gospel of Christ.”
1 Corinthians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 Corinthians 9:10: If we have sown unto you spiritual things,.... The preachers of the Gospel are compared to sowers of seed; the seed they sow is the word of God, which is like to seed, for its smallness and despicableness in the eyes of carnal men; and yet as the seed is the choicest which is laid by for sowing, the Gospel is most choice and excellent to true believers; like seed, it has a generative virtue through divine influence; and whereas unless sown into the earth, it brings forth no fruit, so neither does the word, unless it has a place in the heart, where, as seed in t”
Revelation (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Revelation 14:6: Another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel - Whether this angel mean any more than a particular dispensation of providence and grace, by which the Gospel shall be rapidly sent throughout the whole world; or whether it mean any especial messenger, order of preachers, people, or society of Christians, whose professed object it is to send the Gospel of the kingdom throughout the earth, we know not. But the vision seems truly descriptive of a late institution, entitled The British and Foreign Bible Society, whose object it is to print an”
Matthew (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Matthew 22:10: So these servants went out into the highways,.... Turned from the Jews, and went among the Gentiles, preaching the Gospel to them; particularly the Apostle Paul, with Barnabas, and others: and gathered together all, as many as they found, both good and bad: the Persic version reads it, "known or unknown". The Gospel ministry is the means of gathering souls to Christ, and to attend his ordinances, and into his churches; and of these that are gathered by it into churches, and to an attendance on outward ordinances, some are good and some bad, as the fishes gathered ”
Romans (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Romans 16:16: Salute one another with an holy kiss--So Co1 16:20; Th1 5:26; Pe1 5:14. The custom prevailed among the Jews, and doubtless came from the East, where it still obtains. Its adoption into the Christian churches, as the symbol of a higher fellowship than it had ever expressed before, was probably as immediate as it was natural. In this case the apostle's desire seems to be that on receipt of his epistle, with its salutations, they should in this manner expressly testify their Christian affection. It afterwards came to have a fixed place in the church serv”
Ezekiel (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Ezekiel 40:16: And there were narrow windows to the little chamber,.... The walls being sloped both within and without, that the light let in might be spread the more: as those "little chambers" signify the several congregated churches of Christ in the Gospel dispensation; See Gill on Eze 40:7, so these windows design the word and ordinances therein administered, which are the means of letting light into them; see Sol 2:9, in attending on these, the light of God's countenance is enjoyed, which lies in the discoveries of his love; in the manifestations of himself; in his gracious p”
Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 96:10: Say among the Heathen,.... This is a direction to such as were converted to Christ among the Jews, or were first called out from among the Gentiles; or to the ministers of the word, the apostles and first preachers of the Gospel more especially, who were sent into all the world to preach the Gospel to every creature, that a people from among them might he taken for the Lord: that the Lord reigneth; whose Gospel should be received and obeyed, and his ordinances submitted to; who now reigns in heaven, at his Father's right hand, and must reign till all enemies are pu”
Colossians (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Colossians 1:6: Which is come unto you - The doctrine of the Gospel is represented as a traveler, whose object it is to visit the whole habitable earth; and, having commenced his journey in Judea, had proceeded through Syria and through different parts of Asia Minor, and had lately arrived at their city, every where proclaiming glad tidings of great joy to all people. As it is in all the world - So rapid is this traveler in his course, that he had already gone nearly through the whole of the countries under the Roman dominion; and will travel on till he has proclaimed his messag”
Luke (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Luke 8:10: And he said, unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God,.... The doctrines of the Gospel, which to have spiritual knowledge is a special and peculiar gift of God. The Vulgate Latin and Persic versions read, "the mystery", in the singular, as in Mark: "but to others in parables"; that is, the doctrines of the Gospel are delivered in a parabolical way to others; to such as "are without", as the Evangelist Mark expresses it, who are strangers and foreigners, and not children, who are not the favourites of heaven, and the disciples of Christ: that se”

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