The Parables of the Kingdom

Matthew 13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.” 10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. 18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” 24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ 28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ 31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” 33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” 34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world. 36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

--Matthew 13:1-43, New International Version

The Reign of God

As part of the commentary thread in response to my post "A Warning of Impending Punishment OR An Announcement of Salvation Through Jesus Christ?" an anonymous commentator shared the following quotations:

Matt 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (AV).

Matt 3:2 'Reform, for come nigh hath the reign of the heavens,' (YLT, 1st publ. 1862).

Matt 3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has arrived.” (R. T. France).

“While no statement would command universal assent, there is general agreement that, rather than denoting a specific time, place, or situation called “the kingdom” — a misleading abbreviation which is conspicuously absent from the Synoptic tradition as it is dominant in modern discussion — the phrase “the kingdom of God” in both Hebrew and Greek forms denotes the dynamic concept of “God ruling.” It represents, in other words, a sentence of which the subject is not “kingdom” but “God.” This dynamic sense is now better conveyed by an abstract noun such as “kingship” or “sovereignty rather than by “kingdom,” which has become in general usage a concrete noun” (R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, NICNT, p.102).

“Our traditional English phrase derives from the KJV (following William Tyndale), which was translated at a time when “kingdom” in English still carried this dynamic sense of “kingship,” a sense now rightly described by the OED as “obsolete.” The concrete sense of “kingdom” in current English (as a place or group of people under a common rule) now inevitably distorts the more dynamic connotations of he basileia ton ouranon [transliteration supplied instead of the Greek] when “the kingdom of God” continues to be used in Bible versions despite the changed meaning of the word. Translators have still to catch up with the scholarly preference for such phrases as “the rule of God”...” (R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, NICNT, p.102).

“Matthew’s summary of John’s (and Jesus’) declaration, “The kingdom of heaven has arrived,” might thus be paraphrased as “God’s promised reign is beginning” or “God is now taking control” (R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, NICNT, p.102).

“The kingdom of heaven is the rule of God and is both a present reality and a future hope” (NIVSB on Matt 3:2Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)).

“... the Kingdom of God is the redemptive reign of God dynamically active to establish his rule among men, and that this Kingdom, which will appear as an apocalyptic act at the end of the age, has already come into human history in the person and mission of Jesus to overcome evil, to deliver men from its power, and to bring them into the blessings of God's reign. The Kingdom of God involves two great moments: fulfilment within history, and consummation at the end of history” (George Eldon Ladd, The Presence of the Future, Rev. ed., p.218).

Now, while I believe that the above referenced statements by Bible scholars are consistent with the Christian canon, this concept of "kingdom" was NOT understood by Herbert Armstrong or most of those who follow his teachings! As I have noted in numerous posts here, both the Old and New Testaments draw a sharp distinction between God's notions about authority and rulership and those of humankind. In short, God's ways are NOT our ways. Indeed, Christ told his disciples that he didn't want them to imitate the way that humans had traditionally ruled over and dominated each other. Instead, he introduced the concept of "servant leadership" (the leader as the servant of all).

Moreover, as it turns out, this is consistent with the Greek word that was translated into English as "kingdom" (and the way that it would have been understood by English-speaking peoples in the time of Wycliffe's translation and the King James Version of the Bible. In the Blue Letter Bible entry for "basileia" we find the following outline of the word's usage in the New Testament: royal power, kingship, dominion, rule - not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom - of the royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah - of the royal power and dignity conferred on Christians in the Messiah's kingdom - a kingdom, the territory subject to the rule of a king - used in the N.T. to refer to the reign of the Messiah. In other words, the modern concept of a "kingdom" does NOT mesh with the concept suggested by the Greek of the New Testament!

In his The Kingdom of God in Eight Words, The Gospel Coalition's Jeremy Treat defined the concept in these terms: "The kingdom is God’s reign through God’s people over God’s place." He went on to note that: "The kingdom is first and foremost a statement about God. God is king, and he is coming as king to set right what our sin made wrong. The phrase 'kingdom of God' could just as easily be translated 'reign of God' or 'kingship of God.' The message of the kingdom is about God’s royal power directed by his self-giving love." Now that gives new meaning to that famous phrase from the Lord's Prayer: "May thy reign commence, May thy will be done here as it currently is in heaven." Kinda makes you want to take another look at some of Christ's Kingdom parables doesn't it?

Treat continued: "God is king, and he reigns over his creation. But in a world marred by sin, God’s kingship is resisted, and the peace of his kingdom has been shattered. After Adam and Eve’s rebellion, God’s reign is revealed as redemptive. He’s the king who is reclaiming his creation. His kingdom is not the culmination of human potential and effort, but the intervention of his royal grace into a sinful and broken world." This encompasses a much broader and more comprehensive notion than anything that Armstrong ever imagined!

Treat described it in these terms: "God’s reign is a saving reign. The kingdom of God provides a holistic understanding of salvation, including not only what we are saved from, but also what we are saved for: We are saved from death and for life. We are saved from shame and for glory. We are saved from slavery and for freedom. We are saved from sin and for following our Savior. We are saved from the kingdom of darkness and for the kingdom of light. To be saved into God’s kingdom is to embrace God’s comprehensive rule over every aspect of life. This is a far cry from merely 'asking Jesus into my heart.' It means a new life, a new identity, and a new kingdom." I would caution, however, that Scripture makes clear that God's reign begins in the hearts of Christ's disciples, and it involves embracing the Two Great Commandments (Wholehearted devotion to God, and love for each other).

Once again, when we allow a search engine and Artificial Intelligence to define the "Kingdom of God," we find: "The Kingdom of God is a spiritual realm over which God reigns as king, or the fulfillment on Earth of God’s will. The phrase occurs frequently in the New Testament, primarily used by Jesus Christ in the first three Gospels1. In this kingdom, God’s authority is recognized, and his will is obeyed. The concept of a Kingdom of God is not primarily one of space, territory, or politics, as in a national kingdom, but rather one of kingly rule, reign, and sovereign control." Gives new meaning to Christ's assertion before Pilate that his kingdom was NOT of this world - doesn't it?

The Kingdom of God has already begun for those who have accepted Christ and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. God and "his" love living and reigning within us! Sure, someday God's reign will extend over all peoples everywhere, but let us all rejoice in what has been made available to us in the here and now. Our citizenship truly resides in heaven and is NOT defined in human terms! Amen!

The Good News About the New Covenant in Christ

So, Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

-- Hebrews 9:11-15, NLT

A Warning of Impending Punishment OR An Announcement of Salvation Through Jesus Christ?

As longtime readers of this blog know, I have devoted a great many posts over the years to attacking the messaging of the Armstrong Churches of God. Why this focus? Because they are preaching a FALSE Gospel! Instead of the good news which the New Testament is all about, they insist on preaching a warning message to the English-speaking nations of the world. Indeed, the contrast is stark. It is the difference between hope and doom! In other words, the messaging of the ACOGs is the antithesis of the real message which God intended for his people to deliver to the world!

In the January-February edition of their Beyond Today magazine, the United Church of God has published an article by John LaBissoniere titled God's Urgent Warning Message to You. The Armstrongian hook for the article reads: "God sent an urgent warning message through Ezekiel to the nations of present-day Israel. Discover what this prophetic message includes and why it has vital significance for you." Hence, we see that the article is based on the completely discredited (and wholly fanciful) teaching that the English-speaking nations of the world are the descendants and heirs of the Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

LaBissoniere opens the article by pointing out that God made the prophet Ezekiel a "watchman" to the House of Israel. He contends that Ezekiel's message wasn't simply for the Jewish captives in Babylon, but that his message was also for the Israelites. John went on to state that: "As his prophetic warning message applies to the last days, we should recognize that it’s destined to reach the nations of present-day Israel and not just the Jewish people of today’s state of Israel. It will surprise many to learn that the modern Israelites are primarily the people of the major English-speaking countries, including the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand (see the study guide offered at the end of this article for the biblical and historical evidence)."

LaBissoniere continued: "Looking ahead, God foresaw a society that turned away from Him and His righteous biblical values and corrupted itself by ungodly, fleshly, materialistic behavior. As Ezekiel wrote, 'The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity' (Ezekiel 9:9). This passage pertains to contempt for law and order and the fostering of moral depravity. Again, the conditions Ezekiel decries are evident in today’s nations—not just the original audience of his day. His message is for now." In other words, this warning message for the ancient Israelites has been transformed by Armstrong and his agents into a warning message for the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Moreover, the message incorporates yet another feature of the Armstrong heresy: that God expects Christians, Jews, and English-speaking folks to continue to obey the commandments of Torah - the tenets of the Old Covenant with Israel. What about the New Testament? you ask. The author of the article drags the Apostle to the Gentiles into his argument: "Instead of a righteous, commandment-keeping society, in our age we see an expansion of what the apostle Paul wrote about the debased culture of his day: 'Being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful' (Romans 1:29-31).

La Bissoniere went on to say: "In abandoning godly values, many people in America and the other formerly blessed nations of modern-day Israel surrendered themselves to moral decadence, selfishness, greed, dishonesty, bribery, injustice, thievery, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual deviance, and violence. Of course, these iniquities are not exclusive to the contemporary nations of Israel, since the entire world is awash in sinful conduct (Romans 3:23). For this man and his Armstrong Church of God brethren, God's message for these folks is a warning of impending wrath and punishment for sins. It is decidedly NOT about how God decided to redeem mankind from his sins and cure us of their effects and consequences! In other words, the United Church of God's message is that God is pissed, and he's about to kick our asses up around our shoulders!

Of course, the real Gospel message was summarized by Christ in his meeting with Nicodemus. He said: "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17, NLT)

Paul described the message to the Christians at Rome by saying: "The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name...For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, 'It is through faith that a righteous person has life.'" (Romans 1:3-5 and 16-17, NLT)

Likewise, Paul wrote to the saints of Galatia: "Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen. I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ." (Galatians 1:4-7, NLT) This passage, of course, is followed by Paul's double curse on anyone who would dare to bring a different message (Galatians 1:8-9)!

What about you? Are you going to heed United's warning message? OR Are you going to accept the Good News about Jesus Christ, and what he has done for you? Which one sounds like good news to you?

Pressing Forward: Eyes on the Prize!

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

--Philippians 3:8-14, NLT

The New Person

Herbert Armstrong once wrote a booklet titled Just What Do You Mean - Born Again? In the booklet, he criticized those Christians who characterized themselves as having been "born again." Indeed, Armstrong was always eager to discredit the religion of more traditional Christians in order to establish his own bona fides. To accomplish this, he set about the task of drawing a distinction between being begotten and being born. Of course, in doing so, he completely missed the point of what Christ and his apostles were talking about!

Let's begin by reading from an important passage in the third chapter of the Gospel of John:

3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus[a] by night and said to him, 'Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.' 3 Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again[b] he cannot see the kingdom of God.' 4 Nicodemus said to him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?' 5 Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.[c] 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You[d] must be born again.’ 8 The wind[e] blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.'

a. John 3:2 Greek him

b. John 3:3 Or from above; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both again and from above; also verse 7

c. John 3:6 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit

d. John 3:7 The Greek for you is plural here

e. John 3:8 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit

-- The English Standard Version of the Bible

To those notes, I would also add this note from Blue Letter Bible's Strong's definition: 

γεννάω gennáō, ghen-nah'-o; from a variation of G1085; to procreate (properly, of the father, but by extension of the mother); figuratively, to regenerate:—bear, beget, be born, bring forth, conceive, be delivered of, gender, make, spring.

In other words, the Greek word translated in this passage as "born" in English is also purposely ambiguous and can mean both to beget and be born. One follows the other. You cannot be born without first having been begotten! Hence, it is implicit in what Christ was saying to Nicodemus that he was talking about a process.

Nicodemus, however, still didn't get what Christ was telling him (John 3:9-15). As a consequence, Jesus continued:

3:16 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.' (English Standard Version)

So, we see that Christ made clear to Nicodemus that belief in him and following his light was an essential first step in that process of being begotten and born again!

Peter alluded to all of this in his sermon on the day of Pentecost to the Jews in Jerusalem. He said: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38, ESV) Paul referred to this as the "earnest/pledge/down payment" of the Spirit (II Corinthians 1:22, 5:5, Ephesians 1:13-14) - the beginning of being reborn!

Paul also wrote that this Spirit would produce fruit (or evidence) in the life of the person in whom it was dwelling: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22). In speaking to the Christians at Rome, Paul reminded them that they were operating under grace because of what Christ had done for them. He wrote:

Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:1-14, ESV)

Later, in the same letter, he wrote: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:1-2, ESV) Thus, we see that for Paul it wasn't a matter of either/or - it was both begettal and birth, now and in the future!

Likewise, to the saints at Ephesus, he wrote:

2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1-10, ESV)

And again, for emphasis, later on in the same epistle, he wrote:

4:17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:17-24, ESV)

Likewise, in his letter to the saints at Colosse, he wrote:

2:11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:11-14, ESV)

3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. 12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:5-15, ESV)

Hence, according to Jesus of Nazareth and Paul, whether you call yourself "begotten" or "born" again (they would say both - having a present and future connotation), if you have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, you are (present tense) a new person in Christ! Remember, Paul wrote to the saints at Rome: "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8:8-11, ESV)

Even Artificial Intelligence Can Define the Gospel: Why Can't the Armstrong Churches of God?

"The gospel message is the good news of Jesus Christ, which encapsulates His life, death, resurrection, and the offer of salvation and redemption to all who believe. The central truth of the gospel is that God has provided a way of salvation for men through the gift of His son to the world. Jesus suffered as a sacrifice for sin, overcame death, and now offers a share in His triumph to all who will accept it. The gospel is a message of hope and restoration." -- Artificial Intelligence

Indeed, the writings which we now refer to as the New Testament are very clear that this was the message which his disciples preached to the world:

"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it...Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' And Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"

--From Peter's Pentecost Sermon (Acts 2:22-24 and 36-38, ESV)

The Apostles before the Jewish Council: "when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus."

--Acts 5:40-42, ESV

"Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ."

--Acts 8:4-5, ESV

After reading a passage from the book of Isaiah the prophet: "And the eunuch said to Philip, 'About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?' Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus."

--Acts 8:34-35, ESV

Paul in a synagogue in Thessalonica: "and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, 'This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.'"

--Acts 17:2-3, ESV

Paul at Corinth: "When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus."

Apollos at Achaia: "When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus."

--Acts 18:5, 27-28, ESV

Paul to the elders of the Church at Ephesus: " I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ."

--Acts 20:20-21, ESV

Paul in Rome: "When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets."

"He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance."

--Acts 28:23, 30-31, ESV

Paul to Christians at Rome: "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ."

--Romans 1:1-6, ESV

Paul to the saints at Corinth: "I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

--I Corinthians 1:4-9, ESV

"Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."

--I Corinthians 1:22-24, ESV

"Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ."

--Galatians 1:1-7, ESV

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."

--Ephesians 1:3-10, ESV

Please note that the message was ALWAYS focused on Jesus Christ, what he did for all of us, and his teachings. There is NO warning to Israel. There is no focus on calling out sin within the larger society. Take another look at that AI statement about the Gospel.