The Gospels Part 1: The Key Hangs By The Door

2 Peter 1:2
"Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."
-
God's word is full of eternal truths that benefit and bless us.  It tells us in the verse above that the more our knowledge of Jesus increases, the more grace and peace are MULTIPLIED in our lives.  He wants us all to have life, and to have it more abundantly.
-

-
Key Hangs By The Door.
When you want to study the gospels or, for that matter, any book of the Bible, the key to each and every one of them hangs, as it were, by the door.  What do I mean by that?  
-

Somewhere in the first few verses or, at least in the first chapter, you’ll find the key that reveals the theme of the entire book. This key will help you increase that knowledge and understanding, whatever you are reading or studying.

Let’s take a look at a couple of examples.

-

Genesis.
The first few words of the book of Genesis are, "In the beginning," right?  This book is all about "beginnings:"  The beginnings of humanity, of civilization, of marriage, the beginning of nations, of the Jewish people, and so on.

-
Ecclesiastes.
Here's another one.  This can be one very puzzling book.  What is it all about?  "Vanity of vanities," King Solomon writes.  "Everything is vanity."   It's about the vanity of life "under the sun" (ch. 1, vs. 3) without THE SON.  

In this book, we find King Solomon, a man who had virtually unlimited wealth.  He could have, do and experience pretty much anything and everything a man could ever want to in life, yet he found it all so much emptiness. 
-
Song Of Songs.
In stark contrast, the very next book, "The Song of Songs," is all about life above the sun WITH The Son:  "The King has brought me into His chambers." (vs.5).

-
Compare And Contrast.
These two books are placed by the Holy Spirit side by side to compare and contrast one with the other.  In Ecclesiastes, Solomon at last concludes, "Emptiness of emptiness; life is empty," under the sun and all his work was emptiness.  But in the Song of Songs by contrast, above the sun in the heavenlies WITH THE SON, life and work are not in vain.  In fact, they are enjoyable!
-

-
Revelation.
This book is yet another good example.  It perhaps one is of the most confusing of all, full of strange symbols and even stranger creatures.  But right in the very first verse, it says, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants..."  It's not a revelation of all the weird creatures or symbols, but of Jesus Christ!
-
With all that in mind, focus on the theme of whatever book it is you are studying and you will understand and see things you never saw before.  The whole Bible will open up to you.

Armed with that information, let's go check out the some interesting things about the Gospels in general.  
-
Please follow the link below to Part 2 where we will be discussing why we have four gospels.