God was in Christ reconciling the world
What's the gospel in seven words? We asked theologians, pastors and others both to answer this question and to expand on this in a few sentences. To see all the responses together as they're posted, bookmark this page. Add your own version here. —Ed.
God was in Christ reconciling the world.
By his atonement, Christ effected our reconciliation with God and invested in us—without counting the cost—so that we may become teeming vessels of witness and service to others. God was in Christ to show that the only acceptable offering we can give God is ourselves. And we give God only the life that is already God's. Christ showed that self-giving is self-abnegation. In hymn writer Augustus Toplady's words: "Nothing in my hands I bring/ Simply to the cross I cling."
