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THREE GREAT TRUTHS
LIFE ONLY IN CHRIST. This is where we begin. "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:12). No, immortality is not something inborn in all men. The gospel is more than just a question of better housing in eternity. God alone has imperishability and immortality (1Tim. 1:17; 6:16). But Christ has brought it to light (2 Tim. 1:10). We may receive life in Christ as a gift of God (Rom. 6:63). The Scriptures make it plain that immortality is put on in resurrection, not before (I Cor. 15:53). For the church which is His body, it shall be in the Out Resurrection (Phil. 3:11).
RIGHTLY DIVIDE THE WORD. This is the command of 2 Tim. 2:15. To fail to do so brings utter confusion in Christendom and in one's own Bible study. RIGHTLY DIVIDING is the translation of "orthotomeo". Abbott-Smith's Lexicon defines it as "to cut straight, as a road." To rightly divide is the only straight road through the Scriptures. It is simply a matter of keeping things (i.e. books) in their proper categories. How clear the New Testament becomes, and many perplexing verses therein, when we see the different categories.
1. Matthew, Mark, and Luke present the preaching of the kingdom at hand.
2. Acts presents the re-offer of the kingdom to the Jews. In this category belong the epistles of James, Peter, John, Jude and Paul's first seven. They reflect that time when God was still dealing with Israel as a nation. Hence we still have many Jewish practices, right up to Acts 28. There should be nothing puzzling about this. Let us illustrate by saying that as long as we have a Republican administration we expect Republican policies and practices. So there was a Jewish administration till Acts 28: 28.
3. After Acts we have John and the last 7 letters of Paul. Salvation is sent to the Gentiles. John tells the world of everlasting life. Paul now brings to light (photizo) what is the administration of The Secret (Eph. 3:9). Read carefully all of Ephesians 3.
4. Next, we have the fulfillment of the prophecies pertaining to Israel and the kingdom. This follows the administration of The Mystery (Secret), and is after the Joint-body has been united to the Head (Christ) in heaven. It is described in The Revelation.
THE MYSTERY REVEALED TO PAUL. Besides this right division, we need to see that God is accomplishing a secret purpose in the period in which we now live.
A body of people is being united to Christ here in order that they might be with Him there
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If God says He has a family in heavenly places, and that it is the church introduced only after Israel is set aside in abayance for her disbelief, a church which completes Him, having the closest relationship to Him than any other company of called out ones, then I believe it.
Does that make sense? I believe God makes sense.
Pleroma. The goal of God is pleroma. Every verse in the Bible has this one goal in mind and every verse speaks to this pleroma. In English, the word is fullness, full, fuller, God will one day be all in all, and in all.
God is able to satisfy to the uttermost. The people who will be missing His closeness will be the ones who do not acknowledge His plan of the ages for them. These shall have to be retaught. This teaching will take place under the authority of the nation of Israel, and they will live outside Israel in the land, never to sup with the Lord.
Please look again at the meaning of the words 'with Christ' and 'with Him'.
WITH - Col3.3-4.
G4862
σύν
sun
soon
A primary preposition denoting union; with or together (but much closer than G3326 or G3844), that is, by association, companionship, process, resemblance, possession, instrumentality, addition, etc.: - beside, with. In compounds it has similar applications, including completeness.
This church called, His body, has the closest relationship to Christ of any other company of believers.
The relationship is that of the Head to the Body. It cannot ever be disconnected. It is much closer than wife to husband, where the two are made one philosophically, but not literally.
This relationship is quite literal. The glory that was in the holiest of all, the holy of holies in the OT, that light, that express light which is His glory is made up of the membership of the church which is His body.
That is what the words bear out, that is what they mean.
This membership, called the church which is His body THE FULLNESS that FILLETH ALL IN ALL, is His body.
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
IN WHOM ALL THE BUILDING FITLY FRAMED TOGBETHER GROWETH UTNO A HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD:
IN WHOM YE ALSO ARE BUILDED TOGETHER FOR A HABITATION OF GOD THROUGH THE SPIRIT.
Eph 2:19 - 22
Please read Ephesians, the first 3 chapters prayerfully. God will open the eyes of your understanding if you ask Him.
Paul says we must pray for this understanding to be opened. He says this is because we cannot study it, it isn't written in the Bible till the apostle is given it to write.
Wheather one is outside the house of God, out in the earth never to sup with Him, Christ is able to satisfy. If one is a Jew and in the land, Christ is able to satisfy. When the overcoming Jew finds himself in the Holy City, God is able to satisfy. If ones membership is in the heavenly places IN CHRIST, utter and complete satisfaction with unsearchable exceeding riches with every blessing that is spriitual that the Lord has is given to the satisfaction of His Body, the church, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.
I do realize that this teaching is avoided in the extreme by the covetness of the traditions of man wherein they teach we inherit Israel's things, but the Word is not found in ambiguity one wit, for the Word is plain speach and easy to understand. What makes it somewhat difficult is all the trash we must clear out of our minds in order to receive the simplicity which is in Christ Jesus.
And Christ Jesus plainly says our citizenship is not on the earth, nor in the heavenly city, but far above all where Christ sits at the right hand of God, with Him, in Him, His Body. Only this church has that glorious position in Christ.
Have I ever given anyone here a wrong word definition, or misquoted for my purposes. No, never, for my love is with Him. The members of His body may spend some days on earth, but His church is in heaven where He is. He has no church on the earth. His church is one, it has unity, and that unity is not here, but where He is. This is the one hope of His body, the church.
Any other hope is merely covetness of what His other children are to receive. Period.
Is it not better to just believe God rather than to put our trust in the men who teach today, these 33 degree masons who do have an alterior motive and do not work for God at all?
2Co 11:13
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
2Co 11:3
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
1Co 15:22
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23
But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
1Co 15:24
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25
For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:28
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
Eph 2:5
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by (grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7
That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Being that the pleroma is the main subject of Scripture, it might be a good idea if we try to open it up a bit. But, being it is the mainstay of doctrine and practice, the goal of the ages, it shant be a quick study, as it occupies far too much of Scripture to be entirely brief in it's substance. However there are approaches we can take which lead us gently in understanding just what the larger view and circumspection of the Bibles overview is, by examining a few choice teachings.
1.There are blessings that are to be enjoyed on earth. Those who will occupy the central position in this sphere are Israel, and this calling is expressed in the terms of a Kingdom. Gentile nations, while blessed in this same sphere, will be subservient, for to Israel, and Israel alone, is the Kingdom, and to Israel on the earth pertains the ‘adoption’. Israel is the firstborn among the nations.
2. There are other blessings that are to be enjoyed in the heavenly country and the heavenly city. These are the blessings of Abraham, and the calling is that of ‘The Bride’ (a calling that must be kept distinct from that of the restoration of Israel, ‘The Wife’). Gentiles, as well as Israel, go to form this company called ‘The Bride’, where there is neither Jew nor Greek, but where both alike are reckoned as Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. Instead of nations being subservient to this company of the redeemed, it is angels who are associated with them in a subordinate position. To this company, in this sphere, pertains this particular ‘adoption’; they are the church of the Firstborn whose names are written in heaven.
3. There are, however, blessings that are neither those of Israel as a kingdom, nor of the heavenly calling of the Bride, and these are enjoyed in heavenly places where Christ sits, far above all principality and power and far above all heavens. They who enjoy them constitute neither a Kingdom nor the Bride, but are the Body of Christ and a perfect Man. While individuals of Israel who believe are not precluded, this calling is mainly Gentile, for it operates during the period of Israel’s blindness. This company also has a citizenship, but it is one which has nothing to do with the New Jerusalem; neither nations nor angels are subservient to it, but principalities and powers. To this company pertains the ‘adoption’ associated with this sphere, and Christ, as the Firstborn from the dead, is its Head, each believer of the company forming a member of the Church which is His Body.
Three Spheres Of Blessings
(1)
‘The earth’ (Matt. 5:5) The Kingdom
(2)
‘Jerusalem which is above’ (Gal. 4:26) The Bride
(3)
‘In heavenly places’ (Eph. 1:3) The Body
In the near context of Matthew 5:5, the meek who shall inherit the earth, we learn of a kingdom which is yet to be set up on the earth: ‘Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven’ (Matt. 6:10). In that prophecy of His Second Coming, The Revelation, one of the titles of the Lord is: ‘The Prince of the Kings of the earth’ (Rev. 1:5). The extent of this kingdom is defined in Psalm 72:8 ‘He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth’. And again in Psalm 2:8 ‘Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen, Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth, Thy possession’. Yet again, the prophet Zechariah says:
‘He shall speak peace unto the heathen: and His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth’ (Zech. 9:10).
Moreover, in The Revelation we read:
‘The seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever’ (Rev. 11:15).
This kingdom on the earth will have an administrative centre:
‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem’ (Isa. 2:2,3).
This is supplemented by Zechariah the prophet:
‘And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain’ (Zech. 14:16,17).
It will be seen by the two latter references from Isaiah and Zechariah, that not only is the city of Jerusalem represented as the capital of the kingdom, but also as the centre of worship, and this is in harmony with the destiny of Israel when that nation is at length saved, for Israel is to be a kingdom of priests unto God (Rev. 1:6). They will be made so under the New Covenant and the blood of Christ in fulfilment of the original purpose of God expressed at the foot of Mount Sinai but, by reason of the weakness of the flesh, rendered impossible of accomplishment under the law (Exod. 19:6).
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We are given in the Prison Epistles alone, and nowhere else, God's purpose to form a spiritual body of believers called "the Body of Christ", with Christ as the Head. It is this same body who is given the glorious title, 'the church which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.
This body will be perfectly "conformed to the image of His Son" and will rule and reign with Christ in the heavenly places. This is God’s mystery program.
The purpose for the time now present is two-fold and has to do with those who are in heavenly places being made known something of the manifold wisdom of God by the church:
Eph 3:9
And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10
To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Let’s look at some mighty differences, some of which give reference by their shadowing and types of that which would soon be revealed by Paul the prisoner for the hope of you gentiles, or nations:
PROPHETIC
SPOKEN about since the world began
(Luke 1:68-70; Acts 3:21-24)
MYSTERY
Kept SECRET, hidden since the world began
(Romans 16:25; Ephesians 3:5,9; Colossians 1:26)
PROPHETIC
Focus is THE EARTH
(Genesis 1:28, 9:1, 13:14-17; Deuteronomy 11:21; Isaiah 11:9; Jeremiah 23:5; Psalms 37:9-11; Matthew 5:5; Matthew 6:10)
MYSTERY
Focus is THE HEAVENLY PLACES
(Ephesians 1:3, 2:6; Philippians 3:20; Colossians 3:1-4)
PROPHETIC
Jesus Christ is THE KING of Israel and the whole world
(Isaiah 9:6-7; Daniel 7:13-14; Zachariah14:9, 16; Matthew 2:2; John 1:49; Luke 1:31-33)
MYSTERY
Jesus Christ is THE HEAD of the church, the body of Christ
(Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18)
PROPHETIC
ISRAEL is God's chosen nation and will be given supremacy over all nations
(Deuteronomy 7:6, 28:13; Isaiah 6:1-5; Matthew 10:5-10;
Romans 9:6)
MYSTERY
In the Body of Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile (Romans 10:12, 3:22; Ephesians 2:16-17)
PROPHETIC
Redeemed Israel to rule and reign with Christ on the earth
(Isaiah 62:1-4; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Exodus 19:4-6; Revelation 5:10)
MYSTERY
The Body of Christ to rule and reign with Christ in the heavenlies
(Ephesians 2:6, 14-16, 3:6, Philippians 3:20; 1Corinthians 6:3)
PROPHETIC
Gentiles to be blessed through Israel's RISE to kingdom glory
(Genesis 12:1-3; Isaiah 61:6-9; Zechariah 8:13-23)
MYSTERY
Gentiles blessed through THE FALL of Israel
(Romans 11:11,12,15; Acts 28:27-28)
PROPHETIC
The chief Apostle is Peter
(Matthew 16:18-19; Acts 1:15, 2:14)
MYSTERY
Paul is the Apostle for this age of grace
(Romans 11:13; Ephesians 3:1; 1Timothy 2:5-7)
PROPHETIC
The number 12 is associated with Israel
(Matthew 19:28; Revelation 7:4-8)
MYSTERY
ONE is the number for the Body of Christ
(Ephesians 4:3-4)
PROPHETIC
Physical and spiritual baptism
(Exodus 29:1-7; Matthew 3:2-7, 28:19-20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:32; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:5,8)
MYSTERY
Spiritual baptism only
(Ephesians 4:4; Eph 5:26)
PROPHETIC
Physical and spiritual circumcision
(Genesis 17:9-14; Luke 2:21; Deuteronomy 30:6)
MYSTERY
Spiritual circumcision only
(Colossians 2:11-13; Romans 6:1-6)
PROPHETIC
Atonement yet FUTURE
(Acts 3:19; Matthew 25:31-34; Romans 11:25-27)
MYSTERY
Atonement NOW
(Romans 5:11; Colossians 2:13-14)
PROPHETIC
The Goal: The God of Heaven to set up the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, Christ to have preeminence
(Deuteronomy 11:21; Daniel 2:44; Matthew 25:34)
MYSTERY
The Goal: To form a spiritual body of believers perfectly conformed to the image of Christ and through whom Christ will have the preeminence in the heavenly places
(Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:16)
PROPHETIC
This has been God's purpose FROM the foundation of the world
(Matthew 25:34)
MYSTERY
This has been God's purpose from BEFORE the foundation of the world
(Ephesians 1:4, 3:11)
PROPHETIC
This program has been temporarily DELAYED
(Romans 9-11)
MYSTERY
This program is NOW in effect
(Ephesians 3:1-11; Colossians 1:24-27)
PROPHETIC
The 12 Apostles called by the Lord while He was on the earth
(Matthew 10:1-4)
MYSTERY
Paul called to be an apostle from the ascended Lord
(Acts 9:1ff; 1Corinthians 15:8-10)
PROPHETIC
The apostleship of the 12 was to Israel alone, and then to Israel first
(Matthew 10 ff, Acts 3:25,26)
MYSTERY
Paul was commissioned as "the apostle of the Gentiles" because now the program of God is different
(Romans 11:13; Ephesians 3:1-9)
PROPHETIC
The 12 Apostles, under their commission, sought to bring the nation of Israel to repentance in view of them crucifying their Christ. They indicted them for the crime but offered them the forgiveness and blessing of God so they could participate in Israel's "at hand" kingdom
(Acts 3:12-26, 5:27-32)
MYSTERY
Paul, under his commission, announced that Israel had fallen and that God has temporarily set Israel's program aside and Israel's fullness and kingdom won't come until after the fullness of the Gentiles come in
(Romans 11:11-25)
PROPHETIC
The 12 Apostles announced to Israel that her last days were present. They lived in the days that all the prophets from Samuel and after had foretold of
(Acts 2:16-21, 3:24)
MYSTERY
Paul announced that God is now long-suffering and He had set Israel and the things on her time schedule aside and that the times and seasons are not being fulfilled now in this dispensation of grace
(Romans 11:11-25, 1Thessalonians 5:1-11; 2Thessalonians 3:1-6)
PROPHETIC
The 12 Apostles under their commission operated on a God established distinction existing between the Jews and Gentiles
(Numbers 23:9; Matthew 10:5-7, 15:21-28; Acts 3:25,26)
MYSTERY
Paul under his commission declares that the "time past" distinction is now done away and the middle wall of partition is broken down, God having made both one. Now there is no difference
(2 Corinthians 5:14-19, Ephesians 2:11-14)
PROPHETIC
The 12 apostles operated with the law still in view along with the rudiments of the world that it employed
(Matthew 5:17-19, 23:1-3 James 2:10, Matthew 28:20)
MYSTERY
Paul is given to declare to us that God has not put us under the law, but under grace and that today He is not treating us as children under the law with the rudiments of the world
(Romans 6:14; Galatians 4:1-11; Colossians 2:8-17; Romans 7:4-6)
PROPHETIC
The 12 Apostles during the Lord's earthly ministry never understood or appreciated the meaning or significance of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21-23; Luke 9:43-45,18:31-34) Following Christ's resurrection and the 40 day Bible seminar they had from Him they understood the necessity of Christ's suffering and the benefits received from it, as it pertained to the establishment of Israel's kingdom glory
(Luke 24:25-27, 44-49, Acts 1:1-2, 2:22-36, 3:12-21, 4:8-12)
MYSTERY
To Paul God committed the full meaning and significance of the cross of Christ. He preached the cross and Christ crucified. The good news about His death, burial and resurrection - proclaiming it in all its glory as "the power of God and the wisdom of God." Also to Paul was committed the testimony concerning Christ giving Himself a ransom for all men
(1Corinthians 1:18, 23; 1Timothy 2:1-7; 1Corinthians 2:6-8; Ephesians 1:8-10)
PROPHETIC
The 12 Apostles were commissioned in their apostleship to bring Israel's rebelliousness to a head and in doing so vindicate the outpouring of God's wrath upon that generation
(Matthew 23:29-36; Luke 11:45-51)
MYSTERY
Paul was commissioned to proclaim that God is now longsuffering and is extending mercy and grace to all in spite of Israel's climactic rebelliousness.
(Romans 11:28-36)
"...that in all things He might have the preeminence ..". (Colossians 1:18)
It is by means of these two programs that the Lord Jesus Christ will have the preeminence on the earth and in the heavenly places.
Rightly Dividing cuts straight the word of God in those places where God has directed His paths, submitting to all Scripture, honoring that which is different.
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Strange Doctrine or Bible Truth
-Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed
-But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done; and there is no respect of persons.
-(For many [believers] walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
-For the word of God [our only help] is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
In the NT, Paul wrote 14 books out of the 27. Paul never met Christ Jesus while the Messiah was in the flesh. Paul, reflecting:
Act 26:13 At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
Act 26:14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 26:15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
Act 26:16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
Act 26:17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
Act 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Act 26:19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
Act 26:20 But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
In v16, we can clearly see that Paul had two ministries, to preach those things he had seen, and God promises he will teach those things which God will later make known to him. About 8 years after Calvary is about when Paul receives this vision of the LORD on Damascus road [Acts 22:17-21], and the pattern of when Israel will see Him who they have pierced, and repent [1 Tim 1:16].
Act 22:21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
Paul tried at the first to preach in Damascus after his conversion, & he had to flee for his life, and go over the wall in a basket. Now, they plot against his life in Jerusalem because of his teaching, and the LORD tells him to depart, for he is to go out and proclaim the kingdom to the Jews in dispersion, while the 12 where to stay in Judea, in Jerusalem and proclaim it there. So, here is the division of the ministry. But Paul didn’t teach to gentiles for about 6 years, he preached only to Jews for 9 years at the beginning of his ministry.
In Romans 11 we find the reason to preach to the gentiles was to provoke Israel to jealousy. Not for the gentile’s sake, because Israel’s commission was to go to the gentiles someday, but that will now have to be in the millennial kingdom.
Act 13:45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
Act 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
When Paul speaks to the gentiles, it is not another gospel, he was still proclaiming the kingdom, only this, that the gentiles could partake of Israel’s hope and blessings without coming under the law. It was by grace, and this is the gospel of the grace of God, that Paul taught for 18 years to gentiles only; but that the Jews were required to keep the law. Even in Romans [7:12] he says the law is just and Holy, & good. A great many people have the misconception that Paul was preaching “the church” during Acts, but he wasn’t, and neither were the 12.
Notice in Acts 15, at the counsel, the question was not one of doctrine, no, it was to whom should the gospel of the kingdom be preached, that was the question. Of course, the Judahizers were insisting Paul could not teach them until they first be circumcised & become Jews; and they were both quoting scripture, and Paul quotes from Deuteronomy where it is prophesized that God would use a foreign people to provoke Israel to jealousy, and that was exactly what the teaching gentiles was for, so that Israel would bring forth fruit and accept the kingdom which was close at hand at that time. We find Paul teaching the gospel of the grace of God in Acts 20:24. In Acts 28:28 it is about 27 years after Paul’s conversion on the Damascus road. Paul preached 9 years to Jews only and about 18 years to both Jew and Gentile. It is noteworthy that 9 Denotes Finality of judgment. The number nine, or its factors or multiples, is seen in all cases when judgment is the subject. 27 = 3X3X3 = Divinity intensified.
Then comes the “Mystery”, and the new apostleship of Paul, see Eph 3, and another dispensation of the Grace of God.
It is good to ask questions in regards to Bible teachings, and we should ask as many as we can. By the time you answer the following questions from the Bible, your knowledge of God’s plan in relation to you will have increased, and your pathway shall be clear for a worthy walk in truth and in light in hope and glory in Christ:
At one time, there were gifts of the Spirit, today there are no gifts of the Spirit as there were back in those times, when miracles were the fruit of those gifts. When did the gifts of the Spirit cease?
In the latter part of the book of Acts Paul said he was bound for the hope of Israel. In Ephesians 3 he says he is the prisoner of the LORD for us gentiles. When did Paul cease to be bound for the hope of Israel, and become a prisoner for the hope of us gentiles?
When was the “Mystery” which had been “hid in God” from all ages first preached by Paul?
At one time Paul taught none other things than that which was taught by Moses and the Prophets. When did he cease teaching that, and begin to teach a message of which Moses and the Prophets knew nothing?
We know, by Corinthians and Thessalonians especially, that Paul was looking for the “Parousia”, and to be living when that occurred. When did Paul cease looking for that parousia and expect to die?
At one time Paul was an able minister of the new covenant. When did Paul cease to preach the new covenant?
In Romans 2 we are told that the message is to the Jew first, and that Paul always went to the Jew first, and he practiced what he preached, and yet there came a time when the gospel was no longer preached to the Jew. When was that?
We are told in Romans 11, that the gentiles were a graphed in wild olive branch unnaturally to the true olive tree, and the gentiles were to partake of Israel’s blessings. When did the gentiles cease to be a graphed in wild olive branch?
When did the preaching of the kingdom of heaven cease and the church of the mystery begin?
When did both Jew and Gentile cease to be blessed through faithful Abraham, and begin to be blessed through Christ only? Today, the church which is His Body, is blessed with all Spiritual Blessings in heavenly places in Christ, not in Abraham. When did the change occur?
At one time there was a great distinction between the Jew and Gentile believer, when did this distinction cease, and they both become one, one new man?
When were members of a church first called saints, and faithful?
In Romans 9, and it’s emphasized, that the Word of God was the prerogative of the Jew to be proclaimed. When did the preaching of the Word cease to be the sole right and prerogative of the Jew?
When [Mark16] did tongues, signs, and visions cease? And faith and faith alone become God’s order?
We find in Paul’s early ministry that he advised the widows not to marry, and later he advised the younger widows to marry. When did the first one cease and the other begin? What is the reason?
When did the events of history cease to be the fulfillment of prophecy?
When was the last prophecy fulfilled? [hint – AD 70] We are living in a time now that has been hid from generation to generation and you can’t find it in the prophecies.
When [Mark 16] did water baptism cease essential for salvation?
When did the signs following, cease to accompany water baptism?
When did people cease to speak, concerning the wonderful things of God, that could be understood?
When did believing Israel cease to be a chosen nation, a royal priesthood and a Holy nation?
We find that the apostle Paul was able to heal just as well as any of the other 12 apostles right up to the last chapter of Acts, and then he was no longer able to heal. When, at what occasion, did Paul lose his power to heal?
When was the wild olive tree with branches, that were graphed in, cut down? When it had ceased to be.
When did men cease to have unequal gifts & powers, and saints and faithful come into the equality in standing before God?
When did churches on the earth cease to be the church of God? In fact, today, there is only one church recognized in the Word of God, and that is the church of the body of Christ. No local churches on the earth are recognized.
When did covenant relationships with God cease? Remember in Ephesians 2, there were certain strangers who were alienated from the covenant promise and the citizenship of Israel? When did this covenant relationship with God cease?
There was a time when the great tribulation and the kingdom of God was at hand. And the day came when they were no longer at hand. When did these things cease to be at hand?
John the Baptist baptized, and then we had the baptism of water and spirit, but in Ephesians we have only One Baptism. When did that become God’s order?
When did believers cease to know their hope, and Paul begin to pray that they may know the hope of their calling?
Back in the dispensation of promise, believers were identified with Christ in His death and His burial and His ressurection. When did believers quickened, raised and seated in the Heavenlies with Christ?
When did believers cease to look for an earthly kingdom, and begin to have a hope of going to heaven at resurrection?
There is a calling in the NT, that has its calling from after, or since the foundation of the world. There is also a calling that is from before the foundation of the world. When did this calling begin?
When did gentiles cease to be partakers of the Word which was sent to Israel, and receive a gospel of their own? When did the gentiles receive a Bible of their own?
There was a time when Jewish Christians were zealous of the law, and rightly so, for Paul said it was good, but when were they released from the obligations of the law, and to operate under grace?
In Romans 2, we find there is a difference between Jew and Gentile, there is a middle wall of partition still up. When was that middle wall of partition broken down between the Jew and the Gentile?
Remember that there was a time when Paul had the ability to boast, that whatever any one had as gifts of the Spirit, Paul had more. And yet, there came a time when he counted these things but refuse, worth nothing. When, at what point did that happen? When did all these things that were at work under the law cease to be of value to him?
When was salvation taken from the Jews and sent to the Gentiles?
Paul’s epistles written after Acts:
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
Philemon
1 timothy
Titus
2 Timothy
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth
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