"We, today, live in the dispensation of the grace of God for us Gentiles. As the apostle Paul teaches in his epistles, God ushered in this present dispensation when He raised him up to be a brand new apostle, as is historically recorded in Acts 9. Until that time God's program and dealings were with the nation of Israel. This issue of God suspending His program with Israel and bringing in a new dispensation with the raising up of Paul, (along with the purpose and significance behind it), will be the subject matter of the next chapter. However, it is referred to at this time because of the prevailing tendency among Christians to view the record of the Gospel accounts and the opening of the book of Acts as if they described God's dealings with us today. Though it out to be obvious from the testimony of the Scriptures themselves that this is not the case, unfortunately the record of our Lord's ministry on this earth, along with the ministry of the 12 apostles, is looked upon by many Christians as the Lord's ministry to us today.
To many Christians, for example, the Lord's teachings in the Sermon on the Mount are looked upon as God's instructions regarding how He wants us to live today. The so-called 'Lord's prayer' of Matt. 6:9-13 is memorized and recited, with Christians thinking this is how God wants us to pray today. The Lord's miracles and sign ministry along with that of the 12 apostles and others at that time, are thought of as something that should be going on today. The day of Pentecost, and the events of that day recorded in Acts 2, are set forth as the norm for the church today. Accordingly, cries of 'Back to Pentecost' are often in effect at that time. Appeals are made to any number of the practices, promises, instructions, and messages contained in the Gospels and early Acts, in order to support the myriad of diverse and conflicting things done by Christians today in the name of following Christ. Just about every ism and schism today under the umbrella of Christianity can and does point to the Bible to support what it says and does. And just about every one of them has as the keystone to its existence some cardinal practice, injunction, or instruction that comes from the record of our Lord's earthly ministry, or that of his 12 apostles following His return to heaven. What is so unfortunate about all of this is the abundant testimony of the Scriptures themselves, which plainly declare that the record of the Gospels and the opening of the book of Acts pertains to God's program and dealings with the nation of Israel, and not to what He is doing with us today. Therefore, following God's instructions and practices that He gave at that time, along with claiming the promises that He also made at that time, is not what God wants us doing today. Following God's program with Israel is not God's will for us today. It is not until we come to the time when the Lord Jesus Christ unexpectedly re-appeared from heaven and raised up the apostle Paul-- that new and other apostle-- that this dispensation of Gentile grace in which we live today was brought in and the revelation of the "mystery of Christ" about God's purpose with us was made known.
Though these comments on this matter will be expanded upon in the following chapters, it is necessary to make them at this time so that we look at the testimony of the Lord's earthly ministry properly. Since the Gospel accounts begin what we call the New Testament Scriptures, all too often the assumption is made that they are describing the details of God' new program with us Gentiles. But that is not the case at all. In fact, the failure to understand and appreciate this is detrimental to a Christian. It causes not only a misunderstanding about what God is doing today. but also produces confusion and disobedience to the Lord, as one tries to serve the Lord in things He Himself is not doing, nor wants us doing.
It is in the epistles of the apostle Paul that God has set forth the details of His program for us today. In Paul's epistles are found God's doctrines, instructions, injunctions, promises, and provisions for the members of His "new creation," the church the body of Christ, and that pertain to His program with us today. However, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the opening of the book of Acts pertain to God's program with His nation Israel. They record the details about how God's program with them was climaxing at that time with the coming of the Messiah to deliver Israel from their 'lawful captivity' to Satan, to cast Satan out as the "prince of the world," and to establish the covenanted kingdom of heaven on this earth in Zion."
-Keith Blades: Satan and His Plan of Evil; A survey of the bible doctrine: Ch. 6, pg. 117-118
I write this quote because to many Christians that I know are confused and some who don't even know they are confused. Many Christians if not most don't have a clue about what Satan is doing today more or less what God is doing, but it is quite obvious with the mass confusion under the umbrella of Christianity. If you don't think so, then your ignorance has blinded you, for look at all the denominations and different "theological systems." Some people say I make too much of the apostle Paul, friends have, I mean close friends, have so called given me up saying what I believe is heresy and that I am not a believer, because "I didn't endure until the end" according to Calvinistic theology, asking for me and my friends to come back to the faith. I ask come back to what?, a theology that is confused and confuses the scriptures wrongly handling God's Word more less then wrongly dividing it. I rather listen to the apostle of the Gentiles a man from God's own Word who was receiving revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who informs me that as a Gentile God will save me by His grace which He did many years ago and now not that I have to endure until the end, but to be sustained by God's grace, to walk in God's grace in my assured position in Christ, being led by the Spirit not under the law, but under grace, making much of Christ's sufficient work of the Cross and boasting only in Him and not in my own endurance, for I could not endure, but only by God's grace through His Son. I quote this because it starts by making divisions in God's Word between Jew and Gentile where God does. It starts by rightly dividing the Word of truth. It is all truth, but it needs to be rightly divided that we may not get confused but be built up unto the full stature of Christ, not being tossed to and fro, not understanding what James and Paul say and thinking they are the same thing, but to notice they are to two different people groups and to be applied correctly to God's different programs between the nation of Israel and the Body of Christ.
Are you confused about the Scriptures? Do you want to be able to read your Bible and for it to make sense? You need to rightly divide God's Word. How you ask? Well 2 Tim. 2:15 tells you to rightly divide, so logically the one who tells you something is probably doing it. Paul wrote 13 books of your Bible, why? Read Romans through Philemon and see where God through Paul rightly divides His Word, make distinctions between Jew and Gentile in time past. Good places to start are Eph. 3. Compare Rom. 16:25 and Acts 3:21. There are many distinctions between law and grace, prophecy and mystery, Jew and Gentile. Understand that baptism, gospel, and church are general terms, therefore let the context tell you the differences for there are differences. Understand the history of the Bible and how God gave up Gentiles to a reprobate mind Romans 1 all the way back in Gen. 11 and since then He dealt with the nation of Israel. Any Gentile that wanted to serve the true God had to bless Israel and follow God's Word to them, this was time past, but now as God saved the apostle Paul He is dealing with Jew and Gentile individually by pure grace. All people today are Gentiles before God, because even the Jews are now the enemies of God, no longer God's friend because of their unbelief in their Messiah. Now God will save anyone by His grace because of Christ and will impute Christ's righteousness to you and you appropriate it through faith. If you have any questions, please comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
In Him,
Josh
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
"His Grace, His Strength"
I read a quote today and this is what it said,
Sickness has become the Goliath of the Church; People speak the name “Cancer” almost with reverence… (NO MORE)… It’s a devil, its an affliction, it steals, it takes from families, it robs time, it like all other afflictions and diseases steal from households, strength, and energy, it robs faith. 2000 years ago all sickness from the devil and healing was from God but today many people consider sickness from God to help them become more like Jesus… how far have we fallen in 2000 years.
2 Cor. 12:7-10,
"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord THRICE, that it might depart from me. And He said unto me, MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE: FOR MY STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I TAKE PLEASURE in infrimities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."
Paul took pleasure that he had infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, and distresses and this was after asking for deliverance three times. Paul knew directly from revelations of Christ that Christ's power rested upon him in all these things when there was no deliverance and no healing. Instead, Christ said, "MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE!!!" How far have we fallen sense Paul's day to recognize that sickness and death is natural ever sense the fall of creation and because we live inside these vile bodies these things will happen to anyone. How far have we fallen to recognize that God does not bring about sickness, yet He uses it to show His wisdom is far greater than Satan's that because of Christ grace is sufficient, not to be healed, but not to be healed because our citizenship is in heaven glorified in Christ. How far have we fallen to think that we rob glory from God if one does not plainly and clearly see that God is not healing today, rather than understand the grace of God which is the power and strength of Christ to testify of His glory when sick, and in persecution, reproach, necessities, and distresses!!!!! What privilege we have as those who can go through the suffering of this fallen world and praise and glorify God through His Son Jesus Christ for His grace is sufficient!!!!! How far have we fallen to think that because you got healed that it was from God, that you had more faith than someone else, to think that you are strong, rather to see that God's power, grace, and strength are manifested when we are weak. His power, grace, and strength are not manifested in healing, but as Paul prays in Colossians 1:11, "Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, UNTO all PATIENCE and LONGSUFFERING with JOYFULNESS." How far have we fallen, because we go through struggles and infirmities and the sufferings of this world from nature or other people that God is not with us, but to know His Word and to know where His power and grace and strength are manifested in us. What would mark God's power resting in someone, one who can through persecution, reproach, necessities, and distresses be patient, be longsuffering all in joyfulness. That is God given power, how do I know, because everyone is looking to be healed. God can heal no doubt, but He isn't today like He was with the nation of Israel that is cut-off, fallen, diminished, for a season and a reason for the Kingdom on earth. One day Christ will bring the New Heavenly Jerusalem to earth, "His will be done on earth as it is in heaven" along with all OT saints and bring the FIRE of His wrath to cleanse and restore the earth without form or void, which was to happen when Christ told them to pray for it, but no one knew that there was a mystery of God's will to be revealed in due time which was given to the apostle Paul about Christ and His forming of the Body of Christ a heavenly people unlike the Nation of Israel His earthly people.
We need not forget that the signs done to Moses were done out of Moses' unbelief, I think it be that the Church the Body of Christ has fallen in unbelief by not listening to our God given authority in Paul from the Ascended, Glorified, Heavenly Christ and in consequence are confused by following the nation of Israel's program which is not to us nor not us at all, because we don't believe the things that GRACE teaches us, we want the phyiscal instead of the spiritual and have even been confused about what the spiritual is. It is time to renew our inner man, THE INNER MAN!!!
Sickness has become the Goliath of the Church; People speak the name “Cancer” almost with reverence… (NO MORE)… It’s a devil, its an affliction, it steals, it takes from families, it robs time, it like all other afflictions and diseases steal from households, strength, and energy, it robs faith. 2000 years ago all sickness from the devil and healing was from God but today many people consider sickness from God to help them become more like Jesus… how far have we fallen in 2000 years.
2 Cor. 12:7-10,
"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord THRICE, that it might depart from me. And He said unto me, MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE: FOR MY STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I TAKE PLEASURE in infrimities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."
Paul took pleasure that he had infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, and distresses and this was after asking for deliverance three times. Paul knew directly from revelations of Christ that Christ's power rested upon him in all these things when there was no deliverance and no healing. Instead, Christ said, "MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE!!!" How far have we fallen sense Paul's day to recognize that sickness and death is natural ever sense the fall of creation and because we live inside these vile bodies these things will happen to anyone. How far have we fallen to recognize that God does not bring about sickness, yet He uses it to show His wisdom is far greater than Satan's that because of Christ grace is sufficient, not to be healed, but not to be healed because our citizenship is in heaven glorified in Christ. How far have we fallen to think that we rob glory from God if one does not plainly and clearly see that God is not healing today, rather than understand the grace of God which is the power and strength of Christ to testify of His glory when sick, and in persecution, reproach, necessities, and distresses!!!!! What privilege we have as those who can go through the suffering of this fallen world and praise and glorify God through His Son Jesus Christ for His grace is sufficient!!!!! How far have we fallen to think that because you got healed that it was from God, that you had more faith than someone else, to think that you are strong, rather to see that God's power, grace, and strength are manifested when we are weak. His power, grace, and strength are not manifested in healing, but as Paul prays in Colossians 1:11, "Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, UNTO all PATIENCE and LONGSUFFERING with JOYFULNESS." How far have we fallen, because we go through struggles and infirmities and the sufferings of this world from nature or other people that God is not with us, but to know His Word and to know where His power and grace and strength are manifested in us. What would mark God's power resting in someone, one who can through persecution, reproach, necessities, and distresses be patient, be longsuffering all in joyfulness. That is God given power, how do I know, because everyone is looking to be healed. God can heal no doubt, but He isn't today like He was with the nation of Israel that is cut-off, fallen, diminished, for a season and a reason for the Kingdom on earth. One day Christ will bring the New Heavenly Jerusalem to earth, "His will be done on earth as it is in heaven" along with all OT saints and bring the FIRE of His wrath to cleanse and restore the earth without form or void, which was to happen when Christ told them to pray for it, but no one knew that there was a mystery of God's will to be revealed in due time which was given to the apostle Paul about Christ and His forming of the Body of Christ a heavenly people unlike the Nation of Israel His earthly people.
We need not forget that the signs done to Moses were done out of Moses' unbelief, I think it be that the Church the Body of Christ has fallen in unbelief by not listening to our God given authority in Paul from the Ascended, Glorified, Heavenly Christ and in consequence are confused by following the nation of Israel's program which is not to us nor not us at all, because we don't believe the things that GRACE teaches us, we want the phyiscal instead of the spiritual and have even been confused about what the spiritual is. It is time to renew our inner man, THE INNER MAN!!!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Dispensationalism another Denomination?
This is my first post in a long time, but I recently received a comment to my first post in which I would like to respond to, not that my blog will be an answer time for responses, but in this case I choose to take some time and answer a couple comments that were made by "4hisglory" if you don't mind me using your user name. His or her response can be looked at under comments under my first post. The comments were, "You forgot to mention the latest and most recent of all the divisional doctrines in the church today; Dispensationalism", and "Is your dispensationalism part of that which is confusing for unbelievers?" The other comments and questions brought up within the response will be answered another time.
I thank you for your comment and response. Personally I would not like to be labeled, but just as the world does most of Christendom also labels people and religion in my opinion to dress it up . Many also label themselves for a source of identity. Personally I want my identity to be found solely in Christ as a member of the Body of Christ. For example, Baptists, they believe strongly in baptism if not for salvation, then as an ordinance to be observed after salvation. You take their water baptism away and they will fight you real hard. Also, Pentecostals, they believe strongly in the gifts, you take the gifts away and they struggle with their spirituality or I would say identity in Christ alone. After all this is said, I guess you can call me a Pauline Dispensationalist, BECAUSE it is NOT that I find my identity in Paul at all, but the message of the dispensation of the grace of God is only preached by Paul and in God's grace Paul's gospel is where I found how to be saved today and how I come to the knowledge of my identity solely in Christ.
This leads to your comment that I, "forgot to mention the latest and most recent of all the divisional doctrines in the church today; Dispensationalism." First I want to make a couple statements that will help clear somethings up. I can not speak for all Dispensationalists, because not all are Pauline in their knowledge and thinking, in fact everyone is a dispensationalist one way or another if you want to be or not. However the question is are you Pauline? Many may be thinking what is the big deal with Paul. Many may be thinking I make too much of him. Let me clarify this thinking by asking two questions. 1) Why Paul? Did not Jesus Christ give the 12 disciples the "great commission" as religion calls it to go to ALL the NATIONS? Why would God choose Saul of Taursus the leader of the rebellion against the 12? Were the 12 out of the will of God? Did God choose Paul one man to carry out what the 12 could not do? Or, did something change in God's plan that He had purposed in Himself before the foundation of the world not making it known unto the world keeping it a mystery until a due time? 2) Who is your apostle? Now that was more than two questions, but just somethings to get the brain thinking. Is Peter (Cephas), James, John, Apollos, your apostle or is it Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry that you are to follow and who is to teach you what God is doing NOW and where you fit in? Or is it Paul?
Paul's Warnings For Not Following Him (Division)
Concluding I defend Paul's apostleship, ministry, and gospel, because he is my apostle and yours and to show that Pauline truth or Pauline Dispensationalism is not another divisional doctrine, BUT the clear response to all the division. Paul's ways which are in Christ (can't stress enough) need to be remembered and his office to be magnified (to enlarge), not because I say so, but because God's Word says so. All scripture is truth, but it needs to be rightly divided by listening to our apostle Paul so that we may have an understanding in all things. So I say with Paul, "if any man think himself to be a prophet, OR SPIRITUAL, let him ACKNOWLEDGE (remember that word) that the things I WRITE UNTO YOU
Who is your apostle?
Why Paul?
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Are you a workman for God?
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." ~II Tim. 2:15
It has been quite amazing my whole Christian life which started before my freshmen year in high school to see the grace of God live through me. It wasn't until my freshmen year in high school that I started to become a workman unto God, in that up until college I didn't start studying the Word of God or as Paul calls it the word of truth. Although I started to read the Bible I was not reading it the way that God tells us to in His Word on how to read it and how to study it. I found myself leaving the authority of Scripture to the authority of man. I found myself resting my faith in men rather than in Christ and His Word to me. I would read a ton, but I could never make sense of a lot of things in the Bible such as:
Romans 3:27-28, "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
Romans 4:5, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
Romans 11:6, "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."
So there is Paul's doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ alone. But listen to James.
Compared to,
James 2:17, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."
James 2:20, "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"
James 2:24, "Ye see then how that by works a man is JUSTIFIED, and NOT BY FAITH ONLY."
Go ahead read the passages, but as a student of the Word and any person, (you don't have to be a professor or scholar) should be able to see that Paul and James are not saying the same thing. However in the Christian world many upon many try to reconcile these two men, they try to spiritualize the passages to make them say the same thing. You will hear, James is giving a sermon on Ephesians 2:8-10, along with many other things. John MacArthur took two books to try and make sense of these men. In Martin Luther's mind after learning that a man is justified by faith alone in Christ alone in which many call "the doctrine on which the Church (Body of Christ) stands or falls", he thought it was a flat out contradiction that was irreconcilable (which is true if you do not rightly divide the Scriptures) and said that James was "an epistle of straw" and put James along with Hebrews, Jude, and Revelation on a status of secondary importance. I mention Luther because of two reasons, 1) At least this man recognized the irreconcilability between James and Paul's doctrines, in which the church today does not and does everything and will say anything to try and mesh them together, 2) Luther is a man who is greatly looked at in the church today especially Reformed theologians and his relegating James, Hebrews, Jude, and Revelation to secondary status of importance is quite interesting. Along with these men stand a vast majority of theologians who try and mesh the passages together such as; Piper, Spurgeon, Packer, Sproul, Boice, etc......
I recently read something that Boice said and here it is, by the way this is what I would say the majority of the church believes today.
It has been quite amazing my whole Christian life which started before my freshmen year in high school to see the grace of God live through me. It wasn't until my freshmen year in high school that I started to become a workman unto God, in that up until college I didn't start studying the Word of God or as Paul calls it the word of truth. Although I started to read the Bible I was not reading it the way that God tells us to in His Word on how to read it and how to study it. I found myself leaving the authority of Scripture to the authority of man. I found myself resting my faith in men rather than in Christ and His Word to me. I would read a ton, but I could never make sense of a lot of things in the Bible such as:
Romans 3:27-28, "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
Romans 4:5, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
Romans 11:6, "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."
So there is Paul's doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ alone. But listen to James.
Compared to,
James 2:17, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."
James 2:20, "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"
James 2:24, "Ye see then how that by works a man is JUSTIFIED, and NOT BY FAITH ONLY."
Go ahead read the passages, but as a student of the Word and any person, (you don't have to be a professor or scholar) should be able to see that Paul and James are not saying the same thing. However in the Christian world many upon many try to reconcile these two men, they try to spiritualize the passages to make them say the same thing. You will hear, James is giving a sermon on Ephesians 2:8-10, along with many other things. John MacArthur took two books to try and make sense of these men. In Martin Luther's mind after learning that a man is justified by faith alone in Christ alone in which many call "the doctrine on which the Church (Body of Christ) stands or falls", he thought it was a flat out contradiction that was irreconcilable (which is true if you do not rightly divide the Scriptures) and said that James was "an epistle of straw" and put James along with Hebrews, Jude, and Revelation on a status of secondary importance. I mention Luther because of two reasons, 1) At least this man recognized the irreconcilability between James and Paul's doctrines, in which the church today does not and does everything and will say anything to try and mesh them together, 2) Luther is a man who is greatly looked at in the church today especially Reformed theologians and his relegating James, Hebrews, Jude, and Revelation to secondary status of importance is quite interesting. Along with these men stand a vast majority of theologians who try and mesh the passages together such as; Piper, Spurgeon, Packer, Sproul, Boice, etc......
I recently read something that Boice said and here it is, by the way this is what I would say the majority of the church believes today.
"Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:20).
Boice says that this verse means, "Unless you who call yourselves Christians, who profess to be justified by faith alone and therefore confess that you have nothing whatever to contribute to your own justification--unless you nevertheless conduct yourselves in a way which is utterly superior to the conduct of the very best people, who are hoping to save themselves by their works, you will no enter God's kingdom. You are not really Christians."
According to Boice the doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, plus nothing turned to justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, plus works, or "oh yea you need to work too". Boice actually went on to try and explain the two Paul and James and admitted that what he was saying sounded confusing and contradicting. I find it quite amazing the in God's Word He tells me, "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints."
This is just one example of many things in God's Word that weren't lining up and because of it many divisions within the Body of Christ have formed, we call this denominationalism. We have baptists, lutherans, catholics, protestants (spelling), methodists, pentecostals, new covenant theology, calvinists, arminianists, you name it and the Body of Christ has it and we wonder why unbelievers doesn't want to have to do with anything with Christ, because we ain't what we should be. In fact, a lot of the Body of Christ doesn't even know what God is doing today. Many hearts will be pricked with that statement, many will say I am arrogant, ignorant, and self-righteousness, but is it any surprise to take a look at church history and to think we have had it right the whole time, but really don't. This was Israel's attitude. Stephen in the book of Acts was giving Israel's history and it was filled with not knowing, and disobedience, yet they thought they were doing a service to God when they stoned God's messenger to them, but were doing the exact opposite. I see the same pattern in the Body of Christ as was in the nation of Israel, maybe it is because we are trying to be so much like them that we become them, maybe that's where we want our identity as God's chosen nation that Paul now says is cut off, maybe it's because we have our identity in religion, in baptism, the law, in gifts, but not in Christ, maybe that's why we can't humble ourselves to admit that we were wrong instead of closing our ears like Israel. May we not be like Israel, may we not follow their ways, may we not follow man, or church history, but may we follow God and His ways.
My whole point is, the reasons why the Body of Christ is not where we are supposed to be which is in Him, in the faith that Christ sets forth through the apostle Paul, or even deceived in thinking we are there, that we have reached the unity of faith is because the Body of Christ does not recognize the two-fold purpose of God and one can know more of this as they study the Word of God being a workman, rightly dividing the word of truth. There are two sets of truth one for nation Israel, God's purpose for the earth bring forth the eternal earthly kingdom that He prophesied about, and two the Body of Christ God's purpose for the heavenly places in which was hid in God in a mystery not made known to the world since it began, but now God is revealing His eternal purpose with the heavenly places, this information He gave to Paul who preaches the Gospel of the Grace of God, unlike that of Israel who had Moses and the Law. There are two sets of truth in God's Word that need to be rightly divided this is the key to understanding your Bible. Here are a list of some things to be divided.
Prophecy & Mystery
Law & Grace
-covenants
-Spirit (how He is working)
Israel & Body of Christ
Heaven & Earth
MUCH MORE.........
More to come, if you have any questions, please respond.
In Him,
Joshua
According to Boice the doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, plus nothing turned to justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, plus works, or "oh yea you need to work too". Boice actually went on to try and explain the two Paul and James and admitted that what he was saying sounded confusing and contradicting. I find it quite amazing the in God's Word He tells me, "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints."
This is just one example of many things in God's Word that weren't lining up and because of it many divisions within the Body of Christ have formed, we call this denominationalism. We have baptists, lutherans, catholics, protestants (spelling), methodists, pentecostals, new covenant theology, calvinists, arminianists, you name it and the Body of Christ has it and we wonder why unbelievers doesn't want to have to do with anything with Christ, because we ain't what we should be. In fact, a lot of the Body of Christ doesn't even know what God is doing today. Many hearts will be pricked with that statement, many will say I am arrogant, ignorant, and self-righteousness, but is it any surprise to take a look at church history and to think we have had it right the whole time, but really don't. This was Israel's attitude. Stephen in the book of Acts was giving Israel's history and it was filled with not knowing, and disobedience, yet they thought they were doing a service to God when they stoned God's messenger to them, but were doing the exact opposite. I see the same pattern in the Body of Christ as was in the nation of Israel, maybe it is because we are trying to be so much like them that we become them, maybe that's where we want our identity as God's chosen nation that Paul now says is cut off, maybe it's because we have our identity in religion, in baptism, the law, in gifts, but not in Christ, maybe that's why we can't humble ourselves to admit that we were wrong instead of closing our ears like Israel. May we not be like Israel, may we not follow their ways, may we not follow man, or church history, but may we follow God and His ways.
My whole point is, the reasons why the Body of Christ is not where we are supposed to be which is in Him, in the faith that Christ sets forth through the apostle Paul, or even deceived in thinking we are there, that we have reached the unity of faith is because the Body of Christ does not recognize the two-fold purpose of God and one can know more of this as they study the Word of God being a workman, rightly dividing the word of truth. There are two sets of truth one for nation Israel, God's purpose for the earth bring forth the eternal earthly kingdom that He prophesied about, and two the Body of Christ God's purpose for the heavenly places in which was hid in God in a mystery not made known to the world since it began, but now God is revealing His eternal purpose with the heavenly places, this information He gave to Paul who preaches the Gospel of the Grace of God, unlike that of Israel who had Moses and the Law. There are two sets of truth in God's Word that need to be rightly divided this is the key to understanding your Bible. Here are a list of some things to be divided.
Prophecy & Mystery
Law & Grace
-covenants
-Spirit (how He is working)
Israel & Body of Christ
Heaven & Earth
MUCH MORE.........
More to come, if you have any questions, please respond.
In Him,
Joshua
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