Category: The Church the Body of Christ

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #94

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Many studies ago, we presented and explained the Scripture verses regarding water baptism—why Israel and Gentiles needed it in the prophetic program. Yet, is it necessary for us (the Church the Body of Christ) in the mystery program? No. Currently, water baptism is neither for salvation nor for a testimony. It serves no purpose today other than to reinforce Bible ignorance and distract from what God is doing right now.

Paul our Apostle wrote: “For there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). The “one baptism” we must have is not water baptism, since 1 Corinthians 1:17 amplifies, “For Christ sent me not the baptize, but to preach the gospel:….” (First Corinthians chapter 1 is the only time Paul ever wrote about water baptism.) Unlike that of the 12 Apostles (Matthew 28:19,20), Paul’s commission did not involve water baptism. Our “one baptism” has nothing to do with water. It is 1 Corinthians 12:13: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” Our “one baptism” places us into the Church the Body of Christ (cf. Romans 6:3,4; Galatians 3:27)—and water baptism cannot do that! This “one baptism” in the Dispensation of Grace is spiritual, our identification with the Body of Christ upon our believing the Gospel of Grace of 1 Corinthians 15:3,4. According to Colossians 2:12, this baptism is “the operation of God” (not the operation of a priest or preacher), and is no more physical than the circumcision of Colossians 2:11 is physical!

Alas, even if people recognize Paul as their apostle, they prefer to harmonize him with the rest of the Bible. Was not Paul water baptized? Did he not water baptize converts? Should we not follow Paul here? Did not Paul perform healing miracles and cast out devils? Should we not follow Paul here? Did he not physically circumcise Timothy? (No one really wants to ask if we should follow Paul here with circumcision, and for good reason!) Let us forthwith address Paul and water baptism….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #78

Sunday, August 9, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

What Saul of Tarsus learned outside of the city of Damascus in Acts chapter 9 was this (verses he did not write until 30-plus years later): “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting” (1 Timothy 1:12-16).

Again, Paul’s salvation and commissioning were a departure from prophecy, separate from Israel, and without Judaism. By the time of Acts chapter 9, Israel had already fallen (it had occurred in chapter 7, partly due to his satanic ministry), so there could be no salvation for Paul in joining Israel’s believing remnant; this necessitated the beginning of the Church the Body of Christ, Paul becoming its first member. The Apostle’s salvation is a “pattern,” and those who believe on Christ follow his example by trusting the Gospel of Grace committed to Paul (Acts 20:24): “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). This is what is known as “Paul’s Gospel” (Romans 2:16; Romans 16:25; 2 Timothy 2:8), for it was the Glad Tidings committed first to him and the Good News he preached. It also forms the heart or core of the Dispensation of the Grace of God given to him (Ephesians 3:2).

What Israel in Acts had to see firsthand was Paul’s own ministry proving a departure from prophecy, no difference between Jews and Gentiles, and salvation and blessing from God having no relation to Judaism or the Law….

A Grace Study Bible

Saturday, August 1, 2026

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2 KJV).

Today, we reflect on 14 full years of the arC Ministries’ Grace Study Bible Project!

Some 100 years ago, the Scofield Study Bible was published. It was a work that popularized—not invented—dispensational Bible study. For a century, the Church the Body of Christ has used this monumental aid to edify itself. It was (and still is) useful in recovering precious Bible truths that had been lost for centuries, doctrines still pushed aside by denominational hierarchies that prefer to be the “authority” with their “tradition of men.”

Fourteen years ago today, after much prayer and consideration, I began the formation of a new grace study Bible. Using the King James Bible, my goal in this project is to build on Dr. Scofield’s foundation laid long ago. We are (and will always be) indebted to that brother for his faithful service, his submission to the Holy Spirit to produce a profitable study Bible. (Incidentally, Dr. Scofield led a missionary to Christ, that missionary led a preacher to Christ, that preacher led a woman to Christ, that woman led Mom to Christ, and Mom led me to Christ.) What took Dr. Scofield decades to learn, we can acquire in a fraction of that time. Brother Scofield did not live long enough to progress any further in Bible understanding, but in the century since he has gone to heaven, a faithful remnant within the Body of Christ has expanded upon Dr. Scofield’s insightful notes. We recognize where he was wrong in certain areas, and we can improve those areas in our understanding and study.

In brief, some stats about our grace study Bible. We seem to be over 80 percent completed with it. How many more years it will take remains to be seen, but rest assured, what cannot be condensed into marginal notes or footnotes, will be, Lord willing, expanded into a full-Bible commentary book series! Stay tuned in the coming years and thank you for your prayer in this regard! 🙂

* You can read more about our Grace Study Bible Project here.

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #60

Sunday, July 19, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Turn to 2 Timothy 1:8-11: “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.” We as believers have an “holy calling”—an invitation to a sanctified job or set-apart position—“which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest….” The “appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ” here, which was when that secret was made known to man, is Christ’s appearing to Saul of Tarsus in Acts chapter 9 to save and commission him as Paul the Apostle. Check Titus 1:1-3 again, if necessary.

Dear friend, in the physical world, the only way to enjoy a successful life and reach your full potential is to have a firm understanding of your identity. The same is true in the spiritual realm. We as members of the Church the Body of Christ cannot be ignorant of whom God has made us in Christ, or we will live outside of Christ—and then that will not be Christian living at all. How terrible, how truly horrible, it is that so many genuine Christians are unaware of their identity according to grace doctrine today. They assume they are Israel, they pretend they are Israel, and they even call themselves “new Israel” or “spiritual Israel!” If they want to live in keeping with their identity in Christ as members of the Body of Christ, they must first come to know it and then promptly forsake all their misunderstandings….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #59

Saturday, July 18, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Observe Ephesians 1:1-4: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:….” Father God chose to use believers in Christ as His servants. These believers belong to the Church the Body of Christ, and their servanthood relates to the heavenly places and a plan God had “before the foundation of the world.” Previous to putting Adam or man on the Earth, God conceived the formation of a heavenly people. This heavenly group would receive His life, eternal life, for the purpose of glorifying Him.

Titus 1:1-3 amplifies: “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;….” God promised “eternal life” concerning a specific company of believers—and these are the members of the Body of Christ. At the “due time” (1 Timothy 2:5-7), He made known His Word (the mystery or secret) through preaching—Paul’s preaching. The focus has thus moved from Christ’s earthly ministry to Christ’s heavenly ministry, with Christ from Heaven’s glory using another Apostle (sent-one) and another minister (servant) to be His spokesman.

With Satan participating in his own defeat at Calvary (1 Corinthians 2:6-8), he is now embarrassed, so his evil world system (including theological and denominational systems) ensures God’s mystery remains a mystery. Paul’s unique ministry is seldom recognized. However, for those of us who want to see, we can surely see it….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #57

Thursday, July 16, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

One superb demonstration of skill involves the art of distraction. Waving one hand so people concentrate on it, while manipulating objects with the other hand which they are not watching, is the work of a proficient magician. The LORD God did something similar when His purpose and plan for man took Satan by surprise!

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). From Genesis 1:2 onward, the Bible focuses on “the earth… the earth… the earth…,” as God is forming an earthly people to use for His praise and glory. Of course, in Genesis chapter 3, after Satan initiated a rebellion against God in Heaven, Adam and Eve followed Satan to introduce a rebellion against God in Earth. Satan subsequently defiled both realms of creation, Heaven and Earth, with sin.

While God was forming that earthly people—first Adam and Eve, then of the nations, and finally of the nation Israel—He enticed Satan to pay attention to that earthly program. As Satan corrupted Adam and Eve, the nations at the Tower of Babel, and the nation Israel throughout the rest of the Old Testament (by drawing them away from the Law of Moses), the Devil was unaware that God was keeping a secret. That secret was His purpose and plan for restoring Heaven to Himself, and it was not revealed or unveiled until Paul’s ministry: “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:…” (Colossians 1:24-27).

Let us see how “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) resolves many “problem” passages….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #35

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Remember, the God of the Bible purposes to build a house (“oikos”) of doctrine in our inner man (soul and spirit) as members of the Church the Body of Christ. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord [by faith; verse 5], so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up [‘epoikodomeo’] in him, and stablished [stabilized] in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6,7). Such edification, building up of a structure/edifice, will lead to us becoming, in practice, “the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).

“In whom all the building [‘oikodome’] fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together [‘sunoikodomeisthe’] for an habitation [dwellingplace, house] of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:21,22). “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Corinthians 3:16,17). “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19,20).

Mark this well. Take whatever religious/philosophical/theological system you want, and you can live according to that system’s values without their founders (Muhammad, Joseph Smith, Socrates, Buddha, Plato, Confucius, et cetera) living in and through you. HOWEVER, you cannot enjoy Christian living (grace principles) without Jesus Christ living in you! Hence, the goal of sound Bible doctrine is to have “Christ formed in you” (Galatians 4:19), the indwelling Holy Spirit working to make Jesus Christ’s life real in our lives. Therefore, it is so (!) extremely (!) critical (!) that we build the correct doctrine in ourselves and in those who hear us….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #30

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Theologians, philosophers, and other supposed “intellectuals” have discussed and debated for centuries the purpose of our existence—and they still have more questions than answers because no amount of man’s “wisdom” is sufficient to comprehend the mind of Almighty God. Howbeit, as Bible believers, it is no enigma to us. Let us therefore be appreciative of the spiritual light Colossians 1:16-20 furnishes us in this regard.

“For by him [Jesus Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”

Remember, as we discover in Ephesians 1:8-10 (higher doctrine than Romans), God saving us from Hell is but a minute addendum in His overall plan for the ages. Colossians is a supplement to, or sister epistle of, Ephesians. Although creation—Heaven (Job 15:15; Job 25:5; Ephesians 6:12) and Earth (Matthew 4:8,9; Luke 4:5-7; 2 Corinthians 4:3,4)—is in rebellion because of Satan and Adam, this is only temporary. Father God’s original plan for creation, that His Son Jesus Christ’s life be displayed for all to see, is momentarily delayed. That eternal purpose will still be achieved in the ages to come, when Christ fills us (the Church the Body of Christ) with His life and then fills the heavenly places with us, and when He fills redeemed Israel with His life and then fills the earth with Israel.

This is how we find meaning in life….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #29

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

From cover to cover, Genesis to Revelation, the Holy Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God. It has been preserved for us in English as the King James Bible. All of the Bible is for us, for our learning (Romans 15:4), but not all of the Bible is to us or about us. We should not be selfish (“all of the promises in the Book are mine!”), as the nation Israel also needs Scriptures written to and about her. Here is the basic premise of dispensational Bible study, and necessary to maintain the Bible’s integrity. Otherwise, we have to adjust or change verses to match what we see and hear today, or outright deny verses (“they do not mean what they say,” “these were not in the original manuscripts,” and so on).

Avoiding Hell is something for which we in Christ should always be grateful to God, but our being kept out of Hell is just a small footnote in His overall dealings with man. Why has He kept us from those flames of Hell and the Lake of Fire, and destined us for Heaven? Almost no one—even a lot of Christians—can answer it. Here it is! Father God has a plan to exalt His Son (Jesus Christ) in two realms, Heaven and Earth: “Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:…” (Ephesians 1:8-10).

When we “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), we identify the differences God has made in His Word. Grace is the operating system for mystery, but Law is the operating system for prophecy. Father God’s glorification of Christ in Heaven using us the Church the Body of Christ is not to be confounded with His glorification of Christ in Earth using the redeemed nation Israel….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #11

Thursday, May 28, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

“This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness [loose, wild, crazy living], to work all uncleanness [impurity] with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:17-24).

As Romans chapters 6–8 make plain, victorious Christian living (“walking”) involves depending on our Christian resources (“Christ”) rather than our Adamic resources (“sin”). Only when we “study… rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) will we understand how grace living (what God works in us when we trust Him) is far more advantageous than legalistic living (what we do for God, which Law system is always insufficient and flawed). The Books of 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and Galatians are all deviations from basic Romans truth—and this is where most “Christian” people, most “Christian” churches, and most “Christian” schools are. Obsessed with the sins of the flesh (carnality/humanism) and the sins of the spirit (asceticism/denominationalism), they overlook what God can do for us through Christ’s finished crosswork (grace).

Believers today are the Church the Body of Christ, not the nation Israel. The prophetic program going all the way back to Adam is momentarily interrupted (Acts 3:21), that the mystery/secret program be in force (Romans 16:25,26). Paul’s 13 epistles, Romans to Philemon, define what God is currently doing. Exercise great caution where you and your family (if you ever have one) go to church. It should be a place where the King James Bible is studied rightly divided, where grace living is promoted instead of legalistic commands and demands….