Category: Dispensation of the Grace of God

An Eternal House in the Heavens #7

Sunday, March 26, 2017

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1 KJV).

You may not see it, but God already does!

God still has work to do concerning our outward man, and we still have work to do concerning our inward man. While He has yet to redeem our physical bodies, which are falling apart, we should focus on our inward man, which should be growing. Second Corinthians chapter 4 once again: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” How is the “inward man” “renewed day by day?”

Romans 12:1-2 tells us: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Ephesians 4:20-23 says: “[20] But ye have not so learned Christ; [21] If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: [22] That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; [23] And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; [24] And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

The key to Christian living is letting Jesus Christ teach you how He wants to live His life in and through you. It is not something you struggle to do, but something you daily learn from His Word rightly divided. Faith causes the Holy Spirit to take that Word and change your thinking processes, and that will change your conduct to fit God’s grace. Colossians 3:10 adds: “And [ye] have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him….” We are building up the inner man, preparing for the day when God relocates it to the new outward man….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Who are the prophets of Romans 16:26?”

An Eternal House in the Heavens #6

Saturday, March 25, 2017

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1 KJV).

You may not see it, but God already does!

Today’s Scripture opens with great certainty: “For we know….” Verse 6 says, “Therefore we are always confident….” There was great assurance in Paul’s mind touching the resurrection of us Christians. He knew that his physical body would “perish,” be “dissolved” (disintegrated). Thus, he was not overly concerned about its weaknesses and limitations. He would leave behind that “outward man” of flesh and blood: that “body of sin” would be destroyed (Romans 6:6). Paul concentrated on his soul, or “inward man” (2 Corinthians 4:16). The soul was the “real” him, something he could never leave. He would take that into eternity, and God would implant that soul into the body “eternal in the heavens.”

Father God has prepared or appointed us to the resurrection, as chapter 5 continues: “[5] Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. [6] Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: [7] (For we walk by faith, not by sight: ) [8] We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

Our confidence is found in the indwelling Holy Spirit (verse 5), the “earnest” or “down payment.” As people who have trusted the Gospel of the Grace of God—Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)—we have been “redeemed” soul and spirit (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14). However, our outward bodies are unredeemed. Romans chapter 8 says: “[22] For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. [23] And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”

Indeed, we wait for “the adoption,” “the redemption of our body….”

An Eternal House in the Heavens #5

Friday, March 24, 2017

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1 KJV).

You may not see it, but God already does!

Today’s Scripture loops back to the close of chapter 4 (paraphrased): “looking not at the temporal things that are seen, but at the eternal things that are not seen.” Those invisible, eternal things are described in today’s Scripture onward.

Read today’s Scripture with its subsequent context: “[1] For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. [2] For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: [3] If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. [4] For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”

Our physical bodies are called “this tabernacle” (verses 1 and 4)—a hut or temporary shelter. The Apostle Peter used that term to describe his mortal body in 2 Peter 1:13,14. Job 14:22 says of man: “But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.” Scripture provides a very interesting illustration here. The “soul” (“inward man;” 2 Corinthians 4:16)—the “real” person—is clothed by a body of “flesh” (“outward man;” 2 Corinthians 4:16). The flesh is without; the soul is within. Our physical bodies are temporary, to one day be shed, just as we remove our physical clothing. Our eternal souls, “unclothed,” will then be “clothed upon” by eternal bodies.

Second Corinthians chapter 5 switches from “our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved” (physical body, only temporary) to “we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (new glorified body, lasting forever). Earth is not our permanent home—Heaven is! God’s purpose and plan is not to improve these earthly bodies that will die anyway. He has promised us a body fit for the heavenly places….

An Eternal House in the Heavens #4

Thursday, March 23, 2017

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1 KJV).

You may not see it, but God already does!

We look again at 2 Corinthians chapter 4: “[16] For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. [17] For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; [18] While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Notice how, in this the Dispensation of Grace, Scripture emphasizes the “inward man” more than the “outward man.” God is not interested in maintaining these fleshly bodies indefinitely. The Apostle Paul understood this, and we need to as well. What we can see with our physical eyes—including our debilitating physical bodies—is “temporal” (temporary). What we cannot see with our physical eyes—including our “building of God,” resurrected body—is “eternal.” Would you rather focus on the temporal or the eternal, friend?

Paul knew that, while he was enduring those persecutions in the ministry, they were merely a “light affliction.” The word “light” means “easy,” as in “light in weight.” Now, such sufferings were anything but easy to bear because they caused immense grief and pain. Still, compared to spiritual (and more important!) things, they really were “light” (yea, weightless). Those sufferings for Christ’s sake would result in a very heavy reward, one that would be greater than the “light affliction.” It would be “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory!”

Friends, we cannot see with our physical eyes the reality of these verses. Hebrews 11:1 says: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We must adopt Almighty God’s view here, and we can only do this by faith (believing the verses). So, we proceed to read today’s Scripture with its succeeding verses, to see with spiritual eyes what God already sees….

Household Rules #15

Thursday, January 19, 2017

“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” (Colossians 1:25 KJV).

And, just what is this “dispensation of God which is given to [Paul] for [us]?”

With the Lord Jesus Christ directly revealing to Paul the Dispensation of Grace of God, we have a completed Bible. Hence, Paul wrote in his final epistle: “[16] All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: [17] That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

The Apostle Peter preached in Acts 3:21 about that “which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” In stark contrast, the Apostle Paul had a ministry concerned about “the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest” (Romans 16:25,26). These are two totally different dispensations, never to be confused unless we want to be confused. God kept a secret, but He revealed it directly and exclusively to Paul. Without Paul’s writings, Romans through Philemon, we lose the “household rules” God withheld from other Bible writers and holy men of old.

We see Paul as God’s spokesman to us—not Jesus in His earthly ministry, Peter, Moses, John the Baptist, and so on. We realize Jesus Christ exalted in Heaven (Paul’s ministry), not just on Earth (rest of Scripture). We know we are under Grace (Paul’s ministry), not under Law (rest of Scripture). We see the Gospel of the Grace of God—Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for our sins—as our way to a right standing before God (Paul’s ministry), not other Gospel messages (rest of Scripture). We recognize our completeness in Christ (Paul’s ministry), not needing rites and rituals and ceremonies to make God happy with us (rest of Scripture). We see ourselves as the Church the Body of Christ (Paul’s ministry), not the nation Israel (rest of Scripture). We recognize the difference between mystery (Paul’s ministry) and prophecy (rest of Scripture).

If we are to know God’s will for us today, we had better pay attention to His current “household rules”—Paul’s ministry and writings! 🙂

-FINIS-

Household Rules #14

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

“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” (Colossians 1:25 KJV).

And, just what is this “dispensation of God which is given to [Paul] for [us]?”

Genesis chapter 1 contains God’s original instructions to man: “[26] And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth…. [28] And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it….”

From here until Paul’s apostleship (Acts chapter 9), Scripture talked about God’s plans for restoring earth’s governments unto Himself, offices Satan defiled with sin. Adam and Eve, Noah and his descendants, and Abraham and his descendants (Israelites) were all to serve in earth’s governmental offices. With Paul, God began something different—a heavenly people.

Remember, Satan had not only usurped God’s governmental authority in earth, but also in heaven. So, God formed Israel to be His earthly representatives; He created the Church the Body of Christ to fulfill His will and reestablish His headship in heaven. With the Pauline revelations, we see the entire will of God. Accordingly, Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:9,10: “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:”

The secret God revealed to Paul “fulfils [completes] the word of God” (today’s Scripture). To wit, with Paul’s writings (Romans through Philemon), we have a complete revelation from God, a final set of “household rules.” We see how, by God withholding a secret, He outsmarted Satan (1 Corinthians 2:6-8), in earth and in heaven. Jesus Christ’s shed blood provides God with two believing groups—redeemed Israel and the Church the Body of Christ—to serve Him forever in two spheres—heaven and earth (Colossians 1:16-20)!

Now we conclude this devotionals arc….

Household Rules #13

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

“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” (Colossians 1:25 KJV).

And, just what is this “dispensation of God which is given to [Paul] for [us]?”

Another major “household rule” of this the Dispensation of Grace is the eternal destiny of believers. Friend, you will search the “Old Testament” in vain to find one word about a believer in the God of the Bible dying and going to heaven. Furthermore, no believer of Christ’s earthly ministry had the prospect of dying and going to heaven. Believers who live outside of the Dispensation of Grace—namely, pre-Apostle Paul and post-Rapture—die with the hope of being resurrected into the kingdom of heaven on earth. Believing Job said in Job 19:25, part of the Bible’s oldest book: “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth….” For them, a heavenly kingdom will come down to earth (see Revelation 21:1-4; cf. Isaiah 60:1-3; Isaiah 2:1-4; Isaiah chapter 11; et cetera).

Contrariwise, for us the Church the Body of Christ, our realm of influence is the heavenly places. The life of God we now enjoy as members of the Body of Christ, we temporarily lead it on earth. However, that eternal life will carry on into the heavenly places, that we glorify Jesus Christ there forever. Ephesians 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Ephesians 2:6-7 affirms: “[6] And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: [7] That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 1:20-23 and Colossians 1:16-20 also show how we will share Jesus Christ’s authority in the heavenly places throughout eternity future.

The Rapture—when Jesus Christ comes to take us His Body back to heaven with Him—is designed to end our dispensation (and resume Israel’s program) as well as bring us into the heavenly places. Refer to Romans 11:25-29, 1 Corinthians 15:34-58, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

Let us now summarize this devotionals arc….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Is the King James word ‘borrow’ a ‘mistranslation’ in Exodus 3:22?”

Household Rules #12

Monday, January 16, 2017

“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” (Colossians 1:25 KJV).

And, just what is this “dispensation of God which is given to [Paul] for [us]?”

To repeat, some people hate dispensational Bible study. Modern English Bible “scholars” eliminate “dispensation,” therefore hiding the system’s biblical foundation. If they omit the term from Scripture, then they quite easily argue dispensationalism is false. However, while refusing to admit it, even they understand some dispensational boundaries. They know a dispensational boundary exists between an animal-sacrificing Old Testament Jew and us today. They understand animal sacrifices were God’s directions to Israel under the Law, not directions to us under Grace. They know God’s directions to Noah to build an Ark are Scripture, but not to us. Yet, they claim and follow other verses not to or about us. How silly!

Certain “church people” loathe dispensational Bible study—especially Pauline dispensationalism—because it prevents them from ripping out of context verses from Jesus’ earthly ministry and early Acts. They enjoy claiming the gifts of healing and tongues; they like the Beatitudes, Sermon on the Mount, and so-called “Lord’s Prayer;” they harp on Christ’s parables; they revel in water baptism, Sabbath-day keeping, and confession of sins. If they were to recognize dispensationalism as true, and apply it consistently in Scripture, then they would see only Paul’s doctrine as applicable to us (today’s Scripture; cf. Ephesians 3:2).

They dislike Paul since he was not sent to water baptize (1 Corinthians 1:17); did not have the gifts of healing and tongues his entire ministry (1 Corinthians 13:8-13; 1 Timothy 5:23; 2 Timothy 4:20); did not quote the “Lord’s Prayer,” Sermon on the Mount, or Beatitudes; did not emphasize confession of sins; directly opposed forced giving/tithing (2 Corinthians 9:6,7); and outright condemned Sabbath-day keeping (Galatians 4:9-11; Colossians 2:16). Paul emphasized grace rather than works. Thus, some groups have removed Paul’s “nuisance” epistles entirely from their Bible!

Dispensational Bible study—specifically, Pauline dispensationalism—threatens church traditions (works-religion). They must ignore dispensational boundaries in order to keep people working and striving in church programs and denominations. In doing so, they underscore Law, thus refuting the Gospel of Grace and hindering victorious Christian living….

Household Rules #11

Sunday, January 15, 2017

“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” (Colossians 1:25 KJV).

And, just what is this “dispensation of God which is given to [Paul] for [us]?”

The Mosaic Law was not given forever; that dispensation was not meant to operate into eternity future. It was only given to Israel temporarily—namely, to prove to her that God would make her His people. The Jews could never do enough to please God: their religious efforts were utterly futile. Their nation would only exist because of God’s work. Although the Law was given to Israel, it showed all nations to be “guilty before God” (Romans 3:19). “Therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (verse 20). Chapter 3 proceeds to explain how there came a dispensational change—Law to Grace. With that new dispensation came a new Gospel!

Another one of the major “household rules” in effect today is we are under grace, not law (Romans 6:14,15)—that goes for initial justification before God, a right standing before Him to go to heaven, as well as for daily Christian living, practical sanctification. Our performance will never measure up to God’s perfect standards. However, Jesus Christ’s performance at Calvary does please God. The Gospel of the Grace of God, Paul’s Gospel, is most clearly and succinctly defined in 1 Corinthians chapter 15: “[1] Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you…. [3] For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; [4] And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

We have a sin problem, friends, and commandments cannot help us. Thus, Jesus Christ died for our sins, shed His blood to pay for those sins, that by simple faith in Him and Him alone, we can join the Church the Body of Christ (Ephesians 2:1-22), the Holy Spirit can baptize us into Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), all because of what Christ did, not because of our religious works….

Household Rules #10

Saturday, January 14, 2017

“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” (Colossians 1:25 KJV).

And, just what is this “dispensation of God which is given to [Paul] for [us]?”

A prevalent myth in Christendom is that there is only one Gospel in the Bible. No, there is only one Gospel today; there are many Gospels in Scripture. The common belief of “one-Gospel-in-Scripture” shows us just how ignorant “churchianity” really is concerning Scripture. They do not understand dispensational boundaries, so they smooth over (retranslate/question/deny) contradictory verses. They try to harmonize Paul with Jesus, James, and other Bible characters.

In the words of the Apostle Peter, “[15] And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; [16] As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest [twist, distort], as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16). Haters of dispensational Bible study existed 2000 years ago!

Just as “the Dispensation of the Grace of God” is committed to the Apostle Paul’s trust (Ephesians 3:2), “the Gospel of the Grace of God” is another one of God’s current “household rules.” Paul said in Acts 20:24: “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” On three occasions, Paul called it “my gospel” (Romans 2:16; Romans 16:25; 2 Timothy 2:8). Why would he say “my gospel” if everyone in Scripture also preached it?! Furthermore, he said he went to Apostles James, Peter, and John in Jerusalem to “communicate unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles” (Galatians 2:2). Surely, Paul and the 12 Apostles were preaching separate Gospels, for they were ministering to two separate groups. It is this, Paul’s Gospel, the Gospel of the Grace of God, whereby God forms the Church the Body of Christ….