Category: Pauline Dispensationalism / Dispensational Bible Study

A Departed Saint

Saturday, October 20, 2012

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13 KJV).

Beloved, our deceased loved ones in Christ are not lost forever!

With the recent passing of a dear saint, who I personally knew and referenced in a previous devotional, today’s Scripture is of great solace. God does not want us to be “ignorant” (uninformed) about those who have died in Christ. We members of the Church the Body of Christ have hope in Christ, a hope that non-Christians do not have.

While a vast distance separates us from the dearly departed Christians, some of whom we have not seen in many years or decades, there is a glorious prospect that we shall see them again, as if they never parted from us. Yes, their physical bodies are “asleep,” but they will one day be wakened, reunited with their souls and spirits.

As soon as the Church the Body of Christ is complete, our Dispensation of Grace will terminate with the “rapture” (derived from the Latin word translated “caught up” in 1 Thessalonians 4:17). Jesus Christ will leave heaven, bringing with Him the souls of the Christians who have died: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” (verse 14).

Christ will stand “in the air,” and from there, He will resurrect the physical bodies of deceased Christians and place their souls back into their bodies (verse 16). Then He will transform the physical bodies of us Christians who are alive. Both dead and living Christians will then “be caught up together… in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (verses 17,18). All members of the Body of Christ will meet each other… for the very first time!

We mourn their loss, but we have hope: our loved ones who are dead in Christ are still in Christ, and if we are in Christ, we shall see them again, and be with them forever with the Lord. 🙂

-IN MEMORIAM-
Mrs. B. P. R.
June 23, 1936 – October 15, 2012

Who is Your Apostle?

Thursday, October 18, 2012

“For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:” (Romans 11:13 KJV).

Who is our apostle? While today’s Scripture plainly reveals the answer, today’s Christian is often totally ignorant of it.

Upon inquiring the average church member, “Who is your apostle?,” we will receive one of three answers: (1) the 12 apostles, (2) Jesus, or (3) “apostle” so-and-so who leads a local church or ministry. Unfortunately, none of these common replies are correct; yet church tradition perpetuates such ignorance.

“Apostle” (apostolos) simply means “one who is sent away.” We need to know whom God sent to us Gentiles. Who is God’s spokesman to us?

One might argue the twelve apostles were sent to the world, and this is true (Matthew 28:19,20; Mark 16:15), but first they were to convert all of Israel (Matthew 10:5-7), which they never did (Matthew 10:23). Also, after the Apostle Paul’s ministry began, the twelve loosed themselves from their commission to go to Gentiles, for they understood God was now sending Paul to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:7-9; cf. Acts 9:15,16).

Another, using Hebrews 3:1, might contend Jesus is our apostle, yet Jesus’ earthly ministry was Israel only (Matthew 15:24; Romans 15:8). Jesus was sent to Israel (Hebrews is written to Israel, therefore, Jesus is Israel’s Apostle).

Paul is God’s apostle (sent one) to us Gentiles (Romans 15:16; 2 Timothy 1:11). If we want to learn what God is doing and saying to us today, we go not to Israel’s apostles and prophets (whether Old or New Testaments), for they speak of what God did in time past and what He will do in the ages to come. Only Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, discuss what God is doing today in the Dispensation of Grace: only Paul mentions the Church the Body of Christ. We study all the Bible, Genesis through Revelation, but we bear in mind only Paul’s epistles deal with us.

Jesus Christ said if we are to accept Him, we must accept whom He sent to us (John 13:20). Frankly, we must accept the Apostle Paul, or we reject Christ (1 Corinthians 14:37).

What is Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth?

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

Literally tens of thousands of groups claim and quote the Bible, but they all have starkly opposing views. How can they use the same text to promote these antithetical views? Whom are we to believe?! How do we solve these contradictions?

The Bible’s first verse notifies us of a division—heaven and earth (Genesis 1:1)—which is present even in the Bible’s closing book (Revelation 21:1). As expected, God has a program that concentrates on heaven (mystery; Romans 16:25), and another program that focuses on earth (prophecy; Acts 3:21). Also, He has one agency He will use in heaven (the Church the Body of Christ; Ephesians 2:6,7), and another He will use on earth (the nation Israel; Exodus 19:5,6). All of God’s dealings with mankind can be divided into three time periods—“time past” (past), “but now” (present), and “the ages to come” (future) (Ephesians 2:7,11-13).

As today’s Scripture indicates, we seek God’s approval, not a church or preacher’s approval. During Bible study, it is ALWAYS crucial to our spiritual wellbeing that we note the author and audience of that passage/book, lest we claim verses God never promised us. We should not steal Israel’s verses, and she should not take ours. This is “rightly dividing the word of truth!”

Every Bible verse fits into one of those two programs—prophecy or mystery—and we must never mix those programs and their unique doctrines. Part of the Bible is written to us Gentiles in the Dispensation of Grace (the mystery program)—Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon—and the rest of the Bible deals with Israel and her earthly prophetic (kingdom) program. If we mix these programs, contradictions (and denominations) will arise. Oh, the confusion!! Church tradition and careless theologians have done us such a great disservice, wrongly dividing God’s Word, trying to apply verses to us that God never gave us (instead He gave them to Israel).

Dispensational Bible study is the only way to understand God’s Word, for this is the way God Himself designed His Word to be studied.

333’s 500th: Grace Publishers

Friday, October 12, 2012

“The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it” (Psalm 68:11 KJV).

Saints, by God’s grace, 333 Words of Grace reaches yet another milestone!

For the past 500 days, I truly have been honored to teach God’s perfectly preserved Word (the King James Bible) rightly divided, to you all. Our goal from the very beginning was to provide free, quality, sound, brief devotionals to anyone who had an open heart, so that he or she could be edified, encouraged, and enlightened by God’s Word rightly divided.

How we desired to “have all men saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4). How we shared God’s desire “to make all men see the fellowship of the mystery” (Ephesians 3:9), to proclaim the precious and clear Bible truths that, sadly, religious tradition has deliberately muddled and hidden. Our goal was to demonstrate that the King James Bible is interesting and practical, intricately designed and divinely preserved, trustworthy and majesty. How we praise the Lord that He accomplished His will!

God is doing something so fantastic in this the Dispensation of His Grace, and as members of the Body of Christ, we are privileged to teach and preach His wonderful grace to us in Jesus Christ as found in His preserved Word, and preserved words, the King James Bible. With humble and thankful hearts, as the Lord gives us strength, we will continue to minister to you here in this venue.

Saints, by God’s grace and faithfulness, and with your prayerful support, we now aim for 1000. We will continue to hope, pray, study, and write, with the intention of further “publishing” God’s Word in a clear, sound manner—dispensationally studied, believed, and taught. My, how we have come such a long, long way, but we have much more from God’s Word to “publish.” Only by God’s grace, our next 500 devotionals will be even better, covering an even greater variety of topics. We do ask for your prayers, as we now have 800 new devotionals planned and begun.

Thank you, and please remember that all of our posts are archived here at https://333wordsofgrace.wordpress.com. 🙂

Walking in the Spirit #7

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24,25 KJV).

Now that we have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, we have a new identity, and this identity should impact our lifestyles for God’s glory.

“For in that he [Christ] died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members [body parts] as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Romans 6:10-13).

We Christians “yield [ourselves] unto God,” not by keeping a list of church rules and regulations (which we can never obey perfectly anyway), but by simply “walking in the Spirit,” walking by faith in our resurrection life in Christ (described in this sound Pauline doctrine). We let the Holy Ghost take His written Word that we study and believe rightly divided, to transform and renew our minds, and produce in us Christ’s life.

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation [lifestyle] the old man [old nature], 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 [new nature], which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:9,10).

Beloved, the indwelling Holy Spirit desires to transform our lives to match our new nature in Christ. Will we allow Him?

Saints, let us “quench [hinder] not the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19), but let us “walk in the Spirit” (today’s Scripture).

Walking in the Spirit #5

Monday, October 8, 2012

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24,25 KJV).

Now that we have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, we have a new identity, and this identity should impact our lifestyles for God’s glory.

In Romans 8:1-14, Paul describes the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit in us believers. For instance, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (verse 1). While often assumed to be soul salvation, its context (the previous chapter, 7) is actually sanctification, how God has separated us from common mankind for His purposes—made us holy, or saints—which identity will now influence our lifestyles.

Romans 8:2-4 reads: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death [the performance-based acceptance system of religion]. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh [we, our flesh, could not obey God’s law], God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

As today’s Scripture amplifies, we Christians have new life in Christ. God’s Spirit makes this new life real to us: He works in us to fulfill the Law (Romans 8:4). We cannot keep the Law, either for soul salvation or for Christian living. However, Jesus Christ’s perfect crosswork satisfies the Law, thus paying for our sins (our failure to keep the Law). This makes us Christians accepted of God (Ephesians 1:6). This same principle allows the Holy Spirit to then transfer our new identity in Christ to our lifestyles—thus producing Jesus Christ’s lifestyle in ours.

To “walk in the Spirit” as today’s Scripture exhorts, means we Christians simply place our faith in this doctrine. The Holy Spirit will then work in us to produce God’s righteousness in our lives.

Walking in the Spirit #4

Sunday, October 7, 2012

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24,25 KJV).

Now that we have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, we have a new identity, and this identity should impact our lifestyles for God’s glory.

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness [sexual lustfulness], idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance [strife, fighting], emulations [jealous quarrels], wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings [drunken, disorderly feasts], and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (verses 19-21). (The use of the pronoun “they” instead of “we” indicates that Christians are not being spoken of here. These are lost people, who have no choice but to sin, to walk in their Adamic nature.)

Our old sin nature produces the above sins. However, we Christians have a new nature in Christ, and it too produces fruit. Rather than sins, it produces the righteousness the Law demanded: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (verses 22,23). Contrast this with verses 19-21, and then re-read today’s Scripture. We have life in Christ: this life is not our old, self-centered life (verses 19-21), but it is selfless, seeking the benefit of others (verses 22,23).

The indwelling Holy Spirit works in us believers to generate “the fruit of the Spirit,” which is called “the fruits of righteousness” in Philippians 1:9-11: “And this I pray, that ye may [be] filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”

When we walk by faith in an intelligent understanding of God’s Word to us, Paul’s epistles, we “walk in the Spirit,” who will take that sound doctrine and produce the life of Jesus Christ in us (today’s Scripture). This will bring God glory and praise.

Walking in the Spirit #3

Saturday, October 6, 2012

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24,25 KJV).

Now that we have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, we have a new identity, and this identity should impact our lifestyles for God’s glory.

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law” (verses 16-18). Notice how the Bible links our “flesh” (sin nature) to the Law. The Mosaic Law demands that we perform, and our flesh loves to perform because it can then boast, “Look at my religious ‘goodness!’”

As Galatians 5:16-18 said above, introducing the Mosaic Law into the Christian life is counterproductive: it creates a war, a struggle, between you and Christ, which is vividly described in Romans chapter 7. The Mosaic Law demands you perform to gain God’s acceptance (Deuteronomy 28:1ff.), while the Christian life is Christ performing in you the believer because you already are accepted of God in Christ (Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 1:6). This is why Mosaic Law-keeping does not belong in our Dispensation of Grace. It “frustrate[s] [hinders] the grace of God” (Galatians 2:21), since God’s grace teaches us it is Christ, not us, who must perform to make us accepted of God!

Galatians 5:18 said, “If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” The Holy Spirit does not lead anyone in the Dispensation of Grace to operate under the performance-based acceptance system of Judaism (Mosaic Law-keeping). If a Christian attempts Law-keeping, it is literally his or her own doing (not God’s doing), and it is done to their spiritual detriment (misery and defeat)! The indwelling Spirit of God leads us to enjoy the life we have in Christ, and we should walk by faith in His performance (today’s Scripture).

Walking in the Spirit #2

Friday, October 5, 2012

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24,25 KJV).

Now that we have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, we have a new identity, and this identity should impact our lifestyles for God’s glory.

Sadly, it is often assumed—even by some professing grace believers—that grace is a license to sin. Since “[we] are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14b), some erroneously conclude that we are free to live any way we want. Verse 15 cautions us, “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid [May God never let that happen!!].” God’s grace teaches us to “[deny] ungodliness and worldly lusts” and it teaches us to live “soberly, righteously, and godly” (Titus 2:12).

In Galatians 5:13, we are exhorted: “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” Christ has made us free from the burden of the Mosaic Law, the “yoke of bondage” (verse 1), a system of rules we could never keep, but this does not mean that God does not care how we live.

We are not under Israel’s performance-based acceptance system. Nevertheless, grace teaches us that God fulfills in us believers the righteousness the Law demanded. Never should we abuse God’s grace by using it “for an occasion to the flesh;” grace should never be (ab)used to promote selfish living (preferring to serve sin rather than serve God and fellow Christians). Verses 14,15: “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.”

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (verse 16). We have new life in Christ, and when we by faith let Him live His life in us, we will not live sinfully and selfishly (today’s Scripture).

A New Creature

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV).

As today’s Scripture suggests, when someone trusts Jesus Christ alone as his or her personal Saviour, he or she receives a new identity in Christ!

Although we could list more, here are five things that happen to a person the instant he or she trusts in Christ’s finished crosswork on Calvary as sufficient payment for his or her sins:

  • Circumcised: God severs the old, spiritual, sinful relationship the individual had to Adam, and gives him or her a new relationship with Him, one no longer hindered by sin, but permanently maintained by Christ’s performance and mediatorship (Colossians 2:11-13).
  • Regenerated: The individual, once “[spiritually] dead in trespasses and sins,” is now given new life, eternal life, the life of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:1-23; Ephesians 2:1,5).
  • Indwelt: The Holy Ghost comes to live in the inner man of the individual, and He will use God’s written Word—which is studied and believed rightly divided—to transform the mind and heart, and ultimately the lifestyle, of the individual (Romans 12:1,2; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 1:14).
  • Baptized: The Holy Spirit baptizes the individual into the Church the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). This is not water baptism, but a supernatural baptism that the Holy Spirit performs (Colossians 2:12). This is the only baptism needed today, and it is the only baptism that saves us today!
  • Sealed: The saint is sealed by and with the Holy Ghost until the day of the rapture (Ephesians 1:12,13; Ephesians 4:30). Salvation is permanent, for Jesus Christ paid the price of our sin debt in full, and we can rest in His finished crosswork.

The individual is now a saint, one who is “holy,” separated unto God for the purpose for which He originally created him or her.

Saints, we are dead to sin, so let us walk by faith in our new identity, in our “new creature” status, the “one new man,” everlasting members of the Church the Body of Christ (Ephesians 2:15). 🙂