Category: Pauline Dispensationalism / Dispensational Bible Study

The Signs of an Apostle

Friday, July 8, 2011

“Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds” (2 Corinthians 12:12 KJV).

The Apostle Paul’s ministry was separate and distinct from the ministry of Israel’s twelve apostles. After all, Peter and the eleven preached the “the gospel of the circumcision” whereas Paul preached “the gospel of the uncircumcision” (Galatians 2:7). In spite of that, we find Paul performing miracles in the same manner Peter and the eleven did. Why is Paul performing miracles?

According to 1 Corinthians 1:22, “the Jews require a sign” (cf. John 4:48). To validate Paul’s ministry for the Jews’ sake, God temporarily granted Paul the gift of miracle working. To wit, by God transferring Israel’s miracles to Paul’s ministry, He demonstrated to Israel that their program was falling away. Paul’s ministry was coming to forefront and evangelizing Gentiles. Undoubtedly, this “provoked the Jews to jealousy” (Romans 11:11).

In Acts 13, we see Paul’s first miracle, when he places a temporary physical blindness on a Jewish sorcerer, Elymas (representing Israel’s temporary spiritual blindness, which will be removed when the Dispensation of Grace expires; Romans 11:25-29).

The Apostle Paul’s miracles demonstrated that, as the Apostle Peter and the eleven’s ministry began to disintegrate, God was replacing Israel’s program with a new dispensation. Notice, in the latter extent of Paul’s ministry especially, the healing miracles ceased (the transitional period of Acts had ended).

  • Acts 14:8-11 — Paul healed crippled man in Lystra
  • Acts 19:11-12 — Paul’s healing handkerchiefs
  • Acts 16:16-18 — Paul heals devil-possessed damsel
  • Acts 20:9-12 — Paul raises Eutychus from the dead
  • Acts 28:1-10 — Paul survives snakebite, heals Publius’ father and the sick people of the island
  • Galatians 4:13-14 — Paul sick with infirmity, unable to heal himself
  • Philippians 2:26-27 — Paul cannot heal Epaphroditus
  • 1 Timothy 5:23 — Paul unable to heal Timothy
  • 2 Timothy 4:20 — Paul cannot heal Trophimus

Truly, Paul had the signs of an apostle, confirming his doctrine with the miracles! God’s salvation had indeed gone to the Gentiles through Paul.

Send It to the Cross of Christ!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

“And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:14 KJV).

Are you bothered by past failures and sins? Plagued by shame and guilt? Sin destroys. It rips apart friendships and marriages and it causes heartache and bloodshed. Furthermore, it robs us of peace and joy. Oftentimes, those we love most are the people we hurt the most. Those who love us the most usually hurt us the most. How do we deal with these sins? Send them to the cross of Christ!

Our Apostle Paul was once a wicked, hell-bound sinner. Saul of Tarsus tortured, imprisoned, and even killed Christ’s followers (Acts 22:19,20; Acts 26:9-11; Galatians 1:13). Until his dying day, Paul never forgot his past. He had caused believers to suffer tremendously. How did he survive that guilt and shame during his 30-plus years of ministry? He sent it all to the cross of Christ!

In 1 Timothy 1:13, Paul discusses his persecuting those saints. Today’s Scripture says, “the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” No matter what Paul had done in the past, the Lord forgave him according to His exceeding abundant grace, faith, and love.

Verse 15 says: “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.” Christ came to save sinners. Paul recognized that he was a wretched sinner, but a sinner was the only person the Lord Jesus Christ could save!

Today, by faith, we follow Paul, the first sinner to become a member of the Body of Christ. We too have been saved and forgiven according to God’s exceeding abundant grace, faith, and love. If someone wrongs us, or we wrong someone, send it to the cross of Christ, where God dealt with all sin, for all men, for all time. Christ died to “put away [our] sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

Beloved, send it to the cross of Christ where it belongs!

Forgiven Now and Forever

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;” (Colossians 2:13 KJV).

Religion’s “short account system” of confessing sins is a misunderstanding of 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This verse has nothing to do with us for three reasons.

Primarily, we do not practice 1 John 1:9 because John is Israel’s apostle (Galatians 2:9). Paul is our apostle, not John (Romans 11:13). The doctrine found in 1 John belongs in Israel’s prophetic program, not our mystery program (the Dispensation of Grace). Confession of sins was Israel’s doctrine under the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 16:21; Leviticus 26:40; Numbers 5:6,7; Ezra 10:1; Daniel 9:20; et al.). Furthermore, in Matthew 3:6 and Mark 1:5 John the Baptist water baptized Jews who confessed their sins.

Secondly, 1 John 1:9 is not written to saved people; it is directed to lost Jews. We read in 1 John 2:12, “I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.” Apparently, there are two groups of people in 1 John: some saved (forgiven), and some lost (not forgiven). In 1 John 1:9 John urges lost Jews to confess their sins in order to be saved.

Lastly, our salvation and fellowship with God are independent of our performance. We are forgiven, apart from anything we have done. In today’s Scripture, our Apostle Paul tells us that we are “forgiven of all trespasses [in Christ].” Ephesians 4:32 says, “God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” We are forgiven (past tense), not because we confess our sins, but because of Christ’s finished cross work on Calvary. In Christ, we have unbroken fellowship with God forever and ever. How many times can we be forgiven of “all unrighteousness?” Only once. In Christ, now and forever, we are forgiven of all sins—past, present, and future!

Sit Thou at My Right Hand

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psalm 110:1 KJV).

Where is Jesus Christ today?

Recall that His physical body ascended into heaven to return to His heavenly Father (Acts 1:9-11). Currently, Jesus Christ is sitting at His Father’s right hand in glory. Today’s Scripture, written by King David 1000 years beforehand, is a prophecy of the ascension of Jesus Christ. In today’s Scripture, God the Father tells His Son Jesus Christ to sit at His right hand. Nevertheless, this is not permanent because God the Father says, “until….”

When Jesus Christ came to earth and presented Himself to His people, the nation Israel, they “received him not” (John 1:11). The climax of Israel’s rejection of their Messiah-King Jesus occurred when they demanded that Pilate crucify Him (John 19:14,15).

In the early Acts period, Israel was given a renewed opportunity of repentance. Yes, they killed their Messiah Jesus, but God raised Him from the dead. Israel could have repented and been water baptized, and ultimately received Him as their King. This was the Apostle Peter’s message to Israel in Acts 2:22-40 and Acts 3:12-26.

In Acts 7, a year after Acts 2, we learn that the nation Israel is still unrepentant and rebellious. Israel’s prophet Stephen warns them, saying: “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). Israel knew judgment was coming: they remembered Psalm 110:1. Christ would sit at His Father’s right hand only until God’s wrath would be poured out on His enemies… them! In anger the Jews stoned Stephen. Even at this point, God was gracious.

God, in His loving-kindness, poured out His grace, not His wrath, in Acts 9, by saving Saul of Tarsus. The Lord made him Paul the Apostle and interrupted Israel’s program with our Dispensation of Grace. God’s wrath—the seven-year Tribulation—is currently postponed. Jesus Christ is still sitting at His Father’s right hand… for now, anyway….

Do You Know Your Apostle?

Monday, June 6, 2011

“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 your apostle? Today’s Scripture tells us it is Paul. Peter, James, and John are Israel’s apostles, not our apostles (Matthew 10:1-7; Galatians 2:9). Today, most “Christian” preaching is nothing but a watered-down version of the program God gave the nation Israel in time past. God’s current program involves Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon.

Only Paul’s epistles document God’s current dealings with man because God entrusted to Paul alone the Dispensation of Grace (present-day). The Lord Jesus sent Paul to be the apostle of the Church the Body of Christ (Romans 15:16; Ephesians 3:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:11).

Unfortunately, since most churches preach nothing but “tradition of men” (2 Corinthians 4:2; Colossians 2:8), the majority of Christians have no idea Paul is their apostle. Oftentimes, we hear in traditional theology to “go by what Jesus said.” Please understand that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are God’s message to Israel, NOT His message to us (Matthew 15:24; John 4:22; Romans 15:8).

Our Apostle Paul says we do not know Christ after His earthly ministry (2 Corinthians 5:16). Many emphasize Christ’s earthly ministry to the extent that they ignore Christ’s heavenly ministry as He reveals Himself in Paul’s writings. Following Paul’s ministry, we understand “the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery” (Romans 16:25).

Paul writes, “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:37). While many greatly hate this verse, God’s Word is the final authority.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). All 66 books of the Bible are God’s Word. We study all Scripture, Genesis through Revelation, but we always recognize the author of the passage, the audience, and then the content of the passage. God calls this “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

Do You Rightly Divide the Word of Truth?

Sunday, June 5, 2011

“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).

This is the key to Bible study and understanding Bible “contradictions.” God designed His Word to be studied, not casually skimmed. God also wants us to study “rightly dividing the word of truth.” We seek to be “approved unto God”—we do not seek man’s approval! Christendom’s greatest error is its refusal to study God’s Word, God’s way.

God created two realms, the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1); He designed a program to govern each realm. The prophetic program is that “which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21). Romans 16:25,26 speaks of the mystery program, “which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest….” Every Bible verse fits into either the prophetic program or the mystery program. When we take verses from one program, and force them into the other program, Bible “contradictions” arise.

God’s people in the prophetic program are the nation Israel, His earthly people to whom He promised an earthly kingdom (Genesis 13:16; Genesis 17:8; Deuteronomy 4:38; 2 Samuel 7:23-25). God’s people in the mystery program are the Church the Body of Christ, His heavenly people to whom belongs the promise of a heavenly kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:1; Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1-3).

Today, in the Dispensation of Grace, as members of the Body of Christ, Paul is our apostle (Romans 11:13). Everything that God has to say to us today in the mystery (secret) program is found in Paul’s 13 epistles, Romans through Philemon. The remainder of the Bible is God speaking to Israel concerning her prophetic program. All of the Bible is for us, but not all the Bible is to us or about us.

May we never take Israel’s doctrine and force it on others or ourselves. May we always seek God’s approval by “rightly dividing the word of truth!”