Category: Pauline Dispensationalism / Dispensational Bible Study

The Secret Things #5

Monday, September 20, 2021

“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29 KJV).

Let us notice the difference between the “secret things” and the “revealed things!”

Recalling Peter’s own admission that God had given special “wisdom” to Paul (2 Peter 3:15,16), we read Ephesians chapter 3: “[1] For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, [2] If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: [3] How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, [4] Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) [5] Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; [6] That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: [7] Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

“[8] Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; [9] And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: [10] To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, [11] According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:….”

As per the prophetic program, the outpouring of Divine wrath should have followed Calvary and Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21,32-36; Acts 3:23; Acts 7:54-56). Yet, recall Peter’s words about Paul: “the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation” (2 Peter 3:15). When the Lord initiated and revealed the mystery program, Paul’s ministry and message, “the Dispensation of the Grace of God” opened and thus delayed the wrath of God….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Can you define ‘paramours?’”

The Secret Things #4

Sunday, September 19, 2021

“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29 KJV).

Let us notice the difference between the “secret things” and the “revealed things!”

Nearing the end of his earthly sojourn, the Apostle Peter remarked as the Holy Ghost led him: “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; 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, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16). May we be extremely careful to notice these words, re-reading and re-reading and re-reading them.

Dissecting Peter’s comments, we arrive at the following simple conclusions. Firstly, according to the Holy Spirit through Peter, Divine “wisdom” was given to the Apostle Paul. (Paul’s ministry and message are not to be confounded with the ministry and message of the 12 Apostles!) Secondly, Paul had written these Divine revelations down. (They were Scripture, unveiled and accessible!) Thirdly, Peter confessed these Pauline doctrines were “hard to be understood.” (Peter had not directly received these teachings from the Lord, and Peter had not taught them to Paul either!) Lastly, men “unlearned and unstable” “wrest” these words of Paul. (Ignorant and dangerous people pervert or twist Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, to the point of destroying or ruining their souls!)

If we study church history—the last 2,000 years—we can see why all those myriads of confusing heresies (forms of false teaching) have arisen. Whether the “church fathers” of the first 1,000 years; or the denominational founders of the last 1,000 years; their fundamental problem was a failure to respect the uniqueness of Pauline revelation. To them and their billions of followers, the secret things of God revealed to and through Paul remain hidden, for, as Peter himself observed, these souls have fallen into the spiritual trap that existed in the century when Pauline revelation was first given….

The Secret Things #3

Saturday, September 18, 2021

“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29 KJV).

Let us notice the difference between the “secret things” and the “revealed things!”

We now compare two simple Bible passages. Firstly, Acts 3:19-21: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” Here, the Holy Spirit is guiding the Apostle Peter to preach about that “which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” Jesus Christ coming to Earth to found a literal, physical, visible kingdom has been God’s message and intention going all the way back to Adam (Matthew 25:34; cf. Genesis 1:26-28).

Secondly, Romans 16:25,26: “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and 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, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:….” Here, the Holy Spirit is guiding the Apostle Paul to preach about “the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest….” Whatever Paul’s message was, it was something God had not revealed until his ministry, and thus never to be confounded with prior Divine revelation.

The most fundamental problem with Christendom today is it repeats the doctrinal errors early Christians made. Distinguishing between the prophetic program and the mystery program is ever so critical to Bible understanding—if words mean anything, that is! As in the Apostles’ day, so Satan’s evil world system is still laboring fervently to keep God’s secret program a secret….

The Secret Things #2

Friday, September 17, 2021

“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29 KJV).

Let us notice the difference between the “secret things” and the “revealed things!”

The Holy Scriptures are a progressive revelation, a gradual unveiling of God’s mind. Of course, we need not be told He is omniscient—all-knowing. From the very beginning, He could have chosen to show us everything He knows. Then again, we could no longer carry it in a single, mobile volume. Since the Creator has steadily unfolded His will through the ages, we can see previously secret information: “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

Yet, there is another reason why God did not tell man everything at once. In His infinite wisdom, He kept secret an entire body of truth. The Scriptures call this the “mystery” or “hidden wisdom:” “Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:6-8). Had this “hidden wisdom” been known, what events God had planned long ago would not have come to pass. By withholding that knowledge, however, and then showing it later, He proved He had outwitted all opposing parties.

The Lord GOD addressed the King of Tyrus through the Prophet Ezekiel: “Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty…. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee” (Ezekiel 28:12,15). Prior to this, the message to the Prince of Tyrus was, verse 3: “Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:….” The “wise” spirit operating here in both the Prince and the King is none other than Satan, whose knowledge was nevertheless limited, inferior to God’s “hidden wisdom….”

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What are ‘teraphim?’”

Curious Arts and Christian Hearts #3

Sunday, September 5, 2021

“And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed” (Acts 19:17-20 KJV).

What wise guidance can we derive from today’s Scripture?

Although national Israel was unbelieving and refusing Jesus Christ throughout the Book of Acts, the Holy Spirit through Luke made it a point to accentuate how idolatrous Gentiles were coming by faith to Christ and forsaking their pagan religion paraphernalia. Here, the Ephesians—steeped in their witchcraft/occult/sorcery/magic—believed Christ died for their sins, was buried, and raised again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Their heart faith resulted in a profound change in lifestyle.

We want to concentrate particularly on what they did with their heathen books. Instead of doing as the thoughtless pastor I knew years ago who distributed his false teaching books to his friends who were still trapped in the theological system he had recently renounced as void of the truth, the saints at Ephesus burned those books for everyone to see. Not only so, the value of those witchcraft volumes was estimated to be 50,000 pieces of silver. These were likely drachmas, each silver coin worth about a day’s wages. In total, the price of these works was as much as 137 years’ salary!!

However (please note, again), instead of selling them and thereby harming others, these saints burned those books. Their hearts were not materialistic but spiritual, quite mature in sound Bible doctrine. Again, as opposed to distributing the literature to people who wanted them—relatives, neighbors, and friends who were still pagan—they destroyed those books so no one else would be polluted with the Satan worship that had deceived them! (Brethren, if we have an eye to see, an ear to hear, and a heart to believe, we can learn something here as well.)

The Holy Spirit closes the narrative by underscoring Satan’s loss: “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed!”

Saints, please remember us in your monthly giving—these websites do cost money to run! 🙂 You can donate securely here: https://www.paypal.me/ShawnBrasseaux, or email me at arcministries@gmail.com. Do not forget about Bible Q&A booklets for sale at https://arcgraceministries.org/in-print/booklets-bible-q-a/. Thanks to all who give to and pray for us! By the way, ministry emails have really been backed up this year. I am handling them as much as humanly possible. Thanks for your patience. 🙂

Curious Arts and Christian Hearts #2

Saturday, September 4, 2021

“And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed” (Acts 19:17-20 KJV).

What wise guidance can we derive from today’s Scripture?

Those in Ephesus who had believed Paul’s Gospel—Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3,4)—publicly acknowledged their sin problem and former lifestyle. In fact, Luke records that one of their responses to hearing and believing those precious words of God was their abandonment of “curious arts,” even going so far as to set on fire its related books.

Our Authorized Version translators handled the Greek word “perierga” here, found only one other time in Scripture. “And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies [periergoi], speaking things which they ought not” (1 Timothy 5:13). A “busybody” is simply a meddling or prying person, one too involved in the affairs or lives of others. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines the word as: “busy about trifles and neglectful of important matters, especially busy about other folks’ affairs, a busybody.” If we take into consideration what has gone before, it is quite easy to see “curious arts” are an investigation into things unnecessary, useless, profitless.

The pagans in Ephesus believed the Gospel of Grace, and they had such a radical change in lifestyle they subsequently brought their “curious arts” books and burned them in front of everyone. Remembering their heathen region, we should view these books as nothing more than volumes of magical spells or incantations or prayers. In other words, they had intruded into the occult, witchcraft, or sorcery! Such needless and worthless information was the Devil’s realm, so they as Christians rightfully destroyed them. We as members of the Church the Body of Christ should follow their example….

Curious Arts and Christian Hearts #1

Friday, September 3, 2021

“And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed” (Acts 19:17-20 KJV).

What wise guidance can we derive from today’s Scripture?

Paul, on his third apostolic journey, has just arrived in Ephesus (modern western Turkey): “[11] And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: [12] So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. [13] Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. [14] And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. [15] And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? [16] And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”

Some apostate (unbelieving) Jews unsuccessfully attempted to counterfeit Paul’s miracles. However, the news of the Lord working through Paul spreads far and wide in Asia Minor. Now, we get to today’s Scripture: “[17] And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. [18] And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. [19] Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.” What are these “curious arts,” and how did their practitioners renounce such belief systems? Let us search and see….

A Grace Study Bible

Sunday, August 1, 2021

“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 nine 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.”

Nine 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 roughly 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.

arC Ministries Is 14!

Saturday, July 31, 2021

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20 KJV).

To our Lord Jesus Christ’s glory, arC Ministries celebrates its 14th anniversary today!!!

Fourteen years ago, as a 19-year-old college student, I endeavored to use Facebook to create a Bible study group for teens and college students. Thus, “ambassadors for the risen Christ ministries” was born. As I grew more in God’s Word rightly divided, I grew increasingly aware of the need for additional ministry projects. The more I had been learning drove me to share those precious truths with others. That eventually led me to look for supplementary avenues of ministry.

During these past 14 years, God’s grace has enabled us to continue the original group on Facebook. In addition, we have branched out quite a bit in other areas. This devotionals blog has been operating for over 10 years now. For the last nine years, we have focused on developing and drafting a grace study Bible (now in its tenth year). Other ministry projects include a 22-week newspaper ministry column (this devotionals blog’s predecessor), a YouTube channel with home Bible study videos, a Twitter feed, a full-length Bible studies blog, a college campus ministry, a nursing-home ministry, and our Bible-question-and-answer blog. Five years ago, we launched our new main ministry website and now have a line of printed Bible study booklets available for sale there. Two years ago, we recorded and distributed our Old Testament Survey video series. Later that year, we launched our New Testament Survey video series (which will last a few years). We hear from people all over the world!

Our name says it all: we serve the risen Lord Jesus Christ, not some “dead Jew” and not ourselves. The original motto of our ministry was, “To equip ambassadors, and to encourage others to become ambassadors.” Our primary goal is to teach Christians, and our secondary goal is to evangelize the lost world. Fourteen years later, we still endeavor to uphold God’s Word (King James Bible) rightly divided, whether it be in edifying the Christian brethren or preaching the clear Gospel of the Grace of God to this lost and dying world. For those of you who have been with us from day 1, thank you for your prayer and encouragement. We pray for you upon every remembrance! There is still plenty more for the Lord Jesus Christ to do in and through us, so let us give Him all the praise and glory as we enter Year 15! 🙂

Bible Q&As #864 and #865: “Should ministers study Scripture to prepare for teaching?” and “Does ‘touch not mine anointed’ forbid us from correcting erring church leaders?”

Paul, the Viper, and the Barbarians #8

Sunday, July 25, 2021

“And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm” (Acts 28:3-5 KJV).

What is the Holy Spirit teaching through this bizarre passage?

Following Paul’s surviving the snakebite, his ministry amongst the Gentiles resumes: “[7] In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously. [8] And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux [dysentery]: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. [9] So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed: [10] Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.”

Paul heals the father of Publius, Melita’s most prominent Gentile, who suffers a fever and a bloody flux. Moreover, Paul performs healing miracles on other diseased Gentiles there. These are additional signs to Israel that God the Holy Spirit is working her miracles amongst Gentiles, further confirming the prophetic program has been temporarily set aside while the mystery program runs. As with the case of the people of Melita initially receiving Paul by showing him no little kindness, they, unlike unbelieving Israel, continue to bless him with material comforts.

The snakebite not harming Paul in no way sanctions us to go around handling snakes. It was a unique encounter, a dispensational miracle, for Doctor Luke to write about as one of the final summaries of Acts. Remember, Acts is the record of how the Lord was just in pausing the prophetic program and initiating our mystery program. Let us not be so denominationally-minded that we believe God will protect us from snakebites as He did Paul. To see it as a pattern for our ministry is to miss the significance entirely!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What is the ‘bloody flux’ of Acts 28:8?”