Category: Paul’s apostleship

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #98

Saturday, August 29, 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?

Bear in mind that Sabbath-Day keeping is part of the Law of Moses. In the prophetic program, resting on Saturday reminded Israel of her role in the LORD God’s purpose and plan in creation as touching the Earth (Exodus 20:8-11). Yet, in the mystery program, our Apostle Paul writes, “… for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). Also, “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law” (Galatians 5:18). When we “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), we appreciate how we the Church the Body of Christ are under the operating system of grace, “the Dispensation of the Grace of God” (Ephesians 3:2).

Furthermore, we the Body of Christ are God’s heavenly people (Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 2:6,7). It would therefore not make sense for us to have one day a week set aside to remember God’s earthly program. For this reason, there is no spiritual value in keeping the Sabbath during the Dispensation of Grace: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ” (Colossians 2:16,17). This is the only time Paul in Romans to Philemon ever mentioned the Sabbath by name!

In fact, the Law-obsessed Galatians were warned about their theft of Israel’s religious calendar: “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain” (Galatians 4:9-11). This is not a compliment! Beloved, do not confuse Sunday church attendance with Sabbath-Day keeping! In the Bible, the Sabbath Day has always been and will always be Saturday. To say and/or believe otherwise is to advertise Bible ignorance, and countless churches and schools today are woefully uninformed or misinformed about this too….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #97

Friday, August 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?

Synagogues or Jewish places of worship arose circa six centuries before Christ, when the Babylonians destroyed Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. Exactly as the Lord Jesus did during His earthly ministry (Matthew 4:23; Matthew 9:35; Matthew 12:9-15; Mark 1:21-29,39-45; Mark 3:1-7; Mark 6:1-6; Luke 4:14-38,44; Luke 6:6-12; Luke 13:10-22; John 6:59; John 18:20), Paul habitually visited such synagogues to address the Jewish people who had assembled on the Saturday Sabbath (Acts 13:13,14,42,44; Acts 17:2; Acts 18:4). Note how, according to Acts 17:2, this was the Apostle’s “manner” or regular practice! (Although there were not enough Jewish men to have a synagogue in Philippi, a group of women worshipped on the Sabbath there in Acts 16:13; similarly, Paul ministered to them.)

Part of Israel’s Sabbath religious services was gathering at synagogues to read and hear the Hebrew (Old Testament) Bible manuscripts (Luke 4:16-21; Acts 13:15,27; Acts 15:21). Being the time of the week when the Israelites were most interested in spiritual matters, Christ and Paul frequented those synagogues to teach and preach the pure Word of God that had been overwhelmingly ignored. Whereas Christ concentrated exclusively on the synagogues in the land of Canaan, Paul went abroad to those of Asia and Europe; God sought to save some of these exiled Jews through Paul’s apostleship (Romans 11:14; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23; 1 Corinthians 10:32,33). If they responded negatively to Paul’s preaching, God lumped them together in unbelief with their Jewish brethren in the Promised Land who had rejected Christ and demanded His crucifixion years prior.

The Bible employs this language when Christians of Paul’s ministry gathered for church services: “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight” (Acts 20:7). Surely, “the first day of the week” here is not the Saturday Sabbath, but rather Sunday; however, the Sabbath is the seventh, or last, day of the week (Genesis 2:1-3)! The only people under Paul’s ministry who “kept the Sabbath” did so in unbelief rather than faith….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #96

Thursday, August 27, 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?

Emphasizing similarities in Scripture while ignoring marked differences has gotten Christendom in an immeasurable amount of trouble regarding a host of beliefs and practices. Superficiality or shallowness still leads to denomination after denomination—with a splinter group shooting off here and there, a clique forming here and there, a cult forming here and there, a theological system being founded here and there. Ancient heresies are yet being revived for newer (gullible) generations, which are then incorporated into modern churches, resulting in still another wide variety of unique factions. Regardless of what form it takes, or disguise it assumes, it is the same blindness, darkness, and ignorance distracting from God’s present will for us. Howbeit, it is human nature to avoid admitting such wrongdoing. This costly sentiment is encapsulated with, “I cannot leave what I was raised in. From the cradle to the grave, I will remain loyal to my family’s religion. How can it be incorrect? You cannot take it from me! You will not take it from me! I know what I have seen, heard, felt….”

In prior studies, we explored the verses concerning the Sabbath Day being a sign to Israel as touching the Creation Week. While they (hopefully!) have been sincere people, there have been some sincerely wrong people who have misconstrued Sabbath observance. They devised a Scriptural way to compel church attendance and coerce support for the denomination/program. (Did not God through Moses command Sabbath-Day observance?!) Such would make people feel good, “holy” or “religious,” as they did it too. After all, if we supposedly have replaced Israel or are Israel, we would have to keep the Sabbath as Israel. What makes it more complex is, like with water baptism, Saul/Paul was connected to Sabbath-Day keeping… and, like with water baptism, this was only during the Acts transitional period (his provoking ministry to Israel). See Acts 13:13,14,42,44; Acts 16:13; Acts 17:2; and Acts 18:4.

Seeking greater detail to differentiate like adults (rather than harmonize like children), we will search the Scriptures as to why our Apostle is linked to the Sabbath….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #95

Wednesday, August 26, 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?

Saul/Paul was water baptized because all prior believers in Jesus Christ had been water baptized. Ananias, a believing Jew, expected him to be water baptized as a sign of cleansing (Acts 9:15-18; Acts 22:12-16): Ananias was unaware of any dispensational change, having no idea Saul/Paul really did not need a water baptism. Saul/Paul had not yet heard from the Lord about water baptism being needless, so he did not object to his water baptism. Actually, that water baptism was useful many years later when appealing to unsaved Israel with his sermon of Acts chapter 22 (Acts 22:16). No absence of water baptism could be used to discredit him or make him seem to be an unbeliever to them.

Indeed, Paul water baptized some converts (Acts 16:14,15,31-33; Acts 18:8; Acts 19:5), but we emphasize that this was the exception rather than the standard procedure. He water baptized Lydia and her household, the Philippian jailer and his household, the Corinthians, and roughly a dozen Jewish men in Ephesus. Remarking on the Corinthians, the Apostle actually expressed thanks to God he had not water baptized them all (1 Corinthians 1:13-17). Their petty partisanship or devotion to cliques was silly because Christ did not send him to water baptize anyway! Water baptism was only something Paul underwent and did during the Acts transitional period.

The Lord through Paul never commands us to be water baptized or to water baptize anyone. Rather, at the end of Acts, his provoking ministry to Israel over, he writes how “one baptism” is all that we need (Ephesians 4:5). This is the “baptism” of 1 Corinthians 12:13, the only baptism that God recognizes today and the only one that counts for eternity. Nevertheless, denominationalists mindlessly cling to Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Acts 8:36-38, Acts 10:47,48, and so on—as though these are the Dispensation of the Grace of God committed to our Apostle Paul (Ephesians 3:2). Why? Their churches simply could not survive unless they keep using verses from the prophetic program. How comfortable they are with their traditions of men, their non-rightly-divided Scripture, their imperfect understanding of God’s will for them….

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 #85

Sunday, August 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?

The spiritual gift of speaking in tongues was exercised just three times in Acts, and always in Israel’s presence. Firstly, in Acts 2:1-21, Jews from around the world had gathered at Jerusalem for Pentecost, and heard God’s words in their respective native (foreign) dialects. Secondly, in Acts 10:44-48, Peter’s Gentile converts in Caesarea (Canaan’s Mediterranean Coast) proved to Jewish Peter and his Jewish companions (“they of the circumcision”) that God had turned to the Gentiles now that Paul had been commissioned (cf. Acts 11:12-18; cf. Acts 15:7-11). Finally, in Acts 19:1-7, Israelites speaking in tongues at Ephesus (western Turkey) further authenticated Paul’s apostleship. Of course, these had to be intelligent languages, human speech that could be understood and identified as sound doctrine; gibberish is meaningless.

Read 1 Corinthians 14:21,22: “In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign [!!!!], not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.” The original prophecy is Isaiah 28:11: “For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.” When idolatrous Israel heard foreign languages in her Promised Land—namely, the speech of invading (Gentile) Assyrian troops and attacking (Gentile) Babylonian armies—it demonstrated that God’s judgment had fallen politically and exile was impending (cf. Leviticus 26:27-39).

A parallel is in 1 Corinthians, with Paul’s Gentile believers exercising the gift of tongues (a “sign!!!”) to prove to lost Israel (“them that believe not”) that their nation had fallen spiritually and God was working with Gentiles (cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16). Remember, a Jewish synagogue met next-door to the Corinthian church (Acts 18:1-11, especially verse 7). The saints of Corinth, however, were too childish in the faith to serve as God’s instruments, so there was an abuse of spiritual gifts—particularly the misuse of the gift of tongues. Christians in Corinth never really distanced themselves from their old heathen thoughts and ways, which rendered them prone to multifarious nonsense….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #83

Friday, August 14, 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?

Although Paul performed healings, exorcisms, and other miraculous demonstrations (Acts 13:6-12; Acts 14:3,8-10; Acts 15:12; Acts 16:16-18; Acts 19:1-7,11,12; Acts 20:7-12; Acts 28:1-10; cf. 2 Corinthians 12:12), and his Gentile converts were granted the same miracle-working power (1 Corinthians 12:9,10,28-30), these were exceptions rather than the norm—and we cannot emphasize it enough (!). Such miracles became fewer and fewer as the years passed, until they disappeared altogether.

In the same epistle wherein he wrote how he wrought miracles (Galatians 3:5), Paul referred to his “infirmity of the flesh… [his] temptation which was in [his] flesh” (Galatians 4:13-15) (an unspecified physical problem—disability, disease, limitation—never cured). Moreover, he penned 2 Corinthians 11:30 and 2 Corinthians 12:5-10, additional verses as touching his “infirmities” (weaknesses, illnesses). After the Acts transitional period, he was unable to heal Timothy who suffered multiple health issues: “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities” (1 Timothy 5:23). His farewell has in its conclusion: “Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick” (2 Timothy 4:20). Before re-locating to Heaven, the Apostle could not cure an ill colleague in ministry!

“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 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” (Romans 8:22,23). “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man [physical body] perish [grow older, sicker, and finally die], yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 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” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Rather than a (temporary) physical healing, we await our resurrection to inhabit glorified bodies (Romans 8:17-25; 1 Corinthians 15:35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5)….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #82

Thursday, August 13, 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?

Paul’s first miracle recorded in Scripture is Acts 13:6-12: “And when they had gone through the isle [Cyprus] unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus: Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him. And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.” A Gentile wishes to hear Paul and believe his message, but a satanic and unbelieving Jew prevents it. Here is Paul’s ministry summarized—Israel is blind and without faith, but Gentiles believe on Jesus Christ.

“Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their [Barnabas and Paul’s] hands…. And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked” (Acts 14:3,8-10). This is God’s ministry through Paul amongst the Gentiles, people spiritually disabled (see Gentiles’ pitiful condition in Acts 14:11-18) but Israel’s miracles leading to their restoration and wellbeing (symbolized by physical healing)….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #81

Wednesday, August 12, 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?

Once He pinpointed Israel’s fall and diminishing in Romans 11:11,12, the Holy Spirit identified and magnified Paul’s “office [apostleship]” in verse 13. He ultimately wrote in verse 14, “If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.” These of Paul’s “flesh” are lost Jews (cf. Romans 9:3,4), who reject Jesus Christ as Saul/Paul himself had done in early Acts. Christ’s heavenly ministry through Paul is conducted in such a way during Acts so as to “provoke them [Israel] to jealousy… [same Greek phrase as] provoke to emulation” (Romans 11:11,14). To wit, the Holy Spirit utilizes Paul’s “Acts” ministry in a special manner to attract (excite/rouse) lost Jews, that they undergo such intense “zeal” to the point of abandoning their nation’s darkness, blindness, and ignorance. In doing so, they can come to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the way Paul’s Gentile converts were (through faith in Christ’s finished crosswork!).

Note well this striking contrast. In “time past,” a Gentile had to behave like a Jew to fellowship the God of the Bible. However, in “but now,” a Jew has to behave like a Gentile to commune with the God of the Bible (Romans 10:12,13)! Imagine this admission: “I cannot claim any special privilege of Abraham as my father, I cannot offer my works, I cannot as a sinner do anything but believe on Christ like everyone else [that is, Gentiles] converted under Paul’s apostleship!” Such was especially repulsive to the Jews who took great pride in their “non-Gentile” heritage, which difference between Jew and Gentile the LORD God had removed with the raising up of Saul/Paul (see Ephesians 2:11-18).

During the 30-year transition from prophecy to mystery (Acts chapters 9–28), God indicated to Israel that He was now dealing with the nations using Paul’s ministry, and Israel’s signs amongst the Gentiles (signs connected to Paul’s ministry) prove it. See believing Israel hearing such a testimony in Acts 15:12: “Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.” Israel’s miraculous demonstrations had proliferated in the world without her national conversion….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #79

Monday, August 10, 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?

Contrary to public opinion, Paul/Saul operated under a commission different from that given to the 12 Apostles. For example, the 12 were instructed, “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). This pairs with the sequence of early Acts: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). In prophecy, salvation and blessing come to Israel first (Matthew 10:5-7), and Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, “the city of the great King” (Matthew 5:35). Therefore, Jerusalem was where the Holy Spirit was poured out on Israel’s believing remnant in Acts chapter 2 (Pentecost) and Jerusalem was where the 12 Apostles (Matthias as Judas Iscariot’s successor) and the rest of believing Israel conducted their ministry during Acts chapters 1–7. With Israel persisting in unbelief during that time, the 12 Apostles did not expand to ministering to the (Gentile) world (nations). Matthew 28:18-20 is yet future!

However, Paul/Saul began his ministry in Damascus rather than Jerusalem (see Acts 9:19-25). Additionally, Gentiles come first in his commission: “But the Lord said unto him [Ananias], Go thy way: for he [Saul/Paul] is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:…” (Acts 9:15). Christ had notified Saul/Paul outside of Damascus, “Delivering thee from the people [Israel], and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee [‘apostello,’ make thee an ‘apostle,’ ‘sent one’],…” (Acts 26:17). With Paul’s ministry, there was no more distinction between Jew and Gentile, but he was preaching to people who had known nothing but that difference. Therefore, his apostleship had authenticating “signs” during the Acts period for a two-fold purpose. Firstly, it showed Israel how their God was now with the Gentiles, and, secondly, it showed the Gentiles how Israel’s God was now with them (the Gentiles)….