Category: Paul’s apostleship

Established Saints #2

Thursday, January 3, 2013

“For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end that ye may be established; that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith of you and me” (Romans 1:11,12 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is God’s will for every believer.

The division, contention, and Bible ignorance that proliferate within the professing church today is due to a deliberate failure to understand and appreciate the Apostle Paul’s special ministry, message, and doctrine. Rather than focusing on what God is doing today—described in Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon—religion “takes and fakes” Israel’s program. Nearly every church today attempts to follow the Old Testament, the Four Gospels, Acts, and Hebrews through Revelation. In doing so, they completely miss what God is doing today! They emphasize Christ’s earthly ministry in Matthew through John to the extent that they ignore Christ’s heavenly ministry through the Apostle Paul.

When we trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, He saved us from sin, death, and hell. But, how did He save us? Why did He save us? What will He do with us in the future? How does the Christian life operate? How should we pray? What does God want us to do on a daily basis as Christians? It cannot be emphasized enough—we must, must, MUST go to the Apostle Paul for the answers, for you cannot find them anywhere else in Scripture.

Usually, the average church member will thus respond with a snide, “Paul worshipper!” On the contrary, Paul wrote, “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). To demean and disregard Paul’s ministry is to disgrace and discard the Lord’s commandments to us. Paul is “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13): He is God’s spokesman to us. Friend, if you ignore the Apostle Paul in order to retain your church tradition, you are only hurting yourself, for Paul is the man God sent to “establish” us spiritually (today’s Scripture).

For more information, read this study regarding Paul’s special apostleship and message.

Established Saints #1

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

“For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end that ye may be established; that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith of you and me” (Romans 1:11,12 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is God’s will for every believer.

The Apostle Paul desired to come to Rome and see these saints many times, but he was “let [hindered] hitherto” (verse 13). He wanted to “impart unto [them] some spiritual gift.” His goal in doing so was to have them “established,” which is defined as “the mutual faith of [the Apostle Paul] and [them].”

The Holy Spirit through Paul is writing that He wants every believer to have a clear, firm understanding of the Pauline grace doctrine (Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon). God wants us to have the same understanding of His Word as the Apostle Paul did: What is God doing today? Forming the Church the Body of Christ. Why is He doing this? To have an agency He can use in the heavenly places in the ages to come, for His glory. How does the Christian life operate? By faith in sound grace Bible doctrine—not the Mosaic Law—which the Holy Ghost will use to transform the minds and lifestyles of believers.

As a dear brother in Christ says, “Your Christian life will not operate on the basis of ignorance!” Oftentimes, believers have such an extremely shallow understanding of Scripture that they are prone to be “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine…” (Ephesians 4:14). Sadly, Satan’s religious system sweeps them away into serving a denomination, filling their minds with worthless “commandments and doctrines of men” (Colossians 2:22), and thus making their Christian life a “shipwreck” (1 Timothy 1:19).

Dear saints, God’s fervent desire, Paul’s fervent desire, and our fervent desire for you this year is that you be “established” in sound Pauline Bible doctrine—that you do not simply know about Paul’s ministry, message, and doctrine, but you also understand them and believe them. This will bring stability in your Christian life, and guard you against Satan’s deception in religion and philosophy.

Give Attendance to Bible Study Attendance

Friday, November 23, 2012

“Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:13 KJV).

Due to “the fellowship of the mystery” (Ephesians 3:9), we grace Christians should give attendance to fellowshipping with each other.

In a few hours, I will be privileged to assemble with fellow grace believers, individuals who have trusted Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, and who also understand and appreciate the special message and ministry that our ascended and glorified Lord gave to the Apostle Paul. I will be meeting many of these Christians for the very first time. How thrilling!

Literally, had it not been for God’s grace, none of us would be saved, and we would have probably never even met. We Christians are all partakers of the grace life in Christ, and it is around this precious Bible truth that we are united forever. Because of our salvation, all of us members of the Body of Christ are eternally linked to one another. We will be spending a literal eternity with each other, so we might as well get a head start now! 🙂

There will be about four hours of Bible study. During that time, we hope to cover basic grace doctrine, and especially how God the Holy Spirit has arranged the books of the Bible’s canon to accomplish our edification (building up, strengthening). This priceless doctrine that we learn, we can then apply to life by faith, and we can also share it with fellow Christians and the lost world.

When our King James Bible says, “give attendance” in today’s Scripture, it means, “pay attention to.” As the Bible declares here, we should emphasize three elements in the local church: “reading, exhortation, doctrine.” We should not only read the Bible, but study it and consider what we read. We are to pay attention to “exhorting” (urging, encouraging) our Christian brethren to continue in sound Bible teaching and grace living. Lastly, we are to pay attention to doctrine itself, for sound doctrine sets us apart from the cults, sects, denominations, and false religions of the world.

Attending Bible studies is very profitable—both now, and (more importantly) forever….

Kicking Against the Pricks?

Monday, October 29, 2012

“And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:5 KJV).

What did the Lord mean here when He said Saul of Tarsus was “kicking against the pricks?”

The King James Bible uses “pricks” thrice—today’s Scripture; its parallel verse, Acts 26:14; and Numbers 33:55. Let us examine the latter for a clue as to the definition of “pricks.”

God instructed Moses to advise Israel when she would enter into her Promised Land: “But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell” (Numbers 33:55). Notice “pricks” and “thorns” are connected (cf. Ezekiel 28:24).

Prior to Paul’s salvation, God had been forming the nation Israel (often likened unto sheep). God had also sent His Son, Israel’s Messiah-King, Jesus, as the “good shepherd” (John 10:11), to lead wayward Israel back to Him. Jesus declared, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24; cf. Matthew 10:6; Luke 15:1-10). Saul was one of those lost Jews, bitterly opposed to Jesus Christ: “I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth” (Acts 26:9). He imprisoned and murdered Jewish believers (verses 10,11; cf. Acts 7:58–8:4; 1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13,14,23; 1 Timothy 1:13).

God described Saul’s activities as “kicking against the pricks.” “Pricks” (goads) resemble thorns; they are pointed objects used to prod and drive rebellious livestock. Essentially, Jesus Christ referred to Saul as a disobedient sheep, sinfully opposing God’s will for Israel (Saul rejected Christ, and was killing those who accepted Him).

Saul learned his fighting against the Creator God was futile, for he was unsuccessful in annihilating believing Israel. In fact, hell-bound Saul eventually quit striving against God. He trusted Christ, and ultimately became the Apostle Paul, God’s apostle to us Gentiles!

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).

The Flesh Straineth, Christ’s Love Constraineth #5

Friday, September 14, 2012

“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:14,15 KJV).

We would do well to memorize, meditate on, and believe today’s Scripture, a wonderful encapsulation of the Christian life.

Unlike Judaism, and contrary to popular belief, Christianity is not a system of rules and regulations. The Christian life is not us trying to “measure up” to please God—that is impossible. Once God proved that sinful mankind could never keep His Law perfectly, He introduced through the Apostle Paul’s ministry the wonderful system we now enjoy: His grace-based acceptance system, where He—not ourselves—will make us acceptable in His sight and accepted in His Son, Jesus Christ!

God, Jesus Christ, “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7,8). Jesus Christ was obedient to His heavenly Father, declaring, “…the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29bc; cf. Isaiah 50:5,6). His Father, God, affirmed: “This is my beloved Son: in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

On Calvary’s cross, the blood of God’s perfect, only begotten Son, was shed for our sins! “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just [Jesus Christ had a right standing before God] for the unjust [we had a sinful standing before God]” (1 Peter 3:18).

We, as people who have trusted in Christ’s finished crosswork—His bloodshed, death, burial, and resurrection—alone as sufficient payment for our sins, are made acceptable in God’s sight and are accepted in His Son. Jesus Christ’s performance not only saved us from our sins, but His performance also makes our daily lives acceptable to God our Father (today’s Scripture).

“The flesh straineth, Christ’s love constraineth….”

The Flesh Straineth, Christ’s Love Constraineth #2

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:14,15 KJV).

We would do well to memorize, meditate on, and believe today’s Scripture, a wonderful encapsulation of the Christian life.

Religion is analogous to running on a treadmill—you had better keep moving or you will wipeout! There are literally billions of souls burdened, firmly shackled, by religious works. They strain to please God, hoping that He will accept their performance. Their religious system reassures them, “Just follow our instructions, and God will be happy with you and you will reach heaven.” What a devil’s lie, straight from hell!!

Unfortunately, not only are these lost people bound by religion, but many true Christians (those who have trusted Jesus Christ alone for salvation) believe they have to live the Christian life, that they must work to “keep fellowship with God.” Christendom abounds with this legalism: “If you want to receive God’s favor and blessings, you must give more, pray more, confess more, come to church more, quit doing ___ and start doing ___.” This flawed theology is derived from a failure to understand the Bible dispensationally.

Yes, God did deal with Israel via the Mosaic Law. He did instruct them to keep His commandments so they could receive His favor and blessings (Leviticus chapter 26; Deuteronomy chapter 28). However, our apostle, Paul, writes, in our Dispensation of Grace, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). God is not dealing with us as He dealt with Israel in time past: we are under grace, not law. Attempting to follow Israel’s Law program will only cause sin to dominate us. God’s grace-based acceptance system involves us placing our faith in Paul’s epistles, letting Christ Jesus live His life in and through us, making our Christian life pleasing to God (today’s Scripture).

“The flesh straineth, Christ’s love constraineth….”

Not in Vain

Saturday, September 8, 2012

“For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain” (1 Thessalonians 2:1 KJV).

The believers in Thessalonica demonstrate that ministry work for the Lord is not done in vain.

Paul and Silas, on Paul’s second apostolic journey, arrive in Thessalonica in Acts 17:1. Here, there are Judaistic Jews and Greeks (verse 1), people who have some comprehension of the Old Testament and the one true God. However, there are also pagan Gentiles, individuals who later “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).

The Lord through Paul and Silas preached the Gospel of God’s Grace to us in Christ (dispensational Bible study). By placing their faith in that message, the Thessalonians either progressed to further understand God’s Word (that is, how God was now revealing advanced information—the mystery program—not found in the Old Testament), and/or learned that the one true God, unlike the pagan gods they had worshipped as heathens, had come in the form a Man to die for their sins. After the Thessalonians trusted Christ, today’s Scripture and its context (1:3–2:1) describe how God used them to evangelize their neighbors!

Ever wonder, “Are our preaching the message of God’s grace and teaching the King James Bible rightly divided, really worth it?” After all, many—even professing Christians (!)—hate it. Too prideful and too attached to their religious tradition to admit that God’s message to us Gentiles is Paul’s epistles (Romans through Philemon), denominational Christians vehemently oppose and attempt to suppress dispensational Bible study… THAT is vain. For, though we are few in number, we Pauline dispensationalists “serve the living and true God,” and nothing God does is ever “in vain” (worthless, futile). “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Again, “Are our preaching God’s grace and our teaching the King James Bible rightly divided, really worth it?” Today’s Scripture is a resounding, “Yes, it is worth it! It is ‘not in vain!’” 🙂

The Great LORD God #4

Friday, September 7, 2012

“Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears” (2 Samuel 7:22 KJV).

As King David of old praised his LORD God, so do we!

David rightly understood that his God, the God of Israel, was incomparable, Someone who could do and did “great things and terrible [so wonderful that they caused terror!]” (verse 23). David knew that God was forming the nation Israel, a special people separate from the Gentile (non-Jewish) world. God had “redeemed to [Himself] [Israel] from Egypt, from the nations and their gods” (verse 23). The nations’ “gods” were nothing but idols of wood and stone, but Israel’s God, JEHOVAH, was supreme, and David in today’s Scripture praised the great LORD God because He was the great LORD God.

But God, long after David had passed away, would do something else, something just as “great and terrible [awesome]” as forming the nation Israel. Now that God has revealed the mystery program through the Apostle Paul’s ministry, we better understand God’s will than David did. Not only would God redeem a people, Israel, from the pagan Gentiles, He would redeem a second group of people from the pagan Gentiles—us, the Church the Body of Christ—who would do in the heavenly places what Israel would do on earth.

God has two “peculiar” people in His Word: the nation Israel (His earthly people) and the Church the Body of Christ (His heavenly people). “…[T]ell the children of Israel;… if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine”(Exodus 19:3,5). Regarding us, the Body of Christ: “…[T]he great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:13b,14).

Who could devise such an unfathomable plan for the earth and the heaven? We join David in saying, “Only the great LORD God….”

The Great LORD God #3

Thursday, September 6, 2012

“Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears” (2 Samuel 7:22 KJV).

As King David of old praised his LORD God, so do we!

Today, in the form of the Holy Bible, we have the complete revelation from God. David, however, had a limited understanding of God’s plan for creation. Throughout the “Old Testament,” the Four Gospels, and the early Acts (pre-Acts chapter 9), God was revealing the prophetic program, “that which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21). Essentially, that program involved God establishing an earthly kingdom through the nation Israel (herein lies the Davidic Covenant spoken of in the context of today’s Scripture; verses 12-16).

However, God was also withholding some information, deliberately keeping it secret. Then, He revealed that information to the Apostle Paul (Ephesians 3:1-11). God the Holy Ghost subsequently moved Paul to write that information in his epistles, Romans through Philemon. This is the mystery program, “that which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest” (Romans 16:25,26a).

David in today’s Scripture thanks and praises the LORD for His mighty works, how He has “[made Himself] a name” by forming the nation Israel (verse 23). But David had no idea that God had another mighty work in mind—He was just keeping it secret until Paul’s ministry! The great LORD God would do something even greater than what David understood: He would form another agency, the Church the Body of Christ, which would accomplish in the heavenly places what Israel would achieve on earth.

Saints, David rejoiced after only hearing about what God was doing with Israel on earth; he had no knowledge of us, the Church the Body of Christ, or what God would do with us in the heavenly places. We should praise the great LORD God even more than David did, for we now have the Holy Bible, the complete revelation of God’s will… for the earth… and the heaven….