Category: Paul’s apostleship

Ye Must Be Followers of Paul

Friday, July 29, 2011

“Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me” (1 Corinthians 4:16 KJV).

Paul is the only Bible author that declares, “Follow me.” Why? Paul writes in Ephesians 3:2,3a: “If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: how that by revelation he [Jesus Christ] made known unto me the mystery;”

Today, we live in the Dispensation of Grace, a time period separate from Israel’s prophetic program. In 1 Timothy 1:15,16 we read that God made Paul “a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him [Jesus Christ] to life everlasting.” In order to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in this the Dispensation of Grace, we must follow Him according to the doctrine He committed unto the Apostle Paul’s trust.

We do not follow Christ after His earthly ministry because that was God’s message to Israel (Matthew 15:24; John 4:22; Romans 15:8; 2 Corinthians 5:16). Even the Apostle Peter admitted that the details of the Dispensation of Grace are only found in Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon (2 Peter 3:15,16).

Lest someone accuse us of exalting Paul above Jesus Christ, consider what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:1: “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” The Holy Spirit instructs us to follow Paul in Philippians 3:17 and 1 Thessalonians 1:6. We follow Paul as he follows Christ.

God sent Paul to us. Paul is “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13; Romans 15:16; 2 Timothy 1:11). Just as Israel followed Moses, we follow Paul. To follow Paul today is to follow Christ; conversely, to reject Paul is to reject Christ (John 13:20). Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:37: “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.”

Does your pastor follow Jesus according to His earthly ministry? If so, flee from that assembly, friend. That is not what God is doing today. The Bible says that God made Paul our pattern. If ye are to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, ye must be followers of Paul!

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.

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!”