rightly divided

Why Israel?

/ grace country pastor / 7 Comments

In the last post I identified something mostly unknown to professing Christians… a “mystery” or secret God withheld from His creation until He chose to reveal that information to the Apostle Paul.  In attempting to determine what that information is, let us first examine Gods intent for the nation Israel.

In Genesis 12:1-3 God calls Abram out of Ur (Babylon) unto a new location that remained undisclosed to Abram.  Abram believed what God was saying to him and, following the Lords instruction, left his fathers house.  God made a promise to Abram (because of that belief) that He would make of Abram a great nation which would in turn be a blessing to those who would bless Abram.  I think we can fairly identify a nation as a large group of people.  Key words to my point are located in Gen 12:3(b)… “and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”  This is the very beginning of the nation Israel and defines their very purpose; that they should somehow be a blessing to others (all families).  Many years later, the covenant of circumcision comes into play.  It is the wall of partition which separates out those whom God has a covenant agreement with (a covenant is an agreement between parties) from those He does not.  God has a covenant agreement with Israel and no other nation.  See Genesis 17:11-14 (KJV…Only).

Still later (I am passing over much history here) as Moses is leading captive Israel (they were bad and God was punishing them) from Egypt, God establishes the Law with the nation.  Exodus 19:5-6… “Now therefore, 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: And ye shall be a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.  These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”  Notice carefully the “If/Then” nature of this covenant agreement.

A nation of priests… what then is a priest?  A priest is a mediator between God and man; one who was to perform the sacred rights on behalf of the people to make things “right” between the nation and God.  Therefore the nation Israel, as a nation of priests, was to be the channel of blessing from God to the rest of the peoples (nations) of the world.

The nation responds to that covenant in Deut. 6:25… “And it shall be our righteousness, IF we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He hath commanded us.”  The following of Gods Law then, will be the righteousness of Israel.  Clearly, Israel is under the impression they will be able to follow Gods Holy Law.  Could they; did they?  Clearly they did not as the only man who could ever perfectly follow Gods Perfect Law was “God As Man” Jesus Christ.  It was subsequently revealed (by Paul) that Jesus Christ was the “end” of the Law (Romans 10:4) to them that believed.  Israel did not believe (and still does not yet see).

Jesus Christ Himself commanded the nation in what has become known collectively as the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-20, Luke 24:45-50 and Acts 1:1-8) to go into all the world and preach the Kingdom of God!  They (the nation as a whole) did not, because they did not believe Christ was who He said He was.  They did not believe Christ was God.

Since Israel failed to live up to their end of the covenant agreement, did God establish the nation as that nation of priests to the world (1 Peter 2:9)?  Clearly, He did not.  The world is not looking to Israel as Gods channel of blessing; nor should the world seek such in Israel today, as they failed to keep that which God commanded and failed to recognize their Messiah.  (At least thus far.)  Now the question must be asked: what are the Gentile nations (all nations “below” Israel) to do, now that Gods channel of blessing is (temporarily) “cut off” as they currently are?  How was a lowly Gentile supposed to come to know God?  As Paul writes to the Jewish leaders in Acts 28:28… “Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.”

Herein lies the essence of the mystery made known to Paul… that Gentile believers might receive some portion of Gods blessing apart from the nation Israel.  But is Paul’s message therefore different then that which the twelve were proclaiming?  Did Paul not simply continue the twelves Kingdom message?  Israel, Gods channel of blessing to Gentiles, is “cut off” at this moment.  If we read Gods Word rightly divided as the Holy Spirit through Paul instructs, we observe clearly that Paul’s message (gospel – good news) is vastly different from the message (gospel – good news) given to the twelve.  Paul’s good news is “apart” from the nation Israel’s good news.  It is here we begin to understand how and why Paul claims such ownership over what he teaches.

Next Post – “Paul, not one of the twelve!“

What mystery?

/ grace country pastor / 3 Comments

Our header reads:  “We teach Jesus Christ according to the mystery kept secret since the world began and revealed to the Apostle Paul.”  The vast majority of you will say: “huh, what mystery?”

Consider these articles a formal invitation from me to you to find out: “what mystery?”, as the vast majority of professing Christians have heard of no such thing.  Follow these postings from one to the next and see for yourself where they lead.  Each will have a link at the bottom to the next.  Please feel free to politely comment and question.  You will receive a reply.  Keep a King James Bible open and test everything you read here against exactly “what” the Bible says, “where” it says it, and “to whom” it is speaking.  I do not ask that you believe a single thing that I write, as I am convinced the Bible alone is Truth in this world.  I believe that understanding “the mystery” is the key to understanding the Bible.

Romans 3:4(a)… “let God be true, but every man a liar;”

Did God the Father keep a secret from His creation?  IF we believe the words on the pages of our King James Bible (and we do) it seems that He has indeed kept something to Himself.  Examine Romans 16:25…

“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,”

There it is.  A mystery God kept secret from the beginning of time, until the time He chose to make that mystery known by revelation.  Paul is writing this epistle to the Roman believers in and around the Acts 20 time period.  Next verse, 16:26…

“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:”

Is God choosing this time period (very early in the first century AD) to make known this mystery (whatever it is) and is He revealing it directly to the Apostle Paul?  Paul is calling this information “my gospel” after all and that might be taken as boastful to say the least.  What else does Paul have to say about this gospel he calls his own?  Explaining the “end” of the law “charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: (1 Tim 1:5)” and to whom the law was directed (the lawless, etc…), to his dear friend Timothy (1 Tim 1:11) Paul claims “ownership” once again; “According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed unto my trust.”  Did not Jesus Christ Himself commit the gospel unto Peter and the twelve well before Paul was even on the scene?  Speaking to the twelve about the signs and times of the end of the world He exclaims (Mat 24:14)… “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”  This is the same gospel message Jesus was teaching in Matthew 4:23 as He had the twelve gathered around Him.  It is therefore the very gospel message He commissioned the twelve to preach in Mark 16:15… “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”  Clearly, Jesus is speaking of the gospel of the kingdom.

How then does Paul dare to call this gospel his own?  What an ego!?!  This is mysterious… and a seeming conundrum.  Of course, as “actual” Bible believers (we actually believe the words on the page and do not simply believe what we want to believe, or have been taught in denominational churches about the Bible) this would cause one to question the claim that the very Word of God, perfect and without error, inspired and preserved throughout human history, is what we claim it is (and we do make such claim) or is even available to mankind in this 21’st century sans “original manuscripts”.

In trying to determine exactly what this “Pauline” mystery is, let us in the next post examine more closely the nation Israel, why God “chose” them and what Gods plan for His chosen people was from the beginning of time… that which was “spoken” since the beginning of the world.

Acts 3:21… “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.”

Hmmm… something hidden AND something spoken; both since the beginning of the world.  To quote C.R. Stam: “Things that are different cannot be the same.”

Next Post – “Why Israel?“