The creation was a team project of the three persons of the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
In Gen 2:26 we read:
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (KJV)
The Apostle Paul revealed in Colossians that Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God and the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Col 1:15, Col 2:9). Therefore, man was created in the image of Jesus Christ. Paul also revealed that it was the Lord Jesus who was the active participant in the events of creation.
Col 1:16-17
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. (KJV)
This was confirmed by the Apostle John.
John 1:1-3
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.(KJV)
The Old Testament prophets proclaimed that Jehovah was the creator of heaven and earth.
Isa 45:18
18 For thus saith the LORD (Jehovah) that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD (Jehovah); and there is none else. (KJV)
The scriptures conclude that Jesus Christ is Jehovah. Jehovah accepted a body of flesh and was born of the virgin Mary. He died on the cross of Calvary for the sins of the world that those who believe could have eternal life. In the day of judgement, every person will someday stand before Jesus Christ to face the obvious truth that Jesus Christ is the Lord, Jehovah.
Phil 2:5-11
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (KJV)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Friday, February 27, 2004
Thursday, February 26, 2004
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1). Truly, we serve an awesome God. He created all things out of nothing. As the creator, God has full authority over the creation and has the right to require whatever He wants from His creation. Some wonder how there could be a God when there is so much evil in the world. C.S. Lewis rightly pointed out that if there were no God, there would be no standard by which to judge good and evil. God, Himself, is the standard. The presence of good and evil actually confirms the reality of God.
God gave the Bible to reveal Himself to the humans He had created. As we read the account of creation in Genesis, we find that God refers to Himself as Elohim and as Jehovah.
Elohim created heaven and earth.
Gen 1:1
1 In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heaven and the earth. (KJV)
Jehovah created the earth and the heavens.
Gen 2:4
4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God (Jehovah) made the earth and the heavens, (KJV)
Elohim created man.
Gen 1:26-27
26 And God (Elohim) said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God (Elohim) created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (KJV)
Jehovah formed man.
Gen 2:7
7 And the LORD God (Jehovah) formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (KJV)
This illustrates that there is no name which can fully declare the glory of God. God is infinite and there is no word which can fully ascribe to Him the appropriate attributes.
God spoke to Moses from the burning bush when He sent Moses to Egypt to deliver the children of Israel. Moses asked Who he should say had sent him.
Exod 3:13-14
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (KJV)
God’s glory is beyond our human comprehension. All that we know of God is what we see in Jesus Christ, and Paul said that it pleased the Father that all of the fullness of God should dwell in Christ. There is nothing about God that is not totally and absolutely true about Jesus Christ.
John 14:8-9
8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."
9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; . . . (NKJ)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
God gave the Bible to reveal Himself to the humans He had created. As we read the account of creation in Genesis, we find that God refers to Himself as Elohim and as Jehovah.
Elohim created heaven and earth.
Gen 1:1
1 In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heaven and the earth. (KJV)
Jehovah created the earth and the heavens.
Gen 2:4
4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God (Jehovah) made the earth and the heavens, (KJV)
Elohim created man.
Gen 1:26-27
26 And God (Elohim) said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God (Elohim) created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (KJV)
Jehovah formed man.
Gen 2:7
7 And the LORD God (Jehovah) formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (KJV)
This illustrates that there is no name which can fully declare the glory of God. God is infinite and there is no word which can fully ascribe to Him the appropriate attributes.
God spoke to Moses from the burning bush when He sent Moses to Egypt to deliver the children of Israel. Moses asked Who he should say had sent him.
Exod 3:13-14
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (KJV)
God’s glory is beyond our human comprehension. All that we know of God is what we see in Jesus Christ, and Paul said that it pleased the Father that all of the fullness of God should dwell in Christ. There is nothing about God that is not totally and absolutely true about Jesus Christ.
John 14:8-9
8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."
9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; . . . (NKJ)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
In Gen 12:1-3 we read:
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (KJV)
The blessing which God pronounced upon Abraham and his descendants was passed down to Isaac but not Ishmael, and it was passed down to Jacob but not Esau. It was passed down only to those who had faith like that of Abraham.
After Israel's Exodus from Egypt, most of the nation refused to enter the promised land. As a result, God announced that they would be banished in the wilderness for forty years. The people became terrified at that prospect and some of the Jews decided they would enter the land after all. Moses warned them not to try it because the power of God would not be with them. They entered the land and were slaughtered by the Canaanites. Only after forty years in the wilderness did the nation of Israel enter the promised land and receive the Old Covenant Kingdom.
After the Lord Jesus was crucified and the Holy Spirit was given, the New Covenant Kingdom was offered to Israel. This was to be the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. Again, the nation of Israel refused to receive the kingdom. As a result, God temporarily set aside His promises to Abraham. In our present age of the Church, Israel has no special purpose among the nations. However, God has not forsaken His promise to Abraham. After the Church is taken up into heaven, God will bring the nation of Israel back to the promised land. They will accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and will receive the New Covenant Kingdom.
Today, there are some Jews who want to take the promised land by force, thinking that it is God’s plan for them to do so. They need to be warned that God is not with them in this effort. They will fail miserably. In fact their efforts will result in the ultimate reign of the antichrist who will slaughter those who try to take the land in their own might.
Daniel prophesied in Dan 11:13-14:
13 For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches.
14 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. (KJV)
It is not wrong for Israel to have a nation today, but it would be wrong for the nation of Israel to think that their nation is somehow the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. When Jesus Christ returns to establish the New Covenant Kingdom, He will defeat the antichrist and give the promised land to believing Israel.
Today, it is most important that believers teach the nation of Israel about the truth of Jesus Christ and warn them of the dangers of trying to take the promised land by force. It is still true that God will bless those who bless Israel, but believers need to do some serious thinking about the best way to bless Israel.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (KJV)
The blessing which God pronounced upon Abraham and his descendants was passed down to Isaac but not Ishmael, and it was passed down to Jacob but not Esau. It was passed down only to those who had faith like that of Abraham.
After Israel's Exodus from Egypt, most of the nation refused to enter the promised land. As a result, God announced that they would be banished in the wilderness for forty years. The people became terrified at that prospect and some of the Jews decided they would enter the land after all. Moses warned them not to try it because the power of God would not be with them. They entered the land and were slaughtered by the Canaanites. Only after forty years in the wilderness did the nation of Israel enter the promised land and receive the Old Covenant Kingdom.
After the Lord Jesus was crucified and the Holy Spirit was given, the New Covenant Kingdom was offered to Israel. This was to be the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. Again, the nation of Israel refused to receive the kingdom. As a result, God temporarily set aside His promises to Abraham. In our present age of the Church, Israel has no special purpose among the nations. However, God has not forsaken His promise to Abraham. After the Church is taken up into heaven, God will bring the nation of Israel back to the promised land. They will accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and will receive the New Covenant Kingdom.
Today, there are some Jews who want to take the promised land by force, thinking that it is God’s plan for them to do so. They need to be warned that God is not with them in this effort. They will fail miserably. In fact their efforts will result in the ultimate reign of the antichrist who will slaughter those who try to take the land in their own might.
Daniel prophesied in Dan 11:13-14:
13 For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches.
14 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. (KJV)
It is not wrong for Israel to have a nation today, but it would be wrong for the nation of Israel to think that their nation is somehow the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. When Jesus Christ returns to establish the New Covenant Kingdom, He will defeat the antichrist and give the promised land to believing Israel.
Today, it is most important that believers teach the nation of Israel about the truth of Jesus Christ and warn them of the dangers of trying to take the promised land by force. It is still true that God will bless those who bless Israel, but believers need to do some serious thinking about the best way to bless Israel.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Since believers today have the power of the Holy Spirit within them, why can’t we establish the Kingdom of God on the earth? That is a question which theologians have debated for nearly 2 thousand years. Some say that we can and that we should. Others say that it can not happen until Christ returns to personally rule on the earth. As you may have guessed, I hold the latter view. The reason is this. Today, God has ordained in His perfect wisdom to allow the devil to have great power and authority within the world system. In fact, the Apostle Paul said that the devil is the “god of this world”.
2 Cor 4:3-4
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (KJV)
However, the devil has very little power over the believers of this age as long as they yield to the power of the Holy Spirit.
I Jn 4:4
4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (KJV)
To experience the power of the Holy Spirit, the believer must learn to separate himself from the things of this world system.
I Jn 2:15-16
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world-- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-- is not of the Father but is of the world. (NKJ)
The devil has used his power and authority to ensure that success within our present world system depends upon playing the devil’s game. For Christians to rule the world today, they would have to gain power by means of deceit and manipulation. Then to maintain power, they would have to abuse human rights and severely limit individual liberties. I am afraid that the Christian religion has been very successful through the years because it has maintained its power over people by these very means. These methods will never establish a spiritual kingdom.
We can praise the Lord that God has used even the evils of the Christian religion to accomplish much for His glory. God used the Christian religion to give us the Bible as we know it today. Even though the Christian religion has little regard for the truth of the Bible, it has spread the word of God along with its many heresies for nearly two thousand years. The ways of God are marvelous and mysterious, and regardless of the method of propagation, the word of God is alive and powerful. It brings people out of the darkness of this world system and into the light of Jesus Christ. Reportedly, D.L. Moody said that our world is a sinking ship. It is not our job to save the ship but to rescue as many people as we can before the ship goes down.
When the Lord Jesus returns to set up the New Covenant Kingdom, the world will experience the personal presence of the Lord Jesus, and human hearts will be filled with the Spirit of God. The devil will be stripped of all of his power, and the curse will be lifted from the earth. In this new world system there will be liberty and justice for all.
Micah 4:3
3 He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. (NIV)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
2 Cor 4:3-4
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (KJV)
However, the devil has very little power over the believers of this age as long as they yield to the power of the Holy Spirit.
I Jn 4:4
4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (KJV)
To experience the power of the Holy Spirit, the believer must learn to separate himself from the things of this world system.
I Jn 2:15-16
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world-- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-- is not of the Father but is of the world. (NKJ)
The devil has used his power and authority to ensure that success within our present world system depends upon playing the devil’s game. For Christians to rule the world today, they would have to gain power by means of deceit and manipulation. Then to maintain power, they would have to abuse human rights and severely limit individual liberties. I am afraid that the Christian religion has been very successful through the years because it has maintained its power over people by these very means. These methods will never establish a spiritual kingdom.
We can praise the Lord that God has used even the evils of the Christian religion to accomplish much for His glory. God used the Christian religion to give us the Bible as we know it today. Even though the Christian religion has little regard for the truth of the Bible, it has spread the word of God along with its many heresies for nearly two thousand years. The ways of God are marvelous and mysterious, and regardless of the method of propagation, the word of God is alive and powerful. It brings people out of the darkness of this world system and into the light of Jesus Christ. Reportedly, D.L. Moody said that our world is a sinking ship. It is not our job to save the ship but to rescue as many people as we can before the ship goes down.
When the Lord Jesus returns to set up the New Covenant Kingdom, the world will experience the personal presence of the Lord Jesus, and human hearts will be filled with the Spirit of God. The devil will be stripped of all of his power, and the curse will be lifted from the earth. In this new world system there will be liberty and justice for all.
Micah 4:3
3 He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. (NIV)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Monday, February 23, 2004
God’s Old Covenant with Israel was characterized by its association with the physical world. In the Old Covenant, Israel had a physical kingdom in which they offered physical tithes by means of physical sacrifices. They observed the physical Sabbath days and numerous feast days. They also had various ceremonial washings with physical water.
During God’s offer of the New Covenant Kingdom in the gospels and the Acts period, we see water baptism as well as many physical miracles, wonders, and signs which God gave to validate the offer of the New Covenant Kingdom. When Jesus Christ returns to establish the New Covenant Kingdom, Israel will be filled with the Holy Spirit of God and will serve as a nation of priests in a physical kingdom. As such, they will receive the tithes, administer the various physical ceremonies and serve as judges for the nations of the world.
However, the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ is characterized by its association with the spiritual realm. We have been spiritually baptized into the Church which is the Body of Christ. We have been spiritually translated into a heavenly kingdom and have found our spiritual Sabbath in the Lord Jesus. Our hearts have been miraculously filled with all spiritual blessings, and we find our fulness or completeness in the fulness of Christ.
Col 2:9-12
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (KJV)
The physical realm is a realm of death without the spiritual reality just as the physical human body is dead without the spirit. The physical circumcision of the Old Covenant pictured the spiritual necessity of dying to one’s self. The water baptism of the New Covenant pictured the spiritual reality of death as well as resurrection with Christ. The Church which is the Body of Christ has the opportunity to experience the spiritual fulness that was pictured in these physical shadows.
Col 2:16-17
16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. (NKJ)
We, as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, are citizens of heaven (Phil. 3: 20) and should set our affections on things above (Col. 3:2).
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
During God’s offer of the New Covenant Kingdom in the gospels and the Acts period, we see water baptism as well as many physical miracles, wonders, and signs which God gave to validate the offer of the New Covenant Kingdom. When Jesus Christ returns to establish the New Covenant Kingdom, Israel will be filled with the Holy Spirit of God and will serve as a nation of priests in a physical kingdom. As such, they will receive the tithes, administer the various physical ceremonies and serve as judges for the nations of the world.
However, the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ is characterized by its association with the spiritual realm. We have been spiritually baptized into the Church which is the Body of Christ. We have been spiritually translated into a heavenly kingdom and have found our spiritual Sabbath in the Lord Jesus. Our hearts have been miraculously filled with all spiritual blessings, and we find our fulness or completeness in the fulness of Christ.
Col 2:9-12
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (KJV)
The physical realm is a realm of death without the spiritual reality just as the physical human body is dead without the spirit. The physical circumcision of the Old Covenant pictured the spiritual necessity of dying to one’s self. The water baptism of the New Covenant pictured the spiritual reality of death as well as resurrection with Christ. The Church which is the Body of Christ has the opportunity to experience the spiritual fulness that was pictured in these physical shadows.
Col 2:16-17
16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. (NKJ)
We, as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, are citizens of heaven (Phil. 3: 20) and should set our affections on things above (Col. 3:2).
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Friday, February 20, 2004
The Apostle Paul taught that each believer is in Christ and that the Spirit of Christ is in each believer. He also taught that this union results in believers becoming part of the body of Christ in a spiritual sense. In the pre-prison epistles, Paul spoke of the body of Christ in very general terms. However, in the prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, Paul spoke of the formal institution of the Church which is the Body of Christ.
Eph 1:22-23
22 (God) put all things under (Christ’s) feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. (KJV)
Not only does this passage show the Body of Christ as an institution, it shows an institutional structure in which Christ is the Head of the Body. This is emphasized again in Colossians.
Col 1:18
18 And (Christ) is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (KJV)
In his pre-prison epistles, Paul was clearly addressing people who, like himself, lived with the daily expectation of Christ’s return to set up His earthly kingdom.
1 Cor 6:1-3
1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?
2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? (NKJ)
In the prison epistles, Paul made no mention of Israel’s New Covenant hope but said that the revelation of the Church which is the Body of Christ was given to him as a special dispensation or deposit of truth from God. In Ephesians, he called this revelation the dispensation of the grace of God.
Eph 3:1-2
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles--
2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, (NKJ)
In Colossians, Paul called it the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ.
Col 1:24-25
24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:
25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; (KJV)
In II Corinthians 3:6, Paul said that he was a minister of Israel’s New Covenant, but in the prison epistles, he wrote simply as a minister of the Church which is the Body of Christ. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he said that the Church which is the Body of Christ was kept secret from all other generations but that God now wanted all men to understand this great mystery.
Eph 3:8-9
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: (KJV)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Eph 1:22-23
22 (God) put all things under (Christ’s) feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. (KJV)
Not only does this passage show the Body of Christ as an institution, it shows an institutional structure in which Christ is the Head of the Body. This is emphasized again in Colossians.
Col 1:18
18 And (Christ) is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (KJV)
In his pre-prison epistles, Paul was clearly addressing people who, like himself, lived with the daily expectation of Christ’s return to set up His earthly kingdom.
1 Cor 6:1-3
1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?
2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? (NKJ)
In the prison epistles, Paul made no mention of Israel’s New Covenant hope but said that the revelation of the Church which is the Body of Christ was given to him as a special dispensation or deposit of truth from God. In Ephesians, he called this revelation the dispensation of the grace of God.
Eph 3:1-2
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles--
2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, (NKJ)
In Colossians, Paul called it the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ.
Col 1:24-25
24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:
25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; (KJV)
In II Corinthians 3:6, Paul said that he was a minister of Israel’s New Covenant, but in the prison epistles, he wrote simply as a minister of the Church which is the Body of Christ. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he said that the Church which is the Body of Christ was kept secret from all other generations but that God now wanted all men to understand this great mystery.
Eph 3:8-9
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: (KJV)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Thursday, February 19, 2004
The spiritual union that exists between Christ and the believer is the central concept of all of Paul’s doctrine. Paul teaches that each believer is in Christ, and that Christ is in each believer. In I Corinthians and Romans, Paul introduced the idea that believers are members of Christ’s body.
Rom 12:5
5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. (NKJ)
1 Cor 12:27
27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. (KJV)
Paul penned Romans and the letters to the Corinthians around 58 A.D., and Paul’s description of believers as the body of Christ in these epistles is very informal. In fact, it appears to be a simple analogy to illustrate the unity of believers. At this point, Paul never called the body of Christ the Church, and he never said that Christ is the Head of the body.
Paul was imprisoned in Rome about 62 A.D. It was there that Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. In these epistles, Paul declared that Christ now serves as the Head of a new, heavenly institution called the Church which is the Body of Christ.
Eph 1:22-23
22 And (God the Father) put all things under (Christ’s) feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (NKJ)
Col 1:24
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, (NKJ)
Paul said that this truth regarding the Church which is the Body of Christ was given only to him and that God had kept it a secret from all previous generations.
Col 1:25-26
25 of (the Church which is the Body of Christ) I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,
26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. (NKJ)
In the prison epistles, there is no hint of those things which were associated with the Old Covenant, such as circumcision, animal sacrifices or the Passover. Neither is there any mention of Israel’s New Covenant or the things which were associated with the New Covenant, such as water baptism, speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, prophesying, casting out demons, and healing.
God had taken Israel as His wife in the Old Covenant, and during the period of time covered by the book of Acts, God offered Israel a spiritual reconciliation of that marriage in the New Covenant. Before the cross, Israel was the estranged wife of God, but after the cross she became the Bride of Christ. However, Israel rejected God’s Acts-period marriage proposal by rejecting Christ. At that point, God set aside the program that He had planned for His bride and revealed, through the Apostle Paul, His program for the Church which is the Body of Christ.
With the revelation of the Church which is the Body of Christ came also the revelation of the fulness of Christ. That Christ is not only the Messiah. That Christ is not only the Savior. But that Christ is God. Jesus Christ is fully God, and believers find their fulness in Him.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Rom 12:5
5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. (NKJ)
1 Cor 12:27
27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. (KJV)
Paul penned Romans and the letters to the Corinthians around 58 A.D., and Paul’s description of believers as the body of Christ in these epistles is very informal. In fact, it appears to be a simple analogy to illustrate the unity of believers. At this point, Paul never called the body of Christ the Church, and he never said that Christ is the Head of the body.
Paul was imprisoned in Rome about 62 A.D. It was there that Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. In these epistles, Paul declared that Christ now serves as the Head of a new, heavenly institution called the Church which is the Body of Christ.
Eph 1:22-23
22 And (God the Father) put all things under (Christ’s) feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (NKJ)
Col 1:24
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, (NKJ)
Paul said that this truth regarding the Church which is the Body of Christ was given only to him and that God had kept it a secret from all previous generations.
Col 1:25-26
25 of (the Church which is the Body of Christ) I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,
26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. (NKJ)
In the prison epistles, there is no hint of those things which were associated with the Old Covenant, such as circumcision, animal sacrifices or the Passover. Neither is there any mention of Israel’s New Covenant or the things which were associated with the New Covenant, such as water baptism, speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, prophesying, casting out demons, and healing.
God had taken Israel as His wife in the Old Covenant, and during the period of time covered by the book of Acts, God offered Israel a spiritual reconciliation of that marriage in the New Covenant. Before the cross, Israel was the estranged wife of God, but after the cross she became the Bride of Christ. However, Israel rejected God’s Acts-period marriage proposal by rejecting Christ. At that point, God set aside the program that He had planned for His bride and revealed, through the Apostle Paul, His program for the Church which is the Body of Christ.
With the revelation of the Church which is the Body of Christ came also the revelation of the fulness of Christ. That Christ is not only the Messiah. That Christ is not only the Savior. But that Christ is God. Jesus Christ is fully God, and believers find their fulness in Him.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
The Apostle Paul revealed that keeping the Law of Moses could not bring salvation.
Gal 2:16
16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (KJV)
Paul revealed that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ.
Eph 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. (KJV)
After Paul spoke of the ineffectiveness of the Law in Galatians 2:16, he said something very mysterious in verse 20.
Gal 2:20
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (KJV)
Paul clearly taught that he had experienced a spiritual unity with Christ to the extent that his spirit died with Christ on the cross of Calvary while the Spirit of Christ had come to live within him. In Romans 6, Paul said that this spiritual unity exists between Christ and every believer.
Rom 6:3-4
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (KJV)
The word baptize means to immerse. Therefore, Paul says that those who put their faith in Christ are spiritually immersed into Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. The physical body of each believer, therefore, becomes an instrument of the Spirit of Christ, and the believer is forever changed.
2 Cor 5:17 says:
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (KJV)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Gal 2:16
16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (KJV)
Paul revealed that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ.
Eph 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. (KJV)
After Paul spoke of the ineffectiveness of the Law in Galatians 2:16, he said something very mysterious in verse 20.
Gal 2:20
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (KJV)
Paul clearly taught that he had experienced a spiritual unity with Christ to the extent that his spirit died with Christ on the cross of Calvary while the Spirit of Christ had come to live within him. In Romans 6, Paul said that this spiritual unity exists between Christ and every believer.
Rom 6:3-4
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (KJV)
The word baptize means to immerse. Therefore, Paul says that those who put their faith in Christ are spiritually immersed into Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. The physical body of each believer, therefore, becomes an instrument of the Spirit of Christ, and the believer is forever changed.
2 Cor 5:17 says:
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (KJV)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
In Matt 28 we find what is commonly called the “great commission”. It reads:
Matt 28:19
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (KJV)
This passage is often referred to as if the Lord Jesus was telling His disciples to go and teach all people that eternal life is given to those who believe that Christ died for their sins. However, it seems clear that the disciples did not understand His words in that way. The disciples would most certainly have understood Jesus as saying that they should go everywhere and teach people about the fact that Jesus Christ was the promised messiah of the Jewish religion. This message would have been delivered for the most part to the Jews who had been scattered into all nations. This is obvious from the fact that Peter was so reluctant even in Acts 10 to go and talk to Cornelius simply because Cornelius was an uncircumcised Gentile.
Furthermore, when Peter spoke on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, as he addressed the “men of Israel”, he spoke to them about the fact that Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead and that if they would believe, Christ would return from heaven to set up His kingdom on the earth. This certainly is not the message we preach today.
Today, we preach that when Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary, His blood was shed for the sins of the whole world and that those who believe are given eternal life. This concept was not really articulated until Paul wrote to the believers at Thessalonica. In 1Thes 5:9-10 Paul said,
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. (KJV)
Paul was more specific in 1 Cor 15:3 where he said,
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (KJV)
But Paul really spelled out the details in Rom 3:24-25 where he said,
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood . . . (KJV)
Therefore, the truth of the gospel, as we know it today, was kept secret until God revealed it to the Apostle Paul. It was Paul who taught us that all who believe Christ died for their sins will receive eternal life regardless of their race or religious background.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Matt 28:19
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (KJV)
This passage is often referred to as if the Lord Jesus was telling His disciples to go and teach all people that eternal life is given to those who believe that Christ died for their sins. However, it seems clear that the disciples did not understand His words in that way. The disciples would most certainly have understood Jesus as saying that they should go everywhere and teach people about the fact that Jesus Christ was the promised messiah of the Jewish religion. This message would have been delivered for the most part to the Jews who had been scattered into all nations. This is obvious from the fact that Peter was so reluctant even in Acts 10 to go and talk to Cornelius simply because Cornelius was an uncircumcised Gentile.
Furthermore, when Peter spoke on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, as he addressed the “men of Israel”, he spoke to them about the fact that Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead and that if they would believe, Christ would return from heaven to set up His kingdom on the earth. This certainly is not the message we preach today.
Today, we preach that when Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary, His blood was shed for the sins of the whole world and that those who believe are given eternal life. This concept was not really articulated until Paul wrote to the believers at Thessalonica. In 1Thes 5:9-10 Paul said,
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. (KJV)
Paul was more specific in 1 Cor 15:3 where he said,
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (KJV)
But Paul really spelled out the details in Rom 3:24-25 where he said,
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood . . . (KJV)
Therefore, the truth of the gospel, as we know it today, was kept secret until God revealed it to the Apostle Paul. It was Paul who taught us that all who believe Christ died for their sins will receive eternal life regardless of their race or religious background.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Monday, February 16, 2004
The Bible has some good news for human beings, but to really understand the good news of the Bible, one needs to have a general understanding of the different ways God has worked with people from the beginning.
In the beginning, God created all things including the first man and the first woman. They lived in innocence until they disobeyed God, but, when they sinned, the curse of death fell upon them and all of mankind.
About 4000 years ago, God chose Abraham out from among all people because Abraham had faith in God. God told Abraham that from him a redeemer would be born who would bless all of the nations of the earth. This promise was passed from Abraham to Isaac and then to Jacob from whom the nation of Israel was born.
God loved the nation of Israel with a special love and took her as His wife. God’s marriage covenant with Israel was the Old Covenant Law, and in that covenant, God promised to provide for Israel and protect her as long as she was faithful and loyal to Him. God also promised that in the final chapters of human history, Israel would rule the world through the spiritual power of the promised Messiah who would be the Son of God.
The marriage between God and Israel was a very rocky marriage from the beginning, for during the wedding ceremony, as Moses was with God on Mt. Sinai, Israel revealed her adulterous heart by worshiping a golden calf. Through the years Israel would repeatedly wander from God only to be punished and brought back to God in repentance.
Jesus Christ came as the promised messiah about 2000 years ago, but Israel, as a whole, refused to believe that this lowly Jesus could possibly be the messiah. As a result, God set aside His marriage with Israel.
Today, God has a special relationship with the people who do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Those who believe are spiritually baptized into Christ to become members of the Church which is the Body of Christ.
Some people make the mistake of thinking that the Church took Israel’s place as the wife of God. They believe that God has established the New Covenant with the Church even as He established the Old Covenant with Israel. This would imply that God transferred the promise of a worldwide kingdom from the Jews to the Christian Church. Unfortunately, many Christians today are trying to rule the world for God in their own human power and through their own human reasoning.
The Bible teaches that our present age will end with a great apostasy and that the antichrist will rule thereafter. To rule the world today, Christians would have to completely ignore human rights and all basic human freedoms in order to eliminate evil. This is exactly the means by which the antichrist will gain power and force the world into subjugation to the devil.
The book of the Revelation teaches that Jesus Christ will return to the earth to defeat the antichrist and remarry Israel. This new marriage with Israel will be the New Covenant which will bring great blessing to all the world through a great kingdom of righteousness. Jesus Christ will not have to ignore human rights and individual liberty because the Holy Spirit of God and His righteousness will dwell within the hearts of the people.
Today, our goal is not to rule the world. Our goal is to share the good news of Jesus Christ so that those who believe can experience the righteous liberty of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ did not call us to oppress the wicked but to set at liberty those who are in bondage to sin and death. Those of us who believe in Christ have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
In the beginning, God created all things including the first man and the first woman. They lived in innocence until they disobeyed God, but, when they sinned, the curse of death fell upon them and all of mankind.
About 4000 years ago, God chose Abraham out from among all people because Abraham had faith in God. God told Abraham that from him a redeemer would be born who would bless all of the nations of the earth. This promise was passed from Abraham to Isaac and then to Jacob from whom the nation of Israel was born.
God loved the nation of Israel with a special love and took her as His wife. God’s marriage covenant with Israel was the Old Covenant Law, and in that covenant, God promised to provide for Israel and protect her as long as she was faithful and loyal to Him. God also promised that in the final chapters of human history, Israel would rule the world through the spiritual power of the promised Messiah who would be the Son of God.
The marriage between God and Israel was a very rocky marriage from the beginning, for during the wedding ceremony, as Moses was with God on Mt. Sinai, Israel revealed her adulterous heart by worshiping a golden calf. Through the years Israel would repeatedly wander from God only to be punished and brought back to God in repentance.
Jesus Christ came as the promised messiah about 2000 years ago, but Israel, as a whole, refused to believe that this lowly Jesus could possibly be the messiah. As a result, God set aside His marriage with Israel.
Today, God has a special relationship with the people who do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Those who believe are spiritually baptized into Christ to become members of the Church which is the Body of Christ.
Some people make the mistake of thinking that the Church took Israel’s place as the wife of God. They believe that God has established the New Covenant with the Church even as He established the Old Covenant with Israel. This would imply that God transferred the promise of a worldwide kingdom from the Jews to the Christian Church. Unfortunately, many Christians today are trying to rule the world for God in their own human power and through their own human reasoning.
The Bible teaches that our present age will end with a great apostasy and that the antichrist will rule thereafter. To rule the world today, Christians would have to completely ignore human rights and all basic human freedoms in order to eliminate evil. This is exactly the means by which the antichrist will gain power and force the world into subjugation to the devil.
The book of the Revelation teaches that Jesus Christ will return to the earth to defeat the antichrist and remarry Israel. This new marriage with Israel will be the New Covenant which will bring great blessing to all the world through a great kingdom of righteousness. Jesus Christ will not have to ignore human rights and individual liberty because the Holy Spirit of God and His righteousness will dwell within the hearts of the people.
Today, our goal is not to rule the world. Our goal is to share the good news of Jesus Christ so that those who believe can experience the righteous liberty of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ did not call us to oppress the wicked but to set at liberty those who are in bondage to sin and death. Those of us who believe in Christ have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Other church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Thursday, February 12, 2004
Sennacherib was king of the Assyrian Empire. He had a great army and had conquered all of the nations around him including the northern kingdom of Israel. He had his eyes set on the southern kingdom of Judah and was sure they would be an easy target. As he and his army approached Jerusalem, Judah’s King Hezekiah went to the temple of God and asked the Lord for deliverance. Isaiah the prophet sent word to Hezekiah that he should not be afraid of Sennacherib for the Lord would protect Jerusalem.
But the Lord also had a message for Sennacherib. It went this way:
II Kings 19:27-28
27 'But I know your dwelling place, your going out and your coming in, and your rage against Me.
28 Because your rage against Me and your tumult have come up to My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came. (NKJ)
I was struck by the fact Sennacherib had an internal rage against God. Could it be that the violence in Sennacherib’s life was a result of his rage toward God? I wonder how much of the violence in the world today is a result of the rage that people feel toward God. It could be that people have an internal rage toward God that they themselves have never articulated in their own minds. Maybe that truth would be too hard to accept.
When God refused Cain’s offering, Cain killed his brother, Abel. Does that make any sense? Abel had not done one thing to Cain. Cain really had an uncontrollable rage toward God which resulted in the murder of his brother, Abel. Cain could not deal with the fact that he hated God, so he killed his brother.
Just before the great flood of Noah’s day, God said that
Gen 6:5
5 . . . the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (NKJ)
Then God said:
Gen 6:11
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. (NKJ)
Maybe their violence was really a result of their internal rage toward God and His righteousness. So much of the violence we see in the world today is senseless violence. There is terrorism throughout the world. There is violent crime in the streets and homes of every American city. There is only one solution for the rage that people feel toward God, and that is the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said:
John 15:9
9 "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. (NKJ)
The Apostle John said:
I Jn 4:7-8
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (NKJ)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
But the Lord also had a message for Sennacherib. It went this way:
II Kings 19:27-28
27 'But I know your dwelling place, your going out and your coming in, and your rage against Me.
28 Because your rage against Me and your tumult have come up to My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came. (NKJ)
I was struck by the fact Sennacherib had an internal rage against God. Could it be that the violence in Sennacherib’s life was a result of his rage toward God? I wonder how much of the violence in the world today is a result of the rage that people feel toward God. It could be that people have an internal rage toward God that they themselves have never articulated in their own minds. Maybe that truth would be too hard to accept.
When God refused Cain’s offering, Cain killed his brother, Abel. Does that make any sense? Abel had not done one thing to Cain. Cain really had an uncontrollable rage toward God which resulted in the murder of his brother, Abel. Cain could not deal with the fact that he hated God, so he killed his brother.
Just before the great flood of Noah’s day, God said that
Gen 6:5
5 . . . the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (NKJ)
Then God said:
Gen 6:11
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. (NKJ)
Maybe their violence was really a result of their internal rage toward God and His righteousness. So much of the violence we see in the world today is senseless violence. There is terrorism throughout the world. There is violent crime in the streets and homes of every American city. There is only one solution for the rage that people feel toward God, and that is the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said:
John 15:9
9 "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. (NKJ)
The Apostle John said:
I Jn 4:7-8
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (NKJ)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
When Nicodemus came to the Lord Jesus by night, he said:
John 3:2
2 . . . "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." (NKJ)
If Nicodemus was speaking on behalf of the Pharisees, he was not telling the truth. The Pharisees did not accept the Lord Jesus as a teacher from God, but rather as a blasphemer who was worthy of death. But maybe Nicodemus just said that to open up a conversation about who Jesus really was.
However, Jesus ignored his statement and totally changed the subject.
John 3:3
3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (NKJ)
It is almost as if Jesus was saying, “Nicodemus, we have to talk about you, before we can talk about me. You want to inherit the kingdom of God, but you aren’t ready for the kingdom. In fact, there is nothing about you that is acceptable to God. Before you can even see the kingdom of God, you will have to be made completely over again.”
This was going to cause Nicodemus to do some real soul searching. He must have started wondering if all of his assumptions about himself were really correct. He had always viewed himself as a law-abiding, responsible person. Even all of his very legalistic friends accepted him as such. As a Pharisee, he was even in a position to judge the actions of other people. But Jesus told him straight up, “You have to be born again to see the kingdom of God.”
Sometimes, it is hard to be honest with ourselves because the truth hurts. On the road to Damascus, Paul was devastated to realize that all of his good works and religious zeal were actually a curse upon his life rather than a blessing. Later, he said:
Phil 3:4-9
4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:
5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;
6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; (NKJ)
When Paul put his faith in Jesus Christ, he became a new creation in Christ and was born again.
After telling Nicodemus that he needed to be born again, the Lord Jesus went on to explain that He had been sent into the world to save the lost.
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
John 3:2
2 . . . "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." (NKJ)
If Nicodemus was speaking on behalf of the Pharisees, he was not telling the truth. The Pharisees did not accept the Lord Jesus as a teacher from God, but rather as a blasphemer who was worthy of death. But maybe Nicodemus just said that to open up a conversation about who Jesus really was.
However, Jesus ignored his statement and totally changed the subject.
John 3:3
3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (NKJ)
It is almost as if Jesus was saying, “Nicodemus, we have to talk about you, before we can talk about me. You want to inherit the kingdom of God, but you aren’t ready for the kingdom. In fact, there is nothing about you that is acceptable to God. Before you can even see the kingdom of God, you will have to be made completely over again.”
This was going to cause Nicodemus to do some real soul searching. He must have started wondering if all of his assumptions about himself were really correct. He had always viewed himself as a law-abiding, responsible person. Even all of his very legalistic friends accepted him as such. As a Pharisee, he was even in a position to judge the actions of other people. But Jesus told him straight up, “You have to be born again to see the kingdom of God.”
Sometimes, it is hard to be honest with ourselves because the truth hurts. On the road to Damascus, Paul was devastated to realize that all of his good works and religious zeal were actually a curse upon his life rather than a blessing. Later, he said:
Phil 3:4-9
4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:
5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;
6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; (NKJ)
When Paul put his faith in Jesus Christ, he became a new creation in Christ and was born again.
After telling Nicodemus that he needed to be born again, the Lord Jesus went on to explain that He had been sent into the world to save the lost.
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
At the end of Paul’s life, he was so encouraged to know that men such as Timothy were faithfully ministering the word of God to the members of the Church which is the Body of Christ. In his second letter to Timothy he wrote:
2 Tim 4:1-8
1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. (NKJ)
Above all things, Paul encouraged Timothy to preach the word. The reasons for this charge are evident.
The word of God is the source of our faith.
Rom 10:17
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (NKJ)
The word of God sanctifies and cleanses us.
Eph 5:25-26
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, (NKJ)
The word of God is a sword which will eventually defeat the devil.
Eph 6:17
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; (NKJ)
The word of God works as a living instrument within our hearts to reveal that which is good and that which is evil.
Heb 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (NKJ)
God had committed the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ to Paul, and Paul wanted Timothy to pass it on.
2 Tim 2:2
2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (NKJ)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
2 Tim 4:1-8
1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. (NKJ)
Above all things, Paul encouraged Timothy to preach the word. The reasons for this charge are evident.
The word of God is the source of our faith.
Rom 10:17
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (NKJ)
The word of God sanctifies and cleanses us.
Eph 5:25-26
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, (NKJ)
The word of God is a sword which will eventually defeat the devil.
Eph 6:17
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; (NKJ)
The word of God works as a living instrument within our hearts to reveal that which is good and that which is evil.
Heb 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (NKJ)
God had committed the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ to Paul, and Paul wanted Timothy to pass it on.
2 Tim 2:2
2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (NKJ)
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Monday, February 09, 2004
As the Apostle Paul wrote the book of Galatians, he taught that the faith of believers results in their mystical identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. By the time he wrote I Corinthians, he was teaching that believers become members of Christ’s body through this experience. As he wrote both of these pre-prison epistles, he was preaching that the New Covenant Kingdom was about to be established through the nation of Israel, the Bride of Christ.
As Paul wrote the prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I Timothy, II Timothy and Titus, he revealed the Church, the Body of Christ, which has no earthly hope concerning the New Covenant Kingdom. However, some would say that Ephesians, Chapter 5, proves that the Church is the Bride of Christ, and, therefore, is a partaker in the New Covenant hope.
Eph 5:22-32
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.
31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (NKJ)
A careful examination of this passage reveals that Paul never said that the Church is the bride or the wife of Christ. He simply used the relationship that results from the spiritual union of Christ and the Church to illustrate how husbands should relate to their wives and vice versa.
These verses stand as an excellent example of the many passages throughout scripture that God has given to provide Satan with the opportunity to perpetuate a grand delusion upon the “Christian” masses. The earthly "Christian" church has for two thousand years used passages such as Matthew 16:18-19, Galatians 3:29, I Corinthians 6:2, Revelation 11:17-19 to justify its crimes against humanity.
The human race had a small reprieve from the destructive forces of this apostate religion during the 20th century as western Europe and the United States moved away from its “Christian” base and toward a secular society which valued human rights. However, it is clear that, at least in the United States, these destructive political forces are roaring back with a vengeance. Jerry Falwell, who was one of the founding leaders of the moral majority “Christian” political movement, stated with great confidence during President Clinton's impeachment trial that George W. Bush would be the next President of the United States.
The Jewish religion should serve as a great lesson to all true believers that a religion which is merely extrapolated from the Bible but not based on a literal interpretation of the Bible can end up as a tremendous Satan force. The Jewish religion was given as a light to the gentile nations, but because its leaders followed their own political and economic interests rather than following the truth of God’s word, their religion ended up being the force that killed the Son of God.
Because the Christian religion refuses to submit to the truth of God’s word, it is destined to follow this same path of rebellion. After the Church which is the Body of Christ is taken out of this world, the earthly “Christian” church will continue to take the name of Jesus Christ in vain as it forces its religious traditions upon the entire world by means of its military and economic power. Its false prophet will join forces with the antichrist during the tribulation period and this apostate church will be party to the persecution of believing Israel, the Bride of Christ.
At the end of the tribulation period, the Lord Jesus will return from heaven and catch His Bride up into the clouds of heaven, only to return with His Bride to destroy the power of the antichrist and the false prophet. The Bride of Christ will then rule the world in true, Biblical righteousness, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
As Paul wrote the prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I Timothy, II Timothy and Titus, he revealed the Church, the Body of Christ, which has no earthly hope concerning the New Covenant Kingdom. However, some would say that Ephesians, Chapter 5, proves that the Church is the Bride of Christ, and, therefore, is a partaker in the New Covenant hope.
Eph 5:22-32
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.
31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (NKJ)
A careful examination of this passage reveals that Paul never said that the Church is the bride or the wife of Christ. He simply used the relationship that results from the spiritual union of Christ and the Church to illustrate how husbands should relate to their wives and vice versa.
These verses stand as an excellent example of the many passages throughout scripture that God has given to provide Satan with the opportunity to perpetuate a grand delusion upon the “Christian” masses. The earthly "Christian" church has for two thousand years used passages such as Matthew 16:18-19, Galatians 3:29, I Corinthians 6:2, Revelation 11:17-19 to justify its crimes against humanity.
The human race had a small reprieve from the destructive forces of this apostate religion during the 20th century as western Europe and the United States moved away from its “Christian” base and toward a secular society which valued human rights. However, it is clear that, at least in the United States, these destructive political forces are roaring back with a vengeance. Jerry Falwell, who was one of the founding leaders of the moral majority “Christian” political movement, stated with great confidence during President Clinton's impeachment trial that George W. Bush would be the next President of the United States.
The Jewish religion should serve as a great lesson to all true believers that a religion which is merely extrapolated from the Bible but not based on a literal interpretation of the Bible can end up as a tremendous Satan force. The Jewish religion was given as a light to the gentile nations, but because its leaders followed their own political and economic interests rather than following the truth of God’s word, their religion ended up being the force that killed the Son of God.
Because the Christian religion refuses to submit to the truth of God’s word, it is destined to follow this same path of rebellion. After the Church which is the Body of Christ is taken out of this world, the earthly “Christian” church will continue to take the name of Jesus Christ in vain as it forces its religious traditions upon the entire world by means of its military and economic power. Its false prophet will join forces with the antichrist during the tribulation period and this apostate church will be party to the persecution of believing Israel, the Bride of Christ.
At the end of the tribulation period, the Lord Jesus will return from heaven and catch His Bride up into the clouds of heaven, only to return with His Bride to destroy the power of the antichrist and the false prophet. The Bride of Christ will then rule the world in true, Biblical righteousness, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Friday, February 06, 2004
According to Daniel, Chapter 9, the 70th week of Daniel is a 7 year period of time which will occur after the death of Christ but before Christ’s return to set up the kingdom. The 70th week of Daniel is known as the tribulation period because it is a time in which the antichrist will rule the world and persecute the Jews. It is also a period of time in which Israel will accept God’s offer of the New Covenant Kingdom.
Daniel spoke of the 70th week separately from the other 69 weeks and said that the 69 weeks would end with the death of the messiah. However, he never gave any indication that the 70th week would be separated from the death of the Messiah by 2000 years. Paul revealed in his prison epistles (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I Timothy, II Timothy and Titus) that God had started calling out the Church which is the Body of Christ and that the existence of the Church was a great mystery which had been kept secret in the mind of God throughout the ages past (Eph 3:9).
In Paul’s pre-prison epistles, he warned believers of the coming of the antichrist and the tribulation period. In the prison epistles, Paul wrote about the perilous last days of the Church age and the catching up of the Church at the end of the Church age, but he never mentioned the tribulation period or the antichrist. In the pre-prison epistles, Paul offered the New Covenant Kingdom to Israel, the Bride of Christ. However, he avoided that subject in the prison epistles.
This indicates that the Church and the Bride are two separate groups of believers. The Bride of Christ has the hope of the New Covenant Kingdom and will endure the tribulation period before entering into the kingdom. The Church which is the Body of Christ will have no part in the New Covenant Kingdom and will be taken up into heaven before the tribulation period begins.
Paul’s writings are all very consistent in regard to these distinctions in the pre-prison and prison epistles except for the book of Hebrews. Hebrews appears to be a post-prison epistle, and therefore, it can not be grouped with the other prison epistles. One has to ask why Paul would, in the book of Hebrews, confirm the New Covenant Kingdom to Israel, the Bride, after his revelation of the Church in the prison epistles. This is especially true when one considers that in the Church there is neither Jew nor Gentile, and the Church has no expectation of the New Covenant Kingdom.
If Paul was writing to the Jews of his day, then he must have seen two groups of people on the earth at that time. One group would have been the Church which was to be raptured before the tribulation period, while the other group would have been the Bride which was to be left on the earth after the rapture of the Church to endure the tribulation period and inherit the New Covenant Kingdom.
During the Acts period, while Paul wrote the pre-prison epistles, there probably were two different groups of people on the earth. God was saving people as the Apostles preached Israel’s hope of the New Covenant Kingdom, but God may have also been adding people to the Church which is the Body of Christ. God was certainly preparing mankind for the message of the Church because the word church was introduced in a generic sense, and Paul began to teach the concepts of spiritual circumcision, spiritual baptism, etc. However, throughout the pre-prison epistles, Paul gave every indication that he, himself, was anticipating the tribulation period and the return of Christ to establish the New Covenant Kingdom.
Some people believe that there are two groups of believers on the earth today. They teach that only those who understand the truth of the Church have received the high calling of membership in the Church. This would mean that most believers today are actually members of the Bride of Christ because they do not understand the unique calling of the Church. This would also mean that, as members of the Bride of Christ, they would not be caught up with the Church at the rapture but would remain on the earth to endure the tribulation period. This is false doctrine.
In the prison epistles, Paul clearly taught the unique calling of the Church which is the Body of Christ, and even though there were probably some members of the Bride of Christ still living on the earth, Ephesians 3:9 makes it clear that Paul's mission was to help all men see and understand the fellowship of the mystery concerning the Church.
Since Paul saw no justification for a separate ministry for members of the Bride, we can safely conclude that Hebrews was written to the believing Jews of the tribulation period and that all saved people today are members of the Church the Body of Christ even if they do not understand the distinctive truths concerning the Church.
It is possible that Paul thought the rapture of the Church would occur at any time and that his contemporaries who were members of the Bride would then go into the tribulation period. However, this does not seem likely because he spoke of the perilous last days of the Church as if they would be in the distant future.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Daniel spoke of the 70th week separately from the other 69 weeks and said that the 69 weeks would end with the death of the messiah. However, he never gave any indication that the 70th week would be separated from the death of the Messiah by 2000 years. Paul revealed in his prison epistles (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I Timothy, II Timothy and Titus) that God had started calling out the Church which is the Body of Christ and that the existence of the Church was a great mystery which had been kept secret in the mind of God throughout the ages past (Eph 3:9).
In Paul’s pre-prison epistles, he warned believers of the coming of the antichrist and the tribulation period. In the prison epistles, Paul wrote about the perilous last days of the Church age and the catching up of the Church at the end of the Church age, but he never mentioned the tribulation period or the antichrist. In the pre-prison epistles, Paul offered the New Covenant Kingdom to Israel, the Bride of Christ. However, he avoided that subject in the prison epistles.
This indicates that the Church and the Bride are two separate groups of believers. The Bride of Christ has the hope of the New Covenant Kingdom and will endure the tribulation period before entering into the kingdom. The Church which is the Body of Christ will have no part in the New Covenant Kingdom and will be taken up into heaven before the tribulation period begins.
Paul’s writings are all very consistent in regard to these distinctions in the pre-prison and prison epistles except for the book of Hebrews. Hebrews appears to be a post-prison epistle, and therefore, it can not be grouped with the other prison epistles. One has to ask why Paul would, in the book of Hebrews, confirm the New Covenant Kingdom to Israel, the Bride, after his revelation of the Church in the prison epistles. This is especially true when one considers that in the Church there is neither Jew nor Gentile, and the Church has no expectation of the New Covenant Kingdom.
If Paul was writing to the Jews of his day, then he must have seen two groups of people on the earth at that time. One group would have been the Church which was to be raptured before the tribulation period, while the other group would have been the Bride which was to be left on the earth after the rapture of the Church to endure the tribulation period and inherit the New Covenant Kingdom.
During the Acts period, while Paul wrote the pre-prison epistles, there probably were two different groups of people on the earth. God was saving people as the Apostles preached Israel’s hope of the New Covenant Kingdom, but God may have also been adding people to the Church which is the Body of Christ. God was certainly preparing mankind for the message of the Church because the word church was introduced in a generic sense, and Paul began to teach the concepts of spiritual circumcision, spiritual baptism, etc. However, throughout the pre-prison epistles, Paul gave every indication that he, himself, was anticipating the tribulation period and the return of Christ to establish the New Covenant Kingdom.
Some people believe that there are two groups of believers on the earth today. They teach that only those who understand the truth of the Church have received the high calling of membership in the Church. This would mean that most believers today are actually members of the Bride of Christ because they do not understand the unique calling of the Church. This would also mean that, as members of the Bride of Christ, they would not be caught up with the Church at the rapture but would remain on the earth to endure the tribulation period. This is false doctrine.
In the prison epistles, Paul clearly taught the unique calling of the Church which is the Body of Christ, and even though there were probably some members of the Bride of Christ still living on the earth, Ephesians 3:9 makes it clear that Paul's mission was to help all men see and understand the fellowship of the mystery concerning the Church.
Since Paul saw no justification for a separate ministry for members of the Bride, we can safely conclude that Hebrews was written to the believing Jews of the tribulation period and that all saved people today are members of the Church the Body of Christ even if they do not understand the distinctive truths concerning the Church.
It is possible that Paul thought the rapture of the Church would occur at any time and that his contemporaries who were members of the Bride would then go into the tribulation period. However, this does not seem likely because he spoke of the perilous last days of the Church as if they would be in the distant future.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Thursday, February 05, 2004
When Old Testament saints died, their souls could not go into the presence of the Lord because the shed blood of Christ had not yet been offered as the sacrifice for sin. When Christ ascended into heaven after His resurrection, He took the blood of atonement and the souls of the Old Testament saints with Him into the glory of heaven (Ephesians 4:8).
From that time on, the souls of believers who die have gone immediately into the glory of heaven. This was made possible by the fact that Christ’s blood of atonement was applied to the mercy seat of the heavenly tabernacle and by the fact that believers are sanctified through spiritual baptism into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
Being baptized into the death of Christ causes the believer to become one with Christ and, therefore, to become a member of His Body. The Bible reveals two different aspects of the Body of Christ. One is the Church which is the Body of Christ, and the other is the Bride of Christ which is to be joined to the Body of Christ by marriage.
The nation of Israel is throughout scripture presented as the nation which is called to be the wife of God. Israel’s Old Covenant marriage was never consummated because Israel was unfaithful even on the wedding night as she worshiped the golden calf that Aaron made. God declared a separation from Israel when she was taken into captivity in Babylon, and then God divorced Israel after she rejected the ministry of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as is witnessed by the Gospels and the book of Acts.
In Paul’s Acts-period epistles, known as the pre-prison epistles, he made reference to the Body of Christ for it was during that time that God was offering Israel the New Covenant marriage relationship. If Israel had accepted Christ by faith, she would have entered into a union with the Body of Christ, and her marriage to Christ would have been consummated by the power of the Holy Spirit. As the New Covenant was being offered to Israel, God dealt with Israel through a specific program which included many miracles, wonders and signs as evidence of the validity of God’s offer.
After Israel's rejection of Jesus Christ, God called the Apostle Paul to reveal the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ. This dispensation was revealed in the prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians.
Eph 1:22-23
22 (God) put all things under (Christ’s) feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (NKJ)
Col 1:24-26
24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:
25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: (KJV)
This dispensation for the Church which is the Body of Christ revealed the heavenly, spiritual character of the Church and did not include miracles, wonders and signs.
Phil 3:20
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, (NKJ)
Col 3:2
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (NKJ)
After the Church which is the Body of Christ is taken into the glory of heaven at the end of this age, God will once again offer the New Covenant marriage relationship to Israel during the tribulation period. At that time all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26), and she will be joined to the Body of Christ at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:9).
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
From that time on, the souls of believers who die have gone immediately into the glory of heaven. This was made possible by the fact that Christ’s blood of atonement was applied to the mercy seat of the heavenly tabernacle and by the fact that believers are sanctified through spiritual baptism into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
Being baptized into the death of Christ causes the believer to become one with Christ and, therefore, to become a member of His Body. The Bible reveals two different aspects of the Body of Christ. One is the Church which is the Body of Christ, and the other is the Bride of Christ which is to be joined to the Body of Christ by marriage.
The nation of Israel is throughout scripture presented as the nation which is called to be the wife of God. Israel’s Old Covenant marriage was never consummated because Israel was unfaithful even on the wedding night as she worshiped the golden calf that Aaron made. God declared a separation from Israel when she was taken into captivity in Babylon, and then God divorced Israel after she rejected the ministry of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as is witnessed by the Gospels and the book of Acts.
In Paul’s Acts-period epistles, known as the pre-prison epistles, he made reference to the Body of Christ for it was during that time that God was offering Israel the New Covenant marriage relationship. If Israel had accepted Christ by faith, she would have entered into a union with the Body of Christ, and her marriage to Christ would have been consummated by the power of the Holy Spirit. As the New Covenant was being offered to Israel, God dealt with Israel through a specific program which included many miracles, wonders and signs as evidence of the validity of God’s offer.
After Israel's rejection of Jesus Christ, God called the Apostle Paul to reveal the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ. This dispensation was revealed in the prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians.
Eph 1:22-23
22 (God) put all things under (Christ’s) feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (NKJ)
Col 1:24-26
24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:
25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: (KJV)
This dispensation for the Church which is the Body of Christ revealed the heavenly, spiritual character of the Church and did not include miracles, wonders and signs.
Phil 3:20
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, (NKJ)
Col 3:2
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (NKJ)
After the Church which is the Body of Christ is taken into the glory of heaven at the end of this age, God will once again offer the New Covenant marriage relationship to Israel during the tribulation period. At that time all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26), and she will be joined to the Body of Christ at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:9).
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
Is it possible that God added the believers of Acts, Chapter 2, to the Church which is the Body of Christ even though the formal revelation of the Church did not occur for another 30 years? Some would say no, because the Church which is the Body of Christ does not have sign gifts such as speaking in tongues and healing, and neither does it incorporate the practice of water baptism or communion in its worship. Today, we will explore this issue.
The revelation of the Church which is the Body of Christ in the prison epistles (Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians) was most definitely part of a specific dispensation from God. In Colossians, Paul called it the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ.
Col 1:24-25
24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:
25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; (KJV)
In Ephesians, Paul called it the dispensation of the grace of God.
Eph 3:2
2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, (NKJ)
The Church may have been in existence before the dispensation of the Church was revealed even as grace was in existence before the dispensation of grace. However, anyone who was added to the Church before Paul’s revelation of this particular dispensation would not have known how to live and worship in accordance with that revelation.
In our present age, believers have the great privilege of living according to the full revelation of the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ. In this dispensation there is no evidence of sign gifts such as speaking in tongues or healing, just as there is no evidence of the practice of water baptism or communion.
In Paul’s pre-prison epistles, there are hints of the Body of Christ.
1 Cor 12:12-13
12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-- and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. (NKJ)
But as long as the New Covenant Kingdom was being offered to Israel, the sign gifts continued as a means of validating the offer.
2 Cor 3:6
6 (God has) made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (NKJ)
1 Cor 12:7-10
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. (NKJ)
Therefore, as long as the New Covenant Kingdom was being offered to Israel, the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ could not be fully revealed.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
The revelation of the Church which is the Body of Christ in the prison epistles (Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians) was most definitely part of a specific dispensation from God. In Colossians, Paul called it the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ.
Col 1:24-25
24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:
25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; (KJV)
In Ephesians, Paul called it the dispensation of the grace of God.
Eph 3:2
2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, (NKJ)
The Church may have been in existence before the dispensation of the Church was revealed even as grace was in existence before the dispensation of grace. However, anyone who was added to the Church before Paul’s revelation of this particular dispensation would not have known how to live and worship in accordance with that revelation.
In our present age, believers have the great privilege of living according to the full revelation of the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ. In this dispensation there is no evidence of sign gifts such as speaking in tongues or healing, just as there is no evidence of the practice of water baptism or communion.
In Paul’s pre-prison epistles, there are hints of the Body of Christ.
1 Cor 12:12-13
12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-- and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. (NKJ)
But as long as the New Covenant Kingdom was being offered to Israel, the sign gifts continued as a means of validating the offer.
2 Cor 3:6
6 (God has) made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (NKJ)
1 Cor 12:7-10
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. (NKJ)
Therefore, as long as the New Covenant Kingdom was being offered to Israel, the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ could not be fully revealed.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
All believers from the time of Adam have been participants in one of two programs. One program is that associated with Abraham and his kingdom promises. The other program is the program for the Church which is the Body of Christ.
The dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ was never revealed until the Apostle Paul wrote his prison epistles (Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians). Paul wrote the book of Hebrews after he wrote the prison epistles but did not mention the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ. In fact, Paul returned once again to the subject of the pre-prison epistles, namely, the inheritance of the Abrahamic Covenants.
This indicates that the truths of the Church, the Body of Christ, relate to a parenthetical age between God’s offer of the New Covenant Kingdom in the Acts period and God’s offer of the New Covenant Kingdom in the tribulation period.
Some people debate the issue of when the Church began. Some say it began on the day of Pentecost with the giving of the Holy Spirit. Others say it could not begin until Paul was saved because it was revealed through Paul. Others say it could not begin until the first group of Gentiles was saved, and others say it could not begin until God set aside His offer of Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom at the end of the Acts period.
The serious Bible student needs to consider that the time the Church began may be different from the time that it was revealed. As I mentioned earlier, God did not specifically reveal the Church which is the Body of Christ until Paul revealed it in Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, but it is possible that God could have added people to the Church before it’s existence was revealed. Since faith in Jesus Christ has always been the one and only criteria for salvation, God has had the liberty to add people to which ever group of believers His perfect plan dictates, with or without their knowledge.
As we study any given text in the scriptures, our task is to base our interpretation upon our understanding of the author’s understanding. No author of scripture had the total knowledge of God, and it is reasonable to assume that God revealed to each author truth that was somewhat consistent with the author’s general understanding.
As Peter spoke on the day of Pentecost, God knew that Israel would reject Christ and the Kingdom, but we can be quite sure that Peter did not know that. It is also reasonable to assume that Peter’s words reflect his limited understanding rather than God’s infinite understanding. Accordingly, Peter spoke the following words to the Jews that day.
Acts 2:38-39
38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." (NKJ)
That promise of the King and kingdom was rejected by the nation of Israel many times throughout the Acts period and was finally set aside, but Peter did not know that was going to happen as he spoke on the day of Pentecost.
Is it possible that God added the believers of Acts 2 to the Church which is the Body of Christ even though they knew nothing about it? With man, that may seem impossible, but with God, all things are possible.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
The dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ was never revealed until the Apostle Paul wrote his prison epistles (Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians). Paul wrote the book of Hebrews after he wrote the prison epistles but did not mention the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ. In fact, Paul returned once again to the subject of the pre-prison epistles, namely, the inheritance of the Abrahamic Covenants.
This indicates that the truths of the Church, the Body of Christ, relate to a parenthetical age between God’s offer of the New Covenant Kingdom in the Acts period and God’s offer of the New Covenant Kingdom in the tribulation period.
Some people debate the issue of when the Church began. Some say it began on the day of Pentecost with the giving of the Holy Spirit. Others say it could not begin until Paul was saved because it was revealed through Paul. Others say it could not begin until the first group of Gentiles was saved, and others say it could not begin until God set aside His offer of Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom at the end of the Acts period.
The serious Bible student needs to consider that the time the Church began may be different from the time that it was revealed. As I mentioned earlier, God did not specifically reveal the Church which is the Body of Christ until Paul revealed it in Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, but it is possible that God could have added people to the Church before it’s existence was revealed. Since faith in Jesus Christ has always been the one and only criteria for salvation, God has had the liberty to add people to which ever group of believers His perfect plan dictates, with or without their knowledge.
As we study any given text in the scriptures, our task is to base our interpretation upon our understanding of the author’s understanding. No author of scripture had the total knowledge of God, and it is reasonable to assume that God revealed to each author truth that was somewhat consistent with the author’s general understanding.
As Peter spoke on the day of Pentecost, God knew that Israel would reject Christ and the Kingdom, but we can be quite sure that Peter did not know that. It is also reasonable to assume that Peter’s words reflect his limited understanding rather than God’s infinite understanding. Accordingly, Peter spoke the following words to the Jews that day.
Acts 2:38-39
38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." (NKJ)
That promise of the King and kingdom was rejected by the nation of Israel many times throughout the Acts period and was finally set aside, but Peter did not know that was going to happen as he spoke on the day of Pentecost.
Is it possible that God added the believers of Acts 2 to the Church which is the Body of Christ even though they knew nothing about it? With man, that may seem impossible, but with God, all things are possible.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
Monday, February 02, 2004
It appears that the Apostle Paul was at least a co-author of the book of Hebrews. All of the earliest Christian writers accepted him as its author, and further credence is given to that thesis in the final verse where Paul gives his official salutation: “Grace be with you all”. Paul had told the believers of Thessalonika that he would end his epistles that way in his own handwriting to authenticate his letters.
II Th 3:17-18
17 The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (NKJ)
We also see evidence of Paul’s authorship in the opening verses where he spoke of the preeminence of Christ.
Heb 1:1-4
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. (NKJ)
In these verses, Christ is presented as the one who created and sustains the universe, as the very image of God, and as one who is preeminent over the angels. Paul first introduced these concepts in the book of Colossians.
Col 1:15-18
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (NKJ)
Some have said that Hebrews was one of Paul’s earliest epistles. However, it seems unlikely that Paul would reveal in one of his first letters that Christ created all things and then never mention it again until one of his last letters. In fact, Hebrews seems to have been written after the prison epistles because in Philippians 2:19 Paul revealed that he was planning to send Timothy to Philippi, and Hebrews 13:23 reveals that Paul was waiting for Timothy to return from what was most likely his mission to Philippi so that they could travel together to Jerusalem.
The prison epistles do not refer specifically to the inheritance of the Abrahamic covenants while that is the primary discussion of Paul’s pre-prison epistles and the Book of Hebrews. Likewise, the pre-prison epistles and the book of Hebrews make no specific reference to the Church which is the Body of Christ or the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ. This leads me to conclude that the Church which is the Body of Christ and its special dispensation are separate and apart from the truths that relate to Abraham his promises.
Furthermore, it is logical to conclude that the truths of the Church were written to a group of people who were to exist after the recipients of the pre-prison epistles but before the recipients of the book of Hebrews and that Paul’s target audience for the book of Hebrews was probably the Jewish believers of the tribulation period who would serve the Lord after the catching up of the Church.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
II Th 3:17-18
17 The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (NKJ)
We also see evidence of Paul’s authorship in the opening verses where he spoke of the preeminence of Christ.
Heb 1:1-4
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. (NKJ)
In these verses, Christ is presented as the one who created and sustains the universe, as the very image of God, and as one who is preeminent over the angels. Paul first introduced these concepts in the book of Colossians.
Col 1:15-18
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (NKJ)
Some have said that Hebrews was one of Paul’s earliest epistles. However, it seems unlikely that Paul would reveal in one of his first letters that Christ created all things and then never mention it again until one of his last letters. In fact, Hebrews seems to have been written after the prison epistles because in Philippians 2:19 Paul revealed that he was planning to send Timothy to Philippi, and Hebrews 13:23 reveals that Paul was waiting for Timothy to return from what was most likely his mission to Philippi so that they could travel together to Jerusalem.
The prison epistles do not refer specifically to the inheritance of the Abrahamic covenants while that is the primary discussion of Paul’s pre-prison epistles and the Book of Hebrews. Likewise, the pre-prison epistles and the book of Hebrews make no specific reference to the Church which is the Body of Christ or the dispensation of the Church which is the Body of Christ. This leads me to conclude that the Church which is the Body of Christ and its special dispensation are separate and apart from the truths that relate to Abraham his promises.
Furthermore, it is logical to conclude that the truths of the Church were written to a group of people who were to exist after the recipients of the pre-prison epistles but before the recipients of the book of Hebrews and that Paul’s target audience for the book of Hebrews was probably the Jewish believers of the tribulation period who would serve the Lord after the catching up of the Church.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/
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