ACTS 2 PENTECOST ***
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Grace Ambassadors-
Berean Bible Society-Robert Breaker?
I take it you are an Acts 2 dispentationalist.
J.
I have no issue with dispensationalism, @Doug, but be prepared to face strong opposition-it's coming your way.
Bible.org is also excellent.
J.
[1Co 9:17 KJV] 17 For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation [of the gospel] is committed unto me.
[Eph 1:10 KJV] 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; [even] in him:
[Eph 3:2 KJV] 2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
[Col 1:25 KJV] 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;
Just wanted to say that we didnt make up didpensations
Ephesians 1:10 (KJV):
“That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:”
In this passage, "dispensation" refers to God's plan or administration of the fullness of time, when all things will be gathered in Christ.
Ephesians 3:2 (KJV):
“If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:”
Here, "dispensation" refers to the stewardship or administration of God's grace that Paul was given to share with the Gentiles.
Colossians 1:25 (KJV):
“Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God;”
"Dispensation" is used here in a similar sense to Ephesians 3:2, referring to the stewardship or commission Paul received to make God's word known.
1 Timothy 1:4 (KJV):
“Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.”
Although this verse uses "dispensation" in some translations (like the NKJV), the original KJV uses "commandment" instead.
Some versions interpret it as referring to "the administration of God" or "the dispensation" in terms of faith.
The word "dispensation" comes from the Greek word "οἰκονομία" (oikonomia), which means "management of a household or estate," often translated as "stewardship" or "administration." The term refers to the way God organizes or administers different periods in history to fulfill His divine purposes.
The concept of dispensations is particularly developed in dispensational theology, but the term itself is rarely used in scripture.
J.
David in NJ
Well-Known Member
So there was NO Chen/grace in the Old Testament? That what you are saying? And I disagree-the ekklesia IS the body of Christ.
J.
Ronald Nolette
Well-Known Member
[1Ti 1:16 KJV] 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
First off the Body of Christ was not formed until Paul was saved in Acts 9
[Act 2:16 KJV] 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Acts 2 was not forming the Body of Christ church it was prophecy for Israel
[Act 2:30 KJV] 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Paul did not preach Christ was risen for our justification as did Paul but to sit on David's throne in the Davidic earthly kingdom
[Act 2:36 KJV] 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ..
Peter was speaking to Israel not the Body church
you said As Paul and the Apostles taught the same concerning salvation.
we are discussing the twelve and Paul preaching the same gospel for salvation
2. There are many biblical metaphors that help us understand what the church is.
A. The church is the body of Christ, the head.
This is perhaps the most familiar description of the church. Paul uses it extensively in 1 Corinthians 12 to make the point that all believers are members of the one body of Christ. He states (1 Cor. 12:13): “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” He doesn’t mention in that chapter that Christ is the head of the body because his aim is to emphasize both the unity and diversity of the church. Just as in a human body there are many members but each has a different function, so in the body of Christ. Each member has a spiritual gift to be used for the overall good of the body. We’re different, yet we’re one body.
Going along with the point that the church is Christ’s body is the truth that Christ and the church make up the “one new man.” Adam, the first man, fell into sin. But what Adam (“the old man”) lost, Christ (“the new man”), recovered. While most modern translations convey an individual sense to the “new man” (NASB, ESV, NIV = “new self”), Paul’s point is that the new man is corporate: Christ and the church (Col. 3:9-11):
Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self [man] with its evil practices, and have put on the new self [man] who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.
Paul also states that Christ is the head of His body, the church (Eph. 1:22-23): “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Among many practical applications is that each member of Christ’s body must be in submission to Him as the head and in a complementary relationship with other members of the body.
Also, the most important characteristic of bodies is that they are living. While bodies are highly organized, the organization is useless if there is no life. The church is the organic, living body of Christ. Its members must be alive spiritually through the new birth.
B. The church is the bride of Christ.
Paul presents this image in his discussion of the respective roles of husbands and wives (Eph. 5:22-33). Lest we think that he is limiting his discussion to marriage, he states (Eph. 5:32): “This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.” The apostle John presents the same imagery (Rev. 19:7-8; 21:2, 9; & 22:17): the church is the bride, the wife of the Lamb. The main application is that we are to relate to Christ in love, as a bride relates to her husband, and that we are to thrive in the knowledge that He loves us and chose us to be His bride.
C. The church is the family (or household) of God.
In Ephesians 2:19, Paul states, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household.” (See, also, Gal. 6:10; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Pet. 4:17). The family imagery is also seen in the many places where God is called our Father and we are called brothers and sisters in the Lord. We are God’s children through the new birth (John 1:12-13; Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 3:26; 1 John 3:1-2) and also through adoption (Rom. 8:15, 23; Eph. 1:5).
In addition to assuring us of God’s fatherly love and care for us, this truth affects our mindset toward the church. If the church is a Sunday program that you attend, then you go for what you can get out of it. But if the church is the family of God, then you’re a member with your brothers and sisters. Families gather for fundamentally different reasons than audiences do. Families get together for relationships because of the common family bond. Family members don’t threaten to go join another family if there are conflicts or if the family gatherings aren’t meeting their needs. The family bond keeps them together so that they work out their differences in love. Or at least that’s what should happen in Christian families and in the family of God!
D. The church is the temple of God.
Referring to the church, Paul writes (Eph. 2:21-22): “in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” In one sense, a believer’s body is individually a temple of God, but in another sense, the entire church is God’s temple (1 Cor. 6:19; 3: 16-17). This means that He dwells in our midst and thus we must be holy in all our behavior.
E. The church is the flock of God.
Paul challenges the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:28): “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” Peter commands the elders (1 Pet. 5:2), “shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness.” This means that the church belongs to the Lord, not to any pastor or elder, and that church leaders are shepherds, responsible to the Lord to care for His flock.
F. The church is the pillar and support of the truth.
1 Tim. 3:15: “but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” Paul mentions the metaphor of the church as the household of the living God, but then adds that the church upholds and supports the truth. In this day of widespread departure from the truth of God’s word, the church must stand firm in proclaiming and practicing the truth. A main task of elders is that they must hold “fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict” (Titus 1:9).
G. The church is the kingdom of God.
The relationship between the church and God’s kingdom is complicated, and many books have been written on it (George Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom [Eerdmans], is helpful). In Colossians 1:13-14, Paul writes, “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” In 1 Thessalonians 2:12, Paul states his aim, “so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.” (See, also, Acts 8:12; 19:8; 28:23; 1 Cor. 4:20; Rom. 14:17). God’s kingdom has broken into the world through the church, but it awaits a completed form when Christ returns and rules over all the earth (What is the Mission of the Church? Kevin DeYoung & Greg Gilbert [Crossway], p. 117).
The practical application for us is that in the church we live under the rule of Jesus Christ, our King. We serve His purposes. We proclaim His rightful lordship to others, seeking to bring them into submission to His rule. We do not make up our own ideas about what the church should be, but rather submit to the teaching that he has given us in His word.
Conclusion
The main thing that I want you to see in this message is that the church is not a place you attend for spiritual input two or three times a month if you don’t have anything better to do. We’re not here to provide the best show in town for your spiritual enjoyment. If you’ve trusted in Christ, you’re organically joined to other members, so that you’re one body with them under the Head. You’re a member of the family of God, related to other family members, with a God-given ministry to fulfill.
The idea that a Christian could live his or her independent spiritual life separate from the life of a local church is foreign to the New Testament. God wants every part of the body to work together, causing “the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (Eph. 4:16).
Application Questions
How would you define “the church”? How is the New Testament church different than God’s people in the Old Testament?
Think about and discuss some other applications for the various New Testament metaphors of the church. Which ones do you need most to apply?
Discuss the implications of this statement: Families gather for fundamentally different reasons than audiences do.
How can we change the common mindset of Christians so that they change from being spiritual consumers to serving members of the body of Christ?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2017, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
J.
David in NJ
Well-Known Member
Where does it say this in scripture?
Where does it say this in scripture?
This is FALSE
Peter was speaking to the Jews for that is where the Gospel was first sent but not limited to, for God quickly put the kabash on that!!!
1Timothy 1:16 establishes Paul's salvation by grace as being first as far as a new dispensation regarding salvation, gospel, doctrine and formation of a new creature. The new creature is Jew and Gentile in the Body of Christ (Galatians 6:15)
You will not find Body of Christ before Paul's epistles or his salvation and therefore by reason can establish it began with Paul
David in NJ
Well-Known Member
The Body of Christ started in Genesis - but you cannot understand this even though Paul wrote about it
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.c
22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her 26to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.
28In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29Indeed, no one ever hated his own body, but he nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church. 30For we are members of His body.d
31“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”e 32This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about Christ and the church. 33Nevertheless, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
What Acts 2 doesnt say is any reference to the Body of Christ and besides that we established it began to be identified only with Paul's epistles
[Act 2:42 KJV] 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
They followed the twelve's doctrine not Paul's
[Act 2:24, 30 KJV] 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. ... 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Clearly Peter was preaching the resurrection and saying Christ was raised to sit on David's throne in the earthly Davidic kingdom promised to Israel
