E
epouraniois
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PRELUDE-Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed -But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done; and there is no respect of persons. -(For many [believers] walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: -For the word of God [our only help] is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. In the NT, Paul wrote 14 books out of the 27. Paul never met Christ Jesus while the Messiah was in the flesh. Paul, reflecting:Act 26:13 At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. Act 26:14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Act 26:15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. Act 26:16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Act 26:17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, Act 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Act 26:19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: Act 26:20 But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. In v16, we can clearly see that Paul had two ministries, to preach those things he had seen, and God promises he will teach those things which God will later make known to him. About 8 years after Calvary is about when Paul receives this vision of the LORD on Damascus road [Acts 22:17-21], and the pattern of when Israel will see Him who they have pierced, and repent [1 Tim 1:16].Act 22:21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.Paul tried at the first to preach in Damascus after his conversion, & he had to flee for his life, and go over the wall in a basket. Now, they plot against his life in Jerusalem because of his teaching, and the LORD tells him to depart, for he is to go out and proclaim the kingdom to the Jews in dispersion, while the 12 where to stay in Judea, in Jerusalem and proclaim it there. So, here is the division of the ministry. But Paul didn’t teach to gentiles for about 6 years, he preached only to Jews for 9 years at the beginning of his ministry.In Romans 11 we find the reason to preach to the gentiles was to provoke Israel to jealousy. Not for the gentile’s sake, because Israel’s commission was to go to the gentiles someday, but that will have to be in the millennial kingdom. Act 13:45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Act 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. When Paul speaks to the gentiles, it is not another gospel, he was still proclaiming the kingdom, only this, that the gentiles could partake of Israel’s hope and blessings without coming under the law. It was by grace, and this is the gospel of the grace of God, that Paul taught for 18 years to gentiles outside of the wall of the synogaguge; but that the Jews were required to keep the law. Even in Romans [7:12] he says the law is just and Holy, & good. A great many people have the misconception that Paul was preaching “the church” during Acts, but he wasn’t, and neither were the 12. Notice in Acts 15, at the counsel, the question was not one of doctrine, no, it was to whom should the gospel of the kingdom be preached, that was the question. Of course, the Judahizers were insisting Paul could not teach them until they first be circumcised & become Jews; and they were both quoting scripture, and Paul quotes from Deuteronomy where it is prophesied that God would use a foreign people to provoke Israel to jealousy, and that was exactly what the teaching gentiles was for, so that Israel would bring forth fruit and accept the kingdom which was close at hand at that time. We find Paul teaching the gospel of the grace of God in Acts 20:24. In Acts 28:28 it is about 27 years after Paul’s conversion on the Damascus road. 9 years to Jews only and 18 years to both Jew and Gentile.Then comes the “Mystery”, and the new apostleship of Paul, see Eph 3, and another dispensation of the Grace of God.By the time you answer the following questions, by finding the answers in the Bible, your knowledge of God’s plan in relation to you will have increased, and your pathway shall be clear for a worthy walk in truth and in light in hope and glory in Christ:FIRST SEVEN QUESTIONS1We know, by Corinthians and Thessalonians especially, that Paul was looking for the “Parousia”, and to be living when that occurred. When did Paul cease looking for that parousia and expect to die?2 At one time Paul was an able minister of the new covenant. When did Paul cease to preach the new covenant?3 In Romans 2 we are told that the message is to the Jew first, and that Paul always went to the Jew first. And he practiced what he preached, and yet, there came a time when the gospel was no longer preached to the Jew. When was that?4In the latter part of the book of Acts Paul said he was bound and in chains for the hope of Israel. In Ephesians 3 he says he is the prisoner of the LORD for us gentiles. When did Paul cease to be bound for the hope of Israel, and become a prisoner for the hope of us gentiles? What happened? 5When was the “Mystery” which had been “hid in God” from all ages first preached by Paul? 6At one time (Act 26:22) Paul taught none other things than that which was taught by Moses and the Prophets. When did he cease teaching that, and begin to teach a message of which Moses and the Prophets knew nothing?7In Romans 9, and it’s emphasized, that the Word of God was the prerogative of the Jew to be proclaimed. When did the preaching of the Word cease to be the sole right and prerogative of the Jew?