First, it is needful that we distinguish between those Scriptures which apply immediately to the Jew, to the Gentile, or to the Church of God:
Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles nor to the church of God (I Corinthians 10:32).
Since the Bible has a message to all three, we must conclude that “all the Bible is for us, but not all the Bible is about us.” The Jew, the Gentile and the Church, each having its peculiar relationship to God and its own pathway of prophecy, must be distinguished the one from the other.
Second, it is essential that we distinguish between law, grace and the Kingdom. Each is a different dispensation characterized by contrasting principles. In point of time the first is past, the second is present and the third is future. Our Lord Jesus Christ has a direct bearing on each.
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17).
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth (Romans 10:4).
Law is God prohibiting and punishing. Grace is God seeking and saving. Law utterly condemns the best of men. Grace freely justifies the worst of men. Under the personal reign of Christ at His Second Coming to the earth, both law and grace will be in evidence. The law was given expressly to Israel, thus the seat of His power during the Millennium will be Jerusalem and He shall reign over restored Israel. Moreover, the saved of this dispensation of grace, who make up the Church which is His Body, will be associated with Him. Our Lord’s disciples did not clearly understand this distinction (Luke 24:21; Acts 1:6, 7).
Third, we must distinguish between the two Advents of Jesus Christ. Any person reading the Old Testament for the first time may fail to see the distinction between Christ’s first coming to earth in weakness and humiliation to suffer and to die, and His Second Coming to earth in sovereign power to rule and reign as earth’s glorious King. The religious leaders of Christ’s day rejected Him simply because they did not make this distinction.
Now there are a number of other distinctions which the Bible makes and which we should understand, such as faith and works, salvation and rewards, the Christian’s standing and state, the Christian’s two natures, and the two resurrections.
Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles nor to the church of God (I Corinthians 10:32).
Since the Bible has a message to all three, we must conclude that “all the Bible is for us, but not all the Bible is about us.” The Jew, the Gentile and the Church, each having its peculiar relationship to God and its own pathway of prophecy, must be distinguished the one from the other.
Second, it is essential that we distinguish between law, grace and the Kingdom. Each is a different dispensation characterized by contrasting principles. In point of time the first is past, the second is present and the third is future. Our Lord Jesus Christ has a direct bearing on each.
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17).
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth (Romans 10:4).
Law is God prohibiting and punishing. Grace is God seeking and saving. Law utterly condemns the best of men. Grace freely justifies the worst of men. Under the personal reign of Christ at His Second Coming to the earth, both law and grace will be in evidence. The law was given expressly to Israel, thus the seat of His power during the Millennium will be Jerusalem and He shall reign over restored Israel. Moreover, the saved of this dispensation of grace, who make up the Church which is His Body, will be associated with Him. Our Lord’s disciples did not clearly understand this distinction (Luke 24:21; Acts 1:6, 7).
Third, we must distinguish between the two Advents of Jesus Christ. Any person reading the Old Testament for the first time may fail to see the distinction between Christ’s first coming to earth in weakness and humiliation to suffer and to die, and His Second Coming to earth in sovereign power to rule and reign as earth’s glorious King. The religious leaders of Christ’s day rejected Him simply because they did not make this distinction.
Now there are a number of other distinctions which the Bible makes and which we should understand, such as faith and works, salvation and rewards, the Christian’s standing and state, the Christian’s two natures, and the two resurrections.
