The BIG Picture (Shorts)

Read the Parable of the Sower in Matt 13:3-9, 18-23. Overall, four classes of people heard the Word of God, but only the last group (1/4) actually received by faith that sound Bible doctrine. The other 3 groups represented lost souls —but who all heard the Word! Furthermore, after concluding the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus cautioned Israel not only to “hear” His words but “do” them, Matt 7:24-26. Now, also read this remarkable passage is Acts 24:24-27. Governor Felix heard the Gospel of Grace from Paul —and literally shuddered when he realized he was a lost, Hell-bound sinner! But, Felix procrastinated in receiving the gospel. For 2-years, he had more "Bible discussions" with Paul, but he remained undecided and lost, keeping Paul in chains.  Like so many people, it was far better had Felix heard nothing, than to have heard so much from God and yet believed none of it! So, to recap thus; hearing the Word of God is insufficient. We must respond to it in faith! ______________ Joi...

In Gal 1:11-12 Paul wrote, "But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Then in Gal 1:15-17 he added, "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen (the Gentiles); immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia,...".  Paul makes it very clear that his gospel came to him through direct revelation from the ascended Christ. It did not come from the other Apostles or any other person. I often hear people say, "I go by what Jesus said, not by what Paul said." The problem with this reasoning is that Paul's doctrine DID come from Jesus, after He ascended to heaven. So, if they are not going by Paul's doc...

  Just like Zechariah's prophecy in the image, there are dozens of other Old Testament prophecies that combine Christ’s two comings without any gap between them for our dispensation. Prophecy foretells two great events, (1) the meek and lowly advent of the Messiah as the Son of man, and (2) the defeat of Israel's enemies and the Millennial kingdom on the earth in which Israel would be preeminent. The Old Testament prophets didn't know of two additional comings of Christ to divide the two prophesied comings —one coming to start our grace dispensation (saving Saul) and one to end it (the rapture). These are the two comings according to mystery, that “which was kept secret since the world began” (Rom 16:25-26). Nothing in the Old Testament indicated God would delay the prophetic program for 2,000 years, but God delayed His judgment and extended His grace so Jews and Gentiles can be saved by faith alone in believing Paul's gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). This is grace! ____...

Faith is not emotions or feelings. Faith is knowledge of the truth. In other words, if the Bible says, "God is near you" (Eph.2:13), then faith believes that, irrespective of emotions and feelings. If your emotions rule you, then your life will be like a roller coaster, constantly tossed between the highs and the lows. Emotions cannot provide you any stability in your relationship with God. However, if you stand on faith, then no matter what your emotional state, you have a firm grounding, and God will be near, because truth says so, not because you think you feel Him. How do you learn to have faith? Well, remember that your whole being, your flesh (or human reasoning), defaults to emotions and feelings. Your default response to everything is feelings since you are conditioned on these since you were born. But faith comes by the Word. You grow in faith by learning the Word, studying the Word, gaining knowledge in the Word. As the Word starts to fill your thoughts, you will st...

If Judas was a disciple of Jesus but lost his salvation as prophesied when he betrayed Jesus, what is the chances that I can lose my salvation? Salvation under the Kingdom gospel was not secure because their salvation was based on their own faith and endurance. Jesus preached that kingdom believers had to pick up their cross and follow Him, and the one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is not fit for the kingdom, and they had to endure to the end in their faith, Matt 24:13; Mk 13:13. In this regard, Judas lost his salvation. In the Tribulation, if one turned from faith in God, it meant that one was turning in allegiance to the Antichrist, and to eternal damnation! Thus, in this time one's salvation is also not secure. Our salvation in this dispensation of grace is eternally secure! Why? Because our salvation is not based on our own works and endurance, but it is based on the perfect faith and work OF Christ. It's because of Christ that we are sealed into the Body u...

  In 2 Cor.5:16, Paul says an incredible statement! "Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer" . You might think that Paul is blaspheming! How could Paul say this? Well, it's not that we forget Christ. Never! Paul means that we do not know him in his earthly ministry, which was under prophecy and to the Jews only (Gal.4:4; Matt.10:6; Matt.15:24). Today, we recognize Jesus "according to the revelation of the mystery", Rom.16:25. Jesus' earthly ministry, teachings, and signs, were for the Jews, to prove His identity and prepare them for their earthly inheritance. We can read the 4-gospels today and receive nuggets of truth, but none of it is directed to us. Our instructions are written in Paul's 13-epistles, and these are the commands addressed and directed to us today. Paul's epistles help us to know Jesus according to the revelation of the mysteries. We must study the Bible dividing prophecy and mys...

Did you know that Matt.5-7 is the inside scoop on how the Millennial Kingdom will be governed. Read it with this context and note its uncompromising laws. It is clear that righteousness is on a WHOLE new level.  Now, if you wonder how in the world one can abide by those laws; know that the Jews will be perfect examples of this righteousness, having the laws written on their hearts and empowered by the Spirit to walk in these ways, Jer 31:31-34. Second, Satan is imprisoned in the bottomless pit, Rev 20:3, thus temptation and deceit in the Gentile nations will not be prevalent and education in the law will keep them in the ways of righteousness, truth, and peace. We are not in this Kingdom today and we are still subject to temptation and deceit, but we have the Grace doctrine. As we grow in knowledge of God's Word and submit to obedience to it, 2Co 10:5, we can mortify the deeds of the body, walk in the spirit, and learn to please God, Rom 8:1-17.

In Rom.16:25-26, Paul refers to the gospel as 'his gospel', by saying, "...according to my gospel...". Paul differentiates the gospel he received from the Lord, the Grace Gospel, from the Gospel of the Kingdom, proclaimed by the 12-apostles. These two gospels were both valid during the Acts period, but the Kingdom gospel was suspended by Peter at the Jerusalem council in Acts 15:11 when he said, "But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even [in like manner] as they." This is why Paul was able to explicitly proclaim that there was NO OTHER VALID GOSPEL but his grace gospel in Gal.1:8-9. Based on this clarification, Rom.2:15 follows on nicely when Paul proclaims boldly, "in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel". Since Paul's gospel is the only gospel in operation during this grace dispensation, it stands to reason that men would be subject to faith in its ...

When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he praised them for their strong growth in faith, (2Thes.1:3). How did he know they were growing spiritually? Because of 3 important things: Paul commended them for their love and kindness to one another (2Thes.1:3). They displayed patience, They had unwavering faith in persecution and tribulations they faced for the sake of Christ (2Thes.1:4).  Without true love, there can be no real spiritual growth, (1Co.13:1-8). Also, staying positive in tribulation is a clear sign of spiritual growth. These attributes demonstrated their spiritual maturity and their reliance on Christ's indwelling life.  So, what caused them grow spiritually? Only one thing! They received the Word of God as the truth, not just the words of men (1Thes.2:13). They had genuine interest in the scriptures and allowed the truths they learned to transform their lives. From the above we can learn, 'What is true spiritual growth', and also, 'How does it come about'.

Paul's Credibility #2 1Co 4:15  For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. In our first reference on this topic, 1Cor 3:10, Paul mentions that he, as a wise master builder, has laid the foundation. Now, let's continue investigating some more incredible claims Paul made in his writings that proves his validity as the apostle to the Gentiles and the one who received the mystery doctrine for the Body of Christ. The above verse ties in with our key verse today, 1Cor 4:15, and validates why Paul could say that he had begotten us (or 'fathered' us) as converted grace believers, through the gospel (of grace). As Abraham was the first man to become a Jew, and from him came the Jewish nation in the flesh, so Paul became the first member into the Body of Christ (1Tim 1:16) and from the gospel message given to him by the glorified Lord, he begot, (or fathered, in spirit), all grac...

An interesting flow in Paul's epistles Some of Paul's epistles flow into each other by ending off with a specific topic, and then continuing that topic in the beginning of the next epistle. Considering that the chronology of Paul's letters is not its Biblical order, this fact adds credibility to the curriculum in the church epistles. At the end of 2 Corinthians, Paul warns against false teachers who preach another gospel (2Cor 11:13-15). Galatians begins with Paul expressing his astonishment that the Galatians have so quickly turned away from the true gospel (Gal 1:6-7). Galatians concludes by emphasizing the concept of the “new creature” (Gal 6:15). Ephesians starts to educate believers on the new creature when Paul writes about their new identity in Christ and the spiritual blessings they have received (Eph 1:3-14).

Paul's Credibility #1 Paul made some incredible claims in his writings. In 1 Cor.3:10, Paul mentions that he, as a wise master builder, has laid the foundation. He claims this after Jesus had already laid the groundwork of the Kingdom program in Matt.16:18.  Are these claims valid? YES! Paul could stand by these claims because he was separated to be 'the' apostle to the Gentiles, Rom.11:13, by the risen and glorified Jesus Christ, Act 9:15; Gal 1:1. The reason why Paul had to lay a new foundation is because the Kingdom program belonged to the Jews and it was a different body of doctrine under a different dispensation. Paul was sent to the Gentiles, and he received a completely different doctrine for the Gentiles, Rom.16:25-26. This mystery doctrine under grace required a new foundation, and no other foundation apart from this one would be valid, —even the gospel, Gal.1:8-9.

We don't feature in all of the 6000-years of Bible history! When we study the Bible, we discover that God interacts with people differently according to the progression of His redemption plan. The moment this truth becomes real, it completely changes your understanding of scripture. In Matthew to John, we find the earthly ministry of Jesus for Israel. In Acts, Israel falls, and salvation goes to the Gentiles via Paul's ministry. Romans to Philemon contains our doctrine for this present dispensation. Lastly, Hebrews to Revelation focus on Israel's purpose in the ages to come, when God will fulfil His plan for both Israel and the Body of Christ. All of the Bible is for us, but it's not all to us, nor all about us. We are not the only people God's redemption plans. People in other ages needed scripture to instruct them in God's dealings with them, just as we do. If we fail to recognize this, we will never be able to properly understand what God is doing today, nor ...

COMMENT: Jesus gave His disciples a commission, Matt 28:19-20. As the church, we are responsible to teach Jesus’ word, make disciples, and baptize. These things are to be done in all nations until the end of the age. REPLY: In 2Tim.2:15, Paul instructs us to rightly divide the Word. This instruction tells us to divide Israel's prophetic doctrine from the mystery doctrine for the Body of Christ. These two dispensations cannot be merged together because they are distinct and contradictory. Mixing these doctrines will cause false narratives and skewed doctrine. The instructions you quote in Matt.28 is the commission for Israel. Our commission today is different. It is to reconcile people to God through Paul's mystery doctrine, 2Co.5:18. Paul tells us that we do NOT know Jesus according to His earthly ministry, 2Cor.5:16, and that we should preach Jesus Christ according to the mysteries, Rom.16:25-26. We should take care not to mix up the doctrines.

There are many CONTRADICTIONS between the prophecy and mystery doctrines. Take for example: Are we under prophecy or mystery? – Act 3:21, Rom 16:25-26. Is Christ’s blood shed for many or for all? – Mat 20:28, 1 Tim 2:6 Are sins imputed against us? – Act 5:1-10, Rom 4:8 Works for righteousness? – Jam 2:24, Tit 3:5 Is forgiveness conditional or not? – Mat 6:14-15, Eph 4:32 Does the gospel include water baptism? – Mk 1:4, 1Co 15:1-4 Are we under the law or not? – Mat 5:19, Rom 6:14 Gentiles blessed through Israel’s rise or fall? – Act 3:25, Rom 11:11 etc… These contradictions are right there in the Bible, and plain to see. They ARE NOT ERRORS, just 2 different programs in God’s redemption plan. If you merge them, you get contradictions, but kept apart, they are distinct doctrines, one for Israel (prophecy), the other for the Body of Christ (mystery). In 2Tim.2:15, Paul tells us to study the Word. The result of careful study leads to understanding the need to rightly divide the Word of tru...

The reason why we rightly divide, 2Tim2:15 God gives different instructions to different people regarding the same thing. Why? God has different programs in His redemption plan; one for earth and one for the heavens. Both prophecy (Israel) and mystery (All under grace) are correct doctrines within their dispensations. Just as with the dietary laws below, we cannot mix prophecy and grace, else it contradicts. We carefully exercise the instructions given for OUR dispensation. Adam: Gen.1:29 – Every herb bearing seed and fruit yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. Noah: Gen.9:3 – Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. Israel: Lev.11:2, 47 – 2 These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. 47 This is the law of the beasts... Paul: 1Tim.4:4 – For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 5 For it is sanctified by the word of God a...