The BIG Picture (Shorts)

  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...

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 ...

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.