by
Stan Feldsine (www.tojesusbeallglory.com)
Introduction
The rejection of the
King and Kingdom by the Jewish leadership brought about the next
phase of the plan of God to bring salvation to and thus a people for
His name from among the Gentiles. "a people for His name"
was a term previously used only of the people of Israel, and it
showed a change to direct Gentile ministry.
Mat 12:23-24
All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son
of David?" (24) But when the Pharisees heard this, they said,
"It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow
drives out demons."
Act 13:46-47
Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak
the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider
yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. (47)
For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "'I have made you a
light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of
the earth.'"
Act 15:14
Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a
people for his name from the Gentiles.
This phase is referred
to as the "mystery" Kingdom, the mystery being the
revelation of the inclusion of the Gentiles by faith in the spiritual
blessings that were always enjoyed by the Jews, and the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit. The "mystery kingdom" would last from the
Day of Pentecost until the day of the Rapture. The "mystery
kingdom" begins and ends with the age of the Church, or The Body
of Christ.
Col 1:25-27
I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to
you the word of God in its fullness-- (26) the mystery that has been
kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the
Lord's people. (27) To them God has chosen to make known among the
Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory.
Eph 2:11-13
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and
called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the
circumcision" (which is done in the body by human hands)-- (12)
remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded
from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the
promise, without hope and without God in the world. (13) But now in
Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the
blood of Christ.
This phase of God's
plan of salvation on behalf of the Gentiles would bring about the
fulfillment of the spiritual promises to Abraham in the Abrahamic
Covenant that "[He] will be a blessing" and that "all
peoples on earth will be blessed through you".
Gen 12:2-3
"I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I
will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (3) I will
bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and
all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
Act 3:25
And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with
your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples
on earth will be blessed.'
Gal 3:8
Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and
announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be
blessed through you."
The Gentiles would
access these spiritual blessings through the shed blood of Christ by
grace through faith, the same way as the Jews. The entity created of
Jew and Gentile would be called the "Church", and "The
Body of Christ", and those therein would be a "New
Humanity".
Rom 3:22
This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who
believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,
Eph 2:15
by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and
regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity
out of the two, thus making peace,
Prior to this, the
Gentiles were a sorry lot, "separate from Christ, excluded from
citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise,
without hope and without God in the world."
Eph 2:11-12
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and
called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the
circumcision" (which is done in the body by human hands)-- (12)
remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded
from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the
promise, without hope and without God in the world.
But all that changed
with the shed blood of Christ.
Eph 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought
near by the blood of Christ.
Rom 11:11-12
Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at
all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to
the Gentiles to make Israel envious. (12) But if their transgression
means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the
Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!
So from the point of
view of the Jews, the Messianic Kingdom was no longer imminent, but
would be postponed indefinitely, replaced for the time being by the
Mystery Kingdom. The Mystery Kingdom would be spiritual,
characterized by the Holy Spirit indwelling believers. It is referred
to as a "mystery" because it was not previously revealed in
the Hebrew Scriptures.
From the point of view
of God, this redemption of all the people on earth was His plan from
the beginning.
As the Body of Christ
began to grow, Paul the Pharisee and his cohorts brought great
persecution to the believers, and Paul led them to do everything they
could to squash this new movement. Until one day, Paul fell off of
his horse and was blinded by the Lord, events that brought about his
salvation. The redeemed Paul did a 180 and became a follower of
Jesus, and a teacher to the Gentiles.
Act 9:4-6
He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul,
why do you persecute me?" (5) "Who are you, Lord?"
Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he
replied. (6) "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be
told what you must do."
Act 9:20
At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of
God.
The letter to the
Galatians was written by Paul to come against false teachers who were
following him around and contradicting his message. False teachers
were attempting to require that the Gentiles get circumcised and keep
the law of Moses in order to be saved. Paul was teaching that
salvation was through believing by grace through faith alone. This
letter refutes these false teachers that were bringing a works based
gospel to the people Paul was teaching.
The Mysteries of the
Kingdom by Dr. John F. Walvoord
https://bible.org/seriespage/chapter-13-mysteries-kingdom
Galatians
1:1-5 - Greeting
Gal 1:1-5
Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ
and God the Father, who raised him from the dead-- (2) and all the
brothers and sisters with me, To the churches in Galatia: (3) Grace
and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, (4)
who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age,
according to the will of our God and Father, (5) to whom be glory for
ever and ever. Amen.
Galatia was a Roman
province, containing several cities, such as Iconium, Lystra and
Derbe among others. Paul traveled through these cities on his
missionary journeys.
Paul's Hebrew name was
"Saul", and His Gentile name was Paul. Since Paul was the
"apostle to the Gentiles", and went among the Gentiles, he
referred to himself as "Paul".
Paul's appointment to
Apostleship was given by God Himself, and not by a man. As is the
case with us today, God's gifts are provided by Himself to men. We
should recognize that those who are able through gifting to provide
ministry as assigned by God should not be held back by mankind's
practice of recognizing someone with the title before they are
permitted to minister as a teacher, pastor, etc.
The process of
ecclesiastical ordination is not something that is found in the pages
of scripture. It is a man made tradition, perhaps a hold over from
the days of the Mosaic Law. A minister should be performing the role
that God has given them as is the case with Paul. In Paul's case, he
was saved and raised by God to be the apostle to the Gentiles, and
dutifully went about the task.
He was not "ordained"
by a presbytery or council, nor was he given the title before He
performed it. He went about it and was recognized as having it.
Ordination should not be a commission, but a recognition as something
not man given, but God given.
Paul identified himself
as an "apostle". In the time of Christ, the term meant "one
assigned a special commission from the risen Lord", meaning Paul
and the 12. After the 12 and Paul passed on, the more general meaning
of the term was "one who is sent with a message from God".
Paul always used the word to refer to the 12 and himself.
From the beginning,
Paul declared that his apostleship came from Jesus Himself, who was
raised from the dead, and not other men or man. If Paul had received
his commission from a man or men other than Jesus, it would have been
an inferior apostleship.
Paul identified Jesus
Christ as the one who "gave Himself for our sins to rescue us
from the present evil age." Paul refers to the present age that
we presently live in is evil, but assures us that Jesus has rescued
us from it. It would seem that there seems to be a disconnect between
Jesus making provision for rescue and our actually taking advantage
of that provision.
A great deal of the
population of the earth today is suffering, which might lead to the
question of how effective Jesus's death and resurrection was in
rescuing them. But we find that the problem is not the effectiveness
of Jesus's solution, but a willingness on our part to adopt and
implement the solution in our own lives.
The solution and the
effectiveness of the rescue from this evil age comes from a change to
who we are as people. Who we are as people is changed through
transformation. Transformation through steadfastness and
perseverance leads to spiritual maturity without lack.
Rom 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve
what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Jas 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face
trials of many kinds, (3) because you know that the testing of your
faith produces perseverance. (4) Let perseverance finish its work so
that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Col 3:12-15
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe
yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
patience. (13) Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of
you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
(14) And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all
together in perfect unity. (15) Let the peace of Christ rule in your
hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be
thankful.
Eph 4:22-24
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off
your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
(23) to be made new in the attitude of your minds; (24) and to put on
the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness.
Tit 3:4-7
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, (5) he
saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of
his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by
the Holy Spirit, (6) whom he poured out on us generously through
Jesus Christ our Savior, (7) so that, having been justified by his
grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Php 4:11-13
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be
content whatever the circumstances. (12) I know what it is to be in
need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret
of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or
hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (13) I can do all this
through him who gives me strength.
Transformation as
described above is a process of sanctification. It takes persistence,
steadfastness and patience. Rewards are rich, both in this life and
the life to come for those that are able to overcome this present
evil age.
Heb 6:10-12
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have
shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
(11) We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end,
so that what you hope for may be fully realized. (12) We do not want
you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and
patience inherit what has been promised.
