Rightly
Dividing the Word of Truth
(II
Timothy 2:15)
Revelation
18:1-18
Announcements:
For
those of you who are following along with our Home Bible Study Group via the
internet – welcome. Thank you for taking
the time to study Scripture along with us.
We
are still working our way through the book of Revelation. I believe we will complete this study within
the next few months. After this, I plan
to begin a study of the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and this
in turn will lead us into the study of the book of ACTS. I pray you will join us.
*****
FOLLOW
THE LEADER
“Paul, called as an
apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God…”
Some
of you may have no idea what that lead in means or why I’ve chosen to use it.
I
get that. And this is the reason I’ve I
chosen to write this Bible lesson for you.
When
I hear someone, in a conversation, boldly claim, “I only follow Jesus.”
I
immediately recognize one thing about them.
They do not understand Scripture.
They
have been indoctrinated into the four gospels, but their understanding of
Paul’s stewardship of the Gospel of Grace and his relationship with the risen
Lord Jesus Christ is severely lacking.
Seldom
does the Apostle Paul receive the credit or the respect his position requires.
The
Apostle Paul was chosen (called) by the will of God.
Think
about that statement and all that it means to say.
“Called?” What was the purpose for which Paul was
called forth?
When
the Creator God calls you believe me, He has a purpose in mind.
Remember
the twelve?
Peter,
Matthew, James, John, Judas, etc. were they volunteers after they met Jesus or
did Jesus call them out by name beforehand?
What
is a “Steward?”
A
steward performs the duties of a supervisor or administrator of the affairs of
another.
And
in this instance, Paul is the manager of the Lord Jesus Christ’s affairs here
on earth.
Are
you following me so far?
Paul’s Stewardship
Ephesians 3
1: For this reason
I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of (who) you Gentiles –
2: If indeed you
have heard of the stewardship (management) of God’s grace which was given to me for you;
3: that by
revelation (the
revealing of something previously hidden or secret – a mystery. A revealing of what is believed to be divine
will or truth) there was made known to
me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.
4: By referring to
this, when you read you can understand my insight into the (you’re going to
see the word “mystery” often when you read the writings of Paul) mystery of Christ,
5: which in other
generations was (what)
not made known to the sons of men, as it
has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit.
6: to be specific,
that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow
partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, (Paul’s 1st
missionary journey began in the year 46 AD.
Before that time in history Gentiles were NOT included in God’s covenants
with the nation of Israel.)
7: (Read slowly,
please) of which I (the Apostle
Paul) was made a minister, (and not
Peter, James, John, and the others) of
God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.
8: To me, the very
least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the
unfathomable riches of Christ,
9: …and to bring to
light what is the administration (the management) of the (what) the mystery
which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things.
For added emphasis I copied this excerpt from one of Les’s Bible lessons.
I
wanted you to see another’s opinion on this subject.
Revelation
18:8
"Therefore
shall her plagues come in (how fast) one day (I'm a literalist; I don't
think this is a long time; this is instantaneous), death, and mourning, and
famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God
who judgeth her."
Let's go back for a moment to Luke 21. I mentioned it in the last lesson, and we'll see how even the words of Jesus Himself, during His earthly ministry spoke of these things.
Let's go back for a moment to Luke 21. I mentioned it in the last lesson, and we'll see how even the words of Jesus Himself, during His earthly ministry spoke of these things.
When
I speak of Jesus' earthly ministry, we need to remember that when we come to
the letters of the Apostle Paul, they are the words of Christ as well. And here is where a lot of people get hung
up.
When I emphasize Paul and the Pauline doctrines, they will say, "Now wait a minute Les, I go by what Jesus said." Well where do you think Paul got his words?
He got his words from Jesus, but under a different set of circumstances.
When I emphasize Paul and the Pauline doctrines, they will say, "Now wait a minute Les, I go by what Jesus said." Well where do you think Paul got his words?
He got his words from Jesus, but under a different set of circumstances.
Jesus
spoke in the flesh while He was here on the earth, while He was still dealing
with Israel under the Law. But you see Paul gives us the revelation of
Jesus Christ who has now finished the work of the Cross; He (Jesus Christ) has
defeated death and sin and Satan. He is now ascended and from His
glorified position in glory, Jesus speaks to us (on this side of the cross –
emphasis is mine)
through the Apostle Paul.
So this is what I mean when I say this is what Jesus said in His earthly ministry:
End of Les’s excerpt.
So this is what I mean when I say this is what Jesus said in His earthly ministry:
End of Les’s excerpt.
*****
This
problem has always existed in the Body of Christ. It’s not a “new thing.”
Paul had to address this very subject with the church members in Corinth.
But I think the primary reason this continues to be an issue today stems from a lack of precise Bible teaching in the church today. And the remainder is a result of an individual’s ignorance. Please open your Bible to I Corinthians chapter 1.
1 Corinthians 1
Paul had to address this very subject with the church members in Corinth.
But I think the primary reason this continues to be an issue today stems from a lack of precise Bible teaching in the church today. And the remainder is a result of an individual’s ignorance. Please open your Bible to I Corinthians chapter 1.
1 Corinthians 1
1: Paul, called (Read Acts chapter
9) as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the
will of God,
(I
don’t believe that needs an explanation.
It is what it is. Skip down to
verse 2.)
2: To the church of
God which is at Corinth, (obviously Paul is writing to Believers who belong to
the Body of Christ in Corinth, Greece.
Please go to verse 10.)
10: Now I exhort
you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and
that there be no (what
is the next word) divisions among you,
but that you be made (read carefully) complete
in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11: For I have been
informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are
quarrels (in
the Greek language this means more than just a disagreement between
individuals. It is a much stronger word
meaning: bitter and sometimes violent conflict, struggle, or rivalry) among you.
12: (And here’s the
reason for this strife among the Christ’s body) Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul, and “I
of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas (Peter),”
and “I of Christ.” (Meaning: there
was division in the Body of Christ)
13: (Here Paul presents his argument for
following Christ – and no other!) Has Christ been divided! Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of
Paul? (Does this sound as if Paul is
promoting himself?)
Paul
continues to present his case for the Lord Jesus Christ in the following
chapters without letup. Let’s pick up his
statement in chapter 3.
1 Corinthians 3
1: And I, brethren,
could not speak to you as spiritual men, but as to men of (what is the next
word) flesh, as to infants in
Christ. (We become Believers as
“infants.” However, the Lord expects
each one of us to mature “Spiritually” or progress from this infant stage. We are NOT to remain Spiritual infants.)
2: I gave you milk to
drink, not solid food; for you not yet able to receive it.
(Paul’s
not speaking of food in the literal sense.
He’s speaking of the Biblical ABC’s, if you will. For example: your elementary math teacher
didn’t begin by teaching you algebra.
You started with simple arithmetic and progressed from there.
But
the point is you were expected to progress.)
3: for you are
still fleshly. For since there is
jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking
like mere men?
4: For when says “I
am of Paul, and another, “I am of Apolllos,” are you not mere men?
5: What then is
Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as
the Lord gave opportunity to each one.
6: I planted,
Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
7: So then neither the one who plants nor the
one who waters is anything, (now read carefully Paul’s words) but God who causes the growth.
God
causes the growth and not the man or woman who does the planting or watering.
*****
As I said earlier, the Apostle Paul had to respond to these same issues in the early church. People were all over the place with their beliefs systems and who they wanted to follow, etc. They each held their personnel favorites, likes, and dislikes.
Believe
me Les Feldick does not want you following him folks.
I
don’t want you following me either my friends.
We
follow and believe only the One!
We
are only here to help. We are guides.
If
you pay attention to our teaching materials, that message comes across loud and
clear. The Apostle Paul does not want
you following him either.
But
I’ll let him do the telling.
Christian Order
Christian Order
I Corinthians 11
1: Be ye followers
of me (the
Apostle Paul), even as I also am (a
follower) of Christ.
KJV
As
a child, did you ever play a game called follow the leader?
The
idea is to mimic the actions of the person leading the game.
To
stay in the game you have to imatate the leader’s action accurately.
Here’s
the New American Standard’s version of the Bible verse above.
Christian Order
I Corinthians 11
1: Be imitators of
me, just as I also am of Christ.
The
Lord Jesus Christ is our Leader.
The
Apostle Paul is the Lord Jesus Christ’s steward of the Gospel of Grace.
Anyone
who chooses to teach today becomes a steward of that same gospel.
This
responsibility humbles me.
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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