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Bible Study: Lutz, Florida
Rightly
Dividing the Word of Truth
2
Timothy 2:15
Is there more than
one gospel in effect today?
Part
XI
Announcement
About
two years ago, after many months of prayerful consideration, I decided to move this
Bible study beyond the living room and onto the WWW. My decision was based exclusively on my personnel
experiences and this logic:
o
There is a “hunger” for Truth in this world.
o
Only in Truth, is there real freedom.
o
The only place you’re going to hear Bible Truth is in
the home…
William R. Newell
I
wanted you to know the Lord has responded to this prayer request.
Our
small group is growing. God is using
this Home Bible Study ministry to
assist people in their search for Truth.
I’d
like to formally welcome those Bible students who are following along with us
from the following countries: Canada, China, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Germany, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, United Kingdom, and
the United States
Thank
you for taking the time to study God’s Word along with us.
We
have a question and answer period after each one of our classes here in Lutz,
Florida, and I imagine you have a few questions yourself from time to
time.
I
will read your questions and respond to them as quickly as possible.
*****
I’d
like to begin this lesson with some “house-work.”
Why did God change
Saul’s name to Paul? Answer: He didn’t.
Saul of Tarsus, a
Hebrew, was named by his parents.
But
his father was a Roman citizen; therefore, Saul inherited Roman
citizenship.
Saul
also had a Latin name Paul. Dual names were common in those days.
Since
Saul grew up in a strict Pharisee environment, the name Saul was by far the
more appropriate name to go by.
But
after Saul’s conversion, and because he was chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ to be
His apostle to the gentiles, Saul used his Roman name (Paul) which is a name
gentiles were more accustomed to.
His
intention: to put people at ease and to
approach them in a language and a style they could relate to. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)
*****
From
this point on, I will refer to this man as “Paul” when it’s appropriate.
When
we last left Paul, he was preaching “the
Lord” to the Hellenistic Jews in Jerusalem; and we discovered these same
Jews were anxious to put him to death for it.
We
know by their reaction they were not receptive to his gospel.
Before
we go any further there’s something you need to know.
From
Acts 9:25-26 there is a three-year
gap in time. (There’s that #3 again!)
The
Apostle Luke wrote the book of
Acts. He was a historian and a
physician.
If
you carefully study the book of Acts, you’ll see Luke focuses on two
individuals for the most part, Peter and Paul.
Luke was a detail- oriented individual to be sure.
But
Luke does not mention this 3-year gap in Paul’s life.
You
have to “dig deeper” into God’s Word to
find this truth and this is why I remind you from time to time that the Bible
is meant to be studied – not read.
The
Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church he established in Galatia between the
years 48-52 AD. This is where we find
the information about these missing 3 years.
Galatians 1
15: But when God,
who had set me apart even from my mother’s and called me through His grace (“grace” = unmerited
favor) was pleased
16: to reveal His
Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, (read carefully) I did not immediately consult with flesh
and blood (or the living),
17: nor did I go
up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me (What’s Paul
saying? Paul did not confer with Peter,
James, John, or any of the apostles.
Paul did not receive instructions from any of them concerning the Lord. Furthermore Paul is letting us know that HE
IS ALSO AN APOSTLE); but I went to
(where) Arabia, and returned
once more to Damascus. (How long was
Paul in Arabia? Read on.)
18: Then (how long) three years later I went up to
Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas (Peter) and stayed with him fifteen days.
(Verse
18 takes us back to where we were in
Acts 9:26: - “When he (Saul) came (back) to Jerusalem…”)
Are
you still with me? I don’t want to lose
anyone.
Let’s
work with what we know.
- We know that when Paul escaped from those Jews who planned to kill him in Damascus, he went to Arabia.
- He had been preaching the Covenant Gospel to Jew only.
- We know this is all the information he had to work with.
- Paul was in Arabia from 37 – 40 AD (approximately)
- After this, Paul returned to Jerusalem.
Paul
was a changed man when he returned to Jerusalem and so was his message.
Ephesians 3
1: For this reason
I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles
2: if indeed you
have heard of the (what)
stewardship (manager) of God’s grace which was (read
carefully) given to me for you
(gentiles);
Read
that verse again. Let the meaning sink
in…
3: that by (what means) revelation (revelation is the revealing
or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with Deity)
there was made known to me the mystery, (what
mystery – the “secrets” pertaining to the Church Age. There isn’t a hint of it anywhere in
Scripture before Paul’s conversion. In
fact, if you take the writings of Paul out of the Bible, there are no Church
Age teachings left.)
I
prefer the King James Version translation.
Ephesians 3
1: For this cause I Paul, the
prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
2: If ye have heard of the dispensation
of the grace of God which is given me to youward:
3: How that by revelation he made
known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4: Whereby, when ye read, ye may
understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) (Only Paul writes/speaks of these Church Age mysteries – no one else.)
5: Which in other ages was not made
known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and
prophets by the Spirit;
6: That the Gentiles should be
fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in
Christ by the gospel:
7: Whereof I was made a minister,
according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual
working of his power.
8: Unto me, who
am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9: And to make all men see what
is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the
world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
10: To the intent that now unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the
manifold wisdom of God,
11: According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in
Christ Jesus our Lord:
12: In whom we have boldness and
access with confidence by the faith of him.
Paul
wasn’t speaking this kind of language after his conversion or in the synagogues
at Damascus. Do you see that?
Logic
dictates that Paul received this “revelation” from the Lord sometime after that.
I
believe it’s safe to assume Paul was “made
a minister” of these “mysteries”
after he escaped the attempt on his life in Damascus and while he was away in
Arabia.
I
also believe there are parallels in Scripture or “foreshadows” of things to
come.
We’re
going to examine one of these from the Old Testament to see if it applies here
in our next lesson.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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