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Top of Form
THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE
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Author:
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Dan Oliver, PO Box 422, Amity, Or. 97001
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Source:
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Author's own booklet God's Word for the Dispensation of Grace
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I want to draw some comparisons between what Paul taught and that which was taught by the Twelve Apostles. And, as we go on in this subject, I want to paint a picture for you of events and circumstances that were occurring through the 50's and 60's AD. This was the time period in which Paul wrote his "my gospel" that he refers to in Romans 2:16. This "my gospel" is recorded within the Pauline epistles. My purpose in focusing on this subject is to give you an overview of God's purpose in dealing with man from the time of Christ to the present. This is very much like what we should do when we become lost hiking in the wilderness. We need to get our bearings so we look for some high point from which we can "survey the lay of the land."
Once we have reached that overlook, we are better able to obtain a perspective of what's around us and how we are located in our environment. With a better understanding of where we are in a broader sense, we are better able to make decisions on which direction to go, and maybe even how best to go about getting to our destination.
It's not unlike us as Christians. We become converted to Christ, and begin our Christian journey. We know that we are going somewhere because somebody told us to "go this way," and so we charge off in anyone of a thousand different directions that seem reasonable (based on scripture) as we may be taught by a mentor in Christ, our pastor, or other good-intentioned believers. The problem is, and I found this to be true in my own Christian walk, I reached a point where I seemed to be going in circles. I was taught a certain way in my Christian youth, and then as I matured and learned to read the Word, I found that where I was headed and how I was going about it didn't seem to make sense at times. I found conflicting scriptures. I would find a scripture in one place that would tell me to do such-and-such, and in another place, I would be told not to do it. But, because I believed the Bible was the Living Word of God, I felt it was my place as a Christian and a Bible-believer to "do as the Bible said." Have you ever found yourself in this predicament?
Well, what I needed was a Godly perspective on things. I needed to get to a high point and look around me; that is, kind of back off a little from the details of a par-ticular time or period in God's Word, and look at the entire panorama of God's word from Genesis to Revelation. Of course, God had taken me to a place in my relation-ship with Him where situations and circumstances, more-or-less, forced me to do this. For you see, I had been shaken to the depth of my spiritual roots when the Church to which I belonged split over doctrinal issues. And basically, the issue was "Is it Law or is it Grace?"
And so God saw my predicament and sent me a teacher who took me to a point in the Biblical landscape where I obtained that perspective on God's Word. And what I found, starting in early '95, changed me forever. Let me begin by sharing with you a few of the things I learned as I began to move out of the spiritual wilderness in which the Church finds itself lost today.
Two Great Biblical Revelators
Did you know that there are two great revelators, or 'unfolders of Divine Truth' in the Bible? Do you know who they are? They are Moses in the Old Testament and Paul in the New.
Now some of you may say, "Now wait a minute. Is not Christ the Great Teacher?"
Yes, in a sense that is true; but in a more real sense, Christ is the Person taught about, rather than teaching. Yes, Christ was God's spokesman for the Messianic Pe-riod, but Moses was God's spokesman for the Dispensation of Law, and Paul was God's spokesman for the current Dispensation of Grace.
Note this. The law and the prophets pointed forward to Christ; the epistles point back to Christ, and the Book of Revelation points to His Second Coming, and those things connected with it. The Four Gospels tell the story of how Christ was revealed to men, and rejected by them. Here's something else to note: Christ, when on the earth, did not "start any thing. He said in Matt. 16: 18 that "I will build my Church"; but, He had not yet built it. He was a "Minister of the circumcision." You can read that in Romans. 9:4-5, 15:8, and Matt. 15:24. And though He taught, it was for what purpose? It was to reveal to men their utter helplessness, and to lead them to rely on Him. But what do we have? We have the record of where all things seemed to fail at Gethsemane.
Then came the cross, and the end of all things human. This was followed by the resurrection and a new beginning. Basically, my friends, we can put the Old Testament and Law behind us! Yes, that's true. We can put the things that Christ did in the flesh behind us because we have come to a new beginning. We now are on 'this side' of the cross, and this is why Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:16 and 17, "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth we know him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new. " It is this new beginning that we will be talking about as we go for-ward in God's Word for the dispensation of grace.
What I found out as I viewed the Bible from the pinnacle of God's perspective is that Christ is the theme of the Bible. Furthermore, I found that Moses in the Law re-veals God's holiness, and by means of the Law, reveals our sin. Thus, I learned the utter helplessness and hopelessness of man.
Now what about Paul? What did Paul reveal? I learned (again, this is just a sum-mary) that Paul in his epistles reveals Christ as our Salvation, Justification, Re-demption, and Sanctification, and our All-in-All. In reality, Christ is our total Sus-tenance - our total Sufficiency.
Now what about the Twelve Apostles? We know that Matthias, by divine appoint-ment took the place of Judas, and that the Twelve were to be the Twelve Witnesses of Christ's personal resurrection: that is, that it was fact - THAT IT HAPPENED! (Read this in Acts 1:22.) However, even though they taught His death, burial, and resurrection, they were not commissioned by God to unfold fully - that is to reveal - the Mystery of Christ Crucified. Paul was chosen by God to do just that, and all the doctrines associated with the Risen Christ. Think about this? How did the Twelve know Christ? They knew Him personally; they knew Him as a man; they knew Him in the flesh. And when He died, they witnessed it - THEY SAW IT, ex-perientially. And when He was buried, they knew it as FACT - DIRECTLY AS EYEWITNESSES!
And what else! Well, when He was raised, they found it to be true also - EXPERIENTIALLY! They visited His actual tomb, and saw that it was empty! They saw and handled the physical, risen BODY OF CHRIST. Finally, what else? Well, it was with them that our Lord abode on earth forty days after His resurrection. And what was He doing during that time? He was showing Himself alive (that is physically, in a body) by many infallible proofs." (Acts 1:3)
So what are we to learn at this point? Well, I can tell you what I learned. I learned this great fact (I hope you can learn it too) - that the Person that the Jews WELL KNEW they had crucified and buried was risen from the dead and ascended to heaven.
God's Word for the Dispensation of Grace
It was this tremendous fact that the Twelve Apostles were to witness to - not only at Jerusalem, but to the nations; that is, to the Dispersion, which is the Twelve Tribes scattered abroad. This is why we find the opening chapters of Acts filled with the single testimony that Jesus of Nazareth had risen from the dead; that remission of sins was through HIM.
So where does Paul fit into the picture? As we view the panorama of God's word on this high pinnacle we find ourselves on; as we scout the lay of the land, so to speak, where do we find the Apostle Paul fitting in? Note this: Unto none of the Twelve Apostles did God reveal the great body of doctrine for this age -for this Dispensa-tion of Grace! NO, NOT TO A SINGLE ONE, but to PAUL! Just as God chose Mos-es to be the revelator to Israel of the Ten commandments, and all connected with the Law Dispensation; so God chose Saul of Tarsus to be His spokesman of the mighty truths connected with our Lord's death, burial and resurrection, AND HIS ASCEND-ED PERSON. And in addition, God chose to reveal to Saul of Tarsus ALL the MYSTERIES or SECRETS, revealed to God's people in this Dispensation of GRACE by the Holy Spirit. What else? There is one more important subject that God revealed to Paul.
God revealed to Paul that which is called the Church, the Body of Christ - those individuals of which he calls members of the Body of Christ - the very members of Christ Himself. Did you know that no other Apostle or Bi-ble writer speaks of these things? I had to learn that. Paul is the only one of all the Bible writers who writes on these subjects. Did you know that Peter himself had to learn these things from Paul (you can read this in 2 Peter 3: 15 and 16).
So what do we find God allowing Paul to do after he finishes his 13 Epistles; that is, after Paul finishes God's message to the Body of Christ (Romans to Philemon)? We find that God permits Paul to give a message to the Hebrews. But note this very carefully. This is what you must learn from God's perspective.
The Book of Hebrews is not part of the message for the Body of Christ. Hebrews is where God uses Paul to explain to Hebrew (Kingdom) Christians the purpose and meaning of their Leviti-cal system; that is, how that system pointed forward TO CHRIST. But also, the book of Hebrews, for the Gentile believers, explains the meaning of the Old Testa-ment scriptures as to the priestly Person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ as is car-ried on in heaven now. The purpose for this is so that they may not be confused when they read about the Levitical rituals.
Now, further, we can look at the book of James and see that he addresses his epistle to "the Twelve Tribes"; that is, his epistle has a special reference to Jewish Chris-tians in the early days, and for all such in that dispensation for that matter. The point for us is, is that it's not our mail. Oh, we can read it, and learn from it; but it is not our mail and is not for us to practice today.
What about Peter? Peter writes to "the strangers who are sojourners of the Dis-persion." That is, he writes to the dispersed Jews who acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah!
Here's something else that we can learn from God's perspective; that is, from this hypothetical pinnacle we are on, from which we are viewing God's Holy Inspired Word through time. Did you know that the word 'cross' does not occur in the epistles of James, Peter, and John? No, not once. While Peter in 1 Peter 2:24, speaks of it as "the tree," it is for atonement only; whereas, Paul is the spokesman of what God did at Calvary!
So, the book of Hebrews is a great meeting place for both Gentile and Hebrew be-lievers. In the Book of Hebrews, we find explained, for the Gentile believers, our Lord's heretofore intercession. On the other hand, to the Hebrew believer, we find that Christ's priesthood for this Dispensation of Grace is wholly heavenly, and that it is not of Levi and the earth; and that God has made that legal covenant 'old'. And why is this? It was 'unprofitable'. We also know from the Book of Hebrews, that God will one day make a New Covenant with Israel and Judah, as prophesied in the Old Testament. But meanwhile, (from our heavenly perspective), that believers TODAY in the DISPENSATION OF GRACE are now partakers of a heavenly calling!
We read in Galatians chapter two that James, Cephas (Peter), and John were to go to the circumcision, while Paul tells us that his message was to the Gentiles. Get this my friends, and get it clearly; Paul's message was not the Kingdom message. Where the Hebrew apostles continued to take their message about the earthly, Messianic Kingdom to the Twelve Tribes scattered abroad, Paul took his message of Grace, a message based on belief only, to the Gentiles. But not to the Gentiles only, for we know that he had Hebrew converts as well, for there is now no longer neither Jew (Hebrew) nor Greek (Gentile) for all were a new creation and were one of the same in the Body of Christ. And so we find the Kingdom message fading from view and the message of grace for the Body of Christ begins to take centre stage in the 50's and 60's AD. Let's venture into this subject a little more, shall we?
So where do we find ourselves today as we look down from this lofty perch that gives us a perspective of God's Word? We find that God sets the Jewish nation aside in the seventh chapter of the Book of Acts, and that Paul receives his "commission" for the Body of Christ in chapter 13. Paul opens his great epistle (the book of Ro-mans) to the Gentile centre of the world with this statement. He states (and this is very important for us to understand if we are going to come to the point where we can make proper divisions in God's word), that "there is no difference" between the Jew and the Gentile, for "all have sinned"; and that "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" since the same Lord is "Lord of all" (Romans 3:22, 23 and Romans 10: 12).
You know, I came to find out from this lofty overview, that God does as He pleases. And what was it that pleased Him? It pleased Him to choose - first, to save people in this Dispensation of Grace through "the foolishness of preaching," or as Paul says, that "preached thing "; that is, through the exact message about Christ cruci-fied, and what was done at the cross (look up Romans 1:21). Another thing.
It pleased God to choose Paul to be the great proclaimer of what the gospel is for this dispensation of grace; this "dispensation of the fullness of times" that Paul talks about in another of his epistles. Paul even calls himself the human father of the Body of Christ, which is obviously endorsed by God because it is recorded for us in
1 Cor. 4:14-15!
What should we learn from all this, as we survey the scriptural landscape from God's perspective? It's very important for us to learn that we can judge any man's preaching or teaching by this one rule - IS IT PAULINE? That is, does his doctrine start and finish according to those statements of Christian doctrine uttered by the Apostle Paul?
I have come to believe that no matter how wonderful a man may seem in his gifts and apparent consecration to God and His word... if his gospel is not accord-ing to what Paul refers to as "my gospel" (Romans 2:16)t it is not the Gospel; and we might as well get our minds settled once and for all on that point! There are many different "gospels" recorded for us in the New Testament, but God has only one gospel for the Body of Christ, and this gospel was given to the Apostle Paul and he recorded it for us in the pages of his epistles.
Note this as well: Paul calls down the anathema, that is the curse of God Himself, upon anyone who preaches any other Gospel than that which Paul declared and which was revealed to Paul personally by Jesus Christ! If you haven't read this I urge you to read this in Galatians chapter one. There is no other conclusion that one can come to.
But get this straight, too: Not for one moment are we as members of the Body of Christ to believe that James, Peter, or John are at variance with Paul - no, not in the least! They are given certain things by the Spirit of God to say to certain classes of people, and they say it and it is true - just as true as Paul's words, and they do not conflict with Paul. For we find in 2 Tim. 3:16, that their words are included in the statement that "all Scripture is profitable..." Nevertheless, the truth proclaimed by the Hebrew apostles is NOT OUR MAIL!
Paul is the declarer and revealer of the Gospel for us in this Dispensation of Grace. Note this, if you take Romans through Philemon out of the Bible you have a Bible that is void of Christian doctrine. Look at it this way. If you were to take Paul's epistles out of the Bible, you would be unable to find anything about the Body of Christ Church, the Body of Christ - for no other writer, no other Apostle, mentions the Body of Christ. Furthermore, you would be unable to find even one of the great mysteries; such as
1) resurrection of those who have died in Christ, or
2) the "mystery of the present hardening of Israel" (Romans 11).
No other apostle speaks of any of these mysteries. Paul alone is used as God's spokesman to reveal them. Furthermore, you cannot find the exact meaning of any of the great doctrines such as Propitiation, Redemption, Reconciliation, Justification, Sanctification, and our identity in Christ. You can't find them, nor can you find what is the most tre-mendous fact - that every believer today is created anew by Jesus Christ indwelling them; and that Christ's crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection are ours as well!
Yes, just as Moses was the Divinely-appointed spokesman for God during the Dis-pensation of Law, Paul is God's Divinely-appointed spokesman for doctrinal truth for this age of Grace.
1 The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; Acts, Hebrews, the Hebrew epistles and the Revelation, are Israel's "mail." Israel has a different gospel. Theirs is a 'doers' gospel where righteousness is based on law - where one must keep the Law to be accounted righteous. On the other hand, we in the Body of Christ have an endued righteousness - the righteousness of Christ -based on belief only!
This, my friends, is what we see when we step back and obtain a panorama of God's word.
The Failure of the Modern Church to Discern the Pauline Gospel
I believe that the failure, or maybe a more critical way to say it would be the refusal, of the Church today to discern the Pauline Gospel as a separate and new revelation, rather than as a gospel that "developed" from Judaism, accounts for most of the confusion in many believer's minds regarding just what the gospel is. Have you ever thought about this? What the church does today, is mix, or co-mingle (as one pastor friend of mind puts it) the Kingdom Gospel with the Pauline Gospel of Grace.
The Church's message today is, is a mixing up, if you will, of works on one hand with religious pretensions and performances on the other hand.
I believe that when you see Paul as the person to whom God revealed the distinct message of grace, it then becomes as clear as the waters that flow from the Cascades in Oregon, that God begins with the end of man. You see, Paul tells us in Romans 6 and in Galatians 2:20 that we have died. That we, (that is, our old man) no longer lives. So in this sense, God begins His gospel of grace through the Apostle Paul with the end of man. We can begin to see this gospel unfolding beginning in Romans chapter 3, where in verse 10, Paul says "There is none righteous, no not one... "And in verse 23 where he says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God:"
Here's something else to think and meditate on: Did you know that probably 99 out of 1 00 of the unsaved today believe in their innermost hearts that the reason they are not saved is because of something they have not yet done - some step they remain to take before God will accept them? Perhaps every human being naturally believes this; but do you want to know something else - it's absolutely not true! Because, when Christ said, "It is finished," He meant that He had then and there, AT CALVARY, paid the debt for all the human race. You can read this in 1 Timothy 2:6 where Paul writes, "...He gave Himself a ransom for all... "And, in 1 John 2:2, "And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. Oh, my friends, this is so marvellous. This is sometimes too much to grasp. It exceeds the ability of the human mind without the Spirit of God to guide it, to grasp these wonderful truths. I hope, I pray that the Holy Spirit will make these things a reality in your life - that He will reveal Christ to you as your only life (Ephesians 1:17), that you too, may come to know the fullness and the completeness that you have in Him.
... God has reconciled the world to Himself
Paul, in this wonderful revelation he received from Jesus Christ, declares that God
has reconciled the world to Himself; in other words, "...that God in Christ (at the cross) was reconciling the world unto Himself" You can read this in 2 Cor 5:19. I believe that man does not know this wonderful truth, and even sadder, though this verse is known by most believers, and even sermons preached about it from the pulpits today, even the Church does not know what God did at the cross.
But you might say, Dan, how can you say that, after all, the Church preaches grace? My answer is this. While it is certainly true that the Church preaches and teaches about grace, they continue to act as if something stands between them and God, that is, that there is something yet they are to perform - something yet for them to do, before God will accept them, or forgive them. Look at it this way. If you tell a man that God is demanding no good works of him whatsoever - no religion – no religious observances - no Church ordinances (yes, none at all); or tell him that God is not asking him to take on a lot of duties, or any routines at all: BUT, on the contrary, that God invites him to believe a glad message, that his sins have already been dealt with at the cross and that God expects him to believe this good news and to be exceeding happy about it in the process, that person will do one of two things.
He will not believe and thus either walk away or change the conversation; or, he will be astounded and overwhelmed and want to know more. Of course, it is my experience that those who fall in the latter category are few and far between. This gospel of Christ in you as your only life is too far-fetched. It's too far out. It doesn't appeal to the flesh. But, the truth of the matter is that this is the only gospel for the Body of Christ!
A transitional learning period - Paul's three days and nights in darkness
Let's now begin to take a look at this transition period that occurred in Paul's life; that is, that period of time from his conversion on the Road to Damascus to the point where in time he began to preach Jesus as the Son of God (Compare Acts 9 with Acts 13:38-43).
Have you ever wondered why God allowed Paul to spend three days and three nights in darkness - following his being struck blind on the Road to Damascus? I think there is an interesting parallel here; for like Christ who was in the grave three days and three nights, Paul had to die out to something. We can read in Philippians 3:9 what Paul died out from forever, "and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."
As Paul was coming to understand the salvation that had been freely given to him, he had to learn that the old righteousness he had was of the Law, and that such righteousness was worthless. But he had to learn even more. In Romans 7:18, and 24, as we find him contemplating his salvation, and his identity, we read that he had to learn that "in me (that is in my
flesh), dwells no good thing:". And in verse 24, we find out that he had to come to the point where he asked a most important question: "for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. 0 wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Can you imagine that maybe these were the things that Paul had to learn when he was shut up in darkness for three days and three nights, as he struggled with these questions and these issues. He had to be de-programmed, and just like Paul, we too must go through a de-programming, where we throw off the garments of religion and the predictable and patterned ways of thinking about scripture, and put on Christ!
Well, the good news is that he learned some mighty important lessons and had revealed to him some incredible mysteries, personally, by Jesus Christ in the Arabian desert. Of course, this revelation took place in the Arabian Desert, and when he begins to preach the message for the Body of Christ, we can't help but note a distinct advancing of truth that, before the Apostle Paul came on the scene, had never before been preached. N
Now think about this. The original twelve apostles had known Christ In flesh, and, Christ had appointed them His messengers to Israel.
We can read this in Romans 9:4-5 where Paul writes,
"Who are the Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises...’ and in verse 5, "Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came"
But, now in comparison, what was Paul's first vision of? It was of Christ as the Glorified One; that is, the Son of God in resurrected glory. So, where the apostles, saw and knew Christ in the flesh, and to whom He came, and to whom He gave the Great Commission to proclaim Him and the Kingdom message; Paul saw and preached a glorified Christ, with a message for all - for everybody - a message that states there is neither Jew nor Greek (that is Gentile) but one in Christ, where we become an unequivocally new creation (2 Cor 5:17), joined with Christ, blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places (Eph 1:3), and now seated together with Him in the heavenly places (Eph 2:6).
You see, the conception that Paul had of Christ in his mind was one of constant and unspeakable glory. This is all that Paul wanted to see following his conversion, for he tells us in 1 Cor 2:2 that "I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified."
Now, please, I do not want you to get the wrong impression here. Please do not misunderstand. The apostles did recognize that Jesus was the Son of God. They had long since understood this. But we must understand that the difference in the message they preached - that is, their testimony at Jerusalem and to Israel thereafter - was focused on that of the Jewish Messiahship; that is, on the Lordship of Jesus as the Crucified and now Risen King, who was ready to return to Israel if they would repent. You can read about this in Acts 2:36, 3:19, 20. It is also important to understand, that if there is no king present there is no kingdom. This won't happen until the second coming of Christ.
But now look at Paul's message. Paul got all his message from heaven! That's right. He got his message from Christ in glory, rather than from Christ on earth with Jewish connections! Really, when you get right down to it, except for Christ and the common things associated with the good news of His death, burial and resurrection for all man kind, Paul's message has nothing Jewish about it! Look at it this way. Paul wasn't converted by one of the twelve or their converts; he wasn't even converted in Jerusalem, but in a gentile city! He was even told that his testimony would not be received by the Jews (Acts. 22:18 where he was told to
"get out of Jerusalem for the Jews would not receive his testimony concerning the risen Christ’), and he was told three verses later in verse 21 that "...he was to go far from them!"
So, what can we learn when we summarize this subject thus far? We know that just as Christ after three days and three nights arose out of any connections with the Old Creation and into the resurrection of glory of the new Creation, so Paul emerged, after his three days and three nights into a completely new sphere. He was indeed a new creation, as he records for us in 2 Cor. 5:17. He had so completely been taken out of Judaism and any and all connections with "old things," that to the Jews, he simply did not exist anymore. And just as important, we need to understand that the Jewish Christians also failed to understand him.
We can find Peter's reference to this in 2 Peter 3:15-16, "… the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to understand, which the unlearned wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction. "
We can only conclude, after reading such accounts, that such liberty as Paul came to know and preach had up to this point in history been unknown.
How Did Paul Get His Gospel?
I believe that it is important to know how Paul got his message of grace for the Body of Christ. We can read about this in Galatians 1:11 and 12. Now, it would seem natural to me that he would want to immediately consult with the leaders at Jerusalem regarding this message he received following his conversion. But did he? No. Read about this in verses 16 and 17. Instead, where did Paul go (same verses)? Note that we find some reference to the area of Arabia that he may have gone to in Gal 4:25. (It's interesting to note who else had been there as well: Moses, in Ex 19; and Elijah, in 1 Kings 19:9.)
So we find that after three years, Paul went up to Jerusalem, and the interesting thing for us to note here is that in his 15-day stay in Jerusalem, the Apostles were not able to teach Paul anything after his being taught personally by Jesus Christ. (Note this in Galatians 2:6.) You must know that ALL that Paul preached and wrote in his epistles he received directly from the Lord, and not from or through any human conduit whatsoever! Note Acts 26:16, where Paul records the instructions he received from Jesus Christ,
"l have appeared unto you to appoint you a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in which I will appear unto thee.
This, my friends sums up Paul's sphere of thinking and his focus.
So, in summary, Paul received his apostleship from the Lord (Romans 1:5); and his gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-3). Paul is as much the revealer in the New Testament as is Moses in the Old. For you see, we can cite the example in the Book of Acts; where in Acts 13:2, from the moment Paul begins his life's work, he opens up to the believer a new thing, a marvellous thing, that far exceeds in fullness of grace any word of the other apostles up to that time. What marvellous truths lie hidden in the epistles of the Apostle Paul waiting for them to be revealed by the Holy Spirit in the sphere of your mind. I pray that you may have a revelation of Jesus Christ (Eph 1:17), that you too may know the things that have been freely-given to us in the person of Christ who indwells us.
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THE ERROR OF REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY Clarence H Wagner, Jr,
What Is Replacement Theology?
Replacement Theology was introduced to the Church shortly after Gentile leadership took over from Jewish leadership.
What are its premises?
1. Israel (the Jewish people and the land) has been replaced by the Christian Church in the purposes of God, or more precisely,
the Church is the ‘historic continuation’ of Israel to the exclusion of the former. 2. The Jewish people are now no longer a "chosen people." In fact, they are no different from any other group, such as the English, Spanish, or Africans.
3. Apart from repentance, the new birth, and incorporation into the Church, the Jewish people have no future, no hope, and no calling in the plan of God. The same is true for every other nation and group.
4. Since Pentecost of Acts 2, the term "Israel," as found in the Bible, now refers to the Church.
5. The promises, covenants and blessings ascribed to Israel in the Bible have been taken away from the Jews and given to the Church, which has superseded them. However, the Jews are subject to the curses found in the Bible, as a result of their rejection of Christ.
How Do Replacement Theologians Argue Their Case? They Say:
(Note: I have added my rebuttal to each point.)
1. To be a son of Abraham is to have faith in Jesus Christ. For them, Galatians 3:29 shows that sonship to Abraham is seen only in spiritual, not national terms:
"And if you be Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
Rebuttal: While this is a wonderful inclusionary promise for Gentiles, this verse does not exclude the Jewish people from their original covenant, promise and blessing as the natural seed of Abraham. This verse simply joins us Gentile Christians to what God had already started with Israel.
2. The promise of the land of Canaan to Abraham was only a "starter." The real Promised Land is the whole world. They use Romans 4:13 to claim it will be the Church that inherits the world, not Israel. "For the promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith."
Rebuttal: Where does this verse exclude Abraham and His natural prodigy, the Jews? It simply says that through the law, they would not inherit the world, but this would be acquired through faith. This is also true of the Church.
3. The nation of Israel was only the seed of the future Church, which would arise and incorporate people of all nations (Mal. 1:11): "For from the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same, My Name shall be great among the nations, and in every place, incense shall be offered to My Name, and a pure offering for My Name shall be great among the nations, says the Lord of Hosts."
Rebuttal: This is great, and shows that the Jewish people and Israel fulfilled one of their callings to be "a light to the nations," so that God's Word has gone around the world. It does not suggest God's dealing with Israel was negated because His Name spread around the world.
4. Jesus taught that the Jews would lose their spiritual privileges, and be replaced by another people (Matt. 21:43): "Therefore I am saying to you, 'The kingdom of God will be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits of it.'"
Rebuttal: In this passage, Jesus was talking about the priests and Pharisees, who failed as leaders of the people. This passage is not talking about the Jewish people or nation of Israel. See Teaching Letter #770008, "Did God Break His Covenant With the Jews?"
5. A true Jew is anyone born of the Spirit, whether he is racially Gentile or Jewish (Rom. 2:28-29): "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God."
Rebuttal: This argument does not support the notion that the Church replaced Israel. Rather, it simply reinforces what had been said throughout the Hebrew Scriptures [the Old Testament], and it certainly qualifies the spiritual qualifications for Jews or anyone who professes to be a follower of the God of Israel.
6. Paul shows that the Church is really the same "olive tree" as was Israel, and the Church is now the tree. Therefore, to distinguish between Israel and the Church is, strictly speaking, false. Indeed, people of Jewish origin need to be grafted back into the Church (Rom 11:17-23).
Rebuttal:This claim is the most outrageous because this passage clearly shows that we Gentiles are the "wild olive branches," who get our life from being grafted into the olive tree. The tree represents the covenants, promises and hopes of Israel (Eph. 2:12), rooted in the Messiah and fed by the sap, which represents the Holy Spirit, giving life to the Jews (the "natural branches") and Gentile alike. We Gentiles are told to remember that the olive tree holds us up and NOT to be arrogant or boast against the "natural branches" because they can be grafted in again. The olive tree is NOT the Church. We are simply grafted into God's plan that preceded us for over 2,000 years.
7. All the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament, unless they were historically fulfilled before the coming of Jesus Christ, are now the property of the Christian Church. These promises should not be interpreted literally or carnally, but spiritually and symbolically, so that references to Israel, Jerusalem, Zion and the Temple, when they are prophetic, really refer to the Church
(II Cor. 1:20). "For all the promises of God in Him (Jesus) are Yea, and in Him, Amen, unto the glory of God by us." Therefore, they teach that the New Testament needs to be taught figuratively, not literally.
Rebuttal: Later, in this Teaching Letter, we will look at the fact that the New Testament references to Israel clearly pertain to Israel, not the Church. Therefore, no promise to Israel and the Jewish people in the Bible is figurative, nor can they be relegated to the Church alone. The promises and covenants are literal, many of them are everlasting, and we Christians can participate in them as part of our rebirth, not in that we took them over to the exclusion of Israel. The New Testament speaks of the Church's relationship to Israel and her covenants as being "grafted in" (Rom. 11:17), "brought near" (Eph. 2:13), "Abraham's offspring (by faith)" (Rom. 4:16), and "partakers" (Rom. 15:27), NOT as usurpers of the covenant and a replacer of physical Israel. We Gentile Christians joined into what God had been doing in Israel, and God did not break His covenant promises with Israel (Rom. 11:29).
What Happens When the Church ‘Replaces’ Israel?
1) The Church becomes arrogant and self-centred.
2) It boasts against the Jews and Israel.
3) It devalues the role of Israel or has no role for Israel at all.
4) These attitudes result in anti-Semitism in word and deed. 5) Without a place for Israel and the Jewish people today, you cannot explain the Bible prophecies,
especially the very specific ones being fulfilled in Israel today.
6) Many New Testament passages do not make sense when the Jewish people are replaced by the Church.
7) You can lose the significance of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, for today. Many Christians boast of being a New Testament (NT) Christian or a NT Church as in the Book of Acts. However, the Bible of the early Church was not the New Testament, which did not get codified until the 4th century, but rather the Hebrew Scriptures.
8) You can lose the Hebraic/Judaic contextualization of the New Testament, which teaches us more about Yeshua
and how to become better disciples.
9) The Church loses out on the opportunity to participate in God's plan and prophecy for the Church, Israel and the world today.
What Happens When the Church Relates to Israel?
1) The Church takes its proper role in God's redemptive plan for the world, appreciating God's ongoing covenant relationship and love for Israel and the Jewish people.
2) We can see the consistency of God's redemptive plan from Genesis to Revelation as an ongoing complementary process, not as disconnected snapshots.
3) We show love and honour for God's covenant people, not contempt.
4) We value the Old and New Testaments as equally inspired and significant for the Church today.
5) Bible prophecy makes sense for today and offers opportunities for involvement in God's plan for Israel.
6) We become better disciples of Yeshua as we are able to appreciate the Hebraic/Judaic roots that fill in the definitions, concepts, words and events in the New Testament that are otherwise obscured. Why? Many were not explained by the Jewish writers of the New Testament, because they did not feel the need to fill in all the details that were already explained in the Old Testament.
Had the Church understood this very clear message from the beginning, then the sad legacy of anti-Semitic hatred from the Church may have been avoided. The error of Replacement Theology is like a cancer in the Church that has not only caused it to violate God's Word concerning the Jewish people and Israel, but it made us into instruments of hate, not love in God's Name. Yet, it is not too late to change our ways and rightly relate to the Jewish people and Israel today. Through Bridges for Peace you can read, study and learn more, and also give to demonstrate God's exhortation to us to bless His Covenant People, whom He still loves. Not only do we need to learn and do for ourselves, but we need to teach others so as to counteract the historical error that has been fostered in the Church for nearly 2,000 years.
Thank God, He is a God of mercy, redemption and second chances.
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JERUSALEM IS CENTRAL TO JEWISH HISTORY
(A Letter from Derek Prince to the Body of Messiah, dated 20 June 2003 shortly before his passing on 24th.September, 2003)
Let me briefly introduce myself. I hold duel citizenship, both US and British.
My educational background is in Eton College and Cambridge University. I held scholarships both at Eton and at King’s College, Cambridge. For several years I held a fellowship in King’s College, Cambridge. I have also studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. For sixty years I have ministered as a teacher of the Scriptures to the Body of Messiah worldwide. At age eighty-seven I am now a permanent resident of Jerusalem.
I have been requested to assemble some relevant facts concerning the Biblical significance of Jerusalem as it relates to present day Israel. More specifically, I have been asked to produce reasons why Israel should never be required to consent to a divided government of Jerusalem. I respectfully submit the following:
Jerusalem is Central to Jewish History.
1. Jerusalem has a unique place in the history of Israel, not shared by any other nation in the world.
It was there that God commanded David to purchase ground that was destined to be the site of the Temple: “…the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.” “So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place. And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the Lord; and He answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering”
(1 Chronicles 21:18,25-26).
Later, Solomon built his temple on this site and God said to him: “…My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually” (1 Kings 9:3).
It is Jerusalem which God has declared to be a city which He has chosen for Himself.
The following are some examples:
a. Solomon quotes the words which had been spoken by the Lord to his father, David: “Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there...” (2 Chronicles 6:6).
b. 1 Chronicles 23:25: For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given rest to His people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever…”
c. In 1 Kings 11:36 God speaks to Jeroboam and says regarding Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and heir to Solomon’s throne: “And to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there.”
d. 2 Kings 21:4: He (Manasseh) also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My name.”
1. The Jewish people are mandated by Scripture to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem three times a year: “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles…” (Deuteronomy 16:16).
In no other religion is pilgrimage to Jerusalem mandated.
2. The name “Jerusalem” occurs 778 times in the sacred scriptures of the Jewish people. By contrast, in the Koran which is the book sacred to Islam, Jerusalem is not even mentioned once.
3. Historically, Jerusalem has been the only capital of the Jewish people, both political and spiritual. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any other people throughout history. As a city, it only became politically important to the Arab peoples after the Six Day War, June 1967. Previously, under the Jordanian occupation, Jerusalem never had the status of a capital.
4. After the return of Israel from the Babylonian captivity, when people from other nations sought to share in the restoration of Jerusalem, Nehemiah the Jewish Governor said to them: “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem” (Nehemiah 2:20).
5. Over the years, the Jewish people have adopted from Scripture a special name for their inheritance in Jerusalem. It is Zion. “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King” (Psalm 48:1,2).....This has given rise to the movement now known as “Zionism.”
The Restoration of Jerusalem (Zion)
1. The prophet Isaiah depicts the rebirth of the State of Israel as a unique phenomenon: “Before she was in labor, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children” (Isaiah 66:7-8).
2. The rebirth of the State of Israel is correctly presented in Scripture as a unique event and without historical parallel. On one day, the 15th of May, 1948, Israel emerged as a complete nation with all its functions: army, navy, air force (one airplane), parliament, police force, medical and educations systems, etc. I know of no other nation in history that has had a similar rebirth. I am appalled to think of the consequences of opposing such a sovereign act of God. As a grateful citizen of the United States, I pray that this may never happen.
3. The restoration of Zion is seen as a prelude to the return of the Lord in glory: “For [when] the Lord shall build up Zion; He shall appear in His glory” (Psalm 102:16).
The Return of the Lord to Jerusalem
1. All the predictions of Scripture and all the developments of current history combine to focus our attention on one impending event of unique importance: The return of the Lord Jesus in power and glory. This gives special significance to the drama predicted to take place on the Mount of Olives: “And in that day His [Jesus’] feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south” (Zechariah 14:4).
2. There will follow a period when God will judge all the nations on the basis of the way they have treated the land and the people of Israel: “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up [partitioned] My land” (Joel 3:1-2).
3. God’s purpose is to make Jerusalem a source of blessing to all nations, and He promises severe judgment on all nations that opposes His purpose for Jerusalem.
4. Scripture makes it clear that when the Lord returns, it will be to a sovereign Jewish Jerusalem:
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! ” (Matthew 23:37-39)
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains…. And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath” Matthew 24:15-16).
The warning against fleeing on the Sabbath assumes that Jerusalem will be under Jewish regulations which would forbid the operation of either public transportation or places of commerce such as gas stations and banks. Only under Jewish government would this be a problem.
Let me briefly sum up my conclusion. In the eternal counsel of God He has determined to make Jerusalem the decisive issue by which He will deal with the nations. Those nations who align themselves with God’s purposes for Jerusalem will receive His blessing But those who follow a policy in opposition to God’s purposes will be severely dealt with.
Derek Prince, Jerusalem, Israel, 20 June 2003
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