Category Archives: DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY

DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY, ESCHATOLOGY (END TIMES) / PROPHECY, THE NATION ISRAEL, Who is “the Bride of Christ?”, Who is “the Bride of Christ?”, Who is “the Bride of Christ?”

Who is “the Bride of Christ?”

WHO IS “THE BRIDE OF CHRIST?”

by Shawn Brasseaux

Is the Church the Body of Christ “the Bride of Christ?” Many denominationalists, and even some professing “Pauline dispensationalists,” answer that question in the affirmative. Beloved, let us search the Scriptures. We should not repeat what we have heard in church all of our lives, without first consulting the living and written Word of God. It is shocking to learn that the Bible usually does not say what people often presume it says.

Never once in the King James Bible do we find the term, “the Bride of Christ.” That is a religious term, and frankly, it is a core doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. Furthermore, never once does the Bible refer to the Church the Body of Christ as “the Bride of Christ.” This should indicate to us that it is nothing more than a man-made concept, a tradition of men, aimed at deceiving and robbing us of the clarity of God’s Word, and furthering a man-made theological system. “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

We do find in our King James Bible the following phrases and terms: “the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:7,9), “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2), and “the Lamb’s wife” (Revelation 21:9). A marriage is certainly occurring in the closing chapters of the book of the Revelation, but who is marrying whom? We should not rip these verses out of their contexts and fabricate the identity of the bride and the groom (unless, of course, we seek to advance a denominational system rather than the simple teachings of Scripture!).

In the following Old Testament prophets, JEHOVAH God clearly referred to the nation Israel as His wife, and He her Husband:

  • Jeremiah 2:32: “Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people [Israel] have forgotten me days without number.”
  • Jeremiah 3:14,20: “[14] Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: [20] Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.”
  • Isaiah 54:5-6: “[5] For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. [6] For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.”

The book of Hosea recalls how JEHOVAH married the nation Israel when He brought her out of Egyptian slavery (and made the Old Covenant, Law, with them, in Exodus chapter 24). Hosea also recounts how Israel became unfaithful to Him as a wife would cheat on her husband. Israel polluted herself with the idols of her pagan neighbors; she willfully went after other gods. Eventually, God had to divorce Israel; essentially, He sent her into Gentile captivity, exemplified most fully in the book of Lamentations, when Jerusalem was destroyed 586 B.C.

Hosea 2:15-23 summarizes how JEHOVAH will forgive Israel of her sins, restore her, remarry her, bring her back into her homeland (the Promised Land), where she will be His earthly people forever: “[15] And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. [16] And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi [“my husband”]; and shalt call me no more Baali. [17] For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. [18] And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. [19] And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. [20] I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD. [21] And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; [22] And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. [23] And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.”

Jeremiah chapter 31 explains how God will forgive Israel of her sins: “[31] Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: [32] Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD.” Again, JEHOVAH says that He was Israel’s husband.

God wanted the nation Israel to be His nation in the earth (see Exodus 19:5-6; Psalm 37:11; Isaiah 2:1-4; Matthew 5:5; Revelation 5:10; et al.). Israel is His earthly nation, and the way God will rule over the earth is through redeemed Israel. The planet Earth that Satan has polluted will one day be redeemed. God will save the nation Israel and marry her to the land, the Promised Land, the land of Canaan, thus marrying Himself to that land as well.

Isaiah 62:1-5 proceeds to explain: “[1] For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. [2] And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name. [3] Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. [4] Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah [“my delight is in her”], and thy land Beulah [“married”]: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. [5] For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.”

So, to summarize the above Old Testament passages, Jesus Christ will return to Earth one day, to restore the nation Israel, to redeem her and make her His earthly people (the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31-34, Romans 11:26-29, Hebrews 8:8-13, and Hebrews 10:15-17). At that time, JEHOVAH God will fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3) to evangelize Gentiles through Israel, the Palestinian Covenant (Genesis 15:18-21) to give Israel her land, and the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:12-16) to give Israel her literal, physical, visible kingdom after David’s royal bloodline. The way Jesus Christ will restore Earth unto Himself is by using the nation Israel in her kingdom (called the “1000-year reign,” “Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ,” “kingdom of heaven,” to name a few titles). These passages interpret the marriage situation in the book of the Revelation (the verses we mentioned at the beginning of this study). Let us return to these verses in Revelation and comment on them in light of what we read from the Old Testament prophets. Notice how that, rather than fabricating something to explain Revelation’s “marriage” passages, we have consulted what God wrote centuries prior, so we are on solid footing when we explain John’s words in Revelation!

Please read Revelation 19:7-9: “[7] Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. [8] And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. [9] And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”

Considering the Old Testament prophets’ words about Israel waiting for JEHOVAH to remarry her, who would most likely be the “wife” of the Lamb here in Revelation? All we have to do is remember what God’s Word said in other books, and the answer becomes clear. The next several verses discuss Jesus Christ returning to planet Earth, fighting Israel’s enemies; the following chapters elaborate on Jesus Christ reigning on the Earth with the nation Israel. The “saints” of Revelation 19:8 would be those believing Jews that survived the seven-year Tribulation period; they will form redeemed Israel, the Jews who will inherit the covenants and promises made to Israel’s patriarchs through the Old Testament. Friends, the book of the Revelation has nothing to do with us. It was written by John, an apostle of Israel (Revelation 1:1; cf. Galatians 2:9), and the book of the Revelation is to and about Israel: it does not concern us.

In Revelation 21:1-4,9-10 we read: “[1] And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. [2] And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. [4] And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. [9] And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. [10] And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,…”

If the Bible says, “I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife,” and the next vision is that of “that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,” what would be the “Lamb’s wife” here? It would the New Jerusalem, the Holy Jerusalem, the Jerusalem currently in heaven (Hebrews 12:18-24) that will come down to Earth; it was this heavenly Jerusalem that Abraham and the other Old Testament saints anticipated (Hebrews 11:10,16,39,40). Overall, the idea of the marriage between JEHOVAH and Israel is actually Him marrying Israel to the land and thus marrying Himself to her land. It is not difficult to understand if we are open to God’s Word correcting our distorted views courtesy of religious tradition.

THREE COMMON OBJECTIONS ANSWERED

At this point, three common objections are raised. The first is, “Did not Paul liken our relationship to Jesus Christ as a wife married to her husband, in Ephesians chapter 5?” The second, “Did not Paul say that we were married to Jesus Christ in Romans chapter 7?” The third, “Did not Paul say that we need to be a pure virgin for Jesus Christ in 2 Corinthians chapter 11?” We believe the Bible has answers to these questions, and we would be more than eager to share those verses. However, we must be mindful not to read something into the Bible text (which is what denominationalists are trained to do).

Ephesians 5:25-33 says: “[25] Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; [26] That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, [27] That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. [28] So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. [29] For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: [30] For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. [31] For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. [32] This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. [33] Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.”

Indeed, the Bible does teach that the marriage relationship between the husband and his wife should reflect and resemble, the loving, tender, selfless union between the Lord Jesus Christ (our Head; Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18; Colossians 2:19) and us (His Body; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13,27; Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:24). However, we never read in the above passage that we are Jesus Christ’s “wife” or His “bride.” We have already seen the Scriptures’ testimony that Israel is the wife of JEHOVAH (the Lord Jesus Christ)—does JEHOVAH have two wives or does He have one? The Bible calls Israel JEHOVAH’S “wife,” but it never calls us His wife; if words mean anything (and we have no denominational agenda to promote), we conclude that we are not JEHOVAH’S wife but rather that Israel is His wife. Ephesians chapter 5 is describing how marriage is designed to function, and the way to understand the marriage relationship is to see how Jesus Christ and His Body (us) interact with each other—the respective roles, the attitudes of each toward one another, et cetera.

Romans 7:1-4 says: “[1] Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? [2] For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. [3] So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. [4] Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”

Certainly, Romans 7:4 says that we are “married” (present tense) to Jesus Christ. In that case, Revelation would certainly not apply to us; Revelation describes a future marriage! The Church the Body of Christ is certainly joined (“married”) to Jesus Christ—otherwise, the members of the Body would not be saved unto eternal life! All Romans chapter 7 is discussing is how we are free from the Law, dead to the law of sin and dead works, not bound to live the Christian life in our flesh and energy. We are joined to Jesus Christ, and it is His life, not our life, His performance, not our performance (further discussed in chapter 8). To use this passage to teach that we are the “Bride of Christ” is to read something into the text. Romans chapter 7 is not designed to teach marriage in the Dispensation of Grace—that would be 1 Corinthians chapter 7.

In 2 Corinthians 11:1-4, we read: “[1] Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. [2] For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. [3] But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. [4] For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”

Dear friends, here again, we read no terminology about us being the “Bride of Christ.” What Paul is doing in verse 2 is using a simile, likening us to being spiritually (doctrinally) pure as a chaste virgin would be sexually pure. False teachers had crept into Corinth, and throughout this chapter (11), we read about how the Corinthians enjoyed being misled. Paul warned them that he was jealous over them with a godly jealousy—he did not want some false religious system to corrupt them. He wanted them to abandon and avoid false religion (see 2 Corinthians 6:14-18). In the above verses, we read how Satan would use the same tactics he used to mislead Eve, to mislead us. Satan would quote Bible, but misquote it, ignoring the dispensational layout (see Psalm 91:11-12; Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:10-11). The Devil would cause us to follow “another Jesus” (as in His earthly ministry; 2 Corinthians 5:16) instead of following the Jesus Christ whom Paul preached (His heavenly ministry, “Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery;” Romans 16:25). Satan would cause us to follow “another spirit” (as in the “spirit of bondage,” law; Romans 8:15; Galatians 5:1-5) and ignore the spirit that Paul preached (grace; Romans 6:14-15). The Devil would cause us to follow “another gospel” (as in the Gospel of the Kingdom; Matthew 9:35; cf. Matthew 4:17; Matthew 10:5-7) but to ignore the Gospel of Grace that Paul preached (Acts 20:24; Romans 2:16; Galatians 2:2; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The Church the Body of Christ is in such shambles doctrinally today, in such confusion, because it has allowed Satan and his policy of evil (religious tradition) to corrupt them. Most Christians today are not “rightly dividing the word of truth” as 2 Timothy 2:15 says; they are mixing the dispensations in God’s Word and making Bible study burdensome. I know; I used to be a part of that system myself!

CONCLUSION

The Bible never calls the Body of Christ “the Bride of Christ” (that is religious tradition, and, beloved, it will profit us nothing in eternity). To use a concept that relates exclusively to Israel and use it to apply to us, is to place ourselves on a slippery slope of confusing ourselves with Israel, and we run the risk of falling into the trap of the damnable doctrine of “Replacement Theology!” (See our related study at the end of this article.)

However, the Bible does say that Jesus Christ will marry someone. This is what we want to focus on; we ignore the religious tradition. Believing Jews who will survive the seven-year Tribulation, Daniel’s 70th week, will stand on Earth and see Jesus Christ return at His Second Coming (see Zechariah 12:10 and Zechariah 13:8-9). These believing Jews will be married to Jesus Christ (JEHOVAH God the Son in the flesh) at His Second Coming—Revelation 19:7 says, “the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.” (We deal with the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” in another study; see the link at the end of this article.)

According to Revelation 21:9-10, the “Lamb’s wife” is the New Jerusalem, the Heavenly Jerusalem—Israel’s redeemed capital city, and her Promised Land—which will come down from heaven and land on Earth. By marrying the nation Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ (the JEHOVAH of the Old Testament) will marry Himself to her land, the Promised Land. These are the concepts being advanced regarding the marriage of Revelation chapters 19 and 21. We can either believe the testimony of the Scriptures, or we can continue with our church tradition. I prefer to believe God, and let His critics be the liars (Romans 3:4). You?

Also see:
» Who will accompany Jesus at His Second Coming?
» What is “the Marriage Supper of the Lamb?” (LINK TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE)
» Have we replaced the nation Israel?

DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY, Do we study only Paul’s epistles?

Do we study only Paul’s epistles?

DO WE STUDY ONLY PAUL’S EPISTLES?

by Shawn Brasseaux

“If Paul is our apostle [yes, he is; Romans 11:13], does that mean that we study only his epistles, Romans through Philemon? Does that mean that only Paul’s writings are inspired of God? What about the rest of Scripture? Is not all of the Bible God’s Word? Are you telling me that I should study only Paul’s books?”

Sometimes, people who are really seeking to know the truth so they can believe it, will sincerely ask the above questions; they desire spiritual enlightenment, and that is fine. Other times, however, these inquiries can be utilized as “foolish and unlearned questions,” which Scripture says we are to “avoid” because “they do gender strifes” (2 Timothy 2:23). To wit, in an attempt to discredit dispensational Bible study (which threatens denominational systems and religious tradition), and in order to antagonize us dispensational Bible students, some malign us Pauline dispensationalists by claiming that we throw away everything in Scripture but Paul. Actually, someone once wrongly accused me of claiming that only Paul’s epistles were the “true Word of God.” What gobbledygook! What hogwash! What baloney!

It is said that we Pauline dispensationalists study only Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon. The assumption is that we do not read anything in Genesis through Malachi, or Matthew through John, or the book of Acts, or Hebrews through Revelation. Yes, some people study only Paul’s epistles, but, no, I am not one of them. Indeed, most of Christendom ignores Paul’s epistles and studies everything else in Scripture, but I am not one of those people either! (No one who knows my ministry could ever truthfully accuse me of studying only Paul’s writings. You can search our ministry websites to see that I teach from non-Pauline Bible books hundreds of times every year.)

Strangely, we have most in Christendom who ignore Paul’s epistles but who study the rest of Scripture, who then hypocritically condemn those who study only Paul. (Both groups are ignoring parts of God’s Word.) To make it even odder, we have a minority who study only Paul, who then hypocritically condemn those who study only the non-Pauline Bible books. (Again, both groups are ignoring parts of God’s Word.) Both groups are wrong because they are not studying all of the Bible. We should study all of the Bible, Genesis through Revelation.

Now, let us see how the people who study only Paul, and the people who ignore Paul, are both wrong. Neither party is in accordance with God’s will. Beloved, we must guard ourselves against both errors if we are to be spiritually mature people, “no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14).

THE TWO-FOLD DIVISION IN SCRIPTURE

The very first verse in the Bible clearly demonstrates that Almighty God deals with creation on the basis of two realms: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Notice how the Holy Spirit was very specific in the wording. Rather than saying, “God created the universe,” the Scriptures say, “God created the heaven and the earth.” The two-fold division in God’s Word is already apparent… the very first verse of the Bible introduces us to right division, dispensational Bible study, making divisions in God’s Word that He Himself has made it in.

We learn in Ephesians 1:9-10 about God’s original purpose in the creation of the heaven and the earth: “[9] [God the Father] Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: [10] That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.” From even before creation, God the Father wanted to unite all of the governmental offices of heaven and earth under the headship, the leadership, of His Son Jesus Christ (see Colossians 1:16-20). In other words, God the Father wants all of creation to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.

To achieve this purpose, God has one program (agenda) for heaven, and another completely different program (another agenda) for earth. Both programs function in their respective realms to accomplish His overall goal: to make Jesus Christ head of all of the governments in heaven and on earth, that they all serve Him. But, these programs must be rightly divided if they are to make sense: the goal of dispensational Bible study is to ensure the Bible’s clarity, that it not be confused as Satan desires. To combine the two Bible programs is to confuse heaven with earth, and it is to introduce unanswerable confusion—that explains the doctrinal disorder in Christendom today! “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

PROPHECY. The program that God uses to magnify His Son in the earth is called the prophetic program, for it contains information/doctrine that was prophesied, or spoken about, since He placed man (Adam) on earth. Notice what the Apostle Peter preached: “[Jesus Christ] Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21). From the beginning of creation, God revealed to mankind a plan to have Jesus Christ reign on planet earth. This information is found in the Bible books of Genesis through Malachi, Matthew through John, Acts chapters 1-8, and Hebrews through Revelation. The agency (group of believers) whom God will use to magnify His Son forever in the earth is the nation Israel (Exodus 19:5-6; Psalm 37:11; Matthew 5:5; Luke 22:29-30; Revelation 5:10). Law is the operating system for the prophetic program (Matthew 5:17-19). The Apostle Peter and the other 11 apostles of Israel are the divinely-ordained human leaders in the prophetic program (Matthew 16:16-19; Matthew 19:27-28; Luke 22:30; Galatians 2:7,9).

MYSTERY. The program that God uses to magnify His Son in the heavens is called the mystery program, for it contains information/doctrine that was kept secret, or not spoken about, since He placed man (Adam) on earth. Notice what the Apostle Paul wrote: “Now to him [God the Father] that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, [26] But now is made manifest…” (Romans 16:25-26). From the beginning of creation, God kept secret (kept it a “mystery”) a plan to have Jesus Christ reign in the heavenly places. This information is found in the Bible books known as “Paul’s epistles,” Romans through Philemon. The agency (group of believers) whom God will use to magnify His Son forever in the heavens is the Church the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 2:6-7; Philippians 3:20; 2 Timothy 4:18). Grace is the operating system for the mystery program (Romans 6:14-15). The Apostle Paul is the divinely-ordained human leader in mystery program (Romans 11:13; Romans 15:16; Galatians 2:7,9; 1 Timothy 1:15-16).

IF WE IGNORE PAUL’S EPISTLES (AND STUDY ONLY THE OTHER SCRIPTURES)

It is spiritually dangerous to ignore Paul’s epistles and focus only on the rest of the Bible books. Many times, the Apostle Paul is viewed today as a missionary whom the 12 apostles at Jerusalem sent out into the Roman Empire to lead others to Jesus Christ. Paul is seen as nothing more than a “supplement” to Peter and the 11. It is ever so sad that much of Christendom is willfully ignorant of the fact that Paul’s apostleship had nothing to do with Peter and the 11’s apostleships, that Paul’s Gospel message was different from Peter and the 11’s Gospel message, that Paul’s believers were saved into a separate body of believers than Peter and the 11’s “little flock” of Jewish believers, that Paul’s converts had a dissimilar eternal hope than Peter and the 11’s eternal hope. The differences between Paul’s ministry and the 12’s ministry are made very clear in Galatians chapter 2.

If we ignore Paul’s epistles, we have no idea what God is doing today because only Paul’s epistles describe God’s current dealings with mankind (Israel is fallen, salvation is going to the Gentiles through Paul’s ministry, salvation is not found in Israel today but only in the Church the Body of Christ, et cetera—these facts are only found in Paul’s writings). To ignore Paul is to concentrate only on God’s will for the earth; you force yourself to be unaware of God’s will for the heavenly places. The 13 books of the Bible that apply to what God is doing today, describe what God is doing today, are the books of Romans through Philemon. To ignore the writings of Paul is to disregard what the Holy Spirit says to us Gentiles—how the church is to function, what it is to do, what it is to believe, its operating system, its destiny, and so on. Ignoring Paul’s epistles will cause you to see only what God did in time past and what He will do in the future—you will be ignorant of what God wants you to do today!

We read that Paul is “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13). The resurrected, ascended, and glorified Lord Jesus Christ sent Paul to us, so if we reject God’s spokesman to us, we reject God Himself! Jesus Christ said in John 13:20: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” The Holy Spirit led Paul to write in 1 Corinthians 14:37: “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.” According to the Bible, the test for spirituality today is if someone recognizes Paul’s writings at Jesus Christ’s commandments to us. Verse 38 says, “But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.” God knows that many, however, will be willfully ignorant of Paul’s epistles, and He instructs us to leave them in that spiritual darkness (their preference).

The Apostle Peter urged his Jewish believers to read Paul’s writings: “[15] And account that 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; [16] As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15-16). In Peter’s mind, Paul’s epistles should not be ignored (Peter acknowledged that Paul wrote about things that he [Peter] did not understand; this means Paul’s message and Peter’s message were different). According to the Holy Ghost in Peter, Paul’s epistles should be studied—much of what Paul writes about cannot be found elsewhere in Scripture!

IF WE STUDY ONLY PAUL’S EPISTLES (AND IGNORE THE OTHER SCRIPTURES

If we study only Paul’s epistles and ignore the rest of the Bible, we have no idea what God did in time past or what He will do in the ages to come, because Paul’s epistles exclusively describe God’s current dealings with mankind (Israel is fallen, salvation is going to the Gentiles through Paul’s ministry, salvation is not found in Israel today but only in the Church the Body of Christ, et cetera). To ignore the rest of the Bible and study only Paul is to concentrate only on God’s will for the heavens; you force yourself to be ignorant of God’s will for the earth. If we know only Paul’s epistles, we know nothing about the events of creation, about the world prior to and immediately after the Great Flood of Noah’s day, about how God formed and protected the nation Israel through the centuries, Jesus Christ’s virgin birth and His childhood, the details (parables, miracles, sufferings, et cetera) of His earthly ministry, the specifics of His return in great power and glory to reign over Israel and earth in the ages to come, the binding of Satan in the future, the New Heaven and New Earth, et cetera. Paul’s epistles say little to nothing about those topics.

As we saw earlier, the Apostle Peter encouraged his audience to read Paul’s epistles in order for them to learn information that can be found in no other place. By the same token, Paul’s epistles do not repeat every prophetic word of God written beforehand. Other than Romans chapters 9-11, there is almost nothing in Paul’s epistles about God’s plan for the earth and the nation Israel. We must look to the other Bible books—the non-Pauline books—in order to learn about God’s purpose and plan for Israel. Just as Peter told his audience to study Paul’s books, so Paul urged us to study the Old Testament passages he quoted in order for us to get a fuller picture of the doctrine he was communicating (we will see this shortly). By recognizing the parallels in both Israel’s program and ours, we can better understand how they function as one to bring about God’s “eternal purpose” (Ephesians 3:11)—to eternally glorify Jesus Christ in heaven and on earth (Ephesians 1:9-10). By recognizing the contrasts between both Israel’s program and ours, we can better appreciate their unique identities, how they are separate and distinct, but still able to bring about God’s “eternal purpose” (Ephesians 3:11)—to eternally glorify Jesus Christ in heaven and on earth (Ephesians 1:9-10).

HOW PAUL VIEWED THE NON-PAULINE BIBLE BOOKS

Since the Holy Spirit operated in and through our Apostle Paul—which even the Apostle Peter admitted (2 Peter 3:15-16)—we should agree with the Holy Spirit as He spoke through Paul. What did the Holy Ghost say through Paul’s pen regarding the non-Pauline Bible books? Are the non-Pauline Bible books to be studied or ignored?

Romans 15:3-4 is a passage that clearly answers these questions: “[3] For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. [4] For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” The Apostle Paul made a direct reference to Psalm 69:7, and then he referred to “whatsoever things [that] were written aforetime were written for our learning.” He was obviously describing the importance of the Old Testament Scriptures, teaching that they could benefit and comfort us.

In fact, we can study the Old Testament quotes found in the New Testament, to better understand the Old Testament Scriptures (or we can use the Old Testament quotes in the New Testament, to better understand the New Testament Scriptures). By doing so, we can see many parallels in both the Old and New Testaments. We can see Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry (His First Coming) and His earthly kingdom (His Second Coming) described throughout the Old Testament in vivid details, centuries and even thousands of years before those events happened, but we can only recognize and appreciate them if the New Testament writings exist to quote and interpret them for us. Additionally, by studying the Old Testament Scriptures, we can learn from Israel’s mistakes (1 Corinthians chapter 10 is a primary example of this)—the schemes and scams that Satan used to successfully attack Israel’s spiritual health are the ones he uses even today to hinder us the Church the Body of Christ!

Romans 15:3-4 says that Paul expected his Gentile converts to be familiar with the Hebrew Bible (what we now call “the Old Testament Scriptures,” the books of Genesis through Malachi). After all, even in those days, Moses and the rest of the Old Testament books (scrolls) had circulated to synagogues throughout the Roman Empire and beyond (see Luke 4:16-21; Acts 13:14-15; Acts 15:21; 2 Corinthians 3:15). Note Paul’s handling of the Old Testament and other non-Pauline Bible books:

  • Paul expected his Gentile converts to be familiar with Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, her rebellion under Moses, and her wilderness wanderings recorded in the Old Testament books of Exodus and Numbers (1 Corinthians chapter 10).
  • He even taught his Gentile believers in Thessalonica, prophecy (such as the Antichrist’s career during the seven-year Tribulation, Jesus Christ’s Second Coming, et cetera)—see 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 (some prophetic events are referenced in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 as well).
  • Paul quoted Old Testament passages in 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9 to illustrate how we should give of our resources under grace.
  • The Apostle expected his Gentile converts in Galatia to be familiar with the historical narrative of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac as recorded in Genesis, that we understand that law and grace cannot and do not mix—see Galatians chapter 4.
  • Paul also refers to many Old Testament passages—and quotes several—in Romans chapters 9-11, that we may understand Israel’s past, present, and future statuses before JEHOVAH God.
  • The fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians refers to Old Testament verses and concepts to further illuminate/parallel the concept of our bodily resurrection at Jesus Christ’s return for us His Church (the Rapture).
  • Romans chapter 13 makes references to most of the Ten Commandments, even quoting Moses’ words in Exodus and Deuteronomy, how grace living will produce in us the same good works that law-keeping was to produce in Israel (but failed because of sinful flesh).
  • Although previously mentioned, Romans chapter 15 contains nearly a half-dozen direct quotes from the Psalms and the Prophet Isaiah’s book.
  • Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians references Moses and the Law (2 Corinthians chapter 3).
  • You can learn much about how Satan wants to deceive us, by studying Genesis chapter 3, when he deceived Eve, the woman, but not Adam, the man (2 Corinthians 11:1-4; 1 Timothy 2:11-15).
  • Ephesians (5:31) makes reference to the marriage of Adam and Eve, which would only make sense in light of studying Genesis chapter 2.
  • Paul quoted the books of Deuteronomy and Luke in 1 Timothy 5:18.

Thus we see that Paul—yea, the Holy Spirit through Paul—never advocated discarding the non-Pauline Bible books. All 66 books of the Bible are God’s Word, and all should be studied in order to shed light on all of them.

CONCLUSION

Friends, considering the foregoing verses, it is not spiritually safe to ignore Paul’s epistles and it is not spiritually safe to study only Paul’s epistles. We should study all of the Bible from cover to cover—Genesis through Revelation. We should have a grasp of prophecy and mystery, the nation Israel and the Church the Body of Christ, law and grace, Peter’s ministry and Paul’s ministry. To ignore Paul and study everything else in the Bible is to cheat ourselves spiritually. To ignore everything in the Bible but Paul is to rob ourselves spiritually, too. God did not preserve only Paul’s epistles, and God did not preserve only the non-Pauline Bible books—He preserved Genesis through Revelation because He wants us to read all of those 66 books. He wants to give us spiritual stability not only through Paul’s Gospel and Paul’s writings, but also “by the scriptures of the prophets” (Romans 16:25-26)—hence, the New Testament prophets copied not only Paul’s epistles, but all of the scrolls of the Bible’s 66 books.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). The Holy Spirit wrote all of the Bible, not just Paul’s epistles (2 Samuel 23:2; Matthew 22:31; Acts 1:16; 2 Peter 1:21). All Scripture is written for us, but not all Scripture is written to us or about us. When a Bible passage says that it is speaking to or about the nation Israel, we cannot commit spiritual larceny and insert our names into the verses (we must not steal Israel’s verses). Just as we have part of the Bible written to us, Israel has a portion of the Bible written to her. Just as we would not steal someone’s mail, we should not steal God’s Word to Israel and pretend it was given us. Beloved, we should be honest with God’s Word.

In my ministry, I have never told anyone to study only Paul’s epistles, to throw away every Bible book but Paul’s writings, and I never plan to encourage such nonsense. In my personal Bible reading, I read through the Bible at least once a year, and I daily study Bible passages throughout the canon of Scripture. When I teach the Bible, I never confine myself to Paul’s epistles. However, it should be understood that Paul’s epistles deal directly with God’s current operations with man, and to mostly ignore or completely ignore his books would greatly contribute to Satan’s policy of evil. Let us study all of Scripture, Genesis through Revelation, but let us also remember that Paul is our divinely-ordained apostle! Paul’s writings are the Lord’s commandments to us (1 Corinthians 14:37).

Also see:
» Who is Judas’ replacement—Matthias or Paul?
» Did Peter and Paul preach the same Gospel?
» What is “the Dispensation of Grace?”

DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY, What is “the fellowship of the mystery?”

What is “the fellowship of the mystery?”

WHAT IS “THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE MYSTERY?”

by Shawn Brasseaux

Exactly what is “the fellowship of the mystery” referenced in Ephesians 3:9? Dear friends, as Bible students, we must study the Bible—not commentaries, not religious tradition or church history, and not lexicons—to discover the answer to our question.

The Holy Spirit wrote through Apostle Paul in Ephesians 3:9: “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.” While this verse is often used to teach that our Dispensation of Grace was kept a secret since the world began, it is actually conveying a very special truth regarding a doctrine associated with our dispensation. Verse 6 defines the “fellowship of the mystery:” “That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.” The word “fellowship” simply means, “a gathering of people with like interest or identity.” The context of Ephesians chapter 3 is actually how God is currently forming the Church the Body of Christ (of believing Jews and believing Gentiles) in this the Dispensation of Grace—see also Ephesians 2:13-22.

It would greatly benefit us if we read Ephesians 3:1-9 here: “[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 you-ward: [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) [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:….”

The “fellowship of the mystery” is the body of believing Jews and Gentiles, the body of believers that is associated with Paul’s secret ministry and message (the Gospel of the Grace that was committed to his trust; verses 6-9). God did not make known the Church the Body of Christ until we come to Paul’s ministry (verse 9). The “one new man” (the Church the Body of Christ, Ephesians 2:15) is the special agency (group, church) God forms using Paul’s ministry. This group of believers is “not known after the flesh”—there is no distinction between Jew or Gentile in the Body of Christ, circumcision or uncircumcision (2 Corinthians 5:16-17)—the Church the Body of Christ does not know Jesus after His earthly ministry. This would be in contrast to things God spoke (of Israel’s program) since the world began (Acts 3:21; cf. Luke 1:70).

When we “study… rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), we do not confuse the nation Israel with the Church the Body of Christ, Jesus’ earthly ministry (Matthew through John) with His heavenly ministry (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon), and prophecy (Israel’s program) with mystery (our program)—compare Romans 16:25-26 and Acts 3:21. Much of Christianity is confused today because they have mixed Israel’s Scriptures with ours, and they have combined two Bible programs that are to be divided. We would have saved ourselves much headache and heartache if we had used God’s Word as He instructed us!!

We read in Galatians 5:6: “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” And Galatians 6:15: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” The Holy Spirit through Paul wrote these two verses—they are only true today, in the “but now,” but they were not true in “time past” (see Genesis 17:9-14, where physical circumcision was necessary to be in fellowship with the God of the Bible). There is no contradiction in the Bible, just a change in program. It did matter to be a Jew (physically circumcised) in time past, for Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry was to Jews only (Matthew 15:24; John 4:22; Romans 15:8). Prior to Paul’s ministry, if one was to be saved and have a relationship with the God of Scripture, he was to believe/trust whatever doctrine He had revealed at that time. If somebody wanted fellowship with the God of the Bible, that individual had to come by way of the nation Israel (Ephesians 2:11-12; cf. Genesis 12:1-3; Isaiah 60:1-3; Zechariah 8:20-23). Today, there is the “new creature,” the “one new man,” the Church the Body of Christ made of believing Jews and Gentiles—this is “the fellowship of the mystery” (Ephesians 3:6,9). Today, Israel is fallen, spiritually blinded, temporarily set aside (Romans chapter 11). We approach the God of Scripture without Israel (Romans 11:11-13)—this was the secret that God kept from the Old Testament prophets.

CONCLUSION

Before Paul’s ministry and prior to our Dispensation of Grace, if one was to be saved and have a relationship with the God of the Bible, he was to believe whatever doctrine He had revealed at that time. If somebody wanted fellowship with the God of Scripture, that individual had to come through the nation Israel. However, when God saved Saul of Tarsus and made him the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 9, He began a new body of believers. In this body—the Church the Body of Christ—there is no difference between Jew or Gentile (1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:28; Galatians 5:6; Galatians 6:15). It would simply be “a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17), “one new man” (Ephesians 2:15), a new species of mankind. This is “the fellowship of the mystery” referred to in Ephesians 3:9. It is not to be confused with the nation Israel—Israel and the Body of Christ will always remain separate entities.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:7-9 that he was made a minister, an apostle, in order to preach to the Gentiles “the unsearchable [previously kept secret] riches of Christ,” and to “make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery….” The goal of Paul’s ministry was to reveal “unsearchable” (previously-hidden) doctrine—hidden from the Old Testament prophets (compare John 5:39)—and this included having Gentiles see and understand the mystery (secret) agency (group of believers) associated with the Dispensation of Grace.

The “fellowship of the mystery” is the Church the Body of Christ, the secret group of believers that God said nothing about until the resurrected, ascended, and glorified Lord Jesus Christ revealed it first to the Apostle Paul, and to us through his epistles, Romans through Philemon. This agency is separate from the nation Israel and her prophetic program that had been operating prior to Paul. It cannot be stressed enough that the nation Israel has nothing to do with the Church the Body of Christ. Interestingly, with no manuscript evidence, the NIV translators added to God’s Word in Ephesians 3:6, “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel.” Beloved, what a lie! Again, the Church the Body of Christ has nothing to do with Israel (the NIV translators, like most modern bible translators and publishers, have no appreciation for dispensational Bible study).

Please understand that believing Jews individually can be saved today and placed into the Church the Body of Christ (the same way that Gentiles do, by simple faith in Jesus Christ and His finished crosswork as sufficient payment for their sins; Paul’s Gospel of 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; cf. Romans 4:1-8), but God is not dealing with Jews on the national basis like He did prior to Paul, or like He will do in the future after our dispensation ends. Israel is fallen today, enemies of God, Romans chapter 11 says—the Church the Body is neither fallen nor an enemy of God, so the Church the Body of Christ and the nation Israel are two separate groups!

Also see:
» What is “the Dispensation of Grace?”
» What is “Replacement Theology?”
» When did the Church the Body of Christ begin?

DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY, THE NATION ISRAEL, Were Gentiles saved before our Dispensation of Grace?, Were Gentiles saved before our Dispensation of Grace?

Were Gentiles saved before our Dispensation of Grace?

WERE GENTILES SAVED BEFORE OUR DISPENSATION OF GRACE?

by Shawn Brasseaux

Could Gentiles be saved before Paul’s ministry, before our Dispensation of Grace began? If so, how were they saved? As always, the Holy Bible is our final authority, so let us look at it, and it alone, for answers.

Ephesians 2:11-12 describes the situation before our Dispensation of Grace: “[11] Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; [12] That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:….”

In what the Bible calls “time past,” before our Dispensation of Grace began (that is, before the “but now” of verse 13 began), God was dealing almost exclusively with the nation Israel. At that time, our Gentile (or, non-Jewish) ancestors were “without Christ” (Christ’s earthly ministry was to Israel only; Matthew 10:5-7; Matthew 15:24; John 4:22; Romans 15:8), our Gentile ancestors “had no hope,” and our Gentile ancestors were “without God in the world.” Although “time past” involved God’s dealings with the nation Israel, that does not mean that God did not care about Gentiles. According to the Scriptures, the very reason why God was dealing with the nation Israel was to form an earthly people through whom He could then send salvation and spiritual light to the Gentiles. God was dealing with the nation Israel, to save the nation Israel, so then redeemed Israel would minister to Gentiles, that the Gentiles receive and believe the God of Israel, the one true God of creation.

Read the Abrahamic Covenant, the promise God made with Abram (later changed to Abraham) in Genesis 12:1-3: “[1] Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: [2] And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: [3] And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Again, it would be through redeemed Israel that God would reach the Gentiles (see Exodus 19:5-6; Isaiah 60:1-3; Zechariah 8:20-23; also Genesis 22:18; Genesis 28:14; Isaiah 2:1-4; Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 45:22; Isaiah 49:6,22-23; Isaiah 60:14; Isaiah 61:1,2,6,9; Isaiah 62:2; Isaiah 66:19; Jeremiah 3:17; Micah 4:1-3; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:8; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6; Revelation 21:23-27).

In order to prove that, overall, He did care about Gentiles, God dealt with some Gentiles in “time past.” Yet, and this is the important condition to remember, in time past, God dealt with Gentiles on the basis of Israel. As per the Abrahamic Covenant quoted above, God would only deal with Gentiles if Israel were somehow involved, if the Gentiles somehow blessed Israel or placed themselves under Israel to receive God’s blessings. Let us see some examples of this from the Scriptures, how God dealt with Gentiles outside of our Dispensation of Grace, but always involving the nation Israel.

RAHAB

Consider Rahab the Canaanitess (Gentile) prostitute who lived in the city of Jericho. As the Israelites were entering the Promised Land under Joshua, Israel encountered Jericho’s walls. Before Israel defeated the city, Joshua sent two Jewish spies to scout out Jericho. The Bible says that Rahab hid these two Jewish men when her Gentile city officials came looking for them (Joshua 2:1-24).

Read Rahab’s confession in verses 9-11: “[9] And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. [10] For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. [11] And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.”

The spies reassured Rahab that she and her household would be saved when Israel would overrun and defeat Jericho (see the end result in Joshua 6:22-25). Hebrews 11:31 summarizes, “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.” According to the Holy Spirit, Rahab was a Gentile believer of the Old Testament, a saved (redeemed) Gentile in time past (see also James 2:25). As an interesting side note, according to Matthew 1:5, Rahab was actually an ancestor of Joseph, Jesus’ foster father; additionally, Rahab was Ruth’s mother-in-law, and an ancestor of King David.

RUTH

Recall that Ruth was a Moabitess (Gentile) and her mother-in-law, Naomi, was a Jewess. Naomi, now bereaved of her husband and her two sons (one of whom was Ruth’s husband), wanted to leave Moab (east of the Dead Sea) and return to Judah (the area of Jerusalem, northwest of the Dead Sea), now that Judah’s famine was over. Naomi said that she would go back to Canaan and instructed Ruth to return to her (pagan) relatives in Moab. Ruth refused. “And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried…” (Ruth 1:16,17a). Ruth renounced her heathen (Gentile) religion and she desired Israel’s God to be her God! Eventually, she accompanied Naomi back to Judah. Ruth was another instance of a saved Gentile in “time past.” Furthermore, finally, Ruth became the mother of Obed, who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of King David, and King David was… the ancestor of Jesus Christ (Luke 3:32). God used (Gentile) Ruth to establish Jesus Christ’s bloodline!

As a fascinating side note, Zechariah 8:22-23 describes believing Gentiles in the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ: “[22] Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. [23] Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.” Amazingly, this is basically what Gentile Ruth said to Jewish Naomi some 3,000 years earlier!

NINEVEH

In another well-known Old Testament account, JEHOVAH God commanded the Prophet Jonah, a Jew, to preach to wicked Nineveh, a Gentile city and the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. You can read all about his ministry in the little Bible book of Jonah, which speaks of how God wanted these Gentiles to repent of their pagan idolatry and believe/trust Him as the one true God. While Nineveh did reform after hearing Jonah’s preaching, the city, centuries later, returned to heathenism and was eventually overrun by its enemies (prophesied in the book of Nahum). Although the Bible is unclear as to which of the Ninevites, if any, were saved unto eternal life, Jonah’s ministry is another indication that God did care about Gentiles in time past. As an interesting side note, Jonah’s rebellion typified Israel’s unbelief and utter refusal to be the nation God desired to use to minister to Gentiles. Just as Jonah eventually changed his mind and preached to Gentiles, so Israel will one day enter her earthly kingdom and fulfill her God-given commission (Isaiah 60:1-3; Zechariah 8:20-23).

CONVERTED GENTILES IN ESTHER’S DAY

After Persian king Ahasuerus decreed that no one persecute the Jews in his land, the Bible says, “And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them” (Esther 8:17). The way these Gentiles “became Jews” was to become physically circumcised, a convert to Israel’s religion of Judaism (see Exodus 12:48 and Isaiah 56:6-7, for instance). The Scriptures do not disclose how many of these proselytes were actually saved unto eternal life.

However, oftentimes, through the centuries, Israel’s formalistic religious leaders placed too much emphasis on religious performance rather than stressing faith/trust in the JEHOVAH God who gave the ordinances. Hence, the Lord Jesus commented that many of the proselytes of His day were lost, going to hell. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves” (Matthew 23:15). Like many churches today, they were merely seeking members to “join and support the program”—they were not seeking lost people to see them saved!

ROMAN CENTURION IN JESUS’ EARTHLY MINISTRY

In Matthew 8:5-13 (and Luke 7:1-10), a Gentile Roman centurion (a commander of 100 soldiers) begged Jesus to heal his servant who was greatly suffering with paralysis. In fact, Luke 7:2 says this servant is “dear unto him” and “ready to die.” This centurion loved this dying servant, and he desired the Lord to heal him before he passed away. Jesus declared He would come and heal the dying servant. Luke 7:3-5 explains: “[3] And when he [the centurion] heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. [4] And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: [5] For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.”

As soon as the Roman centurion heard of Jesus’ entrance into Capernaum, he himself did not approach Jesus. Actually, the centurion knew that he could only access God through Israel, as per the Abrahamic Covenant of Genesis 12:3. He knew that Jesus was sent to the nation Israel and not to Gentiles such as him (Romans 15:8). Thus, he sent some Jewish elders to Jesus on his behalf. Note the centurion loved Israel and he even built the Jews a synagogue. He was one of the few Gentiles who was not saturated with paganism—he recognized Israel’s God was the true God, and he understood that Jesus was Israel’s Messiah (something most of Israel did not care to realize)! He had blessed Israel, and God blessed him (Genesis 12:3). It seems likely that this Roman centurion was saved unto eternal life.

CANAANITE WOMAN IN JESUS’ EARTHLY MINISTRY

In Matthew 15:21-28 (and Mark 7:24-30), when a Canaanitess / Greek Syrophenician (Gentile) begged Jesus to heal her devil-possessed daughter, the Bible says, “he [Jesus] answered her not a word” (Matthew 15:23a). Jesus told His disciples, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). “But he [Jesus] answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s [Israel’s] bread, and to cast it to dogs [Gentiles]” (verse 26). Jesus reaffirmed that His ministry was to Israel, and He could not give to Gentile dogs what belonged to the children of Israel (His miracles, His blessings, His ministry). This dear Gentile woman recognized Israel’s preeminence, so she agreed with Jesus: “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (verse 27). She recognized that Jesus was sent to Israel, not to Gentiles such as herself and us. Only because she had faith in that fact, Jesus healed her daughter. She had placed herself under Israel’s table of blessing, and thus was blessed of God. Like the Roman centurion, she seems to have been saved unto eternal life.

SAMARITAN WOMAN IN JESUS’ EARTHLY MINISTRY

Although the Jews and the Samaritans had Jacob as their ancestor, the Jews did not like the Samaritans and tried to avoid them because the Samaritans had some Gentile ancestry and were not full-blooded Hebrews (see John 4:9,12). In John chapter 4, the Lord Jesus met and spoke with a promiscuous woman of Samaria. Notice what He told her in verse 22: “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.” Jesus told her that salvation was sent to Israel, not her, and she readily understood that. This woman, although not a full-blooded Jew, was still willing to believe Jesus as Messiah (verses 25-29), and she brought many of her neighbors (other Samaritans) to see Jesus Christ; the Bible says that many Samaritans believed on Jesus Christ there (verses 34-42). Once this woman understood her position, that salvation went to Israel first, then Jesus Christ saved her.

PROSELYTES ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST

We read about “proselytes” (Gentile converts to Judaism) in Acts 2:10. Undoubtedly, the Bible did not consider them Gentiles anymore. They were now Jews in God’s mind, for Acts 2:5 says, “There were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, of every nation under heaven.” These were members of the Apostle Peter’s audience on the day of Pentecost. Evidently, they were not saved just religious attending a religious festival, for they heeded Peter’s gospel message in Acts 2:36-41, and were thus saved.

GENTILE SALVATION AFTER OUR DISPENSATION

After our Dispensation of Grace ends with the Rapture—when the Church the Body of Christ is caught up in the air to meet the Lord Jesus Christ there (1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)—then God will resume dealing with Gentiles in the same manner He did before our dispensation began (refer to the foregoing passages and paragraphs). The Abrahamic Covenant will be in effect once more, and Gentiles during the seven-year Tribulation will have to bless Israel if they are to blessed of God (Matthew 25:31-46, note especially verse 34). These believing Gentiles will enter Jesus Christ’s earthly kingdom, to have God’s Word preached to them so they can believe it (Exodus 19:5-6; Isaiah 2:1-4; Isaiah 60:1-3; Zechariah 8:20-23; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Revelation 21:23-27).

CONCLUSION

A survey of the Scriptures outside of Paul’s epistles yields the conclusion that Gentiles can have a relationship with the God of the Bible in Israel’s prophetic program via three methods: (1) Become a Jew/proselyte, a convert to Judaism, (2) bless Israel in some way, and (3) submit to Israel’s preeminence in God’s dealings with man. When one understands the dispensational layout of Scripture, we can contrast this with how God deals with mankind today, how He deals with Gentiles today.

We read Ephesians 2:11-12 (what we read earlier) with verse 13 now: “[11] Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; [12] That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: [13] But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”

In our program, our current Dispensation of Grace, salvation is available to all, not through Israel’s rise to kingdom glory, or through Israel in any way, but through Israel’s fall, through her spiritual blindness (Romans 11:11-12,25)—Gentile salvation was never a secret in the Bible, but our Gentile salvation apart from Israel was the secret that God had kept hidden until He revealed it first to Paul (Romans 11:25; cf. Romans 16:25-26; Ephesians 3:1-11). Furthermore, technically, everyone is a Gentile today, for Israel has no current status before God (this is temporary, remember). Today, we are saved by simple faith/trust in Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork (note His shed blood of Ephesians 2:13) as sufficient payment for our sins: this is the Gospel of the Grace of God associated with the Apostle Paul’s ministry (Romans 11:13). We do not have to join a special religion, we do not have to bless Israel with material goods to be blessed of God, and we do not have to submit to Israel’s preeminence to be saved (Israel is temporarily fallen before God anyway, according to Romans chapter 11). We are saved by becoming members of the Church the Body of Christ, an agency completely separate from the nation Israel.

How clear the Bible becomes when one will, “Study to shew [himself] approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

Also see:
» What is “the Dispensation of Grace?”
» Did Peter and Paul preach the same Gospel?
» What is “Replacement Theology?”

CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT, Did the Church the Body of Christ begin in Acts 2?, Did the Church the Body of Christ begin in Acts 2?, DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY

Did the Church the Body of Christ begin in Acts 2?

DID THE CHURCH THE BODY OF CHRIST BEGIN IN ACTS 2?

by Shawn Brasseaux

Nearly everyone in Christendom is convinced that Acts chapter 2 is “the birthday of the Church the Body of Christ.” Does this overwhelming consensus agree with God’s Word, or is this just a denominational viewpoint courtesy of religious tradition? Let us search the Scriptures to see what Almighty God has to say about this often-confused topic.

Firstly, remember, whenever you see the word “church” in the Bible, it does not necessarily refer to the Church the Body of Christ. “Church” simply means “a called-out assembly.” There are three “churches” in Scripture: the Mosaic Church, the Messianic Church, and the Mystery Church.

The Mosaic Church is mentioned in Acts 7:38, when the Prophet Stephen refers to the nation Israel as “the church in the wilderness.” The LORD had just called out Israel from Egyptian bondage. Certainly, that “church” had nothing to do with the Body of Christ—it was the nation Israel, a separate and distinct entity. This Mosaic Church derives its name from Moses, the man whom God used to lead Israel from Egypt to the edge of the Promised Land.

The Greek word ecclesia (often translated “church”) is correctly translated “assembly” in Acts 19:32. The King James translators did not use the word “church” here because it was not a group of believers, but rather a mob of pagan worshippers who were angry with the Apostle Paul after he spoke against their mythological goddess Diana. Again, “church” does not always mean “a group of believers;” likewise, “church” in the Bible does not always refer to the Church the Body of Christ. The context determines the definition of the term.

Religious tradition has made such a mess of Matthew 16:18. Let us read it as it appears in the King James Bible (Jesus Christ is speaking to Peter): “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” This is neither the Roman Catholic Church nor the Church the Body of Christ. Continue reading in verse 19, “I will give unto thee [Peter] the keys of the kingdom of heaven….” The Lord Jesus Christ has just appointed Peter as the head of the “Messianic Church.” The “rock” is the fact that Jesus is Messiah/Christ (Peter’s profession in verse 16). Again, this is not the Body of Christ because the Messianic Church is comprised of those Jews who have trusted Jesus as their Messiah, Christ, the Son of the living God—this includes those believers from John the Baptist’s ministry and Christ’s earthly ministry (see Matthew 16:15-17). According to Luke 12:32, the Messianic Church is also known as the “little flock,” the believing segment of the nation Israel that will inherit the earthly kingdom promised in the Old Testament.

When the book of Acts opens, this Messianic Church still exists. In Acts chapter 2, Peter is the chief speaker (remember, he is the head of the Messianic Church and the keys of Israel’s kingdom have been given to him). Do not be confused when Acts 2:47 says “the church”—it is the mishandling of this verse that contributes to the erroneous idea that this is the Church the Body of Christ. Acts chapter 2 is not a reference to the Body of Christ; remember that this is the Messianic Church, what Jesus Christ promised to build back in Matthew 16:18.

Here are 12 reasons why the “church” in Acts chapter 2 is not the Church the Body of Christ:

1. ACTS 2 INVOLVES JESUS CHRIST’S EARTHLY MINISTRY.

The Bible says in Hebrews 2:3-4: “[3] How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; [4] God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?” According to the Holy Spirit speaking through the writer of the book of Hebrews—it is a Jewish book!—the early Acts period is a continuation of Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry (which was also Jewish; Matthew 10:5-7; Matthew 15:24; John 4:22; Romans 15:8). Read Acts 1:4-5: “[4] And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. [5] For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” Jesus Christ was referring to John the Baptist’s words in Matthew 3:11: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” In His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ promised to send the Holy Ghost (see John 14:16-18; John 15:26; John 16:7)—this promise was fulfilled to Israel in Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2 is linked to Jesus’ earthly ministry, which was confined to Israel (see Acts 2:22).

 2. ACTS 2 INVOLVES ISRAEL ONLY.

The chief speaker of Acts chapter 2 is the Apostle Peter, an apostle of Israel (Matthew 10:1-7; Matthew 19:28; Galatians 2:9). Peter was sent to minister to the nation Israel (Matthew 10:5-7). Undoubtedly, Peter’s audience in Acts chapter 2 is Jews only, the nation Israel (Acts 2:5,14,22,29,36). On four occasions, Peter says that he is speaking to, “Ye men of Judaea” (verse 14), “ye men of Israel” (verse 22), “men and brethren” (verse 29), and “the whole house of Israel” (verse 36). The Holy Ghost is leading the Apostle Peter to speak (verse 4), and the Holy Ghost is well aware that He is speaking to the nation Israel. Indeed, Acts chapter 2 is to Israel and about Israel. The Church the Body of Christ is made up of neither Jew nor Gentile (Galatians 3:28; Galatians 6:15; Ephesians 2:11-18; Colossians 3:11); therefore, the Body of Christ is separate from the nation Israel and not related to Acts chapter 2. It is apparently clear that we are still in Jewish-Gentile distinction of “time past” of Ephesians 2:11-12 here in Acts chapter 2. Some may argue that the term “all that are afar off” in Acts 2:39 refers to Gentiles, but they are incorrect because the context does not allow this definition. Actually, we find this term in Daniel 9:7 and it refers to scattered Jews around the world. It has no reference to Gentiles, either in Daniel 9:7 or Acts 2:39.

3. ACTS 2 INVOLVES PENTECOST, A JEWISH FEAST DAY.

Acts 2:1 says “when the day of Pentecost was fully come.” This is a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The Body of Christ is separate from Israel’s prophetic program (see Romans 16:25-26). Also, Pentecost is one of the three major Jewish feasts (Leviticus 23:15-16). We members of the Church the Body of Christ are not bound by the laws and feast days of Judaism (Romans 6:14-15; Galatians 4:9-11; Colossians 2:16), so this further proves that the group of believers in Acts chapter 2 is not the Church the Body of Christ. The Spirit of God would never lead a member of the Church the Body of Christ to be under the law (2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:18).

4. ACTS 2 INVOLVES PROPHECY, NOT MYSTERY.

According to what the Holy Ghost through Peter said in Acts 2:16-21, the events of Acts chapter 2 are fulfilled Old Testament prophecy: “[16] But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; [17] And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: [18] And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: [19] And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: [20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: [21] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The Prophet Joel (2:28-32) prophesied the supernatural events of Acts chapter 2 in relation to Israel’s restoration—we do not have these signs, miracles, and wonders in the Body of Christ and the Dispensation of Grace. The strange astronomical phenomena recorded in Joel and Acts chapter 2 will be fulfilled after our dispensation (see Matthew 24:29-30; Mark 13:24-26; Luke 21:25-28; Revelation 6:12-14). Again, the Body of Christ has no relation to the Old Testament because the “mystery” (our Dispensation of Grace) was “kept secret since the world began” (Romans 16:25; Ephesians 3:5; Colossians 1:26). The risen, ascended, and glorified Lord Jesus Christ revealed our mystery dispensation first and only to the Apostle Paul (Romans 16:25-26; Ephesians 3:1-9; Colossians 1:25-29). We do not find ourselves outside of Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon.

5. ACTS 2 INVOLVES “THE LAST DAYS.”

We return to Acts 2:17: “[16] But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; [17] And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:” Notice the expression “in the last days” in verse 17. Acts chapter 2 does not record the first days of anything—there is no “church birthday” here. Acts chapter involves “the last days.” The “last days” of what? Israel’s prophetic program was winding down in Acts chapter 2, but God interrupted that program in Acts chapter 7 to introduce the mystery program (our Dispensation of Grace).

6. ACTS 2 INVOLVES JESUS CHRIST BEING RAISED TO SIT ON DAVID’S THRONE.

When the Apostle Peter preached in Acts chapter 2, notice what the Holy Spirit said through him in verses 29-31: “[29] Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. [30] Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; [31] He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.” We have no relation to David’s throne; we are Gentiles saved apart from the nation Israel (Romans 11:11-12). When the Holy Spirit moved the Apostle Paul to write to us, he wrote that Jesus Christ was raised “for our justification” (Romans 4:25)—he made no reference to David’s throne like Peter did.

7. ACTS 2 INVOLVES A GOSPEL THAT IS NOT VALID TODAY.

The Apostle Peter preached in Acts 2:38 when his audience asked how to be saved: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” This is certainly a works-religion gospel, and it was valid in Israel’s program—it is problematic when people try to apply it to us because it does not belong in our dispensation. After all, Jesus Christ had said in Mark 16:16 that faith and water baptism were necessary for salvation in Israel’s program. Peter is in perfect accordance with his commission. Israel will not receive forgiveness of sins until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19). Jews must repent (change their mind about who Jesus Christ really was) and be water baptized in order to receive forgiveness and the Holy Spirit. When the Philippian jailer asked Paul what he must do to be saved, Paul said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). Unlike Peter’s ministry, in Paul’s ministry, there was no reference to water baptism or repentance. We receive the Holy Spirit by trusting the Gospel of the Grace of God—Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 4:24-25)—and God the Father seals us with the Holy Spirit instantly (Ephesians 1:12-14). Romans 4:1-8 makes it abundantly clear that no works save us. Acts chapter 2 does not apply to us because its Gospel message does not apply to us—it is a false gospel for us and we should reject it as such (Galatians 1:6-12).

8. ACTS 2 INVOLVES ISRAEL’S APOSTLES AND ISRAEL’S TEMPLE.

According to some of the closing verses of Acts chapter 2, these believers continued in “the apostles’ doctrine” and were “with one accord in the temple” (verses 42,46). The “apostles” in this case are Peter, James, John, and the other nine apostles from Christ’s earthly ministry—these apostles of Israel were never sent to minister to the Church the Body of Christ (recall Matthew 10:5-7; Galatians 2:9). Furthermore, temple worship has no relation to us the Church the Body of Christ because we are not under the demands of the Mosaic Law (Romans 6:14-15; Galatians 5:1-5). We believers are the Temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16), and God does not dwell in temples made with hands (Acts 17:24).

9. ACTS 2 INVOLVES A PRE-EXISTING GROUP OF BELIEVERS.

“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). The Bible says that there was a pre-existing group of believers in Acts chapter 2. It is not a new Body of Christ; Acts chapter 2 was simply a continuation of the Messianic Church that we discussed earlier. Again, there is no “birthday” of anything in Acts chapter 2.

 10. ACTS 2 INVOLVES SIGNS, MIRACLES, AND WONDERS.

Read Acts 2:43: “And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.” Is there “fear” in local churches today because of miraculous demonstrations? “The Jews require a sign” (1 Corinthians 1:22a). Mark 16:15-20 talks about how signs were to follow those that believe in Israel’s program, and Acts chapter 2 is a confirmation (see Hebrews 2:3-4). These miracles belong with Israel, and they do not apply to us. We have something better than miracles—we have the completed Word of God, the Holy Bible (1 Corinthians 13:8-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

 11. ACTS 2 INVOLVES COMMUNAL LIVING.

Did you ever notice the communal living found in Acts 2:44-45? Who does this today, except perhaps the cults? “[44] And all that believed were together, and had all things common; [45] And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.” These Jewish believers sold everything they had and gave the money they received to the twelve apostles for distribution to the poor (in perfect accordance with what Jesus said in Matthew 19:21-24 and Luke 12:31-34)! This was selfless, spontaneous living for the good of their fellow Jewish believers. Do you know of any Christian today who has sold all his or her possessions and given the money to a preacher or a local church? I seriously doubt it, so yet again, the Bible proves that Acts chapter 2 has nothing to do with the Church the Body of Christ.

12. ACTS 2 INVOLVES LEGALISM.

As we stated earlier, the Spirit of God would never lead a member of the Church the Body of Christ to be under the law (2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:18). Yet, legalism abounds in Acts chapter 2—repentance and water baptism for salvation and forgiveness (verse 38) and obeying the apostles’ doctrine in the Temple (verse 42,46). Jesus said that Israel’s 12 apostles were to preach and teach the Law (Matthew 5:17-20). We have no relation to legalism because Paul says that we are under grace, not law (Romans 6:14-15).

CONCLUSION

Despite what the denominationalists and religionists claim, the Church the Body of Christ did not begin in Acts chapter 2. To say that it did is to ignore all of the verses that we briefly outlined in this study. Acts chapter 2 is not our pattern; we must ignore the modern-day cries to “go back to Pentecost to get the Holy Ghost and the fire.” If we want to have God’s power and learn God’s information to us, we must go to Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon. We must leave Acts chapter 2 in Israel’s program where it belongs, or we will confuse everyone and ourselves, and make our Christian lives vain and miserable. So, when did the Church the Body of Christ begin? Please see our study below dedicated to answering that very question!

 

Also see:
» When did the Church the Body of Christ begin?
» How are Gentiles saved outside of our dispensation? (LINK TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE)
» What is “the Dispensation of Grace?”

DENOMINATIONS, CULTS, & FALSE TEACHING, DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY, When did the Church the Body of Christ begin?, When did the Church the Body of Christ begin?

When did the Church the Body of Christ begin?

WHEN DID THE CHURCH THE BODY OF CHRIST BEGIN?

by Shawn Brasseaux

Was it Acts 2? Acts 9? Acts 13? Acts 18? Acts 28? Or later?

Nearly everyone in Christendom is convinced that Acts chapter 2 is “the birthday of the Church the Body of Christ” (at the end of this article, we have a link to our study specially dedicated to refuting the “Acts 2” position, which is beyond the scope of this discussion). While there seems to be an anti-Acts-2 consensus within the so-called “grace movement,” there is often little clarity as to when the Church the Body of Christ did begin; that is, among grace believers, there is an overwhelming agreement that the Body of Christ did not begin in Acts chapter 2, but very few of these Christians can actually state with certainty when it did begin. Hence, the general term “mid-Acts dispensationalism” is applied, for some hold an “Acts 9” view, others believe in an “Acts 13” view, and still others an “Acts 18” view. There are even some who hold to “Acts 28” view, or something beyond Acts 28. It is very sad that many grace Christians seem to be guilty of being just as fragmented as the denominationalists they often deride. “When did the Church the Body of Christ begin?” is such a simple question with a simple answer, but it seems like very few are aware that God already settled the matter almost 2,000 years ago. Beloved, we grace believers must not allow denominationalism to divide us, lest we discredit ourselves and the message we so fervently claim to believe!

It is of utmost importance to our discussion to remember that the term “the Church the Body of Christ” is never found outside of Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon. James, Peter, and John never mentioned it in their epistles. In fact, Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry (recorded in Matthew through John) never mentioned it (the overwhelming Scriptural testimony is that Matthew 16:18 is not the Body of Christ).

In his epistles, the Apostle Paul made over 20 references to “the Church the Body of Christ” by name (Romans 7:4; 1 Corinthians 12:4,5; 1 Corinthians 10:17; 1 Corinthians 12:12,13,14,15,27; Ephesians 1:22,23; Ephesians 2:16; Ephesians 3:6; Ephesians 4:4,12,16; Ephesians 4:16; Ephesians 5:23,30; Colossians 1:18,24; Colossians 2:19; Colossians 3:15). Save Paul, no other Bible writer uses the term “the Church the Body of Christ.” Since only Paul uses that term, he seems to know more about it than anyone else in Scripture, so should we not allow Paul to tell us when it began? Rather than blindly agreeing with a grace preacher or a grace church’s doctrinal statement, we need to believe what the Holy Spirit through Paul taught and believed concerning the beginning of the Church the Body of Christ.

1. PAUL’S SALVATION IS OUR “PATTERN”

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:15-16: “[15] This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. [16] Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”

Notice the four very important words in the passage quoted above:

  • “chief” — The word “chief” means “first, primary” (such as in Acts 14:12). For any “Greekophile,” the Greek word translated “chief” in 1 Timothy 1:16 is protos, meaning “beginning or foremost.” It does not mean “worst” as commonly thought.
  • “first” — Means just what it says; it is the “earliest.”
  • “pattern” — A “pattern” is “an example for others to follow.”
  • “hereafter” — “Hereafter” is an adverb meaning, “from now on.”

These four terms are four different ways of saying the same thing—something new began with Paul. Paul was the “chief,” the “first,” the “pattern to them which should hereafter [that is, after Paul] believe on him [Jesus Christ] to life everlasting.” When Paul wrote, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief,” he was not saying that he was the worst of all sinners. In the context (look again at the four key terms highlighted above), what he meant was that he was the first of all sinners Jesus Christ saved. Yet, how could that be? What about the 12 apostles? Were they not sinners saved by God years prior to Paul? Yes, they were, but the manner by which Paul was saved, and the purpose to which Paul was saved, were different than those before him. Jesus Christ saved Paul and those after him with a special plan in mind.

The Scriptures could not be plainer that something new began with Paul’s salvation in Acts 9. Paul was the “first.” The first of what? The only sensible answer is the first member of the Church the Body of Christ (the only other group of believers God has in His Word is the redeemed nation Israel, and Israel is fallen at this point; the Church the Body of Christ had to be created in order to save Saul of Tarsus and make him Paul the Apostle). Paul was the first individual to be saved apart from Israel’s program. There had to have been a new program in Acts 9, otherwise Paul could not be saved unto eternal life (more on this later). The Holy Spirit said that Paul’s salvation is our “pattern.” Are we members of the nation Israel? No. Do we belong to Israel’s program? No. According to the Holy Spirit, and according to Paul himself, Paul was saved the same way we are—apart from Israel (1 Corinthians 15:8; Galatians 1:15) and apart from her program (1 Timothy 1:13-16 cf. Matthew 12:31-32; Romans 11:11-13; 1 Corinthians 1:17 cf. Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 6:14-15 cf. Matthew 5:17-19; et cetera).

2. PAUL COULD NOT BE SAVED IN ISRAEL’S PROGRAM

In Galatians 1:15-16, Paul writes, “[15] But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, [16] To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:…” In 1 Corinthians 15:8, Paul wrote, “And last of all he [the resurrected Jesus Christ] was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” Paul was not a part of Israel or her program. God “killed” Israel, as one would take the life of a pregnant woman, and He delivered her unborn child, in this case, Saul of Tarsus (Paul). (Look at the “stillborn” birth Job longed for in Job 3:16, “Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been….”).

The Lord Jesus said to the nation Israel in Matthew 12:31-32: “[31] Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. [32] And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”

Saul/Paul encouraged the murder of Stephen, and he was guilty of blaspheming against the Holy Ghost. After all, Jewish Saul was leading the world’s rebellion against Jesus Christ (see Acts 7:57-60; Acts 8:1-4; Acts 9:1-5; Acts 22:3-7; Acts 26:9-11; et cetera). Paul wrote that he was a “blasphemer” in 1 Timothy 1:13. Paul was saved, but he blasphemed against the Holy Spirit! So, how was Paul saved, and yet, how could it not break Jesus’ words in Matthew 12:31-32? Paul could not be saved in Israel’s program, for it would contradict Jesus’ words in Matthew 12:31-32; nevertheless, God opened our Dispensation of Grace, a program separate from Israel’s program, in Acts 9, and saved Saul/Paul. Saul/the Apostle Paul could only be saved if God interrupted Israel’s program with a new program, and if he was placed into a new group of believers. Paul was saved in our dispensation, not in Israel’s program; he was saved in the Church the Body of Christ, not in the nation Israel. Certainly, a new dispensation was in effect in Acts 9.

3. NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JEW AND GENTILE IN PAUL’S MINISTRY, WHETHER DURING ACTS OR POST-ACTS

When understanding the beginning of the Church the Body of Christ, we need to determine what the Church the Body of Christ is. From Paul’s epistles, we learn that it is a spiritual, invisible body of believers in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, who have trusted exclusively in Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for their sins (Paul’s Gospel, the Gospel of Grace of 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Consider the following verses found in Paul’s epistles:

  • Romans 3:22: “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:” (Written during Acts.)
  • 1 Corinthians 12:13: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” (Written during Acts.)
  • Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Written during Acts.)
  • Galatians 6:15: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” (Written during Acts.)
  • Ephesians 2:11-17: “[11] Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; [12] That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: [13] But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. [14] For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; [15] Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; [16] And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: [17] And came and preached peace to you which were afar off [Gentiles], and to them that were nigh [Jews].” (Written after Acts.)
  • Colossians 3:10-11: “[10] And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: [11] Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.” (Written after Acts.)

The distinction between Jew and Gentile (“Greek” delineated the prominent Gentile nationality of that day, as in the Graeco-Roman Empire) was abolished with Paul’s ministry: “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference” (Romans 3:22). Paul was “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13)—Paul wrote Romans during the Acts period. Israel had fallen back in Acts chapter 7 and was now “diminishing” (see Romans 11:11-12), so any lost Jews were technically Gentiles. In Acts chapter 15, Paul agreed to minister to the “heathen” (Galatians 2:9)—this would be anyone who was not a member of Israel’s little flock, her believing remnant. A Jew who had not trusted Jesus as Messiah was still just as much a “heathen”—a child of the Devil, and an enemy of the God of the Bible—as a lost non-Jew (Gentile) (see John 8:44, Acts 13:10, and Ephesians 2:1-3).

Paul, as Saul of Tarsus, had been one of those Christ-rejecting Jews, a heathen just as sinful before God as a Gentile. Paul’s ministry and message were directed toward any Christ-rejecting lost people—Jews or Gentiles. This distinction of Jew and Gentile being done away could only be possible if Israel’s program were fallen; the distinction between Jew and Gentile is always indicative of “time past” (Ephesians 2:11-12). The Church the Body of Christ had to have begun at the very beginning of Paul’s ministry, otherwise those to whom he ministered could not be saved. Yea, Paul himself could not be saved if a new program (the Dispensation of Grace) and a new agency (the Church the Body of Christ) had not begun back in Acts chapter 9.

4. PAUL’S INCLUSION IN THE RAPTURE

Paul considered himself to be a member of the Church the Body of Christ because he mentioned himself in reference to the Rapture. The Rapture of the Church the Body of Christ does not involve Israel or her prophetic program; the Rapture actually prevents our mystery program from overlapping with Israel’s program. Had the Body of Christ began after Paul was saved in Acts chapter 9—such as in Acts chapter 13, Acts chapter 18, or Acts chapter 28 or beyond—it would make no sense for Paul to be including himself in the Rapture. Paul had a hope to be included with the members of the Church the Body of Christ at the Rapture. He says “we” not “you” throughout 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18—Paul included himself in the Rapture, which is exclusively Body-of-Christ doctrine (verses 15 and 17). In fact, remember what Paul wrote, “For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body…” (1 Corinthians 12:13)—Paul did not use the pronoun, “you,” indicating that he included himself in the Church the Body of Christ. Paul mentioned God blessing “us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3)—this is the Body of Christ doctrine, and when he wrote that God “blessed us with all spiritual blessings,” he included himself. “For we are members of his body” (Ephesians 5:30)—Paul included himself in the Body of Christ. To have the Body of Christ begin after Paul’s salvation is to ignore the many verses that indicate that Paul was a member of the Body of Christ.

5. THE DANGERS OF STARTING THE BODY OF CHRIST AFTER ACTS 9 (SUCH AS ACTS 13, ACTS 18, ACTS 28, OR BEYOND)

To begin the Church the Body of Christ at some time other than Acts chapter 9 is to ignore the foregoing verses and passages. Furthermore, a non-Acts-9 view of the Body of Christ will introduce increasing confusion into your Christian life and the lives of those around you. You lose Paul’s salvation as your pattern, you make your Christian life less clear, and you make the transitional period of Acts more confusing. Without going into too much detail, we will briefly comment about the “Acts 13,” “Acts 18,” and “Acts 28” positions:

  • ACTS 13. This position is taken because Paul began his apostolic journeys at the beginning of this chapter. Furthermore, Acts 13:46 is used to justify this position: “Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” Some use this verse to contend that Paul will go unto Gentiles from this time on, so the Gentile body of Christ could not begin until Acts chapter 13. Still, we understand that Paul was considered a Gentile because he had rejected Jesus Christ and was a “heathen” (Israel had fallen in Acts 7, see Point #2, “Paul could not be saved in Israel’s program”). Moreover, the Body of Christ had already begun with Paul’s salvation in Acts 9 (see previous comments). Had the Body of Christ begun in Acts chapter 13, Paul could not have been saved unto eternal life. The clear teaching of Acts 13:46 is this—it was Paul’s announcement to unbelieving Israel in Asia (modern-day Turkey) that God had now changed His dealings with mankind, that Israel was now fallen and diminishing. Nothing more.
  • ACTS 18. Acts 18:8 is used to teach that the Gentile Body of Christ began in Acts 18: “And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean; from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.” Yet, by this time, Paul had already gone to Gentiles—he spoke with the pagan Greeks in Athens in Acts chapter 17. In Acts 18:8, Paul was not saying that the Body of Christ was now beginning. He was simply announcing in a new region (Europe) to unbelieving Israel that his ministry was amongst Gentiles. He was speaking to a new Jewish audience to inform them that JEHOVAH God had now changed His dealings with mankind, that Israel was now fallen and diminishing. To begin the Church the Body of Christ in Acts chapter 18 is to divorce ourselves from Paul’s earliest epistles—Thessalonians and Galatians.
  • ACTS 28. Acts 28:28 is used to support the Acts 28 position: “Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.” This does not say that God’s salvation will go to the Gentiles; by this time, we have seen that it has already gone to the Gentiles and is going to the Gentiles (recall our earlier comments). The Body of Christ had begun long before Paul announced those words in Acts 28:28—some 30 years earlier actually. Acts 28:28 was Paul speaking in Rome, the world’s capital at this time. “Acts 28” is a particularly dangerous position to take because it divorces you from Paul’s Acts epistles (Galatians, Thessalonians, Corinthians, and Romans) and makes you believe they are not to or about you—Paul never divides his epistles between one section of the Body of Christ in Acts and another section of the Body of Christ after Acts. The admonition in 2 Timothy 2:15 refers to all of the Bible, and does not teach “rightly dividing” Paul’s epistles.

Acts 13:46, Acts 18:8, and Acts 28:28 are not the beginning of the Body of Christ and, despite what some “grace” people may tell you, they are not indicative of such. These three verses should be considered one unit, for they comprise a three-fold announcement that the Apostle Paul made to unbelieving Israel in three separate regions. God was now going and had gone to the Gentiles, and Israel’s prophetic program was diminishing. By the time of Acts 28, that transition period was over. How clear, how simple!

CONCLUSION

We so-called “mid-Acts dispensationalists” agree that the Church the Body of Christ did not begin in Acts chapter 2 (as “traditional dispensationalism” teaches). Yet, there is often great confusion and doubt concerning when it did begin (hence the broad term “mid-Acts”). Some say it was Acts chapter 9, others Acts chapter 13, still others Acts chapter 18, and some even say Acts chapter 28 or later. Indeed, it sounds just as bad as denominationalism in Christendom! Mid-Acts dispensationalists often blame traditionalists (denominational people) for holding to the “traditions of men” to advance a particular church’s viewpoint regarding Scripture. Sadly, however, some so-called “mid-Acts dispensationalists” are just as guilty of this error. One glance at the “Acts 9/13/18/28” controversy demonstrates that religious tradition and preconceived notions often deceive, divide, and defeat us “mid-Acts dispensationalists” just as it does denominational Christendom.

Honestly, some years ago, when I first learned of the Acts 9/13/18/28 division within “grace circles,” I grew very discouraged. I had left my religious confusion in a denominational church behind, only to wind up with more confusion parading as “grace doctrine.” I wanted to know when the Church the Body of Christ began so that I could then determine what parts of the Bible on which to focus the most. It took me at least two or three years to finally learn the truth about the matter (during that time, many “grace people” were telling me different things, and they seemed to be just as confused as I was). When I finally studied the Scriptures on my own, I was thrilled to see how clear the Bible was regarding the issue. Acts chapter 9, the Apostle Paul’s salvation, was the beginning of the Church the Body of Christ; to say otherwise is to cause abounding confusion.

Dear friends, the fragmentation of grace believers regarding the beginning of the Body of Christ, often aids the Adversary’s cause in keeping God’s truth hidden. Having struggled with this issue myself, I can personally testify to that. Furthermore, this Acts 9/13/18/28 conflict affords our denominational critics another reason to undermine our stand on Paul’s special apostleship/ministry to us Gentiles and our stand in the Gospel the Lord Jesus Christ committed first to his trust. Thus, the question, “When did the Church the Body of Christ begin?,” is one of the most important questions the Bible student will face. He or she must answer it using Bible verses, not religious tradition (even if that church tradition parades under the guise of “grace doctrine!”).

If we are to be a pure church, we too must discard traditions, even if “grace” brethren believe and teach them! No question about it, the Apostle Paul was the first member of the Church the Body of Christ. It is not that difficult to understand unless we refuse to see it for sake of keeping our own traditions.

Also see:

»
» Can you explain Paul’s ministry during the book of Acts?
» What is “the Dispensation of Grace?”
» Was Paul saved by the Gospel of the Kingdom? Did he ever preach that Gospel message?

BIBLE CONTRADICTIONS / CONFUSING VERSES SIMPLIFIED, Can you please explain Paul’s “Acts” ministry?, Can you please explain Paul’s “Acts” ministry?, DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY

Can you please explain Paul’s “Acts” ministry?

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CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN PAUL’S MINISTRY DURING THE BOOK OF ACTS?

by Shawn Brasseaux

Certainly!

During the book of Acts, why did the Apostle Paul heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils, water baptize, offer sacrifices in Jerusalem’s Temple, physically circumcise Timothy, and place his hands on people to impart the Holy Ghost to them? Did these practices and miraculous demonstrations not belong in Israel’s program? Then why was Paul involved with them? Was Paul preaching in Israel’s program? As always, when we have Bible questions, we appeal to the Bible to get Bible answers. Not “For what saith the grace preacher” or “For what saith the grace seminary,” but “For what saith the Scriptures?”

In the Bible, from Genesis chapter 12 and Abram/Abraham until we come to the ministry of the Apostle Paul (Saul of Tarsus was saved in Acts chapter 9), JEHOVAH God is dealing almost exclusively with the nation Israel. Hence, John the Baptist’s ministry was limited to Israel (Luke 1:16-17,80; Acts 13:24), Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry (recorded in the books of Matthew through John) was restricted to Israel (Matthew 10:5-7; Matthew 15:24; Luke 19:9; John 1:11; John 4:22; Romans 15:8), and Peter and the 11 other apostles’ ministries were limited to Israel during early Acts (Acts 2:36; Acts 3:13,25; Acts 4:8; Acts 5:30-31; Acts 7:2). For those four years, Israel refused to listen to and believe the preaching of Jesus, Peter, the 11, and Stephen. The Jews refused to trust Jesus as their Messiah-King, so in Acts chapter 7 (when Israel’s leaders stoned Stephen), Israel’s program fell away (albeit temporarily). That is when the risen, ascended, and glorified Lord Jesus Christ began a new program by raising up Saul of Tarsus, saving him, making him Paul, a new apostle, and giving him a new message, the Gospel of the Grace of God (Acts chapter 9 and onward).

The latter part of the book of Acts (chapters 9-28) can be awfully confusing and downright impossible to understand unless we keep Romans 11:11-14 in mind. The first step in understanding Paul’s ministry during the Acts period is to read and believe Romans 11:11-14: “[11] I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. [12] Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? [13] For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: [14] If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.”

According to the Old Testament prophetic program, the nation Israel should have risen to her kingdom glory. She should have accepted and trusted her Messiah-King Jesus, and in the literal, physical, visible kingdom He would then establish on the earth, Israel would be a kingdom of priests who would evangelize the Gentiles (see Exodus 19:5-6; Isaiah 59:21–60:3; Isaiah 61:6; Zechariah 8:20-23; Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15; et cetera). When national Israel refused Jesus but rather crucified Him, and then refused to repent (change their mind about who He was) in early Acts, God caused her program to fall away temporarily. That is what Paul is saying in Romans 11:11-12. Israel stumbled at Calvary’s cross when she crucified her Messiah, but she did not fall (Romans 9:32-33). Israel later stumbled in early Acts by rejecting God the Holy Spirit who was speaking through Stephen (Acts 7:51,55), and Israel finally fell here. Today, national Israel is “fallen” (Romans 11:11-12); now, God sees no difference between Jew and Gentile (Romans 3:22; Galatians 3:28; Galatians 6:15; Ephesians 2:13-18; Colossians 3:11), but rather sees sinners (lost, those in Adam) and saints (saved, those in the Body of Christ). Throughout the book of Acts, from Acts chapter 7 to the end of the book of Acts (chapter 28), Israel and her program are “diminishing” (Romans 11:12)—the internal scriptural evidence suggests that Paul wrote the book of Romans during the book of Acts. One day, after God is finished dealing with the Church the Body of Christ, it will be raptured, and then He will resume Israel’s program (see Romans 11:25-32, 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:9, and 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17). After our dispensation ends, Israel will be preeminent again in God’s dealings with mankind.

Romans 11:13 quoted above says that Paul is “the apostle of the Gentiles.” Paul has a ministry that is not limited to Israel. Paul is God’s spokesman to Gentiles (which would include lost Jews, since Israel fell before God years earlier in Acts chapter 7). But, in order to validate Paul’s ministry, in order to show Israel that her program was diminishing, God temporary granted Paul the power to perform miraculous demonstrations and exhibit other “Jewish-related behavior” (Acts chapters 9 through 28). Regarding the supernatural gift of speaking in tongues (intelligent human languages never formally learned), the Apostle Paul wrote: “[21] In the law it is written [Isaiah 28:11-12], With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. [22] Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe” (1 Corinthians 14:21-22). By temporarily granting the supernatural gift of tongues to Gentiles, JEHOVAH, Israel’s God, was communicating to unbelieving Israel that He had now started a new program with Paul’s ministry.

Throughout Acts, we read how the Apostle Paul healed the sick (Acts 14:8-18; Acts 19:11-12; Acts 28:8-10), he physically circumcised Timothy (Acts 16:1-3), he water baptized new converts (Acts 16:14-15; Acts 16:30-33; Acts 18:7-8), he cast out a devil (Acts 16:16-18), he laid hands on people for them to receive the Holy Ghost (Acts 19:1-7), he raised the dead (Acts 20:7-12), he offered sacrifices in the Temple in Jerusalem (Acts 21:18-30), he spoke in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:18), and he survived a snake bite (Acts 28:1-6). The miraculous demonstrations and other behaviors associated with Jesus and His 12 apostles in Matthew through John and early Acts, Paul did them during the Acts period. Paul’s “strange” behavior in Acts was God’s way of communicating to unbelieving Israel that her God was now amongst the Gentiles through Paul’s ministry. Acts chapters 9 through Acts 28 is a transitional section of the Bible—it is the record of God being just/fair in setting Israel aside for a time and going to the Gentiles through Paul’s ministry (you can study the book of Acts to see how unbelieving Israel continually harassed and hindered God’s ministry through Paul).

Let us re-read Romans 11:14: “If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.” Paul would “provoke to emulation them which are my flesh”—that is, the way Paul would encourage his lost Jewish brethren to behave like Gentiles and trust Jesus Christ—was by magnifying his Gentile apostleship (verse 13), and that Gentile apostleship involved Gentile believers experiencing Israel’s signs, miracles, and wonders. Although unbelieving Israel hated Paul (actually, they hated the Jesus Christ whom Paul served), and unbelieving Jews desperately tried to hinder Paul’s ministry throughout Acts, they were fully aware that the God of their fathers was working in and through him. Their miracles were now evident amongst the Gentiles; their God had signified to them that He was now working apart from them. They knew Paul’s ministry and message were valid, albeit they rejected it in unbelief as they had rejected Peter and the 11’s ministries.

Before we leave this section, notice what the Church at Jerusalem, Peter and the other Messianic Jews, witnessed: “[12] Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. [13] And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: [14] Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name” (Acts 15:12-14). Even believing Israel had to learn that God was now working through Paul.

 

CONCLUSION

The Dispensation of Grace began with the salvation of the Apostle Paul. Nevertheless, to validate Paul’s ministry for the lost Jews’ sakes, God temporarily granted Paul the gift of miracle-working and had him perform other “Jewish” behaviors. The signs, miracles, and wonders of Israel’s program were carried over into Paul’s ministry because God was demonstrating to Israel that her program was falling away and Paul’s ministry was replacing Peter’s (Romans 11:11-13; 2 Corinthians 12:12). Paul did the same things Peter did: water baptism—Acts 2:38-41 cf. Acts 16:30-33, healing the sick—Acts 3:6-8 cf. Acts 14:8-10, raising the dead—Acts 9:36-42 cf. Acts 20:9-11, laying on hands to give the Holy Ghost—Acts 8:14-20 cf. Acts 19:1-7. Eventually, Paul quit water baptizing (1 Corinthians 1:14-17), Paul could no longer heal himself and other Christians who were sick (Galatians 4:11-13; 1 Timothy 5:23; 2 Timothy 4:20), and so on.

Paul’s odd Acts ministry was God demonstrating to Israel that He was working through Paul, for Paul did the same things Israel’s apostles did. The strange and often controversial and confusing passages in Acts where Paul does things that belong in Israel’s program, is actually the Lord Jesus Christ validating Paul’s apostleship for unbelieving Israel’s benefit; those strange, Pauline Acts passages have nothing to do with us because they occurred during the transitional period of Acts, while God was moving from Israel to the Gentiles. Paul, when teaching the Church the Body of Christ in his epistles of Romans through Philemon, never instructs us to be water baptized, never instructs us to lay hands on sick people in order to heal them, never instructs us to lay hands on people to give the Holy Ghost to them, never instructs us to raise the dead, never instructs us to be physically circumcised for salvation, never instructs us to cast out devils, never instructs us to offer animal sacrifices, et cetera. When Paul did those things, it was not a pattern for us to follow; it was simply something God wanted Paul to do in order to teach Israel doctrine (that his ministry was replacing Peter and the 11’s, and if any lost Jews wanted salvation, they would have to come to Paul’s ministry and message/gospel).

By the time we get to Paul’s latter (that is, post-Acts) epistles (his prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon; also 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus), Paul has no more relation to water baptism, laying on lands to receive the Holy Spirit, physical circumcision, raising the dead, healing the sick, animal sacrifices, devil casting, et cetera. By Acts chapter 28, Israel’s program had fully diminished and she had fallen (she had fallen back in Acts chapter 7). The 30-year-long Acts transitional period was over, and the Dispensation of Grace remained. Nothing began at the close of the book of Acts, but something ended—Paul’s transitional ministry ended. Just a few years after that, the Holy Bible was completed, and the spiritual gifts were no longer necessary (1 Corinthians 13:8-13). How simple!

Also see:

» Did Paul ever preach the Gospel of the Kingdom?
» What about spiritual gifts in the Dispensation of Grace? (LINK TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE)
» What is “the Dispensation of Grace?”

DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY, What is “the Dispensation of Grace?”

What is “the Dispensation of Grace?”

EXACTLY WHAT IS “THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE” ANYWAY?

by Shawn Brasseaux

What do you mean by the expression “the Dispensation of Grace?” When did it begin? How long will it last? Let us see what God’s Word has to say about the matter.

The term “the Dispensation of the Grace of God” appears in Ephesians 3:2 in the King James Bible. Thus, we need to study Ephesians 3:1-11 to learn the basics about it (we will examine that passage shortly). Firstly, in the Bible, a dispensation is simply a set of instructions that God “dispenses” (or gives) to mankind, or to a section of mankind, for him to apply to life during a particular time period; God expects mankind to obey the particular dispensation He gives to him. In Scripture, there are various dispensations, diverse sets of instructions that God has dispensed throughout history (these other dispensations are beyond the scope of this discussion, so they do not concern us here). The “Dispensation of Grace” (or using its full name, “the Dispensation of the Grace of God”) is the set of divine instructions that pertains to us; it involves God’s current dealings with mankind.

Let us now look at Ephesians 3:1-11: “[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 you-ward: [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) [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:….”

According to Ephesians 3:1, the Apostle Paul is writing to us Gentiles; he was writing to communicate to us some doctrine that Jesus Christ wanted us to know. After all, the Holy Spirit moved Paul to write in Romans 11:13: “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office.” According to the Bible, Paul—not Peter, not James, not John—is our apostle. Paul is the man whom God Almighty sent to us Gentiles; Paul is Jesus Christ’s spokesman to us non-Jews. In Ephesians 3:2, we read that Jesus Christ gave “the Dispensation of the Grace of God” to the Apostle Paul, so that Paul could then relay that information to us. From heaven’s glory, the resurrected and ascended Lord Jesus Christ saved Saul of Tarsus in Acts chapter 9, ordained him as the Apostle Paul, directly revealed to him a set of information that He had previously kept secret in Himself (Galatians 1:11-12), a “mystery” (or secret) dispensation (Ephesians 3:3; cf. Romans 16:25-26; Colossians 1:25-27).

Under the leading of the Holy Spirit, Paul claims that he alone received the revelations of doctrine that make up the Dispensation of Grace. The Holy Spirit led Paul to write that he alone was entrusted with “the Dispensation of the Grace of God.” Prior to Paul, no one knew of it but God: consequently, the Body of Christ is called the “Mystery Church.” Hence, the Bible calls the Body of Christ and the Dispensation of Grace a “mystery,” or “that which was kept secret since the world began.”

Read Romans 16:25-26: “[25] Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, [26] But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:”

Ephesians 3:9 says, “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:”

Colossians 1:25-27 says: “[25] Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; [26] Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: [27] To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”

From Genesis until the Apostle Paul’s conversion in Acts 9, we read about something called the prophetic program. The Apostle Peter said in Acts 3:21, “[Jesus Christ] Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” This should be contrasted with what Paul wrote in Romans 16:25-26: “…the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest….”

Now, Jesus Christ has revealed the mystery, a program He was keeping secret while He was revealing the prophetic program. Through the Apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit has written that information in Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon. By reading those books of the Bible, we too can learn that once-secret, now-revealed information (2 Timothy 2:7)—the doctrine that God wanted made known to the Gentiles (Ephesians 3:3-4). Ephesians 3:5 further explains: “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;” The Lord Jesus Christ manifested the Dispensation of Grace to the Apostle Paul, and through Paul’s inspired writings (Romans through Philemon), the Holy Spirit teaches us that information.

 

PAUL IS THE “WISE MASTERBUILDER”

Read 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, where Paul writes: “[10] According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. [11] But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” It is by faith in the Gospel of Grace that one enters into the Body of Christ. Who laid the foundation of the Christian faith in this Dispensation of Grace? The Bible says that it was PAUL! Please understand that Jesus Christ is the Foundation, but the Holy Spirit claims that Paul is the “wise masterbuilder” (chief architect) who laid the Foundation—the Foundation is Jesus Christ and Him crucified for our sins, buried, and risen again for our justification.

Acts 9:15, Romans 11:13, Romans 15:16, and 2 Timothy 1:11 all make it abundantly clear that the risen, ascended, glorified Lord Jesus Christ sent Paul to the Gentiles to call out from them believers to create the Church the Body of Christ. Again, Paul is “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13). Look at 2 Timothy 1:11: “Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.” Paul (known then as Saul of Tarsus) was saved in Acts chapter 9, about a year after the events of Acts chapter 2. Consequently, the Body of Christ could not have begun in Acts chapter 2. The Body of Christ began with the salvation of the Apostle Paul in Acts 9. The Body of Christ began when the Dispensation of Grace began, and both began when Paul was saved on the road to Damascus (more on this later).

 

PAUL’S BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST

The Lord Jesus issued a stern warning to the nation Israel in Matthew 12:31-32: “[31] Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. [32] And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”

Saul (Paul) encouraged the murder of Stephen (one of God’s prophets), and Saul was thereby guilty of blaspheming against the Holy Ghost. After all, Jewish Saul was leading the world’s rebellion against Jesus Christ (see Acts 7:57-60; Acts 8:1-4; Acts 9:1-5; Acts 22:3-7; Acts 26:9-11; et cetera). Paul wrote that, when he was lost and on his way to everlasting hellfire, he was a “blasphemer” (1 Timothy 1:13). Paul was saved, and yet he blasphemed against the Holy Spirit! How was Paul saved then? Paul could not be saved in Israel’s program, for it would contradict Jesus’ statements in Matthew 12:31-32. Nevertheless, God opened our Dispensation of Grace, a program separate from Israel’s program, in Acts chapter 9, and saved Saul/Paul. Saul/the Apostle Paul could only be saved if God interrupted Israel’s program with a new program. Paul was saved in our dispensation, not in Israel’s program. A new dispensation was in effect in Acts chapter 9, so a new gospel had to also be in effect in Acts 9 beginning with Saul. The first person to be saved by the Gospel of the Grace of God was the Apostle Paul.

 

PAUL’S SALVATION IS OUR “PATTERN”

We want to look now at 1 Timothy 1:15-16 where Paul writes to Timothy, a church leader and member of the Church the Body of Christ: “[15] This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. [16] Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”

A pattern is the first of more to come. Paul is the “pattern” for us members of the Church the Body of Christ; the Apostle Paul being the “pattern” means he was the first member of the Church the Body of Christ. The Gospel of Grace by which we were and are saved, is the same Gospel message that saved the Apostle Paul. The word “chief” implies he is the first, the primary one, and the head of the line (“chief” in Acts 14:12, Luke 22:26, Acts 28:7 means “first, main, primary”). “Hereafter” means something began with Paul, and the only logical explanation is that the Body of Christ began with Paul. It is obvious from the Scriptures that the Church the Body of Christ and the Dispensation of Grace both began with Paul, when Jesus Christ appeared to him in a secret coming in Acts chapter 9 (cf. Acts 26:16-19; Galatians 1:11-12), a coming not prophesied in the Old Testament. The Church the Body of Christ and the Dispensation of Grace will end with another secret coming of Christ, the Rapture, a coming that is not found in the Old Testament either (the “mystery” [secret] of 1 Corinthians 15:51).

 

THE DOCTRINAL CONTENTS OF THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE

What God was doing with Israel in “time past” (Ephesians 2:11-12) is different from what He is doing with us Gentiles (non-Jews) in the “but now” (Ephesians 2:13). In Matthew through John, Jesus Christ was speaking to Israel under the Mosaic Law (see Matthew 5:17-19; Galatians 4:4). Jesus Christ was speaking in light of God’s earthly kingdom, over which He would be King. We cannot follow what Jesus said in the Four Gospel Records, because that was God’s message to the nation Israel (Matthew 10:5-7; Matthew 15:24; John 4:22; Romans 15:8). Jesus Christ said He was not sent to Gentiles during His earthly ministry.

The Apostle Paul says, “I am the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13 KJV). Paul is our apostle; the Lord Jesus sent Paul to us, so if we are to accept the words of Jesus Christ to us, we are to accept the words of Jesus Christ through Paul. Just as Jesus spoke God’s message to Israel in the Four Gospel Records, God’s message to us Gentiles (non-Jews) is Paul’s 13 epistles, Romans through Philemon. The Holy Spirit led Paul to write in 1 Corinthians 14:37-38: “[37] If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. [38] But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.” There are many Christians who will (and do) willfully ignore Paul’s distinctive apostleship and message, but the Bible is very clear that if someone is “spiritual” (led by God’s Spirit) and a “prophet” (speaking on behalf of God), he or she will acknowledge that Paul’s writings are the words of Jesus Christ to us Gentiles apart from Israel’s program. Conversely, if someone rejects Paul’s special ministry, he or she is not being led by God’s Spirit, and he or she is not speaking on behalf of the God of Scripture.

From the Apostle Paul’s epistles alone, we learn the following doctrine (please remember that this is not an exhaustive list):

1. WE ARE SAVED BY FAITH IN THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD, AND NOT BY OUR WORKS.

Paul said in Acts 20:24, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” In 1 Timothy 1:11, the Apostle wrote the Gospel of Grace “was committed to his trust.” Paul called it “my gospel” (Romans 2:16; Romans 16:25; 2 Timothy 2:8), “that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles” (Galatians 2:2), and “the gospel of the uncircumcision” that was committed to him (Galatians 2:7). Even the Apostle Peter admitted some of the things Paul wrote and spoke were “hard to be understood” (2 Peter 3:15-16). Paul’s Gospel is not to be confused with the Gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 9:35 et al.) or the Gospel of the Circumcision committed to Peter (Galatians 2:7), which are Gospel messages that involve Jesus Christ being Israel’s Messiah-King and God blessing the world through Israel in her kingdom, respectively.

Unlike believers in Israel’s program (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21), water baptism has nothing to do with our salvation (1 Corinthians 1:17; Ephesians 4:5). No religious works play any role whatsoever in our salvation (Acts 16:31; Romans 4:1-8; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7). Our soul salvation is totally dependent upon Jesus Christ’s faithfulness at Calvary, His finished crosswork, as sufficient payment for our sins—His dying for our sins, His bloodshed, His burial, and His resurrection (Romans 3:19-28). To have those merits of Jesus Christ applied to us, the Holy Spirit through Paul wrote that we rely exclusively on Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins, justification unto eternal life, a home in heaven, et cetera. We are not saved by “turning over a new leaf,” saying the “sinner’s prayer,” confessing our sins, getting water baptized, joining a church, giving money to the poor, and so on. “Therefore, [salvation] is of faith, that it might be by grace” (Romans 4:16a).

2. WE ARE UNDER GRACE, NOT LAW.

We are not under Israel’s legalistic water baptism ordinance (1 Corinthians 1:17; Ephesians 4:5), we are not under Israel’s legalistic tithing system (2 Corinthians 9:6-7), and we are not under Israel’s legalistic system of feast days, holy days, and Sabbath days (Colossians 2:16). Our Christian lives operate on the basis of how we were saved unto eternal life (Colossians 2:6-7)—by faith in Jesus Christ’s faithfulness at Calvary, not our faithfulness, and His work, not our work. Grace gives us liberty to serve God and others out of love (Galatians 5:13), not out of the motivation of fear and Law-keeping (Romans 8:14-17). Romans chapters 7 and 8 testify that our Christian lives operate on the basis of grace, not works-religion (rites, rules, regulations, ordinances, et cetera).

Romans 6:14-15 could not be any clearer: “[14] For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. [15] What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” God’s grace teaches us how to live; Paul’s epistles indicate that we Christians are “righteous” and we do not need the Law (1 Timothy 1:9-11). Galatians 5:18 reminds us: “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” God’s Holy Spirit will never lead a believer to place himself or herself under Israel’s legalistic system; the Bible says that any preacher who commands you to follow Israel’s laws is not being led by God’s Spirit!

3. WE ARE NOT “SPIRITUAL ISRAEL,” WE HAVE NOT REPLACED ISRAEL, AND WE HAVE NO RELATION TO ISRAEL’S PROGRAM WHATSOEVER.

The Dispensation of Grace involves the doctrine that God uses to take believing Jews and believing Gentiles and form one unit of believers, the Church the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians chapter 12; Ephesians 2:11-22). The Church the Body of Christ is not to be confused with the nation Israel, which is composed entirely of Jews. Prior to Jesus Christ revealing to Paul the Dispensation of Grace, He was forming the nation Israel so that the nation Israel could then evangelize the Gentiles (see Genesis 12:1-3; Isaiah 60:1-3; Zechariah 8:20-23; et al.). When Israel rejected her Messiah Jesus, and refused to repent and trust Him in early Acts, Israel fell before God (Romans 11:11-13). In order for God to save us Gentiles apart from Israel and her prophetic program, He began a new program, a mystery program, a secret program (Romans 16:25-26; Ephesians 3:1-11; Colossians 1:25-27), a program that He kept hidden from Satan in order to defeat Satan (1 Corinthians 2:6-8). When no else wants to trust Jesus Christ as his or her personal Saviour, then this Dispensation of Grace will end with the Rapture (when the Church the Body of Christ is caught up to meet the Lord in the air; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). God will then continue His program with Israel (Romans 11:25-29). The events that will occur after our Dispensation of Grace include the rise of the Antichrist, the seven-year Tribulation, Jesus Christ’s Second Coming (for Israel), God’s 1,000-year earthly kingdom, and New Heaven New Earth.

Romans 11:11-12,25: “[11] I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. [12] Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? [25] For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” Ephesians 2:14-16: “[14] For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; [15] Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; [16] And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:” Ephesians 3:6 says: that the Dispensation of Grace involves saved Jews and saved Gentiles being placed into one Body, the Body of Christ: “That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:….”

4. WE WILL BE GOD’S VESSEL TO BE USED IN THE HEAVENS FOR JESUS CHRIST’S GLORY.

Prior to this the Dispensation of Grace, God’s Word focused on His purpose and plan for the earth. When we come to Paul’s ministry, we learn how God the Father will restore heaven unto Himself using the Church the Body of Christ (just as the rest of the Holy Bible discusses how He will restore the earth unto Himself using redeemed Israel). See Ephesians 1:9-10 and Colossians 1:16-20.

Notice Ephesians 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:” And Ephesians 2:6-7: “[6] And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: [7] That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” And 2 Timothy 4:18: “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Our ultimate prospect is to replace Satan and his fallen angels in the heavenly places (see Revelation 12:7-10).

 

CONCLUSION

Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, are exclusively “the Dispensation of the Grace of God.” We study all of the Bible, but not all of the Bible is to us or about us. In order to learn what God has to say to us today, we must go to the Apostle Paul’s writings, Romans through Philemon. It is only in Paul’s epistles that we learn about our doctrine, duty, walk, and destiny as Christians today. We do not reach into Israel’s Scriptures and try to apply them to us because they are a different time period, a different program, and a different dispensation. To ignore and/or confuse these dispensational boundaries in Scripture is to introduce unanswerable confusion in the lives of Christians—now you know why there is so much debate in Christendom!

Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, are our primary source for spiritual advice. It is only in these 13 books that we learn how to be saved today unto justification and eternal life. It is only in these 13 books that we learn how God has designed the Christian life to operate. It is only in these 13 books that we learn about God’s grace to us apart from Israel’s program. It is only in these 13 books that we learn how God will restore the heavens unto Himself one day. The main reason why Christendom is so spiritually weak and confused is that they have largely ignored the special information—the Dispensation of the Grace of God—that the ascended Lord Jesus Christ delivered us through Paul’s epistles. May we never forget that!

 

Also see:
» Do we “make too much of Paul?”
» Can you explain Paul’s ministry during the book of Acts? (LINK TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE)
» Did Peter and Paul preach the same Gospel?

Did Peter and Paul preach the same Gospel?, DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY

Did Peter and Paul preach the same Gospel?

IS THERE ONLY ONE GOSPEL IN THE BIBLE? DID PETER AND PAUL PREACH THE SAME GOSPEL?

by Shawn Brasseaux

Many church members believe there is only one Gospel in the Bible. Are they right in holding to such a conclusion? Is there only one Gospel in the Bible? Did the Apostles Peter and Paul preach the same Gospel or different ones? Setting aside my own opinions, and anyone else’s ideas, we will be surprised to learn what God’s Word has to say about the matter.

Jesus Christ selected 12 apostles on earth, of whom Peter was the head (they are listed by name in Matthew 10:1-4, Mark 3:14-19, Luke 6:13-16, and Acts 1:13). He commissioned them to go to the nation Israel first—He commanded them not to minister to Gentiles. According to Matthew 10, “[5] These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: [6] But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. [7] And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The 12 apostles were to convert all of Israel first, and then, and only then, they were to go to the Gentiles (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15). Luke 24 further explains: “[46] And [Jesus] said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: [47] And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. [48] And ye are witnesses of these things.”

Everything that Israel’s 12 apostles learned, they learned in from Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. Jesus said to them, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). He also said to them, “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations” (Luke 22:28). When selecting Judas’ replacement, the apostles said, “[21] Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, [22] Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection” (Acts 1:21-22). The 12 apostles (Matthias taking Judas’ apostleship) followed Jesus during His entire earthly ministry, from John the Baptist’s water baptism to Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven in Acts 1.

Galatians 1:11-18 makes it absolutely clear that the Apostle Paul did not receive from Peter and Israel’s other apostles, the doctrines he taught: “[11] But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. [12] For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by therevelation of Jesus Christ… [15] But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, [16] To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: [17] Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. [18] Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.”

Not only did Paul not learn the grace doctrines from Peter and the 11, but he also did not learn the grace doctrines from Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. In fact, Paul wrote: “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more” (2 Corinthians 5:16). During Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, Paul was lost, and Paul (known then as “Saul of Tarsus”) was persecuting, imprisoning, and killing Jews who had trusted Jesus as their Messiah (Acts 8:1-4; Acts 26:9-11; Galatians 1:13; 1 Timothy 1:13). The resurrected, ascended, and glorified Lord Jesus Christ revealed to Paul alone the “revelation of the mystery” (Romans 16:25; Galatians 1:11-18; Ephesians 3:1-11; Colossians 1:25-26). Peter, James, and John never used the expression “the revelation of the mystery” in their epistles—only Paul used that term, so that should grab our attention.

Read what the Apostle Peter wrote toward the end of his life in 2 Peter 3:15-16: “[15] And account that 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; [16] As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”

For those who want to discard Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon and reject the doctrines of grace, they would also have to throw away the Apostle Peter because Peter identifies Paul’s writings as “Scripture.” If you deny Paul’s apostleship, then you forced to deny Peter’s as well! Furthermore, the Apostle Peter admitted that he did not understand everything that Paul taught and wrote. If Peter and Paul preached the same Gospel and doctrines, then Peter would have no trouble understanding Paul’s teaching. Peter had great difficulty grasping the doctrine Paul taught, so it is only logical to conclude that Paul and Peter preached different messages.

Why did Peter not understand the writings of Paul? Peter could not and did not understand Paul’s message because, like it was stated earlier, Jesus Christ selected Peter as an apostle of the nation Israel (Matthew 10:5-7; Galatians 2:9). On the other hand, Jesus Christ selected Paul to minister to the Gentile, non-Jewish world. Paul was “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13; Romans 15:16; Ephesians 3:1; 2 Timothy 1:11). Peter did not need to understand Paul’s doctrine, because Peter was not ministering to Paul’s audience (Peter had his own doctrine in his own program and had his own audience).

In Romans 2:16, Romans 16:25, and 2 Timothy 2:8, Paul wrote about something called “my gospel.” The Bible says that Gospel of the Grace of God was committed to Paul’s trust. Paul spoke in Acts 20:24: “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:11: “According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.” Notice how this Gospel of Grace was exclusive to Paul’s ministry; nowhere else in Scripture is that Gospel message mentioned. Peter, James, and John are not mentioned in Acts 20:24, Romans 2:16, Romans 16:25, 1 Timothy 1:11, or 2 Timothy 2:8. This “Gospel of the blessed God” could not be the same Gospel that Peter and the eleven preached.

We read in Galatians 2:2, where Paul writes, “I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them [James, Cephas/Peter, and John; verse 9] that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles….” Evidently, Paul shared with James, Peter, and John something they had not previously known—Paul taught them the Gospel that Jesus Christ had committed to his trust (a Gospel message He had not committed to James, Peter, and John). Surely, Paul and Peter preached two different Gospels.

Look at Galatians 2:7-8 KJV: “[7] But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; [8] (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:).” Do you see that there are two Gospels in that verse alone? (The modern English “bibles,” sadly, retranslate the verse to say “the gospel to the circumcision” and “the gospel to the uncircumcision,” making the two gospels seem as though they are one gospel, but such re-translation is dishonest because Peter and the 11 were not just sent to Israel, but were also sent to Gentiles after they converted all of Israel [Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15]).

The Gospel of the Circumcision (the Jews’ “Gospel of the Kingdom;” Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 9:35), and the Gospel of the Uncircumcision (the Gentiles’ “Gospel of the Grace of God;” Acts 20:24; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). You do not find any reference to “the Gospel of the Kingdom” in Paul’s books. Outside of Paul’s ministry, you do not find “the Gospel of the Grace of God.” There are two separate Gospels here: one which God entrusted to Paul’s apostleship and one which God entrusted to Peter and the eleven’s apostleship. There is nothing complicated or contradictory as long as you keep them separate. Peter and the 11 preached that Gentiles would be saved through Israel’s rise to kingdom glory (Isaiah 60:1-3; Zechariah 8:20-23; Acts 3:19-26; et cetera)—the Gospel of the Circumcision. Paul preached that Gentiles would be saved through Israel’s fall (Romans 11:11-15,25)—the Gospel of the Uncircumcision.

According to Romans 16:25-26 and Ephesians 3:5, everything Paul preached—including the Gospel of the Grace of God—was “kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest.” The “but now” of this verse is Paul’s ministry—the revelation of the mystery was kept secret until God revealed it to Paul (which was after Christ’s earthly ministry, and after Jesus had already taught the twelve apostles of Israel). If Peter was preaching the Gospel of Grace before Paul came on the scene, and many people assume that he was, then both God and His Word are dishonest (and we know God cannot lie; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18).

Paul is the only person in the Bible who uses the term “the Church the Body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:22-23; et al.) Peter, James, John, Jesus in His earthly ministry, and all the other apostles of Israel do not use the term “the Church the Body of Christ.” Grab any Bible concordance, and you will not find a single reference to “the Body of Christ” outside of Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon. Why? Paul claims that he alone received the revelations and doctrines for this the Dispensation of Grace (Romans 16:25-26; Ephesians 3:1-11; Colossians 1:23-27).

The Bible says 1 Corinthians 3:10-11: “[10] According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. [11] For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Who laid the foundation of the Christian faith for this the Dispensation of the Grace of God? The Bible says it was the Apostle Paul. Please understand that Jesus Christ is the foundation, but Paul is the “wise masterbuilder” (architect) who laid the foundation Jesus Christ, that is, “the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest” (Romans 16:25-26). God revealed that secret information through the ministry of the Apostle Paul, and it was information that involved Jesus Christ as seen through the lens of the grace doctrines (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon).

Read 1 Timothy 1:15-16: “[15] This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. [16] Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” (Again, sadly, modern English “bibles” tamper with these verses, so their truths are not as obvious here.) A pattern is the first, and the Holy Spirit says that Paul is our pattern. He was the first to get placed into the Church Body of Christ—the “hereafter” refers to people who get saved after Paul. The word “chief” implies Paul is the first, the primary one, and the head of the line (see “chief” in Acts 14:12, Luke 22:26, Acts 28:7 where “chief” means “first, main.”)

Paul’s salvation is our pattern for this dispensation, so the Holy Spirit tells us to follow Paul as he follows Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:16; Ephesians 5:1; Philippians 3:17; 1 Thessalonians 1:6). There is no command to follow Peter, James, or John in the Bible. Why? Remember, Paul is “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13; Romans 15:16; 2 Timothy 1:11). Remember, James, Peter, and John were apostles of Israel (Matthew 10:5-7; Matthew 19:27,28; Galatians 2:9).

When the nation Israel asked the Apostle Peter, “What must we do to be saved?,” notice Peter’s answer: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38; cf. Acts 3:19). However, when the Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas, “What must I do to be saved?,” notice what Paul and Silas declared: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31). Obviously, these are not the same message. Peter told people to repent and then get water baptized, so they could receive forgiveness of sins and receive the Holy Spirit. Yet, Paul simply taught that salvation comes by “believing on [trusting] the Lord Jesus Christ,” without preaching water baptism or repentance. If words mean anything, Peter and Paul preached two separate Gospels.

Confusion abounds when we mix the nation Israel with the Church the Body of Christ. We must “rightly divide” the Bible, separating Law from Grace (Romans 6:14-15), the prophetic program (Acts 3:21) from the mystery program (Romans 16:25-26a), just as the Apostle Paul instructed Timothy: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV). (Another verse that modern English versions pollute.) All of the Bible is for us, but not all the Bible is to us or about us. Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, have direct application to us; the rest of the Bible involves the nation Israel and her prophetic program. We cannot take Israel’s verses as though they were ours.

Anyone who does not see the clear distinction between the ministries and apostleships of Paul and Peter is actually unwilling to see the difference. The verses are in plain English, and no seminary degree is necessary. If one disagrees with any of these verses cited above, he or she is denying God’s Word and arguing with God Almighty. Be not foolish, friend. Religious tradition is not the authority; God’s Word rightly divided is the authority. Let the Bible correct your thinking; do not correct the Bible.

“If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 14:37-38). If you do not see the simple Bible truths contained in this study, you do not want to see them, and you are being dishonest with the Bible and yourself. We conclude that one who ignores these truths is doing so in order to embrace vain church tradition and fallible denominational biases and interpretations.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Peter and Paul did not preach the same Gospel. They had different ministries, they preached to different audiences, and taught different doctrines (hence, right division is necessary). There is only one Gospel today, but there is more than one Gospel in the Bible.

Also see:
» Was Paul saved by the Gospel of the Kingdom? Did he preach that Gospel message?
» Who should have been Judas’ replacement—Matthias or Paul?
» When did the Church the Body of Christ begin? (LINK TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE)

BIBLE CONTRADICTIONS / CONFUSING VERSES SIMPLIFIED, DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY, Does not Acts 15:11 disprove dispensational Bible study?, Does not Acts 15:11 disprove dispensational Bible study?

Does not Acts 15:11 disprove dispensational Bible study?

DOES ACTS 15:11 REFUTE DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY? IF NOT, WHAT IS THIS VERSE TEACHING?

by Shawn Brasseaux

What does Acts 15:11 mean? Does this verse disprove dispensational Bible study, as some claim? Does it teach there is only one gospel in the Bible, as some claim? Does it mean that every saved person in history is part of the Church the Body of Christ, as some claim? Let us search the Scriptures for the answers.

In Acts 15, some “Judaizers” (Mosaic Law teachers) from Jerusalem are going around and subverting the souls of Paul and Barnabas’ Gentile converts: “And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved” (verse 1). Paul and Barnabas have a major argument and debate with these Judaizers, and these legalists instruct Paul and Barnabas to go back to Jerusalem with some of them, and ask Israel’s apostles and elders about the matter (verse 2).

Once Paul and Barnabas arrive in Jerusalem, they declare to the Jerusalem assembly of believers (particularly Israel’s apostles and elders), all the wonderful things God has done amongst the Gentiles through their ministry (verse 4). However, some Pharisees who believe, object by saying that it was needful for Paul and Barnabas to physically circumcise those Gentiles and command them to keep the Mosaic Law (verse 5). Verse 6 says that Israel’s apostles and elders confer amongst themselves about the issue.

When a great debate is started, the Apostle Peter arises and explains to them Cornelius’ salvation (which he personally witnessed some 10 years previous). Let us read Peter’s words in Acts 15:7-11: “[7] And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. [8] And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; [9] And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. [10] Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? [11] But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”

Notice how Peter is coming to Paul and Barnabas’ defense. Recall that when Gentile Cornelius was saved in Acts 10 under Peter’s ministry, it was under extraordinary circumstances. Up to that point, Peter saw Jews (and later some Samaritans) get water baptized and then receive the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38; Acts 8:14-17). With Cornelius, Peter saw the Holy Ghost fall on those Gentiles before they were water baptized, and the Bible says the Jews with Peter were amazed at the reversal. Read what happened with Cornelius in Acts 10: “[44] While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. [45] And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. [46] For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, [47] Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? [48] And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.”

Notice Peter’s words in verse 47: “which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?” Peter knew that these believing Gentiles at Cornelius’ home were just as filled with the Holy Spirit as he and they (the believing Jews) were. This is all in Peter’s mind when he discusses it with the apostles and elders in Acts 15, about a decade later. Hence, Peter says in Acts 15:8: “And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us.”

When Peter hears about Paul and Barnabas and how they did not teach physical circumcision and Law-keeping amongst the Gentiles, Peter may not have understood it, but he was not surprised. Peter remembered how God had departed from the “norm” with Cornelius, and Peter (unlike those in Acts 15:5) saw how God departing from the “norm” with Paul and Barnabas’ converts was not necessarily a bad thing and was not impossible. This is how Acts 15:11 should be viewed. Peter assumed that Paul’s Gentiles converts had received the Holy Spirit without legalism, just as Cornelius had received the Holy Spirit without water baptism. Peter’s words are thus indicating that it was not “needful” to physically circumcise Paul’s Gentile converts and tell them to keep the Mosaic Law (which is what the believing Pharisees were arguing for in Acts 15:5).

Peter urges Israel’s other apostles and elders not to “tempt” God, to challenge God as to whether or not He is operating properly through Paul and Barnabas by not promoting legalism amongst the Gentiles, since he (Peter) did not “tempt” God and question what He was doing when he saw God do some strange things with Cornelius and those other Gentiles. Read in Acts 15 where Peter continued recounting the story of Cornelius’ salvation, “[9] And [God] put no difference between us and them [the Gentiles], purifying their hearts by faith. [10] Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? [11] But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.” Peter does not fully understand what is going on with Paul and toward the end of his life Peter confessed he never fully did comprehend Paul’s doctrine (2 Peter 3:15-16), but he does recognize God is doing something “unusual” with Paul and Barnabas (just like he saw those unique events with Cornelius).

The word “grace” in Acts 15:11 is probably the greatest cause of stumbling for many, and it should not. “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.” While this sounds like Paul’s Gospel, the Gospel of the Grace of God, it is not. Remember, God’s grace is not exclusive to Paul’s ministry: God’s grace is found throughout the Bible (look at Genesis 6:8, for example), but the way in which God manifested His grace is different in various dispensations. For instance, the very nature of the New Covenant that will be given to Israel is “grace and truth,” which will replace the Old Covenant of Law with its wrath and punishment (John 1:17). God will give Israel grace (what she does not deserve) through the New Covenant, despite the fact that she broke the Old Covenant of Law.

In Israel’s program, God deals with a Jew in two ways: on an individual basis and on a national basis. Any believing Jew received forgiveness of sins when he or she confessed the breaking of the Old Covenant, got water baptized, and trusted Jesus as Messiah (Acts 2:38; 1 John 1:9; 1 John 2:12)—this was then credited to them, to be permanently forgiven when the rest of Israel was converted. However, the Old Covenant was given to the entire nation Israel, not just to one Jew. The entire nation Israel broke the Old Covenant, so God deals with them on a national level too. Israel’s national sins must also be dealt with, and they will be blotted out at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19; Romans 11:26-27; cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:8-13; Hebrews 10:15-17). This is why Peter speaks of their [Israel’s] salvation as future: “we shall be saved” (Acts 15:11). Peter acknowledges that God will save Paul’s Gentile converts through grace, too. In other words, Peter is saying that Paul’s Gentile converts are saved, despite the fact that they do not have physical circumcision and Law-keeping.

What Peter does not understand is that this dispensational change with Paul’s ministry involves God’s grace now being manifested through Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork, and that God is offering His grace to every person (lost Jew or lost Gentile) through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as sufficient payment for their sins, and without Law-keeping (Peter emphasized Law-keeping to Cornelius in Acts 10:35, and notice Peter did not link Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork to Cornelius’ salvation like Paul would do with his converts and us)—we learn this “Gospel of the Grace of God” only from Paul’s ministry (Acts 20:24; Romans 3:24; Romans 4:4,16; Romans 5:15,17,20,21; 1 Corinthians 1:4; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Galatians 1:6,15; Gal. 2:21; Ephesians 1:7; Ephesians 2:5,7-8; Ephesians 3:2,7; Colossians 1:6; 1 Timothy 1:14; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 2:11; Titus 3:7).

So, Acts 15:11 does not disprove dispensational Bible study. It simply shows that God saves sinners in every dispensation and that that salvation is not what they deserve (remember, grace is what we do not deserve). Peter did not understand it all, but he did recognize that Paul’s Gentile converts were acceptable to God without physical circumcision and Law keeping, just as he witnessed how Cornelius received the Holy Ghost without water baptism. In Acts 15:11, Peter used this reality to come to Paul and Barnabas’ defense, and evidently, this caused James to understand some of the matter (Acts 15:14ff.), and, consequently, this saved Paul’s ministry from being hindered and saved his converts from additional trouble with Israel’s believing remnant (Acts 15:19-32).

Also see:
» Do not Hebrews 13:8 and Malachi 3:6 disprove dispensational Bible study? (LINK TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE)
» Was Cornelius a member of the Church the Body of Christ? (LINK TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE)
» If dispensational Bible study is true, how come few people believe it? (LINK TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE)