The following eight questions were submitted by a bible teacher requesting help in answering questions after she came to understand right division and her students had looked on the Internet questioning the doctrine.
Hello:
Thanks for your patience in waiting for me to respond to your questions. I need to be brief and to the point for time sake. These answers may not seem brief, but they are, considering all that could be said. I’m glad you stopped with eight questions. They are good questions so I am compelled to answer them; however I hope they are asked in faith. That is, truly desiring to know the truth and willing to believe God’s Word even if it is contrary to what may have been previously believed.
Question 1
“If the mission of the church is to follow Paul, why did Paul tell the Corinthians that Paul's authority to them is equal to Peter's? "So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas (Peter) ...." 1 Cor. 3: 21-22.”
Chapters 1-3 of I Corinthians Paul is dealing with the carnal Corinthians who were focused on the personality of men rather than on the truth of God. In directing them to the truth he writes in I Corinthians 3:10 “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.”
The revelation of grace and the plans of God for the Body of Christ were given to Paul. Anyone who comes along afterwards is warned about how they build upon that foundation. At the end of the chapter he says: “Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours.” The “all things” are the things Paul wrote about. He is not saying all these are your authority. He is not saying Apollos is your authority and Cephas is your authority and the world is your authority and death is your authority. What God has revealed about these and what Paul wrote about these is given to you by God.
With that in mind, as Paul continues in chapter 4 he said in verse 6: “these things” that he wrote were “for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written…” Now what has God revealed to us about Paul. Well consider what is written:
I Corinthians 4:14-17 “I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ , as I teach every where in every church”.
I Corinthians 11:1 “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”
Galatians 2:8,9 “(For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles :) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars , perceived the grace that was given unto me , they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision”.
Romans 11:13 “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:”
Question 2
If Paul already had a revelation of grace that required no baptism, why did Paul baptize ANY of the Corinthians in the name of Christ? "I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius...[and] the household of Stephanas." 1 Cor. 1:14-16.
There are answers to these questions, even this one. However, I’ve noticed that each of the questions begin with “if”. There is no “if” concerning Paul having the revelation of grace and that his gospel message required no water baptism. John the Baptist in Mark 1:4 and Peter in Acts 2:38 preached repentance and water baptism for the remission of sins. Paul on the other hand preached the cross! Prior to Paul the cross was not understood nor preached as good news. Matthew 16:21 and following, Jesus “began” to tell his Apostles about his death and resurrection. When he did, Peter rebuked him saying: “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee”. Remember Peter was already sent out to preach “the gospel of the Kingdom” in Matthew 10. Water baptism is associated with the gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 3:1,2…6; 4:17,23). Concerning the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Luke 18:34 says: “And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”
To Paul was given the good news of the cross. He was the first to preach it as God’s means of salvation – I Corinthians 15:3,4; Acts 13:38,39; Romans 3:21-28. It was the cross that made it possible for God to save all of man “freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Paul’s gospel is called “the gospel of the grace of God.” According to that gospel there is no works for salvation – Romans 4:4,5; Ephesians 2:8,9.
With that said; it is interesting that the question of why Paul did baptize a few, quoting I Corinthians 1:14 it did not go on to quote verses 15 and 16 that tells us that he only baptized a few, lest they had said he baptized in his own name. But then in verse 17 he explains why he could say “I thank God that I baptized none of you …” but the few he did. If Christ sent him to baptize, like he did Peter, how could he be thankful he only baptized a few? The answer is: “ For Christ sent me not to baptize , but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect . For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
So there is no “if” about it. Paul was not sent to baptize. His commission and his message did not involve water baptism. Then why did he baptize the few? First, when you read Acts 18:1-8, you see that the Church of Corinth began with many Jews coming to know Jesus Christ as their saviour. And since water baptism was part of a Jew’s conversion it carried over into Paul’s ministry. However, when Paul saw the confusion it caused he thanked God he only baptized a few and since Christ sent him not to baptize, he stopped.
You can also see the confusion about water baptism in Acts 10 when after Cornelius (a Gentle whom God sent Peter to preach to; which took a vision and the Spirit of God to convince Peter to go; and which also the eleven were upset with Peter for doing; and which became the means of the twelve coming to an understanding of Paul’s ministry in Acts 15) heard Peter saying there was remission of sins in believing in the name of the Lord, “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word 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” (Acts 10:44,45). In Acts 2:38 Peter told the Jews that they had to repent and be baptized to receive the Holy Ghost. But this Gentile got the Holy Ghost (the Spirit of life) without water baptism. Peter not knowing what to do asked: “Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?” And when no one objected: “he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord” (Acts 10:47,48). So why was Cornelius baptized? The answer is, because no one could see any reason why not. But in I Corinthians Paul now sees the confusion it caused. The same confusion exists today.
The remedy for the church today is to stop practicing water baptism and to keep the unity of the Spirit. The unity of the Spirit is found in Ephesians 4:3-6 which includes only one baptism. Since it is the unity of the Spirit , this is His baptism, which we read of in I 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.” His unity unites all true believers today, even if we don’t obey this exhortation.
Questions 3
If Peter's group is in a different dispensation than Paul's why does Peter write that Paul's letters are Scripture for Peter's disciples? "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction." 2 Peter 3:15-16
First of all, II Timothy 3:16,17 says: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” So there is profit and understanding from all scripture. In II Peter 3, Peter is explaining to his followers why they have not yet seen the Kingdom come as he had preached. In fact he had preached it was “at hand.” Peter explains that there is a delay in Christ’s coming, but warns the scoffers that “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” – II Peter 3:10. However verse 9 Peter explains the delay saying: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Peter calls the delay “longsuffering.” In verse 15 he tells his readers how to understand this longsuffering, and who has been given revelation concerning this, and where they can read more about it. He says: “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; 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.”
Now the only place I can find in Paul’s epistles where he address the Jew directly and where in doing so he explains God’s interruption in dealing with Israel has brought salvation to the world, is in the book of Romans. Romans 2:17-3:4 and chapters 9-11 where we read: “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. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”
This matches what Peter is saying. Peter is not saying that Paul is the minister of the circumcision. That is contrary to the agreement between Peter and Paul in Galatians 2:9. In fact Peter refers to Paul’s scriptures as a different set of scripture when he said: “As also in all his epistles , speaking in them of these things …which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest , as they do also the other scriptures , unto their own destruction.”
Question 4
If Jesus abolished the difference between Jew and Gentile in his own flesh on the cross, why didn't the abolishment immediately take place among the believers prior to the conversion of Paul?
"For he himself is our peace, who has made the two [Jew and Gentile] one, and has destroyed the barrier between us...by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments..." Eph. 2:14-15
If I understand the question correctly, the answer is found in the next verse. Ephesians 2:16 says: “And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross , having slain the enmity thereby.”
The question seems to imply that the Lord began to reconcile Jew and Gentile in one body at the cross. The verses quoted, including verse 16 explains how God accomplished this, not when. He accomplished it “by the cross.” But he did not do it at the time of the cross.
First, God does everything in His time. The Lord Jesus asked the Father to forgive Israel when he was on the cross and God did. The first seven chapters of Acts is a renewed opportunity for Israel to receive her King and the Kingdom. When they stoned Stephen and he “saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,” (Acts 7:55) it was a time for wrath to be poured out. But instead of wrath, came grace through the salvation and commissioning of Paul. We know this by reading Ephesians 3:1-5.
Back to Ephesians 2:16; God cannot “reconcile” until someone has been made an enemy. Until the fall of Israel (as described in Romans 11:11,15,25,28) Israel did not need to be reconciled. They did need to repent, but they were not cut off from God. They were still the people of God. It is in the age of grace that there is: “no difference:
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:22,23). Many quote Romans 3:23 without understanding the context. There is no difference between a Jew and a Gentile because we “are all under sin” (Romans 3:9). We Gentiles fell at Babel (Genesis 11 & Romans 1:21-23). Israel fell in Acts 7. Now all have come short, but the good news of grace is that we can both be reconciled in one body by the cross, in this the dispensation of the grace of God.
Question 5
If Israel , not the church, is supposed to be the wife of Christ, why does Paul write to the Corinthians that they are a virgin bride, unless the Corinthians and Israel are united?
"I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him." 2 Cor. 11:2
Paul never wrote to the Corinthians or anyone else telling them that they are “a virgin bride.” Paul never used the word “bride” in any of his epistles. That alone should inform us that we are not the bride of Christ.
Paul did however tell the Corinthians that he had “espoused” them “to one husband.” Espoused: means joined. Notice it is past tense. It is already done! As in Ephesians 5:30-32 “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 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. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” The great mystery is that we ARE bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. We ARE one with Him. We ARE joined with Him. We ARE the Body of Christ!
The doctrine concerning the bride is found in the parables of Jesus Christ concerning His second coming to the nation of Israel, or in the prophecy of Isaiah 62, or the future fulfillment of Revelation 19-20; when the Lord Jesus shall return and join Himself to the nation of Israel. That is a future marriage in which the Lord Jesus shall be joined to the remnant who has kept themselves pure from the Anti-Christ. The time in which Jesus Christ will join Himself to the land also, which shall then be called: “Beulah” (meaning: married) – Isaiah 62:4.
Question 6
If the Pentecost believers and Paul's churches are in different dispensations why does he write to the Ephesians that they are fellow citizens with God's people? "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone." Eph. 2:19-20
Ephesians is the worse book anyone could use to try and doubt that a dispensational change took place between what God was accomplishing in Israel and what God is now doing among the Gentiles. This is the book that spells out the answers. Not one that causes confusion. It not only declares the difference it also informs us why. There is no question that the dispensation of grace began with Paul and was revealed to him (and in his writing) to us. That is what Ephesians 3:1-7 says: “ For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles , If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward : How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; ( as I wrote afore in few words,
Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 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; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: 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.”
God formed the Body of Christ out of believing Jews and Gentiles. “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints , and of the household of God;” - Ephesians 2:19. The answer to the question is right here. There is a previous group of Believers who were called “Saints.” Now we are Saints with them. According to the verse, there are now two groups of Saints. Since the Body of Christ also has a place in God’s Kingdom we are “fellowcitizens with the saints.” We are not them. We are with them in God’s Kingdom.
If that leads one to question why there are two groups, good! Question 8 will answer that, but for now, it is important to see that God has two agencies in His eternal purpose. It will also be beneficial to answer question 7 before going on to question 8.
Question 7
If it is only Paul's gospel that the church need bother about why does Paul direct the Ephesians to the other apostles and prophets? "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone." Eph. 2:19-20
Paul does not direct the Ephesians to anyone. He says that we, the Body of Christ, are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. But what apostles and prophets is he speaking about? Ephesians 4:7-11 is the answer. Notice closely what Ephesians 4:7,8 says: “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high , he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” The “us” in verse 7 is the Body of Christ. Verse 8 tells us that he gave us those gifts “when he ascended up on high.” Verse 10 refers to that ascension being “far above all heavens” and tells us why “that he might fill all things.” We will speak to that in the next question as well, but for now understand that it was after the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension that the Lord Jesus gave to the church – the Body of Christ, apostles and prophets .
That is not true of Israel and the believing remnant. In Luke 11 Jesus Christ in rebuking the Pharisees and Lawyers he said: “Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles , and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation” – Luke 11:49,50. Notice the order. Obviously God sent to Israel Prophets first. That is who God sent them in the so called Old Testament. Then when Jesus Christ walked the earth he appointed Israel Apostles (Matthew 10:2-6 and be sure to read also Matthew 19:27,28). So the Kingdom church believers are built upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles .
The first Apostle Jesus Christ appointed from heaven, was Paul. But until the Word of God was complete, God gave to Body of Christ gifted men as apostles and prophets “for the edifying of the Body of Christ…” as Ephesians 4:12 goes on to say. I Corinthians 12:27,28 says it this way: “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that …” .
So then Paul does not say we are built upon the foundation of the Twelve Apostles and their apostleship to Israel, but we are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets given from the ascended Lord Jesus Christ to the Body of Christ of whom Paul was the first, and the only one who wrote scripture for the Body of Christ.
Question 8
If the temple only pertains to the Jews, why do the Ephesians rise to be joined together with Jews to be a Holy Temple ? "In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord." Eph. 2: 21
Israel will not have a physical temple of the Lord until Jesus Christ builds His temple in the millennium as described in Ezekiel 40-48. The temple that existed at the first coming of Jesus Christ was destroyed, and the book of Hebrews was written to teach the believing remnant to come to God “a new and living way” – the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. There is a strong warning not to go back to the physical temple. Eventually that will be the Anti-Christ’s temple.
In the New Covenant to Israel , God will put His Spirit within them. He will dwell in them and walk in them. That is why Stephen said: “Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things? Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye” – Acts 7:48-51.
The temple is the house of God, the dwelling place of God, and when the Holy Spirit came on the believing remnant of Israel they became the temple of God
The spiritual temple God is building in the Lord does not pertain to Israel only. The verse quoted and the one after it makes that clear. When God turned to the Gentiles in His grace, to form the Body of Christ, He sealed us with the Holy Spirit and as I Corinthians 3:16 says: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Israel (the true Israel – the believing remnant) is not the only people God has. God formed another agency, a “new creature” (II Corinthians 5:17), “the body of Christ” (I Corinthians 12:27), “one new man” (Ephesians 2:15).
The key to understanding Ephesians 2:21 is to include verse 22. Together they read:
“In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
The emphasis of “all the building” and “ye also” and “builded together” is clarifying that there are two groups that are “framed together” to complete this “temple in the Lord.”
Before we go on, learn this. The purpose of the Body of Christ is to make the Lord Jesus Christ preeminent in both the Heavens and the Earth. Through Israel Jesus Christ will be preeminent in the Earth. “But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD” – Numbers 14:21. The Body of Christ who is made to “sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6) is called in Ephesians 1:23 “the fullness of him that filleth all in all.” The “all things” in Colossians 1:15-20 speaks of all the places of authority in both heaven and earth. Colossians 1:18 says that Jesus Christ “is the head of the body, the church … that in all things he might have the preeminence.” Then Colossians 1:19,20 goes on to say: “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” So Ephesians 4:10 informs us that Jesus Christ was not just exalted to the right hand of the Father, but that he “ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.” Through the Body of Christ the heavens (which Satan and his angels yet occupy) will one day be filled with the glory of the Lord, as the earth will be through Israel .
We know that “in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” – Genesis 1:1, and that when it is all over there will be “a new heaven and a new earth” – Revelation 22:1. Paul’s revelation concerning this dispensation of Grace and the forming of the Body of Christ is the capstone of God’s purpose in time to bring this about. Consider Ephesians 1:8-11 very carefully. Speaking about riches of God’s grace, Paul writes: “Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 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: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:”.
Heaven and Earth will be restored under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ to the praise of God the Father. Those two agencies have one eternal purpose. The Lord Jesus Christ will be the central ruler of the universe. In eternity future there will still be a heaven and there will still be an earth. Both make up the Kingdom of God . Two places yet one kingdom. Both will have one King, one common authority who is preeminent everywhere, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
So when Ephesians 2:21 says “In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord,” we ought to think of that temple as having two stories. The first on earth and the second reaching into the heavens, just as the city New Jerusalem will be on earth, and it’s height will reach into the heavens (Revelation 21:16).
In closing:
I will leave you with Paul’s prayer, which is also my prayer for you. That prayer in part is found in Ephesians 1:15-20 which reads:
“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe , according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, …”.
Together In His Grace,
Thomas Bruscha
Warren – Grace Bible Church
And Forgotten Truths Ministries