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"To testify the gospel of the grace of God" TrustingTheLordGrace 101 Bible Studies |
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Galatians Chapter One
Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
So he is saying that his authority is directly from Jesus Christ. But what other information has he given in the verse? It is basically the same information that he gives in the first four verses of the book of Romans, which he identifies as “the gospel of God.”
In other words, it is the testimony of God about his son, Jesus Christ, who was born after the flesh of the virgin Mary, of the seed of David, Mary is a direct descendent of David, King of Israel, and declared to be the son of God, “with power, according the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Now where is the information found pertaining to the “gospel of God?” In the scriptures of the prophets:
Romans 1:2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
When he refers to the holy scriptures it’s a reference to the Hebrew scriptures of the “old testament” and to the numerous prophecies pertaining to Jesus Christ. Most notably it is a reference to what David said in Psalms:
Psalms 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
So then, Jesus Christ was BEGOTTEN OF GOD in resurrection, the first born from the dead, BORN AGAIN. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit, according to John chapter three, so this is about the “washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost” Paul talks about in Titus 3:5 which happened in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:2 And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:
The churches of Galatia could be a reference to those people Paul and Barnabas preached to during the time of Acts chapter thirteen and fourteen. Some think that this is the case, while others believe that since Galatia is only specifically mentioned by name for the first time in Acts 16:6 that Paul made his first trip to what is called "Galatia" at that time. If this is the case it would be a stong reason for the wording in Galatians 1:7, "which is not another (gospel)" and would also be a strong reason for a later rather than an earlier date for the writing of the book.
Paul makes a second trip back into the same area mentioned in Acts 16 at the time of Acts 18, after he had "kept this feast" in Jerusalem at the time of Acts 18:22. If Paul had a "temple vision" at that time pertaining to being sent to "far hence" Gentiles, then a likely time for the writing would be at or after Acts 18:22.
Paul and Barnabas left Antioch, in Syria, went first to the island country of Cypress, and preached in the synagogues of the Jews. John Mark was with them at the time.
After going through the island of Cypress, finding a Jew named Bar-Jesus, which means “son of Jehovah-Saviour” who was with the deputy of the country and tried to turn away the deputy from listening to Paul. In that encounter, the Jew was blinded and the Gentile was saved. Which is a type of the blindness of Israel which Paul discusses in Romans 11:25, that “blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in”
From Cypress they went to Perga, in Pamphylia, and John Mark departed from them and went back to Jerusalem. Paul later says he “went not with them to the work,” and that turns out to be the source of a dissension between him and Barnabas at the time of Acts 16. But from Perga they go to Antioch in Pisidia and then on to Iconium and Lystra and Derbe. In other words, the regions of Galatia. So that is who Paul is writing to in the Galation letter.
But he says “all the brethren that are with me.” I take this to mean that in all likelihood, Paul is in Antioch. In verse 21 Paul refers to an earlier time and says I CAME INTO the regions of Syria and Cilicia. Antioch is in Syria. Also in Chapter two, verse eleven, he talks about a time when PETER WAS COME to Antioch. I believe that Galations was probably written from Antioch.
Galatians 1:3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
Galatians 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
Galatians 1:5 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
So in verse one we have the gospel of God. Here we have the glory of the Lord, in resurrection, the grace and peace of God, and the fact that he gave himself for our sins and the reason, that he might deliver us from this present evil world. So what do we have here? Basically a summay of Paul’s gospel, the GOSPEL OF CHRIST. We have the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which was SILENT, kept secret since the world began, as in Romans 16:25.
Now he gets down to business, and the reason for the letter:
Galatians 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
“Him that called you” is God. Remember what Paul says in Romans?
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
So these people had been called, by Paul’s gospel INTO THE GRACE OF CHRIST. There is a difference in being called INTO the grace of Christ and called UNTO the grace of Christ. Paul was called INTO grace, Peter was called UNTO grace:
1 Peter 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
In other words, the “little flock” in Peter’s ministry were called UNTO grace, and their faith was on trial. If their faith failed, then their salvation failed. Peter’s message was consistently, “he that shall endure to the end shall be saved.” The gospel of the Kingdom, the gospel of the circumcision, TO the circumcision. So Paul says UNTO ANOTHER GOSPEL.
The word, in the Greek, is HETEROS, and literally means DIFFERENT. It literally means “other, another, or different.” In other words another gospel of a DIFFERENT kind. To use the phrase “another of the same kind” just wouldn’t make any sense.
Now about this word, HETEROS: It is used three times in the book of Galations. This is the first time in verse six. It is also used in verse 19 in reference to the fact that Paul didn’t see any OTHER apostles in Jerusalem. Now we know that the 12 apostles preached the gospel of the Kingdom. In Galations chapter six, here is how Paul uses the word:
Galatians 6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
This same word, HETEROS, is used with reference to the gospel in 2 Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 11:4 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.
So what does it mean, “another gospel of a different kind?” There are two different viewpoints about this, and it is very important that you know what they are and who has them.
Religion teaches that this means a FALSE GOSPEL. In other words, religion will say that there is only one gospel, it’s all the same gospel, Genesis to Revelation, and that this OTHER gospel is the false gospel that the cults preach. You need to know that that is one of the biggest blunders in the religious system today. It is the result of the blinded minds of fundamental religious leaders around the world. There is NO SUCH TERM in the bible as FALSE GOSPEL. It is just simply not in there. The bible does say that there are “false Christs, false brethren, false apostles, false teachers, false prophets and false witnesses.” But nowhere in the bible is to be found the term, FALSE GOSPEL.
Now religious cults DO preach a false gospel. Paul was not referring to cults, like the Gnostics. He wasn’t referring to the Stoics and Epicurians at Athens, or any of the other false religions that existed at the time. When he referred to them, he called them “too superstitious,” as in Acts 17 at Athens, and he referred to their message as PHILOSOPY:
Colossians 2:8 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.
Philosophy is the love of human wisdom. That’s all that the religious cults can know. For example, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jim Jones, David Korech, on and on, they preach human wisdom, they preach philosophy mixed with some religious knowledge taken from the bible.
They can’t understand the things of God. Lost men can’t know the things of God, of the Spirit of God, because they are spiritually discerned:
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
People who belong to religious cults, or who follow cult leaders and cult teachings are unsaved. They need to understand the truth of the Gospel of Christ, trust the Lord for salvation and THEN come unto the knowledge of the truth through bible study. But Paul didn’t have religious cults or a FALSE GOSPEL in mind when he wrote the book of Galations. It wasn’t the cults of his day who were to blame for removing the Galation believers from the grace of Christ unto ANOTHER GOSPEL, a gospel of a different kind. The ones who were to blame were the Judaizers from the nation of Israel, from the church at Jerusalem, with their gospel of the Kingdom.
It is a DIFFERENT gospel but not a FALSE gospel. The “gospel of the circumcison,” preached by Peter and the twelve, is a very real and a very valid gospel, but it is a DIFFERENT gospel. It is not the same gospel Paul preached.
This Kingdom gospel is not a false gospel. It is a very legitimate gospel and it existed and the people involved in the kingdom gospel were very much alive and well in Paul’s day, during the time period of the book of Acts. The Kingdom gospel was preached by John the Baptist, by the Lord Jesus Christ, himself, and by the 12 apostles both BEFORE AND AFTER the death of Christ. The Kingdom gospel was the ONLY gospel being preached during the early years, during the early part of the book of Acts. Their GREAT COMMISSION was to go into all the world and teach ALL NATIONS and Peter’s preaching was designed to prepare the nation of Israel to be a “kingdom of priests and an holy nation” and do just that.
But when the Lord appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus and gave Paul “that gospel that I preach,” then the Kingdom gospel became a DIFFERENT GOSPEL. It had to be set IN CONTRAST to Paul’s gospel, the GOSPEL OF CHRIST, and that’s what Paul did in Galations chapter one.
Galatians 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
Only Paul’s gospel is identified by the specific term, THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Paul uses the phrase “gospel of Christ” eleven times. Once he says “he came to Troas to preach “Christ’s gospel.” Only Paul uses the phrase, the gospel of Christ, and he calls it MY GOSPEL. He doesn’t say “our gospel” or “the gospel Peter preached in Acts Two” He says that God is able to stablish you according to MY GOSPEL in Romans 16:25. The GOSPEL OF CHRIST is Paul’s gospel.
But here he says “which is not ANOTHER.” The Greek word here is ALLOS. and it means SAME. In other words, in verse six there is ANOTHER gospel of a DIFFERENT kind, but in verse seven there is NOT ANOTHER gospel of the SAME kind. This word, ALLOS, is used two times in the book of Galations. Here in verse seven, and also here:
Galatians 5:10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.
So verse seven here is showing us that there is a difference between what the Judaizers preached and what Paul preached. The gospel of the Kingdom is not the SAME as the gospel of Christ. They were being removed from the gospel of Christ to ANOTHER gospel.
So that raises the question, how many GOSPELS are there in the bible? Religion wants to say there is only one. We have demonstrated many times from scripture that the 12 apostles went about for three years and preached the gospel of the Kingdom. They healed the sick, raised the dead, cleansed the lepers and cast out devils, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, but when it came time for the Lord to go to Jerusalem and be crucified and raised from the dead, after three days and three nights, they didn’t believe it and knew nothing at all about it. Even after Christ resurrection in John chapter 20 they “knew not the scriptures that he must rise from the dead.” Obviously then, the gospel of the Kingdom is NOT the gospel of your salvation, since your salvation DEPENDS ON the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Actually, in a Strong’s concordance you will find about 15 references to “THE GOSPEL OF…” something. All news is not the same news and all gospels are not the same gospel.
There are two gospels here, in Galations chapter one, verse six and seven. The same two gospels are identified in Galations 2:7. Why do fundamentalists keep on insisting that there is only one gospel in the bible, and ironically, they try to USE THIS PASSAGE to put you down when you try to show them bible truth. Why are their minds so closed to the fact that God never changes, but he DOES CHANGE what he says from time to time. God has not said the SAME THING to all mankind all the time since the creation. Things that are different are not the same.
The visible so-called church of the fundamental, denominational religious system today is operating under some terrible blunders. One of the greatest is the false notion that there is only ONE GOSPEL. There are many ONES in the bible. Ephesians chapter four mentions seven of them: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God. But it DOES NOT SAY one gospel. Those who accept the idea of one gospel have a very limited concept of what God has said at different times, of what God was doing at different times, and exactly what God is doing today. It is very important that we 2 Timothy 2:15 and “rightly divide the word of truth.”
Let’s also point out that the word OF does not have the same meaning as the word TO, just as it doesn’t have the same meaning as the word IN. The faith OF Christ is not the same as faith IN Christ, and the gospel OF the circumcision is not the same as saying the gospel TO the circumcision. That’s important because we will see in Chapter two that the gospel OF something was committed to Peter and the gospel OF something else was committed to Paul. They are HETEROS, different, and not ALLOS, or the same.
Now if you don’t happen to be inclined to be a Greek “scholar’ or have any particular interest in learning Greek, or the meaning of different Greek words, you need to know that it will not hamper you ONE OUNCE in your understanding of your bible. God has preserved his WORD and his WORDS and if you have a King James Bible, all that is necessary is that you believe the WORDS ON THE PAGE. If you do that, then you will clearly understand what Paul is saying to the Galations in the next two verses. Pay particular attention to the two words, UNTO YOU:
Galatians 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Galatians 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
Three times, twice in verse eight, and once more in verse nine, Paul reiterates unto you, unto you, unto you. Peter, in Acts chapter two, three, four, five and so on, preached the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But he did not preach the same message that Paul preached UNTO YOU and unto these Galations. It was a different gospel and was not the same gospel. So Paul says:
Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
Now Paul would have been very pleasing to certain men if he continued to preach circumcison and the keeping of the law of Moses. The gospel of the circumcision, ANOTHER gospel, preached by Peter and the twelve, includes circumcision and keeping the law. They were observing ALL THINGS whatsoever the Lord had commanded them.
Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Among the things the Lord commanded them was this:
Matthew 23:2 Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
Matthew 23:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
So when the three thousand people heard Peter preach in Acts chapter two, they turned to Christ, were baptized, and:
Acts 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
There was ANOTHER GOSPEL which Paul did not preach UNTO YOU, unto these Galations. It was called the gospel of the circumcision, it was committed to Peter, and it included circumcision and the keeping of the law, as in:
Acts 21:17 And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
Acts 21:18 And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Acts 21:19 And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Acts 21:20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
Did it ever occur to you to wonder why Paul would circumcise Timothy, shave his head, keep vows, observe Jewish feasts and other things like that? It was because of the Jews. There were Jewish kingdom saints who were alive and well at the time and they were zealous of the law.
Another reason Paul would have done things like that is because of the REMNANT in Romans 11. Israel had fallen, and through their fall salvation had come to the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy. So Paul, preaching the gospel of Christ, he calls it MY GOSPEL, preaches, particularly in Galatia, to the Galations, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. He preaches MY GOSPEL, not Peter’s gospel. Well, where did Paul’s gospel come from?
Galatians 1:11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
Galatians 1:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
In other words, the gospel Paul had preached to the Galations is not something he learned and not something he had been taught. He neither received it from man, nor had it taught to him. It came by direct revelation of Jesus Christ. That happened on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter nine, and Paul says he delivered that which he ALSO RECEIVED:
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1 Corinthians 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
So Paul was the first man on the planet to preach the fact that Christ had died for men’s sins. Not only that but that was the first and foremost fact that he presented to people when he preached. Paul would go into the synagogues of the Jews and prove that Jesus IS the Christ, the gospel of God, and then he would tell them what Christ did for them, he died for their sins. This was a mystery. It is the WHY of the cross. God was silent about the meaning of the cross until Jesus Christ made it manifest to Paul. This is totally different than the message to the Hebrews:
Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
Hebrews 2:2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
Hebrews 2:3 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;
As you can see, that Hebrew had a message confirmed unto him by SOMEONE ELSE who had HEARD the Lord. Not Paul, because Paul heard from the Lord by direct revelation.
Galatians 1:13 For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
Galatians 1:14 And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
Galatians 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,
Galatians 1:16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
Paul says he was “separated from his mother’s womb,” and we know that he was “separated” for a specific work in Acts chapter 13:
Acts 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
That work, as it turns out was Paul’s Galation ministry. Now there is a fascinating passage in the book of Isaiah:
Isaiah 49:1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
Now come to verse six:
Isaiah 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Now the reason I say it is fascinating is this. Look at what happens when Paul and Barnabas preach in Antioch of Pisidia:
Acts 13:42 And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
So Paul has preached in the synagogue. There were Jews in the synagogue and there were also Gentiles in the synagogue. They would be God-fearing Gentiles. They are identified as Greeks in a King James Bible, and they wanted to hear more:
Acts 13:43 Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
Acts 13:44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
Notice that the next SABBATH DAY many people came together, came to the synagogue, to hear the word of God.
Acts 13:45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
Now here is where I think you can make a direct association between the passage in Isaiah, and the coming of Saul of Tarsus:
Acts 13:46 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.
So Paul says it was NECESSARY that the word of God FIRST be spoken to the Jews. Why? Because the Jew was FIRST, he was in the forefront all the way through the book of Acts. That’s why he preached the gospel of Christ, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
1 Corinthians 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
So two groups are being called. Jews and Greeks. All Gentiles are not Greeks. And when Paul quotes from Isaiah 49 and says “we turn to the Gentiles” this does not mean that God has just abandoned his people whom he foreknew. As a matter of fact this doesn’t even mean that Paul is turning and going to “far hence” idol worshipping Gentiles like the Ephesians. When he says “we turn to the Gentiles” who does he say it to? He says it to the Jews. Then who are the Gentiles he turns to? The God-fearing Gentiles who have come to “hear the word of God.” So the Gentiles Paul turns to here are those that fear the God of Abraham. People who are IN the covenants of promise, not aliens from them. And they are consistently identified as Greeks in a King James Bible.
There are some who teach that Paul “desired to LAUNCH his ministry from Jerusalem” and that he waited around for three years so that he could go to Jerusalem and LAUNCH his ministry. The bible record, however, doesn’t bear this out. Here is what Paul says:
Galatians 1:17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
Galatians 1:18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.
When he says he went up to “see Peter” it carries the idea that he went up to “introduce himself” to Peter, to make himself known to Peter. He says he did that and abode with him for fifteen days.
Galatians 1:19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.
In other words, he didn’t see any of the twelve, but he did see James, the Lord’s brother, and we know that by the time of Acts 15 that James had emerged as the leader of the church which was at Jerusalem and that Peter had “went to another place.’ The other place, the bible never says anything about.
But rather than Paul going to Jerusalem three years after he was saved in order to launch his ministry, here is the bible record of what happened immediately after Saul’s or Paul’s conversion:
Acts 9:19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.
Acts 9:20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
So instead of three years later, the bible says that STRAIGHTWAY he preached Christ in the synagogues.
Acts 9:22 But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
Now Paul says, in verse 17 that he went into Arabia. How long he spent in Arabia we don’t know. I believe the Lord kept Paul in Arabia long enough to get legalism and Judaism out of his system, and then he comes back to Damascus:
Acts 9:23 And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:
Acts 9:24 But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
Could it be that they are laying in wait to kill him because of something he is preaching? We know that he is preaching Christ in the synagogues, but is he also preaching to the Jew first and also to the Greek? Is he also preaching justification by faith in Christ without the works of the law? He says that he is THE FIRST and the PATTERN in 1 Timothy 1:16, and we know that he certainly wasn’t on the “road to repentance.” He was on the Road to Damascus to arrest people for their faith in Christ, not to join the church. We certainly know that he has been preaching, not waiting to go to Jerusalem to launch a ministry three years later.
Galatians 1:20 Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.
Galatians 1:21 Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;
The regions of Syria would be such places as Damascus and Antioch, and Cilicia is where Tarsus, Paul’s home town is located. As a matter of fact, when Barnabas came from Jerusalem to Antioch that’s where he goes to find Paul:
Acts 11:23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
What does it mean “he had seen the grace of God?” I believe that it means that these people were saved by grace through faith by Paul’s preaching when he “came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.”
Acts 11:25 Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
Acts 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
So these people were first called Christians. They were first called that after Paul had assembled with them and taught them for a whole year. If these Christians are the same kind of Christian that Paul “almost persuaded King Agrippa to become”….
Acts 26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
…then I believe these are members of the Body of Christ, as the result of Paul’s teaching of the grace of God which Barnabas came and saw and then went to find Paul.
But as for Paul’s ministry, there is no indication, from the bible, that Paul desired to launch his ministry at Jerusalem three years after he was saved. There is also no indication that I can see that Paul had a vision in the temple in which the Lord told him to depart and make haste and get quickly out of Jerusalem because they would not receive Paul’s testimony concerning the Lord. In other words, Paul’s vision from the Lord to go to “far hence” alien Gentiles like the Ephesians and Collosians didn’t come until much later than Acts chapter nine.
The bible evidence is overwhelming that instead of going to aliens from Israel during the time of the book of Acts that Paul went TO ISRAEL, to the commonwealth of Israel. In other words to Jews and God-fearing Gentiles who, instead of being strangers from the covenants of promise, were IN the covenants of promise. It had to do with this:
Romans 11:5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
So Paul’s Galation ministry was to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The Greeks are Gentiles who fear God. Paul found them in the synagogues of the Jews:
Acts 13:5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
Acts 13:14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
Acts 14:1 And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.
As a matter of fact, we find out from James, at the time of the meeting in Jerusalem between Paul and the Kingdom apostles:
Acts 15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
So Paul’s gospel was by direct revelation of Jesus Christ. There is not another gospel of the SAME KIND. But there is another gospel of a DIFFERENT kind. The whole issue of the book of Galations is about that other gospel. It is the gospel of the circumcision committed to Peter. Paul is writing the Galation letter in order to refute something that was going on at the time. Although this passage in Acts is in reference to Antioch, it is about the exact same problem:
Acts 15:1 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.
Acts 15:2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
Paul gives his own account of this meeting in Jerusalem in Galations chapter two, which we will get to in our next segment. But there is something very important you need to see in the closing verses of chapter one. Paul says he came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia…..
Galatians 1:22 And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:
Galatians 1:23 But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.
Galatians 1:24 And they glorified God in me.
There are two important phrases here: IN CHRIST and THE FAITH. Paul says that the churches of Judea were IN CHRIST. This phrase, in Christ, is not synonymous with being IN THE BODY OF CHRIST. It is true that they were “in Christ” redemptively. All redemption is “in Christ.” All salvation is “in Christ.” There is “no other name given under Heaven among men whereby we must be saved”, according to Peter and there is “one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” according to Paul. So all salvation is IN CHRIST.
There were people who were “in Christ” before Paul was. As in:
Romans 16:7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
The entire Jerusalem church, the entire “little flock” were in Christ. In other words all of the three thousand of Acts chapter two, the five thousand of Acts chapter four, and the “many thousands of Jews that believe” in Acts chapter 21 are in Christ REDEMPTIVELY, but not POSITIONALLY.
There is no indication whatever in any of the Hebrew epistles, Hebrews through Revelation, that they thought, taught or believed that they had been baptized BY THE SPIRIT INTO THE BODY OF CHRIST. Instead they were “abiding in the vine” to be partakers of Christ IF their faith did not fail and they endured to the end.
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
Here are some examples of them abiding in the vine:
Hebrews 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
1 Peter 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Nowhere does Paul say that the END of your faith will be the salvation of your soul. But on the other hand, look at what Peter says:
1 Peter 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Paul was called and the Galations were called INTO the grace of Christ. But Peter is called UNTO the grace which is yet to be revealed, to Israel, at the second coming.
To James and the twelve tribes scattered abroad, faith without works is dead.
James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
James, in a tribulation context, MUST have works to go with his faith in order to endure to the end. Therefore for him:
James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Paul explains the difference in justification BY faith and justification through faith:
Romans 3:30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
But for Paul and the body of Christ, the work is done. We trust in the faith OF Christ, not our faith IN Christ and we trust in the finished work of the cross. We are totally justified by the faith OF CHRIST….THROUGH his faith, without works.
Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
So the little flock is in Christ REDEMPTIVELY. Redemption and atonement is two different things. The day of redemption is the day of the Passover for Israel. They are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God. The Passover is the 14th day of the FIRST MONTH. The day of Atonement is the 10th Day of the SEVENTH MONTH. So that is what John speaks of in 1 John 1:9
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
That CLEANSING is the Day of Atonement at the second coming of Christ in which all Israel shall be saved, Romans 11:26 and 27. It is Israel’s sins being blotted out according to Peter in Acts 3:19 and 20, in fulfillment of prophecy:
Zechariah 13:1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
But as to the body of Christ, we already have total forgiveness of all sins as in Collosians 2:13 and have already received the atonement:
Romans 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
So once again, IN CHRIST is not synonymous with the BODY OF CHRIST. And understanding this you also understand the when Paul speaks of THE FAITH he once destroyed it is not a proof text for the religionists to prove that scripture is a “one pot meal” or that it’s all the same, or that all gospels are the same gospel. When Paul talks about destroying THE FAITH he certainly is not talking about the FAITH OF CHRIST because the faith of Christ cannot be destroyed. He was trying to destroy people’s faith IN CHRIST. All salvation is IN CHRIST and all faith FOR salvation must be faith IN Christ, and everybody who is saved will have faith IN Christ and it IS a common salvation, as Jude wrote:
Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
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