UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE
Pastor
Richard Jordan
The Ages to Come: God will bring His purposes to fruition and thus Ephesians 2:7 points to the Ages to Come. The books of Hebrews thru Revelation focus on this.
(A 10 Minute Video)
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of
Truth" (II Timothy 2:15).
In Ephesians 2 the Apostle Paul sets forth the
basic three- fold division in God's dealings with mankind: Time Past (vs.
11,12), But Now (v.13), the Ages to Come (v.7). When the Bible is "laid
out" according to this divinely inspired design we easily get an overview
of
not only what we are reading but when and to
whom it was written. Thus the Word of God itself provides us with the key to
its own proper understanding and right division:
Time Past: Ephesians 2:11,12 sets forth the
basic issue in Time Past as the division between the Circumcision and the
Uncircumcision, between the nation Israel and the Gentiles. When you find this
issue governing the way God was working with men, you know you are in Time
Past. This covers the "Old Testament" (see Genesis 17:9-14,
Deuteronomy 4:5-8, Numbers 23:9) as well as Matthew thru John (see Romans 15:8,
Matthews 10:5,6; 15:24, John 4:22) and the early Acts period (see Luke 24:47,
Acts 1:6,8; 2:14,22,36; 5:32; 11:19).
But Now: Ephesians 2: l3 indicates that
in the But Now portion Gentiles are no longer "far off" but rather
the "middle wall of partition" between Israel and the Gentiles has
been eliminated and now "those who were far off are made nigh."
Romans thru Philemon provide the doctrine for the dispensation of grace (Romans
11: 13; 15;16; 16:25, I Corinthians 14:37, Ephesians 3:1-9).
The Ages to Come: God will bring His purposes to fruition and thus Ephesians 2:7 points to the Ages to Come. The books of Hebrews thru Revelation focus on this.
The chart above has demonstrate
the importance of the secret, hidden nature of the present dispensation of
grace (Ephesians 3: 1-9). Fold the chart to hide the "mystery"
section and you will see the perfect continuity of that "which God hath
spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts
3:21). Open the chart to reveal the mystery program and you will visualize how
the prophetic program has been temporarily interrupted by "the
revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now
is made manifest" (Romans 16:25,26).
The present dispensation of grace is "the
mystery" hid in God until first revealed to the Apostle Paul (Ephesians
3:1-9, Colossians 1:24-26, Romans 16:25,26, I Timothy 2:4-7, Tit. 1:2,3, etc.).
Thus in Paul's writings alone we find the doctrine, position, walk and destiny
of the Body of Christ. Remember: While all Scripture is for us, all Scripture
is not written to or about us. This is the key to understanding the Bible.
How
God Saves Men
Believing
Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing
Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read
Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
(A 10 Minute Video)
E-mail
this BIBLE STUDY to all your friends
No comments:
Post a Comment