GRACE ANSWERS 5

These are questions sent to GraceLife Ministries by Internet E-Mail. We appreciate each person who sent the questions and hope our answers will be a help to many. If you would like to have a question answered for Grace Answers, please e-mail Mark McGee.

THE MYSTERIES OF GOD

QUESTION: Can you address the subject of other "mysteries" mentioned in scripture besides the mystery made known to Paul. What, if anything, do these mysteries have to do with the mystery made known to Paul?
ANSWER: The Old Testament word translated "mystery" or "mysteries" is most often the Aramaic raz . Daniel used the word in his writings often: (Daniel 2:18, 27-30 & 47 and 4:9). "During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision." The mystery in this case was a dream God had given to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The dream troubled the king. He summoned magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to explain the dream. They could not. Daniel asked God to reveal the meaning of the dream to him. God did. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar: "No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries." That is an excellent explanation about the nature of mysteries. They are God's secrets. Only God can explain His mysteries to humanity. God chooses who he will reveal them.
The mystery God revealed to Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar was about future kingdoms on earth. Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed he fell at Daniel's feet and said, "Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery."
Job used the Hebrew word heger , in Job 11:7. "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?" A mystery was something "secret;" something someone else knew but had kept hidden until they chose to reveal it to another.
The Greek word for "mystery" is musterion . It is also translated as "secrets" and "deep truths." Paul and John used the word heavily in their writings. Paul used it in Romans 11:25 & 16:25; 1 Corinthians 13:2, 14:2, 15:51, Ephesians 1:9, 3:3-9, 5:32 & 6:19; Colossians 1:26-27, 2:2 & 4:3, and 1 Timothy 3:16. John used the word in Revelation 1:20, 10:7 & 17:5-7.
Paul used musterion , for what God was doing by putting Israel aside for a time and saving Gentiles and Jews and placing them together into the Body of Christ during the Age of Grace. Paul called it "my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him." Paul wrote that "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." Paul called the special relationship Christ had with His Body, the Church, "a profound mystery." Paul told the Colossians that the mystery is "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Paul said that Christ was God's mystery, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Paul asked the Ephesians to pray for him "that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains." He asked the Colossians to pray for him "that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains." Paul told Timothy that the "mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory."
God has had many secrets through the ages. He created the world and all life in it knowing everything that would ever happen to everyone and everything. He revealed his secrets slowly through the centuries. All of God's plans for the human race were mysteries at one time. The Old Testament prophets revealed something about God's plan of salvation for Israel. Jesus Christ revealed much more of the plan while He was on earth. He revealed even more from heaven when He showed John the Apostle what would happen to Israel at the end time. Christ saved His Mystery of Grace for Paul. This was the plan God had for Gentiles and Jews that He did not reveal to people of generations previous to Paul's. God revealed the Mystery of Christ to Paul, who revealed it to the world.

THE KINGDOM GOSPEL

QUESTION: Will the "Kingdom Gospel" ever come back into God's plan? Will Jesus one day return and set up his earthly kingdom in Israel? Isn't this what the end of Revelation is all about?
ANSWER: The Good News about the Kingdom of God is that it is still part of God's plan for Israel. Paul stated it well in Romans 11:25-29: "I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 'The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness aay from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.' As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable."
God put aside the Kingdom Gospel for a time so He could introduce His Mystery of Grace through Paul. All of the world has benefitted from God's Grace for the last 1900+ years. However, the Grace Gospel will be completed when "the full number of the Gentiles has come in." That's when God will save Israel forever. He will do that through the Alpha and Omega, the Great and Eternal Warrior Jesus Christ. He will rule the world from the Throne of David in Jerusalem. Israel will be the greatest Kingdom on earth. That is the Kingdom Gospel.
God's Plan does not end with us. Paul made it clear to members of the Church that they shouldn't be conceited. We, the Church, the Body of Christ, are a Mystery. We are something never revealed, never mentioned, never imagined until God revealed it to Paul and Paul to the world through his preaching and writing. What God began with Abraham thousands of years ago and what He continued to promise through every prophet and king of Israel, will be realized some day. Israel will be the world's greatest Nation, its highest Government, with the King of Kings on its Throne.
All that you read in Revelation is true. It will happen just as the prophet said.

HOW DO WE REALLY KNOW WHAT PART OF THE BIBLE'S FOR TODAY?

QUESTION: You said that all Scripture was written "for" us but not "to" us. What's the difference, really? Who's to say what parts are "for" us and not "to" us? Can we really get excited about Old Testament things if they really aren't "to" us? What good is Scripture if it doesn't really apply to us? You're probably going to say something about horizontal vs. vertical truth. How are we to know which is which - how can we know for sure what things are "for today" and which aren't? I'll agree that some things, like animal sacrifice, have "passed away," but there are a lot of other things that I can't be so sure about.
ANSWER: You ask a very good question. The entire Bible is important to every believer today. It teaches us about the Nature of God. It shows us what God thinks and how He behaves in a variety of situations. We come to love Him deeply because of Who and What He is. What God said to and required of past groups of people is important to understand, but is not necessarily what God is saying to and requiring of us. That's the important point to make here. It's not up to the human race to decide what they will and won't obey. It's not up to Christians to determine how believers will live. It's up to God! He's the One Who makes the rules. He's the One Who shows us the way.
God has been very clear in showing us the way to live in this Dispensation of Grace. He delineates and divides His Word in such a way that we can know for sure what we should do and not do. God told Paul to introduce a new way that brought Gentiles and Jews together in an unheard of system of living and worshipping. Jesus Christ came to become Peace for all people, not just Israel. Christ made the two, Gentile and Jew, one. He destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. Christ abolished in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace. This is a message that only one man preached. That man was Paul. It's the message God wants us to follow. God does not want us slipping and sliding through Old Testament rules and regulations. We are under the authority of Grace, not Law. Christ abolished the law and its commandments.
Everything you and I and every other Christian need to know for the Grace Life are found in the writings of Paul. That's where we receive our power and direction. Paul often quotes the Old Testament and shows how we should understand it in light of the Gospel of the Grace of God. Look to him for that guidance and you'll never go wrong in your understanding of all Scripture and your life in Christ.

To the Jews Only

QUESTION: I would like your comments about those speaking to the Jew only v. 19; and then in the very next verse (20) men from Cyprus and Cyrene, speaking to the gentiles. I want to know: 1. The ones speaking to the Jews only --- when did they make the transition to the body? (did that happen before or after Paul arrive in Antioch?) and 2. The men from Cyprus and Cyrene, were they already in the body when they arrived at Antioch? And when had they become body members? 3. And what about Barnabas? When did he make the transition? Before or after he met up with Saul to take him to Antioch? It all seems to come together somehow, but would like to know the details! Perhaps Paul was founding body churches in those 9-10 years he was in the Tarsus area? What about that? Maybe that is where the body churches really began and we have no record of it? Is that too much to assume?
ANSWER: It's interesting to note the verse just before Acts 11:19. It reads: "When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, 'So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.'" This followed Peter's explanation about why he baptized Cornelius and members of his household. The apostles and brothers "throughout Judea" heard that the Gentiles had heard the word of God. They were surprised to hear Peter had baptized "uncircumcised men." Peter explained it was God's doing, not his. God was the one Who told Peter, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." Peter said the Spirit of God told him to go immediately with the Gentiles from Caesarea. Peter took six Jewish believers with him. Peter said that as he was speaking the Holy Spirit "came on them" as He had the Jewish believers "at the beginning." Peter said "God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ." Peter asked, "who was I to think that I could oppose God?" That's when the apostles and brothers had no further objections and praised God.
How did Peter and his traveling companions know that what happened to Cornelius and the other uncircumcised men was the work of the Holy Spirit? "For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God." The speaking of tongues was the outer demonstration of the inner work the Holy Spirit had done in the uncircumcised men. Peter was ignorant of the Mystery of God at this point. Paul had not revealed it to anyone yet. God gave Peter a sign that a major shift in the way He managed His households was about to take place. The shift began with Paul's (Saul's) conversion. The next step God took in revealing the change was to show Peter and other Kingdom disciples that He was going to work with the Gentiles in a new way. God's showing Peter opened the door for all Kingdom disciples to eventually accept the change as something God was doing, rather than something men had devised. Peter didn't understand what God was doing when it happened, but he did not question God any further when he saw the Holy Spirit give the Gentiles the same gift of tongues the Jews had received on the Day of Pentecost.
The Kingdom Dispensation Apostles had a singular audience in mind from the time Jesus Christ commissioned them: "to none but unto the Jews only." We see no disciple of Christ being the least bit concerned about reaching out to Gentiles until Acts 11. Peter's concern came after he argued about it with God. The leading Jewish disciples in Jerusalem criticized Peter sternly for preaching to uncircumcised men. They knew that the message of the Messianic Kingdom was for Israel. The Gentiles would be blessed within the confines of the Messianic Kingdom. Peter's explanation of what happened helped the Jewish disciples see and accept that God was doing something new.
"Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen." Stephen stood up the Jewish leaders and paid for his words with his life. That gave rise to a fierce persecution of Kingdom believers. Saul (Paul) was one of the leaders of that persecution. On the day that Stephen died "a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria." Some of those Kingdom disciples "traveled as far as Phoenicia, cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews." These disciples continued to preach a Kingdom message that had to first go to the Jews. "Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord." It appears that a large number of persecuted Kingdom believers went as far as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch and preached only to Jews. However, some of the disciples who were from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and preached the good news of Jesus Christ "to Greeks also."
This action caused another big stir in Jerusalem. "News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch." This is the third mention of Barnabas in the Bible. The first mention is in Acts 4:36. "Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet." Barnabas is familiar with Antioch. He was from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, which was about 60 miles off the coast from Antioch. He became a disciple of Christ and had been in Jerusalem for some time. The leaders of the Kingdom movement trusted Barnabas to represent their interests in what was happening in Antioch.
The second time Barnabas is mentioned in the Bible is Acts 9:27. Saul (Paul) was a recent convert to Christ and had left Damascus for Jerusalem. Saul tried to join the disciples but they were afraid of him. They thought Saul was trying to trick them. Remember that Saul was the most powerful prosecutor of the Kingdom disciples. His new interest in following Christ would certainly have been suspect. The disciples were afraid of Saul, "not believing that he really was a disciple." Barnabas involved himself in this situation. "But Barnabas took him [Saul] and brought him to the apostles." Saul had apparently told Barnabas about his meeting Christ on the road to Damascus, his startling conversion and his preaching Christ and Barnabas believed him. Barnabas explained this to the the apostles and they accepted him. Saul spoke boldly in the Name of Christ. He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews. They tried to kill Saul. The disciples heard about the plot and sent Saul back home to Tarsus.
Peter's revelation that God was going to save Gentiles apparently gave Jewish disciples from Cyprus and Cyrene the confidence to preach Christ to Greeks in Antioch. The Lord blessed that ministry and many Greeks believed and turned to the Lord. That's when we seen Barnabas again. News of that event reached the ears of the Kingdom disciples in Jerusalem. They sent Barnabas to Antioch to see what was happening. "When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord." What did Barnabas do? He went to Tarsus to look for Saul, "and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people." This new church was made up of Jews and Gentiles, the first time this had happened anywhere. Barnabas was full of the Holy Spirit. I believe the Holy Spirit led Barnabas to travel from Antioch to Tarsus to bring Saul into a position of leading this new group of believers. Paul would become the Apostle to the Gentiles, the man God would use to preach the Mystery of the Gospel of the Grace of God. That Mystery was that "through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus."
The next verse in Acts 11 is insightful: "The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." Why is that significant? This is the first time we see God's Dispensation of Grace carried out in human form. God had a Secret Plan to bring Jew and Gentile together in a way that would make the two one. That's what He did in Antioch. God made it happen, then brought His Apostle to the Gentiles in to lead the way. Barnabas played a key role in making that happen. God placed Barnabas in a place to befriend Saul and help the apostles accept Saul as a brother instead of an enemy. God placed Barnabas in a position of trust so that the apostles would send him to Antioch to represent their interests and concerns. God led Barnabas to travel to Tarsus, explain what had happened and return to Antioch with Saul. Barnabas and Saul worked closely together to teach the new congregation of Gentiles and Jews about being part of God's new work, the Body of Christ.
I wanted to lay some foundation before answering your direct questions.
1. The ones speaking to the Jews only --- when did they make the transition to the body? (did that happen before or after Paul arrive in Antioch?)
2. The men from Cyprus and Cyrene, were they already in the body when they arrived at Antioch? And when had they become body members?
3. And what about Barnabas? When did he make the transition? Before or after he met up with Saul to take him to Antioch?
I believe all the Jewish and Gentile believers who became part of the church at Antioch became members of the Body of Christ. I believe Antioch is where the Body began its growth. That's when the name "Christian" was used first. God knows the exact second when each of them became members of His Body. I don't believe it happened before the scattered disciples arrived in Antioch and preached to the Jews and Gentiles. I think God made all the believers at Antioch the first members of the Body of Christ when they gathered under Saul's teaching. I believe Saul (Paul) was the first member of Christ's Body. Barnabas and others at Antioch followed. I don't believe anyone was a member of Christ's Body before Paul.