There’s an old saying that says that Christians should always get their theology from the Bible and not from Christian hymns. In our day and age, we need to add that it is likewise a bad idea to get your theology from Christian novels and films. I say this because most fictional works about the Tribulation portray Paul’s gospel as the salvation message that will go forth in that day, and his gospel of salvation by grace through faith apart from water baptism is not the message that God will want preached in the Tribulation.

If you are wondering how I can be so sure of this, it is because Peter reminded his readers that “baptism doth also now save us” (1 Pet. 3:21), and he was writing to Jews who would have entered the Tribulation had the dispensation of the mystery not interrupted God’s prophetic program for Israel. This is the reason grace believers often refer to Peter’s epistles as Tribulation epistles, along with the rest of the epistles from Hebrews through Jude. We believe and teach that Tribulation Jews will look to these epistles for information that is specific to them, the way members of the Body of Christ look to Paul’s epistles for information that is specific to us in the present dispensation of grace.

An Outline for the Ages

We see this reflected in the positioning that God has chosen to give the Hebrew epistles in the Bible. You see, the books of our New Testament do not appear in chronological order. That is, Matthew was not written first, then Mark, and so on.

These books, rather, appear in a logical order that reflects the flow of the ages. If this line of thinking is new to you, consider the following.

The Four Gospels come first in the New Testament because they chronicle our Lord’s announcement to the people of Israel that their kingdom was “at hand” (Matt. 4:17). The Book of Acts comes after the four gospels because it records Peter’s offer of that kingdom to the nation (Acts 3:19,20), and her rejection of that offer with the stoning of Stephen.

Acts then goes on to document the raising up of Paul, whom God used to introduce the mystery of the Body of Christ and the dispensation of grace. This is why the Book of Acts is followed in the Bible by Paul’s epistles. The Pauline epistles provide the specific information that members of Christ’s Body need to function in the dispensation of grace, so God made sure they appear in our Bibles right after the introduction of the age of grace in the Book of Acts.

But the Hebrew epistles come after Paul’s epistles because they are written to the people who will come after us, the Jews in the Tribulation period. We know that the Epistle of Hebrews was written to Hebrews, of course, and James says that he too was writing to Jews (James 1:1).¹ And we know that these Hebrew epistles were written to Jews with the Tribulation in mind because of the kinds of works that James says are required for salvation.

Tribulation Salvation

James told his readers that faith alone couldn’t “save” them (James 2:14), they had to demonstrate their faith by feeding the hungry and clothing the naked to be saved (James 2:14-17). That’s because when the beast issues his mark in the Tribulation, and people are unable to buy food or clothing without it (Rev. 13:17), many of God’s people will be hungry and naked. I believe God knew that when that day comes, people will be hesitant to share their provisions, so He made it part of the very plan of salvation that they must share their provisions to be saved.

This is how the Jews to whom James wrote demonstrated their faith back in his day (Acts 2:44,45; 4:32-37),² and it is what Jews will have to do again to be saved in the Tribulation.

Gentiles who want to be saved in that day will also have to bless God’s people in Israel with food and clothing (cf. Gen. 12:3), for the Lord made it clear that the determination of their eternal destiny will be based on whether or not they fed and clothed His brethren in Israel (Matt. 25:31-46).

So, it is clear that the Hebrew epistles were written with the Tribulation in mind. It is true, of course, that these epistles were primarily written to Jews who were alive at the time that those epistles were penned. But remember, those Jews would have entered the Tribulation had God not interrupted His prophetic program with the dispensation of the mystery. And so when Peter reminded his readers that “baptism doth also now save us,” it is clear that the Jews to whom he wrote those words were saved by the work of water baptism (cf. Mark 1:4; 16:16; Acts 2:38), and it is just as clear that baptism will again be required for salvation when God’s prophetic clock resumes ticking after the Rapture.

Preparations for the Priesthood

Once the Tribulation begins, God will again begin to prepare the people of Israel to be the “kingdom of priests” that He means for them to be in the kingdom of heaven on earth that will follow (Ex. 19:6). This is why Peter told his readers, “ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:9). The Jews to whom he wrote were destined to be “kings and priests” (Rev. 1:6; 5:10) in the kingdom, and priests had to be baptized (Ex. 29:1-4). But when the people of Israel rejected their kingdom by rejecting their King and His prophet Stephen, God put the kingdom program “on hold,” so to speak, and ushered in the dispensation of the mystery.

But once the last trump sounds and the Rapture brings a close to the present divine interregnum, God will raise up a new generation of Jewish believers to be kings and priests in the kingdom. When that happens, they too will need to be baptized with water to initiate them into the priesthood in accordance with Exodus 29:1-4. And since God likes His priests to be saved, water baptism will also be required for salvation, just as it was in time past (Ezek. 36:25,26).

Grace believers are sometimes puzzled as to why God will revert to insisting on water baptism as a condition that must be met to be saved in the Tribulation. After all, as we have seen in our answers to previous questions, the cleansing of water baptism was just a symbol of the cleansing of men’s souls by the blood of Christ (cf. Rev. 1:5). And as we have also seen, now that members of the Body of Christ already have the cleansing that His blood affords us, we stand in no further need of the symbol of that cleansing in water baptism. So why will God again require the symbol of that cleansing in the Tribulation? Why will He demand the “shadow” of something of which we now have the substance (Col. 2:12-17) when the Tribulation begins to unfold?

Symbolism with Substance

The answer is that in our program the substance of Christ replaces the symbols of Him that were found in Israel’s religion, but in Israel’s program God always required the symbol with the substance.

For instance, believers in time past were saved by the blood that Christ shed “for the remission of sins that are past” (Rom. 3:25), but they still had to offer the symbol of that blood by sacrificing animals. Similarly, God required all male Hebrews to be circumcised to be saved, but this was only an outward symbol of the spiritual circumcision that God also required of them to be saved (Jer. 4:4). In other words, they had to have the substance of heart circumcision along with the symbol of physical circumcision. In the same way, Tribulation Jews will have the substance of the cleansing of the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7), but they will be required to be washed with the symbol of that cleansing in water baptism to be saved (1 Pet. 3:21), just as in time past.

Tribulation believers will, however, finally understand how water baptism saves. A fuller quotation of the verse we referenced earlier from Peter’s epistle reads,

“…baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 3:21).

In the Tribulation, they will understand that ultimately they are saved “by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” just as His resurrection saves us (Rom. 4:25). Water baptism will just be “the answer of a good conscience toward God,” just as it was when Peter wrote those words to his Jewish readers.³ That is, if God says you have to be baptized to be saved, a good conscience answers by being baptized!

But the water of water baptism cannot wash away the filth of the sins committed by the flesh of men, as Peter is careful to explain. Baptism’s power to save will lie in what happens when God takes those who believe and are washed with water and washes them in the blood of Christ in response to their faith (Rev. 1:5).

The Obedience of Faith

This is always how water baptism saved. It is what the Bible calls being “obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7). The “faith” that the priests in Acts 6:7 were obedient to was the faith that Peter had preached a few chapters earlier at Pentecost, that of “repent, and be baptized… for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). So when Acts 6:7 tells us that these priests were obedient to the faith, that means they repented and were baptized.

Whatever God says to do to be saved, in any dispensation, men must always respond by obeying His instruction by faith. In time past, the obedience of faith always involved works like bringing an animal sacrifice to be accepted by God (Gen. 4:7). When the New Testament dawned, water baptism was added to what was required for the obedience of faith. That’s because men were still under the law, “shut up unto the faith that should afterwards be revealed” to Paul (Gal. 3:23), the faith of salvation without works like water baptism.

Even at Pentecost, Peter called upon the “men of Judaea” and the “men of Israel” and “all the house of Israel” (Acts 2:14,22,36) to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins (v. 38). In other words, he called upon the one nation of Israel to be obedient to the faith. But in speaking of the obedience of faith in the present dispensation of grace, the Apostle Paul wrote,

“…we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name” (Rom. 1:5).

Had the people of Israel been obedient to the faith as a nation, the kingdom gospel could have gone out to all nations for the obedience of faith. Someday it will, as Tribulation Jews carry the kingdom gospel to “all the world” (Matt. 24:14), giving all nations the opportunity to be obedient to the faith of “Repent, and be baptized…for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). But during the present dispensation of grace, Paul was given “grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations.” And his gospel of salvation by grace through faith without water baptism (1 Cor. 1:17) is the gospel that is required to be believed for the obedience of faith today.

So today, the answer of a good conscience responds to God by choosing not to be baptized to be saved. But after the Rapture brings an end to Paul’s apostleship among the Gentiles, water baptism will again be required for the obedience of faith in the Tribulation.

The Assurance of Obedience

In submitting to water baptism, Tribulation believers will be able to have the same assurance of salvation that we have when we trust Christ without water baptism. We see this expressed in yet another Tribulation epistle, where the writer says to his Hebrew readers:

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:22).

When a believer submitted to water baptism under God’s program for Israel, he could have “full assurance” that God would sprinkle his heart from an evil conscience in response to the faith he expressed in having his body washed with the pure water of baptism. This was the case in time past, as we see in Hebrews 10:22, and it will be the case again in the Tribulation, when the kingdom program resumes after the Rapture.

It has always been God’s desire in every dispensation that His people be able to rest in the assurance of sins forgiven, and He has always made this possible through the obedience of faith. Today, we can have “all riches of the full assurance of understanding” (Col. 2:2) by understanding that salvation in this dispensation is by grace through faith without works (Rom. 4:5; Eph. 2:8,9; Titus 3:5). In time past, however, performing works like water baptism and feeding and clothing God’s people brought this assurance (Heb. 10:22; 1 John 3:17-19). And so it will be again in the Tribulation.

Having said that, there have probably always been believers who struggled with their assurance even after performing the work that God required for salvation, just as there are believers today who struggle with their assurance at a time when salvation is by faith without works. But this doesn’t change the fact that God has always made it possible for believers in every dispensation to enjoy the assurance of eternal security that He longs for them to have.

If you are not sure of your eternal destiny, I would encourage you to immerse yourself in a study of the Scriptures. Since “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17), the “full assurance of faith” (Heb. 10:22) in any dispensation can only come by hearing more of the Word of God, and allowing it to sink down into your soul.

<sup>1. Here it helps to remember that James, Peter, and John, the authors of most of the books that follow Paul’s epistles, gave Paul their word that they would confine their ministry to the circumcision (Gal. 2:9). They would have had to break their word to write epistles to Gentiles.
2. Ananias and Sapphira demonstrated their lack of saving faith when they refused to obey the Lord’s command to “sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor” (Luke 18:22) “to inherit eternal life” (v. 18).
3. We know that Peter wrote to Jews, for it would have made no sense for him to tell his readers to have their “conversation honest among the Gentiles,” if he were writing to Gentiles (1 Pet. 2:12).</sup>

“I Knew a Man”

“It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
“I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:1-2).

In this context, Paul is affirming and defending his apostleship. In doing so, he recognized that “to glory,” or boast, was necessary to defend his office, but he stressed that it was not “expedient” or profitable. Paul found it distasteful, but he had no choice and was forced to do it.

Thus, he told them, “I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.” Visions are seen, and revelations are heard. Through visions, Paul, as an apostle, received direct revelation from the Lord. “Revelations” refers to an unveiling of truth from God. Paul had direct encounters with the Lord in which he saw and heard Him and learned things he did not know before. When Paul was saved on the road to Damascus, the Lord told him, “But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee” (Acts 26:16).

The Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Paul many times over the course of his ministry to make known to Paul “the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began” (Rom. 16:25). The mystery is the body of grace truth; it is the faith that God revealed for the current dispensation of grace. This was revealed to Paul first.

The mystery had been kept secret since the world began; to make this previously hidden truth known, the Lord appeared to Paul to reveal it to him. However, the mystery was not made known to Paul all at once. It was gradually unfolded to him through a series of revelations.

Twenty years into his ministry, when he wrote 2 Corinthians, Paul was still receiving visions and revelations from the Lord and was expecting more.

Paul’s Spectacular Vision

“And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
“How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
“Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities” (2 Cor. 12:3-5).

Speaking of visions and revelations, Paul elaborated on the most spectacular one of them all in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4. When Paul wrote of this vision, he switched to the third person to describe it because of his reluctance to boast about himself and his ministry. He did everything he could to relate the experience while taking the focus off himself.

Paul wrote, “I knew a man in Christ.” The “man,” of course, was Paul himself, and he added his blessed position and eternal identity: being “in Christ.” This encounter occurred 14 years before he wrote 2 Corinthians. This means it took place between Paul’s conversion and his first apostolic journey. More specifically, it occurred during Paul’s years of ministry in and around his hometown of Tarsus (Acts 9:30). Thus, Paul went from his home on earth to his home in heaven for a short time. Paul had kept quiet about this experience for 14 years, and only then did he humbly and reluctantly mention it to defend his apostolic credentials.

Paul wrote of this experience, “(whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;).” Paul did not know whether the Lord had transported him physically in his body, or if his experience had been out of the body, as a strictly spiritual experience. Paul said that only God knew for certain.

Whether in the body or out of the body, Paul wrote, “such an one [was] caught up to the third heaven.” That Paul was caught up to the “third heaven” tells us that he was taken to the abode of God Himself. The third heaven is where God’s throne room resides (Rev. 4:1-2). It is where the Lord ascended to and is where He is exalted at the right hand of God the Father (Col. 3:1). The third heaven is the place where believers who have died under grace are present and at home with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8).

Paul reiterated in 2 Corinthians 12:3, “And I knew such a man” and, for emphasis, affirmed for a second time, “(whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;).” Paul was undoubtedly overwhelmed by this heavenly experience, and, by way of his repetition, he reinforces the fact that he truly did not understand the mechanics of how it occurred.

However, what Paul did know for sure was “that he was caught up into paradise.” The third heaven and paradise are the same place and synonymous here. Paradise in the third heaven above, however, was not the same location that the Lord and the believing thief on the cross went to when they died. When Christ told that thief, “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43), this referred to Abraham’s bosom in the center of the earth (16:22). Our Lord spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth before He rose from the grave (Matt. 12:40).

Paul was “caught up,” and taken to the third heaven. The vision was all of God and something He chose to grant and do for Paul. God chose to declare to Paul the Church’s eternal position in heavenly places (Eph. 1:3; 2:6-7), and so God chose that Paul be caught up to those heavenly places for a time.

Paul wrote of what he had heard while he was there, not what he had seen. Concerning what he heard, Paul gave a vague description, stating that he “heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” Paul heard the language of the third heaven, and he understood what was spoken. “Unspeakable” means inexpressible or unspeakable on account of its sacredness. The words Paul heard were too sacred to be repeated. They were ineffable or too great and holy to be expressed in the common words of our earthly languages.

In 2 Corinthians 12:5, Paul, again in deference and humility, wrote, “Of such an one will I glory,” or on behalf of such a person and his experience, he would boast—while it was, in fact, Paul himself, writing of the experience impersonally, as if it had occurred to some other man he knew. Paul spoke for that man and boasted that he had something to boast about: that God had given him such a privilege and experience. “Yet of myself,” or when Paul did speak of himself, he would not boast of himself or glory in his accomplishments, but rather he would boast “in mine infirmities.” Paul then explained what he meant by that.

Christ’s Sufficient Grace

“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
“For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
“And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:7-9).

Paul was not immune to the danger of pride. He could have been “exalted above measure” due to the numerous appearances and abundance of revelations given to him by the Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly he could have easily been prideful due to the spectacular vision of the third heaven that he described and experienced in verses 2-4.

However, Paul was in no danger of becoming too impressed with himself due to a thorn in his flesh that was given to him, which reminded him of his limitations and kept him humble and grounded. The word “thorn” means a sharp stake, a pointed piece of wood, or a splinter. A sharp “thorn in the flesh” is painful. Paul is referring to a contant, painful physical affliction with this word picture.

What was Paul’s thorn in the flesh? It has been much debated, but it is impossible to say dogmatically what the thorn in the flesh was. All we can say for sure is that it was a painful affliction in Paul’s life. God has not revealed the precise nature of it, perhaps so that all afflicted believers throughout this age and in all places, who themselves have their own thorn in the flesh, may be encouraged and helped by Paul’s unnamed, yet painful experience. Thus, it is a good thing that we do not know, because no matter what our sufferings may be, we can apply the lessons Paul learned from his thorn and find the same comfort.

Paul regarded his thorn in the flesh as “the messenger of Satan” that was designed by the devil to “buffet” him. The Greek word translated as “buffet” means to strike with the fist or, more generally, to batter or maltreat violently. Paul’s thorn was painful and caused suffering; it was a tool of Satan to discourage and frustrate Paul.

There is a stark contrast between two of Paul’s experiences in this chapter: from paradise to pain. He experienced the blessing of God in the third heaven and then felt the buffeting of Satan on earth.

Satan’s design for the thorn of the flesh was to hinder Paul in the work of the Lord, but the Lord used it to further that work by keeping Paul humble and causing him to rely on the Lord and His grace.

Due to the pain and discouragement from his thorn in the flesh, Paul wrote, “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me” (v. 8). “Besought” means to beg or implore or entreat. In the intensity and constancy of his suffering, Paul drew near to the Lord, and three times Paul passionately prayed and begged the Lord to remove the thorn in the flesh.

This passage demonstrates that, with His change of dispensations, there was a change in God’s will and promises regarding prayer. Thus, what happened next was not, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matt. 21:22). To Paul’s first prayer, no answer came. To his second prayer, no answer came. To his third prayer, the Lord “said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). The Lord answered Paul’s prayer in a way that he did not expect. The Lord answered Paul’s prayer, but denied his request.

The Lord had a higher purpose for Paul’s thorn of affliction: to teach the apostle dependence on the Lord and the sufficiency of His grace. The thorn had driven Paul to recognize his insufficiency and weakness. In Paul’s state of suffering and inadequacy, the Lord promised that His grace was sufficient for Paul’s insufficiency because the Lord’s strength would be made perfect in Paul’s weakness. Instead of removing the thorn from Paul’s life, the Lord would give and keep giving His grace in it, and the grace that He gave Paul was sufficient to meet his needs. Rather than removing the burden as Paul has prayed and pleaded for, the Lord said that He would continually give Paul the grace to bear it.

“My grace is sufficient for thee.” This is the grace of God, a grace that comes in infinite and endless supply. It is a grace that is more than sufficient to meet our needs. God’s grace is a dynamic force. It is God’s love, kindness, and mercy in action. It is the power of God available to each believer. It is God’s provision for our every need.

“My grace is sufficient for thee.” Always in the present, God’s grace is sufficient and available to provide and strengthen us in our need. It is not that His grace was sufficient. It is not that His grace will be sufficient one day down the road. It is right now, at this moment, at all times, in the present, His grace is sufficient. It is always available. It is always enough.

“My grace is sufficient for thee.” God’s grace was more than adequate and fully sufficient to meet Paul’s needs. In dealing with our own thorn in the flesh, God’s grace is sufficient to hold us up, strengthen us, comfort and encourage us, bring us through any out of any and every type of trial and difficulty, and enable us in the end to triumph over it.

“My grace is sufficient for thee.” It was sufficient “for thee”—Paul—a member of the Church, the Body of Christ, who had a thorn of affliction. This promise of Christ to one member of the Body of Christ is true for every member. This promise made to one believer who had a thorn in the flesh is true for every believer who has any type of thorn. The “thee” means you. God’s grace is sufficient for you!

In your pain, suffering, and anxiousness, with your personal thorn, Christ is saying the same thing to you today: “My grace is sufficient for thee.”

The Lord told Paul, “for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Like Paul, when believers find themselves without strength, and we look to the Lord in faith for His aid, He faithfully provides His all-sufficient grace for His strength to be made perfect in our weakness.

The Lord wanted to display His grace and power in Paul’s life and ministry (1 Cor. 15:10). Through His almighty strength alone, the Lord wanted to make Paul truly strong. However, in order for the Lord’s strength to be received and worked in and through Paul, pride and selfconfidence needed to be worked out of his life. This took place through Paul’s thorn in the flesh, which brought him to a humble place of weakness and helplessness. When Paul turned to the Lord in faith, this allowed His strength to be made perfect in Paul’s weakness.

What It All Means to Us Now

“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Cor. 12:10).

Sorrow, physical pain and suffering, disappointments, and failure all can bring the believer to that place of weakness and dependence on the Lord. But when we look to the Lord and depend on Him, we become a channel through which God’s power can flow freely and be perfected in us.

We are called to live by God’s grace through faith. Spiritual maturity comes through an acknowledgment of our weakness and our constant need of the Lord. The more we recognize our weakness and trust the Lord, the more God’s grace and divine power work through us.

As a result of all that happened in his life, Paul gained a new perspective. He saw and experienced the blessing of the Lord’s answer. He rejoiced that God had brought him to a place in his life to rely on the Lord’s grace and to see it at work. Thus, with conviction, Paul wrote, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9).

So thoroughly had Paul learned this concept that, rather than boasting in his accomplishments as an apostle, he boasted in his infirmities (vv. 5,9). And he had come to “take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake” (v. 10). Paul did so because he knew that when he was “weak” in those times, the Lord, by His grace, would provide the power that Paul needed, making him truly “strong.”

We see a number of dissimilar wordings within God’s Word. Some have seen them as contradictions in the Bible. We prefer the term “contrasts.”

The main reason for these differences is that God is setting forth two separate programs (intimated even in Genesis 1:1). The first deals with the earth and Israel. The other concerns the heavens and Christ’s Body Church. It was given to the Apostle Paul to lay out these differences. He is God’s “apostle of the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13).

PROPHECY: God’s program set forth in the Gospels and early Acts concerned a kingdom prepared “from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). That plan was something “which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21).

MYSTERY: But God’s program set forth by the Apostle Paul was a “mystery, which was kept secret since the world began” (Rom. 16:25). This plan was a “mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God” (Eph. 3:9). It presents a people chosen “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4).

CHRIST CAME FOR ISRAEL: Before Jesus’ conception, Mary was told He would be given “the throne of His father David” and that “He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever” (Luke 1:32,33). During His earthly ministry Christ declared, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). From Pentecost, Peter repeatedly reaffirmed this by preaching only to “Ye men of Israel,” to “all the house [people] of Israel” (Acts 2:22,36; 3:12; 4:10). Peter further declared that God exalted Christ “for to give repentance to Israel” (Acts 5:31). And Paul says, “that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision [Jews]” (Rom. 15:8).

CHRIST CAME FOR ALL: The Apostle Paul tells us, “there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him” (Rom. 10:12). “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing [charging] their trespasses [sins] unto them” (2 Cor. 5:19). Paul further declares that in Christ Jesus “there is neither Jew nor Greek” (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11).

PETER’S AUTHORITY: While on earth, Christ gave to Peter “the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Peter’s power included “whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19). In early Acts, Peter exercised this authority. Peter led in replacing Judas, explaining Pentecost, stating salvation, condemning deceivers, and receiving Gentiles (Acts 1:15ff; 2:14ff,37,38; 5:3ff; 15:7-11).

PAUL’S AUTHORITY: From heaven, the Lord later “appeared unto” Paul (Acts 26:15-19). Paul received his message “by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:11,12; Eph. 3:1-3). Paul often stressed his special authority. He magnified his office as “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13). Paul wrote that he “should not be ashamed” to “boast somewhat more of our authority” (2 Cor. 10:8). Believers are repeatedly commanded to follow Paul as he followed Christ (1 Cor. 11:1; Phil. 4:9; et al.). Then we read that Paul “withstood” and “blamed” Peter (Gal. 2:11ff). Peter (Cephas) saw that Paul had authority “unto the heathen” and “wisdom…hard to be understood” (Gal. 2:9; 2 Pet. 3:15-16).

JEWISH CHURCH: Israel under Moses was called “the church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:37,38). To “all ye the seed of Israel” the Lord says, “in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee” (Psa. 22:22,23). Hebrews quotes that Psalm “saying…in the midst of the church [congregation=church]” (Heb. 2:12). Christ and His apostles were not sent but unto “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 10:5,6; 15:24). His Jewish disciples are called a “church” in contrast to “an heathen” or Gentile (Matt. 18:17). At Pentecost, Peter spoke only to “the house of Israel” and “the Lord added to the church” which already existed (Acts 2:36,47). Peter said that “all the prophets…foretold of these days” (Acts 3:24).

BODY CHURCH: The Apostle Paul alone wrote of “the church, which is His [Christ’s] body” (Eph. 1:22,23). In God’s present church “there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek,” “there is neither Jew nor Greek…for ye are all one in Christ” (Rom. 10:12; Gal. 3:28). This Body Church was “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations” (Col. 1:26 cf. Eph. 3:4-5).

CONDITIONAL BLESSINGS if you obey were formerly promised to God’s people. God has Moses “tell the children of Israel…if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people” (Ex. 19:3,5). Later Israel was told “if thou shalt…do all His commandments… all these blessings shall come on thee…if thou shalt hearken unto…the LORD thy God” (Deut. 28:1,2,13). “But…if thou wilt not hearken…to do all His commandments…that all these curses shall come upon thee” (Deut. 28:15). In the Sermon on the Mount, blessing also depends upon what people do (Matt. 5:1-9; 6:14,15).

UNCONDITIONAL BLESSINGS belong to all true Christians today. The Apostle Paul declares that “God…hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). Even unspiritual believers are told “all things are yours” (1 Cor. 3:1,21,22). Now believers “are the children of God: And… heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:16,17). “And ye are complete in Him” (Col. 2:10).

“A RANSOM FOR MANY”: This is what Jesus Christ said about the purpose of His coming and shedding His blood (Matt. 20:28; 26:28; Mark 10:45). That was what was prophesied in the Old Testament, that He would “bare the sin of many” (Isa. 53:12). Then the Book of Hebrews (to the Jewish people) says that Christ died “to bear the sins of many” (Heb. 9:28). While on earth Christ was “not sent but unto…Israel” (Matt. 15:24).

“A RANSOM FOR ALL”: The Apostle Paul tells us that “Christ Jesus…gave Himself a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:5-6). This was only “testified in due time” through the ministry of Paul, “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13). Today God’s grace is extended directly “to all men” (Titus 2:11).

A GOSPEL WITHOUT CHRIST’S DEATH was preached during Christ’s earthly ministry. Jesus Christ and the Twelve “went throughout every city and village” of Israel “preaching the gospel” of the kingdom of God (Luke 8:1; 9:2,6). After over two more years of gospel preaching, Christ told those same Twelve that He would soon be delivered to those who would torture “and put Him to death: and the third day He shall rise again.” Yet “they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken” (Luke 9:43-45; 18:31-34).

THE GOSPEL IS CHRIST’S DEATH plus His burial and resurrection according to the Apostle Paul. He declares “the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved.” The gospel Paul received and delivered is “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

SAVED WITH WORKS: When asked what one must do to escape God’s coming wrath, John the Baptist told people to share, be honest, kind, and content with one’s wages (Luke 3:6-14). When asked what one must “do to inherit eternal life,” Christ on earth told the young ruler that he must keep the commandments and “sell all…and distribute unto the poor” (Luke 18:18-24).

SAVED BY FAITH ALONE: What did the Apostle Paul reply when asked by the jailer at Philippi, “what must I do to be saved?” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:30,31). In salvation, grace and works don’t mix (Rom. 11:6). Salvation is by grace through faith, “the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8,9).

WATER BAPTISM for salvation was practiced in the Gospels and early Acts. John the Baptist came “preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Luke 3:3). The resurrected Lord Jesus reaffirmed the necessity of water baptism to salvation when He commissioned the apostles saying, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). Spirit-filled Peter at Pentecost repeated the same requirement to “all the house of Israel.” “Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:36,38).

SPIRIT BAPTISM alone puts the believer in Christ for salvation today. Does not God’s Word through Paul’s pen clearly say that “by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body”—the Body or Church of Christ? (1 Cor. 12:13). And in a passage where everything is spiritual are we not told that there remains only “one baptism” for today? (Eph. 4:3-6). That one is clearly Spirit baptism.

FORGIVE FIRST was the requirement for forgiveness in the Gospels. After the Lord’s Prayer, Christ explained, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not…neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:12-15). When Peter asked how often to forgive, the Lord told of someone who did not, and incurred wrath and torment. Christ said this would likewise happen to all who did not forgive from the heart (Matt. 18:21-35). God’s people were to forgive others in order to be forgiven by God.

FORGIVE AFTER being forgiven is the rule given by the Apostle Paul. Believers are commanded to be “forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). God already has “forgiven you all trespasses” (Col. 2:13). Therefore, Christians are to be “forgiving one another…even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Col. 3:13). Believers today are to forgive others just as God has already forgiven them.

MANY BAPTISMS were practiced through most of the Bible. The Old Testament religious system required “divers washings [various baptisms, in the original Greek language]” (Heb. 9:1,10). The Jewish religion of Christ’s time held to the “washing [Gr., baptismos]” of many things (Mark 7:4,8). When John the Baptist came to “baptize…with water,” he also spoke of the Holy Ghost and fire baptisms (Matt. 3:11). Both Jesus and Peter at Pentecost taught water baptism as necessary to “be saved”—“for the remission of sins” (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). Later Peter water baptized Cornelius obviously after his salvation (Acts 10:43-48). Death and risking martyrdom are also called baptisms (Luke 12:50; 1 Cor. 15:29). Christendom today practices many different baptisms.

“ONE BAPTISM” alone is now God’s rule (Eph. 4:5). That one baptism is a spiritual one “for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13). The Apostle Paul also calls this baptism “the operation of God” (Col. 2:12). This one baptism happens the moment a person trusts Christ after hearing the gospel of salvation (Eph. 1:12,13).

BLESSING THROUGH ISRAEL’S RISE is promised the Gentiles in the Old Testament through early Acts. Isaiah prophesied that Israel will be given supremacy over the nations (Isa. 60:10-12; 61:6). From that position of priority Israel shall be a blessing to “all the nations of the earth” (Gen. 22:17,18; Zech. 8:13; Acts 3:25,26). The prophet further states that “the Lord shall arise upon thee [Israel].” Then “the Gentiles shall come to thy [Israel’s] light, and…rising” (Isa. 60:1-3). Jerusalem and the Jews will be the route whereby the nations come to God (Zech. 8:22,23). The Gospels confirm these prophecies (Mark 7:27; 11:17; etc.).

BLESSING THROUGH ISRAEL’S FALL, apart from Israel, is presently God’s program. Now “there is no difference between” Jew and Gentile before God (Rom. 10:12). The Jews rejected the Word of God Paul preached so “the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles” (Acts 13:45-47; 18:6; 28:25-28). It is through Israel’s “unbelief,” “blindness,” “casting away”; “through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:11-15,25,30).

ANSWERED PRAYER was guaranteed by Jesus Christ in the Gospels. To His disciples He promised “every one that asketh receiveth” (Matt. 7:8). “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matt. 21:22). “And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do….If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it” (John 14:13,14).

UNANSWERED PRAYER is seen in the Apostle Paul’s life. Concerning his “thorn in the flesh” Paul wrote, “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee…” (1 Cor. 12:8,9). God’s Word further tells us that “we know not what we should pray for as we ought” (Rom. 8:26). And that God “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20). Would you rather have whatsoever you ask, or exceeding abundantly above all that you ask or even think?

GOD’S SPIRIT COULD LEAVE believers in other ages. “The Spirit of God came upon” men for specific tasks. So it was with careless Samson and King Saul (Judges 14:6,19; 1 Sam. 11:6). God’s Spirit also came upon godly men such as Moses and King David for their appointed work (Num. 11:17,29; 1 Sam. 16:13). The Spirit came upon Jesus Christ when He began His earthly ministry (Mark 1:10). But “the Spirit of the LORD departed from” such as Samson and Saul (Judges 16:20; 1 Sam. 16:14). Even David begged God, “take not Thy Holy Spirit from me” (Psa. 51:11).

GOD’S SPIRIT STAYS in believers today from salvation onward. When someone trusts Christ as Savior, he is “sealed with that Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13). Everyone who is truly saved possesses the Holy Spirit, for God’s Word declares, “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9). By “the Holy Spirit of God…ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30).

ALL HEALED: While on earth Jesus Christ healed all who came to Him and sent His disciples to do likewise (Matt. 10:8; 15:30,31). After His resurrection, He said His followers were to “lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:18). After Pentecost all the sick who came to the apostles “were healed every one” even by Peter’s shadow (Acts 5:15,16). Later “God wrought special miracles” through the Apostle Paul, even healing at a distance by handkerchiefs (Acts 19:11,12).

MANY UNHEALED: But later Paul himself remains unhealed though he prayed to be healed (2 Cor. 12:7-10). Paul tells Timothy to take a little wine as medicine for his stomach because he’s often ill (1 Tim. 5:23). Another co-worker is left behind sick by Paul (2 Tim. 4:20). Paul clearly states that the whole creation now has continuing pain, including even believers who “have the firstfruits of the Spirit”—all together who wait for the future redemption of the physical body (Rom. 8:22,23).

TONGUES A SIGN: Isaiah prophesied that God would speak to His people Israel with “another tongue” (Isa. 28:11,12). At Pentecost, “Jews…out of every nation under heaven” heard the disciples “speak with other tongues” (Acts 2:4-6). “Jews and proselytes…” heard “them speak in our tongues,” that is, native languages (Acts 2:8-11). The Apostle Paul wrote that “the Jews require a sign” (1 Cor. 1:22). He urged mature understanding and then quoted what Isaiah wrote. He concluded that speaking with other “tongues are for a sign” to unbelieving Jewish people (1 Cor. 14:20-22).

TONGUES TO STOP: Paul regarded tongues as the least of spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:28-31; 14:19). Tongues were prominent in the most unspiritual New Testament church (1 Cor. 3:1-4). Thus, it is not surprising to read Paul’s statement: “whether there be tongues, they shall cease” (1 Cor. 13:8). Instead, for the present time “now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three” (1 Cor. 13:13). God has presently cast away Israel, the sign people, in blindness (Rom. 11:15,25). Thus, the very purpose for tongues has ceased.

UNDER MOSES’ LAW: The Lord gave “the law which Moses set before the children of Israel” to “keep and do” (Deut. 4:44; 5:1-3). If the “house of Jacob” obeyed, they would “be a peculiar treasure… above all people” (Ex. 19:3-5). God promised Israel “life and death, blessing and cursing” in accord with their obedience to the law’s commands (Deut. 30:10-20). Christ on earth was “made under the law” (Gal. 4:4). He did not “come to destroy the law…but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17). Under the “new covenant with…Israel,” God will put His “law in their…hearts,” and they will “do them” (Jer. 31:31-33; Ezek. 36:26,27).

NOT UNDER THE LAW: Gentiles never were under the law of Moses and were exempted when the issue arose (Acts 15:5,19-24; 21:24,25). The Apostle Paul declares that God’s people today “are not under the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14,15). “My brethren, ye also are become dead to the law” (Rom. 7:4). That old covenant has been “done away,” “abolished” (2 Cor. 3:6-14). “Christ is the end of the law…to every one that believeth” (Rom. 10:4).

TITHING ORDERED: Abraham and Jacob gave to God “tithes” or “a tenth part of all” (Gen. 14:20; 28:22; Heb. 7:2). “The Lord commanded Moses for…Israel” that the tenth shall be “holy unto the LORD” (Lev. 27:30-34). The priests had “a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law” (Heb. 7:5 cf. Num. 18:21). A second and third tithe was paid for festivals and the poor (Deut. 14:22-29). The “sons of Jacob” robbed God when they withheld “tithes and offerings” and were cursed or blessed according to their tithing (Mal. 3:6-10).

TITHING OMITTED: About giving, the Apostle Paul speaks “not by commandment” (2 Cor. 8:8), for “the law of commandments” is today “abolished” (Eph. 2:15). The believer now is to give “as God hath prospered him” (1 Cor. 16:2). “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” The amount is up to the giver, but God promises to bless accordingly as one gives (2 Cor. 9:6-8).

COMING TO EARTH: Throughout the Old Testament, God’s people looked for the Lord to come and “stand at the latter day upon the earth” (Job 19:25; Zech. 14:4). In the Gospels and early Acts this same hope was in view—that Jesus Christ would come back to earth and set all in order (Matt. 24; 25; Luke 18:8; Acts 1:11; 3:20). And the hope after the future horrors of the Book of Revelation is the Lord’s return to smite and rule the nations of the earth (Rev. 19:11-16).

COMING IN THE AIR: But the Apostle Paul’s letters present the Body of Christ with a heavenly hope. All believers during this present age “shall be caught up [raptured] together…to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thes. 4:17). Moreover believers today are told they have a heavenly citizenship (Phil. 3:20; Eph. 2:6). They are blessed “with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).