Tuesday, March 11, 2014

God is into dividing

Transcribed excerpt from an audio message by Bro Ron Knight...

 True and proper teaching of the scriptures is a verse by verse expository type of teaching which means you take a book, particularly an epistle of the apostle Paul, and study verse by verse.

In order to understand Paul’s ministry, a study of the book of Acts would be good, because what we see there are the acts of the apostles.  ‘Acts’ is short for the actions or the activities of the apostles.  Which apostles?  The 12 apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ and that one, new distinct apostle Paul.

Years ago a man told me that the bible is written in past, present and future.  You won’t hear that outside of a dispensational bible church.  If you’ve been confused about the bible it’s because you haven’t been studying it God’s way.  Paul says1 to…

2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

You are to divide the word of truth.  God is a God of division.  The Lord said…

Luke 12:51
Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

People say that Jesus came to bring peace and love.  No, he came to divide some people in Israel:  the believing remnant from the unbelievers.  Back in Genesis chapter 1 God divided the light from the darkness; he divided the dry ground from the waters. 

God is into dividing. 

The thing that you need to divide the most is the word of truth, God's word.  It is all true, but you need to make divisions in order to understand it.  The reason all the denominations and cults are in confusion is because they don’t rightly divide.

Your life is time past, but now and the ages to come.  You have a past you live in the present, and you have a future.  God’s word is that way.  The apostle Paul is the one that explains that in time past God made a distinction between the nation of Israel (Jews) and gentiles.2

When you come to the ministry and message of the apostle Paul, he does not make a distinction between Jew and Gentile.  He looks at all men as in Adam.  Actually, you’re either in Adam or in Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:22
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Today, in the present, God has a word to all nations (aka, gentiles), including Israel – everybody.  He didn’t do that back in time past.  When you’re reading the books of Genesis through Acts you are reading a time-past program when God made a distinction between mankind, starting with Abraham in Genesis 12.  Until you come up to the message and ministry of the apostle Paul in his 13 epistles of Romans through Philemon, God does not make a distinction between men.

But God is going to finish this (mystery) program someday3 so that he can continue on with his prophetic program4 with the nation of Israel.  We’re coming close to those days, I believe; but he has to finish our program first.  When he does, he will go back again and make a distinction between Jew and gentile.  Those are the books of Hebrews through Revelation. 

Unless you study the Bible this way, you’re confused.  How do I know?  Because if you don’t, I could ask you 1,000 questions you couldn’t answer.  The only way you can answer the hard Bible questions is by dispensationally understanding your Bible.

The book of Acts explains how you got to the apostle Paul.  Acts has a focus on the actions of the 12 apostles before the fall of Israel, the diminishing of their program once Paul is saved, and then Christ’s salvation going out to us gentiles through the apostle Paul.  The reason you can trust Christ in Minnesota or in California, or anywhere in the world today, although God started in Israel in the Middle East, is because God gave Paul a message of grace for you today.  That’s how we’re saved today.

Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  not of works, lest any man should boast.


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Transcribed excerpt from Bro Knight's message...

1  1 Corinthians 14:37  If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

2 Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Romans 16:25 25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

4 Acts 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

Hopefully this helps!
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