BS-52 ‘Mysteries-2’
How many times have you read a passage in scripture and then said to yourself, “Pretty deep stuff.” So you go to your study bible, maybe your commentary, or go online and google the scripture to see what the theologians have to say; then you run into another challenge. The same passage may have two or three different approaches to the meaning by the two or three different theologians; then you ask yourself another question, “How can people who are supposed to have the Holy Spirit of God within come up with more than one interpretation of the verses you are trying to fully understand in your study?”
As I read Galatians 3:15-29 it was one of those times; the topic prior to the verses to be read was, Intent of the Law; so I asked myself, “what was the intent?” Verse 19 reads that the LAW would be the mediator until the seed came. The seed is Christ and when HE came the Gospel was proclaimed as a newer covenant, which Jeremiah in 31:31 wrote about. The ‘Good News’ was, “that HE shed HIS blood for our atonement.” Verse 25 reads that people were no longer under the ‘tutor’ or the LAW, but under GRACE. That scripture is Ephesians 2:8-9. The LAW was Works based; God’s GRACE is Faith based. WHY the change, Lord?
What did the LAW entail?
Ceremonial – The way Israel was to worship [Lev. 1-2-3; the offerings.] but no longer necessary since Pentecost Acts 2:1-4. [Jesus death and resurrection had taken place and the Holy Spirit ‘filled’ several people]. Jesus supersedes the ceremonial LAW because HE is our High Priest. 1 Cor. 11:23-29 is what we do; it is our ceremony to remember Christ. Today, doesn’t the Christian observes the Lords Supper in remembrance of Christ?
Civil – This originally applied to daily living by those Jews coming from Egypt. [Deut. 24:10-11; Sundry Laws – Exodus 21-22] Once a federal government set up guidelines such as our modern governments they became obsolete [The Babylonians, Greeks, & the Romans set up their Civil laws in Israel starting with Daniel & Jeremiah.] Romans 13:1-5; Read. God’s principles are timeless in the way we conduct our daily lives. A Question – Are the LAWS in USA in line with God’s word?
Moral – The Jeremiah 31:31-34 New Covenant is GRACE. Same words are in Hebrews 8:8; in verse 13 the word puts the Civil & Ceremonial in the obsolete category. Morally, the nature and will of God, such as the 10 Commandments will never end. Exodus 20:3-17. Isn’t it Gods never ending requirement? *LOVE* Once you become a ‘Real’ Christian, the Holy Spirit convicts your thoughts of right and wrong ‘within’. [Question–How long should a person be a ‘baby’ Christian before becoming mature in their stewardship unto God? ___ ?]
Sounds pretty simple but for some reason there are these Rocket Scientist Theologians who seem to put a yoke on many believers with their legalism of: “You have to believe the verses in this way or that.” People, the Lord Jesus choose several uneducated fishermen to proclaim to the LOST ‘Sons of Israel’; that they often came in contact with; to do what? It was to share ‘the gospel’ of the newer covenant. Take the words literal; say to yourself, “scripture says what it means and it means what it says” Why? Jesus provided the disciples with the words of the Great Commission, which was to GO and disciple. They carried out the Great Commission; as each of us should also be doing in some manner. [Matthew 28:16.].
Next, what does Hebrews 8:13 mean? Maybe check out Luke 5:36-37; it is the parable about NEW wine. You are not to put new wine into OLD wineskins. So don’t patch or merge the New Testament of God’s Grace & Love into the OLD Testament words. The NEW is the Gospel; the OLD is the Mosaic way. So why is it so hard to separate the two??? The O.T. gives us a great moral way to live as our guide to pleasing God. When we fail and sin; how can my sin be erased? NOT by the blood of a goat; only the blood of God can cleanse eternally. Christ, who is ‘God the Son’, takes the sin upon himself and we, the Christian, are given a clean slate when we actually repent, with our mouth, and trust in Christ Jesus.
If you read 1 Corinthians 11:25; what is it telling you and me? Isn’t it that communion is a representation of the NEW Ceremonial Covenant; isn’t it something we are to do in remembrance of what Christ did? The NEW is the blood and the body of Christ; this covenant from God is eternal as our atonement; the OLD was temporary; it was a goat sacrificed by the Levitical High Priest each year at Passover. The old way is obsolete. So, we are supposed to remember and practice the NEW, which is the cup representing the blood shed by Christ. The idea is that HE took our place; Jesus is the eternal High Priest who makes intersession for the prayers of the Christian. It is like Jesus turns to the Father and says, “My blood served as the atonement for this persons prayer Father; the person praying has been fully Justified.” Only the Christian has access to the High Priest, Christ Jesus.
The NEW is superior to the OLD- Hebrews 8-9-10.
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Another mystery, to a certain degree is in Romans 9:6-26 where scripture gets into CHOICES by God. Does God have a list of names described as the ELECT, which were chosen prior to creation? Verse 11 reads that God made the choice of one person over another; then in verse 15 scripture repeats EXODUS. 33:19, which tells the reader that God provides mercy and compassion to whom HE pleases. HE also hardens the heart of whom HE desires. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened as an example. I would assume that Hitler had a hard heart to be as merciless and cruel as he was. John 6:37 reads that ALL the Father gives Jesus will COME to him. Another place, Ephesians 1:3-5 is a verse where God choose us. Who is US could be a question or mystery as well? Could the mystery be that though God chooses some; those same people must make a choice for HIM as well? Why did Judas not make the choice for Jesus? Did God use him like HE did Pharaoh?
What do words like predestined, foreordained, the elect, and the chosen mean? Then the word CHOICE is added to the mix and we ask God, “What are you saying to us, Lord?”
So a question might be, “WHY? If God makes the choices; why not just get raptured to heaven once we put our TRUST in Jesus?” Sometimes we who are living here on Earth have to trust & pray. Do prayers ever get answered? If you have a loved one who was not OR has not been pre-selected by God, wouldn’t it be a good idea to start FASTING & PRAYING for them? God hears the prayers, praises, and petitions of the RIGHTEOUS. The SAVED or the BORN AGAIN are those who have attained RIGHTEOUSNESS through Christ; they are the ones who God listens to. John 9:31, Job 35:13, and Ps. 34:15-16 are three places where scripture reads that God does not hear the petition of sinners or those who have not put their TRUST in Jesus. My question was; if we pray for someone who is LOST; who was never on the ELECT list; will God answer? Otherwise why would we pray for a LOST relative or friend OR for that matter, a sick or ill person who is faithless?
Keep searching, praying, and loving. LOVE is the NT commandment.
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Attached SCRIPTURE
Intent of the Law
Galatians 3:15-29 – 15 Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it. 16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. 17 What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. 18 For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.
19 Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. 20 Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one. 21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. 22 But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. [Prior to the LAW; there was no right OR wrong way for a person to be judged; or more important, no sin was a yoke or burden on the shoulder of mankind; so-to-speak.]
23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. [Our HOPE is in Jesus. The OLD, the TUTOR, informed us of the SEED, Messiah Jesus, and HE is the fulfilment; the NEW.]
Ephesians 2:8-9 – 8 For by GODS grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. [Romans 10:9-10 also reads that we must confess with our own mouth and trust that God raised Jesus from the dead. That is Faith; believing though we never witnessed the event. These are promises you can take to the Bank; it is a truth for we who trust in Jesus as our Lord.]
Hebrews 8:13 – 13 When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. [The Gospel of Christ is our text book on understanding the wishes of Father God; the OLD was a forerunner but no one could or can meet it. God now provides salvation through HIS Grace; it is no longer of works BUT remember, “We are ALL saved to serve in some capacity, not sit on the sidelines and just watch.”]
Luke 5:36-37 – 36 And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. [The new wine is the symbol of the NEW covenant; old wineskins represent the OLD covenant. Don’t mix the new with the old. The Pharisee represented the OLD legalist ways; the Gospel represents the NEW way.]
1 Cor. 11:25 – 25 In the same way Jesus took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. [The NEW way is atonement thru Christ; the Mosaic way is superseded. CHRIST is the crossover from OLD to NEW.]
Romans 9:6-26 – 6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants will be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. 9 For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; 11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” 20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? 22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. 25 As He says also in Hosea,
“I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’” 26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.” [God = Love & Mercy.]
Exodus 33:19 – 19 And God said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you [Moses], and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” [God has authority over ALL things; we don’t understand the depth of HIS reasoning but there are reasons or mysteries we will learn about in the afterlife someday. Maybe sitting on a hillside listening to the teacher.]
John 6:37 – 37 All that the Father gives ME [Jesus] will come to ME, and the one who comes to ME I will certainly not cast out. [What do you think? Is it possible to never be given to Christ by the Father but then prayed into Christ, by a prayer warrior who continues praying for a loved one? In other words, does the prayer of Christians influence the heavenly FATHERS response?]
Ephesians 1:3-5 – 3 Blessed [PRAISED] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 HE predestined us to adoption as sons through Christ Jesus to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, [God shows MERCY to sinners who repent; we become justified and are totally forgiven. We are adopted into the eternal family; few enter that narrow gate he has prepared.]
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PRAYERS NOT ANSWERED
John 9:31 – 31 We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God fearing and does His will, He hears him. [If a person is unsaved, does God hear their prayers? Looks like NO but an exception is the remorseful prayer of repentance.]
Job 35:12-13 – 12 “There they [the ungodly] cry out, but He does not answer Because of the pride of evil men. 13 “Surely God will not listen to an empty cry, nor will the Almighty regard it. [The ungodly or heathen; they don’t have to be a murderer or thief; just someone who does not recognize God.]
Psalms 34:15-16 – 15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. [God hears the righteous, through Christ, as they talk with HIM; but not the words of the heathen.]
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Comment – There are many – many scriptures that can leave a person scratching their head; some things in scripture you just have to study and depend on the theologian’s expert explanations. Some things are not worth fussing over but they make a good topic for study.
I have learned over the years that some topics ‘split’ churches; so when you don’t agree with an explanation on something other than the salvation of mankind; forget it as best you can and move on to what is really important. [i.e. – Calvinism; maybe the TITHE.]
Salvation through Christ Jesus is one of the main New Testament themes. Also, of these three; Faith, Hope, & Love, which is the greatest? LOVE. Take it to the Bank!
DG