MYSTERIES OF GOD'S KINGDOM. Kenneth B. Alexander
nor do they understand. And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled (and He goes on to quote Isaiah 6:9-10, above).
God is not logical as we perceive logic. He does as He will, irrespective of our feelings to the contrary. He is God! He is, however a God of love, justice and the only source for true righteousness.
As for the great knowledge and achievements of the world: Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15). Jesus said that he who loves the world more than Him is not fit for the Kingdom.
Those who choose to call the Bible irrelevant have the disease of not seeing or hearing God, both absolute prerequisites to understanding the Bible. Only revelation will open it up to them, by reading the book with faith and an open heart, instead of rejecting it out of hand.
Jesus once asked the disciples who men were saying He was. They responded John the Baptist, Elijah or Jeremiah. The Lord then asked Simon Peter directly who he thought Jesus was. Peter responded that "you are the Son of the Living God". Jesus happily said "Blessed are you [Simon Peter] because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but My Father who is in Heaven" (Matthew 16:13-17). Peter had had the necessary revelation that the "men" did not have.
Then there is the old argument that since the Bible was written by mere fallible men, it can't be true. Therefore, they say, the Bible is just one more myth designed to give man comfort in his daily tribulations. The Bible WAS written by fallible men, untrained and uneducated, fishermen, farmers, sheep herders, tax gatherers etc. There are many reasons to call them "mere men". But God chose such men in order to glorify Himself. These men knew it wasn’t them doing the work but God.
He chose these weak and fallible things of the world to confound the mighty.
“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to human standards, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). "for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will; but men moved [inspired] by the Holy spirit from God (1 Peter 1:21).
In Romans 16:25-26, the Apostle Paul states: "Now to him who is able to establish you by [the] 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 [Bible] by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations may believe and obey Him” (See also Ephesians 3:3-10).
The living Word, as opposed to the dead word is described as: "living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do [God] (Hebrews 4:12-13). No wonder people reject the Bible-even their innermost thoughts are laid bare before Him.
The Bible is the living word of God. It is not mere words. The letter of the Word kills but the Spirit of the Word conveys life (2 Corinthians 3:6). Man's writings convey only emotions, ideas and "facts". God says: "My Words are spirit and they are life" (John 6:63). It is not even necessary to understand everything we read in it. It is not necessary that it conform to our views of history or science, because it is the Word of God, all we need to know now to walk with Him. We don’t just read it. Since it is Spirit, not words, we read and drink in the Spirit that changes us into the image of Christ, living water.
Spiritual things are foolishness to men who don’t believe. In 1 Corinthians 2:12-15 the Apostle Paul says this about man and the Word of God: …a natural man (literally "unspiritual" man) does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one". Therefore for those who cannot accept the Bible are foolish.
However, even the foolish cannot err on the road to righteousness; God has made it so simple. God says of the path of righteousness: "A highway shall be there, and a road and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool shall not go astray (Isaiah 35:8). The Bible is the road map to uttermost salvation.
God leads us slowly and gently like a true shepherd. This is the way to learn God: "Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people… But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little (Isaiah 28:9-13, NKJV version). He is not willing that anyone get lost or left behind, so He makes His word very clear to the believer.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOEVER believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16, emphasis added). The gift of God was to the whole world. If everyone would seek God to receive a revelation of salvation then all would be saved. It's a gift. You need not to work for it; only receive it. By grace, not works, have we been saved. Under the New Covenant (New Testament) Christ will teach you how to do the impossible. You will fulfill the law not by striving to be good but by receiving Him. The instructions are there, right in the Bible. Read it and take the Spirit into yourself.
PAUL’S EPISTLES
A Brief Introduction To The Apostle’s Letters To The Churches
Paul was first of all a bond- servant of Jesus Christ. He was also an Apostle of God. Bond-servant, Douios in the Greek, a word meaning “one who is in a permanent relationship of servitude to another”. In Paul’s case his absolute servitude to Jesus Christ was without question. to Jesus Christ. The Hebrew term is also used in the Old Testament describing the Elijah-Elisha relationship and the relationship of the prophets and some Kings to God.
Apostle, or Apostolos in Greek, means “one sent or an ambassador”. It is used in the New Testament to mean “one sent by God as an ambassador of Christ”. It is a special, seldom used word in Greek which gives it a connotation of one who was sent with a special message. Paul was sent by God to spread the Word of the Gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. He received the Gospel he preached not from man but through a revelation of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:12). He was unique in that the 12 original Apostles walked with Christ for at least 3 years, and received their Word from Him, quickened by the Holy Spirit after the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts Chapter 2). Paul also got his ministry from Christ but from the resurrected Lord.
Paul, before he met the Lord, was what he called a “Pharisee of Pharisees”. The Pharisees were a sect of Judaism who demanded strict adherence to the Mosaic Law. They became so preoccupied with the detail and nuances of the law that Israel was overburdened by trying to follow a law they were not even familiar with. They exalted the form of obedience causing it to prevail over matters of the heart: “man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Their religion fostered social advancement while looking down at the “sinners” who were beneath them. Therefore they were the ultra religious, legalistic, self seeking leaders of Judaism in that day.
Paul studied under a high ruler of the Pharisees and after years he became a well known Pharisee himself. He actively persecuted the foundling Christian Church, capturing and participating in the murders of some (Acts 8:59-8:1). He was much feared by early Christian converts.
However, on his way to Damascus, to persecute a Christian movement there, he had an overwhelming face to face meeting with Christ Himself. He was actually struck blind by the experience for three days (Acts Chapter 9). When he was recovered he began to preach Christ to the people of Damascus. (Acts 9:19-21). Christians were amazed and skeptical, that one day he was a violent