Genesis 2:15 — Part Six

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Roger

Meanwhile, I sent my lessons to another reviewer. He is a “theologian” with an M.Div. from Trinity and a good grasp of the original languages and all the tools to consult. Here is his reply.

On “put” meaning “caused to rest”: Checking my Hebrew-English reference works I find that “rest” is one of the meanings of this word, but the particular form of the Hebrew verb in this verse and the fact that it is used in association with a person (him) and a location (in the garden) strongly points to the meaning “put”, as all the translations (including the Septuagint) render it in this verse and the two standard Hebrew reference works I checked confirm (with examples of verses with similar grammatical construction).  The solution to the problem posed is not to get work removed from Gen 2 (and thereby make it a consequence of the fall and a part of the curse — which I think biblically is a false idea, for work is an inherently good thing, for God himself worked in creation).  But the work before the fall was not burdensome and sweaty.  After the fall it was so, because of hindrances to productive work (in the sinful nature of man, and in the cursed creation).  When we finish the verse the way they have rendered it, it makes no sense.  He “made him rest in the garden to till it and keep it” (the Hebrew construction here clearly means that “to” means “for the purpose of”) So, He made Adam rest to work?  That is not what God is saying here.  And we certainly don’t want children to get the idea that work is a result of the curse!

I’m no scholar, but this seems to be largely circular reasoning again. There are also other issues:

  • God’s work in creation certainly wasn’t work in the sense of obligation, so it’s not really the same thing at all.

  • There’s no support for the idea that there was non-burdensome, non-sweaty work before the fall except this verse.

  • I never said God “made him rest in the garden to till it and keep it.” The first part of my lesson is linked to the rest of the lesson. It’s all one argument.

  • He agrees that this verse serves as a purpose statement. But what makes more sense — That God put man in the garden for the purpose of working, or that God wanted man to rest in Him and worship and serve Him. As I showed in the lesson, resting in God and worshiping and serving Him are our purpose after the fall. It makes no sense that man had a different, less-meaningful purpose before the fall.

The theologian continues on the subject of “dress”:

But the same word is use in Gen. 2:5 and 3:23 and it does not mean there “worship the ground” but till or cultivate the ground.  Context rules out the translation “worship,” again as all the Bible translations would confirm, including the Septuagint.

I’ve already addressed the Genesis 2:5 usage, and 3:23 was post-fall and obviously a different activity. I disagree with his context argument in Genesis 2:15.

He goes on to discuss my conclusion:

Work wasn’t needed to fight weeds, but work was perhaps given to man for man’s sake (as the ruler of creation), not for the ground’s sake, and could have prepared the ground to receive seeds from the plants that God made and possibly to prune them to bear more fruit.  We can’t be certain of the nature of the work.  But this [my RWO interpretation] way of rendering Genesis 2:15 finds almost no scholarly support that I can see (though one of my OT profs, argued this way about the verse as part of his old-earth interpretation of Genesis and John Gill (on-line Bible) indicates that a few rabbis may have viewed it this way, although the Septuagint doesn’t.

He starts his comment by saying “perhaps” and later says “We can’t be certain,” which makes his interpretation as much speculation as mine is. He goes on to say that the RWO view has almost no scholarly support, then proceeds to state two people (plus however many rabbis) who do support it.

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Genesis 2:15 — Part Five

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Roger

Here’s another response from one of my reviewers.

At first glance, I think the interpretation is a little speculative … The interpretation of “dress” bothers me, because in the English text, the object of it is “it” — the garden. However, you indicate the object of “dress” (worship) is God, not the garden.  The only way this would work is if “it” is not in the original Hebrew.  Is it? My thought is that you are hanging too much on this — i.e., the whole point of the lesson.  That might be too risky. 

You know that I deeply respect you and your knowledge of Scripture — and your ability to write.  This one seems to me to go a little too far.  But I’ll listen to a rebuttal.

I responded:

When I look up “to dress it” in Strong’s, the three words translate into Hebrew as just one word, “abad,” one of the meanings of which is “worship.” My guess is that the translators added the “it” to make it clearer according to their understanding of the verse. But I’m no Hebrew scholar and could be wrong.

I didn’t come up with this idea on my own. I heard it from [a professor] who taught an adult Sunday school class at my church. He went on to say that the translators used the words they did because they had a works-based theology and couldn’t deal with the fact that God didn’t require anything from man. I thought he made a lot of sense.

The clincher for me is that the verse seems to be a purpose statement.  It just makes more sense to me that God put man here to worship and obey Him rather than that He put man here to trim the trees, or whatever. Otherwise, there’s no statement (before the fall) that explains man’s purpose or what his relationship with God was supposed to be.

The reviewer’s reply to my reply

I still don’t buy it.  For me, a critical issue is what is said in Genesis 3:17.  You’ve written the lesson, based on the premise that work is the curse of that passage, but I don’t read it that way; I think that the curse is pain and sweat in work, not work itself. Throughout the Bible, work is considered to be a good thing.  In what you say below, I don’t get [the professor’s] connection between the more traditional interpretation and a works-based theology. There is a huge difference between “work” and “works” — as a means of pleasing God.

In looking at my Strong’s, I don’t see “observe the rules” as you say is there as a meaning for “shamar.”  “Observe” is there, but in the sense of “watch out for”, rather than “obey”.  I also don’t see the redirection of the object in regard to “abad”; both terms seem to have the garden as the object, not God.

I see this statement as specifically addressed to Adam, and not applicable to all humankind.  I agree that there is no statement as to God’s purpose for all of us found in the first chapters of Genesis.  But let’s not make one out of something that isn’t clearly seen in the text.  Other passages can be used to clearly support that we are all here to worship and obey God; but a critical issue that many will wrestle with is, “but what does that look like for me?”  I see that this command to Adam is more closely parallel to God’s calling on Moses’ life to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, Paul’s calling to take the gospel to the Gentiles, etc.

I have to admit that was a decided speed bump on the RWO interpretation. Obviously, I had to find out if “dress” and “keep” could refer to Adam’s relationship with God.

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Genesis 2:15 — Part Four

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Roger

Here’s the way another of my reviewers responded.

I like the way you have explained this verse in the lesson, but I still think God had Adam and Eve doing important, meaningful work in the garden while also worshiping, resting, and obeying. Otherwise, why does God tell us to subdue the earth — the earth was perfect when He said this, but it still needed subduing. Adam and Eve helped God to spread the seeds around the land and further the multiplying process, among other things. Also, why do all modern translations not translate the words in the ways you have said? Maybe there is both a literal and spiritual meaning to Adam’s work …

I’m not entirely comfortable with the idea that God needed help. I have to think the garden was perfect, as this reviewer says. Again I ask — What if Adam hadn’t eaten the forbidden fruit but also hadn’t done any work in the garden? Without the knowledge of good and evil, it couldn’t have been sin.

I think this would be a good point to look at the first two chapters of Genesis and see what exactly God did tell Adam to do. As I read it, I come up with three things.

1. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth (Genesis 1:27-28).  God told Adam to have a lot of children. I’m guessing that Adam didn’t exactly consider this an obligation — God probably meant it more as encouragement.

2. … And subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth (Genesis 1:28). This is the whole “have dominion/be in charge” issue again, and again, I think it refers to Adam’s position, not his obligation. “Subdue” is also tied to multiplying, so it may simply mean that for man to rule the earth, there had to be men to rule. It obviously wasn’t God’s intention for earth to be empty. For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited : I am the LORD; and there is none else (Isaiah 45:18).

3. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Genesis 2:16-17). Here’s the obedience issue. This is the entire law that Adam lived under. It’s all about Adam’s relationship with God, not about his role in the garden. Adam was in a position of fellowship with God and could do no wrong (except to eat the fruit) because he didn’t have the knowledge of good and evil. But once he understood the difference, he was required to do good.

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Genesis 2:15 — Part Three

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Roger

When I sent the lesson on Genesis 2:15 to my review team, I received several responses from people who preferred the PDK interpretation. Here’s the first:

I see where you are going with this, but I have never seen a commentary or heard any teaching before that there was no work in the garden. The fact that Adam had to work here is evidence that work was not a result of the fall. It’s a God ordained beautiful thing. After the fall, work would be harder, but nonetheless he had to work; naming the animals, keeping the garden etc. We work six days a week and rest on the 7th, as God intended pre-fall. We worship God by working.

I think your point of needing rest and the worship of God can be done without using a word that most translations don’t. This article proved helpful to me — especially the 14th-15th paragraphs relate to work.

First of all, it seems to me that the entire basis for Adam having work in the garden rests on Genesis 2:15. And Genesis 2:15 is the verse in question, so to use it as proof of the point is rather circular reasoning. It’s saying “We know Adam had to work in the garden because Genesis 2:15 says so. And we need Genesis 2:15 toprove that Adam had work in the garden because there are no other verses that say so.”

Second, let me say that I don’t think Adam didn’t have anything to do in the garden. There was stuff to keep him occupied. There just wasn’t anything he had to do except avoid the fruit of the one tree. He was already in fellowship with God, worshiping Him. As for obeying, it all came down to the fruit.

Look at it this way. What if Adam had never eaten the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but he didn’t mow the lawn or trim the trees or plant seeds or whatever it is that the PDK proponents think it was that he had to do? Would the garden have degenerated and become weedy and unpleasant? Of course not — the world was still without sin. It wouldn’t have been sin for Adam to not work because he didn’t have any knowledge of good and evil.

To move on: Adam did name the animals.

Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field … (Genesis 2:19-20).

But that was a one-time deal and the verse doesn’t even say that God instructed Adam to do it. It just says that God brought the animals to Adam to see what he would call them. Maybe God knew it was something Adam would want to do as part of his rule. Back in Genesis 1:26, we read: Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

The word “rule” in this verse means “to have dominion” or to “be in charge.” It’s not a work, particularly not in a perfect garden. It’s a designation of standing or rank — Adam was top dog, the boss, the king. It wasn’t something Adam had to do, it was something he was. Naming the animals was simply an offshoot of his rule.

So much for that. Now let’s take a look at the Moody site that this reviewer referred to. It’s an article titled Party in Paradise, by: Keith Krell BA Th.; M Div (Bio). Here’s what it says in paragraphs 14-15.

In 2:15, Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. After God made the beautiful garden, fully stocked with its full-grown vegetation, He placed Adam in it. The Hebrew word translated “put,” in 2:15, is not the same one rendered “put” in 2:8. The latter term is the normal one for putting something somewhere. However, the former one connotes rest and safety as well as dedication in God’s presence. God put man in the garden where he could be safe and rest and where he could have fellowship with God (cf. 3:8). He then gave Adam three mandates. The first two were mandates of responsibility and the third one was the mandate of access to garden privileges. The first area of responsibility is indicated by the word “cultivate” (abhad), which means “to serve.” It means, then, to do whatever is necessary to keep the garden aesthetically attractive. The details of this service are not provided but we do know that, before Adam was created, there was no one to do it (2:5). We also know that the nature of the service did not involve the kind of activity that Adam had to do after the fall, when he was kicked out of the garden (3:23). There, he must serve the ground from which he was taken, cursed with the “thorns and thistles” of agricultural disharmony (3:17-19). God placed man in Paradise for the purpose of serving Him. Interestingly, this word is also translated “worship” elsewhere in the Old Testament. This indicates that Adam served and thereby worshiped God by tending the garden.

God ordained work. All kinds of work — paid and unpaid — are necessary in the world for us “to subdue it” according to God’s will (1:28). Even if your daily responsibilities may seem dull and unimportant, or cause you to associate with and support worldly, God-hating people, remember, “the Lord takes pleasure in His people”. (Psalm 149:4) And He takes pleasure in us not just at church, but at work too. He’s as attentive to us in our work routines as He was to Joseph in his service as Potiphar’s slave, to Jesus in the carpentry shop, and to the apostle Paul when he was making tents. Enlarge your vision of your spiritual life to include your daily work. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve (Colossians 3:23-24). Present your work to God. You are working for Him.

Interesting, isn’t it? He totally sees the RWO interpretation, but then backs off and takes the standard PDK line. Rather than a rebuttal, I saw this as confirmation of the RWO interpretation.

He refers back to Genesis 2:5: Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

The word “cultivate” here is our old friend abad, which even Mr. Krell agrees means “worship” many of the times it is used in the Old Testament. It can also mean to “serve” or “keep in bondage.” Could this verse simply mean that the plants that would be useful to man hadn’t been made yet because God hadn’t sent rain and there was no man  yet created for them to be useful to?

Mr. Krell also refers to Colossians 3:23-24 — Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. First of all, this verse is written for us today when work, as part of the curse, is decidedly part of the world. Secondly, even so, it refers to our focus on God and not to the work itself.

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Genesis 2:15 — Part Two

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Roger

As I mentioned in my last post, I wrote a lesson on Genesis 2:15. Here is the relevant part of that lesson, with slight alterations to make it less “lessony.”

We have a purpose. God made humans for a reason. That reason is given in Genesis 2:15, but we will have to search a little bit to find it.

Genesis 2:15 — And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

You might be asking yourself, “What work was there for Adam to do in the garden? God created everything to be good for man? The trees and plants grew all the food he needed. What was it that Adam was supposed to dress and keep?”

And not only that, but in the next chapter, after Adam and Eve have sinned, God curses the ground and tells Adam that from then on he has to work to get his food. So if work was part of the curse of sin, how could Adam have been working before he sinned?

There is another explanation. Words can have multiple meanings. Take, for example, the word “fly.” If I tell you to fly, I might be asking you to travel somewhere by airplane. Or maybe I’m telling you to drive over the speed limit. Perhaps I want you to run as fast as you can. Or if you’re a baseball player, I may want you to hit the ball in the air instead of on the ground. You would know what I meant by the context of our conversation. If I ask you to go get the bag of candy from my car, and fly, you would know that I want you to run as fast as you can. You would also know that I wasn’t telling you to get on an airplane, drive my car, or hit a ball into the air.

The Hebrew words in Genesis 2:15 can have several meanings. Let’s take a look at three of these words and see which of their meanings make the most sense in context.

Yanach (pronounced yaw-nakh´) — This word is translated “put” in Genesis 2:15 — … the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden … The Hebrew word yanach can mean “put,” but it can also mean “cast down,” “leave alone,” or “allow” (as I might say, “I would rather you didn’t do that, but I’ll allow it this one time”). None of those meanings make a lot of sense. But there’s another meaning of the word yanach — “cause to rest.” If that is the proper meaning here, the verse should be understood … “the LORD God took the man, and made him rest in the garden.” This makes sense in context because all through the Bible, God tells us that we should rest in Him.

Psalm 37:7 — Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him …

Matthew 11:28 — Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Philippians 4:6-7 — Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Abad (pronounced aw-bad´) — This word is translated “dress” in Genesis 2:15 — put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Abad also has several meanings, including “to treat someone like a slave,” “to work,” and “till” (turn over dirt to get ready to plant.) But abad can also mean “worship.” Does it make sense that God would want Adam to worship Him?

Psalm 29:2 — Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; worship the LORD in holy array.

John 4:23 — But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.

Revelation 15:4 — Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; for ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED.

Shamar (pronounced shaw-mar´) — This word is translated “keep” in Genesis 2:15 — put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Shamar can mean “guard,” “protect,” or “observe the rules” as in obeying. God wanted Adam to obey Him. Does this make sense? Can we find other verses that prove God wants obedience?

Deuteronomy 13:4 — You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.

Daniel 7:27 — Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 — … When the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Which makes more sense? That God “put” Adam in the garden to do some kind of work that wasn’t really needed because the place was already perfect — or that God wanted Adam to rest in Him and to worship and obey Him?

You might ask — “What was there that Adam had to obey? What was God telling him to do or not do? In the very next verse, God gave Adam just one instruction that was so simple that even a small child could understand it. The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17).

That was it. That was God’s intended purpose for humans. We were supposed to rest in Him, responding to His wonderful gifts with worship and obedience, knowing that He was taking care of everything we needed. We were to enjoy all the great things He had made for us — a beautiful garden, great food, conversations with Him. We were to worship Him — thanking Him for what He did for us and acknowledging that we needed Him. And we were to obey one simple rule — see that one tree over there? Don’t eat the fruit from that one tree. The entire world is filled with all sorts of incredible things for you to enjoy without limit. Just avoid that one tree.

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Genesis 2:15 — Part One

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Roger

Five or six years ago, in a Sunday school class at our church, we took a course in Genesis from a professor of Bible at a major Christian college. His outline point for Genesis 2:15-25 was “The Responsibility of Man.”

On Genesis 2:15 (And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.), he said something I hadn’t heard before. My notes from that day read as follows:

“Dress” and “keep” are not referring to work as in Genesis 3:23 (Therefore the LORD God sent him [Adam] forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken). The Hebrew words translated “dress” and “keep” should be “obey” and “worship.” Man’s responsibility was to obey and worship God. The word “put” in Genesis 2:15 means “caused to rest.” So, God caused man to rest in the garden for the purpose of obeying and worshiping Him.

I thought that made a great deal of sense, and whenever the subject came to mind I leaned toward this new interpretation.

Just for the record, the new interpretation isn’t the standard one. The NIV has the verse this way: The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 

And the NASB: Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.

Recently, I wrote a series of lessons on Genesis and I included the new interpretation. My lesson was questioned, and I eventually rewrote it. I’ve done some follow-up study, and thought I’d share what I found.

Throughout my posts on this subject, I’ll use the initials PDK for the traditional “put, dress, keep” interpretation and RWO for the new “rest, worship, obey” interpretation.

Also, when I quote sources, I’m only going identify them if they are published. I’ve been in contact with various people on an informal basis and don’t know if they want their names bandied about. In those cases, you’ll have to take my word for it. I assure you I haven’t changed a thing they’ve said.

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The Gospel

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Roger

Imagine a friend walking up to you one day and saying, “Have you heard the good news?” You’d wait a second or two for him to complete his thought, and then you’d ask, “Good news about what?”

The word “gospel” (euangelion in Greek) originally meant the reward given to the bearer of good tidings but the meaning shifted until the word meant the good tidings themselves. On its own, the word is no more specific than “good news” is to us today.

If you ask people what they mean when they say “gospel,” most of them will refer to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the salvation we receive when we trust in Him. And many of the uses of the word in Scripture refer to exactly that.

But many others don’t.

When we see the word “gospel” in the Bible, we should always stop and ask “Gospel about what?” “What gospel?” In the Bible, the word is used to describe different good messages to different audiences, and the assumption that it always refers to the same news causes a great deal of confusion.

Here’s a list of first appearances of various “gospels.”
• Gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 9:35)
• Gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:1)
• Gospel of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14)
• Gospel of the grace of God (Romans 1:1)
• Gospel of His Son (Romans 1:9)
• Gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16)
• My [Paul’s] gospel (Romans 2:16)
• Gospel of peace (Romans 10:15)
• Gospel of God (Romans 15:16)
• Gospel which I [Paul] preached to you (1 Corinthians 15:1)
• Gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4)
• Gospel which I [Paul] preach among the Gentiles (Galatians 2:2)
• Gospel for the uncircumcised [Gentiles] (Galatians 2:7)
• Gospel for the circumcised [Jews] (Galatians 2:7)
• Gospel to Abraham (Galatians 3:8)
• Gospel of your [Gentiles] salvation (Ephesians 1:13)
• Gospel which you [Gentiles] heard (Colossians 1:23)
• Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:8)
• Gospel of the blessed God (1 Timothy 1:11)
• Everlasting gospel (Revelation 14:6)

Obviously, there is a lot of overlap. All of them have something to do with salvation and, therefore, ultimately, with Jesus Christ. But the gospel didn’t always include the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ directly. The only way to be sure what specific “good news” a passage is referring to is by context.

For example, the gospel God preached to Abraham (Galatians 3:8) was that in him [Abraham] all the nations would be blessed. This is a prophecy that all nations will someday be blessed through Abraham’s descendants, the nation of Israel, during the Millennial Kingdom. It’s also a prophecy that all nations are blessed through Abraham’s descendant, Jesus Christ. But specifically, it’s a prophecy that all will be saved as Abraham himself was saved, by his example of faith in God. This was good news to Abraham, but there was nothing in the news that could have informed him of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Still not sure whether “gospel” can refer to anything else? Consider Luke 9:1-6:

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. “Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

In obedience to the Lord, the twelve apostles traveled about Judea preaching the gospel. And yet, later in the chapter (Luke 9:44-45), we read this:

“Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.

In Luke 18:31-34, we read this:

Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.

They did not understand that the Messiah would have to die. So what “gospel” were they preaching on their travels?

It wasn’t until after His resurrection that the apostles finally understood what the Lord had been talking about (Luke 24:5-7; 36-46). But long before then, they had been preaching a gospel.

The gospel that Jesus Christ preached during His earthly ministry, and that He instructed His disciples to preach, was that Israel should “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).

The long awaited Messiah, prophesied throughout the Old Testament, was on the scene. The kingdom that He would rule over and through which the whole world would be blessed, was fast approaching. The people needed to repent of their sins and be prepared.

This message was for Israel and only for Israel. The blessing of the rest of the nations could only occur through Israel and, therefore, couldn’t happen until Israel had accepted the Messiah (Matthew 10:5-7).

That was before Christ’s death and resurrection. What about afterwards? The Bible makes it clear that there were still two gospels in operation.

But on the contrary, when they [the twelve apostles] saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me [Paul], as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (Galatians 2:7).

So what’s going on here? Christ had died and risen again by this time. Why are there two messages of good news at this point, approximately 20 years later?

Because God was still dealing with two distinct groups of people (1) the Jews saved under the kingdom dispensation, and (2) all those in the Body of Christ, Gentiles and Jews, who were saved under Paul’s ministry.

Here is the gospel for the circumcised given to Peter.

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

“Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it [killed the Messiah] in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:17-21).

In short, the Jews had killed Jesus Christ. That act had separated the nation of Israel from its promised Messiah. The Jews had to repent of their sin and be baptized in order to have their sins forgiven and receive the Holy Spirit. When the nation had done that, the Lord would return and the kingdom would begin.

The nation didn’t repent. The Jewish leaders put Steven to death (Acts 7:51-60). Very shortly thereafter, the Lord raised up Paul and gave him a new, different gospel to a new group of people, the Gentiles. In Paul’s gospel, the cross was no longer a cause of separation but the means of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:21). He made no call to repent and be baptized, but simply to believe (Romans 4:5).

As you can see in the list at the beginning of this post, there are other shades of meaning when “gospel” is used in Scripture. It isn’t my purpose to explain each one. I only wanted to point out that the word can only be understood in context. Don’t assume that “gospel” in Scripture always refers to the same good news for the same audience. Always ask yourself “What good news?”

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The Mysteries

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Roger

In the New Testament, the word “mystery” almost always refers to information that had been previously unknown. A mystery was a revelation from God that had been revealed to the author of that book of Scripture but hidden from everyone up until that time. There isn’t anything mysterious about the mystery, it’s more of a secret — God’s secret, until He chose to tell it.

Paul defines the term when he used it in Colossians 1:26: The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.

Let’s look at some of the mysteries that were revealed to Paul.

Romans 11:25 — For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. — The Jews — Israel — are God’s chosen people. He blessed them and set them apart and gave them His protection and His ceremonial laws by which they could demonstrate their faith (Romans 9:4-5). He sent the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, through them and to them so that all the world, Jews and Gentiles, could be saved (through Israel). But Israel rejected the Father in the Old Testament, the Son at Calvary, and the Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts. As a result, God has brought blindness upon the nation and offered salvation to all — until the time God has chosen to remove the Body of Christ from the earth and restore Israel to their promised blessings. That blindness — the period of time when Israel would be set aside — was a mystery.

Romans 16:25-26 — Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith. — Here Paul is referring to “my gospel” — the message given to Him that: For He [God] made Him [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is a truth preached nowhere in Scripture prior to this time.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 — Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. — The Lord is working on earth through the Body of Christ — those who have trusted Him for salvation. In order for the promises to Israel to be fulfilled, the Body of Christ has to be removed. Jesus Christ will return and meet believers in the air — first those who have died and then, immediately after, those who are still alive — to take us to heaven where we will be glorified. This is the “Rapture” although that term doesn’t appear in Scripture. The Body of Christ is a mystery (as we will shortly see), so it isn’t surprising that the Rapture is a mystery. This is often misunderstood by those who claim that there will be no Rapture because Christ never mentioned it during His earthly ministry.

Ephesians 1:9-10 — Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him. — The “fullness of times” means “the completion of the ages.” It’s referring to the future, after the Millennial Kingdom, when God will wrap everything together in Jesus Christ. Note that there is still a distinction between things in heaven (the inheritance of the Body of Christ) and things on earth (Israel’s promised home for eternity). What is missing is “things under the earth” (see Philippians 2:9-11), those who have died without trusting Christ.

Ephesians 3:3-6 — How that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel. — Only to Paul was it revealed that Gentiles could be saved into the same body as the Jews and partakers of the same spiritual promises. Yes, God did first reveal to Peter, through his visit to Cornelius, that Gentiles could be saved—so that Peter and the other apostles wouldn’t interfere with Paul’s ministry. But it was only to Paul that the Holy Spirit revealed the depth and scope of that salvation — and that, going forward, saved Jews and Gentiles would be part of the same body.

Ephesians 5:30-32 — For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. — Paul is using a simile here to explain the Body of Christ. The marriage relationship between a man and a woman isn’t a mystery — God revealed that back in Genesis. But here Paul uses the marriage relationship to illustrate something that is a mystery — the relationship between Christ and the church. (While we’re on the subject … Paul is not teaching that the church is the bride of Christ. Scripture refers to believing Israel at Christ’s second coming as the Bride of the Lamb, but that terminology is NEVER used by Paul and NEVER in reference to the Body of Christ.)

Colossians 1:24-27 — I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. — Here Paul calls the church (the Body of Christ) a mystery and then reveals a characteristic of the Body of Christ which is also a mystery — “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The truth that Christ dwells in the believer (Romans 8:10; 2 Corinthians 13:5) is new information given to Paul. The fact of Christ’s presence in the believer gives us hope (faith in the future) that we will someday be with Him in glory.

1 Timothy 3:16 — And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. — There is some disagreement among commentaries on what, exactly, the mystery refers to in this verse. It’s most likely that it refers to the Body of Christ again. Let’s break it down phrase by phrase to see if it fits.

  • God manifested in the flesh — On the surface, this seems like it must apply to Christ Himself, but Paul was just referring to the church in the previous verse (1 Timothy 3:15) and he uses almost these exact words to refer to the church (the spiritual Body of Christ) in 2 Corinthians 4:11: For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

  • Justified in the Spirit — Christ certainly never needed to be justified for His own sins, but justification is a two-way street. Our sins were put on Him, making Him sinful. And His righteousness was put on us, making us justified in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). This justification was a mystery revealed first to Paul.

  • Seen by angels — Of course Jesus Christ was seen by angels, but this was no mystery. What is a mystery is that the angels would learn of the wisdom of God by observing the members of the Body of Christ (Ephesians 3:10; 1 Corinthians 11:10).

  • Preached among the Gentiles — Paul was chosen by God to take the message of salvation by grace to the Gentiles, and the church is now tasked with that mission. Prior to Paul, the message went out only to Jews. When Christ was on earth, He and His apostles ministered only to Israel. (Gentiles could be saved prior to Paul, but only by becoming Jewish proselytes and adopting the Jewish rituals and religion.)

  • Believed on in the world — The twelve were commissioned to reach the world through Israel. Israel rejected their message and the kingdom gospel was set aside. Then Paul was given the message to the Gentiles and … You have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing (Colossians 1:5-6).

  • Received up into glory — Christ rose into glory, but this was predicted in the Old Testament (Psalm 68:18) and so wasn’t a mystery. But that the church would be received up into glory was a mystery as we already saw earlier in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52.

There are several other places where Paul uses the word “mystery” to refer to his gospel in a general sense (1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 3:9; 6:19; Colossians 2:2; 4:3; 1 Timothy 3:9).

It’s important to keep these mysteries in mind when studying other portions of Scripture. If these truths were first revealed to Paul and hidden from all generations previous to Paul, then there can be no teaching in earlier Scriptures on these truths. Yes, Matthew refers to a “church,” but the word “church” simply means an assembly. (Words in Scripture have precise meanings but a single word can have more than one precise meaning and the meaning in question often has to be determined by context.) Matthew could not have been referring to the Body of Christ because Paul says that truth was only revealed to him.

Paul’s gospel of salvation by the blood of Christ, the Rapture, the blindness of Israel while salvation was offered to all on an equal basis, the indwelling of Christ in the believer — all of these truths appear for the first time in the writings of Paul. If you think you’re seeing them in earlier portions of Scripture — the Old Testament, the gospels, the early chapters of Acts, the book of James — you’re mistaken. If they appeared there, they wouldn’t be mysteries

(Note: The only use of the word “mystery” by Paul that doesn’t seem to fit this pattern is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:7: And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. — The “mystery of lawlessness” is, I think, connected to the harlot Babylon — false religious systems — found in Revelation 17:4-5: The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” Paul was explaining that the Tribulation won’t come until the Anti-Christ is revealed, but that the false religious systems that will in the future produce the Anti-Christ were already at work in his day.)

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Paul’s Ministry

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Roger

The apostle Paul must have been an egomaniac, right? Consider these points:

  • In his gospel, the apostle John never refers to himself by name and only once by the personal pronoun “I.” Paul, in his letters, refers to himself by name about 30 times and by personal pronouns a few hundred times.

  • Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus is told in detail three times in Scripture (Acts 9:1-18; Acts 22:6-16; Acts 26:12-18).

  • Three times, Paul refers to his message as “my gospel” (Romans 2:16; Romans 16:25; 2 Timothy 2:8).

  • Three times, Paul refers to his message as “our gospel” (2 Corinthians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; 2 Thessalonians 2:14). The three letters in which this phrase appears are signed by Paul and Timothy and, in the case of the Thessalonians letters, Silas.

  • In two places (1 Corinthians 15:1 and Galatians 2:2), Paul refers to “the gospel which I preach(ed). And once to “the gospel which was preached by me” in Galatians 1:11.

  • Extensively (Ephesians 3:1-12; Colossians 1:24-29; 1 Timothy 1:12-16) Paul talks about how God chose him especially to take a new message to the Gentiles.

  • Paul does something no other apostle dares to do — he tells his readers to pattern their behavior after his (1 Corinthians 4:16; Philippians 3:17; Philippians 4:9).

  • Paul uses the word “mystery” 17 times to refer to doctrines that God gave him that had never been given to anyone else.

  • Frequently, Paul uses the term “but now” to refer to things revealed by God through him that were previously hidden. For example, Romans 16:25-26.

No other writer of Scripture ties his message and his ministry so closely to his own person. It almost seems like Paul himself is part of the message. That can’t be a good thing, right? Paul must have been conceited.

OR, as is the case, Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to make it very clear that his particular message was new and important and that Paul himself was the key to understanding it.

However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life (1 Timothy 1:16).

Some say that’s Paul message was simply that Gentiles could now be saved as Jews were saved. That is certainly part of it, but just as certainly not all of it. After all, the Old Testament prophets foretold that the Gentiles would someday be blessed (Isaiah 49:6 for example). But those prophecies look to a time, still future, when the Gentile nations will be blessed through Israel during the millennium. Paul’s message — a mystery that was not foretold — is that Gentiles can be saved apart from Israel.

Jesus Christ, when He was on earth, ministered only to Jews (Matthew 10:5-6). The Gentiles were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12).

Now Jesus Christ, through Paul, makes salvation available to all, Jews and Gentiles alike (Romans 15:8-12).

For Gentiles to be saved during the Old Testament period, they had to become Jews. Now there is no longer a distinction. Both are joined together in the Body of Christ, another revelation given only to Paul. He says: I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints (Colossians 1:24-26).

Peter spoke of the resurrection of Jesus Christ at Pentecost, but apart from the basic fact of the resurrection, his message wasn’t much different from that of Christ Himself before the cross. It was through Paul that the Lord revealed exactly what Christ’s death and resurrection mean (Romans 5:6-11).

So, a new audience, a new body of believers, a new emphasis on the cross. But that’s not all. Paul also was the messenger of a new way to live.

Salvation, since Adam and Eve, has always been by faith. But prior to Paul’s ministry, that faith had to be demonstrated. In the Old Testament, God made it clear: You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the LORD (Leviticus 18:5). The law was still in effect when Christ was on earth: For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).

And for those Jews saved under the kingdom gospel, the law was still in effect after the resurrection, which is why James, in his book to the Jews says, faith without works is dead (James 2:20).

Yes, the purpose of the law was to teach us that we couldn’t be saved by obeying the law but only by trusting in Jesus Christ. But it wasn’t until Paul that this was revealed. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor (Galatians 3:23-25).

Now, Paul explains, instead of trying and repeatedly failing to keep a law we are incapable of keeping, we are simply to walk in the Holy Spirit. I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

There are many other aspects of Paul’s ministry. We’ll get to them in a future post on the “mysteries” that he mentions.

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Interpreting Galatians

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Roger

The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write the book of Galatians to explain the differences between law and grace. For much of the first two chapters, Paul points to the differences between himself—the apostle of grace—and the twelve, who were still preaching the law as part of the kingdom gospel. The particular law that caused the tension was circumcision, but Paul makes it clear that the issue involved the entire Old Testament law.

Paul had traveled throughout the region of Galatia, a Roman province in what is now Turkey. He had preached his message of salvation by grace through faith and started several churches. After he moved on, Judaizers visited the Christians in Galatia and informed them that they couldn’t be saved unless they were circumcised and observed the Jewish feasts and ceremonies. The Galatians were beginning to waver in their faith. Paul wrote them this letter. He wasn’t happy with the Judaizers or with those who had so soon forgotten his teaching.

Here’s a quick survey of the first two chapters.

1:1 — Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through men, but through Jesus Christ) — Already he’s setting the tone. He didn’t get his authority from men, not even from the other apostles, but personally and directly from Jesus Christ.

1:6 — a different gospel — The word “gospel” means “good news.” It isn’t specific to one message. There are several gospels mentioned in Scripture. (There’s a post on this coming soon.)

1:7 — which is not another — In other words, this other gospel that the Judaizers were preaching to the Galatians was not good news for them (or for us). For the Galatians, this other gospel was a false gospel because it would put them under the law, which would not be good news.

1:8 — But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. — Another reference to there being more than one gospel. Angels frequently delivered messages from God to Israel. They were, in fact, closely tied to the covenant of the Law made between God and Israel only, which was given to Israel by angels with Moses as mediator (John 1:17; Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19.) But Paul was saying that, for the Gentiles, his message is more important than any other message, even if the other message is brought by angels because he was the one God chose to bring the message of grace to the Gentiles. In addition, what we have preached to you puts specific emphasis on Paul as the messenger. Paul repeats this warning in verse 9, but this time puts the emphasis on the hearers — what you have received — referring to what they heard from him.

1:11-12 — But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. — Here is the answer to the question posed at the beginning of my last post as to whether the words of Jesus Christ are more important than the words of Paul. This is just one of many places where Paul makes it clear that his words ARE the words of Jesus Christ. Paul is making it clear that his message came by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. He didn’t hear it from others, including the apostles. The “I” in the statement For I neither received it from man is emphatic in the Greek, suggesting a contrast with the Judaizers who probably professed to come from James (Galatians 2:12). If Paul’s message was not different from that of the twelve, there would have been no reason for separate revelation and no reason why he couldn’t have learned it from them. And, there would be no reason for him to be so adamant when he made this statement.

1:15-16 — But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles … — A clear statement that God called Paul to preach a specific message to Gentiles. In Greek, the word “reveal” means to uncover or to unveil something hidden.

1:16-17 — I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. — Ask yourself why the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write this. Why would it be important for the Galatians to know that Paul didn’t discuss his revelation with the twelve apostles or anybody else? Wouldn’t you think the wise thing for him to do would be to sit under the teaching of others who had sat under the ministry of Jesus Christ Himself and who had been preaching the message for several years IF it was the same message? Paul recognized the authority of the twelve apostles, but declares his independence from them.

1:18-19 — Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. (Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.) — Again, why tell us this? Paul says he went to Jerusalem to “see” Peter. That’s a word that is generally used to indicate a visit for the purpose of getting acquainted. (This James wasn’t one of the twelve, but his association with them, by this time, was so great that he was referred to as an apostle in a greater sense. This James had become a leader in the Jerusalem church and wrote the book of James.) The point that Paul was making in these verses about the short duration and limits of his visit to Jerusalem were so important that he followed it up with a strong statement, before God, that he wasn’t lying. This was to counter the claims the Judaizers were making to the Galatians about Paul’s ministry, but also to demonstrate the uniqueness of his gospel.

2:1 — Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. — After fourteen years of ministry, Paul went to Jerusalem. He went to talk to the apostles, and he brought along Titus, who wasn’t circumcised, to show the distinction of his message. Barnabas was a Jew and had been circumcised as a child.

2:2 — And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles … —  “That gospel which I preach” was different from the gospel they were preaching, otherwise there would be no reason for him to communicate it to them. And he didn’t go to make sure he and the twelve were on the same page. He went to tell them what he was preaching.

2:2 — But privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain. — Paul knew that the twelve were well known and well regarded for their ministry (and rightly so) to the Jews. If they were to openly oppose his message, his ministry would be less effective. So he traveled, by God’s guidance, to Jerusalem to talk with them privately.

2:3 — Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. — But notice that Titus was set forth as the exception (in Jerusalem). The Holy Spirit had never told the twelve that circumcision and adherence to the law was no longer necessary for Jews saved under the kingdom message. That was still part of their gospel.

2:6 — But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. — This, at first look, was a startling thing to write. Paul seemed to be demeaning the twelve apostles. That wasn’t the case. He was simply making an unequivocal statement that the twelve weren’t the ultimate authorities, and especially not on this issue. Paul was probably refuting the Judaizers who were using the twelve as their authority for undermining Paul’s ministry. Whatever they were has the sense of “what they once were.” At Pentecost and following, until the rejection of the risen Christ by the Jews and the start of Paul’s ministry, the twelve did have ultimate authority. But Paul’s authority came directly from Christ, and the twelve had no authority over him. Paul ended the verse with a clear statement that the twelve added nothing to his message or his authority.

2:7 — But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter — Rather, the twelve recognized Paul’s authority. And note the clear statement that there are two gospels in play here — that for the uncircumcised (Paul’s gospel for the Gentiles) and that for the circumcised (Peter’s gospel for the Jews) Note: the time was not far off — Acts 28:25-28 — when the gospel for the circumcised would be set aside entirely until after the Rapture of the Body of Christ. During the period (which continues today) between Acts 28 and the Rapture, there would be no distinction between Jew and Gentile.

2:9 — And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. — This is a very important verse. Read it carefully. Then read it again. James, Cephas (Peter), and John agreed that their ministry would only be to the Jews. Why is this significant? Because these three men wrote almost all of those New Testament books that appear at the end of the Bible after those written by Paul. This verse makes it clear (because nowhere in Scripture is this information updated, changed, or cancelled) that the books written by James, Peter, and John are for the Jews. Don’t misunderstand me. All Scripture is profitable (2 Timothy 3:16-17). But we have to read it with understanding. This verse, although definitive, doesn’t stand alone. There is plenty of evidence in the General Epistles that support this point. Look at the first verse of James, for example, or 1 Peter 1:1-2.

2:11 — Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. — Even after Paul’s visit to Jerusalem, there continued to be tension. James was zealous for the law (and continued to be so much later—see Acts 21:20) and was apparently encouraging the Judaizers to preach the law. Peter, and even Barnabas (v. 13) were persuaded. And this answers the other question at the beginning of my last post. Paul and Peter weren’t having a power struggle to see whose message would be taught. They were teaching different messages to different audiences, as directed by the Holy Spirit. The problem here is that Peter, for a moment, got the audiences and messages mixed up, and Paul had to set him right.

Paul goes on in the rest of this book to point out the differences between his gospel and the gospel of the circumcision. But our point here is that the Holy Spirit thought it important to take two chapters to explain the separation between Paul and the twelve in clear, decisive language. If it’s that important to Him, we believe we should pay attention and remember the lesson as we read and interpret other Scriptures.

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