1. Paul's Dispensation 2. Tongues 3. Pastors

Paul's Ministry by Dave Davenport

Most Bible students know that the Apostle Paul is without question the most important human figure in the New Testament. They also readily recognize his powerful intelligence, faith, patience, and faithfulness. What an amazing man!

Entrusted by God to pen thirteen different epistles (under the inspiration of the Spirit) he cast aside EVERY ONE of his former Hebrew/Jewish advantages and assumed a humble, weak, vulnerable, and often painful existence to preach the “gospel of the grace of God” to the predominantly Gentile but sometimes Jewish (by birth) hearers. In this sense, we might refer to Paul as a “type” of Moses; both were Hebrews of high social rank, both committed murder (or consented to it), and both humbly labored later in life to see the formation of a spiritual people to whom they were entrusted by God to Pastor over. Both men by the grace of God became godly through the _expression of humility(controlled strength).

Moses: Numbers 12:3 “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)”

Paul: 2Corinthians 12:11 “I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.”

Agreement

Therefore, all bible students know that Paul and Moses both became humble after being exalted (from a human perspective) in their respective lives. But VERY few bible students know something else about the Apostle Paul: that he went to GREAT lengths to get his hearers to understand. It is as if the “blindness” that hovers over the Nation of Israel to this day has extended to the present day Body of Christ. We know this is NOT the case because God states very clearly that He has given us His entire Word for our clear understanding- not for our confusion:

1Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not the author of CONFUSION, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

And we have the absolute assurance of Paul that we CAN UNDERSTAND everything he has written:

2Timothy 2:7 “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.”

With this promise in hand (and the promise is that GOD will give the understanding) it seems amazing that the history of the Body of Christ since the time of Paul has been characterized by nothing BUT confusion! The bible might call these disagreements disputes, schisms in the body, or divisions.

A worldwide examination of the various opinions on what the bible SAYS would consume volumes but it would be safe to say that the thousands of predominant denominations seen today are proof enough that modern “Christendom” agrees on very little when it comes to Biblical interpretation.

An examination of history is equally depressing. Without even mentioning the loss of the doctrine of Salvation by Grace Through Faith Alone prior to the Reformation and Martin Luther, we could mention the Crusades, the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, and the many heresies (such as denying the Deity of Christ) which came to be introduced by satanic cults such as the Mormons and the Witnesses. To add insult to injury, few modern-day “Lutherans” understand the simple saving gospel apart from works of the Mosaic Law that Luther dedicated his life to.

Moses

Before Paul, Moses knew something about dissension among “God’s people”. It may be generally said that the major problem under Moses’ management in his dispensation of Israel’s Law was one of BEHAVIOR.

Deuteronomy 4:1’ Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.”

Do you see it? The new- formed clan of Israel was put under The Law and they were provided with an ever-present teacher in their very midst! No one could say that they were ignorant of God’s law dispensed out by Moses. Everything was very clear!

What was NOT so clear, however, was the newly-formed Nation’s intention to OBEY Moses’ declared statutes. The Israelites were carnal, selfish, self-absorbed, and unthankful ( I can really relate with the Israelites!) . After the miraculous intervention of God to liberate them from slavery, they can be seen sinking to NEW lows:

Exodus 32:8 ‘They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.”

Incredibly the Israelites were committing national IDOLATRY soon after their liberation. Their behavior merited the judgement of God. God had faithfully DELIVERED the Law, and Moses had DISPENSED it. And many Israelites had REJECTED it through their behavior.

Paul

Would you be shocked to realize that virtually the same thing happened to Paul? Would you be amazed to see history repeated in the pages of the bible and in the history of the church as we follow the lives of Moses and Paul: both once-proud religious individualists, both humbled and then godly, both entrusted by personal visitations with Deity to manage the people of God, both faithful to “dispense” out their programs, and both REJECTED by the masses?

Before answering that I am mistaken to say that Paul’s message has been “rejected” by “Christendom”……and that instead his message has been rejected by the “heathen” …..instead let me challenge you to review not only the previously mentioned HISTORY of the church……but let us review the words of Paul HIMSELF:

2Timothy 1:15 “This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be TURNED AWAY from me;”

And the words of the Lord:

Matthew 7:14 “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and FEW there be that find it.”

Depressingly, we find in the words of scripture and in the reality of history both the rejection of God, and God’s designated spokesmen in two areas: BEHAVIOR and DOCTRINE.

In the case of Paul we begin to find the seeds of today’s catastrophic divisions: the Body of Christ is plagued by behavioral problems just as in Moses day. But when we examine the words of Paul we find that the primary problem he faced was one of BAD DOCTRINE. He spent his entire ministry and writing efforts to get people to UNDERSTAND. Over and over he labored to minister milk, strong milk, meat, and strong meat to get people to COMPREHEND the doctrine that God had given him to give to us.

Much has been written about “experiencing God” in the past century. In fact, the expressions of knowing God on an experiential level completely typify our generation: “seeker-friendly” churches, a “personal relationship” with Christ, “giving your life to God”, and “God as my co-pilot”. But if these expressions of seeking such an experience are the solution to the working out of God’s promise to reveal “understanding in all things” then it would have to be concluded that God SANCTIONS confusion rather than condemns it! The denominational divide continues today, and confusion is the result.

It is not hard to understand why in one sense. In the generation of “instant gratification” we are not disciplined in the difficult practice of bible study. We would rather be just like the Israelites who got a “personal message” from God through Moses. Without question the Israelites WALKED BY SIGHT. They had signs like manna and miraculous deliverances and miracles which were ever present. But today:

2Corinthians 5:7 “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”

Walking by faith (in the revealed Word of God) isn’t easy.

In Moses day idolatrous and rebellious behavior was the major problem, and in Paul’s day (did you know that in First Timothy Paul uses the word “teach” nine times and the word “doctrine” eight times? It might be fair to say that Paul wanted Timothy to TEACH DOCTRINE) ……DOCTRINAL CONFUSION is the major problem. In Moses day, the people were warned to return to Moses admonitions or to suffer the consequences:

Exodus 13:17 “And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:”

Exodus 32:26 ‘Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD's side? let him come unto ME.”

The sinful Israelites wanted to return to EGYPT. They wanted to return to their idols. They wanted to return to slavery, and to their comfort foods. But God (through Moses) instructed them to return to MOSES COMMANDMENTS in repentance for their behavior.

Could the solution to the multitude of doctrinal confusion plaguing the Body of Christ today be as simple as RETURNING again to what has been commanded by God for the particular age we are living in today? Are we just as respectively “blind” during the modern age as were the Israelites?

John 9:39 “And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they (Israel) which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.”

Romans 10:2 “For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.”

Personal Question

If you are a person who wants to avoid the spiritual blindness today and avoid the trap of doctrinal confusion does the bible present you with a solution? If you are someone who has “zeal without knowledge” or “experience without understanding” will God help you to recover from your blurred vision?

Thanks be to God that He has PROMISED to help you on one condition. Just as God had graciously provided the Israelites with an ever-present source of truth in the person of meek Moses, He has provided YOU the written words of PAUL. And if you are a Christian, it is God’s stated purpose to TRANSFORM you through the epistles of Paul which are SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSED to you today.

It is not your EXPERIENCE or emotional state that God wishes primarily to transform. Experiences and emotions in themselves are POWERLESS to transform you in your inner man:

Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your MIND, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Ephesians 1:18 “The eyes of your UNDERSTANDING being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”

Do you see it? In previous verses we have seen that it is possible to have ZEAL and emotion and experiences but that if you do not have KNOWLEDGE through doctrinal UNDERSTANDING then you are not in the will of God. Genuine zeal, emotions, and experiences IN THEMSELVES may be effective in encouraging you, but they are powerless to TRANSFORM you, or to assure you of being in God’s Will. If your mind is not biblically transformed through KNOWLEDGE then you are powerless to help anyone else because you will only be spreading disinformation and confusion yourself.

Salvation

Before continuing, may I insert a brief but alarming addition to our discussion regarding having “ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE” without getting too far off course?

The principle of doctrinal understanding extends far beyond the realm of confusion in the church. It also has application to an even more important issue: salvation itself. Let’s look at the third chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

Galatians 3:2 “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

Paul had just called these particular Galatians “foolish” in verse one because they were not “obeying the truth” of the gospel. In verse two Paul makes it clear what the conditions for salvation were…….”hearing of faith.” Aren’t you glad that God makes the specific requirements SO CLEAR to us in the New Testament? They are spelled out OVER AND OVER again. He wants us to HEAR which involves the components of physical hearing (or reading in other cases) which leads to COMPREHENSION of the terms of salvation. Additionally, the hearing involves a volitional aspect of the human will:

Matthew 11:15 “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

So it is clear that the preliminary step prior to salvation involves WILFULLY and INTENTIONALLY hearing the TRUE GOD’S WORD and COMPREHENDING IT.

The second step involves THEOLOGY. If we define the word THEOLOGY as the “study of God and His Word” then we can see that Paul’s final requirement of genuine salvation involves CONTENT. The Galatians were described as finding salvation by HEARING…….”OF FAITH”.

The “Of Faith” aspect of the genuine salvation involves believing SPECIFIC DOCTRINE. It is God’s revealed and stated word. The terms of salvation are given and revealed by GOD. It is not open to private interpretation. Just as Adam was made “In God’s Image”…..we must believe in “God’s DOCTRINE” to be saved. If we ADD or SUBTRACT or CHANGE and PERVERT any aspect of God’s doctrine as revealed in the bible alone regarding the terms of salvation then we are NOT SAVED.

Do I say this judgementally?

No, for I am following the Apostle Paul as he reveals his warning to the Galatians repeatedly that they not believe “in vain”:

Galatians 3:4 “Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.”

The word “vain” means “ineffectually”. Paul is concerned for the Galatians! He had faithfully spoken and written to the Galatians so that they had “HEARD” the gospel. He had also faithfully delivered the doctrinal requirement for genuine salvation (the OF FAITH) aspect. But he was concerned that some of them had NOT BELIEVED EFFECTUALLY. In that case, they had believed IN VAIN.

Paul’s desire was for all of the Galatians to BELIEVE EFFECTUALLY unto salvation. The legal term for Pauline salvation is “JUSTIFICATION”. By definition, the word justification means “imputed righteousness”. Paul uses the word three times in the book of Romans:

Romans 4:25 “Who (Jesus) was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”

And Paul refers to imputed righteousness in our Galatians passage:

Galatians 3:6 “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted (imputed) to him for righteousness.”

But Paul’s constant references to “believing in vain” prove to us that some of the Galatians had not believed effectually by HEARING, COMPREHENDING, and UNDERSTANDING THE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION FOR IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS.” There is a heavy price to pay for not understanding doctrine. You cannot be saved without understanding it and you cannot be in the will of God or transformed as a Christian without it. It matters not that you have zeal, emotion, or experiences for they cannot save or transform you.

And what IS the required doctrinal comprehension that Paul asserted would be “of faith”? Let us turn to First Corinthians:

1Corinthians Chapter 15: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;…… By which also ye are saved, IF ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in VAIN…… For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;……. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:……

There it is. We must express saving FAITH in the effective blood sacrifice of Christ through the death (the shedding of His blood), burial (the proof of his death), and the resurrection (the proof of God’s approval of the effective sacrifice). And how do we express our faith?

Ephesians 1:13 “In whom ye also TRUSTED, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”

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.”

The word TRUST is used to show the final dynamic of saving faith. It is not enough to BELIEVE INTELLECTUALLY in the effective blood sacrifice for your salvation. You must TRUST IT PERSONALLY.

Therefore, without belaboring the point ( is it even possible to OVER analyze the doctrine of “soteriology”- saving faith) we can conclude:

I must willingly listen, hear, comprehend, and express personal trust in the effectual blood-sacrifice of the virgin-born Deity- Jesus Christ - as historically proven through His death, burial, and resurrection on the Cross….resulting in my Imputed Righteousness (Justification) APART from WORKS of Moses Law and received as a free gift and not personal effort. Anything else results in believing “in vain”.

Doctrine

With the groundwork in place establishing the absolute essentiality of understanding DOCTRINE in order to be justified and transformed (which is a progression which the bible makes clear) comes in this sequential order: CONVICTION, JUSTIFICATION, SANCTIFICATION, GLORIFICATION:

Romans 8:30 “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

Let’s return to the issue of the importance of understanding doctrine in order to dispel the constant confusion plaguing the church in both Paul’s day and our own.

Remember when I made the remark earlier that I believed that our DOCTRINAL problems today are a result of a biblical mandate to follow PAUL…….just as the BEHAVIORAL problems in Israel’s day were a result of the Jews failure in following MOSES? And do you recall that I said that there was a modern-day “blindness” in the Body of Christ that resembled Israel’s “blindness” as described by Jesus and Paul in the book of Romans:

Romans 11:25 “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that BLINDNESS in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

We have previously discussed Moses for a reason. I’m going to make a statement in a moment that you may disagree with but I am going to challenge you to STUDY the bible over the next couple of years according to the bible’s own FORMULA for determining truth. Remember how we discussed the terms of salvation and how God REQUIRES us to trust a SPECIFIC gospel unto salvation? We are not to believe our own opinions, experiences, or feelings, but rather we are to believe WHAT GOD HAS SAID.

In the same way, the bible provides us with a two- part formula for determining biblical truth in its proper context and we would do well to heed it:

Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

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

The first requirement to (as Paul promised) “understanding ALL things is to have a ready mind in SEARCHING diligently the bible for YOURSELF.

The second requirement is to search the bible in a PARTICULAR WAY: “rightly dividing the scriptures.” v 2Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

The greek word Paul uses for division is “to cut straight”. It is “ORTHOTOMEO.” Paul was a tentmaker by profession and he used this particular word for a reason. What he had in mind involves CUTTING a straight line between two entities. The result is that they are UNIQUELY SEPARATE and not mixed together.

But what are we to separate IN the bible? Doesn’t ALL of it apply to us today? Why would we need to “divide” it if God inspired it all and “GOD NEVER CHANGES”?

Let us go to the book of Hebrews for an answer:

Hebrews 1:1-2 “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,……. Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”

We are able to see that while God never changes Himself (what we call the doctrine of “immutability”), He DOES change in the matter of how he chooses to REVEAL Himself to mankind, and in WHAT HE REVEALS TO and REQUIRES OF them. We see in the Old Testament that God spoke to Moses:

Exodus 33:11 “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.”

1Kings 3:5 “In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon IN A DREAM by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.”

From the above we can see that God CHOOSES to speak to various men in various ways according to His own sovereign purposes.

Someone has expressed it this way: “God speaks at different TIMES, in different WAYS, to different PEOPLE.”

But we can also understand that God REQUIRES varying things from specific people throughout the bible and that we need to “DIVIDE” or “Keep Seperate” those requirements lest we “MIX” them up. To MIX them up would result in doctrinal confusion and chaos and disputes and divisions.

Before consulting the Old Testament on this matter, let us look at one obvious scripture that comes to mind from the pen of Paul:

Galatians 2:12 “And the law IS NOT of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.”

Do you see the two entities that are mentioned here? LAW and GRACE. The “of faith” description has to do with the GRACE program as revealed by Paul!

Romans 3:21 “BUT NOW the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;”

Do you see it there? Paul is telling us something along the lines of his admonition in Timothy to RIGHTLY DIVIDE two entities and to NOT MIX them together. One is the LAW program. One is the GRACE program.

Paraphrasing might help: “But NOW (a change from THEN) Justification comes to a people who are NOT UNDER LAW and this change is MANIFESTED and witnessed.

Now we know that the law of Moses never was able to SAVE anyone. Justification has always been by grace through faith in what God had instructed people to believe at any particular time in history. But the Nation of Israel was STILL under law UNTIL the time when they were BLINDED and SET ASIDE according to Paul’s explanation in Romans chapter nine through eleven. In fact, The Messiah was born UNDER, affirmed, and TAUGHT the LAW OF MOSES Himself! So what Paul is describing happened AFTER the resurrection of the Messiah. The Nation of Israel still existed and was under LAW during the Messiah’s earthly ministry, but later under Paul the newly formed BODY OF CHRIST was NOT UNDER LAW.

What a change! Let’s look at the differences:

The Messiah is born UNDER the LAW and came to FULFILL and TEACH the LAW:

Matthew 5:17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”

But Paul is ministering to the Body of Christ which is NOT under the Law:

Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are NOT UNDER LAW, but under grace.”

Do you see the distinction? One group of people is UNDER the law. The other is NOT UNDER LAW. To MIX them together would result in utter confusion. To apply the requirements demanded in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John when the Messiah was FULFILLING AND TEACHING the LAW……… to the Body of Christ TODAY (not under law) would be disastrous! That is the exact point Paul is making in the book of Galatians:

Galatians 5: 1-5 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage…… Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing….. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law….. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace…”

Under the Law of Moses, circumcision was a requirement to be a member in good standing in the Nation of Israel. In fact, the consequences were severe for refusal:

Genesis 17:14 “And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.”

It is obvious from the balance of scripture that circumcision ITSELF never saved anyone! In fact, NONE of the works of Moses law saved anyone, including the sacrifices that were required under the law:

Hebrews 10:4 “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”

Did that mean that any Israelite could ignore the requirements of Moses law? No. For while the statutes of the law could not TAKE AWAY sins they were required expressions of faith for Israelites under their whole “program”. Israel’s program involved a land covenant (Abraham), a city (Jerusalem), a throne (Davidic), a sign program (“for the Jews require signs), a law contract, an ordinance program, feast days, sacrifices, ….and then the OFFER of the Kingdom (Millenium) “at hand”, the rite of water baptism for priestly purification , signs and miracles, a tithe, a temple worship plan, the Priesthood, favored National status, the seed line of the Messiah, and the recording of the “oracles” of God.

But while under Moses the observance of the law, circumcision, and the sacrifices were EXPRESSIONS of faith AT THAT TIME, they are EXPRESSIONS OF DOUBT today. Paul can not make it any more clear that something has CHANGED. The Body of Christ TODAY is not under that law and if anyone desired to be circumcised he is DENYING the faith rather than confirming it.

In this sense we come to the heart of many of the modern-day doctrinal disputes and arguments over the nature of saving faith:

It is possible to be SCRIPTURALLY correct but DISPENSATIONALLY incorrect.

For example, when Cain and Abel were required to bring sacrifices the bible is clear that Cain’s sacrifice was superior from a human perspective to Abel’s. But it was ABEL’S sacrifice that was accepted!

Why?

Because apparently Abel had brought the BLOOD sacrifice that was required during that DISPENSATION. He was obedient to God’s required revelation for that time.

Clearly anyone that brings his own “blood sacrifice” today would be SCRIPTURALLY correct in a sense. God HAD required a certain sacrifice at that time but NO MORE. We are living under a different DISPENSATION:

Ephesians 3:1-7 “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the DISPENSATION of the grace of God which is GIVEN ME to you-ward:

How that by revelation he made known unto me the MYSTERY; (as I wrote afore in few words,

Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

Just as Moses was given the DISPENSATION (a word that means “to deal out or manage a house order from God to man)……Paul was given the DISPENSATION of the grace of God APART from Moses law. Not only this but we are also informed that this whole plan was a MYSTERY…..hid in God’s wisdom….NOT made known until Paul. This mystery was NOT revealed by Israel’s Messiah because He was still fulfilling His plan and promises and purposes for the NATION of Israel. That plan was still under law during his earthly ministry. After the Resurrection, and the rejection of God by Israel as a nation, God introduced a brand new dispensation APART from law called the “body of Christ”. In this body (according to Ephesians 3) the Jews no longer had any ethnic, religious or spiritual advantages over Gentiles. In God’s wisdom He put Israel’s plan on hold and introduced a new dispensational body in which everyone is on equal footing. No longer do Gentiles have to “join themselves” as proselytes to Israel.

Romans 15:8 “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:”

Matthew 4:23 “And Jesus went about all Galilee, TEACHING IN THEIR SYNAGOGUES, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.”

Right now, all of Israel’s ordinances, laws, requirements, and prophetic timeclock are on HOLD until the “times of the gentiles” has come in. During Israel’s blindness millions of gentiles are coming to faith apart from the Nation.

It is essential that you understand this because unless you are aware of this new dispensational body that Paul was entrusted to “dispense” you will unknowingly “MIX” the requirements of the two programs together! You will be mixing “grace and law”:

Ephesians 2:15 “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;”

If you are trying to live under Israel’s law dispensation you are living under the WRONG Apostle and observing the WRONG instructions:

Romans 11:13 “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:”

Galatians 5:2 “Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.”

No matter how sincere you may be, and no matter how SCRIPTURAL you may be if you are putting yourself under Israel’s CIRCUMCISION program for salvation then you are believing in vain. Under Paul’s dispensation there are specific requirements for salvation-to not MIX any requirements of Israel into Paul’s program. Under Paul we are to believe ALONE:

Romans 4:5 “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

(Interestingly we find a parallel scripture related to the required rite of water baptism (when the Law was still in effect) that was for a purification rite for the Nation of Israel’s Priesthood:

Luke 7:30 “But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.”

The rite of water baptism was required of the Israelites but the Pharisees were REFUSING to be water baptized and they were revealing their LACK of faith and rebellion at this time.)

It is not hard to imagine the other controversies which might arise through a FAILURE to DIVIDE the programs of LAW and GRACE beyond the disputed topics of circumcision, the sacrices, and water baptism!

Disputed Topics

The list would be (AND IS) practically endless: tithing, Spirit baptism, the sign gifts, the Rapture(eschatology) requirements of salvation(Soteriology), Calvinism vs. Arminianism, Calvinism vs. Dispensationalism, the role of The Ten Commandments, Theocratic Government, church government (Ecclesiology) tongues, prophecies, dreams, visions, The Sermon on the Mount, The Lord’s Prayer, praying in public, keeping the Sabbath, playing sports on Sunday, the role of Women in the church, which foods to eat, …..

The list is endless. Paul was dealing with the same issues THEN. Little has changed. Every one of the above issues is in dispute TODAY and each issue can be solved by doing exactly what Paul told us to do in the Book of Timothy: RIGHTLY DIVIDE THE WORD OF TRUTH. DON’T MIX LAW AND GRACE. DON’T MIX MOSES’ program with PAUL’S program.

Paul’s program

Why do we refer to the grace program as Paul’s program? Wasn’t the GRACE program introduced by Jesus ? After all:

John 1:17 “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

The answer is that the grace program WAS introduced by the Messiah but NOT UNTIL THE LAW WAS SET ASIDE. When He came physically and was born under Moses Law, He would later tell his disciples something that makes it obvious that the Nation of Israel, and Moses law was STILL IN EFFECT at the time:

Matthew 10:5-6 “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:…. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

And we also learn that:

Matthew 15:24 “But he answered and said, I am NOT SENT but unto the lost sheep of the house of ISRAEL.”

Do you see it? You may have trouble learning this at the denominational church that you currently attend because they are going to teach you ( the author spent twenty years in denominational churches so he speaks from experience) that THIS VERSE DOES NOT MEAN WHAT IT CLEARLY SAYS.

The denominational church is going to tell you that Jesus REALLY WAS sent to the gentiles and preached the SAME GRACE MESSAGE that Paul taught (“Not under Moses law). And that denominational church is going to teach you from the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and MIX THE LAW AND GRACE PROGRAMS TOGETHER which Paul SAID NOT TO DO.

But you can read the scripture for yourself. The Messiah was born under the law, taught the law, fulfilled the law, and explained the spirit of the law.

At this point you are probably asking a very perceptive question and you would be right in doing so.

“But if the Messiah was sent ONLY to the LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL then how were the gentiles to be saved?”

It’s important that you understand at this point that the GENTILES COULD ALWAYS BE SAVED. In fact, under the law the Gentiles were to be saved in EXACTLY the same way that the Jews were to be saved- By grace through faith but UNDER the LAW of Moses. But there was one exception:

Acts 2:10 “Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,”

A gentile that wished to be obedient during the time of Israel and Moses law had to become a proselyte by submitting to the rite of circumcision and putting himself UNDER the law of Moses. Gentiles were saved THROUGH Israel. Today there IS NO ISRAEL. It is set aside and the gentiles are on EQUAL footing.

Ephesians 2:15 “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain ONE NEW MAN, so making peace;”

Today there is no “Jew” or “Gentile”. In fact there is neither!

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

There are Jews by birth by there are no Jews by “religion” today. You are either a member of the new “one new man” body of Christ or you are not. God made of “twain” (jews and gentiles) into one new body.

And so when the Messiah came to FULFILL the Law of Moses and to fulfill the PROMISES made to the fathers regarding the Abrahamic and Davidic COVENANTS:

Romans 15:8 “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision (Israel only) for the TRUTH (see John 1:17) of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:”……….

He was giving GRACE AND TRUTH to that Nation of Israel and every Gentile PROSELYTE that had joined him or her-self to the Nation. The Law was full of grace and mercy! But nevertheless, the Messiah while on earth ministered under the LAW program even though He fulfilled grace and truth during His incarnation. This was achieved under Israel’s PROPHECY program. After His resurrection He would, in His Omniscience and perfect plans, minister as the RISEN Christ and set aside and blind the Nation of Israel for a season and minister something BRAND NEW which had never been prophesied This would occur under the Body of Christ’s MYSTERY program!

2Corinthians 5:16 “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.”

The Risen Christ, and Paul’s Mystery

In God’s omniscience He KNEW that Israel and the Law program would reject the Messiah! Nothing takes God by surprise:

John 1:11 “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

Jesus KNEW that the rebellious nation (as a national entity) would REJECT Him. But while He publically came to offer the KINGDOM (as KING) of heaven AT HAND (offered but not yet realized) to ISRAEL and to FULFILL the Law, and to fulfill the Covenant promises….

He also came to pay for the sins of ALL mankind:

2Corinthians 5:14 “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:”

Mystery Dispensation

If Paul was given an unphrophesied MYSTERY program according to the “hidden wisdom” (1 Cor) of God, where is it first described in the bible and what is it called?

Ephesians 3:1-9 “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,…….. If ye have heard of the DISPENSATION of the grace of God which is given ME to you-ward:…..

How that by REVELATION he made known unto me the MYSTERY; (as I wrote afore in few words,….. Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the MYSTERY of Christ)…..

Which in other ages was NOT MADE KNOWN unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;…..

That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the SAME BODY, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power……

Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;…..

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the MYSTERY, which from the beginning of the world hath been HID in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:”

I hope you read those verse CAREFULLY! It might be the most amazing section of scripture in the entire bible.

Contrary to most teaching which only CONFUSES the body of Christ by MIXING the Law Prophecy and Grace MYSTERY programs together , Paul is telling us the SECRET about an incredible change that took place as He created a BRAND NEW ENTITY called the Body of Christ. The gentiles are now FELLOW HEIRS and of the SAME BODY as the Jews. No longer do gentiles have to join themselves to the Nation of Israel UNDER the law. In fact, there is absolutely NO ethnic identity at all! In fact, there is no ISRAEL in the present DISPENSATION since there is no such thing as an ISRAELITE:

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

After the Nation of Israel REJECTED her Messiah God should have JUDGED that Nation in the PROPHESIED GREAT TRIBULATION. That was to be the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week. When He “came to His own and His own received Him not” the only thing left was for Him to JUDGE the Nation. After all, the Jewish nation needed to be obedient in her role of being PRIESTS to the Gentile nations but she was REFUSING this role!

In God’s “hidden wisdom” He had decided (but kept secret) to raise up an entirely new DISPENSATION (managed by Paul and NOT Moses) in which the Gentiles had NO NEED TO GO THROUGH THE NATION OF ISRAEL FOR SALVATION. God literally dissolved (for a season) and blinded Israel and raised up a brand new DISPENSATION in which the gentiles and physical Jews (having lost their national religious advantage) had to simply believe(trust) the finished work of Christ for their salvation. Nothing could be simpler! The law was set aside! Circumcision, sacrifices, and the statutes and laws for the Nation of Israel were no longer required as “evidences” of genuine faith:

Romans 3:21 “But now( in the new dispensation) the righteousness (justification) of God without the law (Israel blinded and set aside) is manifested (the SECRET revealed), being witnessed by the law and the prophets;”

Israel’s prophetic “timeclock” was temporarily postponed and the judgement for the Nation was delayed as God manifested a brand new “system” apart from Israel. When the Mystery Program entrusted to Paul has accomplished its PURPOSE (when the last gentile has come in):

(Romans 11:25 “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the FULNESS OF THE GENTILES be come in.”)

Then Israel’s prophetic timeclock will resume. The secret mystery organism called the “Body of Christ” will have a mystery exit which is the resumption of God’s purpose for the Nation:

1Corinthians 15:5-52 “Behold, I shew 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

Conclusion

Most people today know that circumcision is NOT required for salvation today. Or we might say “In Paul’s dispensation of grace- the time of the gentiles- the mystery period instead of the prophecy- NOT under Law instead of UNDER law- without ordinances- the time of the nations instead of the NATION-…..

In fact circumcision is FORBIDDEN today. To require circumcision, water baptism, lordship salvation, law, ordinances, observances, feast days, would be SCRIPTURALLY correct but DISPENSATIONALLY incorrect.

Most people do not know that the two programs have to be CUT APART (orthotomeo), divided, dissected in order to prevent mixing law and grace requirements.

But if they will understand Paul’s unique ministry and FOLLOW his instructions instead of Moses instructions then their confusion will begin to end. They will understand that most of the denomination disputes can be easily resolved by “rightly dividing the Word of God.”

1Corinthians 11:1 “Be ye followers of ME (paul), even as I also am of Christ.”

Galatians 2:7 “But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel OF the uncircumcision was committed unto ME, as the gospel OF the circumcision was unto Peter;”

Let’s look at one final verse before concluding:

Romans 16:25 “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,”

I’m going to challenge you with a question. Are you being established according to PAUL’S gospel? Are you preaching Christ ACCORDING TO THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY? Are you aware of why it was kept secret? Are you aware of the differences between Israel’s PROPHECY and the Body of Christ’s MYSTERY (did you know that the word mystery is used six times in the book of Ephesians?).

I challenge you to take this year to study these questions and differences and see if it makes clear the doctrinal confusion that characterizes evangelicalism for the past 2000 years since Paul’s 13 epistles. For sure there will be challenging times but you will be rewarded for your persistence just like Peter was:

2Peter 3:16” As also in all HIS (paul) EPISTLES, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things HARD TO BE UNDERSTOOD, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”

If Peter had to labor in understanding of Paul’s unique Dispensation (Ephesians 3), Apostleship (Romans 1:1), Gospel (Galatians 2:7), Office(Romans 11:13), Mystery(1Corinthians 4:1), and Epistles(2Peter 3:16) so do we.

Tongues by Dave Davenport

The greek word GLOSSA is simply translated "languages" into the English language. Sometimes the word "tongues" is used… as in the King James Translation of 1611. Whether the word tongues or “languages” is used the unmistakable meaning of the word glossa is: “the known, recognized, and recorded word/sentence structures of a human culture which are spoken, written, and signed to convey meaning from the speaker to the hearer.”

This is exactly the point that the Apostle Paul is making in his first epistle to the carnal Corinthians, where he attempts to clear up some disputes regarding the purpose of the gift:

1Corinthians 14:23 “ If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?”

. In First Corinthians Paul is manifesting the brilliance of the logical arrangement of the entire New Testament….that all scripture is given for a specific reason, and that it is our job as bible students to find out WHAT those reasons are.

2Timothy 3:16- All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Since God is a God of order, we can clearly see that the sequential Pauline books of Romans, Corinthians, and Galatians are aranged logically: Romans for doctrine, Corinthians for reproof, and Galatians for correction.

The word reproof signifies a strong public statement given to an individual or group to call attention to a departure from proper behavior or doctrine (it may be said that behavior and doctrine are nearly inseperable since everything we DO comes about from something that we BELIEVE). So with this groundwork in place we draw closer to an understanding of the PURPOSE of Paul’s letter of rebuke. He is calling them to task to change their belief and the resulting behavior on a particular issue.

Definition

What public statement is Paul making regarding the behavior or doctrine of the Corinthians? Again Paul is direct and to the point:

1Corinthians 3:1-3 “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”

There it is. The Corinthians were STUNTED doctrinally and their behavior that followed was predictably UNSPIRITUAL. They were unweaned from milk and couldn’t handle solid FOOD. This stunting was causing DIVISIONS of all stripes: envyings, stifes (v.3), pride (v.6), undiscernment (6:5), deception, adultery, effeminate behavior, homosexuality, thievery, covetousness, alcoholism, extortionism(6:9-10), marital problems(chapter 7), meat offered to idols (chapter 8), idolatry (10:14), and the misunderstanding and misapplication of the SPIRITUAL GIFTS (chapter 12-14).

Wow! The Corinthians were paying a very large price indeed being “babes in knowledge!” Their behavior was causing complete chaos in this early church and Paul wrote an entire LETTER to reprove them for it! And all this in spite of the fact that many of them had zeal, like many of the saved Roman Jews of Romans chapter 10:

“For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.”

To sum up the problem, we might say this: “Paul is publically reproving the Corinthian believers for not knowing doctrine, which caused behavior problems…… which in turn caused SCHISMS in the church.” And Paul had stated that the purpose of the epistle to the Corinthians was that there would be:

1corinthians 1:10b “….no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement.”

Tongues

Was the use (and abuse) of tongues one of the listed problems in the Corinthian church? An examination of chapters 12 through 14 will help. Paul devotes TWO ENTIRE CHAPTERS to the problem of tongues! Considering that there are only 16 chapters in the epistle, it can be seen that one eighth of the books’ contents are devoted to issues related to the gift of tongues! Therefore it may be fair to say that if knowledge was the Corinthians biggest deficiency, resulting in poor behavior, resulting in church schisms…….then it may be fair to say that TONGUES were the greatest source of misinformation, and chaos was the result.

Today

Has anything changed from Paul’s day to our day? Two thousand years later the “church” is still squabbling over this gift! Paul wrote two chapters in reproof of the Corinthians understanding and application of the gift of “languages” but it is obvious that millions of people have not understood Paul’s corrective rebuke and have remained “babes in knowledge” with the result that there are schisms in the body 2000 years later.

The squabble hits close to home to the author. I wasn’t raised in the church (which eventually proved to be an advantage doctrinally) but was saved in my late teens. Even then there was an immediate doctrinal division between those who believed that the charismatic gifts were still in operation in the Body of Christ, and those who believed they had “ceased” :

(1 corinthians 13:8) ….”whether there be tongues, they shall cease”…

After being saved, I was immediately involved in a major parachurch organization that epitomized the modern-day failure of the church to heed Paul’s words in verse 10. I had no bible knowledge, and I was a “babe” in doctrine just like the Corinthians were but it was obvious that there WERE divisions, differing minds, and differing judgements in the parachurch organization.

To list a few of the disputes to which I was subjected immediately: varying opinions on tongues & healings, the prosperity gospel, the issue of eternal security, the place of contemporary Christian music, the possibility of female pastors, the purpose of the Sermon on the Mount, the biblical grounds for divorce….just to name a few. I had been saved two months and I was in the middle of the squabble!

Some years later the squabbles became more personal because I had developed deeper friendships with people who had begun to attempt to “convert” me to becoming a charismatic. Honestly, I was quite curious about these experiences that my friends had described and began to ask myself if there might be something to it. After all, what was the likelihood that so MANY people could be WRONG? The squabble had become personal and I concluded that I simply did not know the answer to the question:

“Is the gift of tongues still in operation in the church today?”

I will be the first to admit that my inability to quickly figure out the answers that I wanted frustrated me and that I experienced a certain amount of turmoil as a result. Paul described such an intellectual/spiritual state very clearly:

Ephesians 4:14 “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;”

I was being tossed by the winds of doctrine on every side, and I had to admit that I was truly a “babe still drinking milk” doctrinally. I began to ask some questions.

Two Possible Solutions

It became clear that I had two options available to me. The first was to heed the exhortation of my charismatic brethren and try to “experience” what they had described. According to their instructions I might ask God to manifest the gift of tongues in my life by actually PRACTICING the gift to see if it might “take”.

I remember hearing how SOME people had begun speaking in tongues: “just pray, and then start talking by closing off your thought processes, and see if it starts up”….

There is a local Pentecostal megachurch in the area in which I live today that has been growing phenomenally in the past ten years. They have recently built a 13,000-capacity cathedral where they broadcast on television a weekly message centered around their persistent theme. The theme is a big part of the purpose for their church, and they put it in print, and on their website:

“CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD. MUST BE EXPERIENCED.”

This sentiment is NOT a new spiritual philosophy. It was around at the time of the early charismatic church, it was around during my years in the parachurch organization, and it is increasingly predominant today.

During my parachurch time I also visited some charismatic churches and observed the practice of speaking in tongues. But this only confused me further. In fact, I never ONCE heard anyone speaking in tongues that sounded as if they were uttering a language structure complex enough to be considered a “language”. What I heard sounded like manufactured gibberish- “HUM BUK TUK” was one person’s exclamations.

I also noticed that not ONCE was the public speaking of tongues followed by an interpretation. Hadn’t Paul REQUIRED an interpretation after a public demonstration of tongues?

Some time later I came to a conclusion. I would follow what the bible said and not worry about what PEOPLE said about the gift of tongues. I had to admit that I didn’t KNOW what the bible said about tongues but I was determined to find out. I had made a decision. I would NOT experience anything without a clear biblical mandate.

20 Years

Little did I know at the time that the study of tongues and the charismatic movement would become one of my major preoccupations over the next 20 years. I also studied Creationism , theology models (like Calvinism, Arminianism, and Dispensationalism)…. but the charismatic movement stayed at the front of my mind. I read and listened to countless books, sermons, testimonies, and radio messages over this time. I learned that Paul did INDEED have much to say on the topic. His words are for our instruction, and I was eventually comforted by the following exclamation:

2Timothy 2:7 “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.”

Paul had given a promise and a procedure to people in my situation! The promise was to UNDERSTAND what he had written and the prescribed procedure was to CONSIDER his words. Since Paul had written the book of First Corinthians, and had addressed the controvery of tongues, I had a useful promise in hand! Today, as a student of theology, I might paraphrase the words of Paul with a bit of hard-earned wisdom:

“Consider, examine, and rightly divide the words of Paul as inspired by God carefully, over an extensive period of time, and the meaning in its proper context will faithfully emerge as promised.”

A second biblical principle that I understand better today involves another of Paul’s requirements for bible study:

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

It is not enough to have bible KNOWLEDGE. Knowledge in itself is good, but it must be put in proper context. Paul uses the word “to cut straight” in the greek for “division”. This involves differentiating one of God’s “programs” or “dispensations” from another.

For this reason it is possible to be SCRIPTURALLY CORRECT, but DISPENSATIONALLY INCORRECT. The word dispensation (which we will address in a moment) has to do with the programs and ages of God toward man. Think of it like this: it is scripturally correct to say that God requires animal sacrifices. But it would dispensationally INCORRECT since Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross ended Israel’s sacrifices. So it would accurate to say that “At one time God required animal sacrifices, but no longer “.

The second option that I had chosen (studying the bible instead of plunging into an experience) seemed very daunting! This was going to require a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and patience. But my knowledge of scripture was growing. In the words of Paul, perhaps I was graduating from MILK (1corinthians 3:2) to STRONG MILK. Some day I was to learn that what I needed was MEAT to solve the tough issues. And STRONG MEAT to solve the humanly impossible:

Hebrews 5:12 “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.”

2Discoveries

Taking Paul at his word I began the long CONSIDERATION process and started at the beginning. What I did not know then was that my understanding would come in layers and progressions over a period of time and that each successive layer would add a layer of conviction to my understanding of the issue of tongues.

Discovery One The Major and Minor Purpose of Tongues

I was surprised to find out that the gift of tongues (languages) was PROPHESIED in the old testament. God had not only planned it out but he had revealed its purpose before the onset of the gifted early churches. As my fledgling study of theology had begun I actually started to get some even more valuable lessons about the way that God works and reveals His purposes and programs through the ages…..lessons that would prove valuable in EVERY theological question; not just tongues.

1Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

Just as Paul said , the purpose of the written Word is for our UNDERSTANDING. Not our CONFUSION. Understanding leads to peace. Confusion leads to chaos, bad behavior, and schisms.

So we shouldn’t be surprised at all to find out that the purpose of tongues is prophesied (foretold beforehand according to God’s omniscience) in the book of Isaiah:

28:9 “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.” 28:10 “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:” 28:11 “For with stammering lips and another TONGUE will he speak to this people (Israel).”

28:12 “To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.”

What may surprise you is that the prophesied gift of LANGUAGES to “this people” (the Nation of Israel in context) is closely associated with the idea of the FAILURE OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL TO HEED GOD’S DOCTRINE.

This prophesy in Isaiah is RECONFIRMED by Paul to the very Corinthians we are studying now! Let us see what Paul has to say on the matter of Isaiah’s prophesy (foretold at 600 BC):

1Corinthians 14:21 “In the law it is written, With men of other TONGUES and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.”

1Corinthians 14:22 “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.”

What a discovery! We are beginning to understand the REAL major purpose for the gift of tongues according to the prophetic purpose of God:

1. The major purpose of tongues is for a SIGN. 2. The sign is to the Nation of Israel. 3. The sign is a judgement on those members of the NATION who have chosen not to hear God’s spoken doctrine WILLINGLY. 4. The manifestation of the gift is that God’s sign judgement is made clear through the uttered languages through the LIPS and TONGUES of foreign gentile nations (not the Hebrew tongue of the Nation of Israel). 5. The gift that is most opposite of tongues is PROPHECY(forthtelling God’s doctrine) because its major purpose is to EDIFY BELIEVERS. The major purpose of the gift of tongues was to JUDGE UNBELIEVERS.

What a wonderful discovery I had made. The major stated purpose of the gift of tongues is NOT for personal edification. It is for a SIGN of JUDGEMENT on the nation.

At this point a question may be asked about the outworking of the gift of tongues in the early charismatic church. “But doesn’t Paul say that true believers can be actually EDIFIED by HEARING the gift of tongues (either by understanding the spoke language, or through the translation) even though God’s sovereign purpose was to pronounce a sign of judgement on the unbelieving remnant of the National Israel?”

And the answer is a qualified YES!

Followed by the word IF.

IF the tongues were TRANSLATED. In the wisdom of God, the BELIEVING church (composed of people who spoke and understood various languages) could benefit (latently) in the following ways!

1. By UNDERSTANDING the language being spoken. 2. By HEARING the interpretation of the language.

Remember that the Corinthian church that Paul is addressing did not have the completed cannon of the New Testament that we have today. They had a copy of the complete Old Testament, and certain of Paul’s epistles written to the early church. Additionally, the gift of PROPHECY was in operation until the completion of the New Testament cannon.

Therefore God was still speaking through PEOPLE regarding His will and works. And during this time God used tongues as a minor vehicle for this purpose. How do we know this? We can turn to the second chapter of the book of Acts and examine verse 8:

Acts 2:8 “Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.”

Do you see it? God was giving unbelieving Israel a SIGN. After all, they were the “sign nation!”

1Corinthians 1:22 “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:”

But He was also giving the BELIEVING audience who heard the various languages being uttered (through the speaking of the language and then the required translation) something edificial- namely the wonderful works of God according to verse 8. This is the secondary purpose for the gift.

But it should be clearly pointed out that having a translator present was REQUIRED and it should be obvious why. When someone spoke in one of the gentile languages (as listed in Acts chapter 2) during the church service most of the listeners would not understand what he was saying! And consequently it would be impossible for them to be secondarily edified through the understood proclamation of the “wonderful works of God.”

Also, if they knew the tongues-speaker personally then they would certainly know that he did not KNOW the language that he was speaking in, whether it be the tongues of the surrounding nations (parthinians, medes, elamites, Mesopotamia, Judaea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, Cyrene, and Romans). But most people would only see a stranger speaking to the church in a language which most of the congregants could not understand. They could not be edified without a translation.

The EXPRESSION of tongues to judge Israel.

After learning about Isaiah’s prophecy regarding the PURPOSE of tongues I reviewed the place in scripture where tongues first appear. I wanted to learn more about the PRACTICE of tongues. In Acts 2 the Jewish feast day of Pentecost is in view and the partial fulfillment of the minor prophet Joel. The SIGN NATION (Israel) is receiving her signs! Not just tongues, but prophecies, visions, dreams, miracles, wonders. The last days of Israel are in sight. Before Daniel’s 70th week of the thousand year Millenium can commence, Israel must receive her signs, repent of her rejection of her Messiah, call on the name of the Lord (Acts 2:21 ), and go through the seven years of tribulation as a purification of judgement to prepare them to be a Nation of Priests:

1Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;”

But we need to remember that God has all foreknowledge. The Nation of Israel is being re-offered on this Day of Pentecost the Davidic Kingdom but God KNOWS that they will not repent and receive the offer. Remember Isaiah’s prophecy? God is foretelling that Israel will harden her heart against the Messiah and that the sign of judgement will come forth during her rejection:

John 1:11 “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

Acts 1:6 “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the (Davidic) kingdom to Israel?” Acts 1:7 “And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.”

We need to pay close attention to what is happening during this precarious time in Israel’s history! It is simultaneously a time referred to as “Israel’s last days”, the re-offering of the Davidic Kingdom, the beginning of the miraculous outpouring of signs, the filling of the Spirit, the appearance of the “works” of God being spoken in the GENTILES languages, and the statement by the Messiah that “it is not for (the apostles) to know when the kingdom will be restored!!

If we read carefully, we can clearly see the foreknowledge of God. The Davidic Kingdom is being re-offered to the Nation, but God has foretold that they will willingly “not hear” the message of the King!

What seems to be a great victory for the Nation (the appearance of the supernatural gifts) is in reality a foreshadowing of the judgement spoken of in Isaiah and also in Joel’s prophecy:

Acts 2:19 “And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:”

Acts 2:20 “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:”

While it is true that SOME of the Jewish people (including the Apostles) readily accepted their Messiah, the NATIONAL leadership of the NATION rejected Him . They are being given miraculous signs and they are not heeding the warnings!

If we continue in the book of Acts we will find out that the Nation will CONTINUE to disobey God’s Messiah and doctrine until the hour of judgement is inevitable. Most people mistakenly think that the book of Acts addresses the development of the early church when in reality it addresses the RE-OFFERING of the Kingdom of Heaven to the Nation of Israel, and it records their REJECTION OF THAT OFFER:

Acts 7:51 “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.”

Acts 7:59 “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Paul Raised Up to Postpone Israel’s Judgement

In the aftermath of Israel’s sin in stoning Stephen, an amazing thing happens according to the wisdom of the Lord:

Romans 11:33 “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”

In the beginning of Acts chapter 9 the CHIEF rebel of the Nation of Israel gets saved as part of a completely new unprophesied program that will allow the POSTPONEMENT of Israel’s program and the prophetic timeclock. This new program is described by Paul as the MYSTERY. It was not PROPHESIED but was an unknown secret :

Romans 16:25 “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,”

Romans 11:12 “Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?”

Do you see it? God SET ASIDE the Nation to raise up a new program under the Apostle Paul called “Paul’s dispensation”. Since Israel (nationally) refused to be the channel of blessing to the gentile nations (which was her job) God intervened and offered the gentile nations SALVATION APART FROM THE NATION OF ISRAEL.

God set aside the Nation of Israel according to his foreknowledge and raised up an INTERRUPTION in the prophetic timeclock of the Nation. When the time of the gentiles is completed, He will resume His dealings and purposes for that Nation and will sit on David’s Throne just as He has promised. But until that time, we are living in a different dispensation, and ISRAEL’S LAW, ORDINANCES, WAY OF LIFE, RELIGION, STATUS, and GIFTS are set aside. To try to live UNDER them today would reveal a LACK OF FAITH AND UNDERSTANDING.

Ephesians 3:1 “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,”

Ephesians 3:2 “If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:”

Ephesians 3:6 “That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:”

And in Colossians:

Colossians 1:25 “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;”

There it is. The Nation of Israel is set aside during the current dispensation. We are NOT under their law! In fact, if you’re mixing any part of Israel’s law, ordinances, signs, or way of life then you are guilty of “mixing” law and grace! And Paul’s tells us not to do that.

Ceased

Since Paul was given the new dispensation we’re living in now, we would expect him to tell us that tongues would eventually cease when the Nation was FINALLY set aside. After all, he wrote TWO entire CHAPTERS to the Corinthian church about the “operation” of the gift of languages before the Nation was fully set aside to CORRECT their misuse of the gift. Surely he would us when the gift was cease operations.

And he DOES!

1Corinthians 13:8 “Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall CEASE; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.”

There it is. Tongues (and other aspects of Israel’s program) will CEASE at some point in time. Interestingly, he also fills us in regarding the charismatic gifts of “knowledge” and “prophecies”. Those gifts ceased useful application after the completed cannon of scripture was FULFILLED. God had spoken all the prophetic and mystery words that He would choose to reveal and the bible was COMPLETE at that point. No human intermediary was needed from that point forward for the Body of Christ:

Revelation 22:19 “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

We are not to ADD or TAKE AWAY anything from the completed Word of God.

When the major PURPOSE for the gifts of tongues was fulfilled (a sign gift of judgement on the Nation of Israel) was completed, tongues CEASED.

We know this from scripture, history, and experience.

Understanding

The “tongues” being spoken today are NOT the biblical gift of languages because God is not SPEAKING to that Nation today. Indeed they are SET ASIDE according to the book of Romans. Indeed, since there is no NATIONAL Israel identity, there is technically no such thing as a JEW. There are Jews by heredity, but there are no Jews by RELIGION. Paul tells us this clearly:

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

During Paul’s mystery dispensation God is not dealing with mankind by a religious, cultural, racial, or national status of any kind. Everyone is on equal footing. In fact, there is no such thing as a GENTILE today either! There is NEITHER Jew nor Gentile!

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

There WAS a Jew during Israel’s existence, but there is NOT now.

Major Discovery TWO

As I continued learning and studying, I learned that scripture is extremely clear about the gift of biblical languages. I began studying where Paul deals with the MIS- INFORMATION regarding the gift in First Corinthians and I began to “get it”.

Let us return to Corinthians and see some of Paul’s CLEAR teaching regarding the gift in operation during that day (before the National setting aside of Israel) and see these major points:

1. The major purpose of tongues was NOT the edifying of the believer in the body of Christ.

1Corinthians 14:4 “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.”

See it? One of the byproducts of this supernatural gift of judgement (speaking in a language the speaker had not learned) was that the speaker EDIFIETH HIMSELF. This is a rebuke! The purpose for spiritual gifts are clearly stated by Paul- to edify the BODY of CHRIST!

2. Paul was “concerned” that the MIS-USE of the gift of tongues was interfering with the church’s WITNESS:

1Corinthians 14:23 “If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?”

3. Paul was concerned that the Corinthians would be “emotionally” drawn away from the REAL purpose of edification (The renewal of the MIND) for the church by the supernatural “showy-ness” of the existence of the charismatic gifts.

Wasn’t the Messiah concerned by the same issues? Didn’t he REPEATEDLY chastise his “followers” for merely following him for the miracles and the supernatural and the provision of fish and bread? Rather than the stated PURPOSE of those provisions?

In fact, Paul makes it clear that experiential emotionalism has no part in the church. It leads to self edification chaos, and a ruined witness IF MIS-USED.

1 Corinthians 14:9 “So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.”

There it is. Unless the languages were INTERPRETED the RESULT was as if the speaker was “speaking into the air”. The purpose would be in VAIN. And Paul’s worst fear would be realized! The speaker would be edifying himself only by this supernatural “show” of the miraculous and the major purpose of the tongue (judgement on hearing Israelites who were rejecting Christ) and secondary purpose (other “hearers” understanding the “wonderful works of God”) which might lead to salvation or true edification.

No one in the bible is ever given to have an experience that remains disconnected from SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING. God is not in the business of “puffing us up” with spiritual ecstatic experiences, but has stated clearly his purpose for the NEW MAN:

Romans 12:2 ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Do you see it there? Ecstatic emotional experiences cannot renew you. SPIRITUAL INFORMATION CAN. What renews you is the RENEWAL OF YOUR MIND. Not your emotions.

Experiences ALWAYS follow facts. You cannot discern doctrine from EXPERIENCE. You have to use your MIND. And this is exactly the point Paul is making in Corinthians. The Corinthians are being sternly rebuked for unspiritual getting “puffed up” by the miraculous nature of the gift of tongues, instead of using it for UNDERSTANDING through the INTERPRETATION.

( As an aside, if you ever want to do an interesting word study, look at how many times Paul uses the word “puffed” or “puff” in both First and Second Corinthians—hint: more than TEN times. Then look at how many times the words are used by Paul in all the rest of his 13 epistles. You might begin to think that the Corinthians had MAJOR problems with being “PUFFED” up by the presence of the supernatural charismatic gifts in their presence ).

If there was no interpretation, there was to BE NO SPEAKING IN LANGUAGES:

1 Corinthians 14:27 “If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.” 1Corinthians 14:28 “But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.”

Today

It should be obvious from this last section even APART from understanding the cessation of the gift of languages through the fall of Israel……..

That the practice of tongues speaking today is NOT the gift of languages that Paul was rebuking in the book of Corinthians. How do we know this? By the following points:

1. The “words and structures” being spoken are not languages. They are spontaneously uttered in a childlike auto-verbal fashion,and there is no understandable complexity.

2. There is no interpretation.

3. The gift of tongues ceased just as Paul said it would with the setting aside of the Nation.

4. The church misunderstands the PURPOSE of the gift and remains just as ignorant or Paul’s rebuke as did the Corinthians before receiving the corrective epistle.

The schisms and divisions which Paul sought for the Body of Christ to avoid are flourishing today as the church attempts to do EXACTLY what Paul told it NOT to do:

“Must be experienced. Cannot be explained” is being promoted as true spiritualism when in fact Paul would rebuke it today just as in THAT day.

2 Corinthians 5:7 “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”

In Paul’s dispensation (until the ‘fulness’ of the gentiles comes in and before God deals with Israel again nationally ) we are NOT looking at the “seen” aspects of sign gifts and miracles. We are to walk by FAITH NOT BY SIGHT. Paul PROVES this out by NEVER MENTIONING TONGUES AGAIN after this Corinthian reference.

Have you ever thought of it? The gift of languages is mentioned ONCE in the book of Romans, and then several times in Corinthians. And then it is NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN. There is no need for it in the new Mystery Body of Christ which has presently replaced Israel in the dispensation of God. God is NOT JUDGING the Body of Christ and it has NOT BEEN set aside like the Nation was:

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Look at Paul’s magnificent church and pastoral epistles directed at the church after Israel was set aside. You will look in vain in the mighty books of Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, Timothy!

And what message DO we find in those books? The reality of the necessity of the transforming of your MIND, and the reality of walking by faith not by sight!

Ephesians 1:17 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him”.

We are told to grow in KNOWLEDGE. Not in supernatural EXPERIENCE.

Over the more than twenty years since my involvement in the parachurch organization, the confusion over the early charismatic gifts has only increased, and I have some sympathy for the people who are “caught” up in the confusing teaching of the Pentecostal movement. The movement itself is utterly schismatic itself and seems to be “evolving” without a theological base. Pentecostalism…..to Charismatism…..to Word Faithism…….to Latter Rainism…..

What will be next?

The failure to heed Paul’s rebuke and understand the bible in its context will lead to every kind of diversion and even heresy.

Conclusion

If you are struggling with the issue of the charismatic gifts I would challenge you to begin a three year study of the bible rightly divided. Some of the bibles mysteries are only unlocked over a longer period of intensive examination.

If you are being pressured by a charismatic to have an “experience” I would like to share something with you that I always use when dealing with a charismatic.

I ask them only one question:

“Did you become a charismatic through an extensive ongoing examination of every mention of the supernatural spiritual gifts as listed in the Old and New Testaments? Or did you get into it through the influence of an individual who encouraged you to have the experience?”

I have never met one charismatic who got into the movement through an extensive, ongoing, rightly-divided, properly contexted, self-examination of the Bible.

Final Q&A

I have probably talked with hundreds of charismatics over the years. In some ways, nothing replaces EXPERIENCE in dealing with questions. By experience, obviously, I mean the BIBLICAL kind, not the emotional kind which people are always encouraging us to have.

Romans 5:3 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;”

Romans 5:4 “And patience, EXPERIENCE; and experience, hope:”

There definitely is a type of experience that is highly useful! But it doesn’t come as easy as plunging into an ecstatic supernatural emotional happening that “MUST BE EXPERIENCED. CANNOT BE EXPLAINED”.

It comes over time and is accompanied by tribulations and hardships. So I am including a brief Q&A section that might help in dealing with some of the more common misunderstandings of the charismatic movement.

Q: Don’t you want to have this great charismatic experience?
A: I don’t want to have anything that the bible doesn’t tell me to have.

Q: I didn’t feel alive in my Christian experience or have any power until I had the experience of tongues.
< A: True power comes in understanding what God says and what He is doing no matter how “un” powerful we feel within ourselves.

Q: I have a personal private prayer language that makes me feel unbelievable.
A: What is your theology for that language? According to my bible, anything apart from faith is sin, and there is no way to have faith in something unrevealed in the bible. When angels appear in the bible, they are speaking normal human language.

Romans 14:23 “And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

Q: The bible says that the evidence of salvation for all believers is speaking in tongues.
A: No it doesn’t. In fact, Paul made it clear that even during Israel’s dispensation, Not EVERYONE spoke in tongues: and that tongues would CEASE.

Romans 12:30 ….”do all speak with tongues?”

Q: Getting tongues is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
A: No its not. EVERY believer has been baptized in the Spirit, or they are NOT a Christian.

Q: It must be of God since it is so powerful in my life.
A: No it must not. In fact, Paul is concerned about believers in the last days who may be DECIEVED by LYING SIGNS AND WONDERS. The only test of anything is the bible. Not your experience.

Something to Think About

First Corinthians is a reproof for the early church, and for us today. It tells to value MEAT over MILK so that we will not be confused and pass on our bad doctrine which leads to divisions and schisms.

Those Corinthians had all the charismatic gifts of Israel but they were puffed up by them and using them to “edify” themselves. And Paul, true to form, uses his incredible wisdom to make a STARTLING CONCLUSION that might surprise you. Keep in mind that Paul makes the following statement directly following the TWO CHAPTERS in which he rebukes, reproves, and corrects the Corinthians for their MIS understanding of the purpose and practice of tongues:

1Corinthians 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.”

1Corinthians 14:38 “But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.”

In verse 37 he makes something very clear. No matter HOW spiritual or puffed up the Corinthians thought themselves, it didn’t impress Paul. Paul knew that what mattered was God’s COMMANDMENT and his WORD. Human beings are impressed most often by OTHER things: experiences, money, fame, power, showy puffery. We THINK of ourselves as all kinds of things, but we think vainly. We THINK that because we appear to do something miraculous or spiritual we are powerful. But true power comes in true understanding.

Verse 38 should get our attention! It seems out of place! Would Paul actually say (my paraphrase):

“If you choose to willingly be ignorant of the commandments of God on THIS matter, then STAY in your ignorance”?

Apparently.

Could anything be more obvious from the TWO CHAPTERS that Paul spent on tongues that it was absolutely FOREBIDDEN to speak in tongues apart from interpretation? But every channel surfer of religious television in our day knows that his reproof is universally ignored. People have their experience and they are not going to let ANYTHING, including the bible, GET IN THE WAY of it.

And to those people, both in Corinth and today, Paul says BE IGNORANT.

Can Females Be Pastors ? by Dave Davenport

Is there a more divisive issue in the church today? At the very least it joins the shortlist of hotly debated topics including biblical tongues, Calvinism versus Dispensationalism, the age of the Earth, and the Book of the Revelation.

As if to underscore the controversy the daughter of perhaps the best-known “evangelical” figure of our day (other than the Pope) claims that God has “called” her to teach in public assemblies (consisting of both men, women, and children) based on a verse that she “claims” from the Old Testament.

Indeed, Billy Graham himself confirms that he thinks that Anne Graham Lotz, his eldest daughter Who is married to a Raleigh, North Carolina Dentist, is the most capable “Preacher” in the family. This in spite of the fact that his eldest son Franklin Graham, at the head of Samaritan’s Purse, Has preached in front of thousands of people at the Graham crusades.

A further complication enters the discussion as the NATURE of the office of Pastor/Teacher Is debated. Is a female missionary teaching on the mission field acting as a “Pastor?” And What about a female bible study teacher, Sunday school teacher, or parachurch study leader?

As in the case of all other controversies, there is only one opinion that matters. “What sayeth The Scriptures?”

Clarity

We can be thankful that the bible always anticipates our questions and answers them. We are never left to our opinions on a major issue, and the controversy over the female Pastor is no exception.

2Timothy 2:7 “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.”

The Apostle Paul is telling us that everything that he writes in doctrine, reproof, correction, And training in righteousness is for our UNDERSTANDING. Not for our CONFUSION.

1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

So we can be sure that God would not have us “be ignorant” of such an important issue.

Explanation

The OFFICE of the Pastor is incredibly important to the well-being of the body of Christ as we Shall see:

Ephesians 4:11 “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers”

Ephesians 4:12 “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

Since the Cannon of Scripture is completed, God is not giving “revelations” today as He did To Paul and to the other church fathers. There are no Apostles or prophets in the Body Of Christ today, and so it is clearly evident that the gift of Pastor is the single most important gift in the Church, and that the gift of Evangelist may be the single most important gift to the unchurched.

Old Testament

The solution presents itself right at the beginning of Creation:

Genesis 3:13 “And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”

After the fall of Creation Satan DECEIVED Eve, and she ate, and she FELL into sin. Later Her husband Adam also ate and FELL into sin. This reality is confirmed in the New Testament:

1Timothy 2:11 “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.”
1Timothy 2:12 “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”
1Timothy 2:13 “For Adam was first formed, then Eve.” 1Timothy 2:14 “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”
1Timothy 2:15 “Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.”
There it is.

There can be no legitimate controversy over this issue because not only is it fully explained in Paul’s commentary, but a clear solution is presented. Anything else is not of faith.

Paul CONFIRMS the Genesis story about the fall, and he EXPLAINS it.

1. Eve disobeyed God through (sinful) deception.
2. Adam disobeyed God through (willful) volition.
It has been said that Adam’s sin was the worse, because of The volitional component and I agree.

And so we are presented with THREE explanations for the declaration that a woman CANNOT USURP (seize the place of the God-given role) the authority of man in the teaching role:

1. The woman (by nature) was blessed with a stronger emotional/intuitive/nurturing nature which subjects her to a lesser discernment. This is NOT an issue of Intelligence. It is an issue of NATURE. The man has certain strengths, and the Woman has others.

2. The Man was FIRST in the creation order, and so, REGARDLESS of intelligence, The MAN is entrusted with the role of LEADER which is closely aligned with TEACHING.

3. The woman shall be “saved” from this deception by fulfilling her proper ROLE Of not USURPING the man’s authority. If she refuses the commandment of The Lord, and USURPS the man’s teaching role then she SHALL NOT be “saved” from deception.

Could anything be clearer? Paul is CONFIRMING that the situation REMAINS in The church that the MAN is to fulfill the teaching role because of his creation-order Status, and because of his greater ability for doctrinal discernment.

Culture

Much has been made in contemporary society about being “enlightened” in modern Culture but the bible has no agreement with such a sentiment . In fact, cultures are always “de” evolving. Men and women always think they know better than God, and they are always Being proven wrong.

Although, from a salvational perspective, the GENDER advantages and distinctions From the Nation of Israel have been set aside during the present Pauline dispensation:

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The GENDER ROLES AND COMMANDMENTS have NOT BEEN SET ASIDE:

1 Corinthians 14:34 “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.”

This is written by Paul regarding the present Body of Christ, and he is clearly pointing out that just as under the “law The prohibition against women usurping the male’s role of teaching CONTINUES. The changing Of the nature of modern culture is immaterial. The commandment is the same.

Explanation

In our understanding of the importance of the church NOT BEING DECEIEVED it is helpful to Review Paul’s further explanations about one word in particular: Subtlity.

2Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

Paul is extremely concerned that the Body of Christ will be led astray through SUBTILTY. Why?

Because he knows that Satan’s greatest weapon against human beings is to promote bad doctrine though SUBTILITY! This is his WEAPON OF CHOICE:

1Corinthians 13:10 “And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”

Which brings us to a key passage in the consideration of the issue:

1Timothy 3:2 “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;”

Again the Apostle Paul writes about the church and God’s plan for the Bishop (“Overseer”, using the Pastor-Teaching gifts) That he be:

“APT TO TEACH”(chapter 3 verse 2), DOCTRINE (the word is used NINE times in 1Timothy), FREE OF SUBTIL DECEPTION.

There it is.

The Pastor is to be a MAN(the husband of one wife) who can TEACH without DECEIVING.

Conclusions

The bible is given for our instruction and is the absolute final authority on all matters Regardless of human opinion or experience. It matters not one bit that people “claim” That God has told them otherwise. God never contradicts His written word. God Cannot lie but humans can and do.

Titus 1:2 “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”

Women need not feel like second class citizens at all when they biblically consider that They have equal value but a different God-given role:

1Corinthians 8:

“For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.

For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.”

When anyone says that the bible is irrelevant and doesn’t mean exactly what it clearly Says, then that person has been DECEIEVED by Satan and been victimized by His lies through subtil deception.

God loves us equally, but is a God of order. He has gifted CERTAIN men to teach The church publically and to “labor in doctrine” to assist the church against Subtil deception.

Consider

It should be considered further that the overwhelming majority of MEN are not gifted or Enabled by God to stand as Pastors in front of a congregation.

Have you ever heard a man say that he feels discriminated against by God because He has not been blessed (and some might say cursed) with the gift of Pastor/Overseer?

Some of Paul’s writings describe our situation in the church today where many Unqualified men AND women desire to be teachers:

1Timothy 1:7 “Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.”

2Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;”

1Timothy 3:1 “This is a true saying, If A MAN desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.”

The majority of men are not enabled, gifted, or capable of fulfilling the office. We ought to be thankful for The ones so gifted in God’s sovereign providence.