The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Twelve - A Nov 04, 2018 by: John Herbert | Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T001_20181104.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Acts 28:28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” As the offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens moves exclusively to the 'Gentile' Church there are now differences surrounding the proclamation of the message. We will begin to look at these today. The full text of today's message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday November 4th 2018 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 12A ‘The Salvation of God Has Been Sent to the Gentiles’ 1). Acts 28:28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” 29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. We have seen in our previous studies that when Paul turned from the Jews to the Gentiles while in Rome, recorded here in Acts Chapter 28, that this marked the end of the re-offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens to the Jewish nation, a re-offer which began about three decades earlier on the Day of Pentecost, as we have seen, in Acts Chapter 2 – Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And with the close of the re-offer of the Kingdom to Israel the salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles through the offer of the Kingdom being made then, and still being made now, to eternally saved Gentiles, those comprising the one New Man in Christ, the Church. And because the audience for the message was now different and because the circumstances in which the offer was being made were also different there were, of necessity, inevitable changes that occurred surrounding the proclamation of the message. a). So, in order to begin to understand these changes, we will start by looking at miraculous signs - We have seen many times before the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel as described at the beginning of Isaiah’s prophecy - Isa 1:4 Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. 5 Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment. However, despite this depressing picture Isaiah also drew attention to the time when that seen in the opening verses of his prophecy would radically change – Isa 1:26 I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness. And in Hosea this radical change in Israel’s condition is given a specific timeframe- Hosea 6:1 Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. 2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. And in the last six verses of the last Chapter of the OT, Malachi also prophesied concerning the healing of this same spiritual sickness seen in both Isaiah and Hosea - Malachi 4:2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. And from a scriptural standpoint the very next thing that we see following the close of Malachi, with the promise of the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in His wings, is the advent of the Christ, whose ministry was marked by miraculous physical healings that were inseparably connected to the offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens. An offer concerning rulership from the heavens over the earth symbolized through the greater light to rule the Day, the Sun, a time when the healing of the nation would be fulfilled. b). These were physical healings which pointed to the spiritual healing of the nation that would follow repentance with the Kingdom, the Sun of Righteousness, in view. Which is exactly how these matters are dealt with throughout the OT, beginning with Moses and Joshua and seen again through Elijah and Elisha. c). Mt 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. And the abundance of these miraculous signs increased all the more in the time leading up to Israel’s climactic rejection of the King and His Kingdom in Matthew Chapter 12, and within the overall scope of these signs death was no longer irreversible, seen through the raising of Lazarus, supernatural provision was on hand, seen in the feeding of the 5000, demonic spirits were cast out and angelic ministry was abundantly available. d). And although these signs continued beyond the point of the rejection of the Kingdom in Matthew Chapter 12, they were never at the same intensity as had been seen prior to that point. e). So, there are two specific things we will want to take away from this - firstly, that the miraculous signs seen during the Lord’s earthly ministry are in no sense random but completely in keeping with Israel’s spiritual condition and that which is presented prophetically with respect to the healing of this condition throughout the OT scriptures – and keeping this in mind we might recall the 8 signs recorded in John’s Gospel and the reason for those 8 signs being there – John 20:30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. And secondly, as the Christ and His Kingdom were rejected so the miraculous signs diminished as the likelihood of national repentance diminished, but they had to remain in place all the while the offer of the Kingdom remained open. 2). Acts 6:7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. 8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Beginning on the Day of Pentecost following the Lord’s resurrection the Kingdom of the Heavens began to be re-offered to Israel by the newly formed church and this re-offer was likewise accompanied by an abundance of miraculous signs, picking up exactly where they had left off following the Christ’s rejection. a). And from the Day of Pentecost the miraculous signs increased all the more until the climactic rejection of the re-offer of the Kingdom to Israel witnessed through the death of Stephen in Acts Chapter 7. b). Following Stephen’s death, as we have seen with the rejection of the Christ, the miraculous signs continued but not with the same intensity as had been seen prior to that point as again the likelihood of national repentance continued to diminish. No doubt we are seeing a pattern. c). Now, what will often cause confusion at this point is that we see miraculous signs taking place within the Gentile churches during the Acts period, which can lead to thinking that such signs belong in the church, even today. But if we follow the scripture all will become clear. d). Back in Deuteronomy God had prophesied to Israel concerning the Gentile church - De 32:21 They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. The first half of v21 deals with Israel’s actions that had provoked God to jealousy. The second half of the verse then deals with what God will do to provoke Israel to jealousy – He would do it ‘by those who are not a nation’, those who would form the church, those who would bring forth fruits for the Kingdom rejected by Israel, a people then other than the nation of Israel. e). We can also find additional commentary on this in Isaiah – Isa 65:1 “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by My name. 2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; And here in Isaiah we see a contrast between those who found God, but who had not originally sought Him, who at that time were not called by His name – and again this can only take us to the Gentiles, to those from whom God would call out a people for His name, the Church - those who were not the original recipients of the offer of the Kingdom who are contrasted with Israel, a rebellious people to whom He had stretched out His hands ‘all day long’. f). Then all of this is brought together for us through Paul’s words to the Romans - Ro 11:11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! And so, as we follow the manifestation of miraculous signs through the Book of Acts, we can clearly see that they continue to fulfill the purpose for which they were introduced, as seen during the Lord’s ministry, a ministry which itself has to be seen within the context of how the matter is dealt with in the OT. g). And even though miraculous signs appeared within the Gentile churches during the Acts period their twofold purpose, to provoke Israel to jealousy and to demonstrate the spiritual healing on offer to the nation was exclusively to do with Israel and the re-offer of the Kingdom and nothing else. h). Once we move beyond Acts 28:28 when the Kingdom is no longer on offer to Israel then miraculous signs can no longer be in place as Israel’s national repentance, and therefore spiritual healing, now awaits the end of the present dispensation and the 7 years of the Tribulation which will follow – ‘On the third day He will raise us up’. Only when God is dealing with Israel again in relation to the Kingdom can signs of the sort seen in the Gospels and Acts come into play again. I). We might notice that during the Acts period Paul was granted the power to perform miraculous signs for the purpose we have looked at – Ac 19:11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. But beyond Acts 28:28 Paul advised Timothy - 1 Tim 5:23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities. And we can add to this what we see in - 2 Tim 4:20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick. Beyond Acts 28:28 Paul no longer possessed that power. j). Miraculous signs are seen only in relation to Israel and the Kingdom. Remove Israel and/or the Kingdom and such signs cannot exist. k). And if any so called, miraculous sign as seen in the Gospels or Acts appears to be manifested within the Church today it can only be in a parallel sense to the lying signs and wonders seen in relation to Israel during the Tribulation – Mt 24:23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 2 Thes 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, Mt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ 3). And then during the Acts period itself Paul wrote about the time when miraculous signs would end in his first letter to the Corinthians, a letter written to a Gentile church during Acts - 1 Cor 13:8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. Now Paul does not list all miraculous signs here, but 3 that are particularly pertinent to the Corinthian church and the 3 are used as representative of all signs. Given what we know to be the reason for the existence of miraculous signs it would be nonsense to think that some signs came to an end with the close of the offer of the Kingdom and some continued. a). There are 2 contrasting periods of time set out in 1 Corinthians 13. One period of time seen through the phrase ‘in part’ and the other through the word ‘perfect’. b). We need to understand the word translated as ‘perfect’ as ‘complete’ – a period of time then when something is completed. c). And the phrase ‘in part’ refers to a period of time when that which is to be completed remains incomplete – miraculous signs, prophecies, tongues, knowledge etc., occur during the time when that which is complete remains uncompleted. But when completion comes then those miraculous signs that occurred during a time when completeness hadn’t come ‘will be done away’. They will cease. d). So, to try to make this a bit easier to understand – miraculous signs happened during the time when the Kingdom of the Heavens was being offered to an unrepentant Israel. But the time in which God would do this was not unlimited. e). We have seen how it began with the ministry of John and then Jesus and how it came to an end with Paul in Rome in Acts 28:28. And so, within this period of time, from Jesus to Paul, God’s dealings with Israel with regards to the heavenly realm of the Kingdom remained incomplete – they were a work in progress if you like. f). Then with the events of Acts 28:28, when Paul turned to the Gentiles, God’s dealings with Israel with respect to the Kingdom of the Heavens came to an end – it was now complete. And when that which was complete came then the things seen in relation to the period of time categorized by incompleteness, the offer of the Kingdom / miraculous signs, were done away. They ceased. And that’s how matters remain even to the present. Power Point – Slides 1-3 4). So, let’s move on from miraculous signs - Ac 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Ac 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. We have seen from these verses from Acts Chapters 1 and 2 a baptizing with the Spirit and a filling with the Spirit in relation to those who would form the nucleus of the Church. a). And being baptized with the Spirit and filled with the Spirit are as much a part of our experience as it was for those gathered in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. b). However, our experience of being baptized with the Spirit and filled with the Spirit is markedly different from theirs for a reason that must not be overlooked – Ac 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: It is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy that marks the difference. c). On the Day of Pentecost, as we see at the beginning of Acts Chapter 2, those in the upper room were immersed in the Spirit as the house in which they were was filled with the Spirit – this was a tangible experience witnessed through sight and sound and was subsequent to their eternal salvation. d). And concurrent with this those in the upper room were filled with the Spirit, resulting in them speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave then utterance. e). And as we have noted today and seen in other studies, this is an experience inextricably connected with the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy – a prophecy which remains the exclusive possession of Israel and cannot be transferred to the Church. f). And the Holy Spirit in order to make this abundantly clear has deliberately used 2 completely different Greek words for the action of being filled with the Spirit – one is used, ‘pimplemi’ for the filling of the Spirit in Acts through the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy – and the other, ‘pleroo’ is used with regards to Christians being filled with the Spirit as seen in Ephesians 5:18 – a filling with the Spirit that has nothing to do with Joel’s prophecy. And in this way the Holy Spirit clearly delineates the difference between the 2 experiences. Power Point – Slide 4 g). In Acts, because of Joel’s prophecy, there is an instant, tangible, filling with the Spirit for a specific purpose. h). But, as we look at being filled with the Spirit with respect to ourselves as seen in Ephesians, our experience is entirely different – Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be [continually] filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God. Our being filled with the Spirit is a continuous process throughout the course of our race of the faith, it is never instantaneous and for us to be filled with the Spirit is a matter of choice to faithful obedience – Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. We are filled with the Spirit through our proper engagement with the Word, by choosing to allow the ‘Word of Christ’ to dwell in us ‘richly in all wisdom’, by embracing the Word of the Kingdom and the salvation of the soul which it brings – Jas 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. And so, the experience of being filled with the Spirit seen throughout the Book of Acts cannot be separated from Joel’s prophecy – but when Joel’s prophecy is put on hold, in the time following Acts 28:28, then the only way a Christian can be filled with the Spirit is through that seen in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 – a filling completely apart from Joel’s prophecy and as we have seen God in His wisdom has used 2 different Greek words for ‘fill’ to make this abundantly clear. Power Point – Slide 5 i). And finally, when those in the upper room were immersed in the Spirit this was an event that happened subsequent to their eternal salvation, but for us our immersion comes at the moment of our eternal salvation - a onetime event that is never repeated – 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Gal 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Our baptism, our immersion in the Spirit, then makes us a new creation in Christ, part of the one new man, so as to be heirs according to the promise. j). And beyond our immersion we are then to be continually filled with the Spirit through the Word so that the promises we are heirs to can be realized. We will need to continue with this next time – if the Lord is willing. Sunday November 4th 2018 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 12A ‘The Salvation of God Has Been Sent to the Gentiles’ 1). Acts 28:28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” 29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. We have seen in our previous studies that when Paul turned from the Jews to the Gentiles while in Rome, recorded here in Acts Chapter 28, that this marked the end of the re-offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens to the Jewish nation, a re-offer which began about three decades earlier on the Day of Pentecost, as we have seen, in Acts Chapter 2 – Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And with the close of the re-offer of the Kingdom to Israel the salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles through the offer of the Kingdom being made then, and still being made now, to eternally saved Gentiles, those comprising the one New Man in Christ, the Church. And because the audience for the message was now different and because the circumstances in which the offer was being made were also different there were, of necessity, inevitable changes that occurred surrounding the proclamation of the message. a). So, in order to begin to understand these changes, we will start by looking at miraculous signs - We have seen many times before the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel as described at the beginning of Isaiah’s prophecy - Isa 1:4 Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. 5 Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment. However, despite this depressing picture Isaiah also drew attention to the time when that seen in the opening verses of his prophecy would radically change – Isa 1:26 I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness. And in Hosea this radical change in Israel’s condition is given a specific timeframe- Hosea 6:1 Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. 2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. And in the last six verses of the last Chapter of the OT, Malachi also prophesied concerning the healing of this same spiritual sickness seen in both Isaiah and Hosea - Malachi 4:2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. And from a scriptural standpoint the very next thing that we see following the close of Malachi, with the promise of the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in His wings, is the advent of the Christ, whose ministry was marked by miraculous physical healings that were inseparably connected to the offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens. An offer concerning rulership from the heavens over the earth symbolized through the greater light to rule the Day, the Sun, a time when the healing of the nation would be fulfilled. b). These were physical healings which pointed to the spiritual healing of the nation that would follow repentance with the Kingdom, the Sun of Righteousness, in view. Which is exactly how these matters are dealt with throughout the OT, beginning with Moses and Joshua and seen again through Elijah and Elisha. c). Mt 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. And the abundance of these miraculous signs increased all the more in the time leading up to Israel’s climactic rejection of the King and His Kingdom in Matthew Chapter 12, and within the overall scope of these signs death was no longer irreversible, seen through the raising of Lazarus, supernatural provision was on hand, seen in the feeding of the 5000, demonic spirits were cast out and angelic ministry was abundantly available. d). And although these signs continued beyond the point of the rejection of the Kingdom in Matthew Chapter 12, they were never at the same intensity as had been seen prior to that point. e). So, there are two specific things we will want to take away from this - firstly, that the miraculous signs seen during the Lord’s earthly ministry are in no sense random but completely in keeping with Israel’s spiritual condition and that which is presented prophetically with respect to the healing of this condition throughout the OT scriptures – and keeping this in mind we might recall the 8 signs recorded in John’s Gospel and the reason for those 8 signs being there – John 20:30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. And secondly, as the Christ and His Kingdom were rejected so the miraculous signs diminished as the likelihood of national repentance diminished, but they had to remain in place all the while the offer of the Kingdom remained open. 2). Acts 6:7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. 8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Beginning on the Day of Pentecost following the Lord’s resurrection the Kingdom of the Heavens began to be re-offered to Israel by the newly formed church and this re-offer was likewise accompanied by an abundance of miraculous signs, picking up exactly where they had left off following the Christ’s rejection. a). And from the Day of Pentecost the miraculous signs increased all the more until the climactic rejection of the re-offer of the Kingdom to Israel witnessed through the death of Stephen in Acts Chapter 7. b). Following Stephen’s death, as we have seen with the rejection of the Christ, the miraculous signs continued but not with the same intensity as had been seen prior to that point as again the likelihood of national repentance continued to diminish. No doubt we are seeing a pattern. c). Now, what will often cause confusion at this point is that we see miraculous signs taking place within the Gentile churches during the Acts period, which can lead to thinking that such signs belong in the church, even today. But if we follow the scripture all will become clear. d). Back in Deuteronomy God had prophesied to Israel concerning the Gentile church - De 32:21 They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. The first half of v21 deals with Israel’s actions that had provoked God to jealousy. The second half of the verse then deals with what God will do to provoke Israel to jealousy – He would do it ‘by those who are not a nation’, those who would form the church, those who would bring forth fruits for the Kingdom rejected by Israel, a people then other than the nation of Israel. e). We can also find additional commentary on this in Isaiah – Isa 65:1 “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by My name. 2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; And here in Isaiah we see a contrast between those who found God, but who had not originally sought Him, who at that time were not called by His name – and again this can only take us to the Gentiles, to those from whom God would call out a people for His name, the Church - those who were not the original recipients of the offer of the Kingdom who are contrasted with Israel, a rebellious people to whom He had stretched out His hands ‘all day long’. f). Then all of this is brought together for us through Paul’s words to the Romans - Ro 11:11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! And so, as we follow the manifestation of miraculous signs through the Book of Acts, we can clearly see that they continue to fulfill the purpose for which they were introduced, as seen during the Lord’s ministry, a ministry which itself has to be seen within the context of how the matter is dealt with in the OT. g). And even though miraculous signs appeared within the Gentile churches during the Acts period their twofold purpose, to provoke Israel to jealousy and to demonstrate the spiritual healing on offer to the nation was exclusively to do with Israel and the re-offer of the Kingdom and nothing else. h). Once we move beyond Acts 28:28 when the Kingdom is no longer on offer to Israel then miraculous signs can no longer be in place as Israel’s national repentance, and therefore spiritual healing, now awaits the end of the present dispensation and the 7 years of the Tribulation which will follow – ‘On the third day He will raise us up’. Only when God is dealing with Israel again in relation to the Kingdom can signs of the sort seen in the Gospels and Acts come into play again. I). We might notice that during the Acts period Paul was granted the power to perform miraculous signs for the purpose we have looked at – Ac 19:11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. But beyond Acts 28:28 Paul advised Timothy - 1 Tim 5:23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities. And we can add to this what we see in - 2 Tim 4:20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick. Beyond Acts 28:28 Paul no longer possessed that power. j). Miraculous signs are seen only in relation to Israel and the Kingdom. Remove Israel and/or the Kingdom and such signs cannot exist. k). And if any so called, miraculous sign as seen in the Gospels or Acts appears to be manifested within the Church today it can only be in a parallel sense to the lying signs and wonders seen in relation to Israel during the Tribulation – Mt 24:23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 2 Thes 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, Mt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ 3). And then during the Acts period itself Paul wrote about the time when miraculous signs would end in his first letter to the Corinthians, a letter written to a Gentile church during Acts - 1 Cor 13:8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. Now Paul does not list all miraculous signs here, but 3 that are particularly pertinent to the Corinthian church and the 3 are used as representative of all signs. Given what we know to be the reason for the existence of miraculous signs it would be nonsense to think that some signs came to an end with the close of the offer of the Kingdom and some continued. a). There are 2 contrasting periods of time set out in 1 Corinthians 13. One period of time seen through the phrase ‘in part’ and the other through the word ‘perfect’. b). We need to understand the word translated as ‘perfect’ as ‘complete’ – a period of time then when something is completed. c). And the phrase ‘in part’ refers to a period of time when that which is to be completed remains incomplete – miraculous signs, prophecies, tongues, knowledge etc., occur during the time when that which is complete remains uncompleted. But when completion comes then those miraculous signs that occurred during a time when completeness hadn’t come ‘will be done away’. They will cease. d). So, to try to make this a bit easier to understand – miraculous signs happened during the time when the Kingdom of the Heavens was being offered to an unrepentant Israel. But the time in which God would do this was not unlimited. e). We have seen how it began with the ministry of John and then Jesus and how it came to an end with Paul in Rome in Acts 28:28. And so, within this period of time, from Jesus to Paul, God’s dealings with Israel with regards to the heavenly realm of the Kingdom remained incomplete – they were a work in progress if you like. f). Then with the events of Acts 28:28, when Paul turned to the Gentiles, God’s dealings with Israel with respect to the Kingdom of the Heavens came to an end – it was now complete. And when that which was complete came then the things seen in relation to the period of time categorized by incompleteness, the offer of the Kingdom / miraculous signs, were done away. They ceased. And that’s how matters remain even to the present. Power Point – Slides 1-3 4). So, let’s move on from miraculous signs - Ac 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Ac 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. We have seen from these verses from Acts Chapters 1 and 2 a baptizing with the Spirit and a filling with the Spirit in relation to those who would form the nucleus of the Church. a). And being baptized with the Spirit and filled with the Spirit are as much a part of our experience as it was for those gathered in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. b). However, our experience of being baptized with the Spirit and filled with the Spirit is markedly different from theirs for a reason that must not be overlooked – Ac 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: It is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy that marks the difference. c). On the Day of Pentecost, as we see at the beginning of Acts Chapter 2, those in the upper room were immersed in the Spirit as the house in which they were was filled with the Spirit – this was a tangible experience witnessed through sight and sound and was subsequent to their eternal salvation. d). And concurrent with this those in the upper room were filled with the Spirit, resulting in them speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave then utterance. e). And as we have noted today and seen in other studies, this is an experience inextricably connected with the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy – a prophecy which remains the exclusive possession of Israel and cannot be transferred to the Church. f). And the Holy Spirit in order to make this abundantly clear has deliberately used 2 completely different Greek words for the action of being filled with the Spirit – one is used, ‘pimplemi’ for the filling of the Spirit in Acts through the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy – and the other, ‘pleroo’ is used with regards to Christians being filled with the Spirit as seen in Ephesians 5:18 – a filling with the Spirit that has nothing to do with Joel’s prophecy. And in this way the Holy Spirit clearly delineates the difference between the 2 experiences. Power Point – Slide 4 g). In Acts, because of Joel’s prophecy, there is an instant, tangible, filling with the Spirit for a specific purpose. h). But, as we look at being filled with the Spirit with respect to ourselves as seen in Ephesians, our experience is entirely different – Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be [continually] filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God. Our being filled with the Spirit is a continuous process throughout the course of our race of the faith, it is never instantaneous and for us to be filled with the Spirit is a matter of choice to faithful obedience – Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. We are filled with the Spirit through our proper engagement with the Word, by choosing to allow the ‘Word of Christ’ to dwell in us ‘richly in all wisdom’, by embracing the Word of the Kingdom and the salvation of the soul which it brings – Jas 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. And so, the experience of being filled with the Spirit seen throughout the Book of Acts cannot be separated from Joel’s prophecy – but when Joel’s prophecy is put on hold, in the time following Acts 28:28, then the only way a Christian can be filled with the Spirit is through that seen in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 – a filling completely apart from Joel’s prophecy and as we have seen God in His wisdom has used 2 different Greek words for ‘fill’ to make this abundantly clear. Power Point – Slide 5 i). And finally, when those in the upper room were immersed in the Spirit this was an event that happened subsequent to their eternal salvation, but for us our immersion comes at the moment of our eternal salvation - a onetime event that is never repeated – 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Gal 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Our baptism, our immersion in the Spirit, then makes us a new creation in Christ, part of the one new man, so as to be heirs according to the promise. j). And beyond our immersion we are then to be continually filled with the Spirit through the Word so that the promises we are heirs to can be realized. We will need to continue with this next time – if the Lord is willing. Sunday November 4th 2018 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 12A ‘The Salvation of God Has Been Sent to the Gentiles’ 1). Acts 28:28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” 29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. We have seen in our previous studies that when Paul turned from the Jews to the Gentiles while in Rome, recorded here in Acts Chapter 28, that this marked the end of the re-offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens to the Jewish nation, a re-offer which began about three decades earlier on the Day of Pentecost, as we have seen, in Acts Chapter 2 – Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And with the close of the re-offer of the Kingdom to Israel the salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles through the offer of the Kingdom being made then, and still being made now, to eternally saved Gentiles, those comprising the one New Man in Christ, the Church. And because the audience for the message was now different and because the circumstances in which the offer was being made were also different there were, of necessity, inevitable changes that occurred surrounding the proclamation of the message. a). So, in order to begin to understand these changes, we will start by looking at miraculous signs - We have seen many times before the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel as described at the beginning of Isaiah’s prophecy - Isa 1:4 Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. 5 Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment. However, despite this depressing picture Isaiah also drew attention to the time when that seen in the opening verses of his prophecy would radically change – Isa 1:26 I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness. And in Hosea this radical change in Israel’s condition is given a specific timeframe- Hosea 6:1 Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. 2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. And in the last six verses of the last Chapter of the OT, Malachi also prophesied concerning the healing of this same spiritual sickness seen in both Isaiah and Hosea - Malachi 4:2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. And from a scriptural standpoint the very next thing that we see following the close of Malachi, with the promise of the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in His wings, is the advent of the Christ, whose ministry was marked by miraculous physical healings that were inseparably connected to the offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens. An offer concerning rulership from the heavens over the earth symbolized through the greater light to rule the Day, the Sun, a time when the healing of the nation would be fulfilled. b). These were physical healings which pointed to the spiritual healing of the nation that would follow repentance with the Kingdom, the Sun of Righteousness, in view. Which is exactly how these matters are dealt with throughout the OT, beginning with Moses and Joshua and seen again through Elijah and Elisha. c). Mt 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. And the abundance of these miraculous signs increased all the more in the time leading up to Israel’s climactic rejection of the King and His Kingdom in Matthew Chapter 12, and within the overall scope of these signs death was no longer irreversible, seen through the raising of Lazarus, supernatural provision was on hand, seen in the feeding of the 5000, demonic spirits were cast out and angelic ministry was abundantly available. d). And although these signs continued beyond the point of the rejection of the Kingdom in Matthew Chapter 12, they were never at the same intensity as had been seen prior to that point. e). So, there are two specific things we will want to take away from this - firstly, that the miraculous signs seen during the Lord’s earthly ministry are in no sense random but completely in keeping with Israel’s spiritual condition and that which is presented prophetically with respect to the healing of this condition throughout the OT scriptures – and keeping this in mind we might recall the 8 signs recorded in John’s Gospel and the reason for those 8 signs being there – John 20:30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. And secondly, as the Christ and His Kingdom were rejected so the miraculous signs diminished as the likelihood of national repentance diminished, but they had to remain in place all the while the offer of the Kingdom remained open. 2). Acts 6:7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. 8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Beginning on the Day of Pentecost following the Lord’s resurrection the Kingdom of the Heavens began to be re-offered to Israel by the newly formed church and this re-offer was likewise accompanied by an abundance of miraculous signs, picking up exactly where they had left off following the Christ’s rejection. a). And from the Day of Pentecost the miraculous signs increased all the more until the climactic rejection of the re-offer of the Kingdom to Israel witnessed through the death of Stephen in Acts Chapter 7. b). Following Stephen’s death, as we have seen with the rejection of the Christ, the miraculous signs continued but not with the same intensity as had been seen prior to that point as again the likelihood of national repentance continued to diminish. No doubt we are seeing a pattern. c). Now, what will often cause confusion at this point is that we see miraculous signs taking place within the Gentile churches during the Acts period, which can lead to thinking that such signs belong in the church, even today. But if we follow the scripture all will become clear. d). Back in Deuteronomy God had prophesied to Israel concerning the Gentile church - De 32:21 They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. The first half of v21 deals with Israel’s actions that had provoked God to jealousy. The second half of the verse then deals with what God will do to provoke Israel to jealousy – He would do it ‘by those who are not a nation’, those who would form the church, those who would bring forth fruits for the Kingdom rejected by Israel, a people then other than the nation of Israel. e). We can also find additional commentary on this in Isaiah – Isa 65:1 “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by My name. 2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; And here in Isaiah we see a contrast between those who found God, but who had not originally sought Him, who at that time were not called by His name – and again this can only take us to the Gentiles, to those from whom God would call out a people for His name, the Church - those who were not the original recipients of the offer of the Kingdom who are contrasted with Israel, a rebellious people to whom He had stretched out His hands ‘all day long’. f). Then all of this is brought together for us through Paul’s words to the Romans - Ro 11:11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! And so, as we follow the manifestation of miraculous signs through the Book of Acts, we can clearly see that they continue to fulfill the purpose for which they were introduced, as seen during the Lord’s ministry, a ministry which itself has to be seen within the context of how the matter is dealt with in the OT. g). And even though miraculous signs appeared within the Gentile churches during the Acts period their twofold purpose, to provoke Israel to jealousy and to demonstrate the spiritual healing on offer to the nation was exclusively to do with Israel and the re-offer of the Kingdom and nothing else. h). Once we move beyond Acts 28:28 when the Kingdom is no longer on offer to Israel then miraculous signs can no longer be in place as Israel’s national repentance, and therefore spiritual healing, now awaits the end of the present dispensation and the 7 years of the Tribulation which will follow – ‘On the third day He will raise us up’. Only when God is dealing with Israel again in relation to the Kingdom can signs of the sort seen in the Gospels and Acts come into play again. I). We might notice that during the Acts period Paul was granted the power to perform miraculous signs for the purpose we have looked at – Ac 19:11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. But beyond Acts 28:28 Paul advised Timothy - 1 Tim 5:23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities. And we can add to this what we see in - 2 Tim 4:20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick. Beyond Acts 28:28 Paul no longer possessed that power. j). Miraculous signs are seen only in relation to Israel and the Kingdom. Remove Israel and/or the Kingdom and such signs cannot exist. k). And if any so called, miraculous sign as seen in the Gospels or Acts appears to be manifested within the Church today it can only be in a parallel sense to the lying signs and wonders seen in relation to Israel during the Tribulation – Mt 24:23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 2 Thes 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, Mt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ 3). And then during the Acts period itself Paul wrote about the time when miraculous signs would end in his first letter to the Corinthians, a letter written to a Gentile church during Acts - 1 Cor 13:8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. Now Paul does not list all miraculous signs here, but 3 that are particularly pertinent to the Corinthian church and the 3 are used as representative of all signs. Given what we know to be the reason for the existence of miraculous signs it would be nonsense to think that some signs came to an end with the close of the offer of the Kingdom and some continued. a). There are 2 contrasting periods of time set out in 1 Corinthians 13. One period of time seen through the phrase ‘in part’ and the other through the word ‘perfect’. b). We need to understand the word translated as ‘perfect’ as ‘complete’ – a period of time then when something is completed. c). And the phrase ‘in part’ refers to a period of time when that which is to be completed remains incomplete – miraculous signs, prophecies, tongues, knowledge etc., occur during the time when that which is complete remains uncompleted. But when completion comes then those miraculous signs that occurred during a time when completeness hadn’t come ‘will be done away’. They will cease. d). So, to try to make this a bit easier to understand – miraculous signs happened during the time when the Kingdom of the Heavens was being offered to an unrepentant Israel. But the time in which God would do this was not unlimited. e). We have seen how it began with the ministry of John and then Jesus and how it came to an end with Paul in Rome in Acts 28:28. And so, within this period of time, from Jesus to Paul, God’s dealings with Israel with regards to the heavenly realm of the Kingdom remained incomplete – they were a work in progress if you like. f). Then with the events of Acts 28:28, when Paul turned to the Gentiles, God’s dealings with Israel with respect to the Kingdom of the Heavens came to an end – it was now complete. And when that which was complete came then the things seen in relation to the period of time categorized by incompleteness, the offer of the Kingdom / miraculous signs, were done away. They ceased. And that’s how matters remain even to the present. Power Point – Slides 1-3 4). So, let’s move on from miraculous signs - Ac 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Ac 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. We have seen from these verses from Acts Chapters 1 and 2 a baptizing with the Spirit and a filling with the Spirit in relation to those who would form the nucleus of the Church. a). And being baptized with the Spirit and filled with the Spirit are as much a part of our experience as it was for those gathered in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. b). However, our experience of being baptized with the Spirit and filled with the Spirit is markedly different from theirs for a reason that must not be overlooked – Ac 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: It is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy that marks the difference. c). On the Day of Pentecost, as we see at the beginning of Acts Chapter 2, those in the upper room were immersed in the Spirit as the house in which they were was filled with the Spirit – this was a tangible experience witnessed through sight and sound and was subsequent to their eternal salvation. d). And concurrent with this those in the upper room were filled with the Spirit, resulting in them speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave then utterance. e). And as we have noted today and seen in other studies, this is an experience inextricably connected with the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy – a prophecy which remains the exclusive possession of Israel and cannot be transferred to the Church. f). And the Holy Spirit in order to make this abundantly clear has deliberately used 2 completely different Greek words for the action of being filled with the Spirit – one is used, ‘pimplemi’ for the filling of the Spirit in Acts through the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy – and the other, ‘pleroo’ is used with regards to Christians being filled with the Spirit as seen in Ephesians 5:18 – a filling with the Spirit that has nothing to do with Joel’s prophecy. And in this way the Holy Spirit clearly delineates the difference between the 2 experiences. Power Point – Slide 4 g). In Acts, because of Joel’s prophecy, there is an instant, tangible, filling with the Spirit for a specific purpose. h). But, as we look at being filled with the Spirit with respect to ourselves as seen in Ephesians, our experience is entirely different – Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be [continually] filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God. Our being filled with the Spirit is a continuous process throughout the course of our race of the faith, it is never instantaneous and for us to be filled with the Spirit is a matter of choice to faithful obedience – Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. We are filled with the Spirit through our proper engagement with the Word, by choosing to allow the ‘Word of Christ’ to dwell in us ‘richly in all wisdom’, by embracing the Word of the Kingdom and the salvation of the soul which it brings – Jas 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. And so, the experience of being filled with the Spirit seen throughout the Book of Acts cannot be separated from Joel’s prophecy – but when Joel’s prophecy is put on hold, in the time following Acts 28:28, then the only way a Christian can be filled with the Spirit is through that seen in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 – a filling completely apart from Joel’s prophecy and as we have seen God in His wisdom has used 2 different Greek words for ‘fill’ to make this abundantly clear. Power Point – Slide 5 i). And finally, when those in the upper room were immersed in the Spirit this was an event that happened subsequent to their eternal salvation, but for us our immersion comes at the moment of our eternal salvation - a onetime event that is never repeated – 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Gal 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Our baptism, our immersion in the Spirit, then makes us a new creation in Christ, part of the one new man, so as to be heirs according to the promise. j). And beyond our immersion we are then to be continually filled with the Spirit through the Word so that the promises we are heirs to can be realized. We will need to continue with this next time – if the Lord is willing. Sunday November 4th 2018 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 12A ‘The Salvation of God Has Been Sent to the Gentiles’ 1). Acts 28:28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” 29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. We have seen in our previous studies that when Paul turned from the Jews to the Gentiles while in Rome, recorded here in Acts Chapter 28, that this marked the end of the re-offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens to the Jewish nation, a re-offer which began about three decades earlier on the Day of Pentecost, as we have seen, in Acts Chapter 2 – Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And with the close of the re-offer of the Kingdom to Israel the salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles through the offer of the Kingdom being made then, and still being made now, to eternally saved Gentiles, those comprising the one New Man in Christ, the Church. And because the audience for the message was now different and because the circumstances in which the offer was being made were also different there were, of necessity, inevitable changes that occurred surrounding the proclamation of the message. a). So, in order to begin to understand these changes, we will start by looking at miraculous signs - We have seen many times before the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel as described at the beginning of Isaiah’s prophecy - Isa 1:4 Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. 5 Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Twelve - A Nov 04, 2018 Speaker: John Herbert Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T001_20181104.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Acts 28:28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” As the offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens moves exclusively to the 'Gentile' Church there are now differences surrounding the proclamation of the message. We will begin to look at these today. The full text of today's message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday November 4th 2018 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 12A ‘The Salvation of God Has Been Sent to the Gentiles’ 1). Acts 28:28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” 29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. We have seen in our previous studies that when Paul turned from the Jews to the Gentiles while in Rome, recorded here in Acts Chapter 28, that this marked the end of the re-offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens to the Jewish nation, a re-offer which began about three decades earlier on the Day of Pentecost, as we have seen, in Acts Chapter 2 – Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And with the close of the re-offer of the Kingdom to Israel the salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles through the offer of the Kingdom being made then, and still being made now, to eternally saved Gentiles, those comprising the one New Man in Christ, the Church. And because the audience for the message was now different and because the circumstances in which the offer was being made were also different there were, of necessity, inevitable changes that occurred surrounding the proclamation of the message. a). So, in order to begin to understand these changes, we will start by looking at miraculous signs - We have seen many times before the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel as described at the beginning of Isaiah’s prophecy - Isa 1:4 Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. 5 Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment. However, despite this depressing picture Isaiah also drew attention to the time when that seen in the opening verses of his prophecy would radically change – Isa 1:26 I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness. And in Hosea this radical change in Israel’s condition is given a specific timeframe- Hosea 6:1 Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. 2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. And in the last six verses of the last Chapter of the OT, Malachi also prophesied concerning the healing of this same spiritual sickness seen in both Isaiah and Hosea - Malachi 4:2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. And from a scriptural standpoint the very next thing that we see following the close of Malachi, with the promise of the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in His wings, is the advent of the Christ, whose ministry was marked by miraculous physical healings that were inseparably connected to the offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens. An offer concerning rulership from the heavens over the earth symbolized through the greater light to rule the Day, the Sun, a time when the healing of the nation would be fulfilled. b). These were physical healings which pointed to the spiritual healing of the nation that would follow repentance with the Kingdom, the Sun of Righteousness, in view. Which is exactly how these matters are dealt with throughout the OT, beginning with Moses and Joshua and seen again through Elijah and Elisha. c). Mt 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. And the abundance of these miraculous signs increased all the more in the time leading up to Israel’s climactic rejection of the King and His Kingdom in Matthew Chapter 12, and within the overall scope of these signs death was no longer irreversible, seen through the raising of Lazarus, supernatural provision was on hand, seen in the feeding of the 5000, demonic spirits were cast out and angelic ministry was abundantly available. d). And although these signs continued beyond the point of the rejection of the Kingdom in Matthew Chapter 12, they were never at the same intensity as had been seen prior to that point. e). So, there are two specific things we will want to take away from this - firstly, that the miraculous signs seen during the Lord’s earthly ministry are in no sense random but completely in keeping with Israel’s spiritual condition and that which is presented prophetically with respect to the healing of this condition throughout the OT scriptures – and keeping this in mind we might recall the 8 signs recorded in John’s Gospel and the reason for those 8 signs being there – John 20:30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. And secondly, as the Christ and His Kingdom were rejected so the miraculous signs diminished as the likelihood of national repentance diminished, but they had to remain in place all the while the offer of the Kingdom remained open. 2). Acts 6:7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. 8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Beginning on the Day of Pentecost following the Lord’s resurrection the Kingdom of the Heavens began to be re-offered to Israel by the newly formed church and this re-offer was likewise accompanied by an abundance of miraculous signs, picking up exactly where they had left off following the Christ’s rejection. a). And from the Day of Pentecost the miraculous signs increased all the more until the climactic rejection of the re-offer of the Kingdom to Israel witnessed through the death of Stephen in Acts Chapter 7. b). Following Stephen’s death, as we have seen with the rejection of the Christ, the miraculous signs continued but not with the same intensity as had been seen prior to that point as again the likelihood of national repentance continued to diminish. No doubt we are seeing a pattern. c). Now, what will often cause confusion at this point is that we see miraculous signs taking place within the Gentile churches during the Acts period, which can lead to thinking that such signs belong in the church, even today. But if we follow the scripture all will become clear. d). Back in Deuteronomy God had prophesied to Israel concerning the Gentile church - De 32:21 They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. The first half of v21 deals with Israel’s actions that had provoked God to jealousy. The second half of the verse then deals with what God will do to provoke Israel to jealousy – He would do it ‘by those who are not a nation’, those who would form the church, those who would bring forth fruits for the Kingdom rejected by Israel, a people then other than the nation of Israel. e). We can also find additional commentary on this in Isaiah – Isa 65:1 “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by My name. 2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; And here in Isaiah we see a contrast between those who found God, but who had not originally sought Him, who at that time were not called by His name – and again this can only take us to the Gentiles, to those from whom God would call out a people for His name, the Church - those who were not the original recipients of the offer of the Kingdom who are contrasted with Israel, a rebellious people to whom He had stretched out His hands ‘all day long’. f). Then all of this is brought together for us through Paul’s words to the Romans - Ro 11:11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! And so, as we follow the manifestation of miraculous signs through the Book of Acts, we can clearly see that they continue to fulfill the purpose for which they were introduced, as seen during the Lord’s ministry, a ministry which itself has to be seen within the context of how the matter is dealt with in the OT. g). And even though miraculous signs appeared within the Gentile churches during the Acts period their twofold purpose, to provoke Israel to jealousy and to demonstrate the spiritual healing on offer to the nation was exclusively to do with Israel and the re-offer of the Kingdom and nothing else. h). Once we move beyond Acts 28:28 when the Kingdom is no longer on offer to Israel then miraculous signs can no longer be in place as Israel’s national repentance, and therefore spiritual healing, now awaits the end of the present dispensation and the 7 years of the Tribulation which will follow – ‘On the third day He will raise us up’. Only when God is dealing with Israel again in relation to the Kingdom can signs of the sort seen in the Gospels and Acts come into play again. I). We might notice that during the Acts period Paul was granted the power to perform miraculous signs for the purpose we have looked at – Ac 19:11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. But beyond Acts 28:28 Paul advised Timothy - 1 Tim 5:23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities. And we can add to this what we see in - 2 Tim 4:20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick. Beyond Acts 28:28 Paul no longer possessed that power. j). Miraculous signs are seen only in relation to Israel and the Kingdom. Remove Israel and/or the Kingdom and such signs cannot exist. k). And if any so called, miraculous sign as seen in the Gospels or Acts appears to be manifested within the Church today it can only be in a parallel sense to the lying signs and wonders seen in relation to Israel during the Tribulation – Mt 24:23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 2 Thes 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, Mt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ 3). And then during the Acts period itself Paul wrote about the time when miraculous signs would end in his first letter to the Corinthians, a letter written to a Gentile church during Acts - 1 Cor 13:8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. Now Paul does not list all miraculous signs here, but 3 that are particularly pertinent to the Corinthian church and the 3 are used as representative of all signs. Given what we know to be the reason for the existence of miraculous signs it would be nonsense to think that some signs came to an end with the close of the offer of the Kingdom and some continued. a). There are 2 contrasting periods of time set out in 1 Corinthians 13. One period of time seen through the phrase ‘in part’ and the other through the word ‘perfect’. b). We need to understand the word translated as ‘perfect’ as ‘complete’ – a period of time then when something is completed. c). And the phrase ‘in part’ refers to a period of time when that which is to be completed remains incomplete – miraculous signs, prophecies, tongues, knowledge etc., occur during the time when that which is complete remains uncompleted. But when completion comes then those miraculous signs that occurred during a time when completeness hadn’t come ‘will be done away’. They will cease. d). So, to try to make this a bit easier to understand – miraculous signs happened during the time when the Kingdom of the Heavens was being offered to an unrepentant Israel. But the time in which God would do this was not unlimited. e). We have seen how it began with the ministry of John and then Jesus and how it came to an end with Paul in Rome in Acts 28:28. And so, within this period of time, from Jesus to Paul, God’s dealings with Israel with regards to the heavenly realm of the Kingdom remained incomplete – they were a work in progress if you like. f). Then with the events of Acts 28:28, when Paul turned to the Gentiles, God’s dealings with Israel with respect to the Kingdom of the Heavens came to an end – it was now complete. And when that which was complete came then the things seen in relation to the period of time categorized by incompleteness, the offer of the Kingdom / miraculous signs, were done away. They ceased. And that’s how matters remain even to the present. Power Point – Slides 1-3 4). So, let’s move on from miraculous signs - Ac 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Ac 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. We have seen from these verses from Acts Chapters 1 and 2 a baptizing with the Spirit and a filling with the Spirit in relation to those who would form the nucleus of the Church. a). And being baptized with the Spirit and filled with the Spirit are as much a part of our experience as it was for those gathered in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. b). However, our experience of being baptized with the Spirit and filled with the Spirit is markedly different from theirs for a reason that must not be overlooked – Ac 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: It is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy that marks the difference. c). On the Day of Pentecost, as we see at the beginning of Acts Chapter 2, those in the upper room were immersed in the Spirit as the house in which they were was filled with the Spirit – this was a tangible experience witnessed through sight and sound and was subsequent to their eternal salvation. d). And concurrent with this those in the upper room were filled with the Spirit, resulting in them speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave then utterance. e). And as we have noted today and seen in other studies, this is an experience inextricably connected with the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy – a prophecy which remains the exclusive possession of Israel and cannot be transferred to the Church. f). And the Holy Spirit in order to make this abundantly clear has deliberately used 2 completely different Greek words for the action of being filled with the Spirit – one is used, ‘pimplemi’ for the filling of the Spirit in Acts through the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy – and the other, ‘pleroo’ is used with regards to Christians being filled with the Spirit as seen in Ephesians 5:18 – a filling with the Spirit that has nothing to do with Joel’s prophecy. And in this way the Holy Spirit clearly delineates the difference between the 2 experiences. Power Point – Slide 4 g). In Acts, because of Joel’s prophecy, there is an instant, tangible, filling with the Spirit for a specific purpose. h). But, as we look at being filled with the Spirit with respect to ourselves as seen in Ephesians, our experience is entirely different – Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be [continually] filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God. Our being filled with the Spirit is a continuous process throughout the course of our race of the faith, it is never instantaneous and for us to be filled with the Spirit is a matter of choice to faithful obedience – Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. We are filled with the Spirit through our proper engagement with the Word, by choosing to allow the ‘Word of Christ’ to dwell in us ‘richly in all wisdom’, by embracing the Word of the Kingdom and the salvation of the soul which it brings – Jas 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. And so, the experience of being filled with the Spirit seen throughout the Book of Acts cannot be separated from Joel’s prophecy – but when Joel’s prophecy is put on hold, in the time following Acts 28:28, then the only way a Christian can be filled with the Spirit is through that seen in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 – a filling completely apart from Joel’s prophecy and as we have seen God in His wisdom has used 2 different Greek words for ‘fill’ to make this abundantly clear. Power Point – Slide 5 i). And finally, when those in the upper room were immersed in the Spirit this was an event that happened subsequent to their eternal salvation, but for us our immersion comes at the moment of our eternal salvation - a onetime event that is never repeated – 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Gal 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Our baptism, our immersion in the Spirit, then makes us a new creation in Christ, part of the one new man, so as to be heirs according to the promise. j). And beyond our immersion we are then to be continually filled with the Spirit through the Word so that the promises we are heirs to can be realized. We will need to continue with this next time – if the Lord is willing. Sunday November 4th 2018 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 12A ‘The Salvation of God Has Been Sent to the Gentiles’ 1). Acts 28:28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” 29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. We have seen in our previous studies that when Paul turned from the Jews to the Gentiles while in Rome, recorded here in Acts Chapter 28, that this marked the end of the re-offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens to the Jewish nation, a re-offer which began about three decades earlier on the Day of Pentecost, as we have seen, in Acts Chapter 2 – Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And with the close of the re-offer of the Kingdom to Israel the salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles through the offer of the Kingdom being made then, and still being made now, to eternally saved Gentiles, those comprising the one New Man in Christ, the Church. And because the audience for the message was now different and because the circumstances in which the offer was being made were also different there were, of necessity, inevitable changes that occurred surrounding the proclamation of the message. a). So, in order to begin to understand these changes, we will start by looking at miraculous signs - We have seen many times before the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel as described at the beginning of Isaiah’s prophecy - Isa 1:4 Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. 5 Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment. However, despite this depressing picture Isaiah also drew attention to the time when that seen in the opening verses of his prophecy would radically change – Isa 1:26 I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness. And in Hosea this radical change in Israel’s condition is given a specific timeframe- Hosea 6:1 Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. 2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. And in the last six verses of the last Chapter of the OT, Malachi also prophesied concerning the healing of this same spiritual sickness seen in both Isaiah and Hosea - Malachi 4:2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. And from a scriptural standpoint the very next thing that we see following the close of Malachi, with the promise of the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in His wings, is the advent of the Christ, whose ministry was marked by miraculous physical healings that were inseparably connected to the offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens. An offer concerning rulership from the heavens over the earth symbolized through the greater light to rule the Day, the Sun, a time when the healing of the nation would be fulfilled. b). These were physical healings which pointed to the spiritual healing of the nation that would follow repentance with the Kingdom, the Sun of Righteousness, in view. Which is exactly how these matters are dealt with throughout the OT, beginning with Moses and Joshua and seen again through Elijah and Elisha. c). Mt 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. And the abundance of these miraculous signs increased all the more in the time leading up to Israel’s climactic rejection of the King and His Kingdom in Matthew Chapter 12, and within the overall scope of these signs death was no longer irreversible, seen through the raising of Lazarus, supernatural provision was on hand, seen in the feeding of the 5000, demonic spirits were cast out and angelic ministry was abundantly available. d). And although these signs continued beyond the point of the rejection of the Kingdom in Matthew Chapter 12, they were never at the same intensity as had been seen prior to that point. e). So, there are two specific things we will want to take away from this - firstly, that the miraculous signs seen during the Lord’s earthly ministry are in no sense random but completely in keeping with Israel’s spiritual condition and that which is presented prophetically with respect to the healing of this condition throughout the OT scriptures – and keeping this in mind we might recall the 8 signs recorded in John’s Gospel and the reason for those 8 signs being there – John 20:30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. And secondly, as the Christ and His Kingdom were rejected so the miraculous signs diminished as the likelihood of national repentance diminished, but they had to remain in place all the while the offer of the Kingdom remained open. 2). Acts 6:7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. 8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Beginning on the Day of Pentecost following the Lord’s resurrection the Kingdom of the Heavens began to be re-offered to Israel by the newly formed church and this re-offer was likewise accompanied by an abundance of miraculous signs, picking up exactly where they had left off following the Christ’s rejection. a). And from the Day of Pentecost the miraculous signs increased all the more until the climactic rejection of the re-offer of the Kingdom to Israel witnessed through the death of Stephen in Acts Chapter 7. b). Following Stephen’s death, as we have seen with the rejection of the Christ, the miraculous signs continued but not with the same intensity as had been seen prior to that point as again the likelihood of national repentance continued to diminish. No doubt we are seeing a pattern. c). Now, what will often cause confusion at this point is that we see miraculous signs taking place within the Gentile churches during the Acts period, which can lead to thinking that such signs belong in the church, even today. But if we follow the scripture all will become clear. d). Back in Deuteronomy God had prophesied to Israel concerning the Gentile church - De 32:21 They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. The first half of v21 deals with Israel’s actions that had provoked God to jealousy. The second half of the verse then deals with what God will do to provoke Israel to jealousy – He would do it ‘by those who are not a nation’, those who would form the church, those who would bring forth fruits for the Kingdom rejected by Israel, a people then other than the nation of Israel. e). We can also find additional commentary on this in Isaiah – Isa 65:1 “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by My name. 2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; And here in Isaiah we see a contrast between those who found God, but who had not originally sought Him, who at that time were not called by His name – and again this can only take us to the Gentiles, to those from whom God would call out a people for His name, the Church - those who were not the original recipients of the offer of the Kingdom who are contrasted with Israel, a rebellious people to whom He had stretched out His hands ‘all day long’. f). Then all of this is brought together for us through Paul’s words to the Romans - Ro 11:11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! And so, as we follow the manifestation of miraculous signs through the Book of Acts, we can clearly see that they continue to fulfill the purpose for which they were introduced, as seen during the Lord’s ministry, a ministry which itself has to be seen within the context of how the matter is dealt with in the OT. g). And even though miraculous signs appeared within the Gentile churches during the Acts period their twofold purpose, to provoke Israel to jealousy and to demonstrate the spiritual healing on offer to the nation was exclusively to do with Israel and the re-offer of the Kingdom and nothing else. h). Once we move beyond Acts 28:28 when the Kingdom is no longer on offer to Israel then miraculous signs can no longer be in place as Israel’s national repentance, and therefore spiritual healing, now awaits the end of the present dispensation and the 7 years of the Tribulation which will follow – ‘On the third day He will raise us up’. Only when God is dealing with Israel again in relation to the Kingdom can signs of the sort seen in the Gospels and Acts come into play again. I). We might notice that during the Acts period Paul was granted the power to perform miraculous signs for the purpose we have looked at – Ac 19:11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. But beyond Acts 28:28 Paul advised Timothy - 1 Tim 5:23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities. And we can add to this what we see in - 2 Tim 4:20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick. Beyond Acts 28:28 Paul no longer possessed that power. j). Miraculous signs are seen only in relation to Israel and the Kingdom. Remove Israel and/or the Kingdom and such signs cannot exist. k). And if any so called, miraculous sign as seen in the Gospels or Acts appears to be manifested within the Church today it can only be in a parallel sense to the lying signs and wonders seen in relation to Israel during the Tribulation – Mt 24:23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 2 Thes 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, Mt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ 3). And then during the Acts period itself Paul wrote about the time when miraculous signs would end in his first letter to the Corinthians, a letter written to a Gentile church during Acts - 1 Cor 13:8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. Now Paul does not list all miraculous signs here, but 3 that are particularly pertinent to the Corinthian church and the 3 are used as representative of all signs. Given what we know to be the reason for the existence of miraculous signs it would be nonsense to think that some signs came to an end with the close of the offer of the Kingdom and some continued. a). There are 2 contrasting periods of time set out in 1 Corinthians 13. One period of time seen through the phrase ‘in part’ and the other through the word ‘perfect’. b). We need to understand the word translated as ‘perfect’ as ‘complete’ – a period of time then when something is completed. c). And the phrase ‘in part’ refers to a period of time when that which is to be completed remains incomplete – miraculous signs, prophecies, tongues, knowledge etc., occur during the time when that which is complete remains uncompleted. But when completion comes then those miraculous signs that occurred during a time when completeness hadn’t come ‘will be done away’. They will cease. d). So, to try to make this a bit easier to understand – miraculous signs happened during the time when the Kingdom of the Heavens was being offered to an unrepentant Israel. But the time in which God would do this was not unlimited. e). We have seen how it began with the ministry of John and then Jesus and how it came to an end with Paul in Rome in Acts 28:28. And so, within this period of time, from Jesus to Paul, God’s dealings with Israel with regards to the heavenly realm of the Kingdom remained incomplete – they were a work in progress if you like. f). Then with the events of Acts 28:28, when Paul turned to the Gentiles, God’s dealings with Israel with respect to the Kingdom of the Heavens came to an end – it was now complete. And when that which was complete came then the things seen in relation to the period of time categorized by incompleteness, the offer of the Kingdom / miraculous signs, were done away. They ceased. And that’s how matters remain even to the present. Power Point – Slides 1-3 4). So, let’s move on from miraculous signs - Ac 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Ac 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. We have seen from these verses from Acts Chapters 1 and 2 a baptizing with the Spirit and a filling with the Spirit in relation to those who would form the nucleus of the Church. a). And being baptized with the Spirit and filled with the Spirit are as much a part of our experience as it was for those gathered in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. b). However, our experience of being baptized with the Spirit and filled with the Spirit is markedly different from theirs for a reason that must not be overlooked – Ac 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: It is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy that marks the difference. c). On the Day of Pentecost, as we see at the beginning of Acts Chapter 2, those in the upper room were immersed in the Spirit as the house in which they were was filled with the Spirit – this was a tangible experience witnessed through sight and sound and was subsequent to their eternal salvation. d). And concurrent with this those in the upper room were filled with the Spirit, resulting in them speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave then utterance. e). And as we have noted today and seen in other studies, this is an experience inextricably connected with the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy – a prophecy which remains the exclusive possession of Israel and cannot be transferred to the Church. f). And the Holy Spirit in order to make this abundantly clear has deliberately used 2 completely different Greek words for the action of being filled with the Spirit – one is used, ‘pimplemi’ for the filling of the Spirit in Acts through the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy – and the other, ‘pleroo’ is used with regards to Christians being filled with the Spirit as seen in Ephesians 5:18 – a filling with the Spirit that has nothing to do with Joel’s prophecy. And in this way the Holy Spirit clearly delineates the difference between the 2 experiences. Power Point – Slide 4 g). In Acts, because of Joel’s prophecy, there is an instant, tangible, filling with the Spirit for a specific purpose. h). But, as we look at being filled with the Spirit with respect to ourselves as seen in Ephesians, our experience is entirely different – Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be [continually] filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God. Our being filled with the Spirit is a continuous process throughout the course of our race of the faith, it is never instantaneous and for us to be filled with the Spirit is a matter of choice to faithful obedience – Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. We are filled with the Spirit through our proper engagement with the Word, by choosing to allow the ‘Word of Christ’ to dwell in us ‘richly in all wisdom’, by embracing the Word of the Kingdom and the salvation of the soul which it brings – Jas 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. And so, the experience of being filled with the Spirit seen throughout the Book of Acts cannot be separated from Joel’s prophecy – but when Joel’s prophecy is put on hold, in the time following Acts 28:28, then the only way a Christian can be filled with the Spirit is through that seen in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 – a filling completely apart from Joel’s prophecy and as we have seen God in His wisdom has used 2 different Greek words for ‘fill’ to make this abundantly clear. Power Point – Slide 5 i). And finally, when those in the upper room were immersed in the Spirit this was an event that happened subsequent to their eternal salvation, but for us our immersion comes at the moment of our eternal salvation - a onetime event that is never repeated – 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Gal 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Our baptism, our immersion in the Spirit, then makes us a new creation in Christ, part of the one new man, so as to be heirs according to the promise. j). And beyond our immersion we are then to be continually filled with the Spirit through the Word so that the promises we are heirs to can be realized. We will need to continue with this next time – if the Lord is willing. Sunday November 4th 2018 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 12A ‘The Salvation of God Has Been Sent to the Gentiles’ 1). Acts 28:28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” 29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. We have seen in our previous studies that when Paul turned from the Jews to the Gentiles while in Rome, recorded here in Acts Chapter 28, that this marked the end of the re-offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens to the Jewish nation, a re-offer which began about three decades earlier on the Day of Pentecost, as we have seen, in Acts Chapter 2 – Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And with the close of the re-offer of the Kingdom to Israel the salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles through the offer of the Kingdom being made then, and still being made now, to eternally saved Gentiles, those comprising the one New Man in Christ, the Church. And because the audience for the message was now different and because the circumstances in which the offer was being made were also different there were, of necessity, inevitable changes that occurred surrounding the proclamation of the message. a). So, in order to begin to understand these changes, we will start by looking at miraculous signs - We have seen many times before the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel as described at the beginning of Isaiah’s prophecy - Isa 1:4 Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. 5 Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment. However, despite this depressing picture Isaiah also drew attention to the time when that seen in the opening verses of his prophecy would radically change – Isa 1:26 I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness. And in Hosea this radical change in Israel’s condition is given a specific timeframe- Hosea 6:1 Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. 2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. And in the last six verses of the last Chapter of the OT, Malachi also prophesied concerning the healing of this same spiritual sickness seen in both Isaiah and Hosea - Malachi 4:2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. And from a scriptural standpoint the very next thing that we see following the close of Malachi, with the promise of the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in His wings, is the advent of the Christ, whose ministry was marked by miraculous physical healings that were inseparably connected to the offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens. An offer concerning rulership from the heavens over the earth symbolized through the greater light to rule the Day, the Sun, a time when the healing of the nation would be fulfilled. b). These were physical healings which pointed to the spiritual healing of the nation that would follow repentance with the Kingdom, the Sun of Righteousness, in view. Which is exactly how these matters are dealt with throughout the OT, beginning with Moses and Joshua and seen again through Elijah and Elisha. c). Mt 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. And the abundance of these miraculous signs increased all the more in the time leading up to Israel’s climactic rejection of the King and His Kingdom in Matthew Chapter 12, and within the overall scope of these signs death was no longer irreversible, seen through the raising of Lazarus, supernatural provision was on hand, seen in the feeding of the 5000, demonic spirits were cast out and angelic ministry was abundantly available. d). And although these signs continued beyond the point of the rejection of the Kingdom in Matthew Chapter 12, they were never at the same intensity as had been seen prior to that point. e). So, there are two specific things we will want to take away from this - firstly, that the miraculous signs seen during the Lord’s earthly ministry are in no sense random but completely in keeping with Israel’s spiritual condition and that which is presented prophetically with respect to the healing of this condition throughout the OT scriptures – and keeping this in mind we might recall the 8 signs recorded in John’s Gospel and the reason for those 8 signs being there – John 20:30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. And secondly, as the Christ and His Kingdom were rejected so the miraculous signs diminished as the likelihood of national repentance diminished, but they had to remain in place all the while the offer of the Kingdom remained open. 2). Acts 6:7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. 8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Beginning on the Day of Pentecost following the Lord’s resurrection the Kingdom of the Heavens began to be re-offered to Israel by the newly formed church and this re-offer was likewise accompanied by an abundance of miraculous signs, picking up exactly where they had left off following the Christ’s rejection. a). And from the Day of Pentecost the miraculous signs increased all the more until the climactic rejection of the re-offer of the Kingdom to Israel witnessed through the death of Stephen in Acts Chapter 7. b). Following Stephen’s death, as we have seen with the rejection of the Christ, the miraculous signs continued but not with the same intensity as had been seen prior to that point as again the likelihood of national repentance continued to diminish. No doubt we are seeing a pattern. c). Now, what will often cause confusion at this point is that we see miraculous signs taking place within the Gentile churches during the Acts period, which can lead to thinking that such signs belong in the church, even today. But if we follow the scripture all will become clear. d). Back in Deuteronomy God had prophesied to Israel concerning the Gentile church - De 32:21 They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. The first half of v21 deals with Israel’s actions that had provoked God to jealousy. The second half of the verse then deals with what God will do to provoke Israel to jealousy – He would do it ‘by those who are not a nation’, those who would form the church, those who would bring forth fruits for the Kingdom rejected by Israel, a people then other than the nation of Israel. e). We can also find additional commentary on this in Isaiah – Isa 65:1 “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by My name. 2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; And here in Isaiah we see a contrast between those who found God, but who had not originally sought Him, who at that time were not called by His name – and again this can only take us to the Gentiles, to those from whom God would call out a people for His name, the Church - those who were not the original recipients of the offer of the Kingdom who are contrasted with Israel, a rebellious people to whom He had stretched out His hands ‘all day long’. f). Then all of this is brought together for us through Paul’s words to the Romans - Ro 11:11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! And so, as we follow the manifestation of miraculous signs through the Book of Acts, we can clearly see that they continue to fulfill the purpose for which they were introduced, as seen during the Lord’s ministry, a ministry which itself has to be seen within the context of how the matter is dealt with in the OT. g). And even though miraculous signs appeared within the Gentile churches during the Acts period their twofold purpose, to provoke Israel to jealousy and to demonstrate the spiritual healing on offer to the nation was exclusively to do with Israel and the re-offer of the Kingdom and nothing else. h). Once we move beyond Acts 28:28 when the Kingdom is no longer on offer to Israel then miraculous signs can no longer be in place as Israel’s national repentance, and therefore spiritual healing, now awaits the end of the present dispensation and the 7 years of the Tribulation which will follow – ‘On the third day He will raise us up’. Only when God is dealing with Israel again in relation to the Kingdom can signs of the sort seen in the Gospels and Acts come into play again. I). We might notice that during the Acts period Paul was granted the power to perform miraculous signs for the purpose we have looked at – Ac 19:11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. But beyond Acts 28:28 Paul advised Timothy - 1 Tim 5:23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities. And we can add to this what we see in - 2 Tim 4:20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick. Beyond Acts 28:28 Paul no longer possessed that power. j). Miraculous signs are seen only in relation to Israel and the Kingdom. Remove Israel and/or the Kingdom and such signs cannot exist. k). And if any so called, miraculous sign as seen in the Gospels or Acts appears to be manifested within the Church today it can only be in a parallel sense to the lying signs and wonders seen in relation to Israel during the Tribulation – Mt 24:23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 2 Thes 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, Mt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ 3). And then during the Acts period itself Paul wrote about the time when miraculous signs would end in his first letter to the Corinthians, a letter written to a Gentile church during Acts - 1 Cor 13:8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. Now Paul does not list all miraculous signs here, but 3 that are particularly pertinent to the Corinthian church and the 3 are used as representative of all signs. Given what we know to be the reason for the existence of miraculous signs it would be nonsense to think that some signs came to an end with the close of the offer of the Kingdom and some continued. a). There are 2 contrasting periods of time set out in 1 Corinthians 13. One period of time seen through the phrase ‘in part’ and the other through the word ‘perfect’. b). We need to understand the word translated as ‘perfect’ as ‘complete’ – a period of time then when something is completed. c). And the phrase ‘in part’ refers to a period of time when that which is to be completed remains incomplete – miraculous signs, prophecies, tongues, knowledge etc., occur during the time when that which is complete remains uncompleted. But when completion comes then those miraculous signs that occurred during a time when completeness hadn’t come ‘will be done away’. They will cease. d). So, to try to make this a bit easier to understand – miraculous signs happened during the time when the Kingdom of the Heavens was being offered to an unrepentant Israel. But the time in which God would do this was not unlimited. e). We have seen how it began with the ministry of John and then Jesus and how it came to an end with Paul in Rome in Acts 28:28. And so, within this period of time, from Jesus to Paul, God’s dealings with Israel with regards to the heavenly realm of the Kingdom remained incomplete – they were a work in progress if you like. f). Then with the events of Acts 28:28, when Paul turned to the Gentiles, God’s dealings with Israel with respect to the Kingdom of the Heavens came to an end – it was now complete. And when that which was complete came then the things seen in relation to the period of time categorized by incompleteness, the offer of the Kingdom / miraculous signs, were done away. They ceased. And that’s how matters remain even to the present. Power Point – Slides 1-3 4). So, let’s move on from miraculous signs - Ac 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Ac 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. We have seen from these verses from Acts Chapters 1 and 2 a baptizing with the Spirit and a filling with the Spirit in relation to those who would form the nucleus of the Church. a). And being baptized with the Spirit and filled with the Spirit are as much a part of our experience as it was for those gathered in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. b). However, our experience of being baptized with the Spirit and filled with the Spirit is markedly different from theirs for a reason that must not be overlooked – Ac 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: It is the beginning of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy that marks the difference. c). On the Day of Pentecost, as we see at the beginning of Acts Chapter 2, those in the upper room were immersed in the Spirit as the house in which they were was filled with the Spirit – this was a tangible experience witnessed through sight and sound and was subsequent to their eternal salvation. d). And concurrent with this those in the upper room were filled with the Spirit, resulting in them speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave then utterance. e). And as we have noted today and seen in other studies, this is an experience inextricably connected with the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy – a prophecy which remains the exclusive possession of Israel and cannot be transferred to the Church. f). And the Holy Spirit in order to make this abundantly clear has deliberately used 2 completely different Greek words for the action of being filled with the Spirit – one is used, ‘pimplemi’ for the filling of the Spirit in Acts through the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy – and the other, ‘pleroo’ is used with regards to Christians being filled with the Spirit as seen in Ephesians 5:18 – a filling with the Spirit that has nothing to do with Joel’s prophecy. And in this way the Holy Spirit clearly delineates the difference between the 2 experiences. Power Point – Slide 4 g). In Acts, because of Joel’s prophecy, there is an instant, tangible, filling with the Spirit for a specific purpose. h). But, as we look at being filled with the Spirit with respect to ourselves as seen in Ephesians, our experience is entirely different – Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be [continually] filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God. Our being filled with the Spirit is a continuous process throughout the course of our race of the faith, it is never instantaneous and for us to be filled with the Spirit is a matter of choice to faithful obedience – Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. We are filled with the Spirit through our proper engagement with the Word, by choosing to allow the ‘Word of Christ’ to dwell in us ‘richly in all wisdom’, by embracing the Word of the Kingdom and the salvation of the soul which it brings – Jas 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. And so, the experience of being filled with the Spirit seen throughout the Book of Acts cannot be separated from Joel’s prophecy – but when Joel’s prophecy is put on hold, in the time following Acts 28:28, then the only way a Christian can be filled with the Spirit is through that seen in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 – a filling completely apart from Joel’s prophecy and as we have seen God in His wisdom has used 2 different Greek words for ‘fill’ to make this abundantly clear. Power Point – Slide 5 i). And finally, when those in the upper room were immersed in the Spirit this was an event that happened subsequent to their eternal salvation, but for us our immersion comes at the moment of our eternal salvation - a onetime event that is never repeated – 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Gal 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Our baptism, our immersion in the Spirit, then makes us a new creation in Christ, part of the one new man, so as to be heirs according to the promise. j). And beyond our immersion we are then to be continually filled with the Spirit through the Word so that the promises we are heirs to can be realized. We will need to continue with this next time – if the Lord is willing. Sunday November 4th 2018 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 12A ‘The Salvation of God Has Been Sent to the Gentiles’ 1). Acts 28:28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” 29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. We have seen in our previous studies that when Paul turned from the Jews to the Gentiles while in Rome, recorded here in Acts Chapter 28, that this marked the end of the re-offer of the Kingdom of the Heavens to the Jewish nation, a re-offer which began about three decades earlier on the Day of Pentecost, as we have seen, in Acts Chapter 2 – Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And with the close of the re-offer of the Kingdom to Israel the salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles through the offer of the Kingdom being made then, and still being made now, to eternally saved Gentiles, those comprising the one New Man in Christ, the Church. And because the audience for the message was now different and because the circumstances in which the offer was being made were also different there were, of necessity, inevitable changes that occurred surrounding the proclamation of the message. a). So, in order to begin to understand these changes, we will start by looking at miraculous signs - We have seen many times before the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel as described at the beginning of Isaiah’s prophecy - Isa 1:4 Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. 5 Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And