Paul and The Final Gospel

You have said many things over the space of time and I have not responded. You have now just said.............
"Each dispensation had a different gospel.".

I
have no desire to be mean spirited to you but you either do not understand Dispensationalism or you are coping and pasting some really bad teaching.

May I say with all due respect to you that I for one agree with the words of H.A. Ironside, a well known and much loved Bible teacher, which should be sufficient to state the mainline Dispensational viewpoint. Here is what Ironside said :
"Let one point be absolutely clear: No one was ever saved in any dispensation on any other ground than the finished work of Christ. In all the ages before the cross, God justified men by faith; in all the years since, men have been justified in exactly the same way. Adam believed God and was clothed with coats of skin, a picture of one becoming the righteousness of God in Christ. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. Nevertheless, afterwards he was circumcised; but that circumcision, the apostle tells us, was simply a seal of the righteousness he had by faith. And throughout all the Old Testament dispensation, however legalistic Jews may have observed the ordinance of circumcision and thought of it as having in itself some saving virtue, it still remained in God's sight, as in the beginning, only a seal, where there was genuine faith, of that righteousness which He imputed. (Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth, p57,58)
Needless to say, the person who claims that Dispensationalism teaches different methods of salvation in different dispensations completely misunderstands the point of Dispensational doctrine! Dispensationalism is not about the method of God's salvation, but the methods of God's testing of man. In each Dispensation, God gives a different set of instructions. The instructions are for pleasing and obeying God, not for obtaining salvation. In each dispensation, man proves that whatever the circumstances, he is unable to please or obey God.

I have NEVER found ANY " ISM" to be the truth .
What an ism does is take A truth and endevours to read and understand all scripture the the prism of that truth , This is not possible and sooner or later those who go down that bypass will have to deny scriptures or else twist and out them out of context to make them 'fit' the ISM.
The devil by such methods wins both ways or can.
One by the error that is now beign propagated .
Two others who see both teh contradictions and errors of the ISM often deny the very truth it is based upon . In this case the sound doctrine of the various dispensations of God .
The Dispensations of God is a wonderful truth and doctrine . But like any other sound doctrine is one PART of a body of dcotrine that like the bones in a body work together and give the body strength and helpt it to stand when they work togther in harmony.

in Christ
gerald
 
I have NEVER found ANY " ISM" to be the truth .
What an ism does is take A truth and endevours to read and understand all scripture the the prism of that truth , This is not possible and sooner or later those who go down that bypass will have to deny scriptures or else twist and out them out of context to make them 'fit' the ISM.
The devil by such methods wins both ways or can.
One by the error that is now beign propagated .
Two others who see both teh contradictions and errors of the ISM often deny the very truth it is based upon . In this case the sound doctrine of the various dispensations of God .
The Dispensations of God is a wonderful truth and doctrine . But like any other sound doctrine is one PART of a body of dcotrine that like the bones in a body work together and give the body strength and helpt it to stand when they work togther in harmony.

in Christ
gerald

Gerald, Dispensationalism really is very simple. It is an approach to Biblical interpretation which states that God uses different means of working with people (Israel and the Church) during different periods of history which is exactly what the Word of God declares my brother.

Hebrews 1:1-2.........
"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds".

May I say to you that Dispensationalists, as a whole, seek to interpret the Scripture as literally as possible so as to remove and or limit what some say may be contradictions when in fact there are none. The positions hold that salvation has always been by faith, but it is manifested differently between Old and New Testaments again corresponding to Hebrews 1:1-2.

It accepts God’s covenants as vital parts of "periods of time" in activity. Also, there are promises to Israel that are yet to be fulfilled. Israel will be completely restored and be prominent in the world as it carries out God’s promises. The Church will not replace Israel. The Church did not exist in O.T. times. Premillennial theology is held by all dispensationalists. Pre-tribulation rapture is also held by almost all dispensationalists.

So, it is not an "Ism" but in fact the study of Time and how God operated in that Time frame in different manners again, according to Hebrews 1:1-2.
 
I am of the belief that Bible should always intrepret Bible. So as to get His meaning instead of man's :)
God Bless

Amen...........Absolutely correct!

That is why posting several Scriptures which speak to the teaching at hand helps to verify its meaning and then its application.
That way we can understand what God actually said instead of what we want it to have said.
 
Gerald, Dispensationalism really is very simple. It is an approach to Biblical interpretation which states that God uses different means of working with people (Israel and the Church) during different periods of history which is exactly what the Word of God declares my brother.

Hebrews 1:1-2.........
"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds".

May I say to you that Dispensationalists, as a whole, seek to interpret the Scripture as literally as possible so as to remove and or limit what some say may be contradictions when in fact there are none. The positions hold that salvation has always been by faith, but it is manifested differently between Old and New Testaments again corresponding to Hebrews 1:1-2.

It accepts God’s covenants as vital parts of "periods of time" in activity. Also, there are promises to Israel that are yet to be fulfilled. Israel will be completely restored and be prominent in the world as it carries out God’s promises. The Church will not replace Israel. The Church did not exist in O.T. times. Premillennial theology is held by all dispensationalists. Pre-tribulation rapture is also held by almost all dispensationalists.

So, it is not an "Ism" but in fact the study of Time and how God operated in that Time frame in different manners again, according to Hebrews 1:1-2.

I would have hoped that any careful reading of my post would have shown I accept and believe in the dispensations of God .
Of the Father Primarily in the Old Testament .The Son in the New and the Holy Spirit whcih is the church age .
The Jews having rejected the Father then the Son then in the end the Holy Spirit have suffered the consequences for the last 2000 years .
They will one day be restored by God according to the Word of God the Son and the Spirit . As you so rightly pointed out . There are many promises made to them yet to be fullfilled .
If then what happened to them what will happen to the gentiles? For they have no excuse as they have the jews given "for an ensample"
THE faith that was once and for all dleivered to the saints which is the SAME gospel as first preached or taught by the Lord God Himself in the garden of eden.
Is confirmed by Paul in Hebrews having ABEL the first mention of a man of faith who was because of his faith in the coming promise was accepted and counted righteous by God.
The first covenant was "Let us make man in our own image"
What i said was any ISM .
If you define a person as a dispensationist as one who belives the clear teaching of scripture that there were and are the dispensation sof God .Then I would and could accept that. But if you suggest that they then hold that doctrine above all others then I would say they are not wise to do so .
If they go to the extreme and it becomes an ISM then they are almost inevitably going to be in error . Not because the dispensation of God are an error .But because they have taken that truth out of context of all the other truths and doctrines of scripture.

Hebrews 1:1 was God speaking in PARTS what eh could not speak either in whole for wisdoms sake and that prophets can only speak in part and it needed a perfect man to perfectly express what needed and desired to be said.
Thus in sundry times and in divers ways spake by the prophets .
Words beign what they are can only be said one word at a time or in parts.
But the Word became flesh and God hath in these last days spoken to us by His Son.
I would argue that God has been as it were saying the same thing all the time .
But the Bible is a perfect revelation of God as much as anything else . But cannot be known by the letter only.
For the Word is a seed ,only.
I would agree with you for the need of taking God seriously . For He knows what he means and means what He says .
The only contradictions which are true contraidctions are of men.
pefectly expressed when it says the Lord" endured the contradiction of sinners"
Any apparant other contradiction is only skin deep or superficial and usualy means I need to dig deeper to get to bedrock.
Something that 'ISM's do not do . For they ignore any and all scriptures that would contradict thier ism even though it applies .
If any truth is true .Then all those seemingly contradictory scriuptures that do apply but seem not to 'fit'
Can and always are resolved and harmonised IN Christ ,never outside Christ .

in Christ
gerald
 
I would have hoped that any careful reading of my post would have shown I accept and believe in the dispensations of God .
Of the Father Primarily in the Old Testament .The Son in the New and the Holy Spirit whcih is the church age .
The Jews having rejected the Father then the Son then in the end the Holy Spirit have suffered the consequences for the last 2000 years .
They will one day be restored by God according to the Word of God the Son and the Spirit . As you so rightly pointed out . There are many promises made to them yet to be fullfilled .
If then what happened to them what will happen to the gentiles? For they have no excuse as they have the jews given "for an ensample"
THE faith that was once and for all dleivered to the saints which is the SAME gospel as first preached or taught by the Lord God Himself in the garden of eden.
Is confirmed by Paul in Hebrews having ABEL the first mention of a man of faith who was because of his faith in the coming promise was accepted and counted righteous by God.
The first covenant was "Let us make man in our own image"
What i said was any ISM .
If you define a person as a dispensationist as one who belives the clear teaching of scripture that there were and are the dispensation sof God .Then I would and could accept that. But if you suggest that they then hold that doctrine above all others then I would say they are not wise to do so .
If they go to the extreme and it becomes an ISM then they are almost inevitably going to be in error . Not because the dispensation of God are an error .But because they have taken that truth out of context of all the other truths and doctrines of scripture.

Hebrews 1:1 was God speaking in PARTS what eh could not speak either in whole for wisdoms sake and that prophets can only speak in part and it needed a perfect man to perfectly express what needed and desired to be said.
Thus in sundry times and in divers ways spake by the prophets .
Words beign what they are can only be said one word at a time or in parts.
But the Word became flesh and God hath in these last days spoken to us by His Son.
I would argue that God has been as it were saying the same thing all the time .
But the Bible is a perfect revelation of God as much as anything else . But cannot be known by the letter only.
For the Word is a seed ,only.
I would agree with you for the need of taking God seriously . For He knows what he means and means what He says .
The only contradictions which are true contraidctions are of men.
pefectly expressed when it says the Lord" endured the contradiction of sinners"
Any apparant other contradiction is only skin deep or superficial and usualy means I need to dig deeper to get to bedrock.
Something that 'ISM's do not do . For they ignore any and all scriptures that would contradict thier ism even though it applies .
If any truth is true .Then all those seemingly contradictory scriuptures that do apply but seem not to 'fit'
Can and always are resolved and harmonised IN Christ ,never outside Christ .

in Christ
gerald

All I was pointing out was that the "Ism" of Dispensationalism is only the study of God's relationship with man over "Time".

"Ism's" IMO is what we call religionists who place more faith in their leaders than they do the Word of God. That in due time always turns into a Cult.
 
All I was pointing out was that the "Ism" of Dispensationalism is only the study of God's relationship with man over "Time".

"Ism's" IMO is what we call religionists who place more faith in their leaders than they do the Word of God. That in due time always turns into a Cult.

My expereince is that anything with an ISM at the end of it will does and is leading people into error .
Which is why I seperate a sound doctrine from its equivelant ISM.
and why advise anybody to not get involved in the internable debates and strivings that arise from them.
But rather speak the truth .

In Christ
gerald
 
My expereince is that anything with an ISM at the end of it will does and is leading people into error .
Which is why I seperate a sound doctrine from its equivelant ISM.
and why advise anybody to not get involved in the internable debates and strivings that arise from them.
But rather speak the truth .

In Christ
gerald

Gerald.......aren't we saying the same thing brother????
 
Gerald.......aren't we saying the same thing brother????

At root yes . you would simply have dispensationalISM as ok. or rather I understood you would still use it as a short cut explanation ?
I would not.
For reasons you ahve given and my own.,

in Christ
gerald
 
This gospel occupies only one fifth of the Bible, but it deals exclusively with what God is doing today. This gospel, the final gospel, clearly presents a people who love God and fulfills everything he has ever wanted in humans. It is strange that the religious world of today, that speaks and writes on every subject that has to do with God's history of dealing with people on earth, hardly ever speaks of the humans, who daily God is birthing to live in his house eternally.

The underlined is not true. Many OT loved God and many who claim to be Christians today, hate Him.

God is impartial. Humans OT were on par with humans NT. If anything we are lessor humans. There is one gospel to mankind and that is 'repent'. Psalm 51:17 is just as true for David, Adam and Eve as it is for you and I.

Consider how God approached Cain when he murdered Abel. God approached Cain because Cain pushed the envelope with sin. God wanted Cain to repent. Cain did not and God had him excomunnicated. It is important to note that God did not have him stoned to death like was enforced on Jews.

Then consider Sodom and Nineveh. Do you think the angels or Jonah were ever told / had thoughts of...sharing the importance on respecting the Sabbath? Tithing to the Levites? No. Their message was simply ''repent''. Your wickedness is full measure and God cannot allow it to go on.

I personally don't see dispensations as a result. I believe there was a special message to the Jews and then a message to everyone else. The only difference in the message to everyone else today is that we are living after the cross. Hence we can enter eternal life now. We don't need to go to heaven via Abraham's bosom. We still however have to understand why those in the OT were in AB and not Hades.

If people in the OT did not know about the coming Messiah (I guess all non Jews), they still knew the value in repenting. They knew that a good God would make a plan for them. This expectation of God is written in our dna imho.

We need to always remember that genuine love for God is to 'hate what is evil and cling to what is good' Rom 12:9. Many OT did exactly that. Anyone who claims to serve / believe in Jesus but does not have this genuine love, will be in hell oneday.
 
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At root yes . you would simply have dispensationalISM as ok. or rather I understood you would still use it as a short cut explanation ?
I would not.
For reasons you ahve given and my own.,

in Christ
gerald

Gerald. I have no need to banter back and forth over an opinion that you have on something that really needs no opinion at all. It seems to me that at the root of this is a failure to grasp what it is that we are talking about.

Dispensationalism is a theological system that emphasizes the literal interpretation of Bible prophecy, recognizes a distinction between Israel and the church, and organizes the Bible into different dispensations or administrations.

How can that in any way be thought of as a "short cut" or an erroneous way of studying the Word of God?

Dispensationalism stresses the "Literal" approach to God's Word. Now there are at least two reasons why literalism is the best way to view Scripture.

First, philosophically, the purpose of language itself requires that we interpret words literally. Language was given by God for the purpose of being able to communicate. Words are vessels of meaning.

The second reason is biblical. Every prophecy about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament was fulfilled literally. Jesus’ birth, ministry, death, and resurrection all occurred exactly as the Old Testament predicted. The prophecies were literal. There is no non-literal fulfillment of messianic prophecies in the New Testament. This argues strongly for the literal method.

Here then is the key and it is where I think that you are coming from. If a literal interpretation is not used in studying the Scriptures, there is no objective standard by which to understand the Bible. That would then allow each person to be able to interpret the Bible as he saw fit. Biblical interpretation would devolve into “what this passage says to me” instead of “the Bible says.” Sadly, this is already the case in much of what is called Bible study today and quite frankly that is exactly what is seen on this web site on a daily basis.
 
The underlined is not true. Many OT loved God and many who claim to be Christians today, hate Him.

God is impartial. Humans OT were on par with humans NT. If anything we are lessor humans. There is one gospel to mankind and that is 'repent'. Psalm 51:17 is just as true for David, Adam and Eve as it is for you and I.

Consider how God approached Cain when he murdered Abel. God approached Cain because Cain pushed the envelope with sin. God wanted Cain to repent. Cain did not and God had him excomunnicated. It is important to note that God did not have him stoned to death like was enforced on Jews.

Then consider Sodom and Nineveh. Do you think the angels or Jonah were ever told / had thoughts of...sharing the importance on respecting the Sabbath? Tithing to the Levites? No. Their message was simply ''repent''. Your wickedness is full measure and God cannot allow it to go on.

I personally don't see dispensations as a result. I believe there was a special message to the Jews and then a message to everyone else. The only difference in the message to everyone else today is that we are living after the cross. Hence we can enter eternal life now. We don't need to go to heaven via Abraham's bosom. We still however have to understand why those in the OT were in AB and not Hades.

If people in the OT did not know about the coming Messiah (I guess all non Jews), they still knew the value in repenting. They knew that a good God would make a plan for them. This expectation of God is written in our dna imho.

We need to always remember that genuine love for God is to 'hate what is evil and cling to what is good' Rom 12:9. Many OT did exactly that. Anyone who claims to serve / believe in Jesus but does not have this genuine love, will be in hell oneday.

So the birthing means nothing, just another commingling of everything that is writen like there is no specific message to anyone.
What He said to Abraham is good for Isaiah.
What He said to Adam is good for Moses.
And so on, it is just not there and to pinpoint that God has done specific things with specific people's at specific times all through the Scriptures is to Tread on the doctrine of the multitudes
 
So the birthing means nothing, just another commingling of everything that is writen like there is no specific message to anyone.
What He said to Abraham is good for Isaiah.
What He said to Adam is good for Moses.
And so on, it is just not there and to pinpoint that God has done specific things with specific people's at specific times all through the Scriptures is to Tread on the doctrine of the multitudes
God would be evil if He was partial. God is not partial. David told us to give thanks because God is good Psalm 136:1. You just need to meditate on Psalm 51:17 'nobody who repents truthfully is turned away' and 2 Cor 5:15 'Jesus died for all mankind'. Then a verse like Jer 17:10 'God judges heart and mind' has always applied to anyone who ''repents''.

The real brain teaser is in understanding that He was impartial to the Jews. On face value it seems like they received the worst deal in history. But looking closer we see that they received promises to counter the curse of the law. Non tithers went into poverty countered by tithers having the windows of heaven opened to them. Trials in the desert countered by a promised land of milk and honey.
 
So the birthing means nothing, just another commingling of everything that is writen like there is no specific message to anyone.
What He said to Abraham is good for Isaiah.
What He said to Adam is good for Moses.
And so on, it is just not there and to pinpoint that God has done specific things with specific people's at specific times all through the Scriptures is to Tread on the doctrine of the multitudes

My dear brother......I think you are missing this completely.
Did God give the Law to Abraham? When God spoke to Abraham He did not tell him what He told Moses.
God said nothing at all about the Law to Abraham. God did not give Abraham the 10 Commandments.

Then when God spoke to David later on He told him that there was a king coming in his physical birth line who would be his Saviour. BUT......He did not tell Moses that and He did not tell Abraham that.

Hebrews 1:1 tells us that God did not give all of His truth to any one man. Instead He added to it as He dealt with different men through the ages and in the fullness of time He sent HIs Son.

So we now live in the glorious shadow of God's grace according to Hebrews 1:2 ..."and in these last days God has spoken unto us by His Son."

Now I know a lot of people reject what I am about to say and that is because they reject the literal Word of God.

God has spoken through His Son Jesus. That is the literal words we read in Hebrews 1:2. In my opinion, according to that verse, IF God spoke out of heaven today, at this very moment, He would repeat something which He has already said.
WHY????? Because we have the last word from God to this world and it is in Jesus Christ.

Matthew 17:5.....
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him".
 
Gerald. I have no need to banter back and forth over an opinion that you have on something that really needs no opinion at all. It seems to me that at the root of this is a failure to grasp what it is that we are talking about.

Dispensationalism is a theological system that emphasizes the literal interpretation of Bible prophecy, recognizes a distinction between Israel and the church, and organizes the Bible into different dispensations or administrations.

How can that in any way be thought of as a "short cut" or an erroneous way of studying the Word of God?

Dispensationalism stresses the "Literal" approach to God's Word. Now there are at least two reasons why literalism is the best way to view Scripture.

First, philosophically, the purpose of language itself requires that we interpret words literally. Language was given by God for the purpose of being able to communicate. Words are vessels of meaning.

The second reason is biblical. Every prophecy about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament was fulfilled literally. Jesus’ birth, ministry, death, and resurrection all occurred exactly as the Old Testament predicted. The prophecies were literal. There is no non-literal fulfillment of messianic prophecies in the New Testament. This argues strongly for the literal method.

Here then is the key and it is where I think that you are coming from. If a literal interpretation is not used in studying the Scriptures, there is no objective standard by which to understand the Bible. That would then allow each person to be able to interpret the Bible as he saw fit. Biblical interpretation would devolve into “what this passage says to me” instead of “the Bible says.” Sadly, this is already the case in much of what is called Bible study today and quite frankly that is exactly what is seen on this web site on a daily basis.

The way any man can truly understand the scriptures is by the same Holy Spirit that inspired them.
While gramitacaly dispensationism is perfectly acceptable . In therms of use practice and modern theology . It is not without some serious qualification.
That men are now subjectign the scriptures to mens minds rather than than mens minds subject to the Spirit fo Christ is primarily the reason why we have the truth out of joint these days .

Inn Christ
gerald
 
The way any man can truly understand the scriptures is by the same Holy Spirit that inspired them.
While gramitacaly dispensationism is perfectly acceptable . In therms of use practice and modern theology . It is not without some serious qualification.
That men are now subjectign the scriptures to mens minds rather than than mens minds subject to the Spirit fo Christ is primarily the reason why we have the truth out of joint these days .

Inn Christ
gerald

Well said. While there is NO perfect method I for one believe it to be the best of what is available as it address all the particulars of Bible truth and for ME, allows all the pieces to fit perfectly together.
 
God would be evil if He was partial. God is not partial. David told us to give thanks because God is good Psalm 136:1. You just need to meditate on Psalm 51:17 'nobody who repents truthfully is turned away' and 2 Cor 5:15 'Jesus died for all mankind'. Then a verse like Jer 17:10 'God judges heart and mind' has always applied to anyone who ''repents''.

The real brain teaser is in understanding that He was impartial to the Jews. On face value it seems like they received the worst deal in history. But looking closer we see that they received promises to counter the curse of the law. Non tithers went into poverty countered by tithers having the windows of heaven opened to them. Trials in the desert countered by a promised land of milk and honey.

I just see it different, the way He has handled people in different dispensations. We know God doesn't change, but the way he has handled people through the ages has changed. What he said to Adam and Eve he was not saying to Abraham.

I see Adam and Eve under a covenant or dispensation of consciousness, and Abraham under the dispensation of faith, they all had a different message. Moses was the dispensation of law he had a specific message, a gospel if you will.
I see the born-again having a specific message and that message comes directly from Jesus Christ himself through the apostle Paul.
When you read Paul, you are reading the mind of Christ.
There has never been a people like us, never has the human being contained Christ.
You have to have a message to go along with that or we will have no idea what God is doing in this world today.

That is where the Apostle comes in, he says "this grace has been given to me to give to you."
He has the message to the born-again we missed it scholars miss it, theologians miss it, it's there in Paul's epistles, they need to be searched.

What do we do with the other 4/5, we search them to, it is the word of God. It is just not all to us, it is for us, for life application, for blessing so on but 1/5 is to us the born-again. The Pauline epistles speak directly to a people, a born-again people, a new creation race of people, Bonafied offspring of God the Father, birthed by Christ in them.
 
I just see it different, the way He has handled people in different dispensations. We know God doesn't change, but the way he has handled people through the ages has changed. What he said to Adam and Eve he was not saying to Abraham.

I see Adam and Eve under a covenant or dispensation of consciousness, and Abraham under the dispensation of faith, they all had a different message. Moses was the dispensation of law he had a specific message, a gospel if you will.
I see the born-again having a specific message and that message comes directly from Jesus Christ himself through the apostle Paul.
When you read Paul, you are reading the mind of Christ.
There has never been a people like us, never has the human being contained Christ.
You have to have a message to go along with that or we will have no idea what God is doing in this world today.

That is where the Apostle comes in, he says "this grace has been given to me to give to you."
He has the message to the born-again we missed it scholars miss it, theologians miss it, it's there in Paul's epistles, they need to be searched.

What do we do with the other 4/5, we search them to, it is the word of God. It is just not all to us, it is for us, for life application, for blessing so on but 1/5 is to us the born-again. The Pauline epistles speak directly to a people, a born-again people, a new creation race of people, Bonafied offspring of God the Father, birthed by Christ in them.

You state "what God said to Adam and Eve he did not say to Abraham" Yet you do not substantiate that claim.
and while the progressive unfolding of Gods programe meant that there was a different message to each age .
That does not mean that God has changed at all or or in his dealings with men .
For he is the same yesterday to day and forever .
and given the same situation and principle then and what he said and did then he will given the same situation and principle now he will do the same.
if then you knopw what he did in the past given the same situation he will do the same today .
When a person is BORNagain he does but enter that eternal will of God preordained from befofe the foundations of the world .
The salvation of God was not some knee jerk reaction to the devils work in the garden of Eden. Nor ddi it catch Him by surprise.
In fact the verse of scripture that says "the first Adam was the foreshadow of Him who was to come" Shows or at the very ;least implies that things are a lot 'bigger' than we suppose .
People often say that God gave Adam and Eve a choice to to do either good or evil.
But there is no evidence for that at all.
For what the scriptures ACTUALLY say is "Of ALL the trees ye may freely eat ......................."
This included then the tree of life . But it also shows God gave them the choice to do any good (or eat of any good tree) they could find or had a mind to do.
"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they shalt NOT eat for the day ye eat thewreof ye shall surely die"
if God said of one you can freely eat and of the other you cannot eat or shalt not eat . The idea that God gave the the choice to do good or evil is wrong .
For what is written?
"Man shall not LIVE by bread alone but by every Word that proceedeth from the mouth of God"
Which is the same as saying ;Man shall not live by every tree that was good to eat but by that Word of God that came forth from his mouth as to what was good (to eat) and what was evil(to eat) and by that word they lived .
It was the rejection of that word of life that brought them death. For not only did they do that which was good or evil in thier own eyes . But they also believed the serpent who was the devils mouthpriece than God .
For Eve "SAW that the tree was GOOD to eat........."
Two things they did not have to eat of the tree of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil. For God had given them HIS knowledge of what was good and what was evil.
second when you reject the truth ,you will believe a lie and once you believe a lie you become blind to the truth .
Thus though she SAW she was in fact blind for she no longer wlaked by faith but by sight (her own)
"Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him rightoeus " For Abraham walked by faith and not by sight .
The children of israel failed to enter the promise "because of thier unbelief" says paul.
Yet it was not simply that they did not believe God s Word . "Go in and poseess the land for I have given it to you" But that also believed the false witnesses who saw things only by what thier own eyes and reasoning told them.
The two faithfull spies saw exactly the same things but saw them in the true light of what God had done already in the last 40 DAYS (!) ho it was who was with them and what he had promised for the future .
In that regard i see no difference then to Adam.
For Adam forgot what God had done ;created him . What he had said as to what was good and what was evil. and what he ahd promised for the future "go forth and miltiply and replenish the earth...."
What God may say to you or another or myself in regards to OUR lives may well be different . But they are always according to the same principles and accordign to his unchanging nature .
God is good wether in mercy or judgment . In correction and reprove or in blessing . For they are both a blessing and proof of his love . For he whom God loveth he chastises., For he treats as sons .
Indeed it can be said that when Jesus said to the disciples go ye into the world and preach the gospel . That too is not much if any different in some wways than waht God said first to Adam then to Noah then to Abraham and then to the church .
But strange is it not . That each in thier turn and in different ways did not! At first .
Which would also say that man does not change either unless God does the work.

God speaks to us he speaks to all .
Hebrews 1:1 "God, in sundry times and in divers ways spake by the prophets hath in these last days spoken to us by His Son"

The difference and the only difference is that we were shown mercy and given the grace to hear .That does not mean that we are in of and by oursleves any different from the rest of mankind. For we were at soem time as all men are "sons of disobedience" (Eph) Thus a field of clay and in turn a lump of clay taken from the feild is no different from another lump of clay in the feild . What makes the difference is the potter . and it is the only difference .
For there is no good in my flesh at all.
if there be any good it is from or of Christ .
Conciousness or faith? You will need to explain that for biblicaly it makes no sense nor indeed gramatically ?
For that would imply to me that your saying Abraham was not concious? Or he lived as it were in a dream of unreality?
Clearly not so .
When he gave Lot first choice as to which way to go he said If you go that way I will go this and if you go this way I will go that way.
It did not matter which way Abraham went wether a wilderness or a paradise . For he walked by faith and with God .
Lot on the other hand walked by sight and chose accordingly.
The first Adam failed in a paradise because he believed not God,or rejected the Word of God as to what was good and what was evil and via Eve listened to the serpent . . The last Adam overcame temptation in a wilderness and kept the Word of God and in the end rebuked the devil and in the very end cast the prince of this world down.
It is interesting to note also that the devil can quote scripture also .
"Yea hath God said.........................." In the beginning .
"Is it not written.........................?" To the Lord.
The devil has not changed either for that matter . But his end is certain.

The giving of the law is or cannot be said to be a different gospel.
For the gospel SAVES and the law condemns or convicts of sin(romans)
Paul says and it is true there is only ONE Gospel there is not another gospel and even he preached another gospel let him be accursed. if an angel preached another gospel though there is not another gosple let him be accursed as well.
So you cannot say the giving of the law is another gospel .
When you read the Old testement or for that matter ALL of scripture you are reading the mind of God. Fot ALL scripture was inpsired by the same Spirit of God "who knoweth the mind of God"
is it not written that those of the Old testement searched diligently when theese times might be ?
In Hebrews Paul gives a list of the heroes of faith. He starts with ABel.
The gospel was first preached or given by God Himself in the garden of Eden and Abel was the first recorded man who walked by faith who brought not the works of his hands as justification . But looked forward to the promised lamb of God that would take away the sin of the world .
Cain rejected the Word of God the way of God and the will of God and brought bu the works of his own hand and by the sweat of his brow.
Yet God showed him mercy and a measure of time to "do well" but rather than repent he rose up and slew Abel his brother .
It was then so it is now .For God has given all men a measure of time to repent and "do well"
But it is not Abel that rises up and slays Cain but it is always that rises up and slays Abel. and usualy when they are in "diologue"
or havign peace talks or for that matter interfaith conferences.

in Christ
gerald
 
God would be evil if He was partial. God is not partial. David told us to give thanks because God is good Psalm 136:1. You just need to meditate on Psalm 51:17 'nobody who repents truthfully is turned away' and 2 Cor 5:15 'Jesus died for all mankind'. Then a verse like Jer 17:10 'God judges heart and mind' has always applied to anyone who ''repents''.

The real brain teaser is in understanding that He was impartial to the Jews. On face value it seems like they received the worst deal in history. But looking closer we see that they received promises to counter the curse of the law. Non tithers went into poverty countered by tithers having the windows of heaven opened to them. Trials in the desert countered by a promised land of milk and honey.

God would not be evil if he was partial. For he is very prejudiced towards the truth and is biased between the good and the wicked .
In truth the law was given that men may understand that God makes a difference between the clean and the unclean and good from evil.
Out of all the 12 dsciples he took Peter ,James and John " a little further" who saw adn did things the other 8 did not . Was the Lord partial? No in what men call partial.
But rhen what of John? The bloved . Did not the Lord Love them all? "Even unto the end"?
Yes but it was only John who said "WHO is it.......?" All the others said "Is it I?"
He knew it was not him.
How close then was he to the Lord ? Closer than they all . For he had both the liberty and love to rest his head on the Lords bosom.
The Lord says "COME!"
How you respond and to what degree is another matter .

in Christ
gerald
 
1. God would not be evil if he was partial. For he is very prejudiced towards the truth and is biased between the good and the wicked .
2. In truth the law was given that men may understand that God makes a difference between the clean and the unclean and good from evil.
Out of all the 12 dsciples he took Peter ,James and John " a little further" who saw adn did things the other 8 did not . Was the Lord partial? No in what men call partial.
But rhen what of John? The bloved . Did not the Lord Love them all? "Even unto the end"?
Yes but it was only John who said "WHO is it.......?" All the others said "Is it I?"
He knew it was not him.
How close then was he to the Lord ? Closer than they all . For he had both the liberty and love to rest his head on the Lords bosom.
The Lord says "COME!"
How you respond and to what degree is another matter .

in Christ
gerald
1. God responding to and being able to help those that come to Him is not Him being partial though.
2. I agree with all you said. God is definitely not being partial to John. Anyone of us could be John. Anyone of us could be Job. But the fact that we simply are not as faithful to God as them is a reality we have to face.
 
I just see it different, the way He has handled people in different dispensations. We know God doesn't change, but the way he has handled people through the ages has changed. What he said to Adam and Eve he was not saying to Abraham.

I see Adam and Eve under a covenant or dispensation of consciousness, and Abraham under the dispensation of faith, they all had a different message. Moses was the dispensation of law he had a specific message, a gospel if you will.
I see the born-again having a specific message and that message comes directly from Jesus Christ himself through the apostle Paul.
When you read Paul, you are reading the mind of Christ.
There has never been a people like us, never has the human being contained Christ.
You have to have a message to go along with that or we will have no idea what God is doing in this world today.

That is where the Apostle comes in, he says "this grace has been given to me to give to you."
He has the message to the born-again we missed it scholars miss it, theologians miss it, it's there in Paul's epistles, they need to be searched.

What do we do with the other 4/5, we search them to, it is the word of God. It is just not all to us, it is for us, for life application, for blessing so on but 1/5 is to us the born-again. The Pauline epistles speak directly to a people, a born-again people, a new creation race of people, Bonafied offspring of God the Father, birthed by Christ in them.
I think we are touching on two separate issues. 1. God's gospel to mankind and 2. The level of interaction God has with mankind.

God's gospel to mankind has always being simply repent and He will draw us to Him. NT, Him being Jesus.

Living after the cross, you are right. We definitely have a level of interaction with God that no generation before has had.

Just thinking further. I wonder about the prophets. They spoke like they were in constant fellowship with God and were confident that they were going to be with Him. I mean Jonah said Jonah 4:2. ''He knew God''. Are we closer to God then the prophets were? Is their confidence in going to be with God not evidence of them being new creations from looking forward at the cross? Can we better David's psalms? If their is a case to be made for the prophets, then surely many more...? I am confusing myself now :p.
 
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