It’s Paul For Me!

“Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the Church of God” (1 Cor. 10:32). Here, as in other Scriptures, the Holy Spirit makes a difference in the three companies. By the term “Jews,” Israel as a nation is meant and not the individual Jew in this present dispensation. The Gentiles are those of all races and tongues, other then Jews, who have not been regenerated by the new birth. The Church is God’s elect company in the present dispensation, and is composed of all who are born again.

Through the twelve sons of Jacob, God called out unto Himself a special nation of twelve tribes, to be His special testimony to the nations of the earth. Even in the days of Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, God had this special nation in mind when He said, “I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee ... and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:2, 3). So Israel was to be God’s earthly testimony, and through them He eventually brought the Messiah and Saviour into the world. In due time Christ will return and God will deal with the nations (Matt. 25:31–46).

In dealing thus with an earthly nation, many earthly and physical ordinances and regulations had to be given, especially in the Old Testament. Even the four Gospels are linked with Jewish promises, and are really the grand fulfillment of O.T. promises to Israel. They are not Church doctrine, and do not directly concern the believer — who is a member of the Body of the risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ. But they are valuable to us as divinely inspired pictures of the person, character, and work of our blessed Lord. Like the O.T., they give us blessed acquaintanceship with the Lord Jesus, and also wisdom as to our personal walk as children of God.

The Church is an altogether new thing which began on the day of Pentecost, and was said to be a mystery, hidden from past generations. It is a heavenly company, composed of both Jews and Gentiles. In Acts 2:47 He added to His Church those who were saved, and that is still the way He adds them. His Church is destined to leave this world suddenly one of these days. Then God will go back to dealing [directly] with his earthly nation, Israel.

John the Baptist came as a minister to Israel, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom (Matt. 3:2). This kingdom message will be resumed after the rapture of the Church when God goes back to dealing with Israel (Matt. 24:14). The Gospel for the present dispensation is the Gospel of the grace of God, and is referred to as Paul’s Gospel (Acts 20:24; Rom. 2:16; 2 Tim. 2:8).

There would be no confusion about the instructions in the N.T. if we would only ask, “Which company is this particular Scripture written to?” Many, for instance, ask why it is that James 5:14, 15 doesn’t seem to work. A dear one is ill; they call for the elders, who pray over him and anoint him with oil, but nothing happens, although this Scripture promises that “the Lord shall raise him up.” Their error is that James does not write directly to the Church, and does not claim to. In the beginning of his epistle he says he is writing “to the twelve tribes (Israel) scattered abroad.”

For Church doctrine, present-day truth for the believer, we must turn to Paul’s epistles. In Ephesians 3:2–10 Paul says this special revelation of the Church was committed to him. In Galatians 2:9, he says that he and Barnabas were sent unto the Gentiles, while Peter, James, and John were sent to the Jews. — Selected

MJStanford

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(Materials by Miles J. Stanford are republished here under exclusive permission from the author.)