At the end of the book of Acts, after Paul testified to the Jewish Sanhedrin and in the Roman courts, being set free. Having accomplished his calling from Christ, to testify to the Jews first, then to the Gentiles Paul was in his own rented home preaching the Kingdom of God, as something different from all other kingdoms, nationalities and cultures.
This is the purpose of the book of Acts and the objective of Paul’s life, was to completely transfer his identity from Jerusalem on earth to a New Nationality and Heritage, having to do with The New Covenant and The Kingdom of God at hand, of something that absorbs all others. Not only is this a New Nationality, no far greater than that it is The New Creation of something that preceded and supercedes anything on planet Earth.
It was God’s will to solidify the gospel of “The Kingdom of God at hand”, to dispell any myths of old and to give clarity to all would be believers that God is supreme at anytime in every age, in all circumstances. That God is more than able to deliver us from evil any place at any time, to keep us safe, and clarify a people zealous for His good works of salvation. Christ is the Savior of the world now. Christ was the Savior then, and Christ will always be. To Him who was and is and is to come.
This is the Gospel clarified. The Kingdom of God is at hand and is the demarcation line between the old and new covenants and the old and new creations. Amen
Paul acknowledged this as the purpose of his calling as he stated in Colossians, for us not to be “moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister”. Paul was God’s prototype.
That we would learn from Paul’s earlier blunders, to understand his sufferings so we wouldn’t have to experience them personally, and for us to recognize how Christ operates in us in our lives. Through revelations made possible by scripture, and the testimonies of the Elect. That you seeing something in us that resembles yourself and confirms that you can do it too. We cheer you on.
Paul said, for the gospel that I preached to you did not come by man nor was I taught it by man but it came through revelations of Jesus Christ, so we know whom we owe our lives to. Christ came in the form of a bright light from Heaven, that frequented Paul on several occasions, to what we attest. So you know what to look for and what to expect when you see Him.
Christ frequents us in the same way as well. It is “He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.
The Gospel is the delivery mechanism we call Revelations which fulfills all of God’s work in us, from faith to faith, as it is written, the just will live by faith.. So we must recognize Christ in His natural element of spirit and truth and associate with Him as such.
Peter and Paul’s disagreement over Judaism
It was Peter who warned us of people who misunderstand Paul’s conversion seen in his writings saying 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
Earlier in Galatians, Paul challenged Peter who sided with the Jews. Paul then withstood Peter publicly to his face and corrected him for his Jewishness and religious piety. That Peter was still tightly holding on to that which he was delivered from.
According to Paul’s own words “I said to Peter, publicly, before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?” Paul had discarded his Jewishness as futile while Peter did not. Paul goes on to say of those who promotes Judaism, that they would cut themselves off, correctly meaning to “castrate themselves”. (Galatians 5.12) This shows us Paul’s distain for his former self, and why he counted it all as dung, properly translated crap or shit.
Paul completely detached from his former self and nationality for another, as the one that comes down of God from Heaven with his words saying “Heavenly Jerusalem, the Mother of us all” (Galatians 4.26) and not that dispicable thing on earth the murdered Christ. This was written so that we who know who our true Mother is, and it has nothing to do with Jerusalem on Earth.
As Paul said “cast off the bondwoman and her son. (meaning the Jerusalem on earth bound by gravity and time). Detach your affections from that.
This shows that that culture was not and is not Gods objective. It was expired and replaced with a new one for all mankind where the qualifications are not Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, make nor female who has any preferential treatment.
As Paul expounded on in Galatians “For as many as are of the works of the law, are under the curse.” And “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham (not the Jew) would come upon the Gentiles in Christ.” As the Lord personally told Abraham “you shall be a father of many nation’s” and “in you all people’s of the earth shall be blessed” but God did not for-ordain the Jew as being better.
Like Paul, the Jews were given for us to avoid their mistakes. Look through out scripture for favorable verses about Jews. Let scripture form your opinions. They have equal access in the same way as anyone and “God is a respecter of no man” and the Jews were rejected as the de-generate branch, being the left overs from the 12 Tribes of Israel.
Paul excelled beyond his contemporaries. You could say the old Paul/Saul was discarded with the old Jew because of their weakness and un-profitableness. Paul became new but the Jew passed away. They expired with all the law and the Prophets.
“The Law was added till faith comes, and the law was added to make sin exceedingly sinful. The law culture and all its Feasts, officials and artifacts were gardians and tutors to bring us to faith in Christ. But after faith comes, the law culture has no relevance, if you have used it properly to help you see invisble realities “in Christ” the Author and finisher of our faith who redeems us from the Law culture as seen more clearly here with Paul’s own words from Colossians 2.
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened (Raptured) together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, (all the law) which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it (all the law) to his cross;
15 And having disarmed all principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
16 Let no man therefore judge you (for not being a Jew) with meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.
In the beginning God breathed into man and he became a living being. At the fall in Eden man became the walking dead by loosing the indwelling of God’s breath called The Holy Spirit. Because mankind had lost their inner unction and copilot of God’s breath, the law was added only as an external barrier to show ones need to re-invite Gods breath back into their lives. This is the Holy Spirit. This is the raise from the fall called “the resurrection” and this is the reconciliation to God that Paul pleaded with us to accept.
The purpose of the Law was to kill us, to make us see that we are dead to the things of God, all of which are invisble. This was the reason why Christ came and reversed that certain death. The tree of life that we were denied was restored as Paul had learned here saying “13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
With Christ’s single act of the cross by hanging on a tree, He became our tree of life and central source for everything that pertains to life and god-like-ness. He is our storehouse and shopping center where we get absolutely everything we ever need for this cause.
But Paul having been harolding the Jewish culture of death, being held in contempt, having been tried and convicted, corrected and restored, he was now qualified to convey the things that precede and supercede the Law and the Prophets as being a temporary bandaid.
Peter being corrected by Paul for doing the same thing in Galatians says “consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.”
And why did Peter say this? Because Peter was one that was twisting scripture to his own destruction until Paul confronted him publicly. Showing us too that Peter was on a similar journey. Here we see “iron sharpening Iron”.
So we can see that if you take all Epistles at equal value, not understanding the progression, you may be holding onto old, Pharisaic concepts you have yet to expire. Even as Paul said “when I was a child I thought like a child and spoke like a child. When I became a man I put away childhood things” showing a progression. Even as he explained that a child is no different than a slave, but is put under guardians and tutors untill time appointed by the Father”. Fortunately for us we have many appointments for our continued growth, unless we get stuck in the process and can’t transition to the new.
17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” So you have to be careful to not take all scripture as equal.
Stop stop erase to here
Paul early on still saw the resurrection and the Lord’s coming as physical events to be experienced on planet earth as a social event, like the old testament Jews.
Towards the end of the book of Acts, Paul testified that the purpose of the father’s was the pursuit of the resurrection as attainable before the physical death of the body. As also he conveyed to us in Romans to “recon your body to be dead” as an act of faith. Then in Colossians 3
that “you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” as a past tense fact.
Paul also says “but Satan hindered us” speaking of still not being fully delivered as he later said in Colossians that Christ “has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” as a foregone conclusion, and something we must contend earnestly for as Pinnacle in the faith. Ressurection is just a first step.
Paul had to experience Satan’s opposition to help those overcome as he would, saying “lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain”.
Paul had still not attained the plateaue of the spirit of the place above the voice of Satan the accusor who is toothless without the law. But the fact is we have been delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into the Kingdom, if you are able to receive it.
Christ in His temptation showed us that we defeat Satan with word, quoting one scripture to eradicate another, showing that Satan likes you on the lower application of the scriptures because you are still attached to physical fulfillments and works of the flesh being blind to the greater works of the cross where the curse is eradicated and the spiritual polarity is reversed.
All of our victories and accomplishments come from the cross and there is no future saving act from God or that would insult the Son who said “it is finished’ if in fact it is not. Then both the Father and the Son would be liars but they are “Spirit and truth.
The concept of one verse being more powerful than another should not be strange. You have heard of “Jacobs Ladder”. The Ladder is fulfilled in Christ too by His own words saying “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” We know Christ “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God”. So it should not be strange that we go up by steps to the degree that you are able to attain. Even as Paul said to press on to lay hold of why Christ laid hold of us, it is His sayings that take us all the way to the Father, one revelation at a time to experience the Godhead unhindered.
This is the oneness and the “koinania” 1 John is wrote about. John also refers to these steps as to children, the young, and the fathers as seen here “I write to you, little children,
Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
13 I write to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you have overcome the wicked one.” By these standards Paul was still a babe because Satan hindered him. He hadn’t learned to do combat with Word to overcome Satan. To overcome meets to never do battle with again, and the truth of the matter is, if you find yourself struggling with sin and Satan, you don’t know the tools of our trade. Word. And chances are, you use lower level verses and carnal concepts in your thinking and are not transformed by the higher level of the Word, unveiled by the Holy Spirit. For the weapons of our warefare are not carnal, nor are they physical, but they are mighty through God for pulling down strongholds and every high thing that exaulted itself against the knowledge of God”. Why? Because if we expire and dismantle lower level thinking, Satan has no defence. You can gain mastery over each level of faith with a word
Much like Moses was instructed to speak to the rock for water but used a stick, a physical work, and their struggle lasted 40 years. “How much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot”. And insult the Spirit of Grace. But this people do if they do not realize that Christ who through the eternal spirit shed His blood to secure our inheritance now as being “The Kingdom of God at hand”. There is the storehouse for our goods to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Why? Because their are consequences to go about your life Willy Nilly. Once saved always saved?
2 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation”. And “4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God.
