Great is the Mystery of Godliness Part 7
Preached Among the Gentiles (nations), Believed on in the World Part 1
Note: Please notice that each of these six elements that lead to Godliness have already occurred! Berry’s Interlinear shows this emphasis by continuing the “was” in God’s manifestation in the flesh before each of the remaining truths. The Incarnate God “was justified in the Spirit, was seen of angels, was preached among the Gentiles, was believed on in the world, was received up in glory.”
This “WAS” is especially important in our present consideration. We spend way too much time trying to figure out what God wants us to do and not nearly enough time paying attention to what He has already done!!!
God’s Will is to gather together in One all things in Christ Jesus! (Ephesians 1:9-10). There is no part of His Will left to “chance” or human ingenuity! Remember the construction of the tabernacle? The plans were given to Moses in the Mountain and it had to be made according to the divine pattern/blueprint! (Exodus 25:8-9) God is building His House, His Holy dwelling Place (Eph 2:19-22), through Jesus Christ (Heb 3:1-6). The “building project” must adhere to the Divine Blueprint and requires the Chosen Bezaleel’s (Eph 4:7-16), filled with the Holy Spirit, to bring the temple to completion. Just as in the tabernacle in the wilderness and in Solomon’s temple, the finished product will look just like Jesus!!!
I. Preached among the Gentiles:
A. This Is God’s Eternal Plan– Ephesians 1&2 make it plain, in business terminology, that God has a Plan and (unlike mere man) Infallibly Works the Plan. Paul is writing to the Ephesians who were Gentiles in the flesh (2:11), and he states that God “chose us (Jew and Gentile) in Him (Lord Jesus), before the foundation of the earth.”
1. After the fall, the flood, and the Babel experience. The confounding to the language of mankind and the dispersion into nations, manifests God’s hatred of humanities controlling lust–“let us make a name for ourselves.” The insane popularity of Facebook and so called “social media” is a profound evidence of that lust. Babel epitomizes fallen man’s inherent disregard of the God of Creation Who proclaims, “you shall have no other gods before me.” Man is foundationally his own controlling idol!
2. Abram, the “called out” man– called out of the nations, the Ur of the Chaldeans, out of his father’s household and heritage. Why? “I will make you a great nation, ...and in you all the families (nations) of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-4 This “international” promise was given before there was a descendent from his loins. The “faith apprehension” of the blessing that passes to each child of the promise, was again established before there was a physical seed from Abraham’s loins. Paul makes an “eternal big deal” of this in Romans 2-4 and Galatians 3.
3. The prophecies–In the midst of the fulfillment of God’s promise to make of Abraham a great physical nation, his natural seed, there are continual prophetic “hints” of this Eternal International Will and Purpose of God. Righteousness and all promised blessing comes by faith apart from any physical lineage, heritage or nationality!!!
The prophetic ladies: Joshua 2 & 6:22-25 Rahab–the calling out of a prostitute into the people of God! Ruth–An entire book of the Inspired Word of God is devoted to the calling out of a Gentile woman, a Moabitess, and that is in the Old Testament! Wonder of wonders, Ruth becomes the great grandmother and Rahab is the great, great grandmother of King David, the Royal lineage of the God Who came in the flesh, Who inherited David’s throne! Matthew 1:5-6, Acts 2:25-69
The Psalms: Here are but a few– Psalm 2:7-8 The nations are the Son’s inheritance. 22:27-28 All the families of the nations shall worship before the You, for He rules over the nations. 57:9 “I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples, I will sing to You among the Gentiles. 67:1-2-4 God “cause His Face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.” 68:31-32 speaks of the future time when the nations will sing to God! 72:8-11, 17 The glorious kingdom of the Son/”Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him.” (Rev. 21:24-26) 82:8 Arise, O God, judge the earth’ for You shall inherit all nations.” (Rev 21:24), 86:8-10 “all nations whom You have made shall come and worship You, O Lord.”
Isaiah: 2:2 the mountain of the Lord’s House (Hebrews 3) established...and all nations shall flow into it.” 11:10-12 The Root of Jesse, “Who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him.” 42:1-6 “I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles.” 49:6 “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should Be My Salvation TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.” 60:3 “The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
Daniel 7:13-14 Daniel’s Son of Man vision, “then to Him was give dominion and glory and a kingdom, THAT ALL PEOPLES, NATIONS, AND LANGUAGES SHOULD SERVE HIM.”
Amos 9:11-12 Amos’ prophecy of the “tabernacle of David” being rebuilt, “That they may possess the remnant of Edom, And all the Gentiles who are called by My Name,” says the LORD Who Does this thing.” And this prophecy brings us to the Apostolic understanding of these words!.
II. New Testament proclamation of the plan:
Acts 15:6-21 The Apostle James says Peter’s vision & Cornelius’ conversion is a fulfillment of Amos 9:11-12. And notice that in Vs 15, James says prophets, plural! He is using Amos 9 as a summary of all the prophetic teaching as to the nations being preached to. Pay attention to verse 14. James says, “God at the first VISITED the Gentiles TO TAKE OUT OF THEM A PEOPLE FOR HIS NAME.” Notice the phrase in Amos 9:12 & Acts 15:17, “all the Gentiles WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME.” Gentiles are being called out of their Babel existence into the unto God’s Name Life–They are known among all men BY HIS NAME, not their own!!!
Ephesians 2:11-3:21 This is the grand Mystery (3:1-6) that Paul was called to make plain–“that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, OF THE SAME BODY, and partakers of His Promise in Christ through the gospel.” Eph. 2:11-22 explain’s God’s Process. The “whole family” of 3:15, both believing Jew and Gentile, are named from the Father as James has declared.
Galatians 3:1-18 “Know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham, and the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the GOSPEL (to Abraham) beforehand, saying ‘in you all the nations shall be blessed.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.” Vs 7-9 To which we must add Romans 4:16, “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed (all the “faith seed), not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.”
Acts 2 isn’t about speaking in tongues! It is God’s opening salvo in His foretold battle plan, to take out of the nations, a people for His Name. Upon Peter’s confession that He was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Jesus says, “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matt. 16:16-18. The “Deceiver of the nations” (Isa 14:12, Rev 20:3) is waging a losing battle
So what’s the big deal, why spend so much time looking at God’s Eternal plan?
1. Apart from God’s plan and His infallible working the plan, you and I would still be building our little Babels for our names.
2. There is incredible confusion in the church as to the plan of God and our role as part of that plan. That confusion has led to the deplorable weak state of the witness of God among the nations, corroding the visible church with a heavy crust of flesh. Ezekiel 36:20-22 describes the Israel of God today!
Next, we will look at the proclaimers, the preachers of the Gospel unto the nations. We will consider the Apostles and their unique, pivotal, never to be repeated or mimicked role in the Plan of God to “take out of them (the nations) a people for His Name.”
Preached Among the Gentiles (nations), Believed on in the World Part 1
Note: Please notice that each of these six elements that lead to Godliness have already occurred! Berry’s Interlinear shows this emphasis by continuing the “was” in God’s manifestation in the flesh before each of the remaining truths. The Incarnate God “was justified in the Spirit, was seen of angels, was preached among the Gentiles, was believed on in the world, was received up in glory.”
This “WAS” is especially important in our present consideration. We spend way too much time trying to figure out what God wants us to do and not nearly enough time paying attention to what He has already done!!!
God’s Will is to gather together in One all things in Christ Jesus! (Ephesians 1:9-10). There is no part of His Will left to “chance” or human ingenuity! Remember the construction of the tabernacle? The plans were given to Moses in the Mountain and it had to be made according to the divine pattern/blueprint! (Exodus 25:8-9) God is building His House, His Holy dwelling Place (Eph 2:19-22), through Jesus Christ (Heb 3:1-6). The “building project” must adhere to the Divine Blueprint and requires the Chosen Bezaleel’s (Eph 4:7-16), filled with the Holy Spirit, to bring the temple to completion. Just as in the tabernacle in the wilderness and in Solomon’s temple, the finished product will look just like Jesus!!!
I. Preached among the Gentiles:
A. This Is God’s Eternal Plan– Ephesians 1&2 make it plain, in business terminology, that God has a Plan and (unlike mere man) Infallibly Works the Plan. Paul is writing to the Ephesians who were Gentiles in the flesh (2:11), and he states that God “chose us (Jew and Gentile) in Him (Lord Jesus), before the foundation of the earth.”
1. After the fall, the flood, and the Babel experience. The confounding to the language of mankind and the dispersion into nations, manifests God’s hatred of humanities controlling lust–“let us make a name for ourselves.” The insane popularity of Facebook and so called “social media” is a profound evidence of that lust. Babel epitomizes fallen man’s inherent disregard of the God of Creation Who proclaims, “you shall have no other gods before me.” Man is foundationally his own controlling idol!
2. Abram, the “called out” man– called out of the nations, the Ur of the Chaldeans, out of his father’s household and heritage. Why? “I will make you a great nation, ...and in you all the families (nations) of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-4 This “international” promise was given before there was a descendent from his loins. The “faith apprehension” of the blessing that passes to each child of the promise, was again established before there was a physical seed from Abraham’s loins. Paul makes an “eternal big deal” of this in Romans 2-4 and Galatians 3.
3. The prophecies–In the midst of the fulfillment of God’s promise to make of Abraham a great physical nation, his natural seed, there are continual prophetic “hints” of this Eternal International Will and Purpose of God. Righteousness and all promised blessing comes by faith apart from any physical lineage, heritage or nationality!!!
The prophetic ladies: Joshua 2 & 6:22-25 Rahab–the calling out of a prostitute into the people of God! Ruth–An entire book of the Inspired Word of God is devoted to the calling out of a Gentile woman, a Moabitess, and that is in the Old Testament! Wonder of wonders, Ruth becomes the great grandmother and Rahab is the great, great grandmother of King David, the Royal lineage of the God Who came in the flesh, Who inherited David’s throne! Matthew 1:5-6, Acts 2:25-69
The Psalms: Here are but a few– Psalm 2:7-8 The nations are the Son’s inheritance. 22:27-28 All the families of the nations shall worship before the You, for He rules over the nations. 57:9 “I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples, I will sing to You among the Gentiles. 67:1-2-4 God “cause His Face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.” 68:31-32 speaks of the future time when the nations will sing to God! 72:8-11, 17 The glorious kingdom of the Son/”Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him.” (Rev. 21:24-26) 82:8 Arise, O God, judge the earth’ for You shall inherit all nations.” (Rev 21:24), 86:8-10 “all nations whom You have made shall come and worship You, O Lord.”
Isaiah: 2:2 the mountain of the Lord’s House (Hebrews 3) established...and all nations shall flow into it.” 11:10-12 The Root of Jesse, “Who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him.” 42:1-6 “I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles.” 49:6 “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should Be My Salvation TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.” 60:3 “The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
Daniel 7:13-14 Daniel’s Son of Man vision, “then to Him was give dominion and glory and a kingdom, THAT ALL PEOPLES, NATIONS, AND LANGUAGES SHOULD SERVE HIM.”
Amos 9:11-12 Amos’ prophecy of the “tabernacle of David” being rebuilt, “That they may possess the remnant of Edom, And all the Gentiles who are called by My Name,” says the LORD Who Does this thing.” And this prophecy brings us to the Apostolic understanding of these words!.
II. New Testament proclamation of the plan:
Acts 15:6-21 The Apostle James says Peter’s vision & Cornelius’ conversion is a fulfillment of Amos 9:11-12. And notice that in Vs 15, James says prophets, plural! He is using Amos 9 as a summary of all the prophetic teaching as to the nations being preached to. Pay attention to verse 14. James says, “God at the first VISITED the Gentiles TO TAKE OUT OF THEM A PEOPLE FOR HIS NAME.” Notice the phrase in Amos 9:12 & Acts 15:17, “all the Gentiles WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME.” Gentiles are being called out of their Babel existence into the unto God’s Name Life–They are known among all men BY HIS NAME, not their own!!!
Ephesians 2:11-3:21 This is the grand Mystery (3:1-6) that Paul was called to make plain–“that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, OF THE SAME BODY, and partakers of His Promise in Christ through the gospel.” Eph. 2:11-22 explain’s God’s Process. The “whole family” of 3:15, both believing Jew and Gentile, are named from the Father as James has declared.
Galatians 3:1-18 “Know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham, and the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the GOSPEL (to Abraham) beforehand, saying ‘in you all the nations shall be blessed.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.” Vs 7-9 To which we must add Romans 4:16, “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed (all the “faith seed), not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.”
Acts 2 isn’t about speaking in tongues! It is God’s opening salvo in His foretold battle plan, to take out of the nations, a people for His Name. Upon Peter’s confession that He was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Jesus says, “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matt. 16:16-18. The “Deceiver of the nations” (Isa 14:12, Rev 20:3) is waging a losing battle
So what’s the big deal, why spend so much time looking at God’s Eternal plan?
1. Apart from God’s plan and His infallible working the plan, you and I would still be building our little Babels for our names.
2. There is incredible confusion in the church as to the plan of God and our role as part of that plan. That confusion has led to the deplorable weak state of the witness of God among the nations, corroding the visible church with a heavy crust of flesh. Ezekiel 36:20-22 describes the Israel of God today!
Next, we will look at the proclaimers, the preachers of the Gospel unto the nations. We will consider the Apostles and their unique, pivotal, never to be repeated or mimicked role in the Plan of God to “take out of them (the nations) a people for His Name.”