We have been looking at the man of spirit, soul and body and learning to walk by the spirit and learning to hear from God. Before continuing I recommend that you start with Part One and continue through the parts before reading this one. It will help avoid misunderstandings and confusion regarding the points that I am making. Currently we are looking at the teaching that God will never tell you to do something that is against His word. I believe that this is true, but that we need to understand that God knows His word much better than you do. It does not mean that God will not tell you to do something that goes against your understanding of His word. This is why it is so important that we know God’s voice, so that we are not easily lead astray. In my last post I covered Peter and the house of Cornelius. Today we are going to look at Paul, God’s apostle to the gentiles.
PAUL VS THE WORD OF GOD
Acts 15:1-2
And certain men which came down from Judæa taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
One of the things we should understand is that these men which came down from Judæa were Christians. They had accepted Christ as their savior and Lord, but they believed differently about circumcision and the Gentiles than what Paul was teaching. From what I have read in the Old Testament those men who came from Judæa had more scripture on their side of the argument than Paul did on his. In their eyes what Paul was teaching contrary to the word of God as they understood it. Both Paul and those of the circumcision believed they were right. Paul believed he was right because he had received revelation directly through the spirit from God. Those of the circumcision believed they were right because as they understood the word of God circumcision was required of all who wanted to worship God. It was the sign of the covenant between God and His people.
Gen 17:10 – 14
This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among. You shall be circumcised.
And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with the money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskins is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken. My covenant.
God’s word in the Old Testament seems pretty clear on the subject. Paul, who had been chosen by God to take the gospel to the Gentiles objected. From the looks of things, scripturally, Paul would have been in the wrong and those of the circumcision were correct. Having been witness to the arguments about doctrine among Christians today I can imagine that the conversation got a little hot. In the end they seemed to agree that that they would return to Jerusalem and take the dispute to the apostles and elders who remained there and let them settle the question. Even in Jerusalem there was division between those who believed it was necessary to be circumcised and to keep the law of Moses and those who did not believe it was necessary.
Acts 15:5
But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
Then the apostles and elders began to discuss the matter. And even when this happened there was a lot of disputing back and forth.
Acts 15:6 – 7a
And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter
And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up …
I can imagine the back and forth arguments that took place. In the end Peter stood up and recounted again his experience at the household of Cornelius.
Acts 15:7b-10
… Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith
Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Peter reminds them in his statement that it is God that is in charge and that God gave the Gentiles the new birth spirit and the evidence of that spirit. He also points out that throughout the history of the nation of Israel that no one person of them could bear up and perform all of the law. Then comes this magnificent statement, “we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved…” Peter has very plainly stated here that it is by means of grace that we are saved, and not of by the works of the law. Paul also taught us this truth (Eph 2:8).
After Peter has made his statement James speaks up in support and reminds them that the Gentiles were to be blessed according to the prophecies of the Old Testament. Then James gives his final ruling.
Acts 15:19-20
Wherefore my sentence [or judgement] is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
This was James’s summation and judgement and those present agreed to it, and they sent a letter to those of Antioch, Syria and Cilicia with the information in it.
Acts 15:24-29
Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Simply looking at the what was taking place with the Gentiles many of the converted Jews felt that Paul’s teachings were not in line with the scriptures. At the time the church as a whole had a place, the apostles in Jerusalem, to turn to sort out doctrine. No such place exists today to sort out differences among our many groups and denominations. However, even back then we can see that this agreement did not sit well with everyone. Paul had to contend not only with the Jewish people who were upset with him for sharing the gospel with the Gentiles, but also with those who had come to believe in Christ and accept him as their Lord and savior who still believed in the law.
Even today most of the disagreements between churches does not have a lot to do with passages in the New Testament, but passages in the Old Testament applied to the New Testament and our behavior. Man has a tendency to want to live by the senses, he wants hard and firm rules to guide him. In general, if left to their own devices, man will come up with a set of rules for living based on actions and deeds only and not coming from the heart or through the spirit. Actions and deeds are very important, but they will not get you saved. It is by the heart and confession of what that heart holds that we are saved.
Romans 10:9-10
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
This, simply stated, brings about the new birth. Just like a baby we grow into the things of God. We do need some rules and guidance to learn the language of the spirit and to be guided by God. Many of us never go beyond learning to read. We do not learn to hear. We have accepted that God will not tell us to do anything that contradicts His word, and I agree, but it is God that determines what is in His word and how it fits together, not us. The reaching out of the Gospel to the Gentiles and the end of the law through Christ are both things that to the people of the time seem in total contradiction to what they understood of God’s word. Peter went against all he knew of the word of God to share the gospel with the house of Cornelius. Paul’s understanding of the God’s word was totally based on the written law of Moses when Jesus appeared to him. It was Paul’s teaching, not Peter’s that eventually explained Peter’s vision and God’s reasons for sending Peter to the house of Cornelius. This information was not easily found and understood in the Old Testament. Even Christ’s birth and ministry were missed by many in Israel at the time of his ministry on earth. They thought that what Christ was saying and teaching was blaspheming against God. To say that God will not tell us to do something that is against His word is true, but to say that God will not tell us to do something that is not in line with our understanding of His word is not true. It is God that make that interpretation not us. We must learn to truly hear and recognize His voice and act on it, even when it is against our understanding of word. I honestly believe that God has not finished setting up His church and is working to bring as many into it as He can. Many of us are focused on Old Testament law when it comes to deciding what is right and wrong. While there is merit in that, we must remember that Christ is the end of the law for those that believe.
Romans 10:4
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
Romans 10:11-13
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be save.
As I have read through the word of God I have seen one constant: that God often chooses people who others think don’t amount to much to do His will on Earth. We need to start focusing less on the sins of people and more on the gospel and getting them saved. God will deal with the sins of each of us as He wills. We should be there to help, but never to condemn unless their actions are hurting the body as a whole or hurt to another. Even then, we should only do so under the guidance of the spirit of God. That is the only way we will keep from putting our own interpretation and feelings into it. I have pointed out that we have many different denominations and groups around us today that call themselves Christians. Each of them often claiming to be the only one that is doctrinally correct in their teachings. I have learned that I am not the one to judge them. I will let God do that. He is much wiser, gentler, forgiving, and patient that I am. I will instead devote myself to learning to recognize God’s voice when he talks with me. And I will try to always act in love towards all people, both in and out of His church. I know that I will sometimes fail, but as I grow I will fail less with each passing day. The same will happen to you as you learn to walk by the spirit. We have become a being of spirit, soul and body for a reason, and as our soul, our personal self, is to listen to the input from our bodies and use it to direct its actions and keep us safe: our spirit is to listen to the input from the spirit realm and use that to help our soul, our minds, to direct our paths and help us to determine which actions will keep us the safest and closest to God’s path.
My prayer for you, and myself as well is this …
Father God,
May you keep us in peace and help us to hear, see and understand the leadings of the spirit. Help us to keep our hearts focused, not on the things of the world, but on the things of the heaven . Help us to not simply look at your words and interpret them only by our senses, but to be led with understanding from your spirit. Let us leave judgement in your hands. For you are ever present, and all powerful and just. Help us not to focus on the evil that is in the world, but instead focus on the spreading of your gospel. The enlarging of our family. Guide us in learning your word and your ways. Let us always walk in love and look at all others through your eyes. The eyes of love. Keep us safe Father and strengthen us always in the things of the spirit. We ask these things in the precious name of your son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. We give you glory for all that you have done in this earth and leave it in your hands. You have made a blood bought covenant with us through your son Jesus. And we will do all that we can to honor that covenant and stay under its protection, because we know that you will always honor it. Again, thank you for all this in the name of Jesus Christ. We love you and praise you, Father God.
Keith Carter Ministries 