The Glorious Design and Purpose of the Word of God

The Glorious Design and Purpose of the Word of God

The four gospels are a continuation of the Old Testament, and it is all about Israel and the promised Kingdom. So, why then is Paul suddenly writing to the Gentiles in Romans? By the way, who is Paul anyways? Where did he suddenly come from? Well, you are not going to learn this in the Gospels! Acts is a transitional book recording the fall of Israel, the conversion of Paul, and why God turned to the Gentiles. Something very big happened in the book of Acts!

When Jesus was on the earth He said, “I'm not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” When he sent out his 12 disciples, He said, “Go not to any city of the Gentiles, neither go unto the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Now look at how Acts ends. Paul, in Acts 28:28 says, “Be it known therefore unto you that the salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it.”

Something major must have happen in Acts! Right. In addition to this, note also how Acts is followed by 13 epistles bearing Gentile names. Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. After these Gentile epistles, what's the next book in your bible? Hebrews, and the rest of the Hebrew epistles. Suddenly, after Philemon, we hear nothing of the Gentiles again! Now we are back to the Jewish writings again. Does that not tell you something? God put the books in order and people just don't want to believe it and study it in that order. The Bible is much more than just 66 books placed into a canon! There is meticulous order and purpose in the design of this entire miraculous book.

Let me summarise this order from the New Testament. Jesus is born and His earthly ministry is to save the Jews and bring about the new covenant that was prophesied in the Old Testament. The Jews reject their Messiah and crucify Him. However, Jesus is raised from the dead and the Jews have renewed hope for the Kingdom.

Acts begins with the commission to preach and baptise Jews, and through this the Jewish church in Jerusalem is established. The Lord sends the Holy Spirit, and it looks like the Kingdom is at hand. However, Israel’s leaders reject the Holy Spirit and Israel falls, (albeit temporarily), under God’s judgement.

God converts a Jew called Saul, and commissions him to go to the Gentiles. Saul however loves his own people and goes to the Jews first, to try to provoke them by jealousy to get saved. Through Paul’s ministry, Israel would see Gentiles being saved, receiving the Holy Spirit, and exercising the gifts of the Spirit in the early Gentile churches. Paul hopes that Israel would question their motives and trust in Jesus, but Israel remains hardhearted. The whole book of Acts is Pauls attempts to save his kinsmen first, but also goes to the Gentiles with the grace gospel that Jesus revealed to him for them.

Finally, Paul quotes Isaiah saying, “For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” From this point on, Paul goes only to the Gentiles and from prison writes Ephesians to Philemon. In all of Paul’s epistles, Paul reveals a new church called, “The Body of Christ” which operates under grace via a new gospel and doctrine. This church has a new commission to reconcile all men to God by grace through the cross of Christ. The purpose of this Gentile church would be to rapture them at their fulness into the heavens to fill the heavens with the glory and government of Christ.

While this church was in operation, the Kingdom program was suspended. But now, with the rapture, the departure of the Body of Christ to the heavens, God can now reactivate the Kingdom program. It starts with God completing his judgement on His nation, Israel. God has provided the Hebrew epistles to re-educate the Jews about Christ and about how to identify the Antichrist, how to flee from him and how to expect the return of Jesus to ratify the new covenant. The books of Hebrews to Revelation will provide them all they need to know for the years ahead. The purpose of this Jewish church would be to fulfil prophecy and establish Christ’s government on the earth and fill the earth with the glory of Christ. In so doing, both heaven and earth would be back under the reign and glory of Jesus Christ and fulfill the full redemption plan of God upon creation.

Now, back to us today. Can you see how the ‘curriculum’ of the New Testament is so critically ordered and arranged. Paul’s epistles should be studied from the foundation of Romans and built upon by the other epistles. Our instructions are written in Romans to Philemon. Then the ‘curriculum’ of the Jews kicks in from Hebrews to Revelation, which teaches them of Christ, whom they initially rejected. He is their High Priest, King and returning Conqueror.

We should be mindful that the Bible is God’s Book. It is designed and ordered EXACTLY how we should study it. We should rightly divide the dispensations and know and practice that doctrine that belongs to us and individual people groups, both Israel and the Body of Christ. We cannot underestimate the value and design of this incredible Book.