In preparation for the overview of the 9-church epistles

In preparation for the overview of the 9-church epistles

INTRODUCTION:

In his epistles, Paul uses a few analogies that indicate progression. Consider, milk and meat. Also consider babes, to children, to sons. How about from carnal to spiritual, from the outer man to the inner man and from the natural to the spiritual. All these examples can be applied to the 9-church epistles which make up the curriculum for the grace believer. Using these analogies helps to clarify the fact that the curriculum is indeed progressive and importantly, it should be recognised, studied, and understood in this manner to.

In this post, I’d like to draw your attention to this progressive concept by working through an overview of the 9-epistles, and assigning these analogical classifications to them, so you can identify the primary theme of the epistles and start to understand their position within the curriculum.

Before we get into the epistles however, it is necessary to define some terms that are used within the epistle comparisons. Please take note of these terms and consider them when working through the rest of this post.

Epistle Format

• Doctrine: The set of principles or teachings laid out in Paul’s letters that we are to know and obey (not by our own power, but by the Spirit working within us).
• Reproof: Identifying and expressing disapproval or criticism of a mistake or fault.
• Correction: Providing guidance or actions to rectifying or improving a mistake or fault.
• Instruction: Providing knowledge, information, or direction to help someone learn and grow.

Milk and Meat

To truly grasp the significance of the terms, “milk” and “meat” when used as analogies in the curriculum, it is important to understand what they really mean. Many will logically understand the milk is the beginner level of doctrine, whereas the meat has deeper, or more mature, significance. However, we learn more valuable insights into these terms when we turn to the scripture and learn of more intricate spiritual understanding. Have a look at the following verses,

1 Cor.3:1-3  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.  [2]  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear [process, understand] it, neither yet now are ye able.  [3]  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

Heb.5:13-14  For every one that useth MILK is unskilful [ignorant] in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe --- [who’s mind is in visible things]. [14] But STRONG MEAT belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use [habit, practice, understanding] have their [mental] senses [the faculty of perceiving truth;] exercised to discern both good and evil [sound and unsound doctrine].

Thus, understand that carnal believers cannot understand the meat of the word, which as we will see from Hebrews, pertains to more spiritual doctrine. If you look at the Corinthians, they exhibited characteristics that relate to the natural realm. They were controlled by the outer man and were influenced by their 5-senses, swayed by feelings and emotions. There was no spiritual depth or maturity in them, and they were unskillful in the word of righteousness.

On the other hand, the passage in Hebrews clearly tells us that those who could understand the meat of the word were strong in faith and had a maturity about them which allowed them to perceive and understand spiritual truths, allowing them to discern good doctrine from false doctrine. A believer’s level of maturity would result in them being able to prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God, Rom.12:2. Additional scriptures that enforce this view, which all happen to come from epistles further up in the curriculum, are as follows,

Eph.5:17-18: "Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;"

Phil.1:9-10: "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;"

Col.1:9-10: "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;"

1Thess.5:21-22: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil."

2Tim.2:7: "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things."

Faith, Love, and Hope

There is a more obscure analogy that Paul uses, but it is nevertheless still progressive, not in imagery, but more so in understanding. This analogy starts with faith, which produces love, which then provides the hope to endure while waiting for the return of the Lord. Notice the progressive revelation of this analogy as we advance through Paul’s epistles. 

In Romans, the foundational epistle, we are encouraged to learn and obey “the” faith. The faith Paul refers to here is our doctrine, the grace doctrine, specific to grace believers who make up the body of Christ. Faith is the first step as a believer. There must be a grounding or establishment that happens first, which is our justification through the grace gospel. Thereafter, we are to learn about “the” faith, and grow in knowledge of it in order to become stablished (stabilized, Rom.16:25; Col.2:7; 1Th.3:13) as believer; not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, Eph.4:14.

Rom.1:5  By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

Rom.16:26  But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

As “the” faith starts to renew the mind and take root in the heart, it will produce love, 1Jn.2:3-6, which also happens to be the first of the fruits of the Spirit (which is the word dwelling within you), Gal.5:22. This love is not something manufactured by the believer. It is not something produced by their own willpower, or mental ascent. There is no true love present in sinful flesh. What produces a naturally manifesting, godly love, which comes without effort on the part of the believer, is when an overflow of “the” faith in the heart and mind starts to innately influence the life of the believer. Their choices, their actions, their speech, and their behaviours, will align with the faith they now believe in, and its overflow will start to produce the works of righteousness as mentioned in Rom.4:5.  This is when that labour of love is manifested. When the word of God is exercised in sincere obedience, the word of God will naturally produce love. Notice how Paul hints on this happening in the believers at Colossae and at Thessalonica. First there was obedience to a work of faith. That produced a natural outflow of a labour of love, 

Col.1:4  Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

Finally, we come to hope, the third part of this progressive analogy. Paul says that the greatest attribute between faith, hope, and love, is love. It is the power of love that sustains hope, and it is hope that helps a believer to endure in this corrupt world as they look for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Tit 2:13. 

Paul sums up this progressive analogy beautifully in the verse below, written to the Thessalonians, who are at the pinnacle of our curriculum, who are mature believers, adopted sons of God, ensamples for all who believe, 1Th.1:7, and who may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye suffered, 2Th.1:5, 

1Th.1:3  Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

1Th.5:8  But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

I encourage you to remember these progressive analogies and especially the deeper spiritual truths they represent as we now dive into the comparison of the 9-church epistles. You will see these terms being used in their context as we move up the curriculum and as the growth and maturing of the saints naturally occur through their knowledge of the truth (of our doctrine) and their labour of love depicted in these letters.

In the next post we will begin the overview of each epistle in relation to the analogies above and additional comparative details mentioned within the overview.

The Goal of our Curriculum

The Goal of our Curriculum

If one looks at the 9-church epistles, from Romans to 2-Thessalonians, and consider it from a bird's eye view, one will see some incredible patterns of design and intricacy in its makeup. This can only have come about by the wisdom of God our Father who knows the end from the beginning and has planned all things out since the foundation of the world. Consider that Paul did not write the epistles in the order that we know them in the Bible today. Consider that Paul did not intend to have the epistles combine so intricately in content and topic. Paul simply wrote as the Holy Spirit inspired him, and to him, each epistle was a single letter with the necessary doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction, which that specific church required at that specific moment in time. Yet, when you study these 9-letters, it reveals a pattern of design that proves the hand of an all-wise and all-knowing God overseeing this incredible and valued compilation.

Paul provides us with the ultimate goal, or purpose, of the curriculum in Romans 16:25-26. It reads the following,

That FORM of Doctrine (Part 1- Form)

That FORM of Doctrine (Part 1 - Form)

Start this lesson series at with the Introduction here.

The term "form of doctrine" describes the particular way biblical teachings are structured and presented. Romans 6:17 emphasizes this, where Paul speaks of believers obeying “that form of doctrine” to which they were committed. "Form" here means a set pattern that informs and directs a believer's faith and actions. 

This doctrine involves fundamental biblical concepts, including the nature of God, the work of Jesus Christ, the role of the Holy Spirit, and the path to salvation. These teachings are organized systematically, offering a clear blueprint for understanding and applying the Christian faith. In essence, the form of doctrine serves as a guide, helping believers align their lives with biblical truths and principles.

Have a look at the scriptures below, taking note of the highlighted words. One cannot deny that there is a very specific structure (or arrangement, or shape), to it and that Paul's 'form of doctrine' is highly specialized, requiring study and training to fully master it.

Biblical cycles of 7-years, called: "Shemitah's"

In the Bible, a 'type' is a divinely purposed illustration of some truth and is often a prophetic foretelling of future events. 

The 'type' can be:

1. a person (Rom.5:14)
2. a thing (Heb.10:19-20)
3. an institution (Heb.9:11-12)
4. a ceremonial (1 Cor.5:7)
5. an event (1 Cor.10:11)

The Greek word týpos, meaning "example", describes a model or pattern in the Old Testament that is fulfilled in scripture, often typifying the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The word týpos (in the KJV Bible) is also translated as "pattern" (Titus 2:7; Hebrews 8:5), "form" (Romans 6:17), "print" (John 20:25), "ensample" (1 Cor.10:11), "fashion" (Acts 7:44), "figure" (Acts 7:43; Romans 5:14), and "manner" (Acts 23:25).

The Stages of Christ's Ascension and Return (Part 11)

We have come a long way in this study, documenting the ascension of Christ and then His descent, illustrating how it is in symmetry. We have already covered how Jesus leaves the highest heavens and enters into that place of light, and calls home the Body of Christ in a silent rapture. Then, about three and a half years later, at the mid-point of the tribulation we have Jesus appearing in the clouds and the occurrence of the next rapture/resurrection of the kingdom saints and the tribulation saints. It is also at this point where war in the heavens occurs, where Satan is cast down to earth, and the throne of the Lord appears down into the clouds. It is from this position that the rest of Christ's judgements (the seven trumpets) and conquering will happen throughout the Great Tribulation (the second three and a half years).

The Stages of Christ's Ascension and Return (Part 4)

In Part 3 of this post series, we had a look at the continued ascension of Jesus from the clouds (the position in which Stephen saw Jesus in Acts 7:55-56), to the position in light which He occupied according to 1 Tim.6:16. Between these two scripture references, it clearly identified Jesus in two different places. However, I won't be dogmatic and claim that these two positions are separated by the "waters above the firmament", but based on my current convictions, I'll illustrate it as such in my diagram below. (The purpose of the diagram is simply to show the eventual symmetry between Christ's ascension and return. I don't claim it to be accurate in depicting locations or positions in the heavenly ascension). 

The Stages of Christ's Ascension and Return

Acknowledgement:
When we delve into future events in the Bible, like the rapture, the tribulation, and Millennial Kingdom, one has to understand that there is a measure of assumption based on what the scriptures say, and how one interprets it. Even though the Bible provides details of the future, we do not fully understand how these events will play out, and in what order they will occur. We know from scripture that the Tribulation will happen. We know what the Tribulation is and we know its purpose. We know there will be an Antichrist and we know he will rule the world for a set period. But, although the scripture makes some things clear, there are still guesses around some cryptic details regarding this time, (see Deut.29:29). The fact remains that not even the best Bible scholars can accurately instruct us of exact times and details of future events in prophecy. It remains up to us to study the Word as best as possible and piece together multiple scriptures to build a picture based on how we interpret what will happen. In this series of articles, I plan to do exactly this. I'd like to build a picture of what I can see the Bible says about Jesus' ascension and return. How you receive the information I lay out here is up to you. I'm not claiming to be dogmatic and theologically correct. My only hope is that it will inspire you to delve into the scripture and see for yourself what it says. If I can encourage and inspire you to read the Word and become excited about it, then I have succeeded in my primary aim regarding this post and upcoming posts in this extended article.

Q-A: Prayer in the Grace Dispensation

Prayer in the Grace Dispensation The Grace Dispensation brought about MANY changes in lifestyle and patterns. Prayer is one of these attributes that radically changed from how the Gospels represent it.  Let's have a look at prayer in this grace dispensation.

Follow me as I follow Christ

All through the gospels, Jesus proclaimed, "Follow me ...". Here are a few examples, (Matt.4:19, Matt.9:9, Matt.16:24, Matt.19:21, Mark 8:34, Mark 10:21, Luke 9:23, Luke 18:22, John 10:27, John 12:26).

As one can deduce from these examples, the phrase wasn't so much an invitation to follow Him where ever He walked, but rather to copy Him in lifestyle, in attitude, in deeds and in manner. To become a disciple and imitate Him and devote ones life to His example. 

Not many people are aware however, that Paul also said, "Follow me ...". Let's have a look at an example,

Q-A: Did Paul commit the unforgivable sin?

Before we can answer this question, lets review the scripture passage that mentions the unforgivable sin. We find it in Matthew's gospel where Jesus is speaking,

Matthew 12:30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. 31 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

Paul, The First into a New Program

Paul, The First into a New Program

It is incredibly important to understand God's Word in the right context, and this is greatly supported by identifying periods of time, being aware of patterns or nuances, recognizing people groups and changes in program or instruction throughout the Bible. The example below is one such instance where, based on what Paul says, "that IN ME first...as a pattern...", it could be a bit confusing what he means by it! We have to dig in deeper and analyze why Paul said this and understand it in context with right division in the Word.