[UAC#1] The Order and Spiritual Importance of our Curriculum

This series of posts starts here.

[UAC#1] The Order and Spiritual Importance of our Curriculum

Introduction

The 9-church epistles of Paul, as presented sequentially in our Bibles today, from Romans to Thessalonians, make up a spiritual curriculum that teaches a believer to grow up in spirit from a babe in Christ to a mature son. It takes one from the milk of the Word towards the meat, from the carnal to the spiritual, from the principles of the grace doctrine to the obedience of righteousness. 

If you were not aware of this very important detail, you can find more information about this curriculum in the following link: https://thebigpicturelink.blogspot.com/2023/10/as-grace-believers-what-is-our-primary_14.html.

This spiritual curriculum is designed to transform a new believer into a functioning and profitable member of the body of Christ, but as with any curriculum, it will only do its work of informing and transforming if the believer actually studies it correctly, in the right order, opening their heart to the knowledge it reveals, and believing its instruction.

I’d like to briefly focus on two key words in the above intro, namely, “Order” and “Spiritual”. 

Order:

Writing in general terms, studying a curriculum in the correct order is crucial for a thorough understanding of the subject matter and for building a strong foundation of knowledge. Learning it in the wrong order can be detrimental because advanced topics often rely on the principles and concepts covered in earlier lessons. For example, in mathematics, attempting to study calculus without first mastering algebra and pre-calculus would be highly challenging and likely to result in confusion and frustration. If topics are learned out of order, one may struggle to grasp fundamental concepts, leading to gaps in knowledge, an incomplete understanding, and ultimately, incorrect application.

So, in mind of the truth above, how much more importance does this place on studying God’s Word, and in particular, Paul’s epistles, in the correct order, considering that they are clearly progressive in knowledge and application. 

Spiritual:

Unlike any curriculum that pertains to the wisdom of men and the things of this physical, visible world, an added dimension concerning Paul’s curriculum is that it is spiritual. Romans is the very first and foundational epistle in our curriculum, and it takes only eleven verses to be informed of the spiritual context. 

Rom.1:11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;

After Paul deals with the justification of a believer, Romans 6 to 8 become a lot more spiritual. Sanctification, the second part of the fuller salvation experience, deals with the death and deliverance of a believer from sin and the law. These truths, which consist of the fundamental spiritual values of our doctrine, are imperative to understand, since it becomes the cornerstones of many progressive attributes that are built up upon the foundation as we continue into deeper, more ‘meatier’ truths further up the curriculum. Consider the following verses that introduce a believer to the spiritual edification they are required to know at this beginning point in the curriculum:

Rom.7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

Rom.8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. … [5] For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. [6] For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. … [13] For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. [14] For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Thus, if one skips Romans and jumps into Ephesians or Colossians, for example, they will lose much of the context of those epistles, which deal with concepts that utterly rely on spiritual knowledge and understanding. 

In actual fact, in the very next epistle, 1 Corinthians, Paul already speaks of a wisdom that God has revealed by His Spirit and that one can only know those things by His Spirit which reveals them. To the natural man, the wisdom of God is foolishness, and he cannot know it as it is spiritually discerned. Having come through Romans, that deals with salvation in detail, it is thus expected that the reader is now established in salvation and seeks to learn more of the spiritual nature and knowledge of God. 

How many believers, and even Bible teachers, have been ignorant of this curriculum and have ended up in a skewed or false doctrine because they have learned and practiced a premature understanding of concepts, or because they have been negligent concerning how to rightly divide the Word, or they have been unable to discern and judge in knowledge of spiritual truths.

Paul enforced this wholly on Timothy as a student under his doctrine. Paul commanded Timothy to adhere to the following,

2Tim.2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

As students of the Word of God, it now becomes a command to us too as we endeavour to learn to understand and apply our curriculum. I trust that you will continue with me on this journey as we dive into learning as much as we can about our grace doctrine in the context of a curriculum.

God bless.

If Peter did not preach Paul's grace gospel, why does he speak of grace, the cross, and of faith and hope in his epistles?

If Peter did not preach Paul's grace gospel, why does he speak of grace, the cross, and of faith and hope in his epistles?

QUESTION:

Read 1 Peter 1:10-12, 14-21. Within the first chapter of Peter’s first letter, he speaks of the grace of God that would come to them. Not only did He speak of this, but He also spoke of faith and hope they would have by being in God. He also referred to the cross of Christ when he said his recipients were redeemed with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

It sounds to me that Peter is preaching the grace gospel since he spoke of the grace that would come to the Jews and the blood of the cross being shed for them which is what Paul preached day to day.

Peter was the apostle to the circumcised and Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, Galatians 2:8. This does not mean the gospels they preached were different, it only means their assignments were different.

Once again, these words were written by the apostle you said never preached the grace gospel of Paul. Please explain.

ANSWER:

Your questions are valid. I appreciate you asking. Let me take them one at a time and clarify with my perspective.

In Luke 20 you ask which gospel was Jesus' preaching.

The answer is that He was preaching the only gospel that existed at that time, the gospel of the kingdom that pertains to the Jews. Paul has not yet been saved, so God’s revelations concerning the grace gospel have not yet been made known.

The IMPORTANCE of interpreting scripture using Progressive Dispensational Revelation (Part 2 - Q&A)

The following content contains further Q&A on the post called: "The IMPORTANCE of interpreting scripture using Progressive Dispensational Revelation". The questions asked were excellent to constitute creating a 'part 2' of this post.

COMMENT:

I like where your post was headed, but it needs more information to support your conclusion. Can you help us see how you determined, by progressive revelation, that Cain’s offering lacked faith, and needed blood?

ANSWER:

Earlier I mentioned that faith is believing what God has revealed. What God reveals typically keeps us in right standing with Him. Obedience to what God tells us is what saves us. As we advance through the pages of the Bible God reveals new, or additional things to keep us in relationship with Him. It’s these new, or additional things that I refer to as progressive revelation.

The IMPORTANCE of interpreting scripture using Progressive Dispensational Revelation

The IMPORTANCE of interpreting scripture using Progressive Dispensational Revelation

The following, posted to my WhatsApp channel, is a simple post, but the message is of crucial importance, hence the reason for posting it here in my main blog too. 

Please read the following short post and take note of the importance of reading, understanding, and interpreting the Bible with 'progressive revelation' in mind.

https://thebigpictureviews.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-importance-of-interpreting.html

The Progressive Content of Paul's Epistles After Acts 28:28, when Paul turns his focus wholly to the Gentiles, one sees a change in the content of his epistles. With careful study one finds much less references to Old Testament quotes and to Jewish customs and traditions. This post will provide some insights as to why.

Interesting Fact: In Paul's writings from after Acts 28, —that is in his "Prison Epistles - Ephesians to Colossians", —one finds minimal references to Old Testament quotes or any mention of Jewish customs or traditions. Why is this? My answer would be that in Acts 28:28 he mentions that his attention will now turn to the Gentiles as they were receptive to his message. Paul spent years in his early ministry trying to bring the Jews to salvation through the grace gospel, but they would not hear. The fact that there is little in the subsequent prison epistles regarding the Jewish prophetic program and their customs validates for me that his heart was now set solely on a 'pure' grace message alone.

OBS: God's Word is a Progressive Plan (Part.2)

OBS: God's Word is a Progressive Plan (Part.2)

This is Part 2 of the Series 

Click here to start with Part 1

Examples of 'primary' progression and context

In part 1 of this article, we proved that the Bible is a singular PLAN, albeit very intricate. As with any plan (or project), it has a start and an end point, and between these one typically has parts or specific actions that provide progression and momentum to achieve the planned objective. In this part, we will have a look at the divisions of the plan that provide its progress.

OBS: God's Word is a Progressive Plan (Part.1)

OBS: God's Word is a Progressive Plan (Part.1)

Consider a plan or project. Logically, it has a starting point and an end. Between the start and end there are a series of steps, or actions, that navigate those involved in the project to the end result. If there is deviation from the planned steps or actions, the project flow is disrupted and complications can occur.