Here again we will look at
another common cause of the misinterpretation of Scripture. We will compare the
earthly ministry and message of “Jesus of
Nazareth” to Israel,
with the gospel message of “the mystery
(musterion, secret)” that the ascended Christ from heaven revealed to the
Apostle Paul, for the Gentiles under “the
dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph 3:1-3).
In the four synoptic Gospels we see
Jesus of Nazareth, who was humanly “born
of woman,” physically born of Mary’s physical body, “made under the Law” (Gal 4:4), in His earthy ministry. Jesus of Nazareth became incarnated
and came to His own, Israel. But Israel did not
receive Him. Thus, Peter scolded them at Pentecost saying, “Ye men of Israel” (Acts 3:12)… 14But ye (Israel) denied the
Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
15 And killed the Prince of
life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
Acts 3:14-15
In point of fact, Jesus of Nazareth
continued “the Law,” often referring His hearers to “Moses” as indication of His support of
The Law. Jesus often supported the law saying “What does Moses
command?” (Matt 8:4, 19:7 et al). Jesus was emphatic with regard to
the law. Matthew 5:18 For verily I (Jesus) say unto you, Till heaven and earth
pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the
law, till all be fulfilled.
In answer to the
rich young man who sought eternal life, Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:19-22 list
several work requirements. This is in direct contrast with Paul’s words relative
to being “saved by grace, through faith, through faith, not of
works” (Eph 2:8-9). Paul says the unearned favor of grace issues in
eternal life. Romans 5:21b (AMP)
… [so] grace (His unearned and
undeserved favor) might reign also through righteousness (right
standing with God) which issues in eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Clearly, salvation is “by grace through faith”; and so Paul
goes on to say believers are to practice their daily walk in the very same way
that they initially received Christ. Colossians 2:6 As ye have
therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so
walk ye in him:
In contrast to Jesus of Nazareth’s
message to Israel, today we live under the
message and gospel that the risen and ascended Lord gave to Paul, concerning the
pure grace of God that offers believers salvation apart from works of the Law.
Romans 6:14 … ye are not under the law,
but under grace. Romans 11:6a And if
by grace, then is
it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more
grace…
How are we to reconcile
Paul’s and Jesus’ messages?
Unless you know the difference
between the earthly or terrestrial ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and that of the
heavenly or celestial ministry of the resurrected and ascended Christ, you can
never understand the uniqueness of God’s “last gospel” that was given to
Paul several years after the cross, for the gentile “body of Christ.”
Jesus’ terrestrial (earthly) ministry
was unto the Jews concerning the physical and literal earthly
Kingdom
of God to come to
earth. Matthew
6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven.
Even after Jesus’ cross and
resurrection, while still on earth and ministering to Israel, He expounded upon this Kingdom
that was to come to earth unto Israel. Acts 1:3
To (the
disciples) whom also he (Jesus) shewed himself alive after his passion by
many infallible proofs, being seen of them (the Jewish disciples)
forty days, and speaking of the things
pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Today, during the dispensation of the grace of God,
Jesus as the King of Israel is in exile with His Kingdom held in abeyance (Rom
11:25). Today, Christ has but one
active ministry, His celestial ministry from heaven to “the church which is His body,” whose
members alone are His “ambassadors” on earth
as pilgrims.
We may reconcile Jesus of Nazareth’s
and Paul’s differing messages by considering and carefully noting just what
Jesus of Nazareth said to whom,
concerning whom, and at what time?
- Jesus
of Nazareth
came to whom? - “He
came to His own, but His own received Him not.”
(John 1:11) Matthew
15:24 (Jesus) answered and said, I am not
sent but unto the lost sheep of the
house of Israel.
- Jesus
came preaching what - "the kingdom of heaven"; and to be applicable
at when? - saying it is "at hand." Matthew 4:17
…Jesus began to preach, and to say,
Repent: for the kingdom
of
(from) heaven is at hand.
- What
explicit instructions did Jesus of Nazareth give to His Jewish
Disciples? Matthew 10:5-6 These twelve Jesus sent forth,
and commanded them, saying, Go not into
the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans
(the half-breeds) enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel.
Now consider another contrast. It
is between that which Jesus preached and that which
Paul preached regarding the matter of forgiveness.
- Jesus
preached “conditional forgiveness,” requiring one to forgive others
first, in order to gain God’s forgiveness.
Matthew 6:15 But if ye
forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses.
The “if” here speaks of the condition of a “work”
of forgiveness that is required before one is to have their sins forgiven by God
the Father.
- Now
note Paul’s words to the believers at Ephesus, under “the dispensation of the grace of God.”
He commends them to forgive one another on quite a different basis than Jesus
of Nazareth had preached. Ephesians 4:32 …be ye kind one
to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even
as God for Christ's sake hath (already) forgiven you.
God forgave us first, while we were sinners. Romans
5:8 But God commendeth
his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us.
Paul says, under grace, we forgive because
we have already been forgiven freely – “by grace through faith,” apart from works of the law.
Surely, the forgoing demonstrates a
marked difference; one is of living under “the law,” yet in effect during Jesus
of Nazareth’s time on earth, while the other as the mark of the pure
grace dispensation that Paul preached to "the body
of Christ" under “the
dispensation of the grace of God.”
Having seen the above, we now may
better understand Paul’s statement here. 2 Corinthians 5:16
… though we have known Christ after the flesh
(in His earthly
incarnation and ministry),
yet now
henceforth know we him no more. How can
Paul say we are not to cherish that which pertains to Jesus of Nazareth’s ministry on earth? It is because
the full purpose of the cross was first revealed to Paul and preached by Him. It
is by the cross that the Jesus of
Nazareth, has become the “last
Adam…the life-giving spirit” (1Cor 15:45). Now being in His spirit-form as
the risen and ascended Lord, Christ is enabled to come in His spirit-form to
indwell the human spirit of each and every believer (1John 4:13, 1Cor 6:17).
Thus, Paul says we ought not to know Him as Jesus of Nazareth, the one who came to
Israel, but rather, we now know Him now as the risen “Spirit of life” (Rom 8:2) who indwells
us, as our new “life” (Col 3:4a, Gal
2:20).
This explains why Paul never once in
his fourteen epistles refer to anything Jesus of Nazareth said or did during His
earthly ministry. Paul only experientially “knew” or “was intimate with” the
Lord Jesus in one way – Christ crucified, raised as the “Spirit of life,” as the life-giving
fruit of the cross who indwells believers. Colossians 1:27
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory:
Thus, the cross is not only the only
basis of our being forgiven our sins, but also the cross is the only
basis of our being enabled by receiving the resurrected and overcoming
Christ as He now is, in the form of the “life-giving spirit” (1Cor 15:45). Thus,
Paul writes these words. 1Corinthians 2:2 For I
(Paul) am determined not to know any thing
among you, save (except) Jesus Christ, and him
crucified.