About Peter and the Twelve......

[Roofdad]

I have a question, and it is probably only because I am so new to right division.
OK: I know that Paul preached the grace of God, whereas Peter and the twelve preached the Law.
My question is simple...... once Peter and the twelve knew that God had set aside the gospel of the kingdom, and heard from Paul, the Gospel of Grace according to the Revelation of the Mystery of God, did the Apostles then begin teaching the Gospel of Grace, also, as Paul did??

[Christine]

I have a question, and it is probably only because I am so new to right division.
OK: I know that Paul preached the grace of God, whereas Peter and the twelve preached the Law.
My question is simple...... once Peter and the twelve knew that God had set aside the gospel of the kingdom, and heard from Paul, the Gospel of Grace according to the Revelation of the Mystery of God, did the Apostles then begin teaching the Gospel of Grace, also, as Paul did??

Hey Darryl,

The answer to your question is NO. Peter and the 12 were commissioned to preach the gospel of the KINGDOM to none but the Jew. Israel as a Nation had to come to a belief in Christ as their promised Messiah and King BEFORE they could go to the other Nations. When Israel failed to acknowledge their Messiah (all but the little flock) God SET THEM ASIDE in UNBELIEF.

At the Jerusalem Council, Peter and the twelve shook hands with Paul and made it clear that they would continue to go to the Jew (the Circumcision) and that Paul would now go to the gentiles.

The ONLY recorded incident of any of the twelve going to a GENTILE was when God dragged Peter kicking and screaming to go to Cornelius. Peter KNEW this was a NO NO, to hobknob with Gentiles, but God wanted to make it clear that He was doing something DIFFERENT and this isolated incident was to support that FACT.

Paul was given a NEW commission, which is that we are all ambassadors of Christ with the message of RECONCILIATION. Peters commission was put OUT of Commission by the end of Acts.

This will become more and more evident and crystal clear as you continue to study, Darryl, but it is an otherwise excellent question.

Keep in mind that what Peter taught was JUDAISM or the KINGDOM gospel. While he acknowledged that God had given Paul something NEW, he remained true to the commission which God gave to him until the end. He was part of the "little flock" of believing jews referred to in the Scriptures.

[Roofdad]

I remember from our study on Tuesday night, Peter saying that he was sure that they (the other apostles) would be saved by God's grace, just as the Gentiles were.
So, it was their belief in Jesus Christ as the Messiah that allowed them to be saved by grace? Because otherwise, they would still have been held accountable under the Law, yes?

[Oasis]

Hi Darryl,

I'll let Christine answer your latest post, but I'd like to add to her answer to your first post.  I remember having the same question as you some years ago:
Darryl

once Peter and the twelve knew that God had set aside the gospel of the kingdom, and heard from Paul, the Gospel of Grace according to the Revelation of the Mystery of God, did the Apostles then begin teaching the Gospel of Grace, also, as Paul did??

It's a good question.  Another good answer to this can be found on Matthew McGee's site:

http://www.matthewmcgee.org/index.html

This is a summary of a study entitled, "ISRAEL'S KINGDOM GOSPEL AND OUR GRACE GOSPEL".

God chose Abraham out of all the human race and made of him the nation of Israel to be a kingdom of priests to eventually evangelize all of mankind when their Messiah sets up His kingdom. When their Messiah, Jesus Christ, came, He plainly told the twelve apostles that He was going to be killed and rise from the dead. But this was hidden from them by God, and they could not understand. The many Jews, who did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, crucified Him, and He was buried, and He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. But the offer for Israel to receive their Messiah and kingdom remained open for a while longer if they would only believe that He was who He said He was. The twelve apostles led by Peter, preached the gospel of the kingdom to Israel, that Israel should believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, repent, and be baptized with water. If they all did this, then Jesus Christ would return and bring in the kingdom just as the Old Testament prophets had foretold. There was nothing in Peter's message about departing from the law of Moses, to which the believing Jews adhered. Peter presented them the offer of the kingdom in the early chapters of Acts. But many in Israel still did not believe and rejected the ascended Lord Jesus Christ. But when Christ returns and purges the unbelieving two thirds (Zechariah 13:8-9), the remaining one third will all accept Him as their Messiah.

When they rejected the ascended Lord in the early chapters of Acts, God called Paul to be the apostle to the Gentiles. Up until that time, God had been dealing only with Israel, with just a few exceptions. Our ascended Lord Jesus Christ committed unto Paul the dispensation of the grace of God which had always been a secret hidden by God. This was a new program with new doctrine which God would show to Paul through many revelations. Paul was shown that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ had been the perfect sacrifice that paid for all of our sin, and that He had been raised from the dead for our justification. This is the gospel of grace, the gospel of our salvation today, which had before been a mystery, hidden by God. Under this present dispensation, we are saved by grace, through faith in the gospel alone, apart from the law of Moses or any other works. Even though Peter and Paul preached different gospels, there is no conflict between them because they dispensed their gospels to two separate audiences. So they were both correct. Peter preached kingdom doctrine to the Jews in the land of Israel, but Paul preached grace doctrine to the Gentiles in other countries and to the Jews scattered among them. When the destruction of the city Jerusalem and the temple came in 70 AD, the kingdom dispensation for Israel was put on hold, until it resumes in the future tribulation. But the grace doctrine for Jew and Gentile alike found in Paul's letters of Romans-Philemon are directly applicable for the church today.

If you'd like to read the rest of the article you'll find it here:

http://www.matthewmcgee.org/2gospels.html

ybiC,
Kab

[Christine]

I remember from our study on Tuesday night, Peter saying that he was sure that they (the other apostles) would be saved by God's grace, just as the Gentiles were.
So, it was their belief in Jesus Christ as the Messiah that allowed them to be saved by grace? Because otherwise, they would still have been held accountable under the Law, yes?

Its a bit more complicated than this and really takes some study time to follow it out to its logical conclusion.

Israels timetable is set out in TIMES PAST and Ages to COME. When God brings them into their NEW Covenant in ages to COME they will obey the law from their hearts as God will have given them NEW HEARTS with which to do so.

The purpose of the law was never to make a man righteous, but to show man how far they fall short from Gods criteria. Israel thot they could earn Gods favor by obeying the law...when all God wanted was to deal with them in MERCY. They proudly stood their ground and said, "Whatsoever you tell us to do , we will do...watch our smoke." And we all know how THAT ended up.....LOL

When push comes to shove we are all saved by GRACE thru faith. The JEWS however, were to DEMONSTRATE that faith by doing what God instructed THEM to do which kept them distinct from all other nations. Their obedience didn't save them, but it was REQUIRED by God under THEIR agreement or covenant with God. "IF" you do this, I will do THAT. IF they obeyed, God blessed them, if they did NOT , they earned a curse.

I found in my own life that my lack of knowledge about how Gods program worked with Israel was part of the reason why I didn't understand scripture. As I began to learn how things worked between Israel and God, the lights began turning on and whole segments of scripture took on a new light. It will be the same with you, I am certain.

Get established in the basics and all the details will fall into place as you continue to study with us. We tend to be impatient critters and want it all at once, but I can assure you, this aint the way it happens....and it can save you alot of wear and tear on your brain if you simply take it one day at a time and learn slowly.

The longer I am in right division, the more aware I am of all that I did NOT know. wink

[NewDawn]

Christine,
Where did you start in your studying of right division?  How did you know where to go?  That's my problem.  Right now I'm just sticking with Pauls epistles.

[Christine]

Christine,
Where did you start in your studying of right division?  How did you know where to go?  That's my problem.  Right now I'm just sticking with Pauls epistles.

I read ALOT of material on right division. All the books by CR Stam, and other good authors...and I stuck to Paul's epistles. The Bible Study with Trent helped tremendously to inject historical and comparison studies and little by little my questions seemed to all be answered. I am by no means anywhere near Trents level of study, but day by day I keep learning more and more. Bible Study is actually FUN now....ya know what I mean?

There is more than enough material for you to chew on in the forum, and most of it you will go over again and again before it starts clicking in other areas as well. UNLEARNING all the "stinkin thinkin" was where most of the time was spent for me. One brick at a time and time consuming, but hey, thats the way it works for all of us.

You are doing FINE.....I'm so proud of you, sweetie...really I am.

[NewDawn]

Thank you Christine!!  Now that things are back to normal at work, I can go back and study!    So much to learn here, I love it.

Sorry for the "thread jack" Darryl!! 

Love ya's!!