The leader of the kingdom church, Peter (Mt. 16::17-19) affirms that certain epistles that Paul, the "masterbuilder" of Christ's body (1 Cor. 3:10), wrote were scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). Conversely, Paul affirms that writings from the kingdom church were scripture. Note 1 Tim. 5:18--"the labourer is worthy of his reward"--which is citing Luke 10:7, Mt. 10:10, or both! Both churches (kingdom church or "little flock"; church which is Christ's body) affirm that the other is producing inspired scripture (2 Tim. 3:16) and therefore approved of God.
Addendum: Christ is the ultimate foundation of both churches (Mt. 16:18, 1 Peter 2:6; 1 Cor. 3:11, Eph. 2:20), but each church has a chosen, individual builder God works through to begin and lay plans for its superstructure.
- Peter receives the revelation of Jesus as the anointed king of Israel (Mt. 16:16-17) and the "keys to kingdom of heaven" through the kingdom gospel: the "blueprint" for the kingdom church.
- Paul receives the revelation of Jesus the Saviour of "all men" (1 Tim. 2:1-6, 4:10) and "the mystery" (Rom. 16:25) of the body of Christ (Eph. 3:1-9), which is entered by believing the gospel of grace (1 Cor. 15:3-4, Gal. 1:11-12, Eph. 3:6). This final verse, gently shown to me by a mid-Acts minister, showed me that no one could enter the body of Christ before Acts 9, when Paul received the revelation of his gospel, the sole means of entering that body according to Eph. 3:6. Hallelujah! One verse from Paul is sometimes all it takes to settle doctrinal disputes. Examples: How do we give under grace? See 2 Cor. 9:7. Are there still "healers" today? See 2 Tim. 4:20. Will the body of Christ see antichrist? See 2 Thes. 2:4 (no; can't have two temples of God at once; 1 Cor. 3:16). Is self-defense permitted? See Rom. 12:18. Can we eat pork? See 1 Tim. 4:4. And many more...
Hope that some or all of these thoughts have been helpful. May the Lord bless you as you "give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine" till Christ comes (1 Tim. 4:13).
Miles Coverdale gave good advice when he wrote the following concerning the interpretation of Scripture:
ReplyDelete"It will greatly help you to understand Scripture if you note:
Not only what is spoken or written, but of whom and to whom, with what words and at what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstances, considering what goes before and what follows."
It is not always wise to quote one verse when declaring truth.
As students of the Word of God, if possible, we should gather all evidence of a subject before settling doctrinal truth in our minds. Even distant truths found in the OT can be helpful in our search for truth.
For example, what is the hope of Romans? It has been taught that it is the Body of Christ and going to heaven when in Romans 15:8-13 Paul quotes Isaiah 11. A reading of Is. 11:6-10 shows their hope with Israel on the earth where the lion lies down with the lamb. Search and See
There are over 70 quotes of the OT in Romans alone. What does that tell you? It shows that Romans 16:26 should be examined along with verse 25. Search and See.
Thanks very much, Deb, and I agree with your comment, having come to a better understanding of the Acts epistles over the past year or so. I may go back and edit this post later to reflect my new position. Every blessing!
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