Many times, we feel that hardship is a hidden message that we need to change our direction. This was not the case with the apostle Paul. He followed the lead of the Holy Spirit despite the opposition and hardships he had to go through. His love for those he served and taught was far greater than the personal pain he went through to help them grow in the Lord. Let’s see some examples of this.

It seems after Paul arrived back in Antioch, Syria, after his second missionary journey, he spent little time there before again took off again. In 54 AD, only four years after he had begun his second journey, he left again going throughout Galatia and Phrygia (parts of what is today the country of Turkey) to strengthen believers in the churches he had established to ensure they were still growing and teaching correctly. Nero was now the reigning Roman emperor.

In the meanwhile, Apollos from Alexandria, Egypt, came to Ephesus. He was a very educated man and had a thorough understanding of the Scriptures, yet he did not know anything beyond the baptism that John the Baptist preached. Aquilla and Pricilla invited him to their home and told him about Jesus Christ and he was converted (Ac 18:24-16). When he went to the province of Achaia (this is where Corinth and Athens were located), he was able to publicly debate the Jewish leaders and teach about Jesus being the Messiah.

While Apollos was debating and teaching in Corinth, Paul continued his journey visiting the various churches he had established and worked his way back to Ephesus. He spent three months teaching in the synagogue there, but due to the obstinate nature of many of the Jews, he stopped teaching there and instead taught in a lecture hall owned by Tyrannus. He taught here for about two years. Many people, both Jews and Gentiles heard about Jesus Christ due to his teaching. God also did many miracles through the apostle Paul. The glory of God was so strong on Paul that even his clothing and handkerchiefs were able to cause healing to the sick and the removal of evil spirits (Ac 19:8-12).

Some Jewish men tried to copy what Paul did and cast out demons, but these men were beaten so badly by the demon possessed man that they barely escaped with their life—they were naked and bleeding from the encounter. This caused the name of Jesus to become held in high honor and many practicing sorcery burned their scrolls publicly (Ac 19:13-20).

While in Ephesus, Paul wrote, as far as we know, four letters to the church in Corinth. Two are lost to antiquity, but two are part of his New Testament epistles. The first letter to the church at Corinth, not part of Scripture, was written to encourage them not to participate with individuals who were immoral (1Co 5:9). This may have been due to the society in which they grew up and lived where immorality was part of their everyday culture with nothing wrong considered with such actions because prostitution in their temples was part of their worship of the various Greek gods with sexual pleasure and satisfaction being held in higher regard than moral purity. We don’t have any information about this letter except the reference he made to it in what we know as his epistle of 1st Corinthians. Paul received word that the church there was still having some serious problems that he knew should be addressed. In addition, a letter arrived from the church with a series of questions seeking his guidance (1Co 7:1). Paul then wrote what we know as 1st Corinthians to address these issues and these questions.

The overarching theme in Paul’s letter to Corinth we note as 1st Corinthians was sanctification and their lack of unity (1Co 1:10). He first has to deal with their division and reminds them that while men can have good and legitimate ministries, believers are to be united in Christ and not to a particular person. He also cautioned them to not view and take care of issues that may arise as the world would handle such issues but to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit in all matters affecting the church and later goes into further detail about how they were bringing each other to civil court rather than dealing with such disputes as Christian brothers in Christ. He then dealt with immorality that existed in the church. He reminds them they are not to tolerate such behavior among believers and, if necessary, have the person removed from their congregation (1Co 5:9-11). While they had grown up with immorality as a common practice within Corithian society, they could no longer live that way as they had to reflect the righteousness of Christ. Because of their society, they had questions regarding marriage, divorce, and eating sacrificial meat made to idols.

Paul then addresses the proper way to handle the Lord’s Supper, what we call Communion today, as part of their worship service and addresses their concern regarding spiritual gifts and states that the church is like a human body where every member and every function is important, and one cannot be more important than another because they are interdependent. All gifts are important and should be used in concert for a given whole used in love for each other and love toward God. He then goes on to address the false idea that there is no resurrection from the dead. He emphasizes that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our faith, for if Christ was not raised then neither would we be raised. As Christ was raised from the dead with a new, glorified body, so will we.

Around 55 AD during Paul’s stay in Ephesus, he made a quick trip back to Corinth which he considered a painful visit (2Co 2:1), likely still dealing with the same man addressed in his first epistle (1Co 5:1). After getting back to Ephesus, Paul wrote another letter, again not part of Scripture, and sent this to the church at Corinth via Titus (2Co 7:8). Paul had intensions of going throughout Macedonia and Achaia before returning to Jerusalem and then to Rome, but he stayed in Ephesus awhile longer but sent Timothy and Erastus ahead of him into Macedonia, probably seeing if they could hear back from Titus any earlier.

In Ephesus there was a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines for Artemis, who many believed was the protector of Ephesus and was one of the main gods worshipped in this city. Because of the preaching of Paul and the conversion of so many Ephesians, Demetrius saw a decline in his business. Fewer and fewer people were buying these shrines. He called all the tradesmen in the city together and insinuated that all their businesses were in jeopardy if Paul was allowed to continue. Hed also stated Paul was putting their beloved goddess herself and her temple in danger of becoming discredited and robbing her of her divine majesty.

A riot ensued placing the whole city in an uproar but many of those participating in the commotion didn’t even know what the uproar was about (Ac 19:23). Some of Paul’s companions from Macedonia, Gaius and Aristarchus, were pulled into the open theater where the crowd had gathered. Paul wanted to enter and address the crowd but the disciples there and even some of the officials who had become friends of Paul advised him not to appear. The city clerk stepped in and quieted the crowd and told Demetrius that if he had any legal grounds for his concerns to bring them to the courts; otherwise, he and others would be charged with rioting which would serve no one. At that, the crowd disbanded.

When the commotion settled down, Paul said his goodbye to the disciples there to head out for Macedonia. It seems Paul was anxious to hear back from Titus concerning the congregation at Corinth and went to Troas where he preached hoping to meet Titus on his return trip (2Co 2:13). Not finding Titus there, Paul departed for Macedonia and met Titus in Philippi. He gave a favorable report but there was still an aggressive minority in Corinth opposed to Paul. Paul wrote 2nd Corinthians, likely from Philippi, to reinforce his authority as an apostle, to thank them for their favorable response to him, to remind them about giving to the poor in Judea and to instruct them in the proper attitude toward one who repents. Titus took this epistle back to the Corinthians and told them Paul had plans on visiting them soon.

As Titus went directly back to Corinth, Paul made a circuit through the churches in Macedonia to encourage them and then to Greece where he stayed for three months. Therefore, he most likely made it back to Corinth as he stated was his desire.

I think Paul’s example is humbling for us as we often give up with just a little adversity. This should give us pause as we reflect on all Paul did and what he went through and compare that to our own lives.

Next time, we’ll see some more evidence of his tenacity in his following the leading of the Holy Spirit.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The way God works is never haphazard even if may seem so to us on the surface. Let’s see if we can better understand God’s plan in working with the Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire. His plan was quite genius, really. God’s first step was to have Jews spread throughout the Roman Empire. This is why he stated that salvation was first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles (Ro 1:16). The Jews were the ones who brought God’s teachings of morality and right living to the known world. Let’s think about the Gentile culture, whether that be Greek or Roman. The Greeks sought knowledge. We see in Athens the Areopagus (or Mars Hill) was dedicated to the art of debate so that the citizens could understand important knowledge taught by the very best minds (Ac 17:22). Romans were more about might and strength. The gods of both cultures typified physical beauty, strength, virility, allurement, and seduction. The people’s worship of these gods was that as well.

Paul dealt with this issue with the Corinthians as well as they were simultaneously living in sexual immorality and trying to live as Christians (1Co 5:1). They had a difficult time in understanding that their ways prior to becoming a Christian were wrong because they grew up with this being the standard way of worship. For example, Corinth had a separate temple for each of ten different gods (including one to Caesar) with each temple in interconnecting lush foliage looking beautiful but hiding much darkness.

This was also where the temple to Aphrodite resided high on the outcropping of the city with other temples below it, all within a beautiful garden-type area for people to enjoy. The temple for Aphrodite housed both female and male shrine prostitutes, considered sacred, allowing one to indulge in one’s physical lusts as a sacred act which pleased the gods, gave the people favor, and the gods would bless their families and crops through their offerings of animals and their offering of themselves in such acts. Becoming a temple prostitute was looked on with favor, one who was blessed by the gods. This was a lot for Christianity to overcome. Yet, some were conducting sexual practices that were considered wrong by even their pre-conversion societal standards (1Co 5:1). Yet, the Gnostics taught that this was okay because the physical had no bearing on the spiritual. Paul made several counter arguments against this teaching (1Co 5:9-12; 6:18-20). On his third missionary journey, Paul visited Corinth several times and wrote to them about this issue and other issues, like unity within Christ (1Co 1:10), required by being a bride of Christ (2Co 11:2).

The same is true today. Many people, supposedly believers in Christ, don’t know that living together before marriage, or sex outside of marriage is wrong. Sexual impurity is again not relevant in their minds. Plus, unity is even further apart than in Paul’s day. Not only do we have disunity between Jew and non-Jew Christians, but between Christian denominations as well. Are we really behaving like a true bride? Does a bridegroom want a schizophrenic bride to love and cherish? We need a mind and worldview renewal in order to be Christ’s pure bride (Ep 4:11-13).

We also need to appreciate the two main false doctrines that Paul and those with him had to constantly contend with. Throughout Paul’s evangelistic missionary journeys, he had a battle with both sides of the morality issue teaching their beliefs after he left a region. On one side, Judaizers traveled behind Paul and taught one must become a Jewish proselyte by being circumcised and obey all the Laws of Moses before one could accept Christ as Savior. In their eyes, living morally was a necessary first step before believing in Jesus and his sacrifice for sins.  To them, physical works were important and necessary. This was the problem that Christ tried to deal with the Jews when he was among them. One cannot become righteous by one’s own efforts (Ep 2:8-9). Christ’s death liberated them from this misconception, but many taught otherwise. Paul fought hard to teach against such a man-made requirement and wanted to let the Gentile believers know of their Christian liberty, which had been validated by the Jerusalem Council, did not require such things. Paul stated he even had to reprimand Peter in this regard (Ga 2:11-14). This was a hard lesson for many Jews to comprehend.

On the other hand, Gnostics also traveled behind Paul and taught their philosophy of how to explain the nature of God, creation, good and evil, man, and the purpose of life. Their teachings were deceptive because Gnosticism was able to be combined with Paul’s teachings of Christianity to make it sound similar to what Paul taught but be off enough to be something completely different (1Co 2:6-8; Ep 2:8-9; Cl 2:8; 1Ti 6:20). This took the focus from Christ and his redemptive work and made it more about man and how to uncover the good from within and discover the secret mysteries about the essence of God. To them, spiritual works were important. Gnosticism taught Jesus Christ was a step in the process of understanding universal mysteries but did not teach the necessity of Christ’s transforming power or the receipt of the Holy Spirit. This is why Paul stated to the Colossians that he wished for them to understand the knowledge of God’s will and his wisdom and spiritual understanding (Cl 1:9). They didn’t need to look within themselves but to Jesus Christ who was the one who reveals who God really is. Salvation comes by Jesus and his blood. Not from ourselves (Cl 1:13-14).

How does one ensure they are not succumbed by a false belief or doctrine? As Paul taught, God’s truth is not complicated. Anyone who teaches any doctrine other than the belief in Jesus Christ and his death, burial, and resurrection should be avoided (Ga 1:8; 1Ti 6:3-5; Tt 1:9). His death paid our sin debt (1Jn 2:2), his burial settled our punishment (Hb 2:9; 1Pt 3:18), and his resurrection makes us entirely new (Ep 2:4-7). We are declared righteous because of our belief in his righteousness and not by anything we can do (Ro 3:24).

We are transformed by first realizing our plight. We are born into Satan’s kingdom and need to be transferred into God’s kingdom. We don’t, and can’t, decide which kingdom to be in. As Christ stated, we are already condemned because we are born into Satan’s kingdom (Jn 3:18). We can only get out of his kingdom by submitting to Christ’s death burial and resurrection realizing that his payment alone for our sin is what can save us out of our plight (2Co 5:17). The Holy Spirit then indwells us and transfers us from Satan’s kingdom to Christ’s kingdom (Ep 1:13-14) and empowers us to be victors over Satan’s schemes with the same power that raised Christ from the dead (Ep 1:19-20). This is what the true church is all about. This is what the Holy Spirit desires us to focus on. This is what changes lives. Ask yourself: Are you focusing on the right thing? The Holy Spirit is asking us to follow his leading. May we continue to do so.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Sometimes we can get stifled in our desired progress because of the adversity that comes our way. Paul was an exception to this. He did not focus on the adversity which came against him and his work. He focused upon God and what he believed the Holy Spirit wanted him to do and went in what direction he felt the Holy Spirit lead. Let’s look at some examples.

Once Paul returned to Antioch from the Jerusalem Council, he wrote his epistle to the Galatians. He wanted to let the Gentile believers know of their Christian liberty which had been validated by the Jerusalem Council and to refute those who were insisting they as Gentile believers first had to become Jews. He called these people Judaizers as they were teaching that a Gentile could not become a Christian if they did not first become a Jewish proselyte. These were likely those Jews who had followed him on his first missionary journey to get those in Lystra to turn on Paul and stone him. This thought process was true for many Jewish Christians in Jerusalem as well. While he and Barnabas returned to Antioch, these Jews had gone to the same churches he had visited to refute what Paul had told them. The letter of Galatians was Paul’s rebuttal to defend his apostolic role which God himself had bestowed upon him and to let them know that salvation is by faith alone apart from works: “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified” (Ga 2:15-16).

Three years after his first missionary journey, Paul began his second in 50 AD, but with great controversy as to who would be his companion. He wanted to take Barnabas with him again, but Barnabas was adamant that John Mark would accompany them. Yet, Paul was adamant that they not take him. This caused a split between them and Paul wound up taking Silas (Ac 15:39-41). Barnabas took John Mark and set sail for Cyprus. We don’t know the destinations of the journey of Barnabas and John Mark, but we do know that Paul and Silas go through Syria into Cilicia revisiting the churches Paul established on his first missionary journey. When they got to Lystra, it was found that Timothy was well respected by the believers there. Paul asked Timothy to accompany him and Silas on their journey and he did. Because Timothy was half-Jewish, he encouraged Timothy to become circumcised so that he could better minister to the Jewish citizens in the towns in which they visited (Ac 16:1-5).

Timothy traveled with them throughout Phrygia and Galatia, territories in what we today know as the country of Turkey. The Holy Spirit prevented Paul from preaching in other provinces in this area at this time. Instead, he had a vision of a Macedonian man asking for help while he was staying in Troas, a city on the western shore of this area. This is also the time that he meets Luke who accompanies Paul on his journey. Taking his dream as a sign from the Holy Spirit, they sailed to the Grecian coast and wound up in the city of Philippi (Ac 16:6-12).

This is two-fold lesson for us. God does not require us to do everything. Just as God had someone else in mind to minister to these other regions where Paul was not allowed to go, God sometimes restricts our reach as well. Also, we need to heed the leading of the Holy Spirit which will then yield the outcome God has in mind for us.

In Philippi, Paul and company met Lydia who accepted Christ from their teaching and provided lodging for them (Ac 16:13-15). The people of the church established here became dear friends of Paul and often supported him—both monetarily as well as prayerfully. While here, he delivered a woman from possession by a soothsayer demon. Her handler got very angry and falsified charges to have Paul and Silas placed in prison. While in prison, God sent an earthquake which allowed Paul to minister to the prison warden. Both he and his whole household became Christians. Because Paul was a Roman citizen, the officials became worried Paul might bring charges against them for putting him in prison without a trial. If he did, they would be in big trouble, so they tried to smooth things over and asked him to leave their city (Ac 16:16-40).

Paul, Silas, and Timothy moved on to Thessalonica where Paul preached in the synagogue there for several weeks. Thessalonica was a Roman city but also had a large Jewish population with a total population of around 200,000 people. Not far from this city stood Mt. Olympus which accounted for the city’s devotion to many of the Greek pantheon of gods. Yet, this did not decrease the people’s hunger for what Paul was preaching to them. Because so many people were listening to Paul, the Jewish leaders became jealous of him and created a riot and blamed it on Paul. The believers there hid Paul, Silas, and Timothy and sent them out of the city at nightfall (Ac 17:1-10).

They then entered the city of Berea where the people were very receptive to Paul’s teachings, but the Jews from Thessalonica went to Berea and stirred up false accusations against Paul. The believers there escorted Paul to Athens, but Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. Once in Athens, Paul sent for Silas and Timothy to join him in Athens (Ac 17:11-15).

In Athens, Paul preached to the people in Athens about the monument he discovered within the city which was dedicated to An Unknown God. Seeing their religiosity, he used the platform of the Areopagus, a place for debate about various topics, as a way to explain to them that Jesus Christ was the Unknown God whom they needed to know. Several people, including some of prominence, accepted what he said and became converted (Ac 17:16-34).

After leaving Athens, he entered Corinth and met Aquilla and Pricillia. Both Aquilla and Paul had the profession of tent making in common, which caused a quick bond between them as well as them also being believers. They had come to Corinth because Claudius Caesar had ordered all Jews to leave Rome (Ac 18:1-4).

Paul spent a year and a half here in Corinth because God revealed to him that no harm would come to him, and many would come to Christ. Some tried to bring charges against Paul, but the proconsul of the region did not take them seriously (Ac 18:5-17).

Would we be so calm as Paul seemed to be during such struggles? He had a very tight relationship with God and the Holy Spirit who were able to quell his fears and anxiety. Feeling the confidence the Holy Spirit gave him allowed him to continue without fearing the outcome. May we be able to do the same.

Next time, we’ll look at how what Paul was doing was all part of God’s plan and how he had been working on this plan for a very long time—even before Paul was ever on the scene. I hope you join me for that discussion.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

We often think we have Bible prophecy already figured out and we look for it to unfold just as we are so sure it will. Yet, God is not always predictable. While what God says will definitely come true, it just may not come true how we thought it would. That could cause us to miss something important if we aren’t really focused on how the Holy Spirit is guiding God’s prophecy to unfold. Let’s look at this though the eyes of Saul of Tarsus in Scripture.

Forty days after Christ’s resurrection was his ascension. During that time period, hundreds of people witnessed him alive after his resurrection (1Co 15:3-8). Just before he ascended, Christ told his disciples, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised . . . in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Ac 1:4-5). Maybe Peter got restless and felt they should do something constructive, so he told the others it was necessary to replace Judas as one of them (Ps 109:8). It was only ten days until the Holy Spirit was to come, but perhaps Jesus did not tell them the Holy Spirit would come on Shavuot (Pentecost). At any rate, it seems Peter was impatient. Joseph called Barsabbas, also known as Justus, and Matthias were nominated. Both had been with them from the time of John baptizing in the Jordan to the time of Christ’s resurrection. They drew lots which fell on Matthias, so he was included as one of the Twelve (Ac 1:26). We are not sure if this was approved by God or not because when drawing lots, one would be chosen whether God was in it or not. Yet, there is nothing in Scripture that says Peter was wrong in doing what he did. However, we do know that God chose Paul as an apostle (Ro 1:1; 11:13; Ga 1:1). So this has always begged the question of who is the actual twelfth apostle? Jesus had chosen the original twelve and we know Jesus chose Paul. Did he choose Matthias?

On Shavuot (Pentecost), the Holy Spirit descended on the 120 disciples who were gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem. We don’t know in whose house they stayed. It could have been the house of Mary, the sister to Barnabas, and mother of John Mark, as her house was used several times for Christ’s followers over the years. They all heard a rushing mighty wind, and the Holy Spirit descended on each of them as tongues of fire (Ac 2:1-4). They each began to speak boldly to many who were in the city for this festival in the language of the other person’s origin. After obtaining a wider audience, Peter preached to all those listening. From his preaching, and the witness of the others, 3,000 people became believers and were brought into the church that day (Ac 2:41). Over time, more people believed and received the Holy Spirit emboldening them to also speak without reservation. The Sanhedrin arrested Peter and John and reprimanded them trying to deter them from speaking further, but they continued to speak about Jesus and his resurrection (Ac 4:1-22). The believers decided to come together and pool their resources (Ac 4:32). Barnabas is one who is mentioned as an example of one doing this.

Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, lied about doing the same and the Holy Spirit had them both die in the presence of others. This demonstrated to everyone the seriousness of their actions (Ac 5:1-11).

The apostles began to perform many signs and wonders which caused more and more to believe in Jesus. The Sadducees had many of them arrested and locked in prison. Yet, an angel of the Lord released them, and they went back to the temple and began to preach again, at the dismay of the Jewish leaders (Ac 5:12-26)-.

The church grew so large so fast that seven individuals, whom they called deacons, were selected to help with the administrative duties of the church so the apostles could devote themselves to preaching (Ac 6:1-7).

One of them, named Stephen, debated with many of the Jews who could not win against his insightful arguments. So, they stirred up the crowd to accuse him of blasphemy and had him stoned to death (Ac 6:8-8:1).

This is when Saul began persecuting Christians because he felt they were against the teachings of the Jewish Scriptures and were creating chaos for the Jewish leaders (Ac 8:3). Saul was a very zealous man, a Pharisee who studied under the tutelage of Gamaliel, a prominent Jewish Rabbi, was from Tarsus in Cilicia, a Roman province in what we would today call southern Turkey, and was born as a Roman citizen, something very uncommon for most people in his day. He was a rising star among the Jewish elite and took the Jewish Scriptures very seriously. He genuinely thought he was doing God’s will by persecuting what he considered a new heretical sect of Judaism. He saw them as someone teaching false doctrine. Because the teaching of Jesus was against the status quo of his teaching and understanding of Scripture, he had believers in Jesus thrown into prison and executed if possible. This caused many believers to flee Jerusalem, and they went to surrounding areas, going as far north as Syria.

A year later, in 34 A.D., Saul was on his way to Damascus to seek out Christians who had fled there due to his persecution. This is when he encountered Christ and was converted (Ac 9:1-19). He then began to preach and teach about Jesus Christ, but many believers were skeptical. His preaching caused an uproar in Damascus after his conversion. The Jewish leaders felt betrayed and tried to have him killed (Ac 9:23). It should be noted that Saul was his Jewish name while the name Paul was his Latin name. It just seems that he had a name change because after this time, the Scriptural text uses his Latin name. This is likely because he was the apostle to the Gentiles (Ga 1:1), so his Latin name would have been used more than his Hebrew name going forward from this point in time.

Paul escaped those in Damascus who were seeking to kill him and went into Arabia in the area at or near Mt. Sinai for about 3 years to seek counsel and instruction from the Lord (Ga 1:17-18). He then went to Jerusalem to visit Peter and James and then went back to his home in Tarsus (Ga 1:21).

Why did Paul seclude himself in Arabia for three years? He knew he needed to seek counsel and instruction from the Lord knowing he was at an inflection point in spiritual history. He had one of the best Jewish educations anyone in Israel could have had and yet he still missed that Jesus was the promised Messiah they had been waiting for. Let’s think about this for a second. He not only knew the scriptures, but, due to his religious training, he had them all practically memorized. Yet, he had missed one of the most important times where God had reached out to his people. How did he miss this? Of all people, he should not have missed this. He not only missed it, but he thought he was on God’s side in persecuting this new sect that, at the time, he felt was heretical.

He knew he needed new insight and a way to look at Scripture differently. The Jewish view of their Messiah and prophetic interpretation about him had been wrong and led Saul to reject Jesus and those who taught about him. The Jewish interpretation of prophetic Scripture was inadequate. He had accepted all the teachings of the past rabbis and knew they had led him astray. Not intentionally. They thought they were correct based upon their understanding of Scripture.

Paul said that God helped him see the emergence of the Church. How? Through prophecy. But it was through scripture the Jewish Leaders had interpreted to be about what would happen after their Messiah set up his rule on the earth. While this is likely still true, after all God is multidimensional, it was these prophetic scriptures that Paul recognized were about Christ’s church and not just about Christ’s reign. At the Council Meeting in Jerusalem, James made the same confession as he quoted from the prophet Amos concerning the rebuilding of David’s fallen tent for Jews and Gentiles which he now saw as God building his church in their current day (Ac 15:13-19; Am 9:11-12). How were they able to see this? Because of where they were in history. They had emerged on the other side of the inflection point of temple worship to Jew and Gentile now worshiping together with each person being a temple indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1Co 3:16). These men could only have interpreted Scripture this way based upon what the Holy Spirit was doing in their current day. This could not have been interpreted prior to their day and their recognition of what the Holy Spirit was doing: something completely different than he had done before. They came to realize that God’s word is continuously unfolding. It is never stagnant and it all points to Jesus Christ.

What about us? We also need to see scripture in light of our current history as well and how the Holy Spirit is leading. We need the Holy Spirit to teach us how to interpret God’s word, not only with what it says but with what is occurring in our day, especially when we have reached an inflection point, a paradigm shift. This was true for the Jewish people as they had just had a paradigm shift through the coming and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit was leading in a new direction and most of the Jewish people had missed it. Rather than trying to understand it, they doubled down on their traditions. Why? The Idumeans and Romans were trying to wipe out their heritage. They felt they did not have time to listen to another upstart, like Jesus, whose teachings affected their delicate balance with the powers that be, and they only wanted him to go away, not upset the apple cart, so to speak, not realizing they were missing the very thing they were trying to preserve.

Could the same mistake be made by the upcoming church that was forming? Join me next time and find out.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens