God is Never Without a Witness (The Witness to Gentile and Jew)

 We must walk very carefully when we speak of the gift of resurrection life ("Life through His Name," John 20:31). We are careful to say that the greatest hope for any person, and the greatest rewards, crowns, prizes are only possible for those who has placed full faith in the death, burial, lack of decay, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (alone) on our behalf.

For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness.

-1 Cor 1:17-23 (KJV)

This passage contains the English translation of a Greek quotation from the prophet Isaiah (written in Hebrew) 29:14b. Isaiah's word from the Lord was directly specifically to Israel expanded.

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

-Isaiah 29:2        3-24 (KJV)

Below you will see an English rendering of verse 14b from the Septuagint (Greek version of the Hebrew scriptures). I believe "hide" is a better rendering than "bring to nothing" as it is rendered in the KJV English in 1 Corinthians.  The KJV translators correctly understood this when they translated Isaiah 29, but oddly missed in when translating 1 Corinthians 1. It’s not a horrible error (and possibly defensible in one way or another), but we’re better of understanding the idea as “hid” or “hide.” The Hebrew word is çâthar which really has the idea of hiding. This can be even more clearly seen to the English eye in the Greek rendering krýptō from the Septuagint.

I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will hide the understanding of the prudent.

-Isaiah 29:14b (Septuagint) 

Another example for us to consider from the 14 times Isaiah uses the Hebrew word çâthar in is Isaiah 8:17, KJV).

"And I will wait for Jehovah, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him." 

But whether God is hiding or bringing to nothing someone's understanding, the question which cannot be lost is "who?" And the answer, as we have alluded to, is clearly Israel ("this people"). As we have seen many times in previous studies, the epistles to the Corinthians were written by Paul in the Acts age and the apostle is there still making references to Jewish believers as being distinct from Gentile believers in that age (a distinction we no longer make in the current age). 

We will not spend a lot of this study on this distinction as it is covered elsewhere, but we will divert for a few moments just to set the context for this study. We will point to a couple of verses in First Corinthians to that end. When we fail to rightly divide (or draw the lines) in 1 Corinthians, we will not see the truth God is trying to relate nor will we see God’s plan in view.

While God had created a single body of believers in Corinth (1 Cor 12:13), he continued to make a distinction within that body as we've seen in our look at Acts 15, Acts 21, Romans 9, Romans 11, and elsewhere in the Acts Age epistles. Paul points Jewish believers to their (and his) fathers and the nation; he points Gentile believers to their former practice of idol worship.

Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea... Look at Israel according to the flesh. Are not those who eat the sacrifices involved with the altar?

-1 Cor 10:1, 18

 

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.

-1 Cor 12:1-2 

Paul refers to both Jewish and Gentile believers as "brethren" (adelphós). But outside the faith, he and the other apostles will only refer to Jews as their brethren" (adelphós). Peter refers to unbelieving Jews as "Ye Men (anḗr) of Israel" in Acts 3:12 as his "brethren" in Acts 3:17 (adelphós).  Stephen refers to unbelieving Jews as "Brethren" in Acts 7. Paul before the unbelieving chief priests and council in Acts 23 refers to these Jews as "brethren." Even to the very end of the Acts, chapter 28, Paul is calling unbelieving Jews in Rome his "brethren." 

In Acts 14, Paul addresses Gentiles as "anḗr" or "sirs" only. When Paul again uses the witness of creation in Acts 17 in Athens, he addresses his Gentile listeners as "Ye men of Athens," again using "anḗr," but not then using adelphós as Peter does in Acts 3. 

None of that is conclusive, but it is a pattern that should be noted in light of other clearly stated truths concerning the Lord's ministry to Israel and the calling of the Apostles in the Acts Age.

The Lord in John 4:22 clarifies this thought concerning those outside Israel. He speaks these words to a Samaritan to whom he is offering "living water" (v.10). We recall that the disciples were forbidden to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom in Samaria ("These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, 'Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel'." -Matt 10:5-6). 

[The Lord Jesus said] You [Samaritans] worship what you do not know; we [Jews] worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

-John 4:22 

A similar distinction is made to the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15.

 

He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel..." And he answered, "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

-Matthew 15:24,26 

 

When the woman takes her place as merely a dog at the master's table, and stops using his Kingdom title, Son of David, he recognizes her faith.

She said, "Yes, Lord [drops "Son of David"], yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.

-Matthew 15:27-28

Familiar territory for those familiar with this writer's ministry. However, in light of the traditions of men, we must revisit it often to set the context of the Lord's earthly ministry and the Lord's Kingdom calling and plan during the Acts Age (cp. Acts 1:6; 3:19-21; 15:15-16; etc.). The Lord uses plain and clear language concerning his calling and the mission of the twelve. 

As the Lord worked his plan for the earth through Israel (the descendants of Abraham), he had not forgotten the Gentile. When Paul speaks to Jews in  the synagogues, he points to the Law and the prophets as his witness. When Paul speaks to he Gentiles, his witness is Creation. Gentiles never had the Law.

We also are men, of like nature with you, preaching to you to turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them, who in times past allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Yet He did not leave Himself without witness, for He did good and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying our hearts with food and gladness.” 

-Acts 14:15-17

The only part of the Law a gentile was required to observe were laws for gentiles living among Israel. That is, any application of the Law to a gentile could only be in his relation or proximity to a Jew. In Acts 14 Paul takes his gentile listeners, not to the Law, but to Creation. 

If Paul is witnessing via Creation after the cross, God is still witnessing to Gentiles via Creation in the Acts Age and in the Acts Age epistles. God didn't stop witnessing the through his Creation when he chose Abraham. He didn't stop when Paul was in Athens. He has never stopped witnessing through his creation. Nothing in the revelation of the Mystery in Ephesians changes that in the current dispensation.

After Moses, the problem for the Gentile nations is not that they did not have the Law (the Law only made Israel more guilty), it is that they rejected the witness they did have: Creation and Conscience. Since the Garden, Paul teaches that "in Adam all die" (1 Cor 15). There was no Jew or Gentile until the Lord called Abraham (in uncircumcision, Romans 4:6-10) which did not happen until some 2000 years after the fall in the Garden. Prophets like Noah in uncircumcision without the Law of Moses was called. Abraham was called in uncircumcision as was Moses. And until Moses at Sinai, there was no Law and no chosen earthly national priesthood or children of an earthly Kingdom. Adam, Abel, and Noah would have no idea what any of that calling was. 

From Adam, God’s revelation, to all people, was found in the witness of creation and in the witness of the conscience. Cain knew he had sinned when he killed Abel, for example. Dr. E.W. Bullinger is often criticized for his great work The Witness in the Stars, but scripture is clear that God clearly has a witness in his creation.

Let’s look at the indictment of the nations given in Romans 1. Remember, the Gentiles, like Israel, were indicted, plural, for turning to idols, but turning to idols from what?

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress (Greek: katecho) the truth through unrighteousness 

[The only truth they could suppress is the witness God gave them in his creation]

-Romans 1:18 

Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him or give thanks to Him as God, but became futile in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 

[They could only know him through the witness of creation]

-Romans 1:21 

They turned the truth of God into [the] lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

-Romans 1:25 

 

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not proper. [acknowledge him as Creator]

-Romans 1:28

Let us quickly let’s turn to Hebrews 3:1-2

What advantage then does the Jew have? Or what profit is there in circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because the oracles of God were entrusted to them [plural].

Yet God is never without a witness to the Gentile. God has always sought the reconciliation of every person, despite the plan in view and despite the dispensation. God is the God of reconciliation.

No More Jew or Gentile AND No More Male or Female?

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek... And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

-Galatians 3:27-29 (edited) KJV

This passage is often trotted out to tray and make two related arguments.

1. The middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile noted in Ephesians 2:14 was removed at Pentecost
2. All believers of all ages (including the current age) are Abraham's seed

The first should be readily rejected when on simply reads the entire 28th verse.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

I don't know anyone who we would consider a Bible-believing Evangelical believer who would hold to the idea either Pentecost or even the removal of the middle partition means we no longer should make distinctions between men and women.

While the privilege of being “one in Christ Jesus” in this context is enjoyed by all to whom Galatians was written, to both Jew and Greek, and to both man and woman, the Law was still very much a present distinction among believers.

Matthew Henry addresses the question of "neither male nor female." as we look at that part of the passage.

That this privilege of being the children of God, and of being by baptism devoted to Christ, is now enjoyed in common by all real Christians. The law indeed made a difference between Jew and Greek, giving the Jews on many accounts the pre-eminence: that also made a difference between bond and free, master and servant, and between male and female, the males being circumcised. But it is not so now; they all stand on the same level, and are all one in Christ Jesus; as the one is not accepted on the account of any national or personal advantages he may enjoy above the other, so neither is the other rejected for the want of them; but all who sincerely believe on Christ, of what nation, or sex, or condition, soever they be, are accepted of him, and become the children of God through faith in him.

-Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible 

Matthew Henry makes the case in his commentary that the reference to the difference between male and female is a reference solely to circumcision. Whereas I would agree that has an application, the problem he has is that Paul was still teaching circumcision for the Jews as late as Acts 21.

This is the greater point, that elements of the Law still applied in the Acts Age, but it was no longer a hindrance to Gentiles receiving the blessings of the promises to Abraham and to Israel, after the grafting in. Galatians are arguing on the grounds of the blessings of justification in the earthly plan. This idea cannot be a universal statement about all believers of all ages.

To our second point above we extend the argument, do we believe Adam, Abel, and Noah are "Abrahams's seed?"  

In John chapter 8:31-33 the Lord is addressing unbelieving Jews who are seeking to kill him. In his response he affirms that even though they are trying to kill him, they are "Abraham's seed." So let's break this passage down.

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you remain in My word, then you are truly My disciples. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s seed and have never been in bondage to anyone. Why do You say, ‘You shall be set free’?”

Remember, the Lord's earthly ministry as King was to Israel alone (Matthew 15:24) and his disciples were sent to Israel alone (Matthew 10:5-7). The Son of David came unto his own and the King was rejected (John 1:11). The Kingdom he offered was then again offered to "Ye Men of Israel" in Acts 3. We make careful note here that Acts 3 follows Acts 2 (Pentecost). That offer came by the lips of Peter, an Apostle to the Circumcision. Unironically, we turn back to Galatians chapter 2 and note this distinction.

On the contrary, they saw that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, as the gospel to the circumcised was to Peter. For He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles.

-Galatians 2:7-8

But let's continue in John 8, starting with verse 34.

 

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. Now a slave does not remain in the house forever, but a son remains forever. Therefore if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s seed. But you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I am telling what I have seen with My Father, and you are doing what you have seen with your father.”

No Gentile, believer or not, would be called “Abraham's seed” by the Lord and no gentile would be called a "son of the Kingdom" by the Lord, but unbelieving Jews are called both by the Lord. Here in John 8 he acknowledges the position of the Jew as “Abraham’s seed” and in Matthew 8 the Lord states, juxtaposing the faith of gentile dog (the centurion there), that the "sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness." 

“Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say to you that many will come from the east and west [Gnetiles] and will dine with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom [some Israelites] will be thrown out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

-Matthew 8:10-12

The plan of blessing and redemption was always available to the Gentile. Abraham himself was a Gentile when justified. The blessings for the Gentile are not just part of the Mystery of Ephesians.

Does this blessedness [the forgiveness of sin by faith] then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? We are saying that faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it credited? When he was in circumcision? Or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith that he had while being uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them also...

-Romans 4:9-11

A Gentile, in faith, always had Abraham as his father. And while this is true, he still could not claim the earthly or kingdom blessings promised to Israelites, the physical seed of Abraham.

Romans 15 also lays out the argument from the Hebrew scriptures that the gift of Life (resurrection) was always intended for Gentiles. Adam was in uncircumcision. Abel was in uncircumcision. Noah was in uncircumcision. And Abraham was in uncircumcision when their faith was rewarded. 

In the context of the gift of life beyond the grave, all who have faith, whether under the law or not, whether circumcised or not, whether bond nor free, whether Jew of Gentile, whether man or woman, ALL had the same free gift of justification. And during all those ages and blessings, the plan for the earth was the only hope in view. Galatians does not change any of that.

But we would never conclude from that that all, in every age, have Abraham as a father in the flesh. We could not apply that Adam or Noah. The Lord does not apply the physical relationship to the Roman Centurion or to the Canaanite woman in his earthly ministry. As the Son of David, as the coming King in the line of David, the Lord says he was "sent to none but to the lost sheep of the House of Israel."  That is a physical, racial distinction.

Paul is addressing the gift of justification in Galatians. Now, what is also there is the grafting in of Gentiles. That is a difference from the gospel age. Were Gentiles grafted into "justification?" No. As we have seen, Gentiles since the beginning have believed. The gift of justification has always been available to Gentiles. Jonah did not preach the Law to Nineveh (as the Law was never given to Gentiles), but he did offer them forgiveness  by faith.

Paul, in very plain terms, tells us the grafting in (which started with Cornelius in Acts 10, who was already a believer) was for the expressed purpose of making a very real Israel "jealous" (Romans 10:19; 11:11). God was not trying to make some nation that ended at Pentecost jealous. He certainly was not trying to make some "Gentile Israel Church" jealous. As we also see in Romans 11:18, the Lord warns Gentile believers (still making a distinction) not to become "arrogant" against the Jewish branches and root (Israel) lest they (Gentile believers) be "cut off." Cut off from what? A free gift of justification? No, cut off from the kingdom blessings of Israel.

For I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles [we pause to note that this office is no longer needed nor recognized Post Acts, but it is here in Romans and in Galatians], I magnify my ministry, if somehow I may make my kinsmen [Jews] jealous and may save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the first portion of the dough is holy, the batch is also holy. And if the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and became a partaker with them of the root and richness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. If you boast, remember you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you. You will say then, “The branches were broken off, so that I might be grafted in.” This is correct. They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God—severity toward those who fell, but goodness toward you, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise, you [Gentile believers] also will be cut off. 

-Romans 11:13-22

We ask again in this day, cut off from what? If this is the company of believers today with no more Jew or Gentile in any sense, what is the application of this warning today?

We have to see the context of God's dealings. With Adam, for example, the Lord was not dealing the promise of land or a Kingdom. The Lord was not telling Noah that he would be given a land from the Euphrates to the Nile. Noah was not told of a throne or a temple. And for those who had that hope, they still "looked for a city whose builder and maker is God," (Heb 11:10) that is, "the New Jerusalem which comes down from heaven"(Rev 21:2) to the earth. 

Now let us look back to where we started in Galatians 3:27.

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Could this company of believers have been baptized into the same body as the believers who entered by faith into Paul's revelation in Ephesians 3? No.  The identification (baptism) of the believers in Galatia in that age would be part of the a body known and revealed as Paul witnessed in Acts 26:22. Paul testified there that he taught nothing that was not known by Moses and the Prophets.

For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one spirit.

-1 Cor 12:13

The aforementioned Romans 15 quotes from the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophet Isaiah. Paul was explaining there a mystery, but a mystery that has been revealed, jut not understood. Paul explains:

Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy... 

-Romans 15:8-9a

Note the distinction in that age. The promises were made to Israel's fathers (not to Gentiles). Paul had affirmed in Romans 9 that the promises and covenants pertain to Israel (not some Israel-Gentile-Church). There was very much an Israel still in God's plan at the time of the writing of Romans.

They are Israelites, and to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ. God who is over all be blessed for ever. Amen. 

-Romans 9:4-5

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed and through the prophetic writings is made known to all nations [Gentiles], according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory for evermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

-Romans 16:25-27 (the end of the book)

God was still calling out to a real Israel (see our study on Acts 3 in The Gentile Twelve Tribe Heresy). Gid was working his earthly plan. That is the reasoning for the grafting of Gentiles into the blessings of Israel. That is the reason Gentile believers were put under the Law in regard to the "necessary things" quoted from Leviticus in Acts 15 and Acts 21. 

Back in Galatians we are still under the earthly plan and the plan for Israel. Entrance into the Kingdom blessings for any Israelite (Jew) of any age was faithfulness. This is clearly expressed in the parables. But we note again that even the unfaithful are called "sons of the kingdom," "children," "masters," and "servants" by the Lord in the gospel while even faithful Gentiles are called "little dogs" until the grafting in.

With this context in mind, our passage in Galatians becomes clearer. In Christ, in justification, there is no Law to impose differences between Jew or Greek, Master or Servant, Man or Woman. Justification does not vary. And in the Acts age, with Gentiles being grafted in, while the difference was still recognized under the Law in terms of order, there was no difference in terms of justification or blessing. In the gospel age and prior, a Gentile might have life by faith, but he had no access to promises of the Kingdom.

As we know, the final revelation to Paul, revealed in Ephesians, and in the Post Acts epistles, eliminates any differences between Jew and Gentile, temporarily sets Israel aside, and the hope is no longer a restored kingdom in Israel on earth, but a hope in the far above the heavens. The entire setting changes. Galatians and Ephesians are acted out in two different stages in two different cities.

 

Let us go back and finish the exchange in John 8 and note what I skipped over. The Lord had affirmed that the unbelieving Jews he was addressing were part of the children of Abraham, (“I know that you are Abraham’s seed”), but the condition of faith and faithfulness was still part of the covenant God has with that earthly people.

 

They answered Him, “Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works of your father.” 

-John 8:39-41

 

This speaks to the "two seeds" principle which goes back to the very beginning of the ages ("I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed" Gen 3:15). We see the two seeds in the parables. Abel was of God, Cain was "of the wicked one" (1 John 3:12). This distinction does not change by one's race. The wicked ones of Israel who rejected the Lord and questioned even the story of his birth were nevertheless "Abraham's seed" in the flesh and could still obtain the promises if they would come to the Lord by faith in that age. This could never be said of a Gentile before the grafting in. The promises are for Israel (Romans 9).

Do you we the distinction? The Gentiles referenced in Galatians were indeed fully children of Abraham by faith, but that was only possible because of the grafting in. The purpose of which was to make Israel jealous (and it made believing Jews jealous as well). As we have seen, there is no distinction in justification between Jew and Gentile (and there never was), but in the Acts Age Paul was explaining that because of the grafting in of Gentiles into Israel which started in Acts 10, there was now no distinction in the kingdom blessings.

But that condition did not apply in the gospel age (the age of the Law) and it does not apply in the current age of  the revelation of Paul in Ephesians which concerns, not earthly blessings, but blessing in the far above the heavens.

Some summary context for any who might be new to Right Division:

The Apostles made clear distinctions between Jewish and Gentile believers in practice (notably in Acts 15 and 21) and among believing Jews and unbelieving Jews (would we preach Peter's message in Acts 3 today?) in their ministries, but never in terms of Resurrection Life which, from Adam, has always been a gift by grace through faith.

 
The middle wall between Jew and Greek (Gentile) did not come down until after the Book of Acts and that truth was revealed to Paul alone. Paul witnessed that he was in chains for the hope of Israel (very much at the center of God's plan) as late as Acts 28 and he stated that was imprisoned for Gentiles post-Acts in Ephesians.

Paul testified that he taught nothing that was not taught by Moses and the Prophets in Acts 26. While the blessings in the land and the Kingdom were made known to the sons of men, the revelation of the "one new man" of Ephesians was kept hidden from before the ages; unknown to the Prophets. The apostles anticipated the Kingdom in a restored Israel in the Acts (as the risen Lord taught the Apostles to the circumcision in Acts 1 who will sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes in a restored Israel one day). Paul taught blessings in the far above the heavens, unsearchable riches, as the hope for in the current age.

Not essential for fellowship, but rightly dividing these distinctions will bring the different hopes and plans of God into clearer view (as best we can in these failing bodies and minds). Rightly dividing the hopes must be applied when reading the lack of distinctions laid out in Galatians. 

Thank you for your time and attention this evening. Let’s finish with a quick prayer:

Lord, thank you for the faithfulness of our apostle, Paul. We are limited creatures, and we constantly need your help as we seek to righty divide your word of truth. Bless each one here and all the families represented. We ask these things in the name of great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Theological Rot Caused by Heaven/Hell and Saved/Lost Thinking

But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be in danger of the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

-Matthew 5:22

When one fails to recognize that God had plans for different spheres of blessings and tries to interpret every passage through the prism of either being "saved or lost" or as speaking of "heaven or hell," he misses almost all the Bible is seeking to teach. This is because the vast majority of scripture is dealing with God's plans for the restoration of Paradise, the restoration of the earth (and related heavens), and the restoration of the Davidic throne and the Kingdom in Israel.

The Lord came to the people of Israel alone to announce that gospel of the Kingdom.  

Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their [Israel's] synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people [Jews].

-Matthew 9:35

These twelve Jesus sent out, and commanded them, saying, “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

-Matthew 10:5-8


But He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

-Matthew 15:24

This calling to Israel alone continued into the Acts Age after the risen Lord taught the enlightened Apostles (who are promised to one day sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, Matt 19:28; Luke 22:29-30) about the restoration of the Kingdom in Israel (Acts 1:3-8). Even after the Lord grafted in Gentiles to the blessings of Israel in Acts 10 (not unto Life, as that was always available to Gentiles by faith) for the sake of making Israel (still around in the Acts age) jealous (Rom 10:19; Rom 11:11-14). We have covered that elsewhere yet refer to it here to help with context.

As the Lord gives his well-known and oft-quoted "Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew chapters 5-7), he makes a statement regarding "hell." Although the verse may be quoted often, I don't see too many preachers applying it as stated. It seems to contradict the gospel of the free grace of God. Well, it certainly does if one rips it from its context, applies the Greek mythical understanding of the afterlife to it, and ignores the plan for the earth as laid out in the prophecy of Isaiah. 

We have covered the interpretation of Matthew 5:22 previously and point the reader HERE if he is interested in that study. Today, we want to look at how some of the luminaries of evangelical history missed this passage because of their insistence on seeing every verse as dealing with personal redemption and as an instruction for attaining heaven.

The Jewish teachers had taught, that nothing except actual murder was forbidden by the sixth commandment. Thus they explained away its spiritual meaning. Christ showed the full meaning of this commandment; according to which we must be judged hereafter, and therefore ought to be ruled now... We ought carefully to preserve Christian love and peace with all our brethren; and if at any time there is a quarrel, we should confess our fault, humble ourselves to our brother, making or offering satisfaction for wrong done in word or deed: and we should do this quickly; because, till this is done, we are unfit for communion with God in holy ordinances. And when we are preparing for any religious exercises, it is good for us to make that an occasion of serious reflection and self-examination. What is here said is very applicable to our being reconciled to God through Christ. While we are alive, we are in the way to his judgement-seat; after death, it will be too late. When we consider the importance of the case, and the uncertainty of life, how needful it is to seek peace with God, without delay!

-Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

I hate to use this word, but this explanation is utter nonsense in light of the context of the passage. How can one recognize that the Lord is referencing statements made to "our brethren" in a "Christian" context and then not even address the reference to "hell fire?" Let alone Henry's complete omission of the reference to the Sanhedrin. If the one "sin" leads to a reckoning before some sort of supposed Christian Sanhedrin here, why would the other be some post-death judgment? And again we ask why he fails to explain the use of "hell"? 

How is the reader looking for the true meaning of these warnings supposed to understand Henry here? The result of the sin of being in a quarrel with a brother is being unfit for communion and then facing that sin at the Judgment Seat? This gives no explanation of the warning of "hell fire." It opens up the reader to the false doctrines of sacramentalists and other works-oriented salvation systems. 

The reference to supposed "Christian ordinances" like "communion" is dragged out of the next verse in the passage and assumed to be the equivalent of the "altar." The following is the New American Bible (Revised) translation which transliterates the Greek words "Sanhedrin" and "Gehenna" in the English. 

 

You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 

 

Matthew Henry isolates these warnings and tried to drag them into a "church" of his own making. To do so he has to ignore the context of the Lord's earthly ministry and all the earthly promises to Israel and to the David. This does violence to the text. 

If he wanted to try and find some application for us today, perhaps he could do that. But to interpret the passage as for today while ignoring the obvious reference to the Valley of Hinnom in Israel's history and in her prophets is unforgivable and has led many astray. Such thinking may lead to a denial of the finished work of Christ.

In his opening commentary on the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, Henry immediately drags in a Gentile church unknown to the context and nowhere in sight in the Lord's earthly ministry. This confusion, denying the Lord's own words in the book, has caused not only a simple confusion among God's people today, but a confusion that brings into doubt the victory won in the Lord's resurrection.

 

Our Savior here gives eight characters of blessed people, which represent to us the principal graces of a Christian.

-Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

Matthew Henry mirrors much of Calvinistic thought on the passage. I shouldn't be so hard on him. At least he tried to address it. Many commentaries basically skip over it. Now let us turn to John Wesley and Arminian thought to illustrate that this error is not unique to Matthew Henry or to Calvinism.

Hell fire — In the valley of Hinnom (whence the word in the original is taken) the children were used to be burnt alive to Moloch. It was afterward made a receptacle for the filth of the city, where continual fires were kept to consume it. And it is probable, if any criminals were burnt alive, it was in this accursed and horrible place. Therefore both as to its former and latter state, it was a fit emblem of hell. It must here signify a degree of future punishment, as much more dreadful than those incurred in the two former cases, as burning alive is more dreadful than either strangling or stoning. [emphasis mine]

-John Wesley's Explanatory Notes on the Bible

Wesley makes no attempt to explain the warning in regard to Gehenna fire. He imposes on the text a metaphor for the common understanding of the Greek mythical "hell" yet without cause. He assumes a fiery place where bodiless "souls" are tortured by God. But worse than that, he assumes (since the passage is a warning to "brothers") that this warning is relevant to those in Christ in this age.  

This is where the Reformation went off the rails very early on. William Tyndale recognized the error in believing in bodiless souls (either in man's heaven or in his hell). It was and is a diminishing of the resurrection (Christ's and ours). This idea of bodiless souls inflicted on Christ's ministry to Israel in the context of the covenants and promises to her (Romans 9) has done great harm to believers over the centuries. So much so that we have become dependent on a priest-class to explain these seemingly contradictory ideas to us. 2 Tim 2:15 is dead. 

Study to show yourself approved by God, a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

-2 Timothy 2:15

I would also note here that in the next two verses in the passages concerning taking a gift to the altar, Wesley is silent. The reader (if he has surrendered his study to the commentator) is left with no context for taking a gift to the altar. But perhaps that's better than those who have tried to equate it with the Lord's Supper or some other supposed "Christian" ordinance. In any case, the Body or the current calling has no ordinances. The ordinances of Israel stood between the Jew and Gentile both under the Law and after the grafting in the Acts age and Acts age epistles.

For He is our peace, who has made both groups [Jews and Gentiles] one and has broken down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of the commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile both to God into one body through the cross, thereby slaying the enmity.

-Ephesians 2:14-16 (written Post Acts)

And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has resurrected together with Him, having forgiven you all sins. He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and contrary to us, and He took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.

-Colossians 2:13-14

Finally, I turn to A.C. Gaebelein, a traditional, Acts 2 dispensationalist. While he gets closer to the correct interpretation, in my opinion, he still tries to apply today (although without doing as much violence to the current calling or to the gospel of grace.

“Whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca (a word embodying hatred and contempt) shall be called before the Sanhedrin; but whosoever shall say, Fool, shall be subject to the penalty of the hell fire.” It will be so, no doubt, when the kingdom will be come into the earth; swift judgment will overtake the offender. But the words lay bare the heart and show the impossibility of man to stand before God, who judges the heart, in their own righteousness. The believer being the partaker of the divine nature, is righteous and loves his brother. Only the reception of eternal life, which is Christ Himself, can produce righteousness and love. “Whosoever has been begotten of God does not practice sin, because His seed abides in him and he cannot sin, because he has been begotten of God. In this are manifest the children of God and the children of the devil. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, and he who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:9-11). The believer walking in the Spirit will in no way fulfill flesh’s lust. [emphasis mine]

- Gaebelein's Annotated Bible 

 

Here Gaebelein rightly points us to the conditions in the future earthly kingdom in Israel. But he fails to sufficiently distinguish it from the gospel of grace. As we have seen repeatedly, Believers are capable of all sorts of wickedness, sins damnable under the Law. 

We must be very clear to distinguish between interpretation and any possible application to our lives today. All scripture is profitable, but in many cases the profitability is seeing the nature, omnipotence, omniscience, and workings of God, not in trying to fit ourselves into a passage.