How does the story of Noah
point us toward
​
​Jesus and Grace?
​

​Noah was an obedient servant of God amidst a sinful world.

​He is most well-known for building an ark that preserved himself and his family, as well as representatives of every land animal, from a great flood that God unleashed in judgment upon the earth. 

The name Noah means “rest.” It derives from the Hebrew נוח (nuah), to rest. The name could also mean "comfort." It may seem ironic because the story of Noah involves neither of these things. After all, God floods the earth, and that doesn't seem like a whole lot of rest or comfort for its inhabitants. But perhaps this name can remind us of the feeling that Noah's family likely felt when at last the Flood waters receded and that God comforted them with a rainbow, reminding them that he would never flood the entire earth again. What does the rainbow represent? It represents God's promise to save and deliver us- the arc delivering noah to safety is a -foreshadow- of our deliverance in Jesus Christ, God's ultimate promise for mankind. 

When God saw how wicked and corrupt man had become, He regretted creating them and decided to destroy all of mankind (Genesis 6:7). However, God gave Noah favor because he saw that he was righteous (Genesis 6:8). God commanded Noah to build an ark to house and preserve his family, as well as every male and female species of land animal, from His punishment of a flood on the earth (Genesis 6:14-21).

The rain fell and the floodwaters rose around the ark for 40 days, however, Noah and the other inhabitants "remained safe" (Genesis 7:17-18).

Noah’s family consisted of eight people: Noah, his wife, three sons, and their wives. As they were the only human survivors of the flood, they became the founders of a new and second lineage of mankind that brought about our salvation in Jesus Christ.

The events leading up to the flood can be seen as a forerunner for the second coming of Jesus
​(Matthew 24:37-39).

Some lessons we can learn is that God can provide a way out to salvation. People on earth had a chance to repent and go with Noah onto the ark, but they refused. We also see lessons of God's faithfulness in this passage. He does not leave Noah's family out in the floodwaters. Instead, the waters eventually recede and they find land again.

​Archaeologists tell us that every great civilization in history had a story of a cataclysmic flood.

​But depend on Christ, who confirmed the story by saying,

​ “As the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:37).

​
What characterized the days of Noah?

Apostasy.
Anarchy.
​Ungodly philosophy.

​ “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).

The days of Noah have returned to us.

The wickedness reached such a level that “the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ 

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:6-8;)

In these dangerous days, we have the
​
​ grace of God.


​
GRACE PROVIDES A SAVIOR

Noah needed to be saved, so God told him, “Make yourself an ark” (Genesis 6:14a).

That ark pictures Jesus Christ. (Read 1 Peter 3:18-20.)

“Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch” (Genesis 6:14). Gopherwood is cypress, which will not rot, and “pitch” is tar. Interestingly, this is not the usual word for pitch—this word is translated in the rest of the Bible as atonement. The water was God’s judgment, and not one drop could come through.

​Christ is the atonement for our sin, and in Him, no judgment can get to you.

The Ark’s Sufficiency“And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits” (Genesis 6:15). The ark was 3 million cubic feet.

There was room on that ark, and there is room at the cross.

Notice that God does not say the ark has a prow or stern. Archaeologists tell us these are the dimensions of a coffin. The ancients built their coffins out of cypress because it would not decay. Why is the ark a giant coffin? Because when Noah came into that ark, it pictured the way we are buried with Christ in baptism. (See Romans 6:4.)

“You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side” (Genesis 6:16a). This is the door that God sealed, and nobody could open it. (See Genesis 7:16.)

​But Noah could open the window and look up. God was saying, “From now on, you are to be Heavenly minded.”

We are sealed into Christ by the Holy Spirit.
We look into Heaven through Jesus Christ.

And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them” (Genesis 6:21). God took care of all of their needs. When you come to Jesus, you have shelter and substance. Jesus not only saves but also satisfies. The word of God is our bread and spiritual food. 

Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat” (Genesis 8:4). You might blow past this. But when the ark arrived, having been steered by God (because it also had no helm!), it was the seventh month in the Jewish calendar—April.
This is the time of Passover, when Jesus came out of the grave, having taken the floodwaters of God’s wrath upon the cross!

​


GRACE PROVIDES SALVATION
​

Why do we have a Savior?

​So we can be saved!

How? “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

​For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10; emphasis added).

If you keep three prepositions in mind, you will never get confused about the relationship of faith and good works. You are saved…

1. by grace,
2. through faith,
3. for good works.

The ark shows that salvation is by grace.
​
"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD…. ‘I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you’” (Genesis 6:8,18). God only has one plan of salvation, and that is by grace.

Grace means that God saves us apart from any effort of our own.
​
“Then the LORD said to Noah, ‘Come into the ark, you and all your household’” (Genesis 7:1a).

Noah had to take that step through faith. (See Hebrews 11:7.)

Noah was saved for good works. “So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth’” (Genesis 9:1).

We do not do good works in order to be saved; we do them because we have been saved.

​

GRACE PROVIDES SECURITY

God did not say, “Noah, go into the ark.” He said, “Come”—meaning God was in the ark.

In Christ, you are as safe as you can possibly be. About those who believe in Christ, the Bible says, “you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13b). Not only did God shut the water out; God shut Noah in. Could Noah have lost his salvation? God shut the door! Noah may have fallen down inside that ark, but he couldn’t fall out of it.

Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28). If you are saved by works, you will have to be kept by works.

​But we are saved by grace, and kept by grace.

The first time, God destroyed the world by water.
​The second time, it will be by fire. 

“…The world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men…The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:6b-7,9).

Now here is the question: “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:11-12)?
​
​Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?" Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: "Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck." ~ Genesis 27:37-40
Read related articles about the life of Jacob and Esau:
Rebekah sends Jacob to Mesopotamia to avoid Esau's intention to kill him. In his travel, the Lord visits Jacob in a dream known as Jacob's Ladder.
In Mesopotamia, Jacob meets Haran and his daughter Rachel. Read the Bible Story of Jacob and Rachel.

​Jesus gave Peter a three-fold command to “feed my sheep” in John 21:15-17. Each time Jesus said, “Feed my sheep,” it was in response to Peter’s three-fold declaration of love for Jesus. The setting was one of the last of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances to His disciples on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus prepared a breakfast of fish and bread for them, and then commissioned Peter with the task of feeding His sheep and tending His lambs.

The three commands, although often translated the same way, are subtly different. The first time Jesus says it, the Greek means literally “pasture (tend) the lambs” (v. 15). The Greek word for “pasture” is in the present tense, denoting a continual action of tending, feeding and caring for animals. Believers are referred to as sheep throughout Scripture. “For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care” (Psalm 95:7). Jesus is both our Good Shepherd (John 10:11) and the Door of the sheepfold (John 10:9). By describing His people as lambs, He is emphasizing their nature as immature and vulnerable and in need of tending and care.

The second time, the literal meaning is “tend My sheep” (v. 16). In this exchange, Jesus was emphasizing tending the sheep in a supervisory capacity, not only feeding but ruling over them. This expresses the full scope of pastoral oversight, both in Peter’s future and in all those who would follow him in pastoral ministry. Peter follows Jesus’ example and repeats this same Greek word poimainoin his first pastoral letter to the elders of the churches of Asia Minor: “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers” (1 Peter 5:2).

The third time, the literal translation is “pasture (tend) the sheep” (v. 17). Here Jesus combines the different Greek words to make clear the job of the shepherd of the flock of God. They are to tend, care for, and provide spiritual food for God’s people, from the youngest lambs to the full-grown sheep, in continual action to nourish and care for their souls, bringing them into the fullness of spiritual maturity. The totality of the task set before Peter, and all shepherds, is made clear by Jesus’ three-fold command and the words He chooses.

What is this food with which shepherds are to feed the flock of God? It can be no other than the Word of God. Peter declares that Christians are to desire the pure spiritual milk of the Word so that by it, we can mature in our salvation (1 Peter 2:2). As early as the book of Deuteronomy, we see the Lord describing His Word as food for His people who live not by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from His mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3). Jesus reiterates this thought in His temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:4). The importance of the Word of God as food for our souls cannot be over-emphasized.

Clearly, the job of the shepherds of God’s people is to provide them with the pure milk of the Word of God so they can move on to the meat and solid food of the spiritually mature (Hebrews 5:12-14). Pastoral ministry should be primarily one of pastors feeding their people the Word of God. Only then can pastors declare, as Peter did, their love for the Lord Jesus.

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” – John 21: 17 (NIV)
​
Can you hear the urgency in Jesus' question for Peter? The tenderness in the way he pushes Peter past his failure of denying Jesus and into living a life that continues to honor Jesus? After reading this exchange, we can all start to see God’s heart of love for humanity. He desires us to be people who live in service of others!

Jesus goes out of his way to clear the air between Peter and himself. He does not leave this Earth without making sure Peter knows that He is forgiven and that God still has a place for Peter in his Kingdom. Jesus also gives the rest of us insight as to what those who proclaim they love Him must do. He wants us to feed his sheep.

Jesus calls for action to accompany our faith; giving meaning and purpose for our Christian lives.

Let’s be the people that take Jesus’ words seriously and begin to willingly give our time and talent so that we are a blessing to those around us. Philippians 2:17 says, “But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy.”

May we all have the opportunity to share the joy that comes when we are faithful to serve. Let’s explore what Jesus is saying to Peter in John 21 and how we can apply these words to our own lives.

What Does ‘Feed My Sheep’ Mean In the Gospel of John? Three times Jesus charges Peter to care for his church. Jesus tells Peter to feed his lambs, feed his sheep, and then again to feed his sheep. The “lamb and sheep” that Jesus is referring to is the church of Christ. Becoming part of Christ's church means we accept him in our hearts as our Lord and Savior through a prayer of faith.
We see the term sheep used elsewhere in the Bible. In Luke 15:4-7 Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep and says he would leave the 99 to find the one lost sheep. John 10:11 states that Jesus is the good shepherd and he will lay down his life for his sheep.

Jesus is our chief shepherd, caring for all of his followers. Jesus invited Peter and all his disciples to take part in caring for his church. In this text “feed my sheep” means more than just give them food; it's referring to the work of a shepherd. They are called to nurture others, care for the church, feed believers and the lost with spiritual food, protect those in the church, and go out and seek the lost “sheep” that are still out in the world.

Why does Jesus give Peter this charge? It was a way to not only forgive Peter for his earlier betrayal of Christ but to show that Jesus had absolute trust in Peter’s ability to lead in God’s church. Jesus forgives Peter and entrusts him with being part of the most important work to be done here on Earth.

Who Was Jesus Instructing and Why? In John 21, Peter and a few of the disciples decide to go fishing; but after fishing all night they had no success. In the morning, a man calls to them from the shore asking if they had caught any fish. They reply “no” and he tells them to cast their net on the right side of their boats. When they listen to the man from the shore's instructions they suddenly catch an abundance of fish! As they are pulling up the net, packed full of fish, John recognizes that the man on the shore is Jesus and shares this revelation with Peter. Peter immediately jumps out of the boat and eagerly swims to shore to meet Jesus!

When Peter gets to Jesus he sees that Jesus is waiting with fish and bread ready for them to eat. Jesus invites Peter to have breakfast with him and then in verse 17 begins to ask Peter if he loves him. Jesus asks Peter “if he loves him” three times—mirroring how Peter denied Christ three times before he was killed on the cross.

Jesus’ conversation with Peter is Jesus restoring his relationship with Peter, charging Peter to continue the mission of sharing the good news of Jesus with the world, and preparing Peter for what it was going to take to be his follower in the coming months and years. Jesus foretells Peter’s death and instructs him not to worry with the fate of the other disciples but to focus his mind on following Jesus well (John 21:18-22).
​
Jesus is sharing with Peter and the disciples who are huddled around this breakfast fire during this intimate exchange that to love him was going to mean action on their end. Loving Jesus looked like “feeding his sheep.” These men went out from these precious encounters with Jesus, before he ascended to Heaven, and they all gave all their lives to grow the early church.

1. God has spoken.

Verse 13b: “You received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God.” So twice he calls his communication the “word of God.” This is not merely the word of man.

​Paul is speaking. But it is the word of God.

God has spoken and is now speaking through Paul.

We believe that God has spoken in history, and that by inspiration, the Bible is the authoritative deposit of that word for all time.
​
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17) 

2. His word comes to us in human words.
In the middle of verse 13, Paul says, “You received the word of God, which you heard from us.” You heard God’s word from us. We are human. God is divine. We are speaking on his behalf. His word is heard in human words.

Christ had appointed apostles who would be his authoritative spokesmen.  He teaches and guides and inspires them

​(and a band of brothers close to them)
and they speak his word on his behalf with his authority.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:13, “We impart [God’s truth] in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” This is what we have in the New Testament — God’s word mediated to us in the divinely taught words of men. God’s words come to us in human words.

3. The Thessalonians heard the words of Paul.Verse 13b: “When you received the word of God, which you heard from us. . . .” God spoke, humans gave his word through their words, and the Thessalonians heard that. They heard the sounds. They knew the Greek language. They construed meaning with their minds.

God uses humans to deliver his word, and he delivers it to humans. Human minds hear and understand the word from God, and then another set of human minds receive it from those human mouths and again hear and understand it.

Nothing has been said yet about how the Thessalonians have evaluated the words. Only that they are hearing, and by implication, they are construing. They are trying to make sense of what they hear. That’s what we do when we hear someone speak. So the Thessalonians heard the words of Paul.

4. As they heard, God acted on their minds and hearts.
What did he do? And how do we know this?

What he did was enable them to receive Paul’s words as the word of God. Verse 13b: “When you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God.” That’s what God did. He opened their mind and heart to know that Paul was speaking the word of God, and he gave them the inclination to receive it for what it is, not mere human words, but God’s word.

How do we know God did this? Because at the beginning of verse 13, just before saying that they received his word as the word of God, Paul says, “And we also thank God constantly for this.” For what? “That when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God.”

But why would Paul thank God for this? Why would he thank God that the hearts of the Thessalonians grasped the divine nature of the human word?
​
​Why would he thank God that the hearts of the Thessalonians embraced the human words as divine word? The reason is that God enabled them to do this.
It’s the same as when Peter said to Jesus: “You are the Son of God,” and Jesus responded, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). In other words, God enabled Peter to see that the human person of Jesus was more than human. And God enabled the Thessalonians to see that the human words of Paul were more than human.
“We thank God that . . . you accepted our word not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God.” We thank God because God gave you eyes to see the word for what it really is.

If you have welcomed the gospel as God’s word and believed, that’s how it happened to you. God opened your eyes. God inclined your heart. You saw in the words of man, the word of God (see John 8:47; 18:37; 1 John 4:6).

5. The Thessalonians accepted Paul’s word as the word of God.We’ve said it, but it deserves its own point. Point 4: God acted. Point 5: the result was that the Thessalonians accepted Paul’s word as God’s word.
There is another word for this reception in verse 13: belief, or faith, or trust. “You accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” He is calling them believers now precisely because they accepted his word as God’s word.

So saving faith, involves the work of God, opening the eyes of our hearts (Ephesians 1:18) to see Paul’s message as God’s word and accept it, embrace it, receive it. Faith doesn’t look at the word of God from a distance and pronounce it true. It takes hold of it, receives it, takes it in, embraces it.
“If you have welcomed the gospel, then God opened your eyes. God inclined your heart.”“As the word of God!” That is, as supremely valuable. Precious. All important. So the Thessalonians accepted, welcomed, received, embraced Paul’s message as the very word of God, as supremely important and precious and valuable in their lives. It was received as a treasure —whose value is only exceeded by God.

6. This word of God was now at work in the Thessalonians.Verse 13b: “You accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” So God acted to cause them to welcome the word. And now the word itself is living and active in them.
The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12) 
And what specifically was the effect of this working? That’s the last observation.

7. The working of God’s word produced joyful endurance in suffering.Notice the connection between verses 13 and 14. End of verse 13: “which is at work in you believers. For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews.”

Paul is giving evidence that God’s word is at work in them. And he says that receiving Paul’s word as the word of God had led to suffering. But that by itself would not prove God’s word was at work in them, because they might have responded to their affliction with anger and doubt and unbelief. But they didn’t. How do we know that? Because Paul had already said it clearly, which is why he didn’t need to here. Look at 1 Thessalonians 1:5–6:

Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.
By the Holy Spirit, God had powerfully given them joy in the midst of their affliction. “Our gospel came to you in power and in the Holy Spirit . . . And you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.”
Now when we go back to 1 Thessalonians 2:13–14 we see how God does this. He does it by his word. Verse 13, at the end, “The word of God, which is at work in you believers. For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered. . . .” Indeed you suffer with joy. Joy in the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit was giving them joy in suffering by the working of the word in their hearts and minds.

Applying the Text to Your LifeSo here is the truth that I draw out of this for living the Christian life: by the work of the Holy Spirit, God defeats temptation (like the temptation to be angry and depressed that you are suffering) by awakening joy through belief in the word of God which is at work in us. And that word is most centrally the good news that Christ died for us so that all the promises of God are Yes in him (2 Corinthians 1:20).

So let’s say the lesson another way now. We live the Christian life, we walk by the Spirit, when the Holy Spirit overcomes our temptations to sin by awaking joy through faith in the blood-bought promises of God that are at work in us. So you see the dynamics at work here: the Holy Spirit, the word of God, faith, and joy. By the Spirit, we trust the promises which bring joy which defeats temptation. And all the while we are praying!

So now let me illustrate how this works. It helps me to have an acronym called APTAT.

A — I admit I can’t in myself do what needs to be done.
P — I pray for God’s help.
T — I trust a particular promise he has given.
A — I act to do whatever God is calling me to do.
T — I thank him for his help when I am done. 

So here’s how it works with temptations for specific sins.
The Temptation of FearGod has called you to do something. You know it’s right, but you’re afraid. What do you do?
You admit honestly and humbly: “I am afraid and I cannot do this by myself.” Then you pray: “O God, grant me courage. Please don’t let me be ruled by fear. Take it away.”

Then you call to mind a specific, tailor-made, blood-bought promise that Christ has guaranteed for you by his blood: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). You trust this promise. You say to God, “I take this promise for myself. I trust you. You are now my help.”

And you act. You act, believing that God, the Holy Spirit, is acting in you by his word through your faith. And when you are done, you bow your head and say, “Thank you. Thank you.”

Then you call to mind a specific, tailor-made, blood bought (and that is especially relevant here, because Jesus bled instead of being bitter) promise, like Romans 12:19, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”

And you trust this promise:
​He will repay. He will repay. Vengeance belongs to him and he will see to it that perfect justice is done for every sin against me, indeed every sin in the universe. He will deal with it, either in hell or on the cross. I don’t need to carry this cause anymore. I can hand it over to him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23). And I do that now. “I trust you, Father, to settle this matter perfectly. I trust you.”

And then you act. You get rid of the reminders you’ve been using. You don’t go to the brooding places. You burn the letters you’ve been simmering over. You stop rehearsing all the scenarios of vengeance. When they come up in your head you say, No, and turn to the word of Christ, the cross, the promises, the judgment.

And you look up to God, your merciful Father, and thank him for being a perfectly holy and righteous judge who lifts the deadly burden of vengeance from our back.
​
The Word at Work:
So I commend it to you: APTAT — admit, pray, trust, act, thank. I think this is what it means to walk by the Spirit. To walk by faith. I think this is what it means for the word of God to be at work in those who believe.

I thank God constantly that all year long you received the word of God, which you read in your Bible and which you heard from me; and that you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe, to set you free.

And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

​Matthew 10:5–15 contains Jesus' instructions for His twelve apostles, for their missionary trip to the towns of Galilee, in northern Israel. Their mission will be to preach His message that the kingdom of heaven is near, while also healing people and casting out demons. The apostles must not take with them extra money or clothes. Instead, they will stay with those who are worthy in each town they visit. If nobody in a town believes their message, the disciples are to shake the dust of that town from their feet. Jesus will follow these instructions with a series of warnings and encouragements.

This continues a very thorough set of instructions for the Twelve, the hand-picked apostles of Jesus Christ. He is sending them out into Galilee, and only to the people if Israel, for now (Matthew 10:1–6). There, they will do the work they have seen Him doing since each of them began to follow Him. 

Now Jesus tells them what they should say to the people of Israel. The message He gives them is the same one proclaimed by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2), and the lesson Jesus Himself declared (John 4:17). Both John the Baptist and Jesus began that message with the word "repent," and the same is implied here. 

In short, the disciples were to go out and tell people that Jesus was the Messiah, the promised King of Israel. His kingdom was near, because He was on the earth now. The time had come for the people to put their faith in the Christ in order to be welcomed into His kingdom. Nobody understood, yet, that the kingdom would begin not with the overthrow of the Romans but with Jesus' death for the sins of humanity and His defeat of death in the resurrection.

God is the gifter and provider of all our talents,  and gifts, as he is our creator. He calls -us- to use those gifts to minister his message, than freedom, peace, jor, deliverance, all belongs in Christ.

​When he gifts people for a calling, God rewards the faithful who accept his calling, even if it takes preserverende, we know that ultimately, our treasures are given to us, most certainly in the age to come by following his call to use the gifts and talents he predestined you with, to glorify him and his sacrifice, than you and i, are given eternal life through the Sacrifice he made on our behalf. God especially calls to those he called as separate, unique, chosen, he calls them to a higher purpose,  In the beginning of my journey, the hardest part was identifying this kingdom and the kingdom to come. It's hard for us, as human beings, to comprehend this existence as being temporary. How could it Not? Unless, perhaps, we have been given reason to believe otherwise? What I have learned, as it was spoken, is that the more time spent in his word, the more faithful he becomes.

It's not always easy-usually, it's not!  Ever! It's tough. it's not seamless.
​
​God promised hills and valleys. Once we trust that his word is true, which it is, then perhaps- we can trust his plan, too.

​And what happiness that may bring?

​The joy and glory of the promises of the world to come!

​ It's clearly given.
​His promises are sure. 

The horizon is like a rainbow,
​God's promise-
​ it comes right after the storm,
There may be a few storms, maybe God is refining us. I promise, if you cling to his word, he will not forsake you, it's really the only thing he asks of you. 
​
STAY STRONG!
​

​https://youtu.be/GFf7QcYk5-0

​https://youtu.be/VfhytVbd-XE

The Savior as revealed in the Tanakh

 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no Savior. (Isa 43:11)


Despite the fact that the Tanakh provides the record of God's deliverance of His people, the word moshia' (a participial form of the verb yasha, to deliver or to save) does not occur with great frequency in the Scriptures (it appears nearly half of the time in the latter part of the book of Isaiah). 

In the Jewish mindset, the concept of salvation is more national (corporate) than personal (as modern Christianity tends to view it). The salvation of the individual Jew is directly bound up with the salvation of the entire people, and includes the hope of being rescued from national enemies, of the Temple's complete restoration, and of the full corporate inheritance of the covenantal blessings of Adonai. For the Jew, Hamoshia' is a this-worldly, temporal leader who would rescue corporate Israel from her enemies and make the nation great in all the earth.

The idea of a "Savior of the Jewish people," then, is bound up with the idea of national Israel and the restoration of the Kingdom of David on earth. This (among other reasons) partly explains why the Jewish people tend to reject Jesus as their Savior: from their point of view Jesus did not rescue corporate, national Israel from her enemies nor set up the kingdom of David.... 

As Christians, however, we believe that Yeshua' indeed did all of these things -- but in an "already/not-yet" sort of way. He already has effected full deliverance from the ultimate enemy of the Jewish people (i.e., sin and the devil), but He has not yet fully restored the temporal glory of the Kingdom of David and will not do so until He comes again to establish His rule in Jerusalem. Maranatha, Lord Jesus!

Moshia'.
Deliverer. One who "makes wide" or "makes sufficient." One who gives freedom from distress and the ability to pursue one's way. Often understood in a "this-worldly" manner of political deliverance, the word is also used to ultimately portray Adonai's deliverance and salvation of the Israel of God. Derived from the Hebrew verb Yasha'. Note that the Name for Jesus - Yeshua - is derived from this same root.

Note: moshia' is not etymologically connected with the word mashiach, though there is overlap in the concepts between a Savior and the Messiah.

References: Deut. 22:27; 28:29, 31; Jdg. 3:9, 15; 6:36; 12:3; 1 Sam. 10:19; 11:3; 2 Ki. 13:5; Ps. 7:11; 17:7; 18:42; Isa. 19:20; 43:11; 45:15; Zech. 8:7.


The Savior

Hamoshia'.
The Deliverer; the Savior. Though this form does not directly appear in the Tanakh, it is widespread in Jewish thinking and is prevalent in the B'rit Chadasha. 


Salvation

Yeshu'ah. [yeshuat- construct form]
Noun feminine. Salvation; Deliverance. State of being made free from distress.
References: Exo. 15:2; Ps. 119:155; Isa. 26:1; 49:8; 52:7; 59:17; 60:18; Hab. 3:8.



God of Israel the Savior

Elohei Yisrael Moshia'.
God of Israel the Savior (Isa. 45:15).



The Giver of Salvation

Hannoten Teshuah.
The Giver of Salvation (Psa. 144:10).



A note about Moses (Moshe)

Mosheh.
Moses. 

The name Moses comes from the verb masha (qal present active participle) and means "he who draws out." Although Moshe was indeed a savior-figure in the Tanakh (who "drew his people out" of Egypt) and his name perhaps involves a word play on the word moshia', the proper name is probably not directly etymologically related to the word moshia'. Indeed, Moses himself spoke of the Coming Prophet who would ultimately deliver the Jewish nation, and this is a reference to the Mashiach Jesus (Deut. 18:18-19).

What did Jeremiah mean “the time of Jacob’s trouble”? How does this unequaled time of trouble for Israel’s descendants relate to the end-time Great Tribulation?
​
​Under the inspiration of God, the ancient prophet Jeremiah spoke of “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7).
​
Many have asked what this trouble for Jacob’s descendants is and when it occurs. For an explanation showing that the descendants of Jacob are primarily the English-speaking nations and other nations of northwestern Europe in our modern world, see our articles “12 Tribes of Israel Today: Who Are They?” and another about “Who Are the United States and Britain in Prophecy?”

This prophecy of unprecedented difficulty for Jacob’s descendants will be fulfilled just before the second coming of Jesus Christ. The reason for God’s punishment is found in His instructions to their ancestors millennia ago.

The reason for God’s punishment on Jacob’s descendantsRecognizing the ancient Israelites’ hostility toward Him and His commands, God told Moses:

“Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.

“Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’

“And I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods” (Deuteronomy 31:16-18).

Repeating what God had revealed to him, Moses told the people: “For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil will befall you in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands” (verse 29).

Sin is the cause of Jacob’s troubleOur loving God hates sin because of its destructive effects. His laws are for our good, so when we break those laws, we bring bad consequences on ourselves and those around us. Sin causes pain and suffering and cuts us off from God.

God’s desire is for the curses we bring on ourselves to turn us back to Him in repentance. Jacob’s trouble is intended to wake-up the end-time descendants of Jacob and motivate them to repent.

Study more about the cause and effect relationship of sin and suffering in our article “Why Is Our Modern World Under Ancient Curses?”

Multiple punishments culminating in the time of Jacob’s troubleGod punished Israel in the eighth century B.C. when its citizens were taken captive by the Assyrians. Judah was punished in the sixth century B.C. at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and the nation of Babylon.

Disobedience to God’s commandments will once again bring about the downfall of the descendants of the ancient Israelites prior to Christ’s return to earth to establish the Kingdom of God.  

While all the nations of Israel will experience the tribulation of “Jacob’s trouble,” Genesis 48:16reveals that Jacob explicitly placed his name on Ephraim and Manasseh. Hence their descendants (primarily the United States and Great Britain—along with Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) will bear the brunt of this difficult time.

“Time of trouble such as never was”Daniel spoke of this latter fulfillment, saying, “At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book.

“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:1-2).

How Jacob’s trouble relates to the end-time Great TribulationIn addition to the troubles coming to Jacob’s descendants, Jesus also spoke of an unprecedented time of difficulty that would threaten all nations just before His return.

Describing this period of time, Jesus said, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22).

Essentially, the time of Jacob’s trouble corresponds to the same time period called the Great Tribulation. World conditions will be worse than any time in history, and humanity will be on the brink of self-destruction.

This Great Tribulation leads up to the time called the Day of the Lord. To learn more about the dire conditions that will exist in the world just before Christ’s return, read our article “What Is the Day of the Lord?”

Deliverance from the time of Jacob’s troubleEven though Jacob’s descendants will face severe punishment in “the time of Jacob’s trouble,” they will eventually repent and be restored.Even though the descendants of Jacob—including the English-speaking peoples of today—are going to face severe punishment for their disobedience to God, He promises: “‘I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the LORD. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it’” (Jeremiah 30:3).

Describing this time of restoration, God continues: “‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from your neck, and will burst your bonds; foreigners shall no more enslave them. But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
​
“‘Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the LORD, ‘nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid. For I am with you,’ says the LORD, ‘to save you; though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, and will not let you go altogether unpunished’” (verses 8-11).

Even though Jacob’s descendants will face severe punishment in “the time of Jacob’s trouble,” they will eventually repent and be restored. For more on this, see “America in Prophecy.”

For assistance in fulfilling Christ’s command to “watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36), 


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_and_Esau
​
​

​Without a doubt one of the most frequently asked questions is “Who was Jesus?”

​There is no doubt that Jesus has, by far, the highest name recognition throughout the world. Fully one-third of our world’s population—about 2.5 billion people—call themselves Christians. Islam, which comprises about 1.5 billion people, actually recognizes Jesus as the second greatest prophet after Mohammed. Of the remaining 3.2 billion people (roughly half the world’s population), most have either heard of the name of Jesus or know about Him. 

If one were to put together a summary of the life of Jesus from His birth to His death, it would be somewhat sparse. He was born of Jewish parents in Bethlehem, a small town south of Jerusalem, while the territory was under Roman occupation. His parents moved north to Nazareth, where He grew up; hence He was commonly known as “Jesus of Nazareth.” His father was a carpenter, so Jesus likely learned that trade in His early years. Around thirty years of age, He began a public ministry. He chose a dozen men of dubious reputation as His disciples and worked out of Capernaum, a large fishing village and trading center on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. From there He traveled and preached throughout the region of Galilee, often moving among neighboring Gentiles and Samaritans with intermittent journeys to Jerusalem. 

Jesus’ unusual teachings and methodology startled and troubled many. His revolutionary message, coupled with astonishing miracles and healings, garnered a huge following. His popularity among the populace grew rapidly, and, as a result, it was noticed by the well-entrenched leaders of the Jewish faith. Soon, these Jewish leaders became jealous and resentful of His success. Many of these leaders found His teachings offensive and felt that their established religious traditions and ceremonies were being jeopardized. They soon plotted with the Roman rulers to have Him killed. It was during this time that one of Jesus’ disciples betrayed Him to the Jewish leaders for a paltry sum of money. Shortly thereafter, they had Him arrested, engineered a hastily arranged series of mock trials, and summarily executed Him by crucifixion.

But unlike any other in history, Jesus’ death was not the end of His story; it was, in fact, the beginning. Christianity exists only because of what happened after Jesus died. Three days after His death, His disciples and many others began to claim that He had returned to life from the dead. His grave was found empty, the body gone, and numerous appearances were witnessed by many different groups of people, at different locations, and among dissimilar circumstances.

As a result of all this, people began to proclaim that Jesus was the Christ, or the Messiah. They claimed His resurrection validated the message of forgiveness of sin through His sacrifice. At first, they declared this good news, known as the gospel, in Jerusalem, the same city where He was put to death. This new following soon became known as the Way (see Acts 9:2; Acts 19:9; Acts 19:23; Acts 24:22) and expanded rapidly. In a short period of time, this gospel message of faith spread even beyond the region, expanding as far as Rome as well as to the very outermost of its vast empire.

It was Dr. James Allan Francis who penned the following words that aptly describe the influence of Jesus through the history of mankind:

"Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.

"He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. . . .

"While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth—His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

"Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress.

"I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life."

The late Wilbur Smith, respected Bible scholar of the last generation, once wrote, “The latest edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica gives twenty thousand words to this person, Jesus, and does not even hint that He did not exist—more words, by the way, than are given to Aristotle, Alexander, Cicero, Julius Caesar, or Napoleon Bonaparte.”

George Buttrick, recognized as one of the ten greatest preachers of the twentieth century, wrote: “Jesus gave history a new beginning. In every land he is at home. . . . His birthday is kept across the world. His death-day set a gallows against every skyline.”

Even Napoleon himself admitted, "I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ was no mere man: between him and whoever else in the world there is no possible term of comparison."

Christianity in the 1st century covers the formative history of Christianity from the start of the ministry of Jesus (c. 27–29 AD) to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles (c. 100) and is thus also known as the Apostolic Age. Early Christianity developed out of the eschatologicalministry of Jesus. Subsequent to Jesus' death, his earliest followers formed an apocalyptic messianic Jewish sect during the late Second Temple period of the 1st century. Initially believing that Jesus' resurrection was the start of the end time, their beliefs soon changed in the expected Second Coming of Jesus and the start of God's Kingdom at a later point in time.
​
Paul the Apostle, a Pharisee Jew who had persecuted the early Jewish Christians, converted c. 33–36[2][3][4] and started to proselytize among the Gentiles. According to Paul, Gentile converts could be allowed exemption from Jewish commandments, arguing that all are justified by their faith in Jesus.[5][6] This was part of a gradual split of early Christianity and Judaism, as Christianity became a distinct religion including predominantly Gentile adherence.

Jerusalem had an early Christian community, which was led by James the Just, Peter, and John.[7] According to Acts 11:26, Antioch was where the followers were first called Christians. Peter was later martyred in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire. The apostles went on to spread the message of the Gospel around the classical world and founded apostolic sees around the early centers of Christianity. The last apostle to die was John in c. 100.

Early Jewish Christians referred to themselves as "The Way" (ἡ ὁδός), probably coming from Isaiah 40:3, "prepare the way of the Lord."[web 1][web 2][9][10][note 1] Other Jews also called them "the Nazarenes,"[9] while another Jewish-Christian sect called themselves "Ebionites" (lit. "the poor"). According to Acts 11:26, the term "Christian" (Greek: Χριστιανός) was first used in reference to Jesus's disciples in the city of Antioch, meaning "followers of Christ," by the non-Jewish inhabitants of Antioch.[12] The earliest recorded use of the term "Christianity" (Greek: Χριστιανισμός) was by Ignatius of Antioch, in around 100 AD.

The earliest followers of Jesus were a sect of apocalyptic Jewish Christians within the realm of Second Temple Judaism.[14][15][16][17][18] The early Christian groups were strictly Jewish, such as the Ebionites,[14] and the early Christian community in Jerusalem, led by James the Just, brother of Jesus.[17] Christianity "emerged as a sect of Judaism in Roman Palestine"[19] in the syncretistic Hellenistic world of the first century AD, which was dominated by Roman law and Greek culture.[20] Hellenistic culture had a profound impact on the customs and practices of Jews everywhere. The inroads into Judaism gave rise to Hellenistic Judaism in the Jewish diaspora which sought to establish a Hebraic-Jewish religious tradition within the culture and language of Hellenism. Hellenistic Judaism spread to Ptolemaic Egypt from the 3rd century BC, and became a notable religio licita after the Roman conquest of Greece, Anatolia, Syria, Judea, and Egypt.[citation needed]

During the early first century AD there were many competing Jewish sects in the Holy Land, and those that became Rabbinic Judaism and Proto-orthodox Christianity were but two of these. Philosophical schools included Pharisees, Sadducees, and Zealots, but also other less influential sects, including the Essenes.[web 7][web 8][citation needed] The first century BC and first century AD saw a growing number of charismatic religious leaders contributing to what would become the Mishnah of Rabbinic Judaism; and the ministry of Jesus, which would lead to the emergence of the first Jewish Christian community.[web 7][web 8][citation needed]

A central concern in 1st century Judaism was the covenant with God, and the status of the Jews as the chosen people of God.[21] Many Jews believed that this covenant would be renewed with the coming of the Messiah. Jews believed the Law was given by God to guide them in their worship of the Lord and in their interactions with each other, "the greatest gift God had given his people."

The Jewish messiah concept has its root in the apocalyptic literature of the 2nd century BC to 1st century BC, promising a future leader or king from the Davidic line who is expected to be anointed with holy anointing oil and rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age and world to come.[web 9][web 10][web 11] The Messiah is often referred to as "King Messiah" (Hebrew: מלך משיח, romanized: melekh mashiach) or malka meshiḥa in Aramaic.

Jesus' life was ended by his execution by crucifixion. His early followers believed that three days after his death, Jesus rose bodily from the dead.[67][68][69][70][71] Paul's letters and the Gospels contain reports of a number of post-resurrection appearances. Progressively, Jewish scriptures were reexamined in light of Jesus's teachings to explain the crucifixion and visionary post-mortem experiences of Jesus,[1][77][78] and the resurrection of Jesus "signalled for earliest believers that the days of eschatological fulfilment were at hand."

Traditionally, the period from the death of Jesus until the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles is called the Apostolic Age, after the missionary activities of the apostles.[85] According to the Acts of the Apostles the Jerusalem church began at Pentecost with some 120 believers,[86] in an "upper room," believed by some to be the Cenacle, where the apostles received the Holy Spirit and emerged from hiding following the death and resurrection of Jesus to preach and spread his message.
​
The New Testament writings depict what orthodox Christian churches call the Great Commission, an event where they describe the resurrected Jesus Christ instructing his disciples to spread his eschatological message of the coming of the Kingdom of God to all the nations of the world. The most famous version of the Great Commission is in Matthew 28 (Matthew 28:16–20), where on a mountain in Galilee Jesus calls on his followers to make disciples of and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Paul's conversion on the Road to Damascus is first recorded in Acts 9 (Acts 9:13–16). Peter baptized the Roman centurion Cornelius, traditionally considered the first Gentile convert to Christianity, in Acts 10. Based on this, the Antioch church was founded. It is also believed that it was there that the term Christian was coined.

After the death of Jesus, Christianity first emerged as a sect of Judaism as practiced in the Roman province of Judea.[19] The first Christians were all Jews, who constituted a Second Temple Jewish sect with an apocalyptic eschatology. Among other schools of thought, some Jews regarded Jesus as Lord and resurrected messiah, and the eternally existing Son of God,[7][90][note 8] expecting the second coming of Jesus and the start of God's Kingdom. They pressed fellow Jews to prepare for these events and to follow "the way" of the Lord. They believed Yahweh to be the only true God,[92] the god of Israel, and considered Jesus to be the messiah (Christ), as prophesied in the Jewish scriptures, which they held to be authoritative and sacred. They held faithfully to the Torah,[note 9]including acceptance of Gentile converts based on a version of the Noachide laws.

The New Testament's Acts of the Apostles (the historical accuracy of which is questioned) and Epistle to the Galatians record that an early Jewish Christian community[note 11] centered on Jerusalem, and that its leaders reportedly included Peter, James, the brother of Jesus, and John the Apostle.[93] The Jerusalem community "held a central place among all the churches," as witnessed by Paul's writings.[94] Reportedly legitimised by Jesus' appearance, Peter was the first leader of the Jerusalem ekklēsia.[95][96] Peter was soon eclipsed in this leadership by James the Just, "the Brother of the Lord,"[97][98] which may explain why the early texts contain scant information about Peter.[98] According to Lüdemann, in the discussions about the strictness of adherence to the Jewish Law, the more conservative faction of James the Just gained the upper hand over the more liberal position of Peter, who soon lost influence.[98] According to Dunn, this was not an "usurpation of power," but a consequence of Peter's involvement in missionary activities.[99] The relatives of Jesus were generally accorded a special position within this community,[100] which also contributed to the ascendancy of James the Just in Jerusalem.

According to a tradition recorded by Eusebius and Epiphanius of Salamis, the Jerusalem church fled to Pella at the outbreak of the First Jewish–Roman War (AD 66–73).

The Jerusalem community consisted of "Hebrews," Jews speaking both Aramaic and Greek, and "Hellenists," Jews speaking only Greek, possibly diaspora Jews who had resettled in Jerusalem.[102] According to Dunn, Paul's initial persecution of Christians probably was directed against these Greek-speaking "Hellenists" due to their anti-Temple attitude.[103] Within the early Jewish Christian community, this also set them apart from the "Hebrews" and their Tabernacle observance.

The Book of Acts reports that the early followers continued daily Temple attendance and traditional Jewish home prayer, Jewish liturgical, a set of scriptural readings adapted from synagogue practice, and use of sacred music in hymns and prayer. Other passages in the New Testament gospels reflect a similar observance of traditional Jewish piety such as baptism,[web 22] fasting, reverence for the Torah, and observance of Jewish holy days.

During the first three centuries of Christianity, the Liturgical ritual was rooted in the Jewish Passover, Siddur, Seder, and synagogue services, including the singing of hymns (especially the Psalms) and reading from the scriptures.[web 23] Most early Christians did not own a copy of the works (some of which were still being written) that later became the Christian Bibleor other church works accepted by some but not canonized, such as the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, or other works today called New Testament apocrypha. Similar to Judaism, much of the original church liturgical services functioned as a means of learning these scriptures, which initially centered around the Septuagint and the Targums.

At first, Christians continued to worship alongside Jewish believers, but within twenty years of Jesus' death, Sunday (the Lord's Day) was being regarded as the primary day of worship.

Christian missionary activity spread "the Way" and slowly created early centers of Christianity with Gentile adherents in the predominantly Greek-speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire, and then throughout the Hellenistic world and even beyond the Roman Empire. Early Christian beliefs were proclaimed in kerygma (preaching), some of which are preserved in New Testament scripture. The early Gospel message spread orally, probably originally in Aramaic,[151] but almost immediately also in Greek.[152] A process of cognitive dissonance reduction may have contributed to intensive missionary activity, convincing others of the developing beliefs, reducing the cognitive dissonance created by the delay of the coming of the endtime. Due to this missionary zeal, the early group of followers grew larger despite the failing expectations.

The scope of the Jewish-Christian mission expanded over time. While Jesus limited his message to a Jewish audience in Galilee and Judea, after his death his followers extended their outreach to all of Israel, and eventually the whole Jewish diaspora, believing that the Second Coming would only happen when all Jews had received the Gospel.[1] Apostles and preachers traveled to Jewish communities around the Mediterranean Sea, and initially attracted Jewish converts.[149] Within 10 years of the death of Jesus, apostles had attracted enthusiasts for "the Way" from Jerusalem to Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica, Cyprus, Crete, Alexandria and Rome.[153][87][148][149] Over 40 churches were established by 100,[148][149] most in Asia Minor, such as the seven churches of Asia, and some in Greece in the Roman era and Roman Italy.

According to Fredriksen, when early Christians broadened their missionary efforts, they also came into contact with Gentiles attracted to the Jewish religion. Eventually, the Gentiles came to be included in the missionary effort of Hellenised Jews, bringing "all nations" into the house of God.[1] The "Hellenists," Greek-speaking diaspora Jews belonging to the early Jerusalem Jesus-movement, played an important role in reaching a Gentile, Greek audience, notably at Antioch, which had a large Jewish community and significant numbers of Gentile "God-fearers."[147] From Antioch, the mission to the Gentiles started, including Paul's, which would fundamentally change the character of the early Christian movement, eventually turning it into a new, Gentile religion.[154] According to Dunn, within 10 years after Jesus' death, "the new messianic movement focused on Jesus began to modulate into something different ... it was at Antioch that we can begin to speak of the new movement as 'Christianity'."

Paul's influence on Christian thinking is said to be more significant than that of any other New Testament author.[158] According to the New Testament, Saul of Tarsus first persecuted the early Jewish Christians, but then converted. He adopted the name Paul and started proselytizingamong the Gentiles, calling himself "Apostle to the Gentiles."

Paul was in contact with the early Christian community in Jerusalem, led by James the Just.[161] According to Mack, he may have been converted to another early strand of Christianity, with a High Christology.[162] Fragments of their beliefs in an exalted and deified Jesus, what Mack called the "Christ cult," can be found in the writings of Paul.[161][note 18] Yet, Hurtado notes that Paul valued the linkage with "Jewish Christian circles in Roman Judea," which makes it likely that his Christology was in line with, and indebted to, their views.[164] Hurtado further notes that "[i]t is widely accepted that the tradition that Paul recites in 1 Corinthians 15:1-7 must go back to the Jerusalem Church."

Paul was responsible for bringing Christianity to Ephesus, Corinth, Philippi, and Thessalonica.[166][better source needed] According to Larry Hurtado, "Paul saw Jesus' resurrection as ushering in the eschatological time foretold by biblical prophets in which the pagan 'Gentile' nations would turn from their idols and embrace the one true God of Israel (e.g., Zechariah 8:20–23), and Paul saw himself as specially called by God to declare God's eschatological acceptance of the Gentiles and summon them to turn to God."[web 1] According to Krister Stendahl, the main concern of Paul's writings on Jesus' role and salvation by faith is not the individual conscience of human sinners and their doubts about being chosen by God or not, but the main concern is the problem of the inclusion of Gentile (Greek) Torah-observers into God's covenant.[167][168][169][web 25] The inclusion of Gentiles into early Christianity posed a problem for the Jewish identity of some of the early Christians:[170][171][172] the new Gentile converts were not required to be circumcised nor to observe the Mosaic Law.[173] Circumcision in particular was regarded as a token of the membership of the Abrahamic covenant, and the most traditionalist faction of Jewish Christians (i.e., converted Pharisees) insisted that Gentile converts had to be circumcised as well.[Acts 15:1][170][171][174][166] By contrast, the rite of circumcision was considered execrable and repulsive during the period of Hellenization of the Eastern Mediterranean,[175] [176][177][web 26] and was especially adversed in Classical civilization both from ancient Greeks and Romans, which instead valued the foreskin positively.

Paul objected strongly to the insistence on keeping all of the Jewish commandments,[166] considering it a great threat to his doctrine of salvation through faith in Christ.[171][179]According to Paula Fredriksen, Paul's opposition to male circumcison for Gentiles is in line with the Old Testament predictions that "in the last days the gentile nations would come to the God of Israel, as gentiles (e.g., Zechariah 8:20–23), not as proselytes to Israel."[web 16] For Paul, Gentile male circumcision was therefore an affront to God's intentions.[web 16]According to Larry Hurtado, "Paul saw himself as what Munck called a salvation-historical figure in his own right", who was "personally and singularly deputized by God to bring about the predicted ingathering (the "fullness") of the nations (Romans 11:25)."

For Paul, Jesus' death and resurrection solved the problem of the exclusion of Gentiles from God's covenant,[180][181] since the faithful are redeemed by participation in Jesus' death and rising. In the Jerusalem ekklēsia, from which Paul received the creed of 1 Corinthians 15:1–7, the phrase "died for our sins" probably was an apologetic rationale for the death of Jesus as being part of God's plan and purpose, as evidenced in the Scriptures. For Paul, it gained a deeper significance, providing "a basis for the salvation of sinful Gentiles apart from the Torah."[182] According to E. P. Sanders, Paul argued that "those who are baptized into Christ are baptized into his death, and thus they escape the power of sin [...] he died so that the believers may die with him and consequently live with him."[web 27] By this participation in Christ's death and rising, "one receives forgiveness for past offences, is liberated from the powers of sin, and receives the Spirit."[183] Paul insists that salvation is received by the grace of God; according to Sanders, this insistence is in line with Second Temple Judaism of c. 200 BC until 200 AD, which saw God's covenant with Israel as an act of grace of God. Observance of the Law is needed to maintain the covenant, but the covenant is not earned by observing the Law, but by the grace of God.

These divergent interpretations have a prominent place in both Paul's writings and in Acts. According to Galatians 2:1–10 and Acts chapter 15, fourteen years after his conversion Paul visited the "Pillars of Jerusalem", the leaders of the Jerusalem ekklēsia. His purpose was to compare his Gospel[clarification needed] with theirs, an event known as the Council of Jerusalem. According to Paul, in his letter to the Galatians,[note 19] they agreed that his mission was to be among the Gentiles. According to Acts,[184] Paul made an argument that circumcision was not a necessary practice, vocally supported by Peter.

While the Church of Jerusalem was described as resulting in an agreement to allow Gentile converts exemption from most Jewish commandments, in reality a stark opposition from "Hebrew" Jewish Christians remained,[188] as exemplified by the Ebionites. The relaxing of requirements in Pauline Christianity opened the way for a much larger Christian Church, extending far beyond the Jewish community. The inclusion of Gentiles is reflected in Luke-Acts, which is an attempt to answer a theological problem, namely how the Messiah of the Jews came to have an overwhelmingly non-Jewish church; the answer it provides, and its central theme, is that the message of Christ was sent to the Gentiles because the Jews rejected it.

The New Testament (often compared to the New Covenant) is the second major division of the Christian Bible. The books of the canon of the New Testament include the Canonical Gospels, Acts, letters of the Apostles, and Revelation. The original texts were written by various authors, most likely sometime between c. AD 45 and 120 AD,[197] in Koine Greek, the lingua franca of the eastern part of the Roman Empire, though there is also a minority argument for Aramaic primacy. They were not defined as "canon" until the 4th century. Some were disputed, known as the Antilegomena.

Writings attributed to the Apostles circulated among the earliest Christian communities. The Pauline epistles were circulating, perhaps in collected forms, by the end of the 1st century AD.

There was a slowly growing chasm between Gentile Christians, and Jews and Jewish Christians, rather than a sudden split. Even though it is commonly thought that Paul established a Gentile church, it took a century for a complete break to manifest. Growing tensions led to a starker separation that was virtually complete by the time Jewish Christians refused to join in the Bar Kokhba Jewish revolt of 132. Certain events are perceived as pivotal in the growing rift between Christianity and Judaism.

The destruction of Jerusalem and the consequent dispersion of Jews and Jewish Christians from the city (after the Bar Kokhba revolt) ended any pre-eminence of the Jewish-Christian leadership in Jerusalem. Early Christianity grew further apart from Judaism to establish itself as a predominantly Gentile religion, and Antioch became the first Gentile Christian community with stature.

The hypothetical Council of Jamnia c. 85 is often stated to have condemned all who claimed the Messiah had already come, and Christianity in particular, excluding them from attending synagogue. However, the formulated prayer in question (birkat ha-minim) is considered by other scholars to be unremarkable in the history of Jewish and Christian relations. There is a paucity of evidence for Jewish persecution of "heretics" in general, or Christians in particular, in the period between 70 and 135. It is probable that the condemnation of Jamnia included many groups, of which the Christians were but one, and did not necessarily mean excommunication. That some of the later church fathers only recommended against synagogue attendance makes it improbable that an anti-Christian prayer was a common part of the synagogue liturgy. Jewish Christians continued to worship in synagogues for centuries.

During the late 1st century, Judaism was a legal religion with the protection of Roman law, worked out in compromise with the Roman state over two centuries (see Anti-Judaism in the Roman Empire for details). In contrast, Christianity was not legalized until the 313 Edict of Milan. Observant Jews had special rights, including the privilege of abstaining from civic pagan rites. Christians were initially identified with the Jewish religion by the Romans, but as they became more distinct, Christianity became a problem for Roman rulers. Around the year 98, the emperor Nerva decreed that Christians did not have to pay the annual tax upon the Jews, effectively recognizing them as distinct from Rabbinic Judaism. This opened the way to Christians being persecuted for disobedience to the emperor, as they refused to worship the state pantheon.

From c. 98 onwards a distinction between Christians and Jews in Roman literature becomes apparent. For example, Pliny the Younger postulates that Christians are not Jews since they do not pay the tax, in his letters to Trajan.

Jewish Christians constituted a separate community from the Pauline Christians but maintained a similar faith. In Christian circles, Nazarene later came to be used as a label for those faithful to Jewish Law, in particular for a certain sect. These Jewish Christians, originally the central group in Christianity, generally holding the same beliefs except in their adherence to Jewish law, were not deemed heretical until the dominance of orthodoxy in the 4th century.[211] The Ebionites may have been a splinter group of Nazarenes, with disagreements over Christology and leadership. They were considered by Gentile Christians to have unorthodox beliefs, particularly in relation to their views of Christ and Gentile converts.

​

'You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.'

​Exodus 20:5
​

​Throughout the Old Testament in the Bible, we find what seems a confusing trend of idol worship among the Israelites, who especially struggled with the worship of Baal and Asherah (or Ashtoreth). God had commanded Israel not to worship idols (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7)—indeed, they were to avoid even mentioning a false god’s name (Exodus 23:13). They were warned not to intermarry with the pagan nations and to avoid practices that might be construed as pagan worship rites (Leviticus 20:23; 2 Kings 17:15; Ezekiel 11:12). Israel was a nation chosen by God to one day bear the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Yet, even with so much riding on their heritage and future, Israel continued to struggle with idol worship.

​https://biblehub.com/exodus/20-5.htm

After the death of Joshua, the worship of Baal and Asherah became a plague upon the Israelites and was a perennial problem. Baal, also known as the sun god or the storm god, is the name of the supreme male deity worshiped by ancient Phoenicians and Canaanites. Asherah, the moon goddess, was the principal female deity worshiped by ancient Syrians, Phoenicians, and Canaanites. The Israelites neglected to heed the Lord’s warning not to compromise with idolaters. The ensuing generations forgot the God who had rescued them from Egypt (Judges 2:10–12).

Of course, the period of the judges wasn’t the first time Israel had been tempted by idol worship. In Exodus 32, we see how quickly the Israelites gave up on Moses’ return from Mount Sinai and created an idol of gold for themselves. Ezekiel 20 reveals a summary of the Israelites’ affairs with idols and God’s relentless mercy on His children (also see 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles).

As for why the worship of Baal and Asherah specifically was such a problem for Israel, there are several reasons we can cite: first, the worship of Baal and Asherah held the allure of illicit sex, since the religion involved ritual prostitution. This is exactly what we see in the incident of Baal of Peor, as “the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods” (Numbers 25:1–2). It was during this episode that an Israelite named Zimri brazenly brought a Midianite woman into the camp and went straight to his tent, where the two began having sex (verses 6–8, 14).

Another reason that the worship of Baal and Asherah was a perennial problem for Israel is due to what we could call national peer pressure. Israel wanted to be like the other nations (see 1 Samuel 8:5, 20). The other nations worshiped Baal and Asherah, and so many Israelites felt a pull to do the same.

Of course, we cannot overlook the fact of Satan’s temptations and mankind’s basic sinfulness. The enemy of our souls tempted Israel to worship idols; the sacrifices made to Baal and Asherah were really sacrifices to demons (1 Corinthians 10:20). The stubborn willfulness of humanity works in tandem with Satan’s seductions and causes us to jump at any chance to rebel against God. Thus Israel repeatedly forsook God’s commands, despite losing God’s blessings, and chased after the Baals and Asherahs to their own destruction.

The book of Hosea aptly uses adultery as a metaphor in describing Israel’s problem with idol worship. The Israelites were trapped in a vicious cycle of idol worship, punishment, restoration, then forgiveness, after which they went back to their idols once more. God’s patience with Israel is unfathomable by human standards; God’s nature is the essence of love, and He gives His sons and daughters chances to repent (1 John 4:8; Romans 8:38–39; 2 Peter 3:9).

The problem of Baal and Asherah worship was finally solved after God removed Israel from the Promised Land. Due to the Israelites’ idolatry and disregard of the Law, God brought the nations of Assyria and Babylon against them in an act of judgment. After the exile, Israel was restored to the land, and the people did not dally again with idols.

Idolatrous sins still lure and tempt the modern-day believer (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8–10), though perhaps they have taken new shapes. Instead of ancient forms of Baal and Asherah, we today sometimes honor possessions, success, physical pleasure, and religious perfection to the dishonoring of God. Just as God disciplined the Israelites for their idolatry and forgave them when they repented, He will graciously discipline us and extend the offer of forgiveness in Christ (Hebrews 12:7–11; 1 John 1:9; 2 Peter 3:9).

​So this is the answer to the question “Why are idols dangerous?” — namely, the wrath of God is coming upon "idolatry." Nothing is more dangerous than the wrath of an omnipotent, all-righteous God. And Paul says the wrath of God is coming on idolatry. Now why would that be?

​Listen to Exodus 20: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness or anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.” (Exodus 20:4–5)
​The wrath of God comes on the idolater because God is jealous. There is a righteous and holy jealousy and an unrighteous and weak and insecure jealousy. And God’s jealousy is not only righteous — that is, he deserves our deepest and strongest affections and admiration — but it is loving. 
​
“God is jealous that he be honored by being treasured, and he is jealous that we be satisfied by treasuring him.”It is a loving jealousy, because we were made to find our greatest joy when he is our greatest treasure. He is jealous that he be honored by being treasured, and he is jealous that we be satisfied by treasuring him. So he is jealous in a loving way and he is jealous in a righteous way. And if we find God to be so boring or so negligible that we must put other things in his place that really satisfy us more than he does, then we not only offend him, but we also destroy ourselves. Those two things make God angry. He doesn’t want to be offended and he doesn’t want us to destroy ourselves. Idolatry contradicts both of those things and so his wrath comes upon the idolater. So that is the answer to the first question: Why it is so dangerous?
​
The other two questions can be taken together, I think, something like this: What is an idol and what does it look like today?

First in the HeartPaul says, “Covetousness, which is idolatry.” So what idolatry looks like today is the activity of the human heart. This is not a deed of the body. That follows — a fruit on a branch. It starts in the heart: craving, wanting, enjoying, being satisfied by anything that you treasure more than God. That is an idol.

​Paul calls this covetousness — a disordered love or desire, loving more than God what ought to be loved less than God and only for the sake of God. But covetousness is the condition that this disordered heart is in, an act of loving too much what ought to be loved less. And that is why the wrath of God is coming. That is what idolatry looks like today. And it is everywhere in our culture. 

“Idolatry starts in the heart: craving, wanting, enjoying, being satisfied by anything that you treasure more than God.”So finally: What is an idol? Well, it is the thing. It is the thing loved or the person loved more than God, wanted more than God, desired more than God, treasured more than God, enjoyed more than God. It could be a girlfriend. It could be good grades. It could be the approval of other people. It could be success in business. It could be sexual stimulation. It could be a hobby or a musical group that you are following or a sport or your immaculate yard. I was looking for some yard stuff the other day and I clicked on a video ad for a yard service and three people came on and all of them made the point that this yard service enabled them to brag that they had the best yard in the neighborhood. I thought: What a motivation! I want to be number one in green grass! So that could be an idol. Or your own looks could be an idol. It could be anything.

So Paul puts it like this in Romans 1:25: “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature” — anything that is created — “rather than the Creator.” But there is no wrath for the children of God. And why is that? Because Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 1: “You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead,
​Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
​(1 Thessalonians 1:9–10) 

​
So when we turn to Christ from idols we escape the wrath of God because he is for us.

God is for us in Christ on the cross.

​
​

​John 9; Jesus Heals the Man Born Blind

https://biblehub.com/bsb/john/9.htm

1Now as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth, 
2and His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him. 
4While it is daytime, we must doa the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 
5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

6When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes. 
​7Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.
​
8At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”
9Some claimed that he was, but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” 
But the man kept saying, “I am the one.”

10“How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and anointed my eyes, and He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight.”

12“Where is He?” they asked. 
“I do not know,” he answered.
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing
13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 
14Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath. 
15So the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. 
The man answered, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”

16Because of this, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” 
But others said, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” 
And there was division among them. 
17So once again they asked the man who had been blind, “What do you say about Him, since it was your eyes He opened?” 

“He is a prophet,” the man replied.
18The Jews still did not believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight until they summoned his parents 
19and asked, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he can now see?”
20His parents answered, “We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. 21But how he can now see or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.”

22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. 
23That was why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”

24So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”
25He answered, “Whether He is a sinner I do not know. There is one thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!”

26“What did He do to you?” they asked. “How did He open your eyes?”
27He replied, “I already told you, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”
28Then they heaped insults on him and said, “You are His disciple; we are disciples of Moses. 
29We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man is from.”

30“That is remarkable indeed!” the man said. “You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.
31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will. 
​32Never before has anyone heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 
33If this man were not from God, He could do no such thing.”

34They replied, “You were born in utter sin, and you are instructing us?” And they threw him out.
Spiritual Blindness
35When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, He found the man and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Manb?”
36“Who is He, Sir?” he replied. “Tell me so that I may believe in Him.”
37“You have already seen Him,” Jesus answered. “He is the One speaking with you.”
​
38“Lord, I believe,” he said. And he worshiped Jesus.
39Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”c
40Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?”
41“If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

​

​What is the mystery of Christ in Colossians 4:3?


After Paul concludes a brief description of Christian ethics in Colossians 3:1—4:2, he adds a personal plea that his readers will pray for him and Timothy as they continue to preach and teach in various cities. Paul asks that God will open up to them a door for His Word, so that they will be able to speak forth “the mystery of Christ” (Colossians 4:3). The term mystery (musterion) typically refers to something not previously revealed.

Earlier in the letter, Paul referred to the Word of God (ton logon tou theou) as the mystery that had been hidden from the ages and generations but has now been revealed (Colossians 1:25–26). Paul adds that the mystery had been revealed not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles. That mystery, Paul says, is “Christ in you—the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). A bit further into the context, Paul refers to God’s mystery as Christ Himself (Colossians 2:2). Throughout his letter to the Colossians, Paul identifies the mystery as Christ and His relationship to believers being revealed in a way not previously communicated. The identity of the Christ had not been revealed in any detail in the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament), though there were, of course, many prophecies anticipating His earthly ministry. From the various theophanies (appearances of God in physical form) in the Hebrew Scriptures, it is evident that the one called Yahweh would later come to earth as a man—Jesus.

Recall Jesus’ claim in John 8:56–58 that He had preceded Abraham. This Yahweh—the preincarnate Christ—had always existed, but at the right time in God’s plan, this Messiah came to earth, born of a virgin. The mystery that is Christ, who had been previously unrevealed, was now clearly manifested in the sight of all. Further, this One not only existed, but He came to earth to express His love by His sacrifice (see John 3:16; Philippians 2:1–11), to have a brotherly kind of relationship (Romans 8:29), and to be intimately known by those who have believed in Him (John 17:3).

As Ephesians is a similar letter written by Paul around the same time, it is helpful to consider Paul’s use of the word mystery in that context as well. He mentions the mystery in Ephesians 1:9, 3:3, and 3:9, but he doesn’t offer any definition in those passages. However, in Ephesians 3:4 Paul refers to the “mystery of Christ.” He also explains that Christ’s relationship with the church and its parallel to marriage was a great mystery (Ephesians 5:32). In Colossians 4:3 Paul adds that the mystery of Christ was a cause of his own imprisonment. In Ephesians 6:20 Paul also notes that the message he was proclaiming was the cause of his chains. He refers to that message in Ephesians 6:19 as “the mystery of the gospel.”

While Paul uses the term mystery on a number of occasions in his other letters, the reference isn’t always to the mystery of Christ and His relationship with people, as it seems to be in Colossians and Ephesians. Paul recognizes that he is stewarding the mysteries (plural) of God (1 Corinthians 4:1). In Romans 11:25 the mystery is that there would be a partial hardening of Israel. In 1 Corinthians 15:51, the resurrection—and the rapture, more specifically—is referred to as a mystery. There is even a mystery of lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:7). While Paul stewards and communicates several of God’s mysteries, he speaks of none in such detail and repetition as he does the mystery of Christ (Colossians 4:3). What a joy to know that Jesus loves us and that His grace toward us was part of God’s plan from the very beginning.


​