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A DISCUSSION OF A BASIC ERROR OF THE MID-ACTS POSITION

The basic question about which the mid-Acts and Acts 28 communities differ is the question of when the church of the dispensation of the mystery began. I believe that it began when the dispensation of the mystery began. Further, I believe that the dispensation of the mystery began when Israel was set aside. The paper on this web-site Are We Asking The Wrong Question? proves from Scripture that the dispensation of the mystery began when Israel was set aside, and that the church of the dispensation of the mystery began at the same time.

From my discussions with believers who accept the mid-Acts position, I have learned that many tend to see several differences between the Paul’s messages in the Acts period and the messages of the Gospel and Old Testament periods. That leads them to believe that because those differences were recorded by Paul, the church began with Paul. But some of those supposed differences are not new truths as is often assumed. They are truths that had not been previously recorded or emphasized, but they were just as true in the Gospel and Old Testament periods as they were in the Acts period.

To clarify my point I will give an example of a truth that was not recorded until John’s Gospel, but was, nevertheless just as true in the Old Testament period. We read in I John 4:8 that “God is love”. While the truth that “God is love” is emphasized in the New Testament, it was just as true druring the Old Testament times, and before. God is love, that is, in part, Who He is. But if one sees this as a “new truth”, (i.e. one that was not true in the Old Testament) and assumes that this “new truth” defines a new dispensation, one is led into grievous error.

In short, I believe that there are some Bible truths that mid-Acts believers see as given to Paul, and then fix the point of a new out-calling and/or a new dispensation with Paul’s conversion or Paul’s going to the Gentiles etc. . But these truths are not new truths, they are only truths that have not been recorded or emphasized before the Acts period.

We will discuss the following topics:

SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH APART FROM THE WORKS OF THE LAW

IS THE BELIEVER IN THE DISPENSATION OF THE MYSTERY CALLED UPON TO PROVE HIS FAITH BY WORKS?

THE EQUALITY OF JEWISH AND GENTILE BELIEVERS

THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION

THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD

BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST

CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST

SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH APART FROM THE WORKS OF THE LAW

Many in the mid-Acts community believe that one of the basic differences between the present dispensation and past dispensations is that in previous dispensations salvation was by faith plus the works of the law, but that in the present dispensation works are not required for salvation. I believe that salvation has always been by grace through faith, and that works always prove one’s faith. Let us search the Scriptures for the truth in this matter.

We read in Rom. 4:4, “Now to him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt”. The subject of Paul’s discourse in this passage is whether righteousness is accounted to a person by works or by grace. Paul says in this verse that he who works is owed the payment of a debt, but he who works not is counted righteous by God’s grace. In other words, there is a contrast in this verse between that which is received by grace, and that which is received as payment of a debt. If there is a contrast between works and grace, logic demands that the two cannot work together toward righteousness. For the sake of clarity, let me put this concept in mundane terms

Bill would like to have a motorized bicycle, but his parents, by contrast, would like him to have a bicycle that is not motorized. Bill’s parents might say to him, “We will give you a bicycle of our choice or you may work for the money to get the bicycle you want”. This is a contrast between a gift and something towards which Bill will work. Both concepts cannot be in play for the same thing. That is to say, either Bill will work for his bicycle or he will receive it as a gift from his parents. There is in this a contrast, an either or, they cannot go hand in hand. So too salvation. In Rom. 4:4 Paul makes the contrast between that which may be received as a gift or that which may be gained by works. The two cannot be in play for the same thing. We must conclude therefore, that salvation is either a gift of God’s grace or something for which one may work, it cannot be a combination of both.

There is however, more to this question. We read in Rom. 2:13, “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified”. Here Paul wrote that it is works by which one is justified. But to make matters even more complicated, we read in Rom. 3:20-21, “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested….”. Here Paul wrote that it is not the works of the law that justifies. There are no contradictions in the Word of God, so it behooves us to search further.

Because James discusses the place of works in salvation, let us consider James 2:14-26 as it will help us to understand the seeming contradiction between Rom. 2:13-15 and Rom. 3:21. We read in verse 14 of James two, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” James continues this same thought for the next two verses and then in verse 17 explains quite succinctly the point of this passage, “Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead being alone“. In other words, it is not enough to just say one believes, one must show that he is a child of God by his works.

Many, incorrectly in my opinion, see this passage as James saying that salvation is by faith plus works. But that cannot be what James is saying here because that would contradict what Paul wrote in Rom. 4:4, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt“. Again, Paul is contrasting works which make salvation a debt, with grace which makes salvation a gift. The point is that to say that salvation is by faith plus works contradicts Rom. 4:4 which is clearly a contrast between faith and works. We must therefore, conclude that salvation has never been by faith plus works.

Salvation is purely a gift of grace and works prove one’s faith. Let us come back to James 2 to confirm that truth by Scripture. We read in verse 21, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?” But according to Romans 4 Abraham was not justified by works, but by faith. The only way to avoid a contradiction between James 2 and Romans 4 is to see that works prove one’s faith. In point of fact, James says this very thing in verse 22, “Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?” In verse 23 James completes his point, “and the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness:’ …….Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith alone”. But this is not faith plus works, it is faith that is proved by works. In other words, salvation is by grace through faith, works only prove one’s faith.

At what point was salvation a gift of grace apart from works? Let us allow Paul to answer that question. Let us return to Rom. 4 where we read in verses 5-6, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works”. This passage tells us two very important things. It tells us:1) righteousness is imputed by grace through faith (“his faith is counted for righteousness”), and 2) David described the same blessedness. In other words, what was true of Abraham, who lived before the law was given, was also true of David who lived after the law was given.

In short, if we are to set the beginning of the church which is His body by when salvation was given by grace through faith, we would have to set it, at least, at the time of Abraham. I know of no dispensationalist that sets the beginning of the body of Christ at Abraham. What is important here is that some have set the beginning of the church which is the body of Christ as the time in which the offer of salvation was made apart from works, and that is certainly not something new in the New Testament.

IS THE BELIEVER IN THE DISPENSATION OF THE MYSTERY CALLED UPON TO PROVE HIS FAITH BY WORKS?

Some will say that in past dispensations one must prove his faith by his works, but in the dispensation of the mystery salvation is by faith and does not need to be proved by works. Philippians is a prison epistle and therefore is written to and for the church of the present dispensation. Let us consider Phil 2:12, “……work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”. Does this mean that when you are saved you should show forth your salvation by your works, or does it mean that you should accomplish your own salvation? (It is understood, of course, that no one can accomplish his own salvation, but that the “accomplishment” is in proving one’s faith by works.) If this passage means that we should show forth our salvation by our works, why does Paul write that we should do so with “fear and trembling”?

To correctly understand Phil 2:12-13 we must understand how the Holy Spirit uses the Greek word “katergazomai” translated “work out” in verse 12. But before we study each occurrence of that word we need to understand the Greek word translated “worketh” in the phrase of verse 13, “For it is God Which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure”. That Greek word is “energeo”.

The Greek word “energeo” is used 21 times in the New Testament. The first two are found in Matt. 1:2 and Mark 6:14 where it is translated “shew forth”. Matt. 14:1-2 reads, “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, and said unto his servants, ‘This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him'”. Mark 6:14 records the same conversation.

Let us consider a few other occurrences of the word where it is not translated “shew forth”. We read in I Cor. 12:6, “…..but it is the same God Which worketh all in all”. While it is true that “worketh” does tell us something of what God does, “energeo” tells us so much more, if we allow it to. That is to say, it tells us that God shews forth Who He is. Here the context will help us to understand that Paul, in this context, wants us to know that God is shewn forth. We read in verses 4-5, “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit…. the same Lord”. In other words these miraculous gifts show forth the same Lord, the same Spirit, the same God.

We read in Eph. 1:20, “Which (God’s mighty power, vs.19) He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead….”. God’s mighty power was not merely “worked” in the resurrection of Christ, it was shown forth to be just that, i.e. His might power.

Let us also consider Eph. 2:2, “wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience”. When one understands that “energeo” means more than just “work”, but that it means “show forth”, this passage becomes more meaningful. That is to say, the spirit that works in the children of disobedience is shown forth to be the spirit of the prince of the power of the air.

My point is that in Phil. 2:13 where we read that God works (Gr. “energeo”) in us to will and to do His good pleasure, the Greek word “energeo” tells us that God does more than work in us. It tells us that God is shewing forth Himself, i.e. Who He is, through His children, as they both will and do of His good pleasure.

What is key to our question of the meaning of Phil. 2:12 is that if Paul had wanted to say that we should “shew forth” our own salvation, he would have used the same word he used in verse 13, i.e. “energeo”. But he did not, he used instead the word “katergazomai”.

We are now ready to begin our study of the Greek word “katergazomai” translated “work out” in verse 12. It is used 24 times in the New Testament. I beg the reader’s indulgence as we consider each occurrence of this word as it is key in understanding this verse and the place of works in salvation during the present dispensation.

As we begin this study I will remind the reader that we are trying to ascertain if this Greek word means that we are to show forth our salvation by our works, or if it means that we are to “accomplish” our own salvation. I will also remind the reader that James does tell us that Abraham, for example, was “justified by works” (James 2:21). That is to say, according to James, Abraham did accomplish his own salvation. We must bear in mind however, that works only prove one’s faith and obviously do not actually accomplish anyone’s salvation.

The Greek word “katergazomai” is translated seven different ways. That tells us that there are shades of meanings, but it also tells us that the basic meaning of the word may be difficult to grasp. In order to ascertain the basic meaning I will suggest one word which, although may not be correct English grammar, and will not show the shades of meanings, it will help us to see how the Holy Spirit means for us to understand it’s basic meaning. That one word is “accomplish”. Let us see if this word will fit every occurrence.(The word in bold and italicized lettering is the word that is used in the KJV that translates “katergazomai”.)

Rom. 1:27, ” men with men working (accomplishing) that which is unseemly…….”.

Rom. 2:9, “Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth (accomplishes) evil…..”

Rom. 4:15, “Because the law worketh (accomplishes) wrath…..”.

Rom. 5:3, “…..knowing that tribulation worketh (accomplishes) patience”.

Rom. 7:8, “But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought (accomplishes) in me all manner of concupiscence”.

Rom. 7:13, “….But sin, that it might appear sin working (accomplishes) death in me by that which is good….”.

Rom. 7:15, “…..for to will is present with me; but how to perform (accomplish) that which is good, I find not”.

Rom. 7:17, “Now then it is no more I that do (accomplish) it, but sin that dwelleth in me”.

Rom. 7:18, “…..but how to perform (accomplish) that which is good, I find not”.

Rom. 7:20, “….it is no more I that do (accomplish) it, but sin that dwelleth in me”.

Rom. 15:18, “For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought (accomplished) by me……”.

I Cor. 5:3, “concerning him that hath so done (accomplished) this deed”.

II Cor. 4:17, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh (accomplishes) for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”.

II Cor. 5:5, “Now He That hath wrought (accomplished) us for the selfsame thing (i.e. resurrection) is God….”.

II Cor. 7:10, “For godly sorrow worketh (accomplishes) repentance to salvation….but the sorrow of the world worketh (accomplishes) death”.

II Cor. 7:11, “…..what carefulness it wrought (accomplished) in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves……in all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter”.

II Cor. 9:11, “Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth (is accomplished) through us, thanksgiving to God”.

II Cor. 12:12, “Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought (accomplished) among you in all patience, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds”.

Eph. 6:13, “…. that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done (accomplished) all, to stand”.

Phil. 2:2, “…..work out (accomplish) your own salvation with fear and trembling”.

James 1:3, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh (accomplishes) patience”.

James 1:20, “For the wrath of man worketh (accomplishes) not the righteousness of God”.

I Peter 4:3, “For the time past of our life, may suffice us to have wrought (accomplished) the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts,…….”.

May I point out that the Greek word is never translated to include the word “out” except in Phil. 2:12.

Let me list what we have learned in this word study.

1) If Paul meant to say that we should show forth our salvation, he would have used the word which means “to show forth”, i.e. “energeo”. But he did not use that word.

2) The word “katergazomai” is never translated with the word “out”, except in Phil. 2:11.

3) As we have seen, every occurrence of the word “katergazomai” can be translated with the word “accomplish”.

The most logical conclusion is that Paul wrote in Phil. 2:12, “Accomplish your own salvation with fear and trembling”. But again, we know that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works. This is not a contradiction to that fact. This is the exact same principle that James spoke of when he wrote that “faith without works is dead”.

My point in this section is to show that the principle of our works proving our faith is a universal one. That is to say it is just as true in the dispensation of the mystery as it was in all other dispensations. So again, salvation has always been by grace through faith and works have always been for the purpose of proving one’s faith.

THE EQUALITY OF JEWISH AND GENTILE BELIEVERS

Many dispensationalists believe that because the body of Christ is made up of Jewish and Gentile believers who are equal in God’s sight, that the body of Christ began when that equality was first recorded.

We read of the equality of Jewish and Gentile believers in Gal. 3:26-28, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 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”. Many in the mid-Acts community believe that this passage proves that the equality of Jewish and Gentile believers was a fact during the Acts period, and therefore, they argue, that is when the church, the body of Christ began. But let us look again at this passage.

We read in Gal. 3:29, “And if ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed“. What did Paul mean by the phrase “Abraham’s seed”? Verse 7 answers that question quite succinctly, “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham”. This verse tells us that whoever is Christ’s by faith they are “the children of Abraham”. That means that all those who have faith are children of Abraham in that they, like Abraham, are believers. That means in turn, that all believers are Abraham’s seed. And Abraham’s seed includes Gentiles as well as Jews.

Along these same lines let us also consider Rom. 4:8-11, “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircmcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircimcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also”. Here too we see that Abraham is “the father of all them that believe”.

Coming back to Gal. 3 we see that Paul speaks of Abraham as the father of the Gentiles as well as Jews, i.e. the uncircimcision and the circumcision. He makes the point that Abraham was counted as righteous while still in uncircumcision, i.e. while still a Gentile. It makes no sense to say that “Abraham’s seed”, i.e. believing Jews and Gentiles, were not equal. If believing Gentiles were Abraham’s seed, they were equal to believing Jews. When did this equality begin? Surely if all believers, Jews and Gentiles, are Abraham’s seed, their equality goes all the way back to Abraham. That is to say, all Old Testament saints were believers which would make them all Abraham’s seed, which would make them equal.

It is true that this truth was not recorded until the New Testament, but like the truth that God is love was true before it was recorded, so too all believers, i.e. Jews and Gentiles from the time of Abraham on, were Abraham’s seed and therefore equal.

In short, the equality of believing Jewish and Gentile believers is not a truth new to the New Testament and cannot be used to set the time at which the body of Christ began.

THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION

Many in the mid-Acts community believe that the gospel of salvation is that Christ died for our sins. And because that truth is mentioned in regard to salvation in I Cor. 15:1-4, they believe that that is the “new” gospel of salvation for the present dispensation and therefore proves that the new dispensation began in the Acts period. But is that what one must believe in order to be saved? Please do not misunderstand, there is absolutely no question that the Word of God does indeed teach that Christ did die for our sins, and I believe that fully. But the question I would like to raise here is: what is the gospel of salvation? That is to say, what is the gospel that one must believe in order to be saved?

We read in Rom. 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…….”. The context does not tell us specifically what the gospel of Christ is. But we are told quite specifically that it is the gospel “unto salvation”. In other words, by determining what must be believed in order to be saved, we will then know what the gospel of Christ is.

Let us first consider the phrase, “gospel of Christ”. As we all know, “gospel” means “good news”. But the “of” is also an important word in this phrase. The “of” is the Genitive of Relation, which the Companion Bible defines as, “…..pertaining to”. So the gospel of Christ is the good news pertaining to Christ. We must, therefore, ask, what is that good news pertaining to Christ that is “unto salvation”? What about Christ must one believe in order to be saved?

To begin, it is interesting to note that only Paul used the term “the gospel of Christ”. That is not to say that Paul was the only apostle to preach the message of salvation, because he was not (this will be proved from Scripture). But it is to say that Paul was the only one to use the phrase “the gospel of Christ”. That being the case, I believe that it might be helpful to consider Paul’s conversion experience. What did Paul believe when he was converted?

We read of Paul’s own account of his salvation in Acts 26:13-15. “At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, ‘Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks’. And I said, ‘Who art Thou, Lord;’ And He said I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest”. The remainder of this passage records Christ’s instructions to Paul and is not really part of the salvation message.

What exactly was the message Paul heard from our Lord that turned him from a persecuter of believers to a believer himself? It was “I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest”. That was the message in its entirety that made Saul a believer. And that is exactly what the gospel of John 3:16 is, “whosoever believeth in Him (Who He is) shall …..have everlasting life”.

I believe that it would also be very helpful in determining what exactly one must believe in order to be saved if we consider Paul’s first message after his conversion. The very first time Paul preached after his conversion he preached that Christ is the Son of God. Acts 9:20 reads, “And straightway he preached Christ in the Synagogues, that He is the Son of God”.

And bearing in mind that the gospel of Christ is the “power of God unto salvation”, let us consider Acts 16:30-31. We read in that passage that when the jailer asked what he must do to be saved Paul’s response was “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved…”. What was it about Christ that the jailer needed to believe? Given that Paul’s first message after his conversion was that Christ is the Son of God, I believe we may conclude that the jailer too, needed to believe that Christ is the Son of God.

Why is the truth that Christ is the Son of God the good news that believing it is “the power of God unto salvation”? I believe the answer to that question lies in the fact that if Christ were a man only, and not God, He would not be perfect and therefore would have needed to die for His own sins, which of course, were nonexistent. But as the Son of God, i.e. God manifest in the flesh, He was sinless and could, and did, die for the sins of man.

As mentioned above, Paul was the only one to use the term “gospel of Christ”, but John also records the message that must be believed in order to be saved. Let us continue in this study with the following verses:

Jn. 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name”. What does it mean to “believe on His name“? “Name” is used as the figure of speech Metonymy of the Adjunct. That figure of speech is defined in the Companion Bible as, “When something pertaining to the subject is put for the subject itself”. In this case then, “name” is put for the Person, Jesus Christ.

3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.

3:18, “He that believeth on Him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already”.

6:40, “And this is the will of Him That sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day”.

6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life”.

11:25, “Jesus said unto her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live”.

20:30-31, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through His name“.

I John 4:15, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God”.

We read in Rom. 1:16 that the gospel of Christ is what one must believe in order to be saved. We have considered several passages that tell us that in order to be saved one must believe in Christ, i.e. that He is the Son of God. Logic demands then, that the gospel of Christ, i.e. the gospel that must be believed in order to be saved, is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

What is crucial in this particular study is that this message is certainly not new to Paul. As we saw in several of the verses quoted above from John’s gospel, our Lord Himself said that whoever believed in Him would be saved. That means that this truth was known in the Gospel period. If we are to conclude that the present dispensation began when a “new” gospel of salvation was preached, we must conclude that it began in the Gospel period. I know of no dispensationalist who believes that.

Now let us consider I Cor. 15:1-4 which is said by many in the mid-Acts community to be the “new” gospel unto salvation. “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, …….for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures“.

Many take this passage to say that the gospel of salvation is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. And yet, unlike the gospel of John 3:16 which explicitly says that that is what must be believed in order to be saved, Paul says that they had believed this gospel, he does not say that it must be believed in order to be saved. Furthermore, nowhere in all of God’s Word do we read that by believing in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ we will be saved. I suggest therefore, that we look beyond the surface and consider a few phrases that may not seem important on first reading, but are.

Paul speaks of the gospel by which they were saved. What was the gospel Paul had preached unto them by which they were saved? As we learned in the paragraphs above, one must believe in Christ in order to be saved. We must conclude therefore, that the gospel Paul preached to the Corinthians was the good news (“gospel) that Christ is the Son of God.

Let us consider the phrase in verse 3, “I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received”. The note in the Companion Bible on the phrase, “first of all” reads, “first of all = among (Gr. en. Ap. 104. viii 2) the first things”. So this phrase tells us that the message of Christ’s death and resurrection was among the first things Paul told the Corinthian believers. In point of fact, the message of Christ’s death and resurrection could not have been the very first thing Paul told them. Let me explain.

We know that only God is without sin. So if Christ was not the Son of God, but only a mere man, His death would have been to pay for His own sins ( of which He had none, of course). So in order for Christ’s death to have any meaning in terms of paying for the sins of others, Christ would have had to be sinless. Again, only God is sinless. Therefore when one accepts the truth of Christ’s payment for our sins, one has already accepted the truth of His being the Son of God. That is to say, for one to accept the truth of Christ having paid for his sins, it is already assumed that Christ is the Son of God because if He were not, He would not have been sinless and could not have paid for the sins of others.

Let us move on to the next point to be considered. The reader will note that Paul wrote “by which also ye are saved”. Who was he including in the word “also”? Considering that Paul speaks of this gospel as the one he preached unto them, I believe he was including the Corinthians and himself in the word “also”. In any case, I think we may be safe in assuming that Paul preached the same gospel he had heard when he was saved. We have already considered Paul’s conversion experience in the paragraphs above and learned that Paul was converted when he believed that “I am Jesus….”. That was the message in its entirety that made Saul a believer. And that is exactly what the gospel of John 3:16 is, “whosoever believeth in Him (Who He is) shall …..have everlasting life”.

Let us go on with our study of I Cor. 15:1-4. Note that twice Paul wrote “according to the scriptures”. What was his point? It must have been important because he stated it two times in this short passage. The point was that scriptures foretold Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. It is because Christ fulfilled those scriptures that we and the Corinthians know that He is indeed the Christ. In other words, the reason Paul and all believers were able to “believe in Him” was because they all knew that it was Christ about Whom the scriptures testified.

The message “unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16) that Paul preached to the Corinthians was not that Christ died, buried and rose again. It was that Christ fulfilled the scriptures that said He would die, be buried and rise again. And it was because He fulfilled scriptures that Paul and the Corinthians knew that Christ is the Son of God. So Paul taught the Corinthians the same message by which he was saved, which was the salvation message of John, “whosoever believeth in Him shall ….have everlasting life.

Let us then take another look at I Cor. 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you……..by which also ye are saved.”. (That gospel that was preached unto them was the same gospel by which Paul was saved when he believed Christ’s message to him, “I am Jesus…..”. .) “For among the first things I delivered unto you was that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures“.

This passage tells us that Paul had received and preached unto them the truth of Christ’s death and resurrection. But there is absolutely nothing in this passage that indicates that one must believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in order to be saved. (Again, I do indeed believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but that is not the question here.)

I have tried to prove from the Word of God that the gospel “unto salvation” is the good news that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. But let’s assume for the sake of argument that the gospel unto salvation is that Christ died for our sins. That is not a
“new” truth. We read in Is. 53:4-5, “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows……But He was wounded for our transgression, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed”.

So the view that the gospel unto salvation is “new” to the dispensation of the mystery is wrong on two counts. 1) The gospel unto salvation is not that Christ died for our sins, it is that Christ is the Son of God, and 2) that Christ died for our sins is not new to the present dispensation. Therefore, the preaching of the gospel unto salvation has nothing to do with when the present dispensation began or when the church of the present dispensation began.

THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD

We read in Acts 20:23-24, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more”.

Many who accept the mid-Acts position assume that because the wording is similar, that the “gospel of the grace of God” has to do with “the dispensation of the grace of God”. They reason that because we read of the gospel of the grace of God in Acts that the dispensation of the grace of God was first preached in the Acts period. Again, there are two errors in this thinking.

1) There is nothing, in terms of God’s grace, that is unique to the present dispensation. In other words, the present dispensation is not unique in any way in terms of God’s grace. In point of fact, what defines the present dispensation is the punishment of Israel for Her rejection of Her risen Messiah. That means that the present dispensation is characterized by an act of punishment. But punishment is the very opposite of grace. How can we call the present dispensation “the dispensation of grace” when it is characterized by God’s punishment of Israel when He set that nation aside?

I believe that God gave grace to Paul so that Paul might be a good steward of the dispensation of the mystery. The paper on this web-site Is The Present Dispensation Called The Dispensation Of Grace? gives the reasons for my belief that the dispensation of grace referred to in Eph. 3 is the grace given to Paul to preach the dispensation of the mystery.

2) The second error involved in the conclusion by some in the mid-Acts community that the dispensation of the grace of God began with the preaching of the gospel of the grace of God is a misunderstanding of what the good news is in the gospel of the grace of God. Let us come back to Acts 20:23-24 in order to learn from the context what that good news is.

I will quote verses 24-25, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more”.

In this passage Paul first speaks of continuing his ministry to “testify the gospel of the grace of God”. And then he says that he had preached the kingdom of God. There is no reason to assume that Paul’s message would change from what he had been preaching. He had been preaching “the kingdom of God”. If we take the meaning of the gospel of the grace of God from the context, we must conclude that the gospel of the grace of God is the good news concerning the kingdom of God.

The term “kingdom of God” is used in two ways in the Bible: 1) for Christ’s millennial reign over Israel and 2) for God’s reign of all believers as individuals. (Please see the paper on this web-site A Study Of The Kingdoms Of The New Testament for the scriptural evidence of this statement.) Given that Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, I do not believe that Paul uses it in Acts 20 in the first sense but in the second sense, i.e. of God’s reign of individual believers. Therefore, I believe that the gospel of the grace of God is the good news pertaining to the kingdom of God. That is to say, God’s grace is revealed, in part, by what the kingdom of God is.

Let us consider a few verses that tell of how God’s grace is exhibited in the kingdom of God.

Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”.

I Cor. 6:9-10, “….the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God….nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God”.

I Cor. 15:50, “…..flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”.

The kingdom of God is God’s perfect reign of the righteous. It is yet future and will be established at the second coming of Christ when the righteous will be resurrected. It will be a reign of “peace and joy”. Because “flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God”, obviously man’s mortal body will put on incorruptibility. In other words, there will be no death in the kingdom of God.

What is crucial in this study is that the kingdom of God is not something new to Paul. The kingdom of God was preached in the Gospel period. Furthermore, the kingdom of God is God’s reign of all believers of every dispensation. The term is used of believers of the Acts and post-Acts epistles of Paul. Therefore, it is nothing new and it is not limited to believers of one dispensation.

In short, the gospel of the grace of God has nothing to do with the dispensation of the grace of God, and the preaching of it certainly does not mean the beginning of a new dispensation.

BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST

Some in the mid-Acts community believe that to be baptized into Christ is to be baptized into the body of Christ. If that were true, they reason that the church which is His body began when believers were first said to be baptized into Christ. Once again, there are two errors in this thinking. Let us study the phrase as it appears in the KJV, “baptized into Christ”.

We read, in Gal. 3:27, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ”. What does it mean to be baptized “into Christ “? I believe that as we look at the Greek preposition translated “into” we will find the answer to that question.

The Greek preposition translated “into” in the phrase “baptized into Christ” is “eis”. The Companion Bible gives the following definition, “….it denotes motion to or unto an object, with the purpose of reaching or touching it….. . From this comes the idea of the object toward which such motion is directed…..”. As we add to the meaning of “unto” the fact that as many as were baptized unto Christ “have put on Christ” I believe we may conclude that those who are baptized unto Christ and “put on Christ” were made one with Him, or are identified with Him.

We read a similar thought in Rom. 6:3-4 where the same preposition (“eis”) is used. That passage reads, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into (eis, unto) Jesus Christ were baptized into (eis, unto) His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into (eis, unto) death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” The point of this passage is that believers were identified with Christ and His burial to such an extent that Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, could write that we are buried with Him, i.e. dead to sin. Paul could have written that we should consider ourselves buried with Him, but the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to express that thought in a much stronger way. To be baptized unto His death is more than to consider ourselves dead to sin. It is that we are made one with His death, i.e we are dead to sin. And being dead to sin we must walk in the “newness of life”.

I Cor. 10:1-2, carries the same thought in regard to Moses. “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses….”. Those who followed Moses out of Egypt identified with his faith.

To be baptized unto Jesus Christ then, means that we might be identified with Him in His death and resurrection. When we are baptized unto His death we are identifying with it, we are being made one with it, so that we might walk in the newness of life. Just as He was buried we are also buried through identification with it, i.e. through baptism. That baptism identifies us with His burial to the extent that we are dead to sins. And just as He was raised, we are, by baptism unto His resurrection, living in the newness of life.

My point is that believers are not baptized into Christ, they are baptized unto Christ. Therefore, the thought that believers who are baptized unto Christ are baptized into the body of Christ is based on an erroneous understanding of the Greek preposition “eis”. and is therefore, incorrect.

But let us return to Gal. where we read of being baptized unto Christ in order to determine at what point this baptism began. We read in Gal. 3:26-27, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into (should be “unto”) Christ have put on Christ.”

Are Old Testament saints children of God? We read in Rom. 8:14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God”. Were Old Testament saints led by the Spirit of God? Of course they were. That means that they were the children of God. And that means that all believers are children of God, that is a universal truth, i.e., a truth for all dispensations.

Let us go on to consider the next verse of Gal. 3, ” For as many of you as have been baptized into (should be “unto”) Christ have put on Christ.” Are we to say that all believers are children of God is a universal truth, but not that all believers are baptized unto Christ? I don’t believe that makes much sense.

In short, all believers are children of God, and all believers have been baptized unto Christ. That being the case, to be baptized unto Christ is not something that is new to the present dispensation. Therefore, we cannot say that because it is recorded in an Acts period epistle that believers were baptized unto Christ, that that is when the church which is His body began.

But some may object that believers who lived before Christ’s earthly ministry could not have been baptized unto Christ. Let us consider that objection. We read in Is. 40:3, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, ‘Prepare ye the way of Jehovah…..”. Then in Matt. 3:3 we read, “For this is he (John the Baptist) that was spoken of by the prophet Esais, saying, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord…..'”. We are told that John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy of Is. 40:3. Isaiah wrote of preparing the way of Jehovah, and John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy by preparing the way of Jesus Christ. That is one of the many reasons to conclude that Christ is Jehovah. (Please see the paper on this web-site Jesus Christ Is Both Jehovah And The Manifestation Of Jehovah for further proof of that statement.)

My point is that to be “baptized unto Christ” is to be identified with Jehovah because Jesus Christ is Jehovah, they are one and the same. Therefore, all believers of every dispensation are children of God, and all believers of every dispensation have been baptized unto (identified with) Christ.

Consider also the phrase “in Christ” as found in I Cor. 15:22, “…..in Christ shall all be made alive”. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all lived, of course, before Christ’s earthly ministry. But the fact that they too will be raised proves that those in Christ are all believers, even those who lived before the time of Christ. My point is that just as to be “in Christ” includes all believers, even those who lived before the Gospel period, so too does the phrase “baptized unto Christ” include all believers.

CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST

Some mid-Acts believers have suggested that because Paul was the first to preach that believers have been crucified with Christ, the church which is His body began with Paul. Let us carefully consider the passage in Romans 6 which speaks of being crucified with Christ.

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into (should be “unto”) Jesus Christ were baptized into (should be “unto”) His death. therefore we are buried with him by baptism into (should be “unto”) death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection: Knowing this that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin, for he that is dead is freed from sin” (Rom. 6:3-7).

Let us consider a few phrases of this passage. ” He that is dead is freed from sin”. Is that a new truth or is that true of all believers of every dispensation? The answer is too obvious to warrant further comment.

Let us continue with a consideration of the phrase, “our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin”. Certainly the concept is a universal truth. That is to say, it is true in every dispensation that when the body of sin is reckoned to be destroyed, the believer is then free to not serve sin.

“For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection”. Again, this is a concept that is a universal truth. All believers will be resurrected and all believers have, in a sense been “planted together in the likeness of His death”, by considering themselves dead unto sin.

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into (should be “unto”) Jesus Christ were baptized into (should be “unto”) His death.” All believers were baptized unto Jesus Christ. As mentioned in the section above, this baptism is one of identification with Christ. And because Christ is Jehovah, Old Testament believers are identified with Christ/Jehovah by their belief in Him.

In short, the concept of being crucified with Christ is not new to the New Testament, it is true of all believers and therefore, is not a truth that can mark the beginning of the dispensation of the mystery, or the church of the dispensation of the mystery.

This paper was written by Joyce Pollard. If you would like to respond please e-mail me at: [email protected]

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