Why Are There Old Testament Quotes In The Prison Epistles? | Right Word Truth
WHY ARE THERE OLD TESTAMENT QUOTES IN THE PRISON EPISTLES?
There are eight Old Testament passages quoted in the prison epistles. If Israel was set aside at Acts 28, and I believe She was, why are there any Old Testament quotes in the prison epistles? I will address that question as we consider the following Old Testament quotes in the prison epistles:
EPHESIANS 1:22
EPHESIANS 4:8
EPHESIANS 4:25
EPHESIANS 5:14
EPHESIANS 5:31
EPHESIANS 6:2
I TIMOTHY 5:18
II TIMOTHY 2:19
EPHESIANS 1:22
I will quote this passage from verse 19 through 23. The phrase in italics is the Old Testament quote. “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the church, which is His body the fulness of Him That filleth all in all”.
In this passage we have the truth that God will, “put all things” under Christ’s feet. There are two questions which I believe should be asked. 1) What does it mean to have all things put under “His feet”?. And 2) What are the “all things” in this context that will be put under His feet?
1) What does it mean to have all things put under “His feet”? As we look at three Old Testament passages that use the phrase “under my/our feet”, we will see that it implies a conquering. We read, for example, in II Sam. 22:39, “And I have consumed them and wounded them that they could not arise: Yea, they are fallen under my feet”. And Ps. 18:38 reads, “I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: They are fallen under my feet”. And Ps. 47:3, “He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet”.
2) Our second question is: What are the “all things” in this context (i.e. Eph. 1) that will be put under His feet? The “all things” in this context is principalities, powers and might and dominion and “every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come”.
It is important to distinguish between the things that will be “put under His feet” and the church over which Christ is the head. The church will not be “under His feet” and is therefore not included in the Old Testament prophecy. That is to say, Christ has not conquered the church. His relationship to the church as Head to body is very beautifully expressed in Eph. 6 where it is compared to the relationship of husband to wife. That is a loving and nurturing relationship, not one of Conqueror to conquered. Again my point is that the church which is His body is not included in this prophecy.
I would like to point out another reason for saying that the church is not part of the prophecy. The dispensation of the mystery, in which the church is being built, was a secret hid in God and was revealed to Paul. Therefore, the Psalmist who wrote Ps. 8 from which the phrase “put all things under His feet” was quoted, could not possibly have had the church in mind when he wrote the prophecy. So the Old Testament quote cannot and does not include the church of the dispensation of the mystery.
As mentioned above, the phrase “hath put all things under His feet” is quoted from Ps. 8:6 which is a Psalm of praise of God as Creator, and asks the question, “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him”. The Psalmist answers this question in the following verses, “For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and has crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou has put all thing under his feet”. In my opinion, this Psalm may be taken to refer to man and to a fuller extent to Christ as the “second Adam”.
So we learn from this Psalm that Christ is to be exalted above all things, the context telling us that the “all things” refers to all things of creation.
I Cor. 15:26-27 also quotes this phrase from Ps. 8:6, “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. for He hath put all things under his feet. But when He saith, ‘all things are put under Him’, it is manifest that He is excepted Which did put all things under Him”. We learn from this context, death has also been conquered, i.e. put under His feet.
So in each of these Scriptures that use the phrase “put all things under His feet” we have an added element of what will be put under Him. This is the definition of “progressive revelation”. Progressive revelation is that which is revealed at different times but concern the same subject. Does that mean that each progressive revelation is unveiled in a different dispensation? Of course not. That is to say, no matter what point one believes marks the beginning of the dispensation of the mystery, the Old Testament, the middle of the Acts period, or the period after Acts (which is when Psalms, I Corinthians and Ephesians were written respectively) cannot be included in the same dispensation.
In short, I believe that the prophecy of Christ having all things put under His feet is a dispensational prophecy in that it will be fulfilled in a specific, yet future dispensation. But because the church is not one of those things that the prophecy includes, the dispensational truths concerning the church which is His body is not affected by the prophecy. That is to say, the prophecy quoted in Eph. 1:22 does not concern the church, and therefore does not affect the dispensational truths concerning the present dispensation.
Let us consider the question posed in the title of this paper “why are there Old Testament quotes in the prison epistles?. The Old Testament quote in Eph. 1:22 is a further revelation as to what will be put under Christ’s feet. Is it significant that this revelation was completed in Ephesians? Possibly it is. That is to say, we have learned in Ephesians that Christ will have under His feet “every name that is named”, etc. In other words, anything more than creation and death that could possibly exist will be under His feet. That certainly fits the truth revealed so perfectly in Ephesians that Christ is the “fulness (Gr. “pleroma, i.e. completeness) of Him that filleth all in all”. So it is not at all surprising that the epistle that tells us of the completeness of Christ, also tells us of the completeness of the all things that will be under His feet. But again, this is a very separate prophecy from the revelation of the church which is His body, and therefore has no dispensational significance apart from the fact that it will be fulfilled in a specific dispensation.
EPHESIANS 4:8
We read in Eph. 4:7-8, “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore He saith, ‘When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men’”.
This is a quote from Ps. 68:18. In that context the phrases that are quoted in Ephesians are part of a Psalm of praise for the God of Israel. Ephesians is a “fuller fulfillment” of Psalm 68. By that I mean, for example, where the Psalmist writes, “Thou hast ascended on high”, he is speaking of the fact that in this context the “on high” refers to the mount “as in Sinai, in the holy place” (vs. 17). But in Ephesians the context is obviously about Christ’s ascension to the heavens where He now dwells.
Let us try to understand what this verse in Eph. 4 tells us. What does the phrase, “He led captivity captive” mean? The only other time the Greek word translated “captivity” is used is in Rev. 13:10 which reads, “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity…..”. In this verse it is very clear that “captivity” is the state of being held captive”. I believe that Paul uses it the same way in Eph. 4:8.
What does it mean in Ephesians? Note that this leading into captivity of Eph. 4:8 was accomplished “When He ascended up on high”. His resurrection and ascension was the act that conquered death. Therefore, I believe that it is the state of death that is referred to in Eph. 4:8 as “captivity”. So when Christ ascended He took captive, i.e. He conquered, the state of death so that it could no longer hold believers in its grasp.
Does this have dispensational implications? I do not believe it does. The conquering of death by the resurrection and ascension of Christ is a universal truth. It therefore does not change from one dispensation to another.
Now let us consider the phrase, “and gave gifts unto men”. These gifts were given at the ascension of Christ, i.e. at the beginning of the Acts period. What were these gifts given at Christ’s ascension? They are listed in verse 11, “and He gave some apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers”. What were the reasons for these gifts? Verse 12, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”.
Does the term “body of Christ in Eph. 4:11 refer to the church which is His body exclusively? I do not believe it does. The term is also used in I Cor. 12:27. So let us consider the context of I Cor. 12:27. The chapter begins with “Now concerning spiritual gifts…”, and continues with a discussion of those gifts to the end of the chapter. I believe the main point of this chapter is found in verses 25-26, “That there should be no schism in the body: but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it: or one member be honoured, all members rejoice with it”. The point of this chapter is that spiritual gifts should not cause problems among the members of the church at Corinth. In short, this chapter deals with a problem in this particular church, it does not speak of the church in the sense of all believers of the Acts period.
Let us come back then to Ephesians. The term “the church which is His body” is obviously used to mean the church of the dispensation of the mystery. That is to say, it is not a local church that is the “fulness of Him That filleth all in all”. On the other hand, the term “the body of Christ” used in I Cor. 12 is used to remind the believers of Corinth that because they are all equal in Christ they should treat each other accordingly. In other words, the two terms can not be equated; one speaks of all believers of the present dispensation while the other speaks of believers of one local church, the church at Corinth which certainly cannot be said to be the “fulness of Him That filleth all in all”.
Note also the phrase in Eph. 4:12, “for the perfecting of the saints“. Believers in every dispensation are saints. I believe therefore that the gifts that were given at the ascension of Christ were for believers of the Acts period and believers of the post Acts period.
So just as Christ’s ascension is said to have lead the state of death captive is a universal truth, so too the giving of gifts was for the edification of the saints of the Acts dispensation as well as the saints of the present dispensation. That is to say, the gifts transcend dispensations. They were given for the benefit of believers who lived after Christ’s ascension, regardless of the dispensation in which they lived.
Let us again consider the question as to why there was an Old Testament quote in a prison epistle. As I have tried to show above, this prophecy was fulfilled at Christ’s ascension, The first part is a universal truth and the second part affected believers in both the Acts period and beyond. Because it affects the church of the dispensation of the mystery, it is quoted in a prison epistle. But the fact that it is an Old Testament quote has no dispensational implications.
EPHESIANS 4:25
Eph. 4:21-25 reads, “If so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man…..and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which is after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour; for we are members one of another”.
The phrase “speak every man truth with his neighbour” is a quote from Zech. 8:16. Zech. 8:16-17 reads, These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: and let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath; for all these are things that I have hated saith the Lord”.
Does the fact that the Old Testament is quoted in a prison epistle tell us anything about dispensational truth? It does not in this context. Why not? Because the fact that God hates a false oath and a man lying to his neighbor does not change with a different dispensation. God does not change. How He manages His household may change, but He does not. Therefore, we may conclude that God hates some things throughout all dispensations, and those things do not change. That gives this particular quote universal application, i.e. it is not nullified or even weakened by a change of dispensations.
So in answer to our question, the quote of the Old Testament in a prison epistle has no dispensational significance because the quote is a universal truth.
EPHESIANS 5:14
We read in Eph. 5:13-15, “But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light; for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore He saith, ‘Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.’ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise”. The Companion Bible note on this verse tells us that the quote is “a paraphrase of Is. 60:1-2″. That passage reads, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of they rising” (Is. 60:1-3).
The two passages quoted above give us an interesting combination of dispensational and universal truths. The passage in Isaiah is dispensational. Let us consider that passage. Note the phrase “but the Lord shall rise upon thee and His glory shall be seen upon thee”. This tells us that this is a millennial prophecy, as it will not be until the Lord returns that ” His glory shall be seen upon thee”, i.e. Israel. The word “but” tells us that this is a contrast. It is a contrast between the glory that is upon Israel and the “gross darkness” that shall cover the “people”, i.e. the Gentiles. As the reader may see from the paper on this web-site on the kingdom of Heaven, during the millennial reign of Christ believers will live on the earth in the Land of Israel and unbelievers who will be alive at the time of the second coming will also live on earth until they die, but outside the land. Therefore, there will be glory in the land of Israel and “gross darkness” outside the Land. Obviously this passage in Is. 60 is dispensational truth in that it applies to only one dispensation, i.e. the millennium.
But, as we have seen, part of this passage is “paraphrased” in a prison epistle, i.e. Ephesians. Does that tell us that Ephesians was written to believers who will be effected by the millennial reign? Of course not. How do we know that? Isaiah 60 speaks of conditions on the earth, but we are told quite clearly in Eph. 2:6 that our calling is not to earth, but to heaven. That verse tells us that God “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. (I do not want to get too far off the track to discuss the calling of the church. I believe that the paper on the calling of the church will prove from Scripture that the church is indeed called to heaven, not earth)
We must conclude therefore, that while it is true that the passage from which the quote in Eph. 5:14 comes is dispensational, that does not mean, that the passage in Ephesians is also dispensational. Let us consider the Ephesians passage in order to determine if it is dispensational or universal truth.
To begin, we must note that it comes, not in the doctrinal part of the epistle, but in the so-called “walk portion” of it. That is to say, Eph. 5 is part of the last three chapters of the epistle that addresses our walk as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In order to understand Eph. 5:14 we must put it in context. Therefore, I will quote Eph. 5:6-15. (This is from the NASB because I believe it is much easier to get the sense of the passage from that translation.) “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of the Light……, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. but all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, ‘Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you’. Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise….”.
I believe this passage tells us that as children of Christ, Who is the Light, we should do those things which please Him. Those things that please Him are those things which are done in the light, and those things which displease Him are those things done in darkness. It is clear from verse 15 (“therefore be careful how you walk”) that this passage is one which has to do with our daily walk with Christ. It tells us that we should walk in the light, even as He is light (see Jn. 1:7). That does not change with a different dispensation, that is a universal truth.
I am suggesting therefore, that the passage from which Eph. 5:14 is paraphrased, is indeed dispensational in nature, but Paul used that passage to make an entirely different point, a point that is not dispensational, but is universal.
Again, in answer to our question, even though the quote of the Old Testament is dispensational in character, Paul uses it to make a point that is universally true therefore, there is no dispensational significance in this Old Testament quote.
EPHESIANS 5:31
We read in Eph. 5:25-32, “Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it……so ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: for we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the church”.
The phrase “for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh” is quoted from Gen. 2:24, and refers, of course, to Adam and Eve in particular, but is obviously a universal truth. That is to say, all husbands and all wives of every dispensation are to leave their parents because the “two shall be one flesh”.
Does the fact that Paul uses an Old Testament quote to describe the relationship of Christ to the church have dispensational connotations? I think not. The relationship of husband to wife is a universal truth that was established with Adam and Eve. The fact that Paul uses that universally true example to describe the relationship of Christ to the church does not, in my opinion, imply that the church began with Adam and Eve.
Here too, because Paul uses the Old Testament to make a universally true point the Old Testament quote does not impact in any way the dispensational aspects of this prison epistle.
EPHESIANS 6:2-3
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise). That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth”.
This is, of course one of the ten commandments given to Israel. Is Paul saying that we should observe the Mosaic Law and particularly the the ten commandments? I believe not. I believe that Paul is saying that to honor one’s parents is the right thing to do. In other words, everyone should honor their parents, if for no other reason than because”this is right”. Is doing the right thing a universal or a dispensational requirement of believers? I believe the answer is obvious. Here again, this is a universal truth.
Once again, because Paul uses the Old Testament to make a universally true point the Old Testament quote does not impact in any way the dispensational aspects of this prison epistle.
I TIMOTHY 5:18
I Tim. 5:17-18 reads, “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture saith, ‘Thou shall not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn’…..”. This is a quote from Deut. 25:4. The context in Deuteronomy has to do with various laws and, in my opinion, this verse in Deut. concerns how Israel should treat an animal, i.e. the ox.
Paul also quotes Deut. 25:4 in I Cor. 9:9. The ninth chapter of I Corinthians is Paul’s defense of his apostleship. We read in verse 1, “Am I not an apostle?…..” And in verse 2, “If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you…..”. In verses 6-7 we read, “Or I only and Barnabas have not we power to forbear working? who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock and eateth not of the milk of the flock?” And then in verse 9 we read, “For it is written in the law of Moses, ‘Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn’. Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith He it altogether for our sakes? for our sakes, no doubt…..”. In this context Paul is applying what the law says about an animal to his own situation. He is saying in effect that if an animal can partake of the fruits which it helps to bring about, so too should man in general, and himself in particular, partake of the fruits.
My point is that Paul is using the principle of one partaking in that for which it, or he, has labored. This principle is, of course a universal one.
With that in mind let us return to I Tim. 5:18. The principle of one partaking in the fruits for which he has labored is just as true in the present dispensation as it was in the previous dispensation, even as it was in the Old Testament. It is a principle that is true for all times. Therefore, there are no dispensational connotations in I Tim. 5:18 in the fact that Paul quoted part of the Mosaic Law.
II TIMOTHY 2:19
We read in II Tim. 2:16-19, “But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. and their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some, nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His, and Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity”.
The note in the Companion Bible on this verse tells us that the first quote is from Numbers 16:5 and the second one “may allude to Numbers 16:26″. Let us consider that passage from Numbers.
Numbers 16 tells of the situation where Korah and 250 of Israel went to Moses and said to him, “Ye take too much upon you, …….wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?” (Num. 16:3) Moses answered this rebuke by saying, “Even to morrow the Lord will shew who are His, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto Him: even him whom He hath chosen will He cause to come near unto Him” (Num. 16:5). We learn from this chapter that the Lord intended to, and did, punish those who were guilty of this offense to Moses, God’s anointed. We read in verses 20-21, “And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron saying, ‘Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment’”. Then in verse 26 we read of Moses asking Israel to separate themselves from the wickedness of Korah. “And he spake unto the congregation, saying, ‘Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins’”.
I believe that Paul alluded to Numbers 16 because there is a parallel between Korah as told in Numbers 16 and Hymenaeus and Philetus as told in II Tim. In both cases there was rebellion. Korah rebelled against the leadership of God’s anointed, and Hymenaeus and Philetus rebelled against God’s truth concerning the resurrection.
What does this comparison tell us about dispensational truth? In my opinion, it tells us nothing. Paul is simply drawing on the history of his people to make a point. The point is that believers must separate themselves from those who may lead them to rebellion and/or error concerning God’s truth. This is a universal truth, it transcends dispensational boundaries.
CONCLUSION
We have looked at all eight of the Old Testament quotes in the prison epistles with a view of answering the question why are there Old Testament quotes in the epistles written to believers of the dispensation of the mystery? What conclusions may be drawn from the study of these verses?
The conclusion I have come to is that we are asking the wrong question. In my opinion, the question should not be “why are there Old Testament quotes in the prison epistles?, the question should be “why wouldn’t Paul use Old Testament quotes in the prison epistles”? The entire Bible is the inspired Word of God. The fact that Israel has been set aside as God’s chosen nation does not change that truth.
In point of fact, I am sometimes quite discouraged when I see studies of such things as predestination, of the doctrine of the trinity, of the message of repentance etc., because most of those studies begin with the New Testament. In my view, if one began those studies with the Old Testament, they would, in all probability, come to a very different conclusion.
In short, the putting aside of Israel did not change the fact that the Old Testament is still the Word of God, and that there are numerous universal truths to be gleaned from it.
This paper was written by Joyce Pollard. If you would like to respond please e-mail me at: [email protected]