417 - Les Feldick Bible Study Lesson 3 - Part 1 - Book 35 - The Counsel of the Godhead

https://lesfeldickbiblestudy.com Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 3 * PART 1 * BOOK 35 THE COUNSEL OF THE GODHEAD Remember we were dealing with the earthly and heavenly aspect when all things would be one under Christ in His 1000 year reign. Let's read that verse again and pick up where we left off on our Ephesians timeline. Ephesians 1:10 Now reading on in verse 10. So in the two previous chapters we took the premise that beginning way back in Genesis chapter 12, God started dealing with one little nation in particular, the earthly people, Israel. From Adam to Abraham was about 2000 years, and then 2000 before Christ we had the appearance of Abraham, and the Nation of Israel. From Genesis chapter 12 until we get well into the Book of Acts it's primarily, but not exclusively, God dealing with Jew only. In God's Sovereign Grace He did send Jonah to Ninevah, a Gentile city. This verse refers back to the time of Stephen's martyrdom, which was about seven years after Pentecost. Acts 11:19 The Book makes it so plain that as these believing Jews, who had followed Christ, probably in His earthly ministry, or had responded to Peter and those eleven preaching in the early chapter of Acts, because of Saul's persecution had fled Jerusalem, had gone as far north as Antioch in Syria, but wherever they went they preached the Word to Jews only. People have such a hard time swallowing that. Christ came only to the Jew, and when Israel rejected Him, then yes, He's going to turn to the Gentiles, and we'll see that next in our timeline." II Peter 3:8 Now in verse 22 of Acts chapter 2 we find Peter speaking on the day of Pentecost, and look who he is talking to. God is still dealing only with the Jew, the Nation of Israel. Acts 2:22 "Ye men of Israel, (and you Gentiles? "Then Peter said unto them, (these Jews, the children of Israel) `Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.'" Believe that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah, repent and be baptized in water. Let's start at verse 2, because I want people to see who Peter and Stephen were talking to. The Jew!) Now you analyze those two verses, does that fit a Gentile? No that wouldn't fit Gentiles. Gentiles' fathers didn't persecute the prophets, but Israel's did. "We'll not have Jesus of Nazareth to rule over us. Where God has finally left off dealing with the Nation of Israel, and He's going to do something totally different. I guess we might as well start right with verse 1. 5. And he said, `Who art thou Lord?...'" ( Jehovah) You want to remember that Saul was a deeply religious man. Remember anybody that is religious certainly has a concept, whoever their God is, that he's up above. Jehovah was the God of Abraham. Well what answer did Saul get for his question? "...I am Jesus whom thou persecutest:..." What an experience Saul had when he heard that voice from Heaven say, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." Well remember God always works the ends into the middle. So while He's dealing outside the city with Saul, He's dealing in the city with Ananias. So now let's drop all the way down to verse 11. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 10? Matthew 10:5 Now reading on in verse 16, here in Acts chapter 9. Acts 9:16 It's not limited to Gentiles, but as much as it was Jew only back here when God was dealing with Israel, with a few exceptions. Now we have something totally different happening, God is now pulling out another group of people for His name which we call the Church, or the Body of Christ. It is mainly made up of Gentiles, with the exceptions of a few Jews. Here you have Jew only with a few Gentile exceptions, and now we have predominately Gentiles, but with some Jewish exceptions. Israel goes out into the nations of the world into a dispersion even unto our own present day. Go back and look at some Scriptures concerning Paul's ministry. Let's stop at Romans 16:25. This verse uses language that I'm afraid very few people, if they read it, comprehend it. Very few people understand what Paul is saying in this tremendous verse. Paul's Gospel had been kept secret in the mind of God since time began. "Simeon (Peter) hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them (the Gentiles) a people for his name. "That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, (this had never been revealed before. But now even James has a little bit of insight that since Paul's Gospel has been revealed, and it's primarily for the Gentile world then yes, God is going to call out a people for His name. And it's going to be the Gentiles who are going to hear it) upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. 18. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world." #lesfeldick #biblestudy #bible