The Apostle Paul was a busy man. He was constantly on the move, so much so that he did not have time, and in some cases the opportunity, to visit with the Gentile churches which he had founded since the call to God’s ministry had completely taken over his life. Therefore, in order to teach people whom he might or might not be able to visit, he wrote letters (Epistles) to them which the pastor of each church would then read to his congregation. This was necessary because most of them would have been illiterate and unable to read Paul’s letters. It is for this reason that, in the Jewish synagogues located in the cities of that part of the world, religious leaders would read the Old Testament aloud at various times during the day. Those who could not read would go to their local synagogue when they could in order to hear God’s Word read and discussed. The listeners also included local Gentiles who stood outside the meeting area where they could hear the readers. The synagogue teachers, usually local priests, would read the Tora (first five books of the Bible written by Moses), the writings of the prophets and the law of Moses, which was not actually his law, but the law that God told him to record in a book. This was the law that was ADDED to the Ten Commandments (Gal. 3:19). God had forced the people of Israel to obey the added (sacrificial) law because they had refused to obey His Ten Commandments that He has written on stone tablets. It was the sacrificial law of Moses that was done away with upon the death of Jesus Christ Whose blood and body (symbolized by wine and bread) took the place of the blood and flesh sacrifices.

A major problem that Paul and the other apostles faced was the belief of many Jews and some Gentiles that the New Testament Church must was required by God to obey certain parts of the added law–, circumcision being the prime example. Their insistence on circumcision in order to receive justification is the focus of Romans chapters three through five. Many, today almost all, church people believed that Jesus did away with the Ten Commandment Law on the cross. However, He specifically said that He had not come to earth to do away with the Law or the writings of the prophets (Mat. 5:17), but rather to FULFILL them. Read about the word “fulfill” in the previous series.

In chapter one verses four through seven Paul states that God had long ago ordained His saints to be holy and without blame by obeying His Law, thereby proving their love for Him (Jn. 14:15; 15:10). It was God’s will that people be adopted by Jesus Christ so as to highlight His (God’s) GRACE by which saints would be made acceptable by being IN CHRIST spiritually. To be IN CHRIST one had to obey the Ten Commandment Law (1 Jn. 3:24). The Lord defined sin as the breaking of that Law (1 Jn. 3:4). It is by God’s grace that Jesus shed His blood in order to REDEEM (through justification) those who would make Jesus their LORD (master). In other words, to be IN HIM. God proves His great love for those people by REMOVING ALL PAST SINS through an act of grace known Biblically as JUSTIFICATION. Without justification, one cannot be IN CHRIST for, as with His Father, there is “NO SIN (DARKNESS) IN HIM AT ALL” (1 Jn. 1:5). Let us go back a few verses to lay the groundwork for the rest of the series.

In chapter one verses one and two we find Paul addressing his epistle to the true Christians in the Ephesian Church whom he characterized as being “faithful IN CHRIST” who worshiped and served God and the LORD Jesus Christ. Also, and equally as important, is the fact that Paul did not call Jesus the saints’ Savior, but rather their LORD. It is vitally important that we understand the difference between Jesus being one’s Lord and His being one’s Savior. A LORD MUST BE OBEYED TOTALLY. This is necessary in order to receive salvation. If Jesus is not one’s LORD in this life, He will not be one’s Savior in the next life. What God commands us to obey is called the HOLY BIBLE, and nothing else. This rule includes church doctrine which is man’s version of what God wrote. Read Luke 10:16 for Christ’s opinion of church doctrine.

In verses eight through ten Paul explains that God had given to him and those whom he led to the Lord the wisdom to understand the “mystery of His will.” That mystery, Paul notes, is that in the fullness of (the end) times, God will gather together into ALL THINGS IN HEAVEN (ANGELS) AND ON EARTH (SAINTS) IN CHRIST. This is brought out in Second Thessalonians 1:7 where we are told that when Jesus returns to earth He will bring with him “all of His mighty angels” (things of heaven). It is at that point that He will raise from the earth both the dead and the living who have obeyed Him during their converted lives (will have obeyed Him as their LORD, meaning IN HIM). He will meet the risen saints in the clouds. Together they will descend to the Mount of Olives and from there they will enter Jerusalem where Jesus will establish the Kingdom of God which will be their home forever. Read about this kingdom using the key word–Kingdom. Read about the resurrection of the saints using the key word–Resurrections. Note especially the First Resurrection. The Holy Scriptures tell us that the dead in Christ since Abel are still in their graves. Read about Life After Death, key word–Life.

In verses eleven through fourteen Paul takes us into the spiritual arena of the saint’s INHERITANCE. Here he tells God’s true saints that are IN CHRIST that they have an inheritance. This inheritance is predestined (guaranteed) to those like the original Christians and apostles who were the first to trust in Christ and who lived to bring Him praise and glory. It was in Him that the churches the apostles established also trusted after they heard the WORD OF TRUTH–THE GOSPEL THAT, IF OBEYED, WOULD RESULT IN THEIR SALVATION UPON CHRIST’S RETURN TO EARTH. Having trusted in Christ’s Gospel, true believers were SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT HAD BEEN PROMISED TO TRUE SAINTS. That Spirit is the guarantee of the salvation God has PROMISED TRUE SAINTS. The guarantee will end when Jesus returns to REDEEM THE PURCHASED POSSESSION–GOD’S SAINTS (Rev. 1:4,8) Jesus paid the ultimate price for mankind’s promised inheritance (salvation). The Holy Spirit is given to true saints as the guarantee that they will receive that inheritance IF they obey His Law.

It is on that point that billions of salvation seekers have fallen away from God (His Word–2 Thes. 2:3) because of a lack of study of the Gospel and belief in it. The Apostle Peter warned that this was already happening in the early church. He noted that some people were moving away from God’s Word by twisting Paul’s statements to mean what they did not actually mean. In Second Peter 3:16 the apostle writes concerning the statements made by Paul that some of them are hard to understand, prompting ignorant and unstable people to twist them in order to make them mean what they wanted them to mean. Today, man’s twisted versions of Paul’s, and other apostles’ statements, are called “church doctrine.”

We must always remember that the Apostle Paul was God’s apostle to the Gentiles. Anything Paul wrote relative to their previous life is based on the fact that, unlike the Jews, they had no previous knowledge of the Old Testament, the Law, the Biblical God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit. It is true that Paul’s writings are indeed “hard to understand.” If the Apostle Peter, a close friend and ministry brother, had that to say about his writings, it is understandable that we will also struggle with Paul’s messages. As I have admitted before on this website, I once grew so frustrated with Paul’s writings that, in a display of frustration, I destroyed a Bible. I became enraged trying to understand why he wrote in one place that we are not under the law, then in another place–in the same book (Romans)–he wrote that we are all under the law as long as we live. Thankfully, God forgave me and allowed me to grow in Him and, through hundreds of hours of Bible study under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, come to understand what Paul is saying. So if you have a problem with Paul’s messages, you are not alone. L.J.