Posted by Ray Kidder on 8/20/2009, 7:27 pm, in reply to "Re: Other parts of Matthew's gospel"
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Searcher,
You wrote that "The beginning of God's plan for the earth is revealed in Gen 12:1-3, that the Jewish race should be the means of blessing to the whole Gentile world."
This is Genesis 12:1-3 (NKJV):
1 Now the LORD had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
In my opinion, the beginning of God's plan for the earth was revealed back with the story of Adam in the Garden of Eden, for I view Adam as a figure of the Christian life that was to come. In addition, I view Cain and Abel as prophetic of both Jesus and Judas Iscariot. I agree that the Abram was the father of blessings for many nations, but this can be explained several ways:
1. Abraham's example of faith was an inspiration to those who are saved by faith.
2. The religious teachings of that God gave to Abraham to pass on to his descendants promoted the Judaism that continues to this day.
3. The reverence given to Adraham by seveal faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) is a testament to the ways he blessed those of western religions. This has promoted the belief that God works through revelations given at various times through history.
I do not consider the Jews to be a race, but rather a religous group. I admit that Jews have promoted racial views about themselves, but this sort of thing has promoted errors, and has probably been a contributing factor in their rejection of Jesus. This may also be true among Arab Muslins as well, but I am less cartain about this.
If the Jews did not become jealous of Jesus, causing them to reject Jesus with the promotion of His crucifiction, how could the salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus come about? I view the murder of Abel by Cain as prophetic of God's method of bringing salvation to humanity through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Aren't the Christians today's nation of Abraham, since they are counted as his seed (mentioned in Galatians 3)?
You also wrote:
"It depended on the repentance of Israel. It was required of them to repent and to believe. They not only crucified their Lord, they killed His prophets and rejected His re-offer of the kingdom and of His coming during Acts. The final blow came at the end of Acts when the Jews were given a final chance. They did not believe. They turned away."
What makes you think that this rejection here in Acts 28 (NKJV) was a cause for a new dispensation that caused a cessation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit?:
23 So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.
24 And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.
25 So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers,
26 saying,
‘ Go to this people and say:
“ Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand;
And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”’
28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!”
29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves.
How is this different from evangelization efforts throughout history where Christians speak with non-Christians about the gospel, and some are receptive, and others disbelieve or reject the gospel because they prefer another religion? The only differences I sense were the attachments St. Paul had for his fellow Jews, and his attempts to move them (with jealosy of the gentiles) unto their conversion. Some of them were apparently converted at this time.
Why would God use gifts of the Holy Spirit for only part of the first century, and then stop them for all times and at all places ever since?
Ray Kidder
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