Purpose Part 2

Rightly Dividing The Word II : Purpose Part 2

In this lesson, using scriptural references, we will continue to discover the purpose of God.

Ephesians 3:6

That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel

God’s purpose includes making the Jews and the Gentiles one within the same body, as He brings the Gentiles into salvation.

Ephesians 2:15

Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace Under the law,

God only dealt with the Jews, not the Gentiles. However, in Jesus Christ the twain (meaning two), became one new man. God has done a new thing; all have become one in 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 (Galatians 3:28).

Hebrews 8:7-9

7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the

land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

When the Jews did not obey the things that were contained in the law, as far as God was concerned, that meant that they did not regard Him. Therefore, God did not regard them. This is a principle that was carried over into the New Covenant. If you regard iniquity in your heart, God will not hear you (Psalm 66:18) regardless of who you are, because He regards no man’s personage (Romans 2:11). However, the Body of Christ does not give much credence to this principle. If you do not love, although you are a born again Christian, God will not hear your prayers because you have no fellowship with Him.

Hebrews 8:10-11

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

When God gave the Jews the law, He wrote them on tablets of stone and told them to obey them. However, as we have read in the scriptures, they did not obey the law. Therefore, under the New Covenant, God has done a new thing; He has taken the law and has written them in the heart of man and put them in their mind. He has done this by way of the Holy Ghost. When we receive the Holy Ghost, we receive the fulfillment of the law. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written

in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another (Romans 2:14-15) Whenever God comes into someone, they know it, because their nature changes.

Hebrews 8:13

In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

God has established a New Covenant and has made the Old Covenant obsolete. The New Covenant is Grace and Truth, the Covenant of Faith. Everything in the Old Covenant is of non- effect. Deuteronomy 28 with all its blessings has been done away with. Remember, God said He did away with the covenant that He made with them when He brought them out of Egypt. It would be unlawful for leaders to go into the Old Covenant and define faith for the Church. In the Old Covenant, there is no suffering, it was all blessings. Nevertheless, in the New Covenant, God has said, if we do not suffer with Him, we will not reign with Him. Just as Christ suffered in the flesh, we are to arm ourselves with the same mind (1 Peter 4:1). Under the New Covenant, our reward for living holy is suffering. It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come (Luke 17:1). One of the fruits of the Spirit is longsuffering. We are to forebear and suffer long with the offender. Jesus declares that we are to forgive our offender 490 times in one day. The Jews only suffered when they did not obey God. We, the Body of Christ, will suffer inside of obedience.

I Peter 3:8-9

8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

Not rendering evil for evil says there is a possibility that we will be faced with evil, and when someone brings it our way, we are to bless them. This is what we are called to, called to be

the object of offense. How can you have the mind of Christ that says, “turn the other cheek”, and then do evil to your offender at the same time? That is not the mind of Christ.

Ephesians 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in Christ We, who are in Christ are in he hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places

heavenly places, and the spiritual blessings that we receive are in Christ. Our blessings are not natural, as were the Jews’, under the Old Covenant. The purpose of God did not change, however, His methodology did. Under the Old Covenant He was operating under the Law, but now He operates by Grace and Truth. No one deserved His Grace, but He gave it to us because He loved us. His Grace is His undeserving love and His influence in the heart that’s reflected in the life. In other words, God will do something inside us. He will change our heart. That change will be seen in our life. For

this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people (Hebrews 8:10). How did God do this?

II Corinthians 4:6-7

6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

We have God living on the inside of us and He is influencing us from within. His methodology in Grace is different from His methodology under the Law. He has influenced us from the inside. His love is shown in that He has come to live inside of us so that His purpose can be fulfilled. Without His presence being in us, we could not please Him. Things change when God comes into us. It is more than just repeating a prayer and someone

telling you that you are saved. When He comes in, you change, because you have been given the whole Godhead, living inside you. When He comes to live inside of us, our desires, appetites and feelings about people change immediately. How does this happen? God’s influence on the inside causes this to happen.