Message 41- By Leroy Surface
“I Sought For a Man…”
(to save the church)
A Brief Introduction
“And
I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the
gap before me…”
Ezekiel
22:30
When God “swore by Himself”
to bless Abraham, He said, “…and in thy
seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” In that day, there was no Jew and there was
no nation of Israel. The promise of
salvation through Jesus Christ was to “all
the nations of the earth.” Almost
two thousand years later, Christ came to suffer and die to take away the sin of
the world. He arose again and told His
apostles to “go into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature (every person).” He ascended to the Father
and sent the Holy Ghost to fill His disciples.
The greatest revival in the history of the world broke out among the
Jews in Jerusalem, but there was not one among them who was willing to preach
Jesus to the Gentiles. They were bound
to their Old Covenant tradition that salvation was of, and for, the Jew
only. God “sought for a man” to carry the gospel to the Gentiles, and found
that man in “Saul of Tarsus.”
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“I Sought For a Man…”
(to save the church)
And judgment is turned away backward, and justice
standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot
enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that
departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased
him that there was no judgment. And he
saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor:
Isaiah 59:14-16
And I sought for a man among them, that should make up
the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land…
Ezekiel 22:30
In Ezekiel 22:25-30, God
explains to His prophet why He brought King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon against
Jerusalem to destroy it. He describes in
detail the depraved condition of the children of Israel in that day, beginning
with their prophets, priests, princes, and throughout the population in
general. They were all motivated by
greed and selfish gain. The following is
a diagnosis of the problem given to Ezekiel by God Himself:
“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst
thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they
have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in
the midst thereof. Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy
things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have
they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their
eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her
princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed
blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. And her
prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and
divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath
not spoken. The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery,
and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger
wrongfully. And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and
stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”
What words could better describe the world around us today? It would be very easy to begin at this text
and bring yet another indictment against the religious and political climate in
America as we see our nation failing before our eyes, and seemingly there is
nothing anyone can do to stop it.
America has been judged for her sins just as we have warned for many
years that she would be. The reality is
that I have had very little inclination to “warn”
America since 2008 which brought the end of what God had said was America’s “space for repentance.” We, as a nation, are “eating the fruit of our own ways,” and no one can stop the free
fall unless there is a mass turning to God through His Son Jesus Christ, just
as God says in Joel 2:12-13; “…turn ye even to me with all your heart,
and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and
not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and
merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”
Notice that God says in our text, Ezekiel 22:30, “…I sought for
a man among them….” God had Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, each
of whom were faithful prophets. He had
Daniel and the three Hebrew children, along with Mordecai and Esther, all of
which were faithful to God even when threatened with certain death. There are a few faithful prophets and pastors
in America. There are those faithful
saints who weep and mourn for the loss of our nation, and I know that it is due
to their intercession at the altar of God that we will yet see a harvest of
souls even in sin filled America. It may
seem strange, or hard to accept, but those of us who have been faithful to warn
our nation have had no better response from the people than Jeremiah, who was
cast into a dungeon by the congregation of Israel, and actually released by one
of their princes. God said, “I sought for a man among them.” If the
condition of the nation becomes grave enough that greedy prophets and pastors
publicly repent, and politicians begin, at the risk of political suicide, to
acknowledge Jesus Christ as the only hope for our nation, then there is
hope. When pastors who, in the past, may
have been deceived by the “prosperity
message” repent, forget about money, and call their congregations to “weep” with them “between the porch and the altar” to spare the people, God will
hear and answer.
I have been heartened by several candidates for the presidency who
are outspoken about their faith in Jesus, and at least some of them seem to
have the fruit to confirm their faith. I
was amazed when the governor of my state called for a day of fasting and prayer
on August sixth. I was even more amazed
when I heard him say it was a day to call upon Jesus Christ to save our
nation. Again, I was surprised when he
said there would be no t-shirts or other memorabilia sold, and no food or
drinks, but only water served in the stadium that will seat fifty thousand
people. The governor said that he had
felt the call to preach the gospel as a young man, but took a different
course. Now, he says, it is time for him
to stand up for Jesus and do all to save America. Can God use just one man that will turn to
Jesus from his own ways, to change the course of the nation? Of course he can. If it is not the governor of Texas, or a
congresswoman from Minnesota, God will still be looking for that man (or woman)
“among them.”
The
Promise to “All Nations”
By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou
hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in
blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the
stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed
shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in
thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast
obeyed my voice.
Genesis 22:16-18
Pay particular attention to the words I have place in italics: “…in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” These are the words of the immutable promise
that God gave to Abraham. This was not a
conditional promise, but a covenant promise that would be fulfilled in, and
confirmed by, the Son of God when He came.
This promise came on the day that Abraham obeyed God and offered his son
Isaac on the altar to God. It was there
that God gave a preview of Calvary when He provided a substitute sacrifice to
die instead of Isaac. The fact remains,
however, that Abraham did offer Isaac, and though it is not clearly spoken in
the promise, God’s response is, “because
thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, I will not withhold my only
begotten Son. I will offer Him, and in
Him shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed.” God added, “…because thou hast obeyed my voice.”
The promise of salvation that would come through the offering of
the Son of God was given to Abraham for “all
the nations of the earth.” God
purposed from the beginning that redemption and salvation would come to every
nation through His Son, Jesus Christ.
When God gave this promise to Abraham, the nation of Israel did not
exist, and Abraham stood alone before God with his beloved son, Isaac, who was
the “son of promise.” The children of Israel were the natural “seed of Abraham” that came through
Isaac. They were chosen by God to bring
forth the spiritual “seed” who Paul
tells us “is Christ” (Galatians 3:16), and all who are in Him
(Galatians 3:28-29).
In Revelation 5:9, when
the redeemed sing the “new song,”
they sing to the Lamb of God, “…for thou
wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” In the day that Jesus ascended to the Father
He instructed His disciples, in Mark
16:15, to “Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature (all
peoples).” Again, in Matthew 28:18-19, Jesus said in that last day with His disciples, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations….”
Revival
in Jerusalem
On the Day of Pentecost it was a hundred and twenty Jews who had
followed Jesus for the past three years that were baptized with the Holy
Ghost. On the same day, three thousand
Jews from over a dozen different nations repented at the preaching of Peter and
were added to the church. Shortly
thereafter, on the occasion of miracle at the gate beautiful of the Temple, a
great multitude believed and were added to the church, a multitude we cannot
number, because the scripture says in Acts
4:4, “…and the number of the men was
about five thousand.” The number
including women and children may have exceeded ten thousand. The magnitude of the revival only increased
after the sudden deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, when they lied to the Holy
Ghost. Acts 5:12, 15-16 says, “And
by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the
people; insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the
least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto
Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits:
and they were healed every one.” The fourteenth
verse says, “And believers were the
more added to the Lord, multitudes both
of men and women.”
A serious problem was developing in the church even while they were
experiencing the greatest move of the Spirit of God the world had ever
seen. Almost six years had passed and
the apostles were still in Jerusalem.
They had not obeyed the commission that Jesus had given them to “…go into all the world…” and to “…teach all nations.” The church of Jesus Christ was still a sect
of Judaism, considered heretical by the chief priests and elders of Israel, but
a sect of Judaism nevertheless. They did
not believe that a Gentile could be saved unless he would be circumcised and
obey the Law of Moses.
Making
Havock
And
Saul was consenting unto his (Stephen’s) death. And at that
time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem;
and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and
Samaria, except for the apostles. And
devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over
him. As
for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and
haling men and women committed them to prison.
Therefore they that were scattered
abroad went every where preaching the word.
Acts 8:1-4
It is amazing how God works His will, even in the things that unbelieving
man will do to fight against the truth.
Paul expresses this sentiment in II
Corinthians 13:8, saying, “For we can
do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.” When Saul of Tarsus set out to destroy the
church, he only scattered it into places that God had already predetermined
they should carry the gospel to. Phillip
went to Samaria to preach Christ among those who were the most hated of all
peoples by the Jews. The reason for the
Jews hatred of the Samaritans stemmed from the fact that the Samaritans were
Jews that had intermarried with the heathen, but yet held to a perverted form
of Judaism. Even the name “Samaria” or “Samaritan” is derived from the Hebrew word Shamerim
שַמֶרִים,
which means "keepers of the
Law." While being “outcasts” to the Jew, the Samaritans
were not “uncircumcised” as the
Gentile nations beyond them were, and thus an acceptable people for a believing
Jew to preach Christ to. The scripture
says, “And the people with one accord gave
heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles
which he did. For unclean spirits,
crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with
palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
And there was great joy in that city” (Act 8:6-8). When Phillip
left Samaria, he was sent by the Spirit to an Ethiopian Eunuch who had come to
Jerusalem to worship. Phillip preached
Jesus from the fifty-third chapter of
Isaiah to the Eunuch, who believed and was converted to Christ. This same man, however, as a Jewish
proselyte, was also circumcised and kept the Law of Moses.
And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter
against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him
letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way,
whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Act 9:1-2
Envision the bitterness and hatred that possessed Saul of Tarsus as
he “breathed out threatenings and
slaughter” against those Jews who trusted in Christ. He could not speak of anything else, so
obsessed was he with the idea of eradicating the name of Jesus from the world
of Judaism, wherever it might be found.
He received the authority from the high priest to go into synagogues in
Damascus to destroy any seed of Christ that may have been planted there. He later testified that he profited in the
Jew’s religion above his equals in Israel, “…being
more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my father’s” (Galatians 1:14). In Philippians
3:6 he said, “Concerning zeal,
persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law,
blameless.” There was nothing in the
Law of Moses that condemned him for persecuting the church. In fact, his hatred for Jesus and the church
was to his advantage under the Law. It
was for this cause that he “profited
above many of his equals” in the Jew’s religion.
Cornelius
While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on
all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed
were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy
Ghost. For they heard them speak
with tongues, and magnify God.
Act 10:44-46
The Law of Moses was so ingrained in the Jews that even those who
trusted in Jesus found it almost impossible to believe that anyone could be
saved who was not first circumcised and keeping the Law. In fact, if Jesus had not intervened directly
with Peter through several visions, he would never have gone to the house of
Cornelius under any circumstances. When
Peter came to Cornelius, he told him, “Ye
know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company,
or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not
call any man common or unclean” (Acts
10:28). So ready was the heart of
Cornelius and his household that minutes later, as Peter told them of the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and “…that
through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins”
(Acts 10:43), that the scripture
says “while Peter yet spake these words,
the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word” (Acts 10:44). Both Peter and
the Jews that were with him were amazed to see the Holy Ghost fall upon these
Gentiles when they believed his words.
When Peter returned to Jerusalem he had to answer to those “of the circumcision” who made charges
against him, saying, “Thou wentest in to
men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them” (Acts 11:3). After Peter told
of the direct intervention of God to bring him together with Cornelius, and how
the Holy Ghost fell upon all who were in the house, all the Jews who heard the
report glorified God, and said, “Then
hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18). It is a fact, however, that after such a
great intervention by the Lord Himself to confirm that repentance and remission
of sin is for the Gentiles also, not one of the apostles or ministers from the
church at Jerusalem made any move to preach the gospel to the nations of the
Gentiles. The very next verse, Acts 11:19, says, “Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose
about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the
Jews only.” The immutable
promise of God to Abraham that “all the
nations of the earth” would be blessed in Christ was being ignored by the
very apostles that Jesus had commissioned to reach them. It was in such a time as this that God “sought for a man” who would “stand in the gap, and make up the hedge
(Ezekiel 22:30)” for the Gentiles. He found
that man and raised him up, an apostle “after
God’s own heart” that would do “all
His will (Acts 13:22).”
That man was Saul of Tarsus.
A
Chosen Vessel
And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter
against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of
him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether
they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus:
and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to
the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And
the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to
kick against the pricks. And he
trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord
said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee
what thou must do.
Acts 9:1-6
I do not know whether the events in the book of Acts are all in
chronological order. If so, Saul of
Tarsus was converted several months before Peter went to the house of
Cornelius. The record of Saul’s
conversion, which is given in the ninth
chapter of Acts, reveals that he was instantly transformed from a Jesus
hater and a church persecutor into one who would lay down his life for Jesus,
and do it all “with joy (Acts 20:24).” He would also lay down
his life day by day to carry the message of remission of sins, through faith in
Jesus Christ, to the ends of the earth.
Saul of Tarsus was blind for three days after the light from heaven
shined upon him, and had to be led by the hand to the place in Damascus that
Jesus sent him. During those three days
in which he did not eat or drink, he received a vision from the Lord of a man
named Ananias coming to him and laying his hands on him to receive his
sight. The Lord also spoke to Ananias in
a vision, telling him to “Arise, and go
into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for
one called Saul, of Tarsus:
for, behold, he prayeth” (Acts 9:11). Ananias had heard of Saul of Tarsus and the
great persecution he had made against the church. He questioned the Lord about this, but Jesus
told him, “Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my
name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15).
Saul of Tarsus, the greatest enemy of the church in that
generation, was chosen by God to carry the name of Jesus to the Gentiles, and
thus “save” the church. Saved about six years after Calvary, he was
chosen to fulfill the immutable promise of God to the Gentiles. He later said that he was as “one born out of due time” (I Corinthians 15:8). In Galatians
1:1, Paul begins his letter by saying, “Paul,
an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the
Father, who raised him from the dead.)” In almost every other epistle he
calls himself “…an apostle of Jesus
Christ by the will of God.” It is obvious that within six years after the
birth of the church, it became necessary for God to “birth” one “out of due
time,” to raise up another apostle to do what all the others had failed to
do.
A
Jewish Church
The church in Jerusalem was birthed on the Day of Pentecost. There is no question that they experienced
the greatest move of the Holy Ghost the world has ever seen. They also suffered great persecution from the
unbelieving Jews for as long as the great revival continued. Within a dozen or so years, however, the
revival began to wane, and the church in Jerusalem became little more than a
sect of Judaism. They continued to
circumcise their children, worship in the temple, offer sacrifices according to
the Law of Moses and, in reality, the only difference between them and the rest
of the Jews is that they trusted in Jesus as their Messiah. Peter and John moved on to other places at
some point to continue the work God had given them, but the church in
Jerusalem, led by James (the brother of Jesus), was strictly a Jewish
church. When Paul returned to Jerusalem
in the twenty first chapter of Acts,
James confronted him with a proposal that ultimately resulted in Paul’s being
captured and spending several years in prison before suffering a martyr’s
death. Paul went to Jerusalem knowing by
the Holy Ghost that “bonds and
affliction” awaited him (Acts
20:22-24). Even this could not
detour this man of God from the course that Jesus had given him to run.
Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: And they are informed of thee,
that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses,
saying that they ought not to circumcise their
children, neither to walk after the customs.
What is it therefore? the
multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. Do therefore this that we say to thee: We
have four men which have a vow on them; Them take, and purify thyself with
them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they
were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Acts 21:20-24
It is amazing that the spiritual condition of the church in
Jerusalem at this time had deteriorated to the point that James, the earthly
head, was afraid of what the congregation of “believers” might do to Paul when they found him. James devised a plan to give Paul the
appearance of obeying the Law of Moses, so the congregation would be
appeased. Notice what actually happens
when Paul agrees to James’ plan:
Then
Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into
the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for
every one of them. And when the
seven days were almost ended, the Jews
which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, crying out, Men
of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where
against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks
also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place. (For they had seen before with him in the
city Trophimus, an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the
temple.) And all the city was moved, and
the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple:
and forthwith the doors were shut. And as they went about to kill him, tidings
came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
Act 21:26-31
Certainly it was the unbelieving Jews that went about to kill Paul,
but it was the congregation of Jewish believers that James had tried to
appease. It is the opinion of this
writer that this compromise of the gospel with James was the single great error
of Paul’s ministry. God, however, as He
does with His chosen vessels, turned even this to good (Romans 8:28) and used it as a vehicle to bring Paul to witness
Christ before Kings and to preach the gospel at Rome, even reaching those of
the household of Caesar (Philippians
4:22).
Paul’s
Mission
The conversion Saul of Tarsus did not come about through the
ministry of Peter, John, or any of the other apostles. The only contact he had with the ministry of
any believer was Stephen, and that was on the day that Saul “consented unto his death” (Acts 8:1). Certainly God used the message and manner of
Stephen to “prick” Saul’s heart until
the day of his conversion, but he “kicked
against the pricks (Acts 9:5)” as he sought to utterly destroy the
church and the name of Jesus from the face of the earth. It is amazing that such a one would be a “chosen vessel” to do what none of the
other apostles had been able to do, but that is the way of our “amazing” Lord. Saul of Tarsus, the man who tried to “destroy” the church almost single
handed, was the one Jesus chose to “save”
His church. If the gospel had never
reached the Gentiles, the church of Jesus Christ would not have existed beyond
the first century for several reasons.
The key element of the promise that was given to Abraham was, “…and in thy seed shall all the nations of
the earth be blessed.” Israel did
not exist in Abraham’s day, nor did the Jew.
They were chosen “in Abraham” to
bring forth the promised redeemer, who would be the savior to “everyone that believeth” (Romans 1:16), whether they were Jew or Gentile.
Jesus commanded that the gospel should go “into all the world, to every
creature” (Mark 16:15). He commanded His apostles to “teach all
nations” (Matthew 28:19). Jesus said to them the day He ascended to the
Father that they should be “…witnesses
unto... (Him) both in Jerusalem, and
in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto
the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts
1:8). They obeyed this “commission” as far as Samaria, but they
could not go into “the uttermost part of
the earth” until they understood that circumcision and the Law of Moses has
no part in the gospel of Jesus
Christ. They finally came to understand
that the “gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16)” is a “New Covenant,”
and that the “Old Covenant” had
passed away on the cross of Christ (Hebrews
7:18-19, 8:13, Colossians 2:14, Ephesians 2:15, etc.). Jesus
chose to give this “revelation” of
Himself and of the gospel to Saul of Tarsus.
It was Saul (it was several years before he was known as Paul) who first
preached the gospel to the nations of the Gentiles, and it was Paul who later
contended with the apostles and elders at Jerusalem for the truth of that
gospel.
But I certify (I guarantee) you,
brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
Galatians 1:11
Paul uses the entire first
chapter of Galatians to establish the fact that he had almost no contact
with the apostles and elders at Jerusalem for the first seventeen years of his ministry. In fact, he had come to Jerusalem shortly
after he was converted when he fled from those who sought to kill him in
Damascus. At Jerusalem the disciples
wanted nothing to do with him until Barnabas confirmed his conversion to the
apostles, after which it was said that he “was
with them coming in and going out in Jerusalem” (Acts 9:28). This continued
for a short time until he “…disputed
against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him” (Acts 9:29). At
this time, the “brethren” sent him
away to Tarsus.
But when it pleased
God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me,
that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with
flesh and blood:
Galatians 1:15-16
It is very important that we understand the “timeline” of what Paul says in these two verses. He speaks of three different things that God
did for him. First, He “separated me from
my mother’s womb,” which had happened over thirty years before. Paul included this phrase to show that it is
the same God that his father and mother had served under the Law that he now
serves under grace. Second, “…and called me by
His grace…,” which speaks of his conversion to Jesus on the Damascus
road. Immediately after his conversion,
he preached Jesus in the synagogues of Damascus, and was forced to flee to
Jerusalem. These first two incidents,
however, are not the subject of these verses.
The thing that it “pleased God”
to do, was to “…reveal His Son in me,
that (in order that) I might preach
Him among the heathen.”
Saul of Tarsus was both saved and filled with the Holy Ghost when
he preached Christ in the synagogues of Damascus and had to flee for his
life. It was the same when he preached
Christ to the Grecians in Jerusalem, and had to flee once again, this time to
Tarsus. Separated from the apostles at
Jerusalem, whom he had met only briefly, it was at Tarsus that God began a “greater work” in Saul. It was on the Damascus road, perhaps a year
before, that Jesus had been revealed “to” Saul that He was (and is) the
Christ. He soon found, however, that it
is not enough to be able to tell people that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of God.”
Such a “profession of faith”
is held today by millions who are yet held in bondage to sin and Satan. After failing in his efforts in both Damascus
and Jerusalem, and being “sent away”
by the brethren in Jerusalem, Saul of Tarsus could have ended as one who “tried and failed” but for one thing; “it
pleased God to reveal His Son in him.”
It is certainly worth noting that Paul says, “…immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.” He did not receive his revelation from man.
Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were
apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto
Damascus. Then after three years I went
up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save
James the Lord's brother.
Galatians 1:17-19
This “three year” time
period did not begin at the conversion of Saul; instead, it began when Christ
was “revealed in Him,” probably at
Tarsus. He tells of going into Arabia,
returning again to Damascus, no doubt preaching his “revelation of Jesus Christ” in these places, but ultimately
returning home to Tarsus where Barnabas found him and brought him to Antioch to
teach the church (Acts 11:25-26). After teaching at Antioch for a full year,
Barnabas and Saul made a trip to Jerusalem to bring food to the poor saints at
Jerusalem because of a great drought that was in the land of Judaea. During this trip to Jerusalem Saul did not
see any of the apostles except Peter, with whom he stayed for fifteen
days. Shortly after returning to
Antioch, the Holy Ghost spoke, saying, “Separate
me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (Acts 13:2). After the church at Antioch had fasted and
prayed, they laid hands on them and sent them away to preach the gospel to the
nations beyond. It was fourteen years
later before Paul returned to Jerusalem, this time to defend the gospel he
preached against the Judaizers who had come from the Jerusalem church to preach
the Law of Moses to the Gentile believers at Antioch. During this fourteen year time period, Paul
and Barnabas preached the gospel in over a dozen different cities and
provinces, including Seleucia, Cyprus, Salamis, Paphos, Perga, Antioch in
Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Pamphylia, and Attalia. They also established churches in most of
these places, even as they were driven from place to place by the Jews who
continually sought to stone them. It was
in Lystra that they finally succeeded in stoning Paul where they left him for
dead outside the city. When the
disciples of Lystra gathered around his body, he rose up and went on to preach
the gospel in yet another city. All of
this was accomplished in the ministry of Paul during the fourteen years before
he saw the apostles for the second time in his life, and met with Peter for the
third time. Consider this also, that
Paul had been saved and Spirit filled for well over seventeen years, and
establishing churches in the Gentile nations for over fourteen years, before he
received “the right hand of fellowship” from
James, Peter, and John (Galatians 2:9)
to “do” what Jesus had chosen him to
do.
Paul,
the Master Builder
According
to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have
laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed
how he buildeth thereupon. For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
I Corinthians 3:10-11
It is truly incredible that
one who was not saved until six years after the Day of Pentecost would be able
to say, “I have laid the foundation.” It is equally incredible that the same one
would be able to say “If any man preach any other gospel unto you
than that ye have received (from us),
let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:9). Consider that the apostles in Jerusalem had
not received the gospel
of Jesus Christ by “revelation
of Jesus Christ” as Saul of Tarsus had received it. Peter, that greatest of the original
apostles, was mightily anointed of God to preach the resurrection of Jesus
Christ to the Jews, which was sufficient to reach the multitudes in Jerusalem. In a nutshell, Peter’s message to the Jew
was, “You killed him, but God raised Him
from the dead.” Notice in Acts 2:36, Peter’s message to the Jews
on the Day of Pentecost, “…God hath made
that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified,
both Lord and Christ:” in Acts
3:14-15 when explaining the ‘miracle’
at the ‘gate beautiful’ of the temple
, “But ye denied the Holy One and the
Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead;
whereof we are witnesses:” and in Acts
4:10 when brought before the high priest and the elders to give account; “Be it known unto you all, and to all the
people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the
dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.” Such a message was extremely effective among
the Jews in the early days of the revival in Jerusalem, but it would never
reach the Gentiles. In fact, and this is
a sad commentary to bring, those Jews who first went out from Jerusalem and
Judaea with a message for the Gentiles came preaching Moses and the Law instead
of Jesus Christ, the savior of the whole world (Acts 15:1).
Peter, speaking of the epistles of Paul in II Peter 3:16 says, “…in
which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and
unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own
destruction.” It is no wonder that
God had to raise up another apostle to “lay
the gospel foundation” of the church.
Peter could tell us that Jesus “died
on the cross, and God raised Him again the third day.” Peter was eye witness of these things. If the church was to endure throughout the
centuries of time, however, there must be a gospel foundation, and this is what
Paul gave us. Peter knew Christ “after the flesh;” but Paul knew Him “after the Spirit.” We all could know that Jesus died on a cross;
but it was Paul who tells us “our old man
is crucified with Him (Romans 6:6),” and that we are “freed from sin” (Romans 6:7). We know by the record of the apostles that He
was “buried in a tomb.” Paul tells us that we who believe are “buried with Christ.” The eyewitness apostles confirm to us
that Jesus was raised again the third day, but it remained for Paul to tell us
that “…we are quickened together with
Christ” (Ephesians 2:5), and
that we are “new creations in Christ”
(II Corinthians 5:17). Peter tells us the wonderful good news of a “new heavens and a new earth wherein
dwelleth righteousness,” which he tells us to “look” for. It is Paul,
however, who tells us that God, through the working of the Holy Ghost, “…hath raised us up together, and made us to
sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).
Two
Days That Saved the Church
There are two days recorded in the scriptures that if the apostle
Paul had not been present and willing to stand alone in defense of the truth,
it might well have meant the demise of the church within the first
century. I have already shown that the
church in Jerusalem and Judaea was a “Jewish”
church that did not allow Gentiles into their number. It was not that they were racist, but they
were still Jews in every sense of the word.
The apostles had utterly failed to bring the Jewish believers out of
Judaism, and probably saw no reason to do so.
When the Jewish believers came to understand that Gentiles, such as
Cornelius, could be saved, there was a strong segment of the congregation (the
Pharisees who believed; Acts 15:5)
that yet believed they had to be circumcised and obey the Law of Moses. It was because of these that Paul and
Barnabas came to Jerusalem in the fifteenth
chapter of Acts. The scripture says,
“And certain men which came down from
Judaea taught the brethren, and said,
Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1). After Paul and Barnabas had met with the
apostles and elders, the scripture says “...there
rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees
which believed, saying, that it was needful to circumcise them, and to
command them to keep the law of
Moses” (Acts 15:5). Paul had brought a young Gentile named Titus
to Jerusalem with him. According to the
record Paul gives in the second chapter
of Galatians, they tried to force circumcision upon Titus, but Paul says, “To whom we gave place by subjection, no,
not for an hour; that the truth of the
gospel might continue with you.”
If Paul had relented and allowed Titus to be circumcised, the “truth of the gospel” would have been
lost that day, and the Gentile churches in every place would have been forced
into the Law of Moses to become another “sect”
of Judaism. Due to Paul’s strong
resistance, the apostles and James were forced to consider the matter of
circumcision, and of the Gentiles. It
was Peter who first stood with Paul in the matter:
And when there had
been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and
brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the
Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them
witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no
difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke
upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to
bear? But we believe that through the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall
be saved, even as they.
Acts 15:7-11
If the church could have heard and received what Peter spoke in
these verses, the church would have continued to flourish among the Jews just
as it did among the Gentiles. Please
notice the last words of Peter’s statement which I have italicized; “…we shall be saved, even as they.” It was a
revolutionary thought among the believing Jews at Jerusalem, one they were not
ready to take hold of, that a Jew could be saved without circumcision and the
Law of Moses, but that is exactly what Peter said. He had seen the miracle of salvation at the
house of Cornelius where an entire house of the family and friends of Cornelius
were saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost in a moment of
time. Peter testified that God had “purified their hearts by faith,” and He
did it in a moment of time. They had not
been circumcised and they had not been baptized in water when God baptized them
with the Holy Ghost, breaking traditions of both Judaism and the church, for
the scriptures say that “the Holy Ghost
fell upon all them which heard the word.”
Oh what a joyful thought; “We
shall be saved, even as they!”
The second day was perhaps even more critical than the first. Shortly after the conference in Jerusalem,
Peter made his first trip to the church in Antioch. Enjoying the “liberty” which had been accorded the Gentiles by James and the
elders, Peter ate with the Gentiles and accepted their fellowship as brothers
in Christ. This all ended when certain
Jews who were “of the circumcision”
came from James to Antioch. Paul relates
this incident in the second chapter of
Galatians:
But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to
the face, because he was to be blamed.
For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles:
but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with
him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their
dissimulation. But when I saw that they
walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter
before them all, If thou, being
a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why
compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
Galatians 2:11-14
At the counsel in Jerusalem, the “liberty” of the Gentiles had been confirmed, but it had not been
extended to the Jews. When Peter saw the
Jews that came from James, the Bishop of Jerusalem, he withdrew from the
Gentile believers because he feared “them
which were of the circumcision.” Can
you imagine Peter, the greatest of the eyewitness apostles, experiencing fear
at the sight of these Jews from the church in Jerusalem? It seems likely that some of them must have
believed upon Jesus through the mighty works that God had done through Peter,
but something has happened in Jerusalem.
The mighty working of the Holy Ghost must have ended as that great church
degenerated into nothing more than another sect of Judaism, circumcising their
children, obeying Moses, and preaching the Law.
It hurts to tell this story, but it is true. What happens next will literally be the end
of the church of Jesus Christ if Paul does not, once again, stand for the truth
as Jesus gave it to him.
At Antioch, the Jews and the Gentiles had been worshiping together
for several years as brothers in Christ.
When Peter separated himself from the Gentiles out of fear (as a Jew,
Moses commanded that he should be stoned), the other Jews at Antioch followed
him. Even Barnabas was “carried away with their dissimulation.” Surely Barnabas and the Jews must have been
influenced by the great regard they had for Peter as one of the greatest among
the original apostles. They must have
believed that Peter would be correct in his actions that day, but what he did
threatened to undermine the gospel truth, and destroy the work of God among the
Gentiles. It was one thing to contend
for the liberty of the Gentiles during the conference at Jerusalem; it was
something else entirely for a Jew to cast off the “yoke of bondage” to the Law of Moses and enjoy the liberty that
was given to the Gentile believers. It
remained once again for Paul to stand for the truth, and this time he stood
alone. Oh how it must have pained him to
do what had to be done, but the future of the church of Jesus Christ hung in
the balance that day. Paul had thought
that Peter was a “pillar” (Galatians 2:9); that he would stand for
the truth and not be moved. He expected
Peter to stand for the truth, and Paul would stand with him, but it did not
happen that way. Will Paul stand by
quietly as everything he knows of Christ and the gospel is trampled underfoot,
or will he stand with the truth even if he stands alone? He knows that he must stand firm and that he
must speak out. He had been raised up
for this day, and he must not fail. In
defense of the truth of the gospel he “withstood
Peter to the face, because he was to be blamed” (Galatians 2:11). He embarrassed Peter and exposed him before
those he feared, saying, “If thou, being
a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why
compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews (Galatians 2:14)?” It was something that had to be done, and
only Paul remained to do it. If Paul had
compromised, “went along to get along,”
the Jews at Antioch would have segregated the Gentiles from among them. No longer could any Jew have fellowship with
Gentiles, and the churches both in Jerusalem and among the Gentiles would
languish and die. According to Paul’s
revelation of the gospel, Jesus had died to redeem the Jews from the Law of
Moses (Galatians 4:4-5) just as he
had died to redeem the Gentiles from sin.
Now, it was not the Gentile church, but the Law of Moses that must be
abolished.
Of Twain (2), One
For he is our peace, who
hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 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;
Ephesians 2:14-15
Notice that Jesus Christ did abolish “in His flesh the enmity” that separated the believing Jews from
the believing Gentiles. It was “the Law of commandments contained in
ordinances,” which speaks of the “Law
of Moses.” The Law was a partition
between the Jew and the Gentile that had to be torn down before the promise to
Abraham could be fulfilled, “…in thy seed
(Christ) shall all the nations of earth
be blessed.” Notice that Jesus “hath made both one;” He abolished the
Law of Moses “…to make in Himself of
twain (of two), one new man.”
For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for
you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is
given me to you-ward: How that by
revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few
words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of
Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is
now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and
of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given
unto me by the effectual working of his power.
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given,
that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Ephesians 3:1-8
Again, notice that Paul says, “…He
made known unto me the mystery.”
What was the mystery? “That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs,
and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the
gospel.” Why was it called a
mystery? Because the Jews, in all of
their fifteen hundred year history since Moses, had never understood that the
promise of blessings to Abraham and his seed was not just to the Jew, but to
every nation on earth through Jesus Christ.
“In thy seed shall all the nations
of earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18).
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One
final note!
Today, there is so much of
the gospel of Jesus Christ that the church has been blinded to by the
traditions of men. Yet, once more, God
is “searching” for men and women He
can “reveal His Son in;” men and
women that will carry the gospel to every nation. They will also, as has no
generation before them, lay down their lives to preach Jesus Christ, in and to
the nation of Israel, where the greatest revival ever, will come before the
end. Will you be found of Him? LS
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Message 41 - By Leroy
Surface - I Sought For a Man
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