What Did Barnabas See When He Saw the Grace of God

8 Jehovah is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness.
9 He will not always chide; Neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins, Nor rewarded us after our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is his lovingkindness toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, So Jehovah pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust. Ps 103

 

Psalms 130:3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?

4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

Brother Glen:)

 

The word is in the text making it part of the context, ky. That is how it works in my world. How does it work in yours?

 

It was beginning of the fulfillment of Christ's words:

16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice: and they shall become one flock, one shepherd. Jn 10

It was the creation of a NEW CREATURE, 'The Israel of God':

15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
16 And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. Gal 6

It was the making of ONE NEW MAN:

13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
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; Eph 2

13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 1 Cor 12

16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Jn 10

11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Col 3

28 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. Gal 3

12 And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house: Acts 11

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: Ro 3

9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Acts 15

12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. Ro 10


Put that in your Dispensationalist pipe and smoke it. :)

 

IMO, there are certain groups of believers that assign a very modern definition to the Greek word for “dispensation” that really isn’t supported by the context.

peace to you

 

Let's see your definition.

 

The way it works in my mind is to comprehend the whole context without getting stuck on a specific word.

 

In Ephesians 3, the Greek word you have translated “dispensation” means “stewardship”.

Paul was given the ministry (as a steward of God) to the Gentiles. That is the context of the passage. Nothing more or less.

Ephesians, BTW, makes it very clear that both groups, Jew and Gentile, have both been bound together as one “new man” by the cross of Jesus.

There can be no separate future for Israel, since both groups are now “one”. For there to be a separate future for Jews and Gentiles, the work of Christ on the cross must be undone, which is impossible.

The whole of “dispensationalism” cannot be supported by clearly assessing scripture in context.

peace to you

 

As you were a wise one yourself... Brother Glen:)

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

 

That is opinion without context. The word that is translated dispensation four times in the Pauline epistles and only in the Pauline epistles, and translated stewardship three times in the gospel accounts for a total of 7 times altogether is historically significant as we pursue sound teaching about this word and what is conveyed to us by it.. Dismissing this word as if it holds no significance like you folks are doing and even poo pooing it is very revealing. I will just say in this answer that the number 7 holds a special place in the revelation of the mind of God. It is used consistently and for the completion of things related to God. It is consistently divided into three and four or occasionally four and three.to total seven and to be complete.

The context in the gospels is prophetic as our Lord speaks about the appointed servants who are charged as servants and who have been appointed as stewards over his holdings because he will be leaving for a time. This in itself is unusual because the people and property of God on the earth has been ruled by a king, not stewards. Jesus, who came as God's final King was rejected by the rulers of Israel and so he would depart to his Father to receive his kingdom and then return. I am not making this up. I read it in the gospels. Here is the first line and you fellows are welcome to read the whole parable that outlines this age.as far as the Jews are concerned.

Lu 19:11 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.
12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

The number 4 is associated with the world and the gentiles who have never been under a political rule of God but those who join themselves with the Jews (the stewards) in accepting the Lordship of Jesus Christ may come at the invitation and participate in the mystery form of this kingdom that at present is without national boundaries and God appointed magistrates. This will not always be so because when Jesus returns he will have received the kingdom from the Father and will purge out all rebels, both Jews and gentiles who would not accept his rule.

Keep reading the parable in Luke 19.

Lu 19:27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

God has dispensed grace to the gentiles because he wanted to.

There is much to know about the scriptures but one cannot learn them by refusing logic and reason and faith.

The kingdom that Jesus Christ will set up when he returns will be political.

Mt 19:27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

 

ky, I like you and do not want to insult you but being honest with you I can say that your approach is without proper context.

 

All those words can’t change the truth the word you are translating “dispensation” means “stewardship” in the Greek language.

I stand by my statement that many are applying a modern definition in hopes of supporting their belief in dispensationalism.

It just isn’t there.

I get the feeling you aren’t really concerned about what Barnabas meant when saying he saw the grace of God, unless it can be construed to support dispensationalism.

I’ll bow out, now. There is no debating someone who readily dismisses the meaning of words and replaces them with their own meaning which is in no way supported by context or traditional usage.

peace to you

 

Thank you for participating JonC and I do not want to ignore your comments so I will answer what I have underlined in this post.
I am supposing you meant to write "dispensation."

This cannot be true because the word dispensation comes up in the scriptures at the same time the door of faith was opened to the gentiles and they began to get saved in larger numbers than the Jews, it seems. I have already noted that the reason Barnabas was sent out from the Jerusalem church was because of this transition of adding gentiles into the body of Christ by faith in the gospel of Christ. This is not incidental or accidental. It was the reaction of God to the Jewish nation refusing to receive forgiveness of their sin of murdering their Messiah. God had not preached to anyone but to Judaea and Jerusalem for the first 7 chapters in Acts which amounted to 7 years.

Here is the final assessment of God about these rulers brfore broadening his base.

Ac 7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

The grace of God as a dispensation of God is associated with the gentiles. Members of Israel out of their land are considered by God as gentiles because his covenants with them in the OT were political.

 

I suppose you are bowing out because if called upon to prove your charge you could not do it. You have not attempted to disprove whatever you think my modern definition of dispensations is. You have only made the charge and you expect every one to believe the charge. I have consistently dealt with the term in the context it is introduced in the historical context. I even connected the historical fulfillment to the prophecy of Jesus Christ in his parables before his crucifixion. He invited those who were not bidden to his supper because those who were bidden, the Jews, would not come. The idea is that he wanted his house to be filled for the wedding supper. Since those who were sought out by his servants for this purpose in the most unusual places and who had not been bidden, it was a matter of his grace to invite and compel them to come.

 

Hey JD, you're alright too, and no need to concern yourself with insulting me, me skin is thick and me head is hard. :) ....and I'll just insult right back....

 

You will not like me saying this ky, but Barnabas, grace, or seeing is nowhere in your references of scripture. This has me scratching my head with wonder of how this is addressing the subject. The subject of the dispensation of grace and what Paul means by it is in a nutshell verse in Eph 3:6. This is what he wants us to understand as his definition. This cannot be denied in good conscience by men as smart as you guys are.

Eph 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

Here is a truth I am guessing you do not know. When you quote this type of verse (as you have above) you need to be focused on the meaning of the author or you might appear silly when the truth is pointed out.

This letter to the Galatians is the first epistle Paul penned. It was written in 49 AD. Paul is not making the argument that being saved and being in the body of faith takes away our individuality and makes us one in that way. How do I know that and how can I prove it. This is the way;

Romans was written as Paul's epistle number 6. It was written in 58 AD and all the history from Acts 1:1 through Acts 18 was in the past tense. This epistle was written 9 years after Paul penned Ga 3:11; 28. But look what he said about himself, a man who without doubt was a saved Jew and in the body of Christ as a member of his body.

Ro 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew (in the OT time). .....

He said this in the present tense. IOW, in 58 AD he was a Jew, a son of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin and he was in the church as that and at the same time. He was a Jew and a Christian at the same time. Getting saved does not make a gentile an Israelite nor does it make an Israelite a gentile. It just makes them equally a son of God.in the body of Christ.

Logic and reason and faith, ky, logic and reason and faith. These working together will stamp out a wagon load of ignorance.

 

I answered the question of the OP here.

4 whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ;
5 which in other generation was not made known unto the sons of men, as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
6 to wit, that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, Eph 3

Same 'mystery' as presented in post #35.

 

I am sorry ky but you actually did not answer the question of the op here is your quotes in post #35 so you can read them again;

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Acts 11:18 When they (The jews in Jerusalem that included the apostles) heard these things (these things that Peter told them about God and Cornelius and about the baptism of the gentiles with the Holy Ghost in his house)), they (the Jews in Jerusalem) held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Logic, reason, the English language. Adverbs. When and then. Pronoun, them. The word "also" a conjunction adding gentiles to his purpose. This is obviously not about the man Cornelius but the gentile Cornelius. It was the opening of the door of faith to the gentiles, a door that was opened to Jews 10 years earlier in Jerusalem when they, the Jews, were baptized by the Spirit as a people group. This is what Cornelius saw when he saw the grace of God. The gentiles had received the Holy Ghost and were being saved by the gospel. This is about what God had done in this great transition in time. Not a single gentile had been saved before Acts 10 as the NT defines salvation. I have actually shown you this in the scriptures by quoting men who were there and spoke their own testimony about it.

This was the mystery. It was hid FROM the foundation of the world. It was not revealed to the prophets of Israel but it was revealed to the apostle Paul who had this grace given to him that he might be the apostle to the gentiles.

I get this. I understand this. I do not know why you fellows cannot follow the narrative and put this in a context of time and history and race like the author intends.

BTW, there are two verbs in verse 21 which were actions of the gentiles who heard the preaching. First they believed the gospel, and then they turned unto the Lord. That is what a hearer of the gospel must DO to be saved. He must believe and turn.