Is all scripture plain to understand?
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Yes, gospel means good news.
God has various good news given to different audience during different time periods
There is no restriction on God that he must have only ONE good news for everyone for all times.
Some examples are:
God told Abraham the good news he will have many descendants like the stars of heaven and the sand in the shore in genesis 15
God told David the good news that a descendant from him will be ruling from his throne in 2 samuel 7
God told Israel the good news, after about 400 years of complete silence, that this descendant from David is finally here in the flesh, to usher them into that promised kingdom of heaven on earth in Luke 1.
Finally after Israel the nation rejected the messiah for the final time by stoning Stephen, God announced to the whole world the good news thru the apostle Paul that, all of us, gentiles or Jews can be saved thru believing in Jesus death burial and resurrection (Romans 11:11, 1 cor 15:1-4)
God has various good news given to different audience during different time periods
There is no restriction on God that he must have only ONE good news for everyone for all times.
Some examples are:
God told Abraham the good news he will have many descendants like the stars of heaven and the sand in the shore in genesis 15
God told David the good news that a descendant from him will be ruling from his throne in 2 samuel 7
God told Israel the good news, after about 400 years of complete silence, that this descendant from David is finally here in the flesh, to usher them into that promised kingdom of heaven on earth in Luke 1.
Finally after Israel the nation rejected the messiah for the final time by stoning Stephen, God announced to the whole world the good news thru the apostle Paul that, all of us, gentiles or Jews can be saved thru believing in Jesus death burial and resurrection (Romans 11:11, 1 cor 15:1-4)
Is all scripture plain to understand?
No.
1 CORINTHIANS 2:14
ESV
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
The only time a sinner can is when the Holy Spirit opens his understanding of the Gospel during conviction.
No.
1 CORINTHIANS 2:14
ESV
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
The only time a sinner can is when the Holy Spirit opens his understanding of the Gospel during conviction.
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You are now talking about a different topic, gospel is not equivalent to covenant.
But yes, Jesus was born under the Law so he taught the Law to Israel (Galatians 4:4, Romans 15:8, Matthew 15:24)
Israel had to show their faith in God by following the Law of Moses. That covenant was set by God and Israel in Exodus 19:5-6 and started in Exodus 24.
1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
2 And Moses alone shall come near the Lord: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord.
6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.
But yes, Jesus was born under the Law so he taught the Law to Israel (Galatians 4:4, Romans 15:8, Matthew 15:24)
Israel had to show their faith in God by following the Law of Moses. That covenant was set by God and Israel in Exodus 19:5-6 and started in Exodus 24.
1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
2 And Moses alone shall come near the Lord: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord.
6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.
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I stated Israel had to show their faith in God by following the Law of Moses.
It was always faith that saves, but following the Law of Moses was the way to show they had faith in God, as stated in Exodus 19:5-6.
Israel, in the 4 gospels when Jesus was in the flesh with them, could not use Romans 3:21 like what we could now.
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
It was always faith that saves, but following the Law of Moses was the way to show they had faith in God, as stated in Exodus 19:5-6.
Israel, in the 4 gospels when Jesus was in the flesh with them, could not use Romans 3:21 like what we could now.
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
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We come into the picture here .
Acts 11 .
16Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
17Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
18¶When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
Prior to this ( 10 years after acts 2 ) this was the picture :
19¶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.
JEWS ONLY .
Acts 11 .
16Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
17Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
18¶When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
Prior to this ( 10 years after acts 2 ) this was the picture :
19¶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.
JEWS ONLY .
As I stated to you in my first reply to your post, it was
God told Israel the good news, after about 400 years of complete silence, that this descendant from David is finally here in the flesh, to usher them into that promised kingdom of heaven on earth in Luke 1.
For Romans to Philemon, the rest of the NT writings, the message was
Finally after Israel the nation rejected the messiah for the final time by stoning Stephen, God announced to the whole world the good news thru the apostle Paul that, all of us, gentiles or Jews can be saved thru believing in Jesus death burial and resurrection (Romans 11:11, 1 cor 15:1-4)
God told Israel the good news, after about 400 years of complete silence, that this descendant from David is finally here in the flesh, to usher them into that promised kingdom of heaven on earth in Luke 1.
For Romans to Philemon, the rest of the NT writings, the message was
Finally after Israel the nation rejected the messiah for the final time by stoning Stephen, God announced to the whole world the good news thru the apostle Paul that, all of us, gentiles or Jews can be saved thru believing in Jesus death burial and resurrection (Romans 11:11, 1 cor 15:1-4)
Hi Guojing,
I definitely agree that Christ innaugurated the Kingdom, He was the awaited for Messiah. Paul refers to this kingdom also! And yes, they mostly rejected him. Not all.
And yes we see the great commission progression through the book of Acts (in fact Acts gives us the road map Acts 1:8)
How did Jesus tell his people how they could be saved by Him in the gospels?
I definitely agree that Christ innaugurated the Kingdom, He was the awaited for Messiah. Paul refers to this kingdom also! And yes, they mostly rejected him. Not all.
And yes we see the great commission progression through the book of Acts (in fact Acts gives us the road map Acts 1:8)
How did Jesus tell his people how they could be saved by Him in the gospels?
Paul never promised the Body of Christ, which is us, the same kingdom of heaven on Earth that was promised to Israel.
When the term “the kingdom of God” appears in Paul's writings, it is a general reference to God’s domain, the realm of His influence (the righteous world system, Christians, and heaven).
This term can apply both to redeemed Israel and the Church the Body of Christ. The phrase “the kingdom of God” is in contradistinction to the realm in which Satan and his cohorts operate (the evil world system, lost [unregenerate] mankind, hell, the lake of fire, fallen angels, et cetera).
A person enters “the kingdom of God” when God rescues/saves him or her from Satan’s realm—having sins forgiven, being declared righteous before God, fellowship with God, able to participate in His will, not going to hell anymore, and so on. You can refer to Matthew 21:31, Luke 17:21, and Colossians 1:13.
Source: https://forwhatsaiththescriptures.org/2015/06/24/kingdom-of-god-kingdom-of-heaven/
As for your 2nd question, Peter, thru the Holy Spirit, summed up how Israel could be saved by the gospel of the kingdom in Acts 3:19-21
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.
20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
If you are reading it literally, without inserting what Paul taught us inside, Peter is urging Israel to repent so that their sins may be, not surely, be blotted out.
And when will their sins be blotted out? In the future, when Jesus Christ returns for them, in his 2nd coming, the so called "times of refreshing".
This view by Peter is reaffirmed by what he wrote to the Jews in 1 Peter 4:17-18
17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
Paul does not teach the Body of Christ that. We are forgiven the moment we believe in his death burial and resurrection for our sins.
It is not a may be, nor will it only come in the future.
When the term “the kingdom of God” appears in Paul's writings, it is a general reference to God’s domain, the realm of His influence (the righteous world system, Christians, and heaven).
This term can apply both to redeemed Israel and the Church the Body of Christ. The phrase “the kingdom of God” is in contradistinction to the realm in which Satan and his cohorts operate (the evil world system, lost [unregenerate] mankind, hell, the lake of fire, fallen angels, et cetera).
A person enters “the kingdom of God” when God rescues/saves him or her from Satan’s realm—having sins forgiven, being declared righteous before God, fellowship with God, able to participate in His will, not going to hell anymore, and so on. You can refer to Matthew 21:31, Luke 17:21, and Colossians 1:13.
Source: https://forwhatsaiththescriptures.org/2015/06/24/kingdom-of-god-kingdom-of-heaven/
As for your 2nd question, Peter, thru the Holy Spirit, summed up how Israel could be saved by the gospel of the kingdom in Acts 3:19-21
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.
20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
If you are reading it literally, without inserting what Paul taught us inside, Peter is urging Israel to repent so that their sins may be, not surely, be blotted out.
And when will their sins be blotted out? In the future, when Jesus Christ returns for them, in his 2nd coming, the so called "times of refreshing".
This view by Peter is reaffirmed by what he wrote to the Jews in 1 Peter 4:17-18
17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
Paul does not teach the Body of Christ that. We are forgiven the moment we believe in his death burial and resurrection for our sins.
It is not a may be, nor will it only come in the future.