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Scripture Reading: Acts 26:1-32; Eph. 2:14-16; 3:8, 17; Phil. 3:4-8; Col. 3:10-11; Heb. 10:14, 18; Acts 21:20, 23-24
In 26:1-29 Paul defends himself before Agrippa. Then in 26:30-32 we have Agrippa’s judgment. Before coming to 26:1-32, I would like to say a further word concerning Paul’s burden in the four Epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews.
In chapters twenty-one through twenty-six of Acts Paul passed through much suffering, testing, and trial. The Epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews are the expression of what was on Paul’s heart during the period of time of Acts 21 through 26.
As we have pointed out, Paul wrote Ephesians, Colossians and Philippians during his first imprisonment in Rome. It should have been after this imprisonment that he wrote Hebrews. We should not think that these Epistles were written by accident. On the contrary, they were written after a long period of consideration and preparation. I believe that the two years of being held in custody in Caesarea were a time of preparation for Paul. The more he saw of the situation concerning Jewish religion, Roman politics, and the church and compared this situation with what he had received from the Lord, the more he was burdened to put into writing the revelation he had seen. Paul did not have the opportunity to speak what was on his heart. No doubt, he intended to find a time in a quiet environment where he could write down the revelation concerning God’s New Testament economy. He must have been looking for a chance to put into writing everything he had seen of the Lord concerning the divine economy, and then to send these writings to the churches, where they would be preserved.
We thank the Lord that He gave Paul the time and the place to write Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews and that we have these four Epistles today. In these four books we see a number of crucial points concerning the dispensational transfer that we have been emphasizing in these messages. This dispensational transfer is a great matter.
In Ephesians 2:14-16 Paul says, “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition, the enmity, having abolished in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, making peace, and might reconcile both in one Body to God through the cross, slaying the enmity by it.” Here we see that on the cross Christ abolished all the ordinances. No doubt, this abolishing of the ordinances includes the ones concerning circumcision, diet, and the Sabbath.
Although Christ had abolished these ordinances, James in Acts 21 still promoted them. To be sure, the ordinances abolished by Christ on the cross include the Nazarite vow. Do you not believe that when Christ abolished the ordinances He included the ordinances related to vows? If we have the proper understanding of Ephesians 2 and Acts 21, we shall see that what James did in Acts 21 was contrary to what Christ accomplished on the cross. Christ abolished the ordinances, but James held to them and promoted them.
We may say that the matter of abolishing ordinances is a negative aspect of the revelation in Ephesians. On the positive side, we have Paul’s word concerning the unsearchable riches of Christ: “To me, less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the nations the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel” (3:8). For the present, however, we would emphasize that in Ephesians Paul clearly says that on the cross Christ has abolished all the Judaic ordinances of the Old Testament.
In Philippians 3 we see that Paul counted as refuse all the things of Judaism. Although Paul was “a Hebrew of Hebrews” and “as to the law, a Pharisee” (v. 5), he could testify, “What things were gains to me, these I have counted loss on account of Christ. But surely I count also all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them refuse that I may gain Christ” (vv. 7-8). Paul realized that in the sight of God and in the New Testament economy all the things of Judaism were refuse. Paul’s word in Philippians 3 indicates the kind of vision that was within him. However, although Paul counted the things of Judaism to be refuse, James, to his shame, continued to promote them.
In Colossians 3:10 and 11 Paul speaks of the new man: “And having put on the new man, which is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him; where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman, but Christ is all and in all.” Here we see that in the new man there is room only for Christ. In verse 11 “all” refers to all the members who compose the new man. Christ is all the members of the new man and in all the members. He is everything in the new man. What a tremendous revelation this is! According to Paul’s word in Colossians 3:10 and 11, not the slightest ground remains for Judaism.
The book of Hebrews reveals that Christ is everything. Christ is both God and man, and He is superior to Moses, Joshua, and Aaron. As our High Priest, Christ has replaced all the Old Testament offerings with Himself as the unique offering. Christ is the only offering God cares for, and all the Old Testament offerings were simply types of this unique offering. Now that Christ has come, all the other offerings should be terminated, and in fact they have been replaced and terminated. Concerning this, Hebrews 10:14 says, “By one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified,” and verse 18 goes on to say, “Now where forgiveness of these is, there is no longer an offering for sin.” Furthermore, the old covenant has been replaced by the new covenant. Therefore, the things of the Old Testament are over.
I would ask you to compare the revelation in Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews with James’ word in Acts 21. In 21:20 James said to Paul, “You observe, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews who have believed, and all are zealous for the law.” Then James went on to ask Paul to pay the expenses of four men who had taken the vow of the Nazarite: “Four men are with us who have a vow on themselves; take these and be purified with them, and pay their expenses that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things of which they have been instructed concerning you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the law” (vv. 23-24). What a contrast there is between James’ word and Paul’s revelation concerning God’s New Testament economy! This comparison should enable us to have a clear view of Paul’s situation in these chapters of Acts.
What kind of messages on the book of Ephesians did you hear before you came into the Lord’s recovery? A favorite verse of those who emphasize evangelism is Ephesians 2:8. This verse tells us that by grace we are saved through faith. Many messages are also given from Ephesians 5:22-25 about wives submitting to their husbands and husbands loving their wives. Often during a wedding a pastor will quote these verses from Ephesians 5. But have you ever heard a message telling you that on the cross Christ abolished all the ordinances, in particular, that He abolished the differences between the races? Although the ordinances and all racial differences were abolished by Christ on the cross, who preaches this word today? Actually, even in the twentieth century, racial differences are still promoted in order to maintain a separation of the races. From this we see that the book of Ephesians is misused by many believers. They select certain verses from this book without caring for God’s New Testament economy. Many have never seen that Ephesians is a book concerned with God’s New Testament economy.
On the negative side, Ephesians 2 reveals that the ordinances have been abolished. On the positive side, in Ephesians 3 we see that Paul preached the unsearchable riches of Christ so that Christ may make His home in our hearts (vv. 8, 17). Have you ever heard a message on this matter before you came into the church life? Many of those who attended Bible schools and seminaries can testify that they were never taught that Christ with. His unsearchable riches desires to make His home in our hearts. How pitiful is today’s situation with respect to the profound revelation in the book of Ephesians!
We have seen that in Philippians 3 Paul counted all religious things as refuse. However, today not many use these verses in a proper way. Instead, it is common that verses are taken from Philippians in order to teach the believers to imitate the Lord Jesus by having the same mind that He had.
In Colossians 3 Paul says that Christ is everything in the new man. This matter certainly is not emphasized among today’s Christians. Actually, it is difficult to say how most believers apply the book of Colossians.
Christians frequently quote Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Some even use this verse in the attempt to argue against the truth that Christ today is the life-giving Spirit. According to the Scriptures, we teach that, as God, Christ became a man, and then, as man, He, the last Adam, became in resurrection the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). Some falsely accuse us of teaching that Christ is always changing, and then they quote Hebrews 13:8, using it in the attempt to prove that Christ could not have become the life-giving Spirit in resurrection. The use of Hebrews 13:8 in such a way indicates that today’s situation is miserable.
The four books of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews have not been used properly and positively by most Christians for the taking up of Paul’s burden in these Epistles concerning the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy. Instead of using these books according to the intention of the author, many select certain verses and then interpret them in a way to promote a degraded situation. This is a sign of the poverty in the so-called churches. Actually, today’s situation is worse than that in Jerusalem in Acts 21.
We have pointed out that, during the years he was kept in custody in Caesarea, Paul had time to consider the situation of the Jewish religionists, the Roman politicians, and the believers in Jerusalem and to compare it to the revelation he had received from the Lord. We also need a time to consider today’s situation. I would encourage you quietly to consider not only the world political situation, but also the situation in Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. Consider where today’s Christians stand in relation to God’s New Testament economy. Are there not many who, like James, have compromised and who are promoting the things God has forsaken?
You also need to consider yourself, in particular where you are in relation to the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy. What is on your heart? What have you seen as a heavenly vision regarding the divine economy? How will you carry out the vision you have seen? Let us all spend time before the Lord in order to be filled with the burden of God’s New Testament economy. Once we are filled with this burden, we, like Paul, should be ready to carry it out.
We thank the Lord for the Epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews. Paul wrote these Epistles so that God’s New Testament economy may be carried out. I hope that we all, through the help of the Life-study Messages, will become saturated with these Epistles. I also hope that we all shall have a clear view of today’s situation and need.
As we shall see in chapters twenty-seven and twenty-eight of Acts, it took quite a long time for Paul to travel from Caesarea to Rome. By contrast, today it is very convenient for us to spread God’s New Testament economy. Let us all bear the burden for the spread of God’s New Testament economy and faithfully carry out this burden.
