“All the Bible was not written to me, but all the Bible was written for me.” “Things different are not alike. Things different are not the same.” When we began this particular journey in our Bible study 146 weeks ago, I made this statement, “Rightly dividing the Word of Truth requires a Bible student to compare the dispensation of grace / Church Age doctrines found in Paul's epistles with the doctrines found in the gospels and the Jewish epistles / transition books. If the doctrines confirm each other, they are directly applicable to us. If they contradict Paul's teaching and testimony, they are not doctrinally applicable in the Church Age, but there is always a devotional or inspirational application to be received.” Today, we got deeper into the Sermon on the Mount, Christ's declaration of the constitution of the kingdom of heaven – the rules of the literal, physical messianic kingdom he was offering to the Jews. The term kingdom of heaven appears 32 times in Matthew, and zero times in the other gospels. The kingdom of God – the spiritual kingdom appears: 5 times in Matthew (6:33) (Romans 14:17, 1 Corinthians 15:50) 15 times in Mark; 32 times in Luke (17:20-21), and two time in John (3:3, 5) The 10 Beatitudes are given as a criteria / guide to explain who will be allowed into the kingdom of heaven. Messiah King Jesus will sit in judgment at the 2nd Advent, and will use this criteria to determine who will be allowed in the kingdom. In v.13-16, Jesus calls the Jews / Israel the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Before the cross it was Israel that was the conduit for the world to come into relationship with God. After the cross, the transition from Jew to Gentile was set in motion. That is why Paul uses the same two pictures to describe the body of Christ, the Church Age saints. Our conversation / lifestyle is to be seasoned with salt – Colossians 4:6 The light of the glorious gospel of Christ has shined in our hearts – 2Corinthians 4:4-6 We are light in the Lord / the children of light – Ephesians 5:8, 13-14, 1 Thess 5:5 I am looking forward to examining carefully these sometimes difficult scriptures through the lens of the mystery, and gaining a clear understanding of what these sayings mean in the next few weeks.
