Lesson #1
The absolute MOST valued lesson I have learned is to rightly divide the truth, 2Tim.2:15. After 40 years of reading the Bible as if it was ALL written to me and for my instruction, when I learned about rightly dividing the truth, and recognizing that Paul’s letters are instructions addressed to me, and the rest of the Bible is instructions for Israel, this brought clarity and dismissed all that confusion and contradiction.
The Bible became an open book from that point. Things fell into place and my faith became settled and strong. Dividing the Word showed me a clear picture of the whole plan of God to redeem us. It showed me where I fit into God’s plan, and it gave me purpose and insights into what God’s will was for me.
I cannot overemphasize the value and importance of applying this command to rightly divide the truth to your bible studies. It has completely changed my understanding of God’s Word for the better. I will never look back again at blending everything into one and thinking in arrogance and ignorance that the entire Word of God over a period of 6000 years is all written to me.
Lesson #2
The arrangement of Paul’s church epistles, Romans to 2 Thessalonians, in that order, is a curriculum for the growth and maturity of a Christian.
Romans is the foundational book that presents the gospel to save one, and then sets a foundation on establishing the believer on the firm foundation of faith. One has to become familiar with and apply the contents of Romans before one can continue in the curriculum. Like in math's, one has to learn your multiplication tables before you can advance to algebra, calculus and trigonometry. I’m not saying you cannot read the other epistles, but I am saying you have to have a firm foundation in Romans in order to fully receive the doctrine presented in Ephesians to Thessalonians.
Lesson #3
But what about Corinthians and Galatians?
The third lesson is incredibly valuable too. The letter of Romans establishes us on the foundation of faith. This is done by telling us that our justification is settled by the grace of God through the cross work of Jesus Christ, and not our own works. The interesting thing about Corinthians and Galatians is that these two churches illustrate what happens when we try to justify ourselves and not trust in God’s grace.
The Corinthians were saved, yet they were carnal Christians and did not grow in the doctrine that Paul presented to them. Because they remained babes in Christ, sin was rampant in the church. Paul has to reprimand them in his letters to come back to the foundation of the gospel, to die in the flesh, by allowing the Word of God to saturate them so that it could change their hearts and lives.
On the other hand, the Galatians were too legal in their faith. They were enticed to return to the law in their service to God. In Romans, Paul instructs that we are not under law, but under grace. The Galatians fell into the ditch by departing from the grace of God and tried to serve God by their own strength, by applying rules and regulations to please God. The law brings condemnation, and the letter of the law kills the spirit. Paul reprimanded the Galatians to return to the simplicity of the gospel and serve God from the living Word within them and not from the outer rules of religion.
So, for us, the lesson is to see that living loosely like the Corinthians, and living too strictly, like the Galatians, both cause one to fall from grace. We need to stop trying to live the Christian life by our attempts and rather to saturate ourselves with the Word of God, which is His spirit and truth, and allow the Word of God to influence our thoughts, actions, speech, and behaviours. When the Word of God influences our living, then it is living by grace. Then it is walking in the spirit. Then it is producing the gold, silver, and precious stones that God requires of us. The more we allow the Word of God to fill us, and shape our living, it is then, and only then, that Christ is being formed in us, to the glory of God. Gal.2:20-21.
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