The Lord called Abraham out of the
land of pagan darkness. It was here that the Lord told
him that he would make him a great nation and would multiply his
seed in the earth and cause all nations of the earth to be blessed
through him. The Lord did not simply foresee
and wait for Abraham's cooperation, but rather moved Abraham to do
exactly as he determined. So Abram departed as the Lord
had spoken unto him. Who could possibly argue against
the fact that the Lord singled out Abraham from all other men
in the earth at the time to receive this great blessing which He
purposed to bring to pass? Or who could say that the Lord
did not exhibit a special regard unto Abraham and to his posterity
according to His determined purpose? And who could contend that Abraham
received this blessing on the basis of his seeking after it,
or that it was conditioned upon his performance? So it is quite
evident in the scriptures that the Lord chose a nation and set
them apart from all other nations upon the earth. He gave His law
to the house of Israel and told them through Moses of the basis
of His choice of them. For thou art an holy people that
is set apart unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen
thee to be a special people unto Himself above all people that
are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love
upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than
any people, but because the Lord loved you. So as we look at the
Old Testament, it is quite clear that the Lord had an elect people
in the earth, and that this nation or people were the descendants
of Jacob after the flesh. They were a privileged people,
because unto them the Lord gave the law and the prophets, which
were given to no other nation or people in the earth. It seems
quite evident, according to that which was revealed to the Apostle
Paul, that these natural descendants of Jacob were but a type and
foreshadow of that people which are now revealed in the New Testament
as that elect bride which was chosen in Christ from before
the foundation of the world. The Old Testament serves to point
to the coming of Christ, where he has now set forth that purpose
which he had for the nation of Israel. in order to gather in
those which are his holy nation from out of every tribe kindred
in tongue, rather than as a declaration of his choice of the carnal nation
of Israel as his elect people. Paul continually dealt with those
Jews who could not let go of their supposed superior status
as the carnal descendants of Jacob. Though many of them embraced
the tenets of the gospel in varying degrees, others of them continued
to demand circumcision and adherence to Moses' law from those Gentiles
who sought refuge in Christ. Therefore, it is not surprising
that some of the Gentiles were intimidated by these legalists
and perhaps believed some of their erroneous teaching, which
in essence made the Gentiles to be as second-class citizens
in the kingdom of God. It is against this backdrop that
Paul delivers his epistle to the Ephesians, which shines brightly
even as a polished jewel. Most of these Ephesian believers
were Greeks, but no doubt they were subjected in times past
to the sectarian nature of the Jews, which was not greatly diminished
by the Judaizers, which infected just about all of the early churches
to some degree. Even now they have their emissaries,
though clad in Gentile garments, nonetheless demanding adherence
to Moses' law as the rule of life and an exalted view of Israel
as the chosen people of God. Paul destroys these notions in
his writings to the Galatians and the Ephesians and puts the
cherry on top when he said to the Gentiles and to any Jews
who would listen, year no more strangers and foreigners, but
fellow citizens with the saints. The basis upon which this truth
stands is that Christ has destroyed any partitions or divisions by
his work in the behalf of his elect bride. by the cross having
slain the enmity thereby. Thus he has broken down the middle
wall of partition between Jew and Gentile, for through him
we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. The only divisions
that exist between Gentile and Jew are those which have existed
in the minds of each one. Christ came that they might have
life and have it more abundantly. We pray you in Christ's stead,
be ye reconciled to God. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream dot net.