Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of the Mosheus for Zion's 4. Gamaliel was a man
raised up by God and given earthly wisdom and the ability to be
a teacher of men in matters pertaining to the laws of the Jews. His
most famous pupil was one Saul of Tarsus. Under his instruction,
Paul gained a strong fundamental understanding of the law and
Jewish traditions, which served him well in later times as the
Lord was pleased to remove the scales from his eyes that he
might more clearly see, in contrast, the damning nature of the law
and the freedom which is given to the sons of God in Christ
from that law. The Lord uses all sorts of men,
even those who have no love of Him or His way, to fulfill His
purpose, giving some great wisdom and even a measure of understanding,
which is useful in the deliverance of those whom He loves from various
dangers and snares which are in their paths. Surely the Jews
would have killed Paul numerous times were not this the case.
One illustration of this that stands out to us is when Claudius
Lysias had him taken by cover of night to Antipatrus to protect
him from those intent upon his demise. In this we rejoice as
we see the controlling hand of God in all men's affairs, and
we are made to reflect upon Paul's words, If God be for us, who
can be against us? In like fashion, we see Gamaliel
calming the more radical elements of the Pharisees, saying, And
now I say unto you, refrain from these men, and let them alone. For if this counsel or this work
be of men, it will come to naught. But if it be of God, ye cannot
overthrow it, lest happily ye be found even to fight against
God. In Gamaliel's words, we see proven
the fact that even some who are not believers are given some
knowledge of the absolute nature of God's decrees, and therefore
such is no sign of true faith and desire to worship Him. Religions
of all sorts recognize certain facts about the Lord which may
be true, yet such knowledge is not the knowledge of Christ,
without which they shall surely perish, regardless of their doctrine
or sincerity in their own religion. Paul warned the Ephesian elders
of the fact that in the near future in which they lived, the
very base nature of man would be demonstrated, and some, even
of their own number, would start to divide themselves up into
various sects and form spheres of influence by promoting themselves
rather than the gospel of Christ. This spirit is seen in Diotrephes,
of whom John said, he loveth to have the preeminence. This
very trait is completely opposite to the characteristics of any
who would be a follower of Christ. If Christ is all and in all,
then there is no room for any man to raise himself up or seek
a place of higher esteem among the brethren. There is no place
for the sons of God to glory except in Him. The Lord has given
various gifts and offices to the church for her benefit. Unfortunately,
men by their very nature have corrupted these offices and often
substituted learning for gifts or used gifts to gain preeminence
among the saints. It is a widespread practice among
many, calling themselves the followers of Christ, to set men
apart into hierarchies among the saints, as some gladly receive
titles and expect to have deferential treatment and salaried positions
given to them because they have the particular gifts of teaching
or preaching. As important as these particular
gifts are, the possession of such does not confer upon the
recipient some status which is not enjoyed by all of the brethren. Nor do these gifts comprise the
totality of ministry. These gifts are given for the
purpose of equipping the saints to perform the work of the ministry,
rather than the ministry being that which is defined by preaching
and limited to those whom the Lord has given these particular
gifts. It is a demonstration of the
corruptible nature of men when we see any clamoring for some
sort of recognition or status among the saints. To think of
ourselves as we ought to think is to confess that we are unworthy
sinners, blessed just to eat of the crumbs which fall from
the master's table. Not a one of us has anything
that we have not received, and he alone is worthy of all praise. In lowliness of mind let each
esteem other better than themselves. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream.net.