Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. (Matthew 21:43)

As we study the Scripture, we come to another man with a book bearing his name—James.  Now this man, not of the 12 apostles, was called by the Lord for a specific purpose.  I state that it was a specific purpose, because as it has been well stated:

“It shall greatly help ye to understand Scripture if thou mark not only what is spoken or wrythen, but of whom and to whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstances, considering what goeth before and what followeth after.” ~  Miles Coverdale (1488–1569)

Continue reading “A Nation Bringing Forth the Fruits Thereof: James to the 12 Tribes” →

As I wrote in previous studies about the Apostolic commissions, no study would be complete without writing on Paul’s great commission and where it fits within the entirety of Scripture.  Witness from his own testimony the commission and apostleship that he received from Christ our Lord:

Acts 26:13–18—At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And He said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.

Three times in the book of Acts, there is a retelling of the story of the Lord Jesus’ “arrest” of Saul of Tarsus.  While there are many important events in the Acts account, this event gets the most mentions.

Continue reading “Paul’s Commission, Part 1” →

Welcome back to our series on the Apostolic commissions.  As we go forward through John’s record on this commission please allow the scriptures to truly speak about the authority that was truly committed to these men:

Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when He had so said, He shewed unto them His hands and His side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. (John 20:19-23)

Continue reading “Understanding the Commissions: Part 7” →

In the last study, we looked at the commission in Luke, which had its main point that repentance and remission of sins would be preached in the Name of the Lord Jesus among all nations beginning at Jerusalem.  In this study, we will look at Luke’s “latter treatise”, to shed further light on the apostolic commission, and the call of them as witnesses:

When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:6–8)

Continue reading “Understanding the Commissions: Part 6” →

As we study the commission that our Lord gave to His apostles before He left to take His place at the right hand of the Father, we come to instructions at the conclusion of The Gospel According to Luke that further shed light on carrying out their divinely appointed task:

And He said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning Me. Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:44–49)

Continue reading “Understanding the Commissions: Part 5” →

In the last study we discussed the gospel spoken of in this passage and how the baptism spoken of was related to this gospel. Now this command has a second part as well.  It speaks of how