Unlocking the Bible

For many believers, reading the Bible can be frustrating. They run into what look like clear contradictions. Jesus links forgiveness to keeping the Law and forgiving others, yet Paul says we are saved by faith alone. Jesus focuses his ministry on Israel while Paul takes the message of grace to the Gentiles. This tension causes many to question the Bible's coherence.

The problem, however, isn't with the Bible, but with how we've been taught to read it. The confusion disappears once you grasp a foundational truth. God is running two distinct programs. One for Israel on earth, and one for the Church in the heavens. With this framework, the Bible transforms from a collection of conflicting passages into a perfectly organized library. You can finally see how each part fits, who it was written for, and why.

God Has Two Blueprints: One for Earth, One for Heaven

The root of nearly all biblical confusion is the failure to distinguish between God's prophetic program for the nation of Israel and His mystery program for the Church. To understand these as separate and parallel is the first step toward profound clarity. Both programs originate with Abraham, to whom God promised two distinct lines of descendants: an earthly seed as numerous as the “dust of the earth” (Genesis 13:16) and a heavenly seed as numerous as the “stars of the heavens” (Genesis 15:5).

• Israel's Prophetic Program (The "Dust"): This is God's earthly plan for His earthly people. Prophesied throughout the Old Testament, its promises are terrestrial, focusing on a physical kingdom on earth with Jerusalem as its capital. This fulfills the land covenants God made with Abraham, whose descendants were promised to be like the "sand on the seashore" (Genesis 22:17).
• The Church's Mystery Program (The "Stars"): This is God's heavenly plan for His heavenly people. Its promises are celestial, with believers destined for a heavenly citizenship (Philippians 3:20) and inheritance. This program was a "secret" (μυστήριον), unrevealed in the Old Testament and Gospels, kept hidden until God revealed it to the Apostle Paul for believers in this current age.

"The root of confusion in Christendom is the confusion of God’s prophetic program with His program known as the Church. Keep these programs separate and contradictions and confusion end."

The Apostle Paul: Not Just Another Apostle, But a Founder

To achieve biblical clarity, one must understand Paul's unique role. He was not a 13th apostle chosen to extend the work of the Twelve. Rather, the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ commissioned him as the founder of an entirely new program from God.

The ascended Lord gave Paul direct revelations that were previously unknown, truths he calls "secrets" and "my gospel" (Romans 16:25, Ephesians 6:19). For this reason, all doctrine written specifically to the Church, the body of Christ, is found exclusively in his epistles, Romans through Philemon. Indeed, the source of nearly all confusion in Christendom is the failure to recognize this foundational fact and the attempt to mix God's program for Israel with His program for the Church.

Paul's role stands in stark contrast to the Twelve, who were apostles to Israel. Their commission was to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the Jewish people, in fulfillment of God's prophetic plan (Galatians 2:7-9).

"God chose me to be to the Church what Abraham and Moses were to Israel."

Two Gospels, Not One

One of the most transformative truths that emerges from distinguishing God's two programs is that the Bible details more than one gospel. This isn't a contradiction, but a demonstration of God's progressive revelation. A crucial clarification is in order: this does not mean people in different ages were saved by different means. Throughout Scripture, individuals have always been saved by God's grace through faith. However, the content or object of that faith, the specific truth God required people to believe, changes as God interacts with His people in different dispensations.

• For example, Abraham put his faith in God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. The object of his faith was God's specific promises to him: a great nation, a promised land, and a seed through whom all nations would be blessed.

  And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
  Genesis 15:6

• Later, for the nation of Israel, faith in God was exercised through obedience to the Mosaic Law. Their faith was directed toward God and His covenant promises to them, contingent on their obedience.
• Today, in the dispensation of grace revealed through the Apostle Paul, our faith is in the Lord, and the specific object of our faith is Christ's finished work on the cross. We are saved by believing in His death for our sins, His burial, and His resurrection. This is faith alone, and we perform no works of the Law to earn or merit God's grace.

A Contrast: Covenant vs. Dispensational Views

Understanding this MidActs dispensational framework is clearer when contrasted with other popular theological systems.

Covenant Theology

What it is: Covenant Theology proposes that God has always related to humanity through a single, overarching "Covenant of Grace." In this view, there is only one people of God, with the Church essentially becoming a "new Israel." It teaches that believers in all ages are saved by faith in Christ's atoning work, viewed either prospectively (before the cross) or retrospectively (after it).

The Mid-Acts Critique: From a dispensational perspective, this model creates significant issues by:

• Blending Programs: It merges God's distinct prophetic program for Israel with the "mystery" program for the Church, obscuring the uniqueness of the current age of grace.
• Misapplying Scripture: It forces instructions given to Israel under the Law (e.g., water baptism for remission of sins in early Acts) onto the Church today, leading to confusion.
• Creating Contradictions: The apparent contradictions are a direct result of failing to "rightly divide" the Word and see that Paul’s epistles contain the specific doctrine for the Church.
• Spiritualizing Promises: It often reinterprets clear, literal promises made to national Israel (like land and kingdom covenants) as spiritual allegories for the Church. This interpretive method can prioritize a theological system over the plain meaning of the text.

Traditional Dispensationalism

What it is: Common in many Baptist circles, this view correctly distinguishes between Israel and the Church. However, it typically marks the beginning of the Church at Pentecost in Acts 2.

The Mid-Acts Critique: While closer, this view presents its own challenges:

• A Mixed Message: By starting the Church in Acts 2, it must apply Peter's message to Israel (part of the kingdom program) to the Church, blending law and grace in a "transitional" period.
• Confusion over Commands: It creates uncertainty over which commission (Matthew 28 vs. Paul's), which baptism, and which gospel are for believers today.
• The Mid-Acts Solution: This confusion is resolved by recognizing the Church began with the Apostle Paul. This allows the events of early Acts to be seen as the continuation of God’s kingdom offer to Israel, which was then set aside for the present dispensation of pure grace.

The Gospel of the Kingdom was the valid message of salvation until the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15). At that pivotal meeting, the Apostle Peter himself stood and declared that from that point forward, all people, Jew and Gentile alike, must be saved through Paul's gospel of grace (Acts 15:11).

The Church is Not Spiritual Israel

A common but erroneous teaching is that the Church has replaced Israel or has become a "spiritual Israel." Scripture provides no support for this idea. God has distinct identities and destinies for Israel and the Church.

Throughout Scripture, Israel is identified as the wife of God and is the prophesied Bride of the Lamb (Hosea 2:14-20). The Church, however, is given a different and unique title: "the body of Christ" (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18).

The logic is therefore inescapable. Since the Church is the body of Christ, it is part of the Bridegroom, not the Bride. If you cannot tell the bridegroom from the bride at a wedding, it is going to be a confusing wedding. But God is not the author of confusion.

How to Read Your Bible Now

Understanding this two program framework provides immediate and practical clarity for your personal Bible study.

First, you must recognize that the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are, in their context, Old Testament books. They record Jesus's earthly ministry to Israel under the Mosaic Law. As Paul confirms, Jesus was "a minister to the circumcision to confirm the promises made to the fathers" (Romans 15:8). His teachings were to prepare the nation of Israel for their earthly kingdom.

This leads to a vital rule of interpretation. While all Scripture is profitable for us to learn from and study (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11), only Paul's epistles contain doctrine written directly to the Church, the body of Christ.

"All Scripture is for us but not all Scripture is to us."

When you read the Bible through this divine framework, the beautiful, intricate plan of God comes into focus. You can read Matthew and understand Jesus's words to Israel under the Law without trying to force them upon yourself as a member of the Church under grace. You can then turn to Romans and receive the specific truths and instructions Christ has given through Paul for you today.

Now that you see God's distinct plans for His earthly people and His heavenly people, how might this key unlock new understanding in your personal study of the Word?