Auxano Ministry
By the grace of God I am what I am:
1 Cor. 15:10a
Our Time Scope IV
Dispensations, Administrations, Ages
Part 3 (continued)
4 – Christ Administration (Preparations)
When you are sitting in a classroom environment everything can be perfectly clear during the presentation. The teacher’s clarity and understanding shine through and bring the whole picture into view. But then two hours later, six hours later, your mental view is not quite as clear as it was earlier in the day. By the next day, you could even be questioning the sanity of your teacher.
Now consider the disciples of Jesus and their classroom.
Peter sitting with Philip, turns to him, and says, “Did you understand what the Lord was saying yesterday when he was talking to the Pharisees in the Temple?”
Philip, with a look of surprise on his face, and his voice cracking slightly, responds, “Are you kidding? After he told them they were liars, murders, and of their father the Devil, all I could see was their anger and hatred! I was looking for the exit!”
Matthew sitting nearby, contributes, “What did he mean when he said, Abraham saw his day?”
If we can so easily forget what is taught in a classroom, peacefully and without confrontation, what would our retention level be under some of the circumstances the disciples faced as they stood with Jesus? Crowds, sometimes unruly, confrontations, devil spirits, religious leaders always challenging, storms, pressure from the Romans for taxes, angels coming and going, and spot quizzes from the Master, like to feed 5,000 plus people, from time to time.
In his brief ministry Jesus taught his disciples many things and under some intense situations. How could they possibly be expected to know and remember all that Jesus has taught?
Jesus taught his disciples about the events of the next administration so that they could be prepared for what was to come. You read those verses in the privacy and quietness of your own home. How many do you remember? In Matthew chapter 24, and Luke chapter 21, and Mark chapter 13 many things concerning the time of tribulation were set before his disciples. How were they going to remember all of it? Plus, all the other things Jesus had taught them.
Luke 21:12-15
But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
How could Jesus, who by this time would be at the right hand of God, “give them a mouth and wisdom”?
The answer is revelation.
God, who knows the end from the beginning, would tell his son what his bride needed to know, and Jesus Christ always does the will of his Father. Jesus followed the will of his Father during his earthly ministry and continues to do the will of his Father by his right hand. Then Jesus would give the revelation, from God, by way of God’s gift of holy spirit that was to be poured out on the day of Pentecost.
Jesus, although raised out from among the dead and ascended into heaven, still had responsibilities to those who believed him and to those who had yet to believe in Israel and throughout the world, because of what his disciples would teach.
Matthew 16:13-14
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Question asked and answered.
Matthew 16:15-16
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Question asked and answered.
Matthew 16:17
And Jesus answered and said unto him, blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
The source of Peter’s answer identified.
Matthew 16:18
And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter [petros], and upon this rock [petra] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Helps Word-studies: Pétros (a masculine noun) – properly, a stone (pebble), such as a small rock found along a pathway. /Pétros ("small stone") then stands in contrast to /pétra ("cliff, boulder," Abbott-Smith).
Jesus is pointing to himself and saying “upon this rock, (I/me), I will build my church.
Acts 2:46-47
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
The Lord added to the church daily. He is responsible to build his church upon himself, the foundation. Nevertheless, Peter is his chosen steward for the Revealing Administration.
Matthew 16:19
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
“Keys of the kingdom” is a symbolic phrase for power and authority.
Luke 11:52a
Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge…
It was Peter that stood up and spoke on the day of Pentecost opening Jerusalem.
It was Peter that spoke to the man at the gate Beautiful.
It was Peter that came to Samaria to open the way Philip had begun.
It was Peter that went to a proselyte at the gate named Cornelius.
Jesus Christ was to build his church and Peter was to be his steward of the Revealing Administration under the direction of Christ, by way of God’s gift of holy spirit.
The disciples were going to have a spiritual inside track. A connection that would be different than God’s gift of holy spirit in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the holy spirit would come upon men for a time, for the situation at hand, and then it would depart until and if it were needed again.
Exodus 35:30-35
And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.
In Numbers 22 through 24 there is a record of a man named Balaam who was hired, by Balak, to curse Israel. Three times he was asked to curse Israel, and three times he blessed Israel. Now Balaam was not a godly man, he was a greedy man looking for a fast monetary gain. But he blessed Israel because God placed his gift of holy spirit upon him.
Numbers 24:1-2
And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
The account begins with Balaam needing to learn a lesson in obedience and an interesting conversation between Balaam, an ass, and an angel. I know, it sounds like the opening of a joke about going into a bar. But it is a great account in God's Word with a few valuable lessons. God gave Balaam specific conditions upon which he could go with Balak’s men. He did not wait for the conditions God gave to him; he just went.
But the spirit Jesus promised the disciples was entirely different. It was going to remain for the entire administration.
John 14:16
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Now the same verse again, but with definitions and the grammar.
John 14:16
And I will pray [erotao = ask, request] the Father, and he shall give [future tense] you another [allos = other but alike, same kind] Comforter [parakletos from paraclete = an aider, an assistant], that he may abide [meno = remain, to stay] with you for [eis = when a line is drawn to meet another line, at a certain point] ever [aion = singular, the age].
Jesus, while at God’s right hand, would request God to give his disciples another to aid them, as Jesus had aided them. This other would teach the disciples and remind them of what Jesus had taught them. God would absolutely honor this request. This aid, unlike God’s gift of holy spirit in the Old Testament would remain with them throughout the entire Age, eis, when one line meets a certain point. In this case, the point was at the end of the Revealing Administration.
John 14:26
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
This gives the disciples in the Revealing Administration a new, and unique form of edification. Different from all previous administrations. However, in one respect this spirit was like the Old Testament in that it was upon them.
How then is it unique?
First, what do I mean by “upon” them?
John 14:16-17
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you.
God’s gift of holy spirit is always within a person. The word “upon” is used to distinguish the temporariness of God’s gift. In the Old Testament it would come and go as needed, like with the workers on the Tabernacle or the Temple. Sometimes, like with King Saul, you could lose it completely and forever.
Now, when it comes to the Revealing Administration, Jesus changed that condition in that he promised it would remain within the individual throughout the entire age. That is the uniqueness.
But that is not permanency. An entire Age gives them uniqueness but does not constitute eternity and God is looking for a spiritual family for eternity. This is where we need to come to a greater understanding of the Greek words parakletos or paraclete.
In the Koine Greek parakletos is a compound word. It consists of the prefix para and the Greek word kalein. Para means “alongside” and kalein means “to call.” Together we are looking at, “to call alongside.” This is like, but not identical, to what Jesus did with the disciples during his earthly ministry.
Matthew 20:17a
And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way…
Jesus would call his disciples to be alongside of himself as he taught them.
Matthew 20:17b-20
...and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
Jesus would call his disciples alone to his side and teach them privately. God’s gift of holy spirit will teach each one privately but from the inside. Therefore, God used the Greek word allos, another of the same kind, for “another” in John 14:16. A similar ministry, for Jesus and God’s gift of holy spirit and each for an entire Age.
Jesus to personally teach them during the Christ Administration.
God’s gift holy spirit to personally teach them during the Revealing Administration.
Parakletos is only used five times in God’s Word. We have considered three of the times. Another occurrence is in the First Epistle of John and refers to Jesus as an advocate, like a lawyer, standing along side you in a court of Law.
The final place this word is used in the Gospel of John is chapter 16.
John 16:7
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter [parakletos] will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Jesus needed to complete his earthly ministry and his part of the transition into the next administration before he could ascend and be at God’s right hand, the hand of blessing. The context gives us yet more insight.
John 16:8-11
And when he [demonstrative pronoun that should be translated, this, that, these, those – in this context should have been translated “this”] is come , he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Three things, two reproved and one judged. The word reproved, elegcho in Koine Greek, means to refute. I will give you the literal again from of Hebrews 11:1 from a previous teaching.
Hebrews 11:1
The right way of believing is the firm assurance of things confidently expected (because God made a promise); refuting things that are visible and contrary to the unseen promise.
Expanded Literal Translation by Auxano Ministry
Here the Koine Greek word that has been translated “refuting” is elegchos. The Gospel of John has the verb form and Hebrews 11 has the noun form. The promise of God refutes, or reproves, the darkness of the world. The world says, if we are nice to one another, we can make heaven here on earth. God says the only heaven is here with me. God’s Word refutes the world.
Here is how it works.
The gift of holy spirit comes from the Father (John 15:26) and is sent down by Jesus Christ (John 16:7), and the holy spirit will dwell in those who believe (John14:17). So, it will be God in Christ, in them for the Age.
God, who knows the end from the beginning, will speak with Jesus, who will tell the indwelling spirit and who then calls the one who believes to his side (parakletos) to teach and remind, and it will come to pass as the individual believer acts upon what the spirit has told him.
Ephesians 5:13
But all things that are reproved [elegcho – verb] are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
As those words of Light, originating from God, are uttered in the world the darkness is dispelled or embraced by those who hear.
In the Patriarchal Administration many rejected the promise of the seed of the woman.
In the Law Administration many rejected the promise of a coming Messiah through the line of David.
In the Christ Administration many rejected the Living Word standing before them.
The world was reproved of sin because they rejected God’s plan.
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Each time a person utters God’s Word Light is introduced to the doctrine and darkness of the world. Men and women walking in God’s gift of holy spirit introduce that Light to the world.
In each administration the righteousness of God was rejected for man’s self-righteousness.
Isaiah 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Sin is reproved as believers speak words of Light.
Self-righteousness is reproved for God, by His grace, only provides righteousness through His son.
John 3:19-20
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
The third thing that will happen in the Revealing Administration is that the prince, (archon – read ruler, the enemy of God), of this world, (kosmos – read the ruler of the order or arrangement of this world), is judged.
Judged is in the perfect tense meaning it is a completed action in the past, but the judgment will be carried out in the future, beginning with the return of Christ at the end of the Revealing Administration or Age.
So, Jesus has presented to his disciples, during his lifetime, the events of the coming Age and instructed them in their unique form of edification, God’s gift of holy spirit, that will teach them and remind them of what Jesus taught.
When those who have God’s gift of holy spirit walk in that spirit their words and their lives will manifest God’s Light. Some will embrace that Light and yes, some will embrace the darkness. But the thing that amazes me is not how many men will fall on one side or the other of that divide. The thing that amazes me is that no matter how many times mankind refuses and rejects God, He brushes our hard heartedness aside to stretch forth His hand in love and compassion to give us another opportunity to accept His offer of eternity in His family.
In the Revealing Administration God will reach forth by giving each one who believes a personal aid to guide and direct in helping others see the Truth.
© Auxano Ministry 2021
All verses quoted in this teaching are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.
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