THE HIGH ADVENTURE OF FAITH

Photo by B Smith from the kitchen window

630-2 THE HIGH ADVENTURE OF FAITH

September 13, 1981

 Pastor Henry F. Kulp

 

Hebrews 11: 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is basic to the Christian life, without faith it is impossible to please God, and we are saved by faith, and the Christian life is continued by faith, therefore we live by faith, and then we die by faith. Faith is basic to receiving grace. Without faith we cannot have the grace or mercy of God.

1/ Faith is the title deed to things hoped for, it is evident, or proof of things not seen. Christianity today is devoid of outward evidence. Every step is by faith. No one has seen Jesus Christ, has any idea of what He looks like, no one has been to Heaven, and no one in our day has gone to Heaven and come back and told us about it. What we know about Christ and what we know about God and about Heaven is all by faith, because faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

Romans 10: 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

2/ To show you how men hate living by faith, Oral Roberts said he saw Jesus standing 900 feet tall. We know he did not see Jesus Christ standing 900 feet tall. He is either lying, or he has been grossly deceived by Satan. First of all, Jesus Christ is not 900 feet tall, and the body of Jesus Christ is in Heaven seated at the right hand of God the Father.

Ephesians 1: 20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

Notice, talking of His resurrection power which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him on His right hand in Heavenly places. So Christ is seated. The physical Christ is seated and He will not get up until He comes to rapture away His Church.

3/ Psalm 110: 1 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Here the Lord said unto My Lord, sit through at My own right hand until I make thine enemies Thy footstool. He is a royal exile, until His enemies shall be made His footstool. If Jesus Christ was standing as Mr. Oral Roberts told us, the outlook for this world and its religious masses would be dark indeed, for the time of Jacob’s trouble would be here.

4/ So you can see how the world, and even those who claim to be His own, do not want to walk by faith. They want to see, how many people are thrilled by the so-called testimony of this faith healer.

5/ Romans 5: 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

James 1: 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

In both of these Scriptures we see that the testing of your faith worketh patience. God

permits testings, sufferings, pain, and in all tests you’re walking by faith.

6/ THE WORD, PATIENCE, IS LITERALLY THE WORD, ENDURANCE. IF THERE IS ONE THING THE BELIEVER NEEDS IN THIS WORLD, IT IS ENDURANCE. YOU DON’T HAVE MUCH OF A TESTIMONY IN THIS WORLD IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ENDURANCE.

7/ I Thessalonians 1: 3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

In our next step in our study, we must see that patience and hope, endurance and hope go hand in hand. You can’t have endurance, you can’t have patience unless you have hope or expectation.

8/ I remember as a boy and then a young man wondering if there was a God in Heaven, why does He let men suffer as He does? And people are asking that question on every side. I must admit it bothered me as I saw people suffering, go through trials and tribulations and know the utmost agony. I can’t see much of a loving, tender- hearted God by my sight. Why is there so much suffering and trial and tribulation in this world? For the saved and the unsaved both suffer.

9/ We have a book of the Bible that answers these questions and brings out the principles I gave this morning, and that book is the Book of Job.

10/ James 5: 11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

I am sure you have ask God, why did Job suffer? For he went through what many in this earth would call hell on earth. Why? There is no question that he walked by faith, there is no question that he endured.

11/ Job was the first book written in the Bible as far as we know. If you do not understand Job, you will not understand who Satan is, because Satan appears in Genesis as if out of nowhere. But Job tells us who Satan was.

12/ The Book of Job should be studied first, then Genesis. This may sound strange, but I am sure it is true. Also the Book of Job gives us the reasons for the sufferings of man.

13/ Job 5: 11 To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.

The word, Job, is very interesting. It means, THE ONE ATTACKED, or ENMITY. Turn to Genesis 3: 15 and you will notice, I will put enmity between thee and so-forth.

The word enmity is Job, and Job means the attacked one.

Genesis 3: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy

seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

14/ Here we see there are but two seeds—the seed of the serpent, and the seed of the woman. Job suffered because Satan attacked him. Of course, the serpent wants to get at Jesus Christ through us. So suffering is related to two seeds and the attack of the seed of the serpent upon the seed of the woman.

15/ James 5: 11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

We read in James 5: 11 about those who endure are happy, and he says, as an illustration, you have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the end or the goal of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.

16/ Job had endurance and hope, for he saw God’s goal in the midst of all his pain, his suffering and his trials.

17/ The Book of Job is a picture of God permitting Satan to touch Job because of hatred between the two seeds. Job did not suffer because of his own wrong doing. He did not suffer because God was chastening him. The whole idea was Satan’s and Job was the recipient of the hatred of Satan.

18/ All through this, Job had a hope and he had endurance. God did not ask Job, do you mind? Without the consent of Job, God permitted Satan to touch his body, and that which he had. And Job is a picture of a suffering world, especially the suffering believer. God doesn’t ask us if we want to suffer, but He permits Satan to touch us.

19/ The word, hope, is throughout the Book of Job. Job, in the midst of all his suffering had hope, and this produced his endurance.

20/ Job 14: 12 - 14 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest

appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

Here was Job’s hope that produced endurance. And his hope was a change. I shall be changed. I can wait until my change comes. But Job also gives the time when that change will be—when the heavens be no more. When is that? That is to be with the new heaven and the new earth. As you know after the 1,000 year reign, we will have a time when the heavens and earth shall flee away. There will be the Great White Throne Judgement and a new heaven and a new earth. So Job was not looking for a resurrection until that time. This tells us the people before Israel will be resurrected for the new heaven and earth. Job longed for this day when he would be changed.

21/ This is true of us in Romans 8: 18 a day when we will be with the Lord and be like the Lord, but our hope is in the Heavens.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

22/ Job 1: 13 - 19 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

Here we have the calamity, if you can call it that, of Job. His oxen and his asses are all killed, and his sheep were consumed, and his camels, then his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, and there came a wind from the wilderness and smote the four corners of the house and it fell upon the young men and they were dead. Then God permitted Satan to touch his body. What suffering! But he kept his eye on the future.

23/ Job 42: 10 - 13 And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him: every man also gave him a

piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. He had also seven sons and three daughters.

In the 10th verse we have something very important. Job was rewarded in this life. The Lord returned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. The 12th vs. The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning, for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 cattle and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 she asses. Then also notice, he had 7 sons and 3 daughters. That fits in with all things working together for good.

24/ Isaiah 1: 5 - 7 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

I wonder if you realize that Israel is also pictured, like Job in his suffering. How Israel suffered. God said the whole head is sick, the whole heart, even from the sole of the foot unto the head there is no soundness in it. The wounds and bruises, and putrifying sores. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire, your land foreigners devour in your presence. Israel throughout its history has suffered tremendously, and it is because of Satan’s hatred for the seed of the woman, and Israel is caught in the middle.

25/ Isaiah 61: 4 - 7 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.

Here we have a beautiful portion of Scripture. Here we read about the kingdom, and God says for your shame ye shall have double and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion, therefore in their land they shall possess the double; everlasting joy shall be upon them. Like Job they, too, can have a goal in view, a double portion of what they ever had.

26/ Zechariah 9: 12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;

We have this same promise when final deliverance comes. Turn you to the stronghold ye prisoners of hope, even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee.

27/ Let me show you something about the word, hope, it is very interesting.

Joshua 2: 18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.

Here we have the story of the spies and Rehab. You will remember that she welcomed the spies, cared for them and watched over them, and they said, when we come to take over the city, we will deliver you. What you have to do is bind this line of scarlet thread in the window by which you let us down. They departed and she bound the scarlet line in the window. The word, line, is literally the word, hope, translated hope, many times in the Old Testament. Of course it wasn’t a thread, she couldn’t let them down by a thread. It was a rope.

28/ Ruth 1: 12 Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;

Here the word, translated line, is now translated hope.

Zechariah 9: 12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I

declare that I will render double unto thee;

Here we have the same word translated hope. This red rope in the window became hope to the household of Rehab. This had to be by faith. She put the rope in the window by faith. She couldn’t see that she was going to be delivered. All she could do was hope she would be delivered, and this is what faith does for you and me.

Hebrews 11: 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

AMEN

Ref: 9/13/81 / 630-2 THE HIGH ADVENTURE OF FAITH / 2/192021

THE MIDDLE WALL OF PARTITION

Photo by B Smith from the Patio

 

126 - THE MIDDLE WALL OF PARTITION

Full Transcription done in early 1960s 

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

 

 

Ephesians 2: 11 Wherefore remember, (Now Paul wants this to be impressed upon your mind) Wherefore remember, that ye in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without (that’s atheist) God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he (Christ) is our peace who hath made both one, (Jew and Gentile) and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;”

 

Now, I want you to listen very carefully. Paul said, First of all there was a time…and listen…a time when the Gentiles had absolutely no hope in this world. As a Gentile, a Gentile had no relationship to God; no relationship whatsoever. He had many gods, but without God; no god. They may have many gods, but they are not really of God. He said, The Gentiles were without God; no promise, no covenant of promise, no hope. Now, here is a point you must recognize. The time that Paul is talking about, the Gentiles have no access to God. They couldn’t pray, well, they could pray, but God wouldn’t hear them; no access to God at all. God made a difference between Jew and Gentile. 

 

Now in this portion of Scripture, and listen to me carefully, the difference is summed up in the word “circumcision”— circumcision. The Gentiles were the uncircumcised and the Jews, the Israelites, the circumcision. Now, God said, I made a difference. He said there was not a Gentile in this world that had access to God. He had no hope; whatsoever. He was without one promise. He was an atheist. Now why was this true? Because, according to Ephesians 2, God had erected a middle wall of partition. Now, that word is very easy to understand when you recognize that when they had Solomon’s Temple, the temple in Jerusalem, they had a court in the Court of the Gentiles and that was as far as the Gentiles could go.

 

Then they had the Court of Israel and beyond that they had the Holy of Holies. Now, between the Court of the Israelites, and the Court of Gentiles, they had erected a wall four and a half foot high. Every so often they had a plaque. Now, I’m going to read it, exactly what was on that plaque. (They have that plaque in a museum in England) Here’s what it says: “No one being a foreigner (that means a Gentile) may enter into the enclosure around the Holy Place. Whosoever is apprehended, will himself be to blame for his death; which will certainly follow.” 

 

Now, they said, any Gentile, who goes beyond the Court of the Gentiles, and goes beyond that wall, will surely die. He will be responsible for his own death. The Jews would kill him. 

 

Now the week before last, we took you to Acts 21: 28 - 32 Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place. (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.) And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut. And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul.

 

The Jews wanted to kill Paul. They said he had brought a Gentile, by the name of Trophimus, and he had brought him beyond the middle wall of partition into the Court of the Israelites. And, of course, Paul hadn’t done that; but they wanted to kill him. 

 

Now, I want you to see this. God had a wall; they had it in the temple; but God had a wall that wasn’t made of wood, or stone, or brick, or anything like that; but God made a difference between Jew and Gentile. He said there was a middle wall of partition, and the Gentiles were on the wrong side. They had absolutely no access to God. No access. They couldn’t pray; couldn’t be saved. They were completely lost. 

 

Now, to totally understand this, we have all come from Adam; Adam is the father of everyone who has lived in this world; is not living, and who will ever live…except the Lord Jesus Christ. He did not come from Adam. He is the last Adam. Now, we have all come from Adam. But one day God said he divided all the children of Adam between Israelites and Gentiles. Now, the word Gentile means what? We’ve told you over and over. Now the word Gentile means what? We’ve told you over and over. What’s it mean? Heathen or the nations.Now, God divided; and he didn’t divide it equally at all. There were many more Gentiles than Israelites or Jews and he made this difference. Now, have you ever stopped to think what the Gentiles were like. For you see, one day God just said, I cast away the Gentiles; I give them up. I was finished with them. Well, you say, God would never do that.

 

I was talking to two Mormons again today. They came around to see me and they just wouldn’t believe this. One of the thoughts I started with was God gave up the Gentiles at one point. God never gave anybody up? Didn’t he? Go with me to Genesis 6. Let’s understand what God has done.

 

Here we have the family that started in Adam. We have, in Genesis 5, the Antediluvian periods; the period from Adam to the Flood. Notice in Genesis 6: 5, will you turn to it.

 

Genesis 6: 5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great (was what? Was great) in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

 

What did He do? He said, Noah you build an ark. Now, I want you to see this. Here we have only Gentiles in the first six chapters of Genesis; nothing but Gentiles. They were so wicked, they were so corrupt, God said, I’m going to open the windows of heaven, break up the fountains of the great deep and I’m going to send a flood. And only those who are in the ark will be spared. Everyone else is going to perish; and they did just that. They perished. Only those who were in the ark…and God started all over again. But what happened? Go with me to Genesis 11 and the 1st verse.

 

Genesis 11: 1 Now, to understand the middle wall of partition, you must understand what I’m talking about here.

 

And the whole earth (Now, notice it, there were nothing but Gentiles in Genesis 11) was of one language (Only Gentiles in Genesis 6 when God raised up Noah. Now, Noah is gone; and the whole earth…just Gentiles) one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said, go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” (Shinar is Babylon, Iraq)

 

Now, what was God’s plan? The Gentiles, the nations, should go into all the world and replenish the earth.And the Gentiles said, No way; we’re not going to obey God. We’re going to build a temple; and that’s what they did. They built the first ecumenical church in all the world. Everybody had one language. They built a church; they said, the top of it’s going to reach to heaven, and at the top of it they had their sacrifices. They said, It’s through this building, through this temple, that we have access to God. And they knew better than that; but they deliberately turned their back upon God. And what happened? Well, notice the 5th verse of Genesis 11.

 

Genesis 11: 5 And the LORD came down to see the city and tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

 

(Notice the word mind; over, and over again. Imagination) Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth; and they left off to build the city.

 

Now, what happened? Man was corrupt all the way from Adam on up. Time and time again they became corrupt. God finally destroys them in the flood and only those in the ark went free. Then Noah, himself, became drunken. He became corrupt. Then we go on to the tower of Babel and God said, All right, this is enough now; man has gone far enough. He said, I’m going to give them up. He said, I’m going to give them all different languages, and scatter them upon the face of the earth. They won’t have fellowship one with another. Did you ever realize what an awful barrier languages can be…terrible barrier. They didn’t have time to study them. They didn’t know anything about phonetics. They didn’t have time to sit down and learn on another’s language. Here, God confounded them and he scattered them.

 

Those of the same language went to different areas. Now, what happened at this point? Well, turn to Romans 1 and let me show you what happened to them. 

 

In Romans the 1st chapter. 

 

Now, in Romans 1: 21 Because that, when they knew God, (for they knew God) they glorified him not asGod, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.”

 

Now, what happened? This is Genesis 11 right in front of you. This is Genesis 11. God is going back, through Paul, to Geneses 11. There were only Gentiles; no Jews, only the nations, the heathen. And God said, they knew about me: they knew exactly what I expected of them; they knew this; but deliberately turned their back on it. They disobeyed me. They became vain in their imagination and what did they do?

 

They turned to idolatry. They turned to this ecumenical movement. They said; “We’ll have a religion of our own. We’ll make god with our own minds. We’ll decide what god we’ll worship. We don’t want the God who has been revealed to us. We’ll have the god that we want.” And what happened? Notice the 24th verse of Romans 1. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lust of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves:

 

If you don’t think lesbianism and homosexuality are wrong, you read this Scripture; you see what God thinks of it; for here’s where it started. Here’s where it became popular; right here at the tower of Babel. 

 

All right, notice the 26th verse. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change (Notice the 24th verse:) Wherefore God also gave them up. (Notice the 26th verse.) God gave them up unto vile affections: (Now, notice this in the 28th verse.) And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

 

What happened? God said, I’m done with the Gentiles for a season. Now, here’s something you must see; God cast the Gentiles away. God cast the Gentiles away. He said, I won’t have anything to do with them. They have made a choice. The Gentiles made their own choice. The Gentiles made their own choice for their own god: for idolatry, sexual wickedness: and He said, I’m giving them up; I’m giving them over. What did he do? Well, go back to Genesis 12 and please notice this so you will understand your Bible.

 

Genesis 12: 1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

 

Now, what did God do? Remember, at this time there are only Gentiles; only Gentiles. God turned to a Gentile by the name of Abram. (Now in Genesis, the 23rd chapter, Abram was a devil worshiping Gentile; he was an idolatrous person.) You see, the whole world was sold into idolatry. All the world, in mass, has gone into idolatry and Abram went right along with them along with his father.

 

They were all devil worshipers and went right along with them, along with it. (This all happened in Mesopotamia near Iraq.)

 

They were all devil worshipers and everyone worshiped an idol…that is worshipping the devil. God says so very clearly.

 

God says, I gave all the Gentiles up except one, Abram and his wife Sara; and I told them, you go into a land that I’m going to show you. And Abram obeyed; amazingly, he obeyed. And when he went, God gave him a promise; and when he believed the promise, God sends him. Now, God has given up all the Gentiles except Abram and Sara. They don’t have any children..no children at all. But when Abram became 99 years of age (Now, will you listen to me?) When Abram became 99 years of age; God changed his name to Abraham; and at that point, God erected the middle wall of partition; right there…when Abram was 99 years old. 

 

Go to Genesis 17. Now, in Genesis 17, let’s start with the 4th verse.

 

Genesis 17: 4 As for me behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

 

Here he is 99 years old and he doesn’t have any children. This seems ironic! Here’s a man 99 years old, and God says, your going to be a father of many nations. He doesn’t even have a son; he doesn’t have a daughter.

 

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee;  Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of you foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And the uncircumcised man-child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

 

Now, do you see this? We started out with Adam. Coming from Adam we have all people, Gentiles, heathen. These heathen are corrupted all the way. They are sinners; they disobey God time, after time, after time. Finally, God says in Genesis 11: When they become ecumenical minded, and they say, we don’t want this God that we know; we’re going to turn to gods of our own making, and turned to idolatry, God cast them aside. But he didn’t build the wall of partition until Abram became Abraham and he was circumcised. 

 

Now, from this time on in Genesis 17 (up until that time the middle wall is broken down) we have two groups of people in the world: circumcised, uncircumcised. You say, weren’t any Gentiles circumcised? Well, it wouldn’t have mattered whether they were or not, you see, this was a spiritual thing. They had to be circumcised a special way, on the special day, and they had to be of the seed of Abraham. And of the seed of Abraham, we have the circumcised nations opposed to all the other nations, the Gentiles. But 430 years later, something happened. Do you know what it was? Turn with me to Galatians the 3rd chapter, if you will.

 

Galatians 3: 19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added (it had a beginning) because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

 

What was the law added too? It was added to the seed of circumcision. Sit down and read that whole chapter of Galatians 3…Added to the seed of circumcision. You see, that middle wall of partition was built at the time of circumcision. Circumcision was the beginning of that wall. Then God gave the Law; the Mosaic Law and attached the Law to it. Remember, and that Law just fortifies, strengthened that middle wall of partition and made a difference between Jew and Gentile. It started with circumcision. It was fortified by the Law.

 

No Gentile was ever given the Mosaic Law; no Gentile was ever given the Ten Commandments; it was added; it was imposed upon the Nation Israel, the Jew. Here’s where the Jew begins. You see, there were no Jews until the Law came. Jew speaks of their religion; their Law.

 

Now, did it really make a difference? Turn with me to Deuteronomy 14 Let me show you what this middle wall of partition did.

Deuteronomy 14: 3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, etc. Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof as he camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you. (Don’t eat them) And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase. These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:  And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean shall eat. But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the osprey, And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,…

 

God made a difference. He started the middle wall with circumcision; then He added the Law; and in this Law it said, Don’t eat certain things; you can’t eat certain foods. There are certain things that are clean and unclean. Incidentally, they weren’t allowed to eat pork. Boy, I would miss crisp bacon in the morning. I don’t know about you, but I love a good piece of bacon, if it’s not fried too hard. Some of you fry bacon and there is nothing left; it’s like shoe leather. But, my oh my, couldn’t eat pork; couldn’t eat certain fish, certain birds. God made a difference.

 

Go with me to Exodus. We want you to see that when God erected that middle wall of partition, he made a difference.

 

Exodus 20: 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, not thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates; For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

 

Now, no one kept the sabbath until Moses gave the Law. Abram knew nothing about the sabbath; Isaac knew nothing about the sabbath; Jacob knew nothing about the sabbath; Joseph knew nothing about the sabbath. It starts when that middle wall is fortified with the Mosaic covenant. It started with the circumcision covenant; now comes the Law covenant and God made a difference. This is only a small portion of what they couldn’t do. They had to eat certain things. They could only eat certain things. They had to worship on a certain day. Now, go with me to John the 4th chapter for a second. This is a Scripture many people overlook.

 

John 4: 20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. (This is the Samaritan woman) 

 

Now, I had some fun with the missionaries today from the Mormon Church, I said, your temple is in the wrong place, it’s got to be in Jerusalem. And they said, “God had other cities other than Jerusalem.” I said, “Name me one.” He said, “The City of Enoch.” The City of Enoch? Where’s the City of Enoch? Well, he said, “The whole city was translated.” I said, “I never read that; you know it’s amazing. Only one man, Enoch was translated, not a whole city.” But then I quoted this Scripture to him.

 

This woman said, “You’re Christ, your Jews; we’re saved because we worship in this mountain, in our temple.” You’re wrong; it’s got to be in Jerusalem and that’s exactly where it had to be. Turn to the Gospel of John and the 21 st verse.

 

John 4: 21 Jesus saith unto her, woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. (It’s coming; it’s here right now) Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation IS OF THE JEWS.

 

You would think that that Scripture was never in the Bible according to many fundamentalists. Jesus Christ said it: For salvation is of the Jews. When Jesus Christ was on earth, talking to the Samaritan woman in the Gospel of John, that middle wall of partition was still standing…Still standing. God had made a difference between Jew and Gentile; between circumcision and uncircumcision. So, what did the Gentiles do at that time, please tell me. What did the Gentiles do between Genesis 17 and when God made the covenant of circumcision, and all this time with the covenant of the Law. What did they do?

 

Go with me to Esther 8: 17 And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land (the Gentiles) became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.

 

What did they do? They became proselytes. Go with me to the Book of Acts on the day of Pentecost. Peter, the protos is speaking.

 

Acts 2: 8  (They had all been filled with the Spirit; and are speaking in tongues.)

 

Acts 2: 8 And now hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? (They heard in their own tongue) Parthians, and Meds, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and Judaea, and Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and (notice) strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes.

 

What happened? Listen to me carefully. On the day of Pentecost, when they spoke in tongues, there were Jews from all over the known world and there were proselytes; Gentiles, who became proselytes; they became Jews; they became Jews. The only way, when that middle wall of partition was standing, for a Gentile to be saved, or to have any access to God was to become a Jew; he had to become of the circumcision. 

 

Scripture is clear. Go with me to Acts the 11th chapter.

 

Acts 11: 3 Now, to give you a background, here in the 10th verse, Peter has been sent to Cornelius. He had been sent to Cornelius, a Gentile, and he had preached Jesus unto him as the Scripture says: --Jesus Christ--and they had the same experience that they had had on the day of Pentecost. But after Peter had gone to Cornelius, the rest of the believing Jews, (These were not with the Jews, these were Jews that were saved; they trusted Jesus Christ; Scripture is clear. I don’t want to take time to show it to you, but notice in Acts 11: 3, what happened.) These folks, these believing Jews, came to Peter “Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.”

 

You see what they said? Peter, you went to the Uncircumcised. All the way up to the 10th chapter, they had not dealt with anyone who was uncircumcised. They hadn’t dealt with any Gentiles; the Scripture is clear; hadn’t bothered Cornelius was the first Gentile, or uncircumcised man to ever be preached to by the Twelve; by anyone in the Book of Acts. Beloved, why? Why that middle wall of partition was still standing in Acts 11. The seal of circumcision, I told you, was still there. God made a difference between Jew and Gentile. You have to go to Paul to find out that the middle wall was broken down and God had made Jew and Gentile one. Go with me to Romans 10, if you will.

 

Romans 10 (We told you again in Acts 13, the middle wall began to crumble).

 

Romans 10: 11 For the Scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: For the same Lord over all is rich over all unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

 

Go to Galatians 3: 26 For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

 

Ah, listen beloved, carefully. Paul comes along and says that the middle wall of partition is gone; there is neither Jew nor Gentile. In the first 12 chapters of Acts that’s not true. Acts 11 says they are still preaching to the Jews only.

 

I Timothy 4: 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

 

Beloved, please listen to me. We all came from Adam; originally, we were Gentiles; the nations became corrupt. God finally gave them up in Genesis 11, confounded them, gave them different languages; scattered them upon the face of the earth and they became idolatrous. They refused the God of the Bible. God called a Gentile, by the name of Abram, with his wife Sara, and changed his name from Abram to Abraham and Sara to Sarah, giving the seal of the token of the Covenant of circumcision; and God made a difference from then on. He finally gave the Law and made it stronger than ever and there was a difference between Jew and Gentile. For a Gentile to be saved, he had to become a Jew; a proselyte. 

 

You come to Paul and Paul says, There is no longer a wall; the wall is gone; we are both one in Christ…no Jew or Gentile today; it’s all finished. 

 

All you need, tonight, is to come to God through Jesus Christ. Circumcision doesn’t avail. The Law is of no value; it is ALL in Jesus Christ.

 

Beloved, I hope you can see this, here was that middle wall, it stood all those years from Abraham on up till Paul; up till Paul it stood and it was very formidable; but now he tells us in Ephesians 2 that we have been given access by the Spirit unto the Father.

 

AMEN

REF:  Early 1960s / 126 - THE MIDDLE WALL OF PARTITION / 2/16/2021