RSS feed for posts https://followingpaul.org en Wed, 24 Jun 2026 15:08:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/the-lambs-wife-why-the-body-of-christ-is-not-the-bride The church is called the body of Christ, never the bride. Ephesians 5 ends not in betrothal but in one body, His own flesh and bones. The bride, the Lamb's wife, is the New Jerusalem, the covenant people of Israel married, put away, and brought home. Rightly divided, the wife is Israel and the Body is nearer than a bride. Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/the-lambs-wife-why-the-body-of-christ-is-not-the-bride Right Division Mid-Acts Dispensationalism Body of Christ Israel Paul Prophecy and Mystery Mystery Program Kingdom Prophetic Program New Jerusalem Heavenly Calling Tradition vs Truth Mis-Application Bride of Christ Ephesians /pastor-s-desk/post/you-shine-already-what-murmuring-cannot-touch Philippians 2:14-15 rightly divided. The command to do all things without murmurings touches the walk, not the standing. You are a son of God and a light already, by grace. Murmuring cannot dim the light; it only gives the world a complaint and muffles the word of life you hold forth. Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/you-shine-already-what-murmuring-cannot-touch Right Division Mid-Acts Dispensationalism Body of Christ Dispensation of Grace Grace Living Christian Conduct Sanctification Obedience Will of God Judgment Philippians Rewards and Crowns /pastor-s-desk/post/present-truth-dispensational-truth-and-universal-truth Right division is not the discarding of Scripture but the right placing of it. Three tiers — present truth, dispensational truth, and universal truth — and two plain questions sort any passage: does it govern or describe, and does it reach every age or belong to a program. Keep all of Scripture; obey only what is addressed to you. Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/present-truth-dispensational-truth-and-universal-truth Right Division Mid-Acts Dispensationalism Body of Christ Israel Kingdom Prophetic Program Mystery Program Dispensation of Grace Prophecy and Mystery Paul's Gospel /pastor-s-desk/post/rightly-dividing-denying-christ Matthew 10:33 and 2 Timothy 2:12 sound like the same threat to a trembling believer, but rightly divided they stand worlds apart. The Lord's warning belongs to Israel under the kingdom program; Paul's word to the Body touches the believer's reward, the reigning with Christ, never his salvation, which rests on One who cannot deny Himself. Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/rightly-dividing-denying-christ Right Division Mid-Acts Dispensationalism Body of Christ Kingdom Prophetic Program Eternal Security Assurance Grace Judgment Suffering /pastor-s-desk/post/why-did-god-create-man-knowing-he-would-sin Why would God create man, knowing he would fall — and would it not have been kinder never to create at all? Answered on the only ground where it can be answered, the revelation given to Paul: God made the world to display the exceeding riches of His grace, and grace must have something to redeem. The fall was man's, not God's; the cross is God entering His creation's suffering; and the glory to come will leave every redeemed soul saying it was worth the making. Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/why-did-god-create-man-knowing-he-would-sin Mid-Acts Right Division Dispensationalism Body of Christ Mystery Program Prophecy and Mystery Grace Sin Suffering Salvation The Cross Repentance Creation Problem of Evil Sovereignty of God /pastor-s-desk/post/begun-together-body-and-dispensation-of-grace Did the Body of Christ and the dispensation of grace begin together, or did the administration start later with the prison epistles? Scripture's answer is that they began together at Acts nine, by the same revelation committed to Paul — the administration of grace cannot be dated apart from the people it governs. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/begun-together-body-and-dispensation-of-grace Right Division Mid-Acts Dispensationalism Body of Christ Dispensation of Grace Grace Paul's Apostleship Mystery Acts 9 /pastor-s-desk/post/can-a-saved-person-continue-in-the-works-of-the-flesh Can a saved person go on in the works of the flesh and still be saved? The question is really two: is he still saved, and what does it cost him? Paul's own warnings, the carnal Corinthians, and the answer to the Lordship lifestyle argument give a clear, rightly divided reply — security intact, walk and reward addressed honestly. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/can-a-saved-person-continue-in-the-works-of-the-flesh Right Division Mid-Acts Body of Christ Dispensationalism Eternal Security Assurance Sanctification Grace Living Christian Conduct Law and Grace /pastor-s-desk/post/the-commandments-of-the-lord Paul calls his own writings the commandments of the Lord, yet says we are not under law but under grace. Both stand. A law conditions standing on performance and curses failure; Paul's commandments are given to sons already accepted, touch the walk but never the standing, come with the Spirit's power, and are fulfilled in liberty and love. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/the-commandments-of-the-lord Right Division Mid-Acts Law and Grace Legalism Liberty Grace Living Body of Christ Dispensation of Grace Paul Apostleship Sound Words Bible Authority /pastor-s-desk/post/the-deacon-a-servant-in-the-house-of-god Tradition makes the deacon a board member with a vote. Scripture makes him a servant. The word appears only in Philippians and 1 Timothy, and Paul defines the man, not a board — a proven, faithful servant-minister of the local assembly, not a teacher, not a ruler, and never one of the gifts given to the Body of Christ. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/the-deacon-a-servant-in-the-house-of-god Right Division Mid-Acts Body of Christ Dispensationalism Paul Church Offices Church Church Traditions Holy Spirit Mystery Program /pastor-s-desk/post/when-there-was-no-rightly-dividing Before Paul, no one in Scripture was ever commanded to divide the word of truth, and that silence is the argument. Until the mystery was revealed, all revelation ran in one stream to one destination: the earthly kingdom. Scofield and Larkin count the ages but never divide the seas; the one ridge they will not draw is the one Paul reveals. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/when-there-was-no-rightly-dividing Right Division Mid-Acts Dispensationalism Paul Prophecy and Mystery Mystery Program Kingdom Prophetic Program Body of Christ Heavenly Calling Mis-Application Progressive Revelation Dispensation of Grace /pastor-s-desk/post/is-your-child-really-a-prodigal The parable of the prodigal son belongs to Israel's kingdom program, not to the Body of Christ. Rightly divided, it reframes the wayward child entirely — a saved child never loses his standing or fellowship, and a lost child needs the gospel of grace, not a works-earned homecoming. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/is-your-child-really-a-prodigal Right Division Mid-Acts Body of Christ Dispensationalism Mis-Application Israel Kingdom Prophetic Program Law and Grace Eternal Security Assurance Grace Living Repentance Paul's Gospel Circumcision Gospel Parables Fellowship /pastor-s-desk/post/recognizing-religious-indoctrination There is a difference between believing a doctrine because you found it in the Book and believing it because a system placed it there and trained you never to question it. This article defines indoctrination, exposes the Bible-study methods that blend Scripture while ignoring right division, and names the marks to recognize it in yourself. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/recognizing-religious-indoctrination Right Division Mid-Acts Body of Christ Dispensationalism Tradition vs Truth Church Traditions Mis-Application Sound Words False Teachers Bible Authority Religion /pastor-s-desk/post/recovering-from-religious-indoctrination Recognizing indoctrination is the first work; recovering from it is the road. Written for two who walk it — the one who was indoctrinated and the one who also taught from that position — it rebuilds on the rightly divided word: the security that frees you to examine, making Paul the measure, the renewing of the mind, and where you will be fed. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/recovering-from-religious-indoctrination Right Division Mid-Acts Body of Christ Dispensationalism Tradition vs Truth Church Traditions Grace Living Sound Words Paul Assurance Renewed Mind /pastor-s-desk/post/total-abstinence-from-wine-and-strong-drink Does the Bible command total abstinence from alcohol? The favorite prooftexts — the grape juice at Cana, the kings of Proverbs 31, the woe of Habakkuk 2 — are examined in context, alongside God's own command of a strong drink offering, and the liberty the Body of Christ has under grace, rightly divided. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/total-abstinence-from-wine-and-strong-drink Right Division Mid-Acts Body of Christ Dispensationalism Law and Grace Grace Living Liberty Legalism Christian Conduct Conscience Mis-Application Lord's Supper /pastor-s-desk/post/did-any-remnant-believer-cross-into-the-body-of-christ During the Acts transition, could a believer of Israel's kingdom remnant cross into the Body of Christ? Scripture answers yes, and names the proof: Barnabas, Silas, and Apollos among the Body's own apostles and prophets, a whole assembly at Antioch, and the Israel of God. Yet the programs never merge and the twelve stay fixed. Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/did-any-remnant-believer-cross-into-the-body-of-christ Right Division Mid-Acts Body of Christ Dispensationalism Paul Apostleship The Twelve Mystery Program Prophecy and Mystery Kingdom Prophetic Program Acts Period Israel /pastor-s-desk/post/speculation-and-sound-doctrine Soundness on the text is no guarantee of soundness everywhere. Some in the grace movement press the rightly divided word past what it states into speculation — such as the claim that the Body of Christ replaces fallen angels. This piece draws the line between what God has plainly said and what men build on top of it. Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/speculation-and-sound-doctrine Right Division Mid-Acts Dispensationalism Sound Words Doctrine Body of Christ Paul Polemics /pastor-s-desk/post/the-defenders-of-the-king-james A companion to Preserved, Not Re-Inspired, and a different kind of defense. The King James question is not finally settled in the manuscript debate; beneath it lies a question about God — would He hold His people accountable to His word and yet leave them unable to know which words are His? This piece answers there, on God's promise to keep what He inspired, then weighs the defenders worth reading: the sound men of the grace stream (Grace Ambassadors, Out of Tradition Into Truth, Bryan Ross), and the fierce defenders to be read with discernment (Ruckman, Riplinger, Grady, Gipp). It draws the careful line between preserved inspiration and the re-inspiration error, answers Waite from 2 Timothy 3:16, and rests the whole case on the character of the God who keeps what He inspired. Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/the-defenders-of-the-king-james Right Division Mid-Acts Dispensationalism King James Bible Preservation Bible Versions Inspiration Final Authority Sound Words Doctrine Body of Christ Paul /pastor-s-desk/post/the-kingdom-of-god-two-realms Scripture flattens "the kingdom of God" into one destiny, but rightly divided it embraces two realms — one earthly, one heavenly — with two peoples, two hopes, and two inheritances. This article shows why flesh and blood inherits Israel's earthly kingdom, why only the incorruptible can enter the heavenly realm of the Body of Christ, and how keeping the two distinct lets every promise land where God placed it. Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/the-kingdom-of-god-two-realms Right Division Body of Christ Israel Heavenly Calling Kingdom Prophetic Program New Jerusalem Dispensationalism Mid-Acts Hope Prophecy and Mystery Kingdom of God Resurrection /pastor-s-desk/post/the-seal-of-the-holy-spirit Paul states it twice and assumes it everywhere: the believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit the moment he believes, unto the day of redemption. This study traces what the seal is, what the earnest guarantees, and what it means to grieve a Spirit who can never leave the one He has sealed. Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/the-seal-of-the-holy-spirit Right Division Mid-Acts Body of Christ Dispensationalism Holy Spirit Assurance Eternal Security Heavenly Calling Mystery Program Kingdom Prophetic Program /pastor-s-desk/post/where-does-acts-end-and-the-mystery-begin The dispensational boundary is not a single line but a corridor with two walls. The mystery and the Body of Christ began at Acts nine, with Paul; the transitional overlap of Israel's program and the mystery closed at Acts twenty-eight. Not Acts 2 and not Acts 28 — Acts is the record of the transition between the two walls. Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 /pastor-s-desk/post/where-does-acts-end-and-the-mystery-begin Right Division Mid-Acts Dispensationalism Body of Christ Israel Kingdom Prophetic Program Mystery Program Dispensation of Grace Acts Period Acts Paul Progressive Revelation Remnant and Epistles