Something of Note - from Paul:

Let’s consider this installment as a parenthesis in our study.

I realize our premise is that Paul’ writings are set aside in our Bible without Paul. But here it would be good to understand the sequence of the events in the Bible that lead to Paul coming on the scene.

Paul was briefly introduced with the earlier referenced Acts 6 account of the stoning of Stephen, “a man full of the Holy Spirit,” as the third rejection of God, God now sets Israel aside. 

God then set aside the Jews with the Stoning of Stephen, as He had set aside the Gentiles at the time of the call of Abraham. So then both the Jews and Gentile were set aside. This is what Paul refers to when he says “there are none righteous, no not one (Rom 3:10).” 

This all is in preparation for God to do an entirely new thing with a new gospel through a new messenger who would reveal the depths of the purpose of Jesus’ incarnation, suffering, dying, resurrection and ascension.

With the setting aside of both Gentile and Jew, God was now to do something that had been “hid in God” (Eph 3:9) and eternally “purposed in Christ Jesus” (Eph 3:11), while it was “kept secret since the world began” (Rom 16:25). This SECRET PLAN OF God was not made known to any of the Bibles prophets, patriarchs or writers, until it was first revealed to the Apostle Paul.

This new relationship and gospel for man was to be built upon “grace by faith, without works.” It began in Chapter 9 of Acts with the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. There we see the ascended Christ come down from heaven to appear to Saul of Tarsus, saving him and gave Him this brand new gospel message for the Gentiles and some believing Jews (Gal 3:28), who both had been previously set aside.

They both now stand without distinction – no more as Jew or as Gentile – all are one in “the body of Christ”.

The Israel as a nation, remains set aside. Paul tells us what has happened to the nation Israel. He reveals when God will restore Israel to the Kingdom on earth, which had been long promised to Abraham and his seed.

Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

But, since we have taken Paul out of the Bible, we must skip these understandings that come only from Paul. So, we will continue on to see if there still is a hope for the Gentiles, apart from Paul’s new pure grace gospel.