More about Distinction Theology

The apostle Paul says the whole Torah is contained in a single word: love your neighbor as yourself. Does that mean that we are exempt from the other 612 commandments? This teaching further explores the question, "Which commandments of the Torah apply to Gentile disciples of Yeshua?", and it continues the discussion from the teaching titled "When You're Strange."

Distinction and Boundaries

Is unstructured worship more spiritual than formal types of worship? Many Christian teachers eschew formalism, protocol, and distinction in favor of universalism and homogenization which eliminates distinction, diversity, and protocol in the service of God. In this lesson from 1 Clement, Peter's number-one disciple weighs in on the discussion with an argument for maintaining boundaries within the body of Messiah. Here's where Clement stands on the debtate between One Law Theology and Distinction Theology.

Slaves and Masters

Apostolic directives for slaves and their owners in the Roman world have modern implications for discipleship today. This study from Ephesians 6 teaches us about Distinction Theology, discipleship, and the service of Hashem.

A Profound Mystery

Paul refers to marriage as a “profound mystery.” He does not mean that “men are from Mars and women are from Venus” or that “you can’t live with them and can’t live without them.” A “mystery” is “an esoteric secret” on the level of Sod. Let’s take a look at the profound mystery at the end of Ephesians 5.

The Fullness Who Fills All in All

There's deep Jewish mysticism at work in apostolic theology. In this teaching from Ephesians 3, Paul invites us for a swim in deep waters as he attempts to persuade the Gentile disciples in Ephesus to see themselves as more than "just Gentiles."

Fellow Heirs

What does it mean to be a "fellow heir" with Israel and part of "the commonwealth of Israel"? There's a right way and a wrong way to interpret Paul's analogies. We've tried the wrong way before. Let's try the right way. Take a trip through Ephesians 3:1-13 to uncover the "Mystery of Christ" which was "hidden in God" for ages past.

The Dividing Wall

Christ has "abolished in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility" and "the law of commandments expressed in ordinances" in order to make Jew and Gentile into "one new man" built together into a "holy temple ... a dwelling place for God." There's a lot of room for misunderstanding Ephesians 2:14-15. Here's a teaching to clear it up and make sense of the passage without falling into the predictable patterns of Replacement Theology.

The Immeasurable

Lesson two in our read-thru of Ephesians. If we understood the full implication of our salvation through Yeshua, we would not be concerned with status, prestige, social class or caste, nationality or ancestry, because the exaltatio of Messiah transcends all of that.

Let's Read Ephesians

A reading of Ephesians 1 focusing on the pronouns reveals a new persepctive on Paul's message to the Gentile community of Ephesus.

Korah Took Nothing

Rebooting Beth Immanuel after the Covid-19 shutdown, we come back together on Shabbat Korach and learn a lesson about our inner Moses and our inner Korah while working through the implications of Distinction theology in the synagogue service.