More about Paul

To whom is the Epistle of 1 Peter addressed, Jews or Gentiles? The answer mgiht surprise you. It has to do with being "born again." This teaching explores the divide between Peter and Paul and their respective ideas about Gentile identity in the Messiah Yeshua.

Children of Light

Why does Paul tell the Gentile disciples in Ephesus that they must no longer live as Gentiles? What's that supposed to mean? In what way are Gentile disciples of Yeshua supposed to live like Jews? The answer may surprise you.

Manner Worthy of the Calling

How does a disciple of Yeshua live? Here's a quick introduction to the rules of mussar for the disciples of Yeshua as presented in the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians. In this teaching, we do a quick read-thru of the entire chapter, commenting along the way about the difference between the old life and the new life in Messiah.

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."

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.

Paul's Gospel

What is "Paul's Gospel" and what makes it different than everyone else's Gospel? This third installment offers a summary of Paul's autobiography as presented in Galatians 1:11-24, in which he describes his revelation from Heaven and his divine commission to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.

Letter to the God-Fearers

An introduction of Paul's epistle to the Galatians, identifying the author, the addrees, and the situation that occasioned its composition. This teaching is the first in a series of 26 sermons prepared and delivered to Beth Immanuel Messianic Synagogue in 2009 which First Fruits of Zion edited together into the book The Holy Epistle to the Galatians: Sermons on a Messianic Jewish Approach.

Endurance and Encouragement

What's the purpose and intention behind the Book of Romans? Is it eternal security, predestination, or God's soveriegn choice? Try "None of the Above." Romans 15 summarizes Paul's intention for writing the epistle and sets the record straight. Romans 16 introduces us to the original recipients of the epistle. This final installment from the 2015 Beth Immanuel class "Paul's Epistle to the Romans" features a completely unedited and poor-quality audio recording made on a cell-phone voice recorder. Enjoy!