Because of your high praise of O'Hair I just assumed that you shared his view here:
"Peter and James and ten other apostles are going to sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19:27 and 28). But I do not agree with Christians who say that the twelve apostles were not members of the Body of Christ...I make no such foolish statement...that these Epistles of Peter and James are not for this age...I use 1 Peter 3:18 in preaching the gospel of grace as frequently as I use any other verse" [emphasis mine] (O'Hair, The Accuser of the Brethren and the Brethren Concerning Bullingerism).
I apologize for mis-representing your view based on my assumption.
Let us look at the evidence that demonstrates that all believers were baptized into the Body of Christ. Here we can see that both Jews and Gentiles are baptized into the Body of Christ:
"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Cor.12:13).
In this passage Paul uses the pronoun "we" twice and from his introduction in that same epistle we can know that that pronoun is not only referring to those in the church at Corinth but also
"all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord":
"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's" (1 Cor.1:2).
All of the Jewish believers living in the first century did indeed call on the name of Jesus Christ so therefore all of them belonged to the Body of Christ. Therefore, the words at 1 Corinthians 12:13 were addressed to them.
We can go to the next book of the Bible to see what message was being preached to the Jews and we can also see that belief in that message brought salvation. On the day of Pentecost Peter used facts of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus to prove the deity of Jesus and the fact that he is the promised Messiah. Peter ended his sermon with the following words:
"Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).
Dr. Stanley D. Toussaint, Senior Professor Emeritus of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary (Acts 2), writes the following commentary on Acts 2:36:
"Here is the conclusion to Peter's sermon. The noun 'Lord', referring to 'Christ', probably is a reference to Yahweh. The same word 'kyrios' is used of 'God' in verses 21, 34, and 39 (cf. Phil. 2:9). This is a strong affirmation of Christ's deity" (The Bible Knowledge Commentary; New Testament, ed. Walvoord & Zuck, [ChariotVictor Publishing, 1983], 359).
The Jews who believed that Jesus is Christ, God come in the flesh, were "born of God". Dr. Zane Hodges, past Chairman of of the New Testament Department at Dallas Theological Seminary, writes the following in regard to Peter's words:
"Peter concludes his address with the assertion that 'God has made this Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ' (2:36). His hearers then reply, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' (2:37). But such a reaction presumes their acceptance of Peter's claim that they have crucified the one who is Lord and Christ. If this is what they now believe, then they were already regenerated on Johannine terms, since John wrote: 'Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God' (1 John 5:1; cf. John 20:31) " [
emphasis added] (Hodges,
The Gospel Under Siege, 101).
Here are the verses to which Hodges makes reference:
"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God...Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 Jn.5:1,5).
On the day of Pentecost those who believed the "good news" that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, were "born of God" and saved. Even today those who believe that truth receive "life" through His name:
"Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (Jn.20:30-31).
That was the same message which Paul preached to the Jews:
"And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God...proving that this is the very Christ" (Acts 9:20,22).
That was the same gospel which Paul continued to preach to the Jews:
"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ" (Acts17:2,30).
That is the same message that Apollos preached to the Jews:
"For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus is Christ" (Acts18:28).
That was also what the Ethiopian treasurer believed:
"And Philip said, If thou believeth with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" (Acts 8:37).
Hope this helps.
Shared the gospel of our salvation with a Jew the other day.
First issue - "proving that Jesus was the Christ...Moses in the Law, and the Prophets, did say should come."
Second issue - that He rose from the dead - this too, "according to their Scriptures."
Third issue - why He appears to have failed to "restore again the kingdom to Israel."
Fourth issue - the gospel of our salvation this side of all that.
You were right when you reminded me that Paul had received some aspect of Mystery truth on the road to Damascus - where he was saved.
Reviewing it there, in Acts 26, it was basic "But Now" information much how we now, from its basic frame of reference right off know - when we consistently follow it, that is - what is/is not for us.
Acts 26:
15. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
16. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
17. Delivering thee from the people,
and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
18. To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
That right there is the basic issue in our Mystery Dispensation - Israel concluded blind in part with the Gentiles God had long ago concluded likewise of, after which He called Abram.
As Paul relates in Acts 17:
30. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth
all men every where to repent:
31. Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men,
in that he hath
raised him from the dead.
The very chapter in which he had earlier alleged to Jews that Jesus was very Christ - the issue is the same but is one some miss:
Acts 26 here, in light of what Paul himself later relates in this same chapter what he'd meant by the following:
6.
And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God, unto our fathers:
7. Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.
What is
the hope of their promise?
The same as ours:
8. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?
9. I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
The issue for Paul is
always the same one - 2 Timothy 2's:
8. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David
was raised from the dead according to my gospel:
9. Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer,
even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
10. Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation
which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
How are both hopes in Him - by His resurrection form the dead!
Thus, why Paul could say to Timothy - in 2 Timothy 2:1. Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace
that is in Christ Jesus.
The power of the Cross that both Peter and Paul preached - how that it was not possible that death should hold Him - thus our great hymn - "Power IN the Blood!"
You know, brother, our differences in understanding aside; its great to be a Mid-Acts Believer with each and every one of you on here - with every one of you!
Look at all we get to see!
Ours is but to get out of its ways for that the reality of the following be ours also - 2 Corinthians 3's:
18. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the LORD.
Philippians 1:
9. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
10. That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.
11. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
This was what "our pattern" had desired of Mid-Acts Believers - that our love toward one another might abound yet more and more in all knowledge and judgment. That that might be what we might seek to approve as the greater value. That by that, we share and our explore our differences in understanding from this heart attitude towards one another; that by that we might ever strive to be found in Him - sincere and without offence as He has enabled us to be in Him til that day, til His day. That by that, we might be filled with the fruits of righteousness towards one another - fruits which are by Him - which He enabled by His death, burial and resurrection, the forgiveness of our sins, and His coming to dwell in us unto the glory of the praise of God.
Man, o man, that is what is ours! NOW!
If we'll but put aside our need to be right; that He alone be right!
This is what I have loved about O'Hair - not whether he was right or not about the Twelve or what have you - his heart for this truth here!
And this, even though he and Stam ended up a bit off as to the sense of Philippians 1:10 "things that are excellent."
Though, given their great battles with the same fools who are the very enemies of Mid-Acts today, the result of such intensity on the rendering of a passage at times, I can't say I blame them much for having ended up rendering the passage "things that differ" as Paul is talking about that; just not about Israel and the Body distinctions they ended up asserting from that passage - again; given the heat of their very necessary battles against what O'Hair had referred to as "the Accuser of the Brethren."
As usual, context is everything and theirs had been the context of - just when one battle was mounting, another came at them from another so called Father of Fundamentalism.
As one famous Grace Preacher has noted "We owe those three men and theirs, a debt of gratitude we can never repay. Ours is the privilege of moving on to the higher ground their great - oh so extremely rare - labors, have enabled us to begin our own from."