In the Gospels, we see the Redeemer and the historic events surrounding redemption, but we don't know what He accomplished in that redemption until we get over into the epistles, there, primarily in the epistles of Paul, we have an explanation of what the Redeemer accomplished in His redemptive work - death, burial and resurrection - and what it means to the believer. So you can see that this is where God brings understanding of redemption to us, in the Epistles. We need to spend the bulk of our study there. We will never interpret the types and shadows right if we fail to underatand the Pauline Epistles. We simply MUST see the importance of the revelation given to the apostle Paul.

Another reason why many have not assimilated Paul's Revelation and really come into a consciousness of their place in Christ and Christ's place in them, is because they have only a fragmented understanding of it. They do not realize that this revelation given to Paul is not just piecemeal, bits and pieces of unrelated information, but it is actually a comprehensive system of truth made up of some seven major blocks or pillars. These major pillars are linked together like a chain forming a comprehensive system. You don't see all of this information laid out in a single passage or letter, but you collect all that Paul said in his letters concerning who we are and what we have as a result of Christ's redemptive work, it does form a system.

All believers today stand in deep need of finding out who they are in Christ. We need to know what Paul was talking about when he used expressions such as, "in Him," "in Christ," and "in whom." He is talking about a relationship that exists between the believer and the Lord. We are IN CHRIST (II Cor.5:17). We are in union with Christ just as the branch is in union with the vine (Jn.15). We not only need to know that this union exists, but also, what this union with Christ means to us.

Here are SEVEN major pillars that form a "SYSTEM OF TRUTH" for Paul's Revelation:

1. What is man.

2. Who Adam was and what Adam did.

3. What happened to Jesus in His redemptive work.

4. The believer's identification with Christ.

5. Who we are and what we have now that we are In Christ.

6. How spiritual maturity comes.

7. The present day Priestly Ministry of Christ.

These can become like links in a chain, and if people's understanding is weak in one of these areas, it will throw the whole system off, as a result they don't get it like they should. It seems most of us have had an incoherent conception of the plan of redemption; just bits and pieces scattered here and there, so our conception of ourselves as victors has been fuzzy and our faith under-developed as a result. But when we really know who God has made us to be in Christ Jesus, it makes all the difference in the world.

In these lessons, we will go into each phase of this "system of truth." We must get a clearer picture of our place in Christ and Christ's place in us if we are to fully overcome.

Paul’s System Part 1

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Spiritual Maturity Through a Revelation of the Person and Work of Christ