To Whom the Word is Written
To Whom The Word is Written
Most people believe that the entire Bible – from
Genesis to Revelation – is written to them. This is
not true. Believing that the entire Word of God is
written to everyone throughout history has caused
confusion and contradiction in rightly dividing The
Word. There are some passages in the Word of God
that just do not fit with other sections unless we
understand to whom the passage is specifically
addressed.
Suppose I received a letter today addressed to
Victor Paul Wierwille. Is it addressed to Mrs.
Wierwille? No. It has my name on it. But suppose
she reads my letter; could she possibly learn
something from the information in the letter?
So it is when it comes to the Word of God. That
part which is addressed to us must be applied by us.
All the rest of the Scripture which does not have our
name on it, which is not addressed to us, is for our
learning.
How many groups of people can different
segments of The Word be addressed to? In
1 Corinthians 10:32 God discloses His system of classification.
I Corinthians 10:32:
Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to
the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.
God lists Jew, Gentile, the Church of God – three
categories. Galatians 3:28 says that a person is
either a Jew or a Gentile until he becomes born
again of God’s Spirit at which time he joins the
Church of God. The entire Bible is addressed to one
or the other of these three groups. Unless one
understands to whom a passage or book or section
is written, he will never be able to rightly divide the
Word of Truth.
Romans was written after Pentecost, the day on
which the Church of God was founded, the Church
to which you and I belong.
Romans 15:4:
For whatsoever things were written aforetime
[before the day of Pentecost] were written for
our learning, that we through patience and
comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Those things written before the day of Pentecost
are not addressed to us but are for our learning.
In I Corinthians we are shown the same truth of
understanding as to whom The Word is addressed.
I Corinthians 10:11:
Now all these things happened unto them
[Israel] for ensamples [examples]: and they are
written for our admonition, upon whom the
ends of the world are come.
All Scripture before Pentecost is not addressed to
us but is for our learning. No one could be born
again and belong to the Church of God until the
Church was established on Pentecost. This is why
The Word says in I Corinthians 10:11 that all
Scripture before Pentecost is an admonition to those
of us who belong to the Church of God.
Then what about the laws of Exodus, Leviticus
and Numbers – all those things in the Old
Testament? Are they addressed to us? No. To
whom are they addressed? They are addressed to
the Jews or to the Gentiles because the Church of
God had not yet come into being. The Old
Testament, therefore, must be for our learning. It is
not addressed to us, it does not have our name on it;
but it can help us learn. For instance, the Ten
Commandments are not written to us, but we can
learn from them. Yet we in the Protestant churches
still teach as if the Ten Commandments were
specifically to us rather than for our learning. All
Scripture before the. day of Pentecost is for our
learning; so the Ten Commandments of the Old
Testament, along with others, are for our learning.
To this point, people usually understand. But
now take this key a step further in accurately
dividing God’s Word. To whom were the Gospels
addressed? To a period before or after Pentecost?
The Bible indicates that the four Gospels –
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – basically took up
with the birth of Christ and terminated with His
ascension ten days before the day of Pentecost. So
are the Gospels addressed to us? Not if the Word of
God is right for Romans says that all Scripture
before the day of Pentecost is for our learning, and
the Gospels obviously come before the founding
day of the Church of God. The records in the
Gospels are addressed at times to Israel and at other
times to the Gentiles, but never to the Church of
God. One of the greatest errors in the translation of
the Bible was placing the four Gospels in the New
Testament. The Gospels logically belong in the Old
Testament. Jesus came to Israel, His own people.
He was the prophet who fulfilled the law of the Old
Testament; therefore, the Gospels complete the Old
Testament.
Romans says that Jesus Christ was a minister to
the circumcision.
Romans 15:8:
Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of
[to] the circumcision....
I do not belong to the circumcision, and neither
do you if you are born again of God’s Spirit; for if
we are born again of God’s Spirit, we belong to the
Church of God in which there is neither Jew nor
Gentile. Jesus Christ did not come to start the
Church on the day of Pentecost; Jesus Christ came
as a minister to the circumcision. He was the
completion, the fulfillment of the Old Covenant, the
Old Testament.
Had the Gospels been placed in the Old
Testament rather than at the start of the New
Testament, much confusion could have been
avoided. The New Testament actually begins with
the book of Romans, with Acts being the book of
transition between the Old Covenant and the New.
The book of Acts gives the story of the rise and the
expansion of the Christian Church telling that on
the day of Pentecost men were born again of God’s
Spirit and filled with the power of the holy spirit
and that the Church continued to grow. Then the
book of Romans addresses its informative contents
to the Church with a few sections specifically
directed to the Jews or Gentiles. All Scripture
before Acts and Pentecost is for our learning.
We must be continually conscious of the part of
the Word of God which is written for our learning
and separate it from that part which is written to us.
These two prepositions, for and to, make the critical
difference between truth and error when it comes to
rightly dividing the Word of God.
I Corinthians 1:2:
Unto the church of God....
This letter is addressed to someone just as if I received
a letter addressed to me. To whom is Corinthians
addressed? The Church of God. That is what
it says and that is what it means.
Ephesians 1:1:
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of
God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to
the faithful in Christ Jesus.
Who are the saints? The saints are the born-again
believers. To whom is Ephesians addressed? It is
addressed to the Church.
This is so simple. The entire Old Testament plus
the four Gospels are addressed to either the Jew or
to the Gentile. But the Epistles such as Corinthians,
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I and
II Thessalonians are addressed specifically to the
Church as are the personal Epistles like Timothy,
Titus and Philemon. Hebrews is not addressed to
the Church in the sense that we know the Church
established on Pentecost. Hebrews is addressed to
believers who are born again of God’s Spirit but
who have never walked in the freedom or the
greatness of the new birth; Hebrews is written for
those who are still zealous for the law. Likewise the
book of James is addressed to the same Old
Testament-minded believers.
James 1:1:
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus
Christ, to [to] the twelve tribes which are
scattered abroad, greeting.
Could God write the address any more directly?
It is addressed to the twelve tribes who are
scattered, the dispersed Jews. The reason James is
so applicable to, many believers today is that
believers who are born again of God’s Spirit still do
not want to believe the Scripture which is addressed
to them; they seem to want to put themselves under
the law again. This was the problem in the early
Church too.
Acts 21:20:
And when they heard it, they glorified the
Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother,
how many thousands of Jews there are which
believe; and they are all zealous of the law.
These Jews were born again of God’s Spirit, they
were saved after Pentecost; but they were still
zealous for the law. They never walked into the
greatness of the revelation that came on the day of
Pentecost which the Apostle Paul set forth and
declared so boldly.
Galatians 5:1:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith
Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled
again with the yoke of bondage.
The word “liberty” “means a state of being
unrestricted, unfettered, free.” “Stand fast therefore
in the liberty [in your unrestricted condition]
wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” What is
the yoke of bondage? The law.
Those Epistles that are addressed to us must be
specifically applied by us. All other Scripture is for
our learning. We do not have to keep the Ten
Commandments; they are not addressed to me.
There is a greater law to the Church than the Ten
Commandments. We have the law of the love of
God in Christ Jesus. If we live love with the power
of God in us and the renewed mind, will we keep
the Ten Commandments? Definitely. We will not
go around breaking the Ten Commandments for we
live on a higher plateau; we live by a greater law.
What about the Lord’s Prayer? Is it addressed to
those after the day of Pentecost or did Jesus teach it
to His disciples before Pentecost? The Word of God
declares in Matthew that He taught it to His
disciples, to Israel. Yet almost every Sunday in all
major denominations, the members stand and the
minister says, “Now let us pray the prayer which
the Lord taught us. ‘Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy
will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread.’” Why can I not pray that?
Because the Epistles, which are addressed to the
Church, say that He has supplied all our need
according to His riches in glory. Certainly then God
has supplied my daily bread. When we pray, “Give
us this day our daily bread,” we are asking Him to
give us something which has already been given to
us.
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors.” Why can I not accurately pray this?
Because my forgiveness is not dependent upon
forgiving others for God said to the church of the
Gospels that “whosoever...shall confess me before
men, him will I confess also before my Father
which is in heaven.” The Lord’s Prayer says,
“Forgive us our debts [our trespasses or our sins] as
we forgive our debtors [those who sin against us].”
In other words, it is conditional – if I do not forgive
John Doe for his sins, God will not forgive me
mine. In The Word addressed to me this is not
indicated. It does not say anything about forgiving
anybody else. It says to confess with your mouth
the Lord Jesus; it does not say to confess your sin.
Do you see the difference?
To see the importance of knowing to whom a
passage of Scripture is addressed read the record in
Romans 8.
Romans 8:37–39:
Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing can separate me from the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus my Lord. Later, as I
continue reading, I come to Romans 11.
Romans 11:21, 22:
For if God spared not the natural branches, take
heed lest he also spare not thee.
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of
God: on them which fell, severity; but toward
thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness:
otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Romans 8 says that nothing can separate me
from the love of God; and yet three chapters later,
Romans 11 says that if I don’t continue in His
goodness, I am going to be cut off. What’s going
on? Look to see to whom each passage is written.
Romans 9:3:
For I could wish that myself were accursed
from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen
according to the flesh.
Who were Paul’s kinsmen according to the flesh?
Verse 4 says, “Who are Israelites....” To whom is it
addressed? Verse 4 says to the Israelites, the Jews.
Paul continued talking to Israel. Paul wrote in
chapter 10 verse 1, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and
prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be
saved.” This is still addressed to Israel. In chapter
11, verse 1, he says, “I say then, Hath God cast
away his people? God forbid. For I also am an
Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of
Benjamin.” Paul was still writing to Israel. But in
verse 13 Paul changed to the Gentiles in his speech.
Romans 11:13:
For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am
the apostle of the Gentiles....
Verse 21 of chapter 11: “For if God spared not
the natural branches....” Who are the natural
branches? the natural branches are Israel. “...take
heed lest he also spare not thee.” “Thee” who?
Gentiles. Why should God spare the Gentiles if He
did not spare the Jews? Gentile and Jew both now
had to be born again of God’s Spirit. We are neither
Jew nor Gentile; we belong to the Church of God
and nothing can separate us from the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus. But if a person is a Gentile
and not born again, “For if God spared not the
natural branches [Israel], take heed lest he also
spare not thee.” Verse 22, “Behold therefore the
goodness and severity of God: on them [Israel]
which fell, severity: but toward thee [the Gentiles],
goodness, if thou [Gentiles] continue in his
goodness ....” What does it mean for a Gentile to
continue in His goodness? The Gentile is to be
saved, born again of God’s Spirit. Unless the
Gentile continues in His goodness by making the
confession of Romans 10:9, “...thou [Gentiles] also
shalt be cut off.” All must now be born again.
As a part of understanding to whom the Word of
God is written a person must accurately recognize
the administrations in the Bible.
I Corinthians 9:17:
For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward:
but if against my will, a dispensation [an
administration] of the gospel is committed unto
me.
Paul says that an administration of the Gospel
was committed unto him. The word “dispensation”
is completely misleading, for an administration is
accurately the administering of an entire era as in
one of our government administrations. The
previous term of office was someone else’s administration.
In rightly dividing the Word of Truth, we
must understand that these Biblical administrations
have to remain within the confines in which God
has placed them with His Word.
As far as I have been able to study the integrity
of the Word of God, there are these major
administrations in The Word: (1) the Original
Paradise, (2) the Patriarchal, (3) the Law, (4) the
Christ Administration, (5) the Church, (6) the
Appearing, and (7) the Final Paradise or Glory
Administration.
The First or Original Paradise Administration
terminated very abruptly. It is documented from the
beginning of Genesis through its third chapter. In
the twenty-fourth verse of Genesis 3, the Original
Administration sharply ended.
Genesis 3:24:
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the
186 How the Bible Interprets Itself
east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a
flaming sword which turned every way, to keep
the way of the tree of life.
When God drove Adam and Eve out of Eden, the
Original Administration where God dwelt with man
came to a sudden end.
The second administration was the Patriarchal
Administration of Abraham, Isaac and all the patriarchs
until the laws of Moses. Things that were
given to Moses before the law were unwritten laws.
Things that were sins before the law was written
became transgressions after the law was given.
Romans 2:12:
For as many as have sinned without law shall
also perish without law: and as many as have
sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.
There is another reference to the Patriarchal
Administration in Acts 17:30.
And the times of this ignorance God winked at;
but now [He] commandeth all men every where
to repent.
“The times of this ignorance” refers to the
patriarchal period when the law was an unwritten
law, so God winked at the time of this ignorance.
That means that He just closed His eyes to it.
After the Patriarchal Administration comes the
Law Administration. And the Law Administration
which was initiated under Moses terminated when
Jesus Christ came.
The difference between the Law and Christ
Administrations is that Christ was personally on
earth to keep and fulfill the law so that preparation
might be made for the fifth administration, the
Church.
Romans 10:4:
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to every one that believeth.
Matthew 27:51 tells us that when Jesus Christ
died, “...behold, the veil of the temple was rent in
twain from the top to the bottom....” The veil that
separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place
was torn from top to the bottom. The veil of the
temple, once it was ripped into two parts, no longer
separated the priests from the people. The whole
area was then open to all both literally and
figuratively. The priests no longer had to make
intercession for the lay people once Christ had
fulfilled the law; the people’s intercessor became
Christ Himself.
The fifth administration, The Church of Grace,
began at Pentecost with the mystery of the Church
first being made known several years after
Pentecost to the Apostle Paul. This is the administration
under which we now are living.
The sixth administration is the Appearing Administration.
The Appearing Administration starts
with the gathering together of those believers who
were born again after Pentecost during the period
before the return of Christ. The record of the
gathering together of the believers is given in
I Thessalonians 4:17 and II Thessalonians 2:1 and
following. The Appearing Administration is also
called the Revelation Administration from the book
of Revelation. During this period Christ will appear,
gather the Church, and come back to earth with His
saints. The Appearing Administration ends when
Satan is destroyed and the great white throne judgment
takes place.
The final administration is the Paradise or Glory
Administration. The Paradise Administration
complements the Original Administration for that
which was started in Genesis 1 and 2 and terminated
with Genesis 3:24 takes up again in
Revelation 21. Paradise will once more be on earth.
There shall be a new heaven and a new earth
wherein dwells righteousness, where there is no
more sickness, no more sorrow, no more death.
This has been a brief analysis of the administrations
which are encompassed in the Word of
God. We must understand that the rules of life
change in the various time periods so that we must
see each administration within its distinct context.
When we look to see to whom a particular Scripture
is addressed, we must also see which administration
governs the rules.
As an example of understanding The Word in its
proper administration, turn to Deuteronomy 6:25.
And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe
to do all these commandments before the Lord
our God, as he hath commanded us.
To whom is Deuteronomy addressed? To the
Jews, to Israel. If they kept the law, they would be
made righteous. Deuteronomy can be set under law,
but it cannot be set under the administration of the
Church of Grace. If we observed all the commandments,
we would not be righteous because our
administration, the Church, operates under changed
rules.
For contrast in administrations look at Romans 3:20.
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no
flesh be justified in his sight...
On the surface, Deuteronomy 6:25 and Romans
3:20 appear contradictory. But they are not if we
recognize to whom they are written. Deuteronomy
was addressed to Israel under the Law
Administration while Romans is addressed to the
Church under the Church Administration.
Let me briefly point out one final key in
understanding Biblical truth. What course of action
does a person follow when he cannot make sense of
a very difficult verse – when the verse, the context
and previous usage are not satisfactory in giving
him understanding?
The difficult verse must be understood in the
light of clear verses. There may be one verse that
stands out as difficult, while there are many verses
on the same subject which are clear. Modern man
has magnified the difficult one and forgotten the
many clear ones. That is not honest. That is not
rightly dividing The Word. We must see that the
one fits with the many, not by squeezing it but by
working it. Sometimes I have waited ten years to fit
one thorny verse with the rest of the accuracy of
The Word. Time is not important when studying a
verse; the keys in The Word are. When we rightly
divide The Word as to whom it is written, we
understand that the one difficult verse must always
fit in the light of the clear verses on the same
subject.
We must always remember this first: that no
prophecy – not one thing of that which is foretold or
forthtold – is of any private interpretation. All
Scripture interprets itself either in its verse, in its
context, or by its previous usage. In the light of this
basic foundation, we will be able to study the
integrity and the accuracy of God’s Word.