BETA: FOUNDATION SCHOOL - MODULE 9

CLASS 9

901 DOCTRINES OF PAUL

901 (A) DOCTRINES II

INTRODUCTION

The students should be acquainted with the subjects that would be thought in this

class, which among others include, the new creation, righteousness, sanctification,

holiness, faith etc. At the completion of this class, the students should have good

understanding of doctrines as taught by Apostle Paul. The meaning of doctrine and

the need for a good understanding of the Bible teachings (Ephesians 4:14); should be

reviewed.

9.2.0 The Pauline doctrines and his revelation

By Pauline doctrine, we mean the basic doctrines of Christ as taught by the Apostle

Paul, to all the Churches under him. You can find this in his epistles written to the

churches. These doctrines are as follows:

9.2.1 The new creation (2Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15; Ephesians 2:1-6;

Ephesians 4:24)

The new creature or new man is a recreated man, which means that he is a totally new

specie of being that never existed before. As a new creature, your tribe, social status,

colour, etc, do not matter. For the new creature, there is no account of his past life,

because he is a newly born child! Whatever he may have done does not stand against

him, because he was not the one that did them. He has a new spirit, which is different

from the old one; and this spirit is created after God in righteousness and true holiness

(Ephesians 4:24).

9.2.2 Righteousness

Righteousness, which means having a right standing with God, is what gives the new

creature the ability to stand in the presence of God without any sense of guilt or

condemnation. Righteousness is not by works but it’s a free gift of God to all those

who have received Christ as their Lord. At recreation or at the new birth, God takes

away the sinful nature of man and put in him His very nature and character -

righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Since, your righteousness is that of God, you

cannot be more righteous tomorrow than you are today, but you can become more

conscious of that righteousness. Remember that Christ has become our righteousness

and our righteousness is from God by faith.

9.2.3 Sanctification

Sanctification can be said to be the process of separation between the world and us,

and the world from us. Therefore we can see sanctification in two phases:

a. The first phase of sanctification is when God separated us from the world at

the new birth.

c. The second phase of sanctification takes place after the new birth. It’s the

process of getting the world out of us through the Word of God by the

Holy Spirit.

Every time you study or hear the Word of God, your mind gets renewed, and you are

transformed. This can be likened to a man that is pulled out from a gutter. The man

36still stinks though he is out of the gutter. It will take a bath and change of clothes to

stop the stench. This is illustrative of a life brought from the domain of the devil to

God's Kingdom. God has separated him from the world but he has to separate himself

from the world through the studying of the Word of God, fellowshipping, praying,

testifying, witnessing and getting involved with the things of God that will make him

renew his mind or think like God.

9.2.4 Holiness (Hebrews 3:1)

Holiness can be said to be a state of purity or sacred. It is anything or place where

God comes upon or is present. The new creature becomes holy by the reason of the

indwelling presence of God. Though God made the new creature holy, he has a role to

play by ensuring that the holiness is seen through his lifestyle, speech, appearance etc.

Romans 12:1-2 explains the part the new creature has to play by presenting his body

as a living sacrifice.

9.2.5 The Law (Romans 8:1-3; Ephesians 2:15; Hebrews; 7:18-19)

The law was not given to the Christians! In the Old Testament, it brought about the

knowledge of sin, and sin brought death to all. With the law, none is justified.

Therefore, the law was abolished and done away with. Now, we have a new law that

is at work in us: "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." This law supercedes

every other law and it is by faith in God.

9.2.6 Remission (Ephesians 1:7)

Remission is the act of totally blotting away or washing away of sins. Remission is

mainly for the unbeliever or un-recreated man. At the recreation or at the new birth,

his sin is blotted out or washed away. Paul taught about the remission of sins.

9.3.0 The Differece between Remission of sin and Forgiveness of sins

Remission of sin

a. It is for unbelievers. It creates a relationship between the new creature and

God and occurs when you get born again.

b. It can be seen as a pay back of debt for someone or for sin or punishment;

setting free from death and sin.

d. Can only take place once.

Note: Remission of sin is for the soul of man

Forgiveness of sin

This is an act of pardon from an error or a mistake and could happen more than once.

a. It is for the Christians.

b. There is a relationship between you and God.

c. It occurs when you do a wrong thing or eror either knowingly or

unknowingly.

9.4.0 WHAT IS FAITH? (Hebrews 11:1; Mark 11:23-24; Mark 9:23; Mark

10:27)

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen". We can

also say that faith is the response of the human spirit to the Word of God. Faith can be

likened to a seed. That is, faith grows. We can develop and grow our faith by

exercising our faith. In Chemistry or Science, substance is a type of matter that has

37weight, it has an existence and can actually be seen. That is why in relation to the

evidence; you have to prove that it is real. That is what faith is. It is very real and the

result is real.

9.5.0 GIVING AND RECEIVING (Luke 6:38; 2 Corinthians 9:6; Galatians

6:7)

Giving and receiving can be said to be the only way to prosper in the Kingdom of

God. Under the new law that governs us in the Kingdom (the law of the Spirit of life

in Christ Jesus), it reveals one of the most powerful principles of prosperity to us. You

receive or reap as you give or sow. The only way to always remain in supply is by

giving. In Luke 6:38, Jesus explains what happens when we give. He says, “Give and

it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running

over, shall men give unto your bosom”. What He is saying to us here is that when we

give, we have in abundance. He will cause men to give unto us. In other words, He

will open doors of opportunities and favour for us in the sight of men. Paul

recognizes this fact when in Acts 20:35b he reminds us about the words of Jesus

Christ that, "It is more blessed to give than to receive". In 2 Corinthians 9:6, Paul

explains the importance of the measure we ought to give, which corroborates Luke

6:38b that the measure, which you give, is the measure you receive. Paul states, “He

who sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully”. Furthermore, in Galatians 6:7, the

principle is also stated in a different form “...for whatsoever a man soweth, that he

shall reap”. Since giving is seen as sowing, whatever we are giving is a seed in our

hand. We know that a farmer always sows the best of his seeds or his yields. In other

words, we should sow our best to the Kingdom of God.

9.6.0 TITHES AND OFFERINGS (Malachi 3:8-10)

Tithes is 10% of your total income. It is taken out, separated and given to the Church

or Priest for the work of God. It is a commandment from God to all His Children. It

sanctifies your income, thereby enabling you to accomplish more with the money.

Besides, it causes God to rebuke the devourer for your sake. On the other hand,

offerings are freewill gift given in appreciation for the works of the ministry, and that

which God has done and is doing in our lives. The kind of gift you give to a person

determines how important the person is to you. It is very essential to bring something

as an offering when we come into the presence of God. This demonstrates how much

we appreciate him and will ultimately determine how He responds to us. Someone

once said "that if all failed, try giving an offering". We read in the Bible how men like

David and Noah touched the heart of God through their offerings (2Samuel 24:24;

Genesis 8:20-22). Offerings can be given in church, spiritual meetings or through

online ministries – in all these, there are a gathering and you are equipped with

knowledge unto a higher life in Christ.

9.7.0 HOW GOD SEES YOUR TITHES AND OFFERINGS

a. He that is faithful in little will be faithful in much (Matthew 25: 21, 23-29). God

uses little things to check our faithfulness. If we are faithful in those little things,

God commits greater things to our trust. In other words, we are given greater

responsibilities, because we have been able to build on the things committed to us.

b. Remember that God, Who is the Creator of all things, gives you the power to get

wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18). Therefore it will be wise to honour Him with it. He

gives us wealth for a purpose: to establish His covenant here on earth. So as you

honour Him with your wealth, He makes more available to you.

38c. Your tithes sanctifies your money, and since your money is sanctified, it goes a

long way in accomplishing what you want to use it for (Malachi 3:8-11).

d. Open windows and closed windows (Malachi 3:10-11, Haggai 1:5-11). By open

windows are opportunities. When we give our tithes and offerings, God makes a

way for us to receive more, by presenting opportunities to us. The devourer being

rebuked means that trouble or problems are taken away from our path. The reverse

is the case for a closed window. We find out that things tend to be against us and

unnecessary expenses arise; it will seem as if there is a hole in our pocket. Things

concerning our finances start going bad, because we refuse to give our tithes and

offering.

9.8.0 CONCLUSION

At the end of this class, the students should know what is doctrine and the reason why

he should have the right doctrine which are based on God’s Word and not the

traditions of men. More so, emphasis was laid on some of the basic doctrines of

Christ, as taught by Apostle Paul.