1 Sunday, February 8, 2015 Grace Life Schl f Thelgy Grace Histry Prject Lessn 161 Snship Edificatin: The Evlutin f SE in the Writings f Keith R. Blades, 1994-June, 2001 Nte t the Reader: these ntes have been updated t reflect further research that was dne since the teaching f this Lessn n 2/8/15. Therefre there will be sme details cntained herein that were nt mentined in the audi/vide accmpanying this study. (2/16/15) Intrductin: Persnal Thughts Regarding Blades The bulk f Lessns 155 t 160 were taken up with a survey f the precursrs t Snship Edificatin (SE). Nw that we have taken the time t understand SE as a system as well as its dctrinal/thelgical rts, we are in a psitin t investigate hw SE tk shape in the mind f Keith R. Blades and first began t be articulated in the secnd half f 2001. I first learned f Keith Blades in the mid t late 1990s (as a teenager) via expsure t his bk Satan and His Plan f Evil (SHPE). In fact, Lee Hmki was speaking at my Dad s church in Gena City, WI when the bright red cver f Keith s bk first caught my eye n Lee s bk rack (1996, I believe). I did nt immediately buy it, hwever. It was nt until the summer f 1997, at the age f 20, that I purchased a cpy f the bk at the Grace Schl f the Bible Summer Family Bible Cnference in Chicag, IL. SHPE was very influential n my thinking in my early twenties. During the 1998/1999 schl year, while a student at Grace Bible Cllege, I taught SHPE t the cllege age class at Berean Bible Church in Wyming, MI (nw Rush Creek Bible Church in Byrn Center, MI). My enjyment f SHPE prmpted me t secure cpies f Keith s ther printed wrks including: A Very Simple Survey f the Bible Vlumes I and II as well as Have Yu Ever Wndered What Heaven is Like and The Gspel f Gd s Grace: Make it Clear! Make it Plain! During my undergraduate years (1996 t 2002) at GBC, I als began receiving Keith s quarterly Bible study peridical Enjy the Bible Quarterly (EBQ). Via the quarterlies, I was als made aware f Keith s extensive library f teaching vides that were advertised in the quarterlies. While I kept up with the quarterlies fr a while, eventually I stpped reading them n accunt f my class lad. In additin t being a full time student at GBC, I als enrlled in Grace Schl f the Bible in the fall f 1997. My studies, in additin t wrking part time, wuld nt allw me t keep up with the quarterlies, thugh I cntinued t receive them and file them away fr future reference and reading. I was nt aware f Keith s teachings regarding SE until March 2014, when his name surfaced in a nw retracted Nrthern Califrnia Grace Fellwship YuTube vide. Hearing Keith s name mentined in this cntext prmpted my investigatin int his invlvement in the tw inherence cntrversy. It was this investigatin that caused me t cnsider the quarterlies that I had laid aside years prir as well as t seek ut electrnic cpies n the Enjy the Bible website. Pastr Bryan Rss
2 As I spke t peple abut my findings leading up t teaching these lessns n SE, many expressed surprise. Thse wh were nly familiar with Keith s bk length wrks (i.e., had nt read the quarterlies) expressed surprise (as did I) t learn that he was invlved and instrumental in the articulatin f SE. Fr thse unaware f the full spectrum f Blades writings it is as thugh there were tw different writers: 1) the Blades f the ppular bk length wrks, and 2) the Blades f the quarterlies wh is the funtainhead f SE. It is entirely pssible t nt be aware f this reality. If all ne has read frm the pen f Blades are his bk length writings, they wuld be ttally unaware f his enunciatin and supprt f SE in the quarterlies. The Perclatin Perid: 1994 thrugh June, 2001 I have elected t call the time perid between the publicatin f SHPE in 1994 and June 2001 the Perclatin Perid. During this six and half year time frame many f the dctrinal/thelgical ideas that wuld later becme part and parcel f full blwn SE can be bserved in rudimentary frm. It was in the secnd half f 2001 that Blades cmmenced his full scale articulatin f what has becme knwn as SE. I chse t begin this time line with 1994 because it was the year that Keith s mst influential and well knwn bk, SHPE, was published. It was als during this time perid that mst f Keith s bk length wrks were authred. The nly majr exceptin is the publicatin f Prperly Handling the Wrd f Truth in 2006. 1994 Satan and His Plan f Evil 1996 Have Yu Ever Wndered What Heaven is Like 1996 The Gspel f Grace: Make it Clear! Make it Plain! 1996 A Very Simple Survey f the Bible, Vlume I 1997 A Very Simple Survey f Genesis, Vlume II As I said in the intrductin, SE cncepts and thinking cannt be fund in any f the afrementined wrks t any nticeable degree. Rudimentary SE cncepts begin t appear in the thught stream f Blades with the first issue f the Enjy the Bible Quarterly that began its furteen year run in the first quarter f 1996 (as far as I have been able t determine). Fr the first tw years (1996 and 1997), Blades ran fur main articles, ne each quarter. Beginning in 1998, Blades devted the furth quarter issue t addressing questins and answers submitted by his readers. This practice cntinued until the peridical ended its run in 2009. Between its inceptin in 1996 and June 2001, twenty-tw issues f EBQ where published and distributed by Enjy the Bible Ministries. Pastr Bryan Rss
3 Seedlings t SE can als be bserved in sme f Keith s audi/vide teachings prduced and released during the time frame in questin (1994 t June 2001). The fllwing is a listing f relevant audi/visual resurces ffered by Enjy the Bible Ministries in their catalgue dated January 2000. 1995 The Adptin f Sns (A Primer t Snship) while this three hur study is nt dated, I believe it dates frm the 1995 Nrthern Rcky Muntain Berean Bible Camp. This is n accunt f the fact that SHPE was published in 1994 and Keith can be heard speaking abut his new bk in the first hur f teaching in that study. I believe that SHPE was published during the secnd half f 1994 and prmted at the 1995 cnference. Then, during the first quarter f 1996, when the EBQ was launched the first article was titled The Adptin f Sns (A Primer t Snship). This vide series is spken f in a ftnte in the Enjy the Bible quarterly in the secnd quarter f 1998. 1997 Gdliness is advertised as cming frm the 1997 Nrthern Rcky Muntain Berean Bible Camp. The descriptin in the catalgue lists Gdliness as the primary bjective f the edificatin prcess utlined in this three hur study. 1998 A Survey f Gd s Prgram with Israel: Jb t Sng f Slmn advertised as new audi n the back f the 3 rd quarter issue f the EBQ. At this time when teaching thrugh Prverbs, Blades says nthing abut Prverbs 1 being a Table f Cntents r Curriculum Map fr Paul s epistles. 1999 The Effectual Wrking f Gd s Wrd advertised as cming frm the 1999 Nrthern Rcky Muntain Berean Bible Camp. 1999 The Effectual Wrking f Gd s Wrd in Israel s Prgram als advertised as cming frm the 1999 Nrthern Rcky Muntain Berean Bible Camp. This three hur study includes a study n the dctrine f Gd s Jehvah-ness and grace. I believe the tw studies listed abve frm 1999 were riginally advertised as new under the tile The Effectual Wrking f Gd s Wrd in the 4 th quarter issue f the EBQ in 1999. This 14 hur series was the jint effrt f bth Alex Kurz and Keith Blades. Accrding t the 1 st quarter issue f the EBQ frm 1999 the theme f the 1999 Nrthern Rcky Muntain Berean Bible Camp was ging t be The Wrd f Gd Which Effectually Wrketh Als in Yu that Believe. The advertised speakers where Alex Kurz and Keith Blades. Later, in the Enjy the Bible Ministries catalgue frm January 2000 the teachings f Blades frm the 1999 Bible Camp were separated frm the larger jint effrt and sld separately. 1999 Justificatin & Salvatin: Or the Thief n the Crss, Is He an Exceptin t the Rule is advertised in the 2 nd quarter issue the EBQ as new. While this series seems t have had n direct bearing upn the themes f Snship and/r Edificatin, it is Pastr Bryan Rss
4 cntrversial fr its teaching n the justificatin f Old Testament saints. In this series Blades maintains that the saints f Time Past are justified in the exact same manner as members f the bdy f Christ during the dispensatin f grace. In shrt, Blades asserts that wrks played n part in hw Old Testament saints were declared right befre Gd. The questin f hw saints in Time Past were justified cntinues t be an nging tpic f discussin/debate amng Grace Believers. This series f studies by Blades has been at the frefrnt in recent years as these discussins have transpired, especially within the Grace Schl f the Bible circle f the Grace Mvement. 2000 The Divine Design f Edificatin this 2 hur study riginated frm the 2000 Nrthern Rcky Muntain Berean Bible Camp. The 1 st quarter issue f the EBQ states that the theme fr the 2000 Bible Camp wuld be Mre Abut: The Wrd f Gd Which Effecutally Wrketh Als in Yu That Believe. The speakers were again Alex Kurz and Keith Blades. The 3 rd quarter issue f the EBQ advertises Part 2 frm the 2000 Bible Camp as being available fr purchase. The 2 hur series The Divine Design f Edificatin was again taken frm these meetings and sld separately. Keith can be heard talking abut the Alex and the camp s theme multiple times in the recrdings. The dctrine cvered in this 2 hur series is very similar t Blades turning pint article frm the 3 rd quarter f 2001. Snship Seedlings in the EBQ frm 1994 t June 2001 1996 The EBQ debuted during the first quarter f 1996 with an article titled The Adptin f Sns: A Primer t this Wnderful Truth (nte the similar title t the audi series listed abve). As the title suggests, this article captures the early thinking f Blades n snship and adptin. The inaugural issue f the EBQ sets frth many snship seedlings that wuld later flwer int full blwn SE. Sme f these cncepts include the fllwing: Definitin f Biblical Adptin and the Difference Between Children and Sns T adpt a child nt naturally yur wn is nly ne kind f adptin. T adpt simply means t take smething unt yurself and make it yur wn. Hence, there are ther kinds f adptins, especially in ther cultures, ne f which is the kind f adptin Paul refers t in Rmans 8. In Hebrew culture, and even amng the Greeks f Paul s day, parents adpted their wn children. When they did this they recgnized a level f maturity that their child had reached and they n lnger treated him as a little child, but began treating him as an adult. By this kind f adptin the child was declared t be n lnger in a state f childhd. He had nw passed frm childhd int adulthd. He was nw declared t be a sn and n lnger a child, and he was nw ging t be treated as an adult by his parents. (Blades, EQB 1 st Q. 1996, 1) Snship is Smething That Must be Attained Unt Here Paul cites this unique cultural issue f adptin s cmmn in his day. As he says, a father s wn ffspring is his Pastr Bryan Rss
5 heir. But fr as lng as he is a child, r is in the state f childhd, his father desn t treat him any different frm a servant. He may be lrd f all being his father s heir, but he is nt treated as such by his father fr as lng as he is in the state f childhd. Rather, in accrdance with childhd and being a minr, the father deals with his ffspring thrugh the use f tutrs and gvernrs. The relatinship between the tw, therefre, is restricted and is n a puerile level... This appinted time f the father is the time at which the father adpts his wn child. He declares his ffspring t n lnger be a child in the state f childhd, but nw he is an adult, a sn. He has attained unt snship. (Blades, EQB 1 st Q. 1996, 1) All Believers in the Dispensatin f Grace are Sns f Gd Again, this is the kind f adptin Paul is talking abut when he declares that we in this dispensatin f grace are nw the adpted sns f Gd. Having adpted us Gd has put us int the psitin f adult sns. We pssess snship. He is nt treating us like children. Instead, He is dealing with us as adults, as sns.... The prvisin t enable Gd t deal with His heirs as sns and n lnger have t deal with them as children was made by Christ n the crss. In view f it, Gd culd adpt His heirs and the glries f snship culd begin t be enjyed by them. Gd, hwever, suspended His prgram with Israel and they have yet t receive the adptin f sns. We, the members f the church the bdy f Christ, are the heirs f Gd in this present dispensatin f grace. In accrdance with the prvisin Gd has made thrugh Christ fr snship t be a reality, and in view f the riches f His grace unt us, Gd has wnderfully adpted us, putting us in the psitin f adult sns and treating us as such. We are nt being treated by Him as children under the tutr and gvernr system f the Law, but we are being treated as sns (Ftnte: Israel will receive the adptin when Gd resumes and fulfills His prgram with them upn the cnclusin f this present dispensatin f Gentile grace. See Rmans 9-11, especially 9:1-5; 11:1-36). (Blades, EQB 1 st Q. 1996, 2) Father Becmes His Sns Teacher and Guide Instead, having placed his child in the psitin f an adult sn, nw the father himself persnally becmes his sn s teacher and guide. The father nw persnally assumes the remaining educatin f his sn. This is smething nt nly lked frward t by the father, but it is als a wnderful liberty fr the sn. Ging frm tutrs and gvernrs t being persnally dealt with by his father is an issue f great jy and relief t a sn. (Blades, EQB 1 st Q. 1996, 2) The main pint expressed in the inaugural issue f the EQB is that, as members f the bdy f Christ, we are nt under the tutr and gvernr principle f the law as Israel was in time past. In this regard it is very similar t what we saw expressed by Pastr Stam in his shrt piece n Snship frm Tw Minutes With the Bible that we studied in Lessn 143 (see pages 5 and 6). That being said, there are rudimentary cncepts t SE swirling arund the edges f the article s main pint. Pastr Bryan Rss
6 In the third Quarter f 1996, Blades published an article titled Awesme Resurrectin Changes. This issue is significant because it cntains the fllwing clear statement that, at the time, Blades believed that all believers are jint-heirs with Christ. Right nw we pssess the standing f adptin, r snship, and are being treated by Gd as adult sns, as Paul stated earlier in verses 14-15. Hwever, when Gd ends this dispensatin we will then have the inheritance prtin f ur "adptin" and will be manifested in that inheritance as the sns f Gd. Hence, verse 19 refers t "the manifestatin f the sns f Gd." In accrdance with this, the "redemptin f ur bdy" will nt nly invlve mrtality being swallwed up f life, but it will als invlve a number f ther changes t ur bdies cmmensurate with ur inheritance as "jint-heirs with Christ" and with the special heavenly vcatin unt which Gd has called us. (Blades, EBQ 3 rd Q. 1996, 2) 1997 Thematically, if the first year f the EBQ (1996) fcused n the issues f snship and suffering; in the secnd year (1997) the prcess f edificatin was a dminant theme. Tw f the fur issues released in 1997 fcused n the theme f edificatin. These included the first quarter article titled Thse That Oppse Themselves and the third quarter article Have Their Cnscience Seared With a Ht Irn. In Thse That Oppse Themselves frm the first Quarter f 1997, Blades discussed the varius ways that believers can ppse themselves and thereby hinder their wn edificatin. Blades identifies the fllwing three ways that believers can ppse their wn edificatin: 1) ppsitin t the authrity and pwer f the wrd f Gd; 2) ppsitin t rightly dividing the wrd f truth; and 3) ppsitin t edificatin itself. In a sectin titled Hw is that dne? Blades states the fllwing regarding hw believers can hinder their wn edificatin. Just hw is it that a Christian can ppse himself and hinder his edificatin? What cmprises it? Simply put a Christian ppses himself when he thinks differently abut edificatin than Gd des. In particular, when in his thinking he ppses the very things necessary t achieve gdly edifying. Self-deceptin and self-ppsitin are activities f ur mind. Hence, when we think differently than Gd des abut the very things He says are necessary fr ur edificatin, then we ppse urselves and hinder ur edificatin. Edificatin, f curse, is a functin f the wrd f Gd. Cnsequently, the things Gd says are necessary fr ur edificatin are things abut ur attitude and apprach t His wrd. Hence, it is ur thinking abut the wrd f Gd and hw we handle it that is the issue in whether we ppse urselves r nt. (Blades, EBQ 1 st Q. 1997, 2) Later in the same article, Blades begins t tie tgether the issues f edificatin and snship. Accrding t Blades, ne ught t desire their edificatin mre than anything. In summatin, Blades stated in part: Pastr Bryan Rss
7 The third f the three ways that we ppse urselves when it cmes t ur edificatin has t d with ur attitude twards edificatin itself. It is evident that Gd places great value upn ur edificatin. In fact, t say it that way is t put it mildly. Fr in truth Gd lngs fr it. Indeed, everything He has dne fr us in this dispensatin testifies t this. Cnsider, fr example, that in this dispensatin He is treating us as "sns" s that we may be taught directly by Him... Withut a dubt, Gd lngs fr ur edificatin. It is precius in His sight. The questin nw is, is it precius in ur sight? It certainly ught t be. We ught t desire it mre than anything. (Blades, EBQ 1 st Q. 1997, 4) In his third quarter article frm 1997 titled Having Their Cnscience Seared With a Ht Irn Blades uses the phrase the prcess f edificatin fr the first time. In additin Keith s definitin f Gdliness which later became part f SE is intrduced fr the first time int the thught stream. As "the epistle f Christ," the Lrd s very wn wrds t us are written upn the "tables f (ur) heart" by the Hly Spirit thrugh the prcess f edificatin. (Blades, EBQ 3 rd Q. 1997, 3) With the renewing f ur mind the Hly Spirit takes the authritative written wrd f Gd t us and educates us particularly in the knwledge f what Gd values and esteems. Our thinking, alng with the nrms and standards f ur cnscience, are adjusted by the authrity f the written wrd f Gd t us and brught int cnfrmity with it. We are then able t think abut things as Gd des, knw hw t d things Gd s way, and labr with Gd in what He is ding. The wrd f Gd thrugh the Spirit f Gd becmes the life f ur inner man, particularly the vitality f ur cnscience. As such, therefre, we pssess and are t perate slely upn the authritative knwledge f what Gd says is right; what He says is truth; what He says He is ding, and the like. (Blades, EBQ 1 st Q. 1997, 2) Fr the recrd, I am nt saying that I d nt think that edificatin is a prcess because I d. I just d nt think in takes places in the manner described by SE. 1998 Thrugh June 2001 During the three and a half years between 1998 and June 2001 Blades was relatively silent regarding the subjects f snship and edificatin. Of the furteen issues f the peridical published during these years, nly tw issues deal with snship and/r edificatin t any significant degree. These include the fllwing: 1) Gird Up Thy Lins Like a Man frm the secnd quarter f 1998, and 2) Christian Ungdliness frm the first quarter f 1999. There is n mentin f these subjects during the whle f the year 2000 r the first half f 2001. Pastr Bryan Rss
8 In Gird Up Thy Lins Like a Man frm the secnd quarter f 1998, Blades uses the term snship status tw times, snship ne time, and adptin fur times. In additin, he sets frth, fr the secnd time, his definitin f Gdliness. Briefly put, gdliness is cmpsed f three main issues: 1) T think like Gd des. 2) T d things Gd s way. And, 3) T labr tgether with Gd in what He is ding. These are the issues that cmprise being intelligently ccupied with Gd. In being made gdly, Gd created man t perate like Him and with Him in these three particular ways... Jb definitely needed cunsel. Hwever he needed cunsel that was true t, and in accrdance with, thinking like Gd des, ding things Gd s way, and labring tgether with Gd in what He is ding. He needed gdly cunsel frm that kind f knwledge.... By means f wrds with knwledge Gd brught Jb s thinking int line with His wn; enabled him t d things Gd s way in the situatin he was in; and gave him reasn t rejice in the fact that he was labring tgether with Gd in what He is ding. (Blades, EBQ 2 nd Q. 1998, 2-3) The first quarter f 1999 saw the publicatin f Christian Ungdliness by Blades. Christian Ungdliness uses the terms snship tw times and edificatin prcess ne time. Mrever, a third mentin f the definitin f Gdliness, as well a brief but related discussin f sanctin, can be fund in this issue f the EBQ. Briefly put, with a make-up crrespnding t Gd s, man was created t be gdly in three specific areas: 1) T think like Gd des; 2) T d things Gd s way; and 3) T labr with Gd in what He is ding. These are the three fundamental cmpnents t gdliness, with the inner man issue f thinking like Gd des being the crux f the matter. Ungdliness, by definitin therefre, is the ppsite f this. It is the issue f nt thinking like Gd des; nt ding things Gd s way; and nt labring with Gd in what He is ding... Ungdliness, therefre, can afflict Gd s wn peple. Thrugh neglect f the Scriptures, imprper r dishnest Bible handling, heeding false teaching, fllwing traditins and the cmmandments f men, and the like, saints can be ungdly. They can fail t think like Gd des; nt d things Gd s way; and fail t labr with Gd in what He is ding. And this is pssible nt nly in Gd s prgram with Israel, but als with us in this present dispensatin f Gd s grace... In the pening verses f I Timthy Paul makes it emphatically clear that gdly edifying is what Gd wants fr every Christian. Gdliness, therefre, is the gal f the edificatin prcess (qutes I Timthy 1:3-4). (Blades, EBQ 1 st Q. 1999, 2-3) Cnclusin During the years between 1994 and June 2001, the seedlings f SE were being planted via the writing ministry f Keith R. Blades in the EBQ. During these years Blades fcused mst f his teaching regarding adptin/snship n the fact that members f the bdy f Christ are treated as Pastr Bryan Rss
9 adult sns in the dispensatin f grace and are therefre nt under the tutr and gvernr principle f the law. There were, hwever, certain cnceptual and explanatry precursrs t SE that had nt yet fully blmed in Keith s writings. During the third quarter f 2001 this wuld change and Keith wuld begin his full scale articulatin f what has becme knwn as SE. During these years 1994 t June 2001 Blades began t write and speak f the prcess f edificatin and began tying it in with his views n adptin/snship. In the next lessn we will assess the impact that Pastr Richard Jrdan and Grace Schl f the Bible had upn Blades as well as discuss the abrupt shift that transpired during the secnd half f 2001. Pastr Bryan Rss
10 Appendix A The purpse f this Appendix is t breakdwn the utilizatin f terminlgy that wuld later becme emblematic f Snship Edificatin by Keith R. Blades in the Enjy the Bible Quarterly between 1996 and June 2001. Please nte that these figures include nly ccurrences f SE terminlgy in the main text f each article. Occurrences in the subject headings and/r article titles have been mitted. Year 1 st Quarter 1996 The Adptin f Sns: A Primer t this Wnderful Truth 3 rd Quarter 1996 Awesme Resurrectin Changes 1 st Quarter 1997 Thse That Oppse Themselves SE Terminlgy Used Snship Status 1 time Snship 7 times Adpt 2 times Adpting 1 time Adptins 1 time Adpts 2 times Adpted 8 times Adptin 20 times Snship 1 time Adptin 5 times Edificatin 22 times Gdly Edifying 9 times Edified 2 times Definitin f Gdliness 3 rd Quarter 1997 Having Their Cnscience Seared With a Ht Irn 2 nd Quarter 1998 Gird Up Thy Lins Like a Man Edificatin 2 times Adptin 3 times Snship 1 time Snship Status 2 times Adptin 4 times Definitin f Gdliness 3 rd Quarter 1998 Rejice in the Lrd Alway Sns 1 time 1 st Quarter 1999 Christian Ungdliness Snship 2 times Edificatin Prcess 1 time Definitin f Gdliness Of the twenty six issues f the EBQ published between 1996 and June 2001 seven f the articles cntain SE seedling terminlgy and cncepts that wuld later germinate and flwer int the mature frm f SE that we have been studying ver the past five mnths. The fllwing is a listing f the ttals frm this time perid. Snship 12 times Snship Status 2 times Adpt 2 times Adpting 1 time Adptins 1 time Adpts 2 times Adpted 8 times Adptin 32 times Edified 2 times Gdly Edifying 9 times Edificatin 24 times Edificatin Prcess 1 time Definitin f Gdliness 3 times Pastr Bryan Rss