[The Church Blog] Poju Oyemade’s conclusive exposé into how Olowogbogboro opened the Gentile world to the Apostles

Yesterday, The Church Blog published a post on Pastor Poju’s insightful esposé into how Olowogbogboro opened the Gentile world to the Apostles. Recently, he made another post which serves as the concluding part of the Olowogbogboro episode.

You can read the full post here:

We have discussed in the previous article the challenge the apostles who were Jewish faced in communicating the gospel to the Gentile world. We quoted from Professor William Barclay an astute theologian and profound Greek scholar in the last century. He best described the challenge in these words,

“By the end of the first century the Christian Church was faced with an acute problem in communication. The Church had been cradled in Judaism, but now she had to present her message to a Greek world, to which the categories of Judaism were quite alien. As Goodspeed puts it: ‘A Greek who felt like becoming a Christian was called upon to accept Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah. He would naturally ask what this meant, and would have to be given a short course in Jewish apocalyptic thought. Was there no way in which he might be introduced directly to the values of Christian civilization without being for ever routed, we might even say detoured, through Judaism? Must Christianity always speak in a Jewish vocabulary?”

This was the challenge they faced, and we see that Paul solved this by looking into the culture of the Gentiles to find the witness of God’s presence in the things they did and then explained to the people who they were really trying to reach out to. He showed them that person was the Lord Jesus Christ. That way, they understood clearly and wouldn’t have felt He was just the God of the Jews but truly the Lord over all nations and tribes.

In Acts 17:22-24 (KJV) it says
“Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you”

How did the apostles safely do this. The apostles had knowledge of the Scriptures and they used the prophetic word as their guide. Everything had to be judged in the light of the prophetic Scriptures. Whatever you accept into the christian faith must be supported by that which has already been written in the Word.

Now the new testament came into effect only after Christ died and not before.

Hebrews 9:16-17 (KJV)
“For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth”

Paul uses a simple example to describe the time the new testament came into effect by saying a will only comes into effect and has the force of law behind it after the writer of the will dies. If a son discovers his father’s will while the father is still alive, he has no power to claim any of the property assigned to him. It only comes into effect after he dies.

However, though the will comes into effect after he dies, the will is actually written while he is alive and cannot be changed after he dies. The only thing that happens when the man dies is that the will is read and interpreted by a solicitor to the members of the family telling each what he now owns. You cannot change what is written.

Therefore, the new testament was actually written before the death of Jesus and it only came into effect i.e had power after His death. The Holy Spirit was sent as the solicitor to interpret the will of the Father already written to everyone. This is the work of the Spirit today. Hear Peter on this;

1 Peter 1:10-12 (KJV)
“Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into”

The prophetic Scriptures is where we find His will written. How did God write His will? Through words spoken remember The psalmist said my tongue is the pen of the ready writer.

Psalm 45:1 “My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer”

Prophets spoke of grace to come and the Spirit interprets today. Hear Paul concerning where he found the great mystery of Christ he taught:

Romans 16:25-26 (KJV)
“Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But NOW IS MADE MANIFEST AND BY THE SCRIPTURES OF THE PROPHETS, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:”

So we see the prophetic word guided their sight in things. When they spoke in tongues and some said they were drunk they validated the experience by the prophetic scripture in the book of Joel.

So today how do we validate Olowogbogboro? Was God ever described that way by the prophets? Did He manifest Himself to the Jews as Olowogbogboro? Did the prophets attest to this attribute of God and is Christ showing forth God as Olowogbogboro? The answer is a resounding Yes. Many prophetic Scriptures speak of Him as manifesting this attribute.

Olowogbogboro means the one with the outstretched arm. One who delivers by his hand.

Psalm 136:12
“With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever”

Deuteronomy 26:8
“And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders”

Jeremiah 21:5
“And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath”

Jeremiah 27:5
“I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me”

Psalm 44:3
“For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them”

This outstretched arm is the right hand of His power. This brings us to Jesus today. What position does He occupy today? That right hand.

Paul states it clearly in Ephesians 1:20
“Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places”

Remember the Psalms say in 89:13 “Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand”

So when we sing praises to Jesus we are at liberty to sing like David about the right hand of His power, the outstretched arm, hear David, the Psalmist;

Psalm 98:1 O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

Who therefore is Olowogbogboro that men worship today? No other one but Him who has proven Himself to deliver by His outstretched arm. He sent His Word to humanity and delivered. Jesus is whom they worship.

A closing remark. It is a very sensitive thing to attack people because they praise and worship God. You can attack seminars, fine, you can attack conventions, fine but to attack the worship and praise of God, I will advise you leave that alone. Remember David’s wife Michal who attacked his praise. Remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees who attacked the corporate worship of Him as He entered Jerusalem;

Luke 19:37-44 (KJV)
And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side. And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation”

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