You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
17 And[kai] came[erchomai] and preached[euaggelizo]
peace[eirene] to you[humin] which[ho] were afar off,[makran] and[kai] to them that were
nigh.[eggus]KJV-Interlinear
17 And He
came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were
near; NASB
Jesus Christ came to humanity and preached the gospel and doctrine.
Peace, 'eirene,' means prosperity, quietness, rest, to set as one from being scattered, to be brought together into oneself.
The gospel teaches salvation, and doctrine teaches maturity. Both combined accomplish the spiritual fullness of life.
To those afar off and to those who are near, is a reference to all peoples everywhere, regardless of their location near or far from God.
This means gentiles, who are typically portrayed as far off, as foreigners, as strangers, as outsiders. Likewise the Jewish people viewed themselves as those who were near, the chosen people, the keepers of the Law and the scriptures.
But this principle really applies to all people, both unbeliever and believer. The unbeliever is far off or outside of Gods family, and the believer is near or inside of Gods family.
Doctrine is made available to everyone. It is not made available by man, but by God Himself. Man has failed miserably throughout history in bringing Gods word to humanity. The Jews were selfish. The gentiles were tyrannical. Nations are here for but one purpose and that is to establish and to maintain a safe structure so that its citizens can learn and grow in Christ. Unfortunately the nations of history had different ideas which more or less excluded or misused God, with a very few exceptions.
But regardless of mans failure, God still makes available, the gospel and doctrine to all who want it.
