Christ in us the light of the world.
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.
The Body of Christ is to unveil the mercy of God, in the person of Jesus the Christ, the King of the Jews to the Gentile world.
Colossians 4:1 Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
The out workings of the Body of Christ in our lives is love. Employers must be fair minded their employer is God. We need to speak the mystery of Christ, that now God has turned to the common Gentiles, the non Jewish, who trust in His ability to save to the uttermost what are placed under His care. This dispensation of grace will come to an end.
Isaiah 42:1-6 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. 4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” 5 Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles,
Jesus is the willing servant of God and His Spirit resides in His fullness. He brings justice to the Gentiles. The Israelites are to be a light to the Gentiles.
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
This light of Jesus shines forth in the darkness and is revealed in His believers. The Gentiles come to His light and the world will seek the King of the Jews. They initially rejected their redeemer which allowed the Gentiles to enter into God’s mercy and grace. In Christ there is no Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female…we are united in Holy Spirit to reveal the light of the truth of Jesus to others.
Colossians 1:26-27 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
In the sufferings of Paul for the Body of Christ, the mystery of the revelation of the grace of God in the person of Jesus the Christ, would be revealed. Christ in us in us the hope of glory. The indwelling of Holy Spirit in us takes the truth of Jesus and and allows us to comprehend it.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
We are not to be ignorant of the mystery that in Jesus our loved ones will be raised from the dead. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Our soul and spirit will be reunited to live with Christ for eternity. The Lord will descend and the dead in Christ will rise first and then we who are alive will meet the Lord and we will be with Him forever.
1 Corinthians 15:51-55 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
The mystery revealed to Paul is that not all will die but as believers all will be changed. Our mortal bodies will be given to immortality in a small measure of time. With God nothing is impossible. Death where is your stink? Jesus in His resurrection ended death. Every member of the Body of Christ will be raised incorruptible to live in His presence forever. Carla
We will not all fall asleep implies that not all believers will die before Jesus returns (1 Thessalonians 4:15 and 1 Corinthians 15:6). Paul mentioned earlier that those things that die experience change and transformation. This is a mystery because those who are alive when Jesus returns will not experience death, but they will still experience transformation into a glorious state.
This trumpet signals the day of redemption, when God brings to completion the salvation of His people (uniting them fully with Him). In Joel 2:1, the trumpet serves (perhaps figuratively or symbolically) as a warning signal for God’s judgment. Christ reverses the condition of mortality and grants to people the immortality God created them to enjoy. Death is swallowed up in victory echoes Isaiah 25:8 as a sign of the new age. In the age to come, the effects of humanity’s sin will be removed (1 Corinthians 15:21–22; Romans). Where, O death, is your victory… Paul quotes Hosea 13:14 to taunt death on account of Christ’s victory. Faithlife Study Bible
We shall all be changed: the teaching here is similar to the teaching given to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18). Whereas the dead in Christ will be raised first, the living believers will be instantly transformed into their immortal bodies when Jesus returns. The living will receive a body that is not subject to death (verse 50). Satan’s apparent victories in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:13) and at the Cross (Mark 15:22–24) were reversed by Jesus’ death (Colossians 2:15) and resurrection. From the vantage point of Jesus’ victorious return, Death and Hades (the grave) have no power over Christians, because Jesus has already conquered both. We participate in His victory. The NKJV Study Bible
2 Corinthians 5:2–4 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked…
Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever,
And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people
He will take away from all the earth;
For the LORD has spoken.
Hosea 13:14
I will ransom them from the power of the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
O Death, I will be your plagues!
O Grave, I will be your destruction!
Pity is hidden from My eyes.
Matthew 24:31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
1 Thessalonians 4:15–17 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first…
We are all—every one of us—repairers and healers of the world.
It is about repairing and healing the world that touches you, the small world—the people and encounters—close by, the daily, those ordinary resting places for our heart.
As John Lewis asked, “What if the beloved community is already a reality, the true reality, and we simply have to embody it until others can see?”
But let’s face it; there is a gap between who we are and who we want to be. I will admit that because of anger, disquiet and anxiety, there are times I do not see light. And I don’t share light.
But here’s my question: How do we choose for that not to be our narrative? In other words, how do we embrace the truth that we get to say how (HIS) story ends (in our lives and the lives of those our life touches).
We are born with the capacity to find the hidden light. So, what does it mean to live as if we are repairers and healers of the world?
So. Tikkun, to repair the soil of the world with nutrients: a balm of generosity, creating places for sanctuary, inclusion and compassion, protecting people who are most vulnerable, and a capacity to accommodate fragility with a softness of spirit. What Eve Ensler called, “The daily subtle simple gathering of kindness.” Sabbath Moments
Despite our imperfections, God still works in our lives to bring what He has always foreseen to fruition (Ephesians 1:11).
Jesus Christ is the Son of God who gave His life for us on the cross and then resurrected to become the "firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18). When we trust in Him as our Savior, we are joint heirs to God's Kingdom with Him (Romans 8:17)! First5
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