Others will know the Body of Christ by the love that is shown to our neighbors. Biblical history repeats itself in sinful mankind until we accept, by faith, God’s gift of salvation and the indwelling of Holy Spirit to direct us and teach us the ways of Jesus. God can do what we cannot.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
God is calling out a people for Himself to makeup the Body of Christ. In Jesus we are united. In this time of the dispensation of His grace we are joint heirs of the promises made to Abraham that in him the world would be blessed. All of scriptures was written for our learning.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.
Christ within is the hope of glory. All members are important and are required for the functionality of the Body of Christ. In Holy Spirit we are baptized into His Body. Salvation is an event but our maturing is the act of growing, precept by precept, by His power working in us.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
Hebrews 5:12-14 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
We study to be approved so that we are able to discern good from evil and what is the perfect will of God for our lives. We are tutored by Holy Spirit to achieve His will for us.
Ephesians 1:5-6 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:11-13 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Our position in the Body of Christ is predestined and known by God from the moment that we believe. We are matured to be able to share the work that He has prepared for us from the beginning of time. Our maturity is to the praise and glory of Christ. Carla
Reflecting Paul’s own ethnicity, “we” likely refers to Jews—God’s chosen people (in the Old Testament) and those from whom the Messiah came (Matthew 10:5). This means that “you” often refers to Gentiles (non-Jews), including most of the believers in Ephesus and the surrounding areas (Ephephesians 2:11; 3:1).
From the Jewish perspective, were chosen, likely refers to the salvation brought about by the Jewish Messiah, Jesus. Such an understanding coheres with passages like Deuteronomy 7:6; 9:26; 14:2; 32:9. Denotes honor and majesty.
You refers to the Gentiles (Ephesians 1:11). Paul stresses that the same inheritance (verse 14) God gave to Jews is also made available to non-Jews according to God’s revealed mystery. Faithlife Study Bible
The word translated dispensation means “house rule.” The English word economy is derived from this Greek word. The word refers to God’s administration or arrangement of all history to fulfill His plan of salvation. While God never changes, His plan for the salvation of humanity has distinct phases. In this context, dispensation probably refers to the time when God will establish His eternal kingdom.
The seal or mark of ownership in believers’ lives is the Holy Spirit. The guarantee of our inheritance is the Holy Spirit Himself. Interestingly, the Greek word for guarantee can also be used to indicate an engagement ring. As Christ is the Bridegroom and the church is the bride, so the Holy Spirit is the down payment, the earnest money, in the long-awaited marriage of the two (Revelation. 19:7, 8).
The Old Testament described the nation of Israel as God’s special treasure, one He had purchased by His mighty acts of deliverance during the Exodus (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:6).
Here Paul describes Christians as the Lord’s own possession, one bought with the blood of His own Son. The NKJV Study Bible
God builds His Kingdom exactly where humans think nothing can be built (1 Corinthians 1:26-27). God empowers us with His love and reminds us His strength is made perfect in our weakness (Ephesians 3:20-21; 2 Corinthians 12:9). Thankfully, we have God's Word to help us know how to "stand firm and hold to the traditions" He teaches (2 Thessalonians 2:15)! Biblical discernment is essential; Scripture is our guiding light. We rely not on our understanding but upon the Holy Spirit (Proverbs 3:5-7). So when determining if a specific tradition produces good fruit, we can always turn to God's Word. Scripture clearly describes the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). First5
I was grateful to Maria Shriver for this encouragement, “Every morning when I wake up, I let my mind wander. It’s my sacred time. No electronics. No noise. Just total stillness. As many of you already know, during this sacred time, I pray, meditate, and sit quietly with my mind and heart. I allow whatever comes up to flow out. In those early hours, I feel calm.
Because the kind of world we envision won’t just become kind, empathetic, or compassionate on its own. It will take each of us to bend, to compromise, and to elevate the values we hold dear. That’s what I’m thinking about. I’m thinking about how blessed I am to be alive, to hold a grandchild in my arms. How blessed I am to have the chance to work toward creating a better world. I’m thinking about how we get there—fast, but in a slow, meaningful way.” Sabbath Moments
No comments:
Post a Comment