Christ Our Peace!
Ephesians 2:13-18 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. 19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Ephesians 3-7 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
The gentile world was without Christ until Paul revealed the mystery given to him by Jesus on the road to Damascus. Now, Jew and Gentile, are all united in the finished work of the Cross in Jesus Christ. Jew and Gentile form one body and have access to God in peace through Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:9-11 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Revelation 19:11-13 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
The Body of Christ is built on the solid foundation of Jesus. The revelation of this mystery of one body was given to Paul by Christ Himself. There is gold in the Scriptures waiting for us to mine. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh in Him and through the Holy Spirit working in our lives. The word of God gives us life.
2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”
Are we building on our foundation and doing the good works that we were created to do? It is not our salvation that is in question but how we are being the hands and feet of Christ. The Spirit of God dwells within us as believers. We are His temple. Whatever we do reflects on how others see God. our love for Him should show in our lives. We care for others because He does.
Acts 15:7-11 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
It was a long and difficult mental journey for the Jewish believers who were born under the Law to accept the Gentile believers freedom by faith in Jesus alone. The law and the prophesies were fulfilled in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. He split the veil in two which separated us. We are now free to worship God in peace through Jesus and to do all that we were created to do. There is gold to be found. Carla
Fields represents the people of God, among whom His servants labor. The church community also displays the Holy Spirit’s power to give life and bring growth (1 Corinthians 3:16). God’s building refers to a unified picture of the church community. Paul describes the Corinthian believers as the temple of God. The grace of God given to me refers to God enabling the Apostle Paul to plant new churches, especially the one in Corinth. Master builder refers to the person who directs a construction project. A foundation refers to Jesus Christ who is essential to the stability of the church community. How he is building upon it refers to instruction for the believers’ growth in being Christlike (Acts 18:27–28). Faithlife Study Bible
Paul had planted, or started, the church in Corinth; Apollos had watered it—had a significant ministry there after Paul left. But both men were only servants through whom God worked. The ones who plant and water have nothing to boast about because God gives the increase: Only God draws unbelievers to Himself. It is our responsibility to do our job no matter what the results, for God will reward us for our efforts and the quality of our work (9:24–27).
Paul had established the church at Corinth on the foundation of Christ. These building materials, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, refer to the quality of work done by the Corinthians, and possibly also to their motivations or the kinds of doctrines they taught. The NKJV Study Bible
I love the book Noticing, by Kobi Yamada. And I loved this, "Everyone shines and needs to be seen. Everyone wants to know that they matter, that there is a place for them, that they are needed. Sure, some may hide their brilliance, but the light is in there, always flickering, and it is a beautiful thing when we can reflect it back to them."
(In a review about the book I read: Noticing is designed for five-to-eight-year-old readers, but of course the reminder to fill our lives with attentive wonder has no age limits. Can I get an Amen?)
Let us remember my friends, we are healers. Sabbath Moments
As Jesus says in John 16:33, "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." Jesus defeated our greatest adversaries, sin and death, when He died on the cross in our place (1 Corinthians 15:57; Hebrews 2:14)!
Jesus does not leave us on our own. We can lean on His Word and the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to strengthen, encourage and teach us how to grow in faith and bear fruit until Jesus returns (John 14:16; John 16:13). First5
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