The Church in True Perspective

ISBN-13: 9781481009584 / Angielski / Miękka / 2012 / 182 str.

Lucius Joseph

Opis

The church in the true sense of the word refers to "All who have been Redeemed," Or groups of Christians assembled for worship. The basis on which most churches operate it is quite apparent that they have not conceptualized the huge separation that exists between the church and the world, between light and darkness. The church is made up of individuals or groups of people who have been sanctified or set apart as holy unto the Lord. We all have the same equal opportunity to be one of those sanctified ones because God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. It is in Christ Jesus that we all live and move and have our being; He is the vine and we are the branches. We have all been given the equal opportunity in order that in the coming age, God the Father might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Those who have accepted the invitation to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and have not received the grace of God in vain, have become a special people to God. They do not become special because of anything that they have done, but rather it is, "When the kindness and love of God our Savior towards man appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy, He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:4-7) Remember, it is by grace we all have been saved, through faith, and this is not from ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast. Therefore those who are sanctified have nothing to boast about, and should not hold those who are not yet sanctified in condemnation: neither should those who are not sanctified hold those who are sanctified in contempt. However those who are sanctified, and are being sanctified must raise their consciousness and come to the realization as who they really are, and the reason for being chosen in Christ Jesus even before the foundation of the world. The titles which are assigned to the church are clear indications of the intimate relationship the church enjoys with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. The church for example is referred to as, the Bride of Christ, the Body of Christ, the flock of God, the temple of God, the household of God, the habitation of God, God's spiritual house, God's building, God's husbandry etc. This means that the church is inter-related with the Father and the Son. The apostle John wrote: "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us: And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ" (1John 1:3). However, despite the close relationship the church enjoys with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, there is a basis, or a fundamental principle by which the church can have fellowship with the Father. The church therefore has an obligation which is not towards the sinful nature, to live according to it, for if we live according to the sinful nature we shall die, despite the fact that God has saved it. Hence the reason Jude reminds us by saying; 'But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe." We therefore have an obligation to live in accordance to the Spirit, if we want to live. It is therefore incumbent on the church to become slaves of righteousness, because having been set free from sin the requirement is to become slaves of righteousness. The world's condemnation is that, The light who is Jesus Christ has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.