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THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH
If you picked 100 believers from around the U.S., and include 100 from other nations, then tried to determine one style of worship that would allow each one the freedom to worship God in a way that was meaningful to them, what would be the pattern for the worship service? What would be functional and organized to some would be legalism to others. Would they be free to express their true heart to God in praise? Would they lose their identity? If we didn't have an altar, a pulpit, pews, and candles, would we feel that it no longer was a church service? Are we more hung up on the furnishings inside the building than what we harbor on the inside? The church was never considered to be a building. True worship is in Spirit and in Truth. None of the aides we use help in our worship if we are not right with God. When all that is stripped away, the music and the furnished building, we have the true instrument of worship, a heart that is in love with and obedient to God.
There are some good points in a Messianic Bible study given on the Universal Church by Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Ariel Ministries (ariel.org), that I will present here in some summary statements.
In the New Testament, the word “church” was never used of a building, a denomination, a national church, the Kingdom of God, or Israel; but is used to speak of the people themselves who belong to this called-out group or assembly.
The word 'ekklesia' (called out assembly), is used in four categories.
The definition of “the universal church is that spiritual organism of which the Messiah is the Head, and it is composed of all believers from Pentecost until the Rapture.”
It is Messiah’s church:
He was the one who trained and prepared its leaders
He was the one who sent the Holy Spirit to inhabit His church
Jesus is the one who provided the spiritual gifts in that the Holy Spirit was sent to dispense the gifts
He is the head (Eph 1:20-23)
He is preparing the church to be His bride
Messiah’s church is His personal property (upon this rock I will build my church, Matt 16:18)
There are not two types of believers, some being part of the universal church and some not.
It is composed only of true believers. In the local church there are believers and unbelievers.
It is composed only of believers from Pentecost to the Rapture. It will not include those from the Tribulation or the Millennium.
While the Church itself did have a historical beginning, it was conceived in eternity past in the mind of God. (Eph 3:9) It has always been a plan of God’s.
The universal church is in singular form.
Paul said he persecuted the Church (Acts 8:3; 1 Cor 15:9, Gal 1:13, Phil 3:6) While he persecuted many local churches he is referring to the universal church.
Messiah loves the Church (Eph 5:25-33) sanctifies the Church (Eph 5:26-27), and is the Head of the Church (Eph 1:22, 5:23; Col 1:18)
The Church is not Israel
The universal church is distinct from Israel. It is not a continuation of the chosen people. It is a distinct element and ‘peoplehood’.
The Church is the Body of Messiah (Col 1:18)
The entrance into this Body is by Spirit baptism ( 1 Cor 12:13)
Spirit baptism was still future as of Acts 1:5
The Church began at Pentecost in Acts 2 and will continue until the Rapture occurs (Acts 11:155-16).
The universal church consists of believing Jews and Gentiles (Eph 2:11-16, Col 1:24-27)
This is the uniqueness of the universal church. This is the “mystery” now revealed, according to Paul in the books of Ephesians and Colossians.
The foundation of the universal church is ‘the rock’ Matt 16:18. Roman Catholicism has taught that the foundation of the Church was the Apostle Peter.
There are two different nouns used for that word, one being masculine and one feminine. The word that Yeshua used means petra in Greek, which means “cliff-rock”. It is a feminine noun that refers to a cliff, a large ledge of rock, a massive rock. The Greek word for Peter is petros which means “a small stone” or a “pebble”. Furthermore, to say that Peter is the rock violates the rules of Greek grammar. One of the rules is that a feminine word does not modify a masculine word, and vice versa. The word petra is used a total of sixteen times in the New Testament and it is used in two ways: literally and symbolically. Eleven times it is used literally to speak of a large ledge of rock. Five times it is used symbolically of the Messiah Jesus: Matt 16:18, Rom 9:33,1 Cor 10:4, and 1 Peter 2:8. It is never used of a man like Peter.
There are two types of foundations; sand and rock. (Matt 7:24-27)
The foundation of rock was symbolic of Yeshua and His teachings. Paul made it very clear that the Messiah was this Foundation in 1 Cor 3:11: For no other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Eph 2:20-22 where Jesus is the chief corner stone.
Five specific purposes for the universal church.
1. A People for His Name Acts 15:13-18
To call out from among the Gentiles a people for his name. v 14
At the first church Council at Jerusalem the Church was almost all Jewish. When Paul had begun to bring believing Gentiles in the question was, should they first convert to Judaism and adopt the Law of Moses? There never was a question on the part of these Jewish believers that there would be Jews in the Body of the Messiah. They thought that the only Gentiles who would be made part of the body were those who fist became proselytes to Judaism. But there was a more universal goal for the body.
2. It is only when this purpose is accomplished that the Church will finally come to completion according to Romans 11:25-26
25 For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in; 26 and so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 And this is my covenant unto them, When I shall take away their sins. Romans 11:25-27 (ASV)
Once the full number of Gentiles are called out as a people of His name, then the universal church will be complete. A partial hardening has happened to the Jews until then. The Gentiles will provoke the Jews to jealousy. Rom 11:11-14.
The Greek word which Paul used is translated ‘provoke to jealousy’ is parazeilao. This was a combination of two Greek words: first, para which means to “”come alongside; and zeilos which means to “burn”, to “seethe”, “to start a fire”,” to make red hot”. It means then to come alongside and make someone seethe, to boil, to turn red with jealously in order that he will desire what the one who has come alongside him has. The Jewish person will see the kind of life that the Gentile has and say “What is that Gentile doing with my Messiah?” The purpose is in order that they will come to a saving faith.
3. . In Eph 3;10 the intent is to make known the manifold wisdom of God. Even the fallen angles learn of the manifold wisdom of God by virtue of what He is doing in the Church.
4. And in Eph 2:20-22 it is to constitute a dwelling place for God. The universal church is a habitation of God, a dwelling place.
5. In Eph 3:20-21 is that it brings eternal glory to God.
SYMBOLIC ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH:
The universal church and its relationship to Yeshua the Messiah.
THE SHEPHERD AND THE SHEEP John 10:1-39
Ten points:
APPLICATIONS
1. The shepherd, Messiah, intercedes on behalf of the sheep
2. He is going to provide for our basic needs not all our wants; that is only in accordance with His will and can differ with different believers.
3. It is His responsibility to protect the sheep from outside attacks.
4. The shepherd calls to His sheep so that they can be led to water, pasture, or to the fold. He is calling believers to do various functions within that fold, using their gifts for the building up of the body. The sheep are responsible to obey that call.
5. There is security in this shepherd. There is eternal security of our salvation.
VINE AND THE BRANCHES John 15:1-16
1. Union with the Messiah just as the branch is united into the vine.
2. Communion with the Messiah; receives its life, strength, and power to produce fruit from the vine.
3. Continually abide in unbroken fellowship with their Vine, Jesus.
4. The cleansing and pruning are so they will produce even more fruit.
5. Effectual prayer is dependent upon a life-line connection to this vine.
6. Believers are going to produce fruit in joy because of this attachment.
7. There are going to be degrees of fruitfulness, the first is basic
Fruitfulness is the element of more fruit then there is much fruit.
This particular symbolic illustration lends itself to four applications.
1. Believers are partakers of the Messiah’s glory; just as the branch partakes of the sap of the vine, so the believers will partake of His glory.
2. Fruitfulness depends on abiding in the vine.
3. The power to produce comes from abiding in the vine; our spiritual strength comes from the Lord.
4. He is the source of life and the source of sanctification for the Church.
THE CORNERSTONE AND THE STONES OF THE BUILDING, Ephesians 2:19-22
1. The Church is in the process of being built. Matt 16:18- I will build.
2. Individual believers are the living stones, being placed one on top of the other as the building is erected. 1 Peter 2:5
3. Yeshua is both the Foundation and the Cornerstone 1 Cor 3:11; Eph 2:20-22, 1 Peter 2:5
4. The building, composed of believers, is the habitation of the Spirit. Eph 2:19-20
From the cornerstone are two lines going in different directions to form a basic square. One line represents the apostles and the other line represents the New Testament prophets. Once the foundation is laid the foundations set in place, then the other stones can be built on top; believers are the individual stones being erected into this building.
This symbolic illustration provides four applications.
1. Believers are mutually interdependent. In fact, the whole doctrine of spiritual gifts in the body emphasized the interdependence of believers.
2. The purpose of laying the foundation is to give the building stability. Only if believers build on the proper foundation will they be stable in their spiritual lives.
3. The purpose of laying down the cornerstone is so the other foundation stones can be placed in a straight line; the cornerstone gives direction to the other stones. In this illustration, the Lord directs the lives of believers.
4. The rewards for the saints will be based on how they build on the foundation, Yeshua the Messiah. (1 Cor 3:10-15)
THE HIGH PRIEST AND THE KINGDOM PRIESTS
This illustration is brought out in Heb 3:1, 4:14 to 5:10, 7:1 to 10:18; Rev 1:6, 5:10, and 20:6
Jesus went to heaven after sacrificing His blood and becoming the final sacrifice for sin. He is the sacrifice, but since He Himself offered the sacrifice, He is also the Priest according to Heb 4:14-16.
Yeshua is now interceding on behalf of His kingdom of priests. Rom 8:34
This illustration lends itself to two applications:
Yeshua is now in His priestly ministry. During His first coming He was a prophet, after the second coming, He will be a King, and between them He is functioning as a Priest.
In light of that all believers are to offer sacrifices. They are a kingdom of priests.
The first type of sacrifice is that believers are to present their bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord, and this means to make Him the Lord of their lives. (Rom 12:1-2.
The second type of sacrifice is the spiritual sacrifices of worship, giving praise, and thanksgiving. (Heb 13:15, 1 Pet 2:5,9)
The third type of sacrifice is that of monetary support for the work of the Lord (Heb 13:16).
The fourth type of sacrifice is that of good works (Heb 13:16)
THE HEAD AND THE BODY. 1 Cor 1:12-27
1. The Church is a self-developing Body, composed of individuals who have spiritual gifts for the building up, the nourishing and strengthening of this Body. (Eph 4:13-16)
2. Members of the Body are appointed to a specific service according to their spiritual gifts.
3. The Body is a living organism, united eternally with the Messiah.
4. That entrance into this Body is my means of Spirit baptism.
5. The Father made the Messiah the Head of the Body.
6. The Head is preeminent; therefore He has preeminence over the Body, the Church.
7. There is a unity between the Head and the Body.
Other passages use this illustration of the Head and the Body:
Eph 2:14; 4:4, 5, 16; 5,:30-32; Col 1:24, and 2:19
The body receives nourishment through the control center, the head, so believers receive nourishment from Messiah.
The Head cherishes the body it controls, believers.
Believers receive strength to function from Him.
Sanctification; it is the Head that controls when and how the Body is going to be cleansed.
Every believer has at least one gift and it is the responsibility of every believer to use that gift for the building up of the Body.
THE LAST ADAM AND THE NEW CREATION 1 Cor 15:20-22 and 45-49
Believers are now in a new order; they are now in Christ rather than in Adam.
Believers are partakers of the new birth, the new nature, righteousness, sanctification, and new promises.
As a result of this we have eternal life, since the work of regeneration is not a work that can be undone.
Other passages to illustrate this: Rom 5:12-21; II Corin 5:17; and Gal 6:15.
The main application of this is the hope of resurrection power and life.
THE BRIDEGROOM AND THE BRIDE 2 Corin 11:2 and Eph 5:25-33
The Church is viewed as a virgin bride not yet joined to her husband but waiting for the arrival of the groom 2 Corin 11:2
The work of the Bridegroom on behalf of the Bride Eph 5:25-33
It has a time relationship of past, present, and future.
Past- element is that He died for the Bride v25
Present- He is now sanctifying the Bride v26
Future- He will present the Bride, the glorified Church without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish. V27
There are three specific applications here:
The obvious one is love. Between the Messiah and the Church.
One of intimacy they do not share outside of the marriage relationship, even so believers share an intimacy with the Messiah that is not experienced by those outside the body of believers.
There should be a reflection of the relationship of Messiah and the Church between the husband and the wife; the believing husband and believing wife should have the type of relationship that reflects the relationship of the Messiah and the Church.
HEIR AND JOINT–HEIRS Rom 8:17 and Hebrews 1:2a
The Messiah is the Son of God and is the Heir. Since believers are now adopted as sons, they become joint-heirs with them.
The Son is heir of all things and so because of the believer’s relationship with the Son, they are going to become joint-heirs and enjoy these as well.
The specific applications here are these three:
Sufferings in this life will lead to glorification.
Believers are destined to co-reign with the Messiah, this is their inheritance, and will exercise this in the Messianic Kingdom.
That inheritance is going to include rewards. The degree of authority in the Kingdom will be based upon the rewards received.
THE FIRST FRUITS AND THE HARVEST. 1 Corin 15:23
The firstfruits, which is Messiah, and the harvest, which is the believers makes two main points:
Yeshua was resurrected. He was the first to ascend
into heaven after death.
Since He was, believers will also be resurrected.
THE MASTERS AND THE SERVANTS. 1 Corin 7:20-24
To be freed by the Messiah is to become a servant of the Messiah.
The believer was bought with a price, which was the blood of Messiah.
Those in authority are as a result, under authority themselves.
The specific application here is one of obedience. It is the job of the servant to obey his master. The Messiah is the Master, believers are the servants, and they must obey Him.
There is encouragement to become a bondslave. A mere slave was someone who fell into slavery without choice, but a bondslave was one who chose to become a slave to a specific master for life. Believers have been purchased from the slave market of sin, their calling is to become a bondslave to Messiah.
THE FUTURE DESTINY OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH
Raptured 1 Thess 4:13-18
Rewarded 2 Corin 5:10
Married co-reigning with the Messiah Rev 20:4-6
Abiding in the New Jerusalem Rev 21:1 to 22:5
If you picked 100 believers from around the U.S., and include 100 from other nations, then tried to determine one style of worship that would allow each one the freedom to worship God in a way that was meaningful to them, what would be the pattern for the worship service? What would be functional and organized to some would be legalism to others. Would they be free to express their true heart to God in praise? Would they lose their identity? If we didn't have an altar, a pulpit, pews, and candles, would we feel that it no longer was a church service? Are we more hung up on the furnishings inside the building than what we harbor on the inside? The church was never considered to be a building. True worship is in Spirit and in Truth. None of the aides we use help in our worship if we are not right with God. When all that is stripped away, the music and the furnished building, we have the true instrument of worship, a heart that is in love with and obedient to God.
There are some good points in a Messianic Bible study given on the Universal Church by Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Ariel Ministries (ariel.org), that I will present here in some summary statements.
In the New Testament, the word “church” was never used of a building, a denomination, a national church, the Kingdom of God, or Israel; but is used to speak of the people themselves who belong to this called-out group or assembly.
The word 'ekklesia' (called out assembly), is used in four categories.
- In its classical Greek usage refers to an assembly of townspeople, called out for a political meeting. (Acts 19:32,39, and 41)
- In its usage of Jewish people in the wilderness and also reflects how it is found in the Septuagint. (Acts 7:38, Hebrews 2:12)
- In its usage in reference to the universal church; the Church as a whole that is composed of all believers everywhere. These believers are not all visible; the universal church is sometimes referred to as the “invisible church”.
- In its usage in reference to the local church. This church is visible and is sometimes referred to as the “visible church”.
The definition of “the universal church is that spiritual organism of which the Messiah is the Head, and it is composed of all believers from Pentecost until the Rapture.”
It is Messiah’s church:
He was the one who trained and prepared its leaders
He was the one who sent the Holy Spirit to inhabit His church
Jesus is the one who provided the spiritual gifts in that the Holy Spirit was sent to dispense the gifts
He is the head (Eph 1:20-23)
He is preparing the church to be His bride
Messiah’s church is His personal property (upon this rock I will build my church, Matt 16:18)
There are not two types of believers, some being part of the universal church and some not.
It is composed only of true believers. In the local church there are believers and unbelievers.
It is composed only of believers from Pentecost to the Rapture. It will not include those from the Tribulation or the Millennium.
While the Church itself did have a historical beginning, it was conceived in eternity past in the mind of God. (Eph 3:9) It has always been a plan of God’s.
The universal church is in singular form.
Paul said he persecuted the Church (Acts 8:3; 1 Cor 15:9, Gal 1:13, Phil 3:6) While he persecuted many local churches he is referring to the universal church.
Messiah loves the Church (Eph 5:25-33) sanctifies the Church (Eph 5:26-27), and is the Head of the Church (Eph 1:22, 5:23; Col 1:18)
The Church is not Israel
The universal church is distinct from Israel. It is not a continuation of the chosen people. It is a distinct element and ‘peoplehood’.
The Church is the Body of Messiah (Col 1:18)
The entrance into this Body is by Spirit baptism ( 1 Cor 12:13)
Spirit baptism was still future as of Acts 1:5
The Church began at Pentecost in Acts 2 and will continue until the Rapture occurs (Acts 11:155-16).
The universal church consists of believing Jews and Gentiles (Eph 2:11-16, Col 1:24-27)
This is the uniqueness of the universal church. This is the “mystery” now revealed, according to Paul in the books of Ephesians and Colossians.
The foundation of the universal church is ‘the rock’ Matt 16:18. Roman Catholicism has taught that the foundation of the Church was the Apostle Peter.
There are two different nouns used for that word, one being masculine and one feminine. The word that Yeshua used means petra in Greek, which means “cliff-rock”. It is a feminine noun that refers to a cliff, a large ledge of rock, a massive rock. The Greek word for Peter is petros which means “a small stone” or a “pebble”. Furthermore, to say that Peter is the rock violates the rules of Greek grammar. One of the rules is that a feminine word does not modify a masculine word, and vice versa. The word petra is used a total of sixteen times in the New Testament and it is used in two ways: literally and symbolically. Eleven times it is used literally to speak of a large ledge of rock. Five times it is used symbolically of the Messiah Jesus: Matt 16:18, Rom 9:33,1 Cor 10:4, and 1 Peter 2:8. It is never used of a man like Peter.
There are two types of foundations; sand and rock. (Matt 7:24-27)
The foundation of rock was symbolic of Yeshua and His teachings. Paul made it very clear that the Messiah was this Foundation in 1 Cor 3:11: For no other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Eph 2:20-22 where Jesus is the chief corner stone.
Five specific purposes for the universal church.
1. A People for His Name Acts 15:13-18
To call out from among the Gentiles a people for his name. v 14
At the first church Council at Jerusalem the Church was almost all Jewish. When Paul had begun to bring believing Gentiles in the question was, should they first convert to Judaism and adopt the Law of Moses? There never was a question on the part of these Jewish believers that there would be Jews in the Body of the Messiah. They thought that the only Gentiles who would be made part of the body were those who fist became proselytes to Judaism. But there was a more universal goal for the body.
2. It is only when this purpose is accomplished that the Church will finally come to completion according to Romans 11:25-26
25 For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in; 26 and so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 And this is my covenant unto them, When I shall take away their sins. Romans 11:25-27 (ASV)
Once the full number of Gentiles are called out as a people of His name, then the universal church will be complete. A partial hardening has happened to the Jews until then. The Gentiles will provoke the Jews to jealousy. Rom 11:11-14.
The Greek word which Paul used is translated ‘provoke to jealousy’ is parazeilao. This was a combination of two Greek words: first, para which means to “”come alongside; and zeilos which means to “burn”, to “seethe”, “to start a fire”,” to make red hot”. It means then to come alongside and make someone seethe, to boil, to turn red with jealously in order that he will desire what the one who has come alongside him has. The Jewish person will see the kind of life that the Gentile has and say “What is that Gentile doing with my Messiah?” The purpose is in order that they will come to a saving faith.
3. . In Eph 3;10 the intent is to make known the manifold wisdom of God. Even the fallen angles learn of the manifold wisdom of God by virtue of what He is doing in the Church.
4. And in Eph 2:20-22 it is to constitute a dwelling place for God. The universal church is a habitation of God, a dwelling place.
5. In Eph 3:20-21 is that it brings eternal glory to God.
SYMBOLIC ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH:
The universal church and its relationship to Yeshua the Messiah.
THE SHEPHERD AND THE SHEEP John 10:1-39
Ten points:
- Come in by the doors John 1:2
- The true shepherd will be followed by the true sheep
v3-5
- Jesus is the door v7
- He loves the sheep
- He provides for the sheep v 14
- The true sheep will not follow a false shepherd
v8
- There is fellowship between the shepherd and the sheep,
the sheep will not be fooled by imposters.
- Jewish and Gentile sheep will be brought together into
one fold v16
- A true shepherd over his true flock is willing to lay
down his life
- The shepherd is going to reward the sheep 1 Pet
5:1-4
APPLICATIONS
1. The shepherd, Messiah, intercedes on behalf of the sheep
2. He is going to provide for our basic needs not all our wants; that is only in accordance with His will and can differ with different believers.
3. It is His responsibility to protect the sheep from outside attacks.
4. The shepherd calls to His sheep so that they can be led to water, pasture, or to the fold. He is calling believers to do various functions within that fold, using their gifts for the building up of the body. The sheep are responsible to obey that call.
5. There is security in this shepherd. There is eternal security of our salvation.
VINE AND THE BRANCHES John 15:1-16
1. Union with the Messiah just as the branch is united into the vine.
2. Communion with the Messiah; receives its life, strength, and power to produce fruit from the vine.
3. Continually abide in unbroken fellowship with their Vine, Jesus.
4. The cleansing and pruning are so they will produce even more fruit.
5. Effectual prayer is dependent upon a life-line connection to this vine.
6. Believers are going to produce fruit in joy because of this attachment.
7. There are going to be degrees of fruitfulness, the first is basic
Fruitfulness is the element of more fruit then there is much fruit.
This particular symbolic illustration lends itself to four applications.
1. Believers are partakers of the Messiah’s glory; just as the branch partakes of the sap of the vine, so the believers will partake of His glory.
2. Fruitfulness depends on abiding in the vine.
3. The power to produce comes from abiding in the vine; our spiritual strength comes from the Lord.
4. He is the source of life and the source of sanctification for the Church.
THE CORNERSTONE AND THE STONES OF THE BUILDING, Ephesians 2:19-22
1. The Church is in the process of being built. Matt 16:18- I will build.
2. Individual believers are the living stones, being placed one on top of the other as the building is erected. 1 Peter 2:5
3. Yeshua is both the Foundation and the Cornerstone 1 Cor 3:11; Eph 2:20-22, 1 Peter 2:5
4. The building, composed of believers, is the habitation of the Spirit. Eph 2:19-20
From the cornerstone are two lines going in different directions to form a basic square. One line represents the apostles and the other line represents the New Testament prophets. Once the foundation is laid the foundations set in place, then the other stones can be built on top; believers are the individual stones being erected into this building.
This symbolic illustration provides four applications.
1. Believers are mutually interdependent. In fact, the whole doctrine of spiritual gifts in the body emphasized the interdependence of believers.
2. The purpose of laying the foundation is to give the building stability. Only if believers build on the proper foundation will they be stable in their spiritual lives.
3. The purpose of laying down the cornerstone is so the other foundation stones can be placed in a straight line; the cornerstone gives direction to the other stones. In this illustration, the Lord directs the lives of believers.
4. The rewards for the saints will be based on how they build on the foundation, Yeshua the Messiah. (1 Cor 3:10-15)
THE HIGH PRIEST AND THE KINGDOM PRIESTS
This illustration is brought out in Heb 3:1, 4:14 to 5:10, 7:1 to 10:18; Rev 1:6, 5:10, and 20:6
Jesus went to heaven after sacrificing His blood and becoming the final sacrifice for sin. He is the sacrifice, but since He Himself offered the sacrifice, He is also the Priest according to Heb 4:14-16.
Yeshua is now interceding on behalf of His kingdom of priests. Rom 8:34
This illustration lends itself to two applications:
Yeshua is now in His priestly ministry. During His first coming He was a prophet, after the second coming, He will be a King, and between them He is functioning as a Priest.
In light of that all believers are to offer sacrifices. They are a kingdom of priests.
The first type of sacrifice is that believers are to present their bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord, and this means to make Him the Lord of their lives. (Rom 12:1-2.
The second type of sacrifice is the spiritual sacrifices of worship, giving praise, and thanksgiving. (Heb 13:15, 1 Pet 2:5,9)
The third type of sacrifice is that of monetary support for the work of the Lord (Heb 13:16).
The fourth type of sacrifice is that of good works (Heb 13:16)
THE HEAD AND THE BODY. 1 Cor 1:12-27
1. The Church is a self-developing Body, composed of individuals who have spiritual gifts for the building up, the nourishing and strengthening of this Body. (Eph 4:13-16)
2. Members of the Body are appointed to a specific service according to their spiritual gifts.
3. The Body is a living organism, united eternally with the Messiah.
4. That entrance into this Body is my means of Spirit baptism.
5. The Father made the Messiah the Head of the Body.
6. The Head is preeminent; therefore He has preeminence over the Body, the Church.
7. There is a unity between the Head and the Body.
Other passages use this illustration of the Head and the Body:
Eph 2:14; 4:4, 5, 16; 5,:30-32; Col 1:24, and 2:19
The body receives nourishment through the control center, the head, so believers receive nourishment from Messiah.
The Head cherishes the body it controls, believers.
Believers receive strength to function from Him.
Sanctification; it is the Head that controls when and how the Body is going to be cleansed.
Every believer has at least one gift and it is the responsibility of every believer to use that gift for the building up of the Body.
THE LAST ADAM AND THE NEW CREATION 1 Cor 15:20-22 and 45-49
Believers are now in a new order; they are now in Christ rather than in Adam.
Believers are partakers of the new birth, the new nature, righteousness, sanctification, and new promises.
As a result of this we have eternal life, since the work of regeneration is not a work that can be undone.
Other passages to illustrate this: Rom 5:12-21; II Corin 5:17; and Gal 6:15.
The main application of this is the hope of resurrection power and life.
THE BRIDEGROOM AND THE BRIDE 2 Corin 11:2 and Eph 5:25-33
The Church is viewed as a virgin bride not yet joined to her husband but waiting for the arrival of the groom 2 Corin 11:2
The work of the Bridegroom on behalf of the Bride Eph 5:25-33
It has a time relationship of past, present, and future.
Past- element is that He died for the Bride v25
Present- He is now sanctifying the Bride v26
Future- He will present the Bride, the glorified Church without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish. V27
There are three specific applications here:
The obvious one is love. Between the Messiah and the Church.
One of intimacy they do not share outside of the marriage relationship, even so believers share an intimacy with the Messiah that is not experienced by those outside the body of believers.
There should be a reflection of the relationship of Messiah and the Church between the husband and the wife; the believing husband and believing wife should have the type of relationship that reflects the relationship of the Messiah and the Church.
HEIR AND JOINT–HEIRS Rom 8:17 and Hebrews 1:2a
The Messiah is the Son of God and is the Heir. Since believers are now adopted as sons, they become joint-heirs with them.
The Son is heir of all things and so because of the believer’s relationship with the Son, they are going to become joint-heirs and enjoy these as well.
The specific applications here are these three:
Sufferings in this life will lead to glorification.
Believers are destined to co-reign with the Messiah, this is their inheritance, and will exercise this in the Messianic Kingdom.
That inheritance is going to include rewards. The degree of authority in the Kingdom will be based upon the rewards received.
THE FIRST FRUITS AND THE HARVEST. 1 Corin 15:23
The firstfruits, which is Messiah, and the harvest, which is the believers makes two main points:
Yeshua was resurrected. He was the first to ascend
into heaven after death.
Since He was, believers will also be resurrected.
THE MASTERS AND THE SERVANTS. 1 Corin 7:20-24
To be freed by the Messiah is to become a servant of the Messiah.
The believer was bought with a price, which was the blood of Messiah.
Those in authority are as a result, under authority themselves.
The specific application here is one of obedience. It is the job of the servant to obey his master. The Messiah is the Master, believers are the servants, and they must obey Him.
There is encouragement to become a bondslave. A mere slave was someone who fell into slavery without choice, but a bondslave was one who chose to become a slave to a specific master for life. Believers have been purchased from the slave market of sin, their calling is to become a bondslave to Messiah.
THE FUTURE DESTINY OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH
Raptured 1 Thess 4:13-18
Rewarded 2 Corin 5:10
Married co-reigning with the Messiah Rev 20:4-6
Abiding in the New Jerusalem Rev 21:1 to 22:5
WE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD
When Jesus spoke to the disciples about being raised from the dead in three days, it didn’t make sense to them initially. Yet John 2:22 tells us, “When He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.”
Still, they may not have understood the full significance of what had occurred and what it really meant that the temple of His body had been raised. However, the feasts of the LORD help us to understand what happened.
During the Passover Feast, Jesus became our sacrificial Lamb (see 1 Cor. 5:7). It’s easy for us to see the spiritual significance of what occurred because we know that His death and resurrection marked the beginning of the new covenant. Yet, we often think that the next feast the disciples celebrated was Pentecost−when the Holy Spirit empowered the church. Unfortunately, there is a feast we often miss.
Though Pentecost−also known as the Feast of Weeks−refers to the fiftieth day of the Hebrew harvest, the harvest actually started on the third day after Passover with the Feast of First fruits−which makes sense because Jesus is “the firstborn over all creation” (Col 1:15). In 1 Corinthians 15:20, Paul writes
Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
During Firstfruits, people brought offerings of barley−the first crop of the year−to the temple. When God accepted it, it meant He was promising to provide them with the rest of the harvest (see Lev. 23:9-14, Prov 3:9-10),. Likewise, Jesus’ resurrection is given as a guarantee that we will live forever.
Now understand, when Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19) He wasn’t only talking about His crucifixion and His resurrection. He was saying that the way people worship and the way the church would function would completely change, too.
Remember, Jesus said, God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). No longer would people go to make offerings, because Christ became our offering−and we ourselves became an offering as well (see Rom. 12:2) On the Feast of Firstfruits, Jesus raised a new temple in us. We became God’s temple. Paul writes, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God” (1 Cor. 6:19).
We are the new temple. When they tore Christ down, God raised us up. We are an acceptable offering to the Lord because Christ made us acceptable.
The Romans destroyed the earthly temple−the one mentioned in John 2:20 −in A.D. 70, and today what stands in its place is the Muslim Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mowsque. However, we no longer look to a temple that can be destroyed. Rather, we are the temple that will last forever−and have the eternal perspective that He had, Jesus came to give us everlasting life and to change our focus from the temporary to the eternal.
Charles F. Stanley
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Jesus spoke to the disciples about being raised from the dead in three days, it didn’t make sense to them initially. Yet John 2:22 tells us, “When He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.”
Still, they may not have understood the full significance of what had occurred and what it really meant that the temple of His body had been raised. However, the feasts of the LORD help us to understand what happened.
During the Passover Feast, Jesus became our sacrificial Lamb (see 1 Cor. 5:7). It’s easy for us to see the spiritual significance of what occurred because we know that His death and resurrection marked the beginning of the new covenant. Yet, we often think that the next feast the disciples celebrated was Pentecost−when the Holy Spirit empowered the church. Unfortunately, there is a feast we often miss.
Though Pentecost−also known as the Feast of Weeks−refers to the fiftieth day of the Hebrew harvest, the harvest actually started on the third day after Passover with the Feast of First fruits−which makes sense because Jesus is “the firstborn over all creation” (Col 1:15). In 1 Corinthians 15:20, Paul writes
Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
During Firstfruits, people brought offerings of barley−the first crop of the year−to the temple. When God accepted it, it meant He was promising to provide them with the rest of the harvest (see Lev. 23:9-14, Prov 3:9-10),. Likewise, Jesus’ resurrection is given as a guarantee that we will live forever.
Now understand, when Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19) He wasn’t only talking about His crucifixion and His resurrection. He was saying that the way people worship and the way the church would function would completely change, too.
Remember, Jesus said, God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). No longer would people go to make offerings, because Christ became our offering−and we ourselves became an offering as well (see Rom. 12:2) On the Feast of Firstfruits, Jesus raised a new temple in us. We became God’s temple. Paul writes, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God” (1 Cor. 6:19).
We are the new temple. When they tore Christ down, God raised us up. We are an acceptable offering to the Lord because Christ made us acceptable.
The Romans destroyed the earthly temple−the one mentioned in John 2:20 −in A.D. 70, and today what stands in its place is the Muslim Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mowsque. However, we no longer look to a temple that can be destroyed. Rather, we are the temple that will last forever−and have the eternal perspective that He had, Jesus came to give us everlasting life and to change our focus from the temporary to the eternal.
Charles F. Stanley
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the book of Zechariah, the prophet, God gives him a message during the rebuilding of the temple. The altar was constructed and then the
foundation was laid. But construction had stopped because of the intimidation of their enemies.
The message is that God’s servant the Branch, a man whose
name is Branch, would build the temple. He would not build alone; those who are far off would help Him. Those who were far off were the
Gentiles from other nations. Zech 2:11- many nations will join to the Lord and become His people. Zech 8:20-22 states peoples will come, inhabitants of many cities and will seek the favor of the Lord.
In Isaiah 2:2-4, 56:6-8 and all of 60 the people of God are growing
because nations are coming; the whole world is coming to Zion with the goal of being united with the people of God.
We are seeing this in our own age.
At the time of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, there were only about five
hundred known Muslim convert to Jesus inside the country.
By 2000 a survey of Christian demographic trends reported there were two hundred twenty thousand Christians inside Iran, of which
four and twenty thousand were Muslim converts. Senior pastors and ministry leaders in Egypt estimate there are now more 2.5
million follows of Jesus Christ in their country. Many of whom are Muslim converts.
In Sudan one of the largest modern unfolding sites of spiritual awakening is taking place. One million Sudanese turned to Christ since the year 2000.
Algeria had a huge surge of Christianity and in March of 2006 the Muslim officials passed a law banning Muslims from becoming Christians or even learning about Christianity and forbidding them from meeting together without a license from the government.
The Moroccan media was up in arms about the phenomenon of Moroccans converting, estimating 20,000 to 40,000 Muslims have become Christ followers. The hunger for Christ is seen inside Iraq and conversion is at an all time high. Before 2003, senior Iraqi Christian leaders estimated about four to six hundred had been born again, with over seventy thousand by the end of 2008.
There is a revival in the holy land as well. Since 2007 nearly one thousand Muslims came to Christ in the West Bank alone. In 1967
there were no known born-again followers of Jesus Christ from a Muslim
background in the entire country of Syria, while today there are between
four and five thousand born-again believers. There is great growth in
Lebanon and Jordan as well.
Saudi Arabia is the epicenter of Islam due to its status as the home of Mecca and Medina—a dramatic spiritual awakening is taking
place there.
God is moving powerfully in Central Asia, in Afghanistan
there are from 20,000 to 30,000 known believers now.
Evangelical leaders in Kazakhstan report there are more than
fifteen thousand Christians. There is a giant conversion explosion going on in Pakistan as reported by Christian leaders there estimate almost 3 million are born again and worshiping Jesus.
Revivalists assert that biblical Christianity is a movement that we born in the Middle East, a spiritually and personally liberating force, the most powerful liberating force in human history. They believe that a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ changes hearts so that the violent become men and women of peace and reconciliation. They believe this not because they were told about it but of their own experience.
They thank God every morning for a new day and for continued life. Then they pray for God to fill them with the Holy Spirit, suit them up in the full armor of God, give them the strength and the courage to do and say whatever He commands them, and accomplish His diving purposes for that day in and through their lives.
You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Those far off are not hired labor.
They don’t build the temple, they are a part of the temple.
These are the ones called the un-circumcision; those who did not know God.
God is calling to them to become a part of His family. The temple of
the Lord is a living temple. It is a growing house that nothing can stop from being built.
God is building it up with living stones. The foundation is Jesus Christ
Himself. God is rich in mercy and because of His great love even when we were dead in sin, made us alive together with Christ, He raised us up with Him, and sealed us with the Holy Spirit, and we sit in the heavenly place with Him. If you are in Christ then you are a living stone. If we are His house we will hold fast to truth and cling to Jesus. We will abide in Him and He in us. The living temple is filled with unimaginable glory. We have been bought with a price and should respect His temple. All God's people are precious in His sight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
foundation was laid. But construction had stopped because of the intimidation of their enemies.
The message is that God’s servant the Branch, a man whose
name is Branch, would build the temple. He would not build alone; those who are far off would help Him. Those who were far off were the
Gentiles from other nations. Zech 2:11- many nations will join to the Lord and become His people. Zech 8:20-22 states peoples will come, inhabitants of many cities and will seek the favor of the Lord.
In Isaiah 2:2-4, 56:6-8 and all of 60 the people of God are growing
because nations are coming; the whole world is coming to Zion with the goal of being united with the people of God.
We are seeing this in our own age.
At the time of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, there were only about five
hundred known Muslim convert to Jesus inside the country.
By 2000 a survey of Christian demographic trends reported there were two hundred twenty thousand Christians inside Iran, of which
four and twenty thousand were Muslim converts. Senior pastors and ministry leaders in Egypt estimate there are now more 2.5
million follows of Jesus Christ in their country. Many of whom are Muslim converts.
In Sudan one of the largest modern unfolding sites of spiritual awakening is taking place. One million Sudanese turned to Christ since the year 2000.
Algeria had a huge surge of Christianity and in March of 2006 the Muslim officials passed a law banning Muslims from becoming Christians or even learning about Christianity and forbidding them from meeting together without a license from the government.
The Moroccan media was up in arms about the phenomenon of Moroccans converting, estimating 20,000 to 40,000 Muslims have become Christ followers. The hunger for Christ is seen inside Iraq and conversion is at an all time high. Before 2003, senior Iraqi Christian leaders estimated about four to six hundred had been born again, with over seventy thousand by the end of 2008.
There is a revival in the holy land as well. Since 2007 nearly one thousand Muslims came to Christ in the West Bank alone. In 1967
there were no known born-again followers of Jesus Christ from a Muslim
background in the entire country of Syria, while today there are between
four and five thousand born-again believers. There is great growth in
Lebanon and Jordan as well.
Saudi Arabia is the epicenter of Islam due to its status as the home of Mecca and Medina—a dramatic spiritual awakening is taking
place there.
God is moving powerfully in Central Asia, in Afghanistan
there are from 20,000 to 30,000 known believers now.
Evangelical leaders in Kazakhstan report there are more than
fifteen thousand Christians. There is a giant conversion explosion going on in Pakistan as reported by Christian leaders there estimate almost 3 million are born again and worshiping Jesus.
Revivalists assert that biblical Christianity is a movement that we born in the Middle East, a spiritually and personally liberating force, the most powerful liberating force in human history. They believe that a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ changes hearts so that the violent become men and women of peace and reconciliation. They believe this not because they were told about it but of their own experience.
They thank God every morning for a new day and for continued life. Then they pray for God to fill them with the Holy Spirit, suit them up in the full armor of God, give them the strength and the courage to do and say whatever He commands them, and accomplish His diving purposes for that day in and through their lives.
You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Those far off are not hired labor.
They don’t build the temple, they are a part of the temple.
These are the ones called the un-circumcision; those who did not know God.
God is calling to them to become a part of His family. The temple of
the Lord is a living temple. It is a growing house that nothing can stop from being built.
God is building it up with living stones. The foundation is Jesus Christ
Himself. God is rich in mercy and because of His great love even when we were dead in sin, made us alive together with Christ, He raised us up with Him, and sealed us with the Holy Spirit, and we sit in the heavenly place with Him. If you are in Christ then you are a living stone. If we are His house we will hold fast to truth and cling to Jesus. We will abide in Him and He in us. The living temple is filled with unimaginable glory. We have been bought with a price and should respect His temple. All God's people are precious in His sight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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