GOD - THE CHANGE-AGENT

GOD THE CHANGE-AGENT

 

But something got hold of me,

Yes something got hold of me.

I went there to fight, but O my that night

God certainly got hold of me!

        [from old song]

 

1. Some think God is playing Hide & Seek.

    “Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”  John 6:43-45; Isaiah 54:13

    “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. ¹⁷ These things I command you, that you love one another.”  John 15:16-18

 

2. Paul – Damascus Road - God had plans for Paul. 

    “Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name." ¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. ¹⁶ For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."  Acts 9:13-16

    “So I said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. ¹⁷ I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, ¹⁸ to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.'”  Acts 26:15-18

    A direct call from God constitutes the highest authority.

    “Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.  Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city." ¹¹ And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”  Acts 18:9-11

 

    3. Timothy – a second-generation Christian. 

    Timothy grew up in a Christian family, mother & grandmother (and father?).

    “Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. ² He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. ³ Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.”  Acts 16:1-3

    “I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, ⁴ greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, ⁵ when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.”  2 Tim 1:3-5

                Born of a Jewish mother and a Greek father, and had been taught the Scriptures from childhood (2 Timothy 3:15) by his devout mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). J. G. Malphurs thinks Timothy's father was a "Gentile converted to Judaism," and that he was in the crowd on Pentecost and was baptized into Christ. Timothy's mother and grandmother were Christians as well, and this explains why such devout people had not circumcised Timothy. 1 Corinthians 4:17 shows us that Paul brought Timothy to Christ. Timothy could not have been more than fifteen at that time. Here he is probably sixteen or seventeen. So he circumcised him. Timothy was part Jewish, so Paul did this to prevent trouble with the Jews. Because Timothy was a descendant of Abraham, he could be circumcised as a civil rite. Since circumcision is without meaning (1 Corinthians 7:18-19), this could be done on the principle of 1 Corinthians 9:20. But in the case of Titus, who was a Gentile, the case was different. To have allowed him to be circumcised would have damaged the messianic community (Galatians 2:1-5), At this time Timothy was also "identified" [“ordained”] (1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6).  [BSNT] 

PLAN OF SALVATION

The Plan of Salvation that Paul preached.

   Paul looked out on a World where God Has Acted!  This is Fact which cannot be changed.  God fulfilled His Covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by Raising Christ From The Dead. 

 

  “The Darkness has turned to Dawning, and the Dawning to Noonday Bright!  For God’s Great Kingdom has come to Earth, the Kingdom of Truth and Light!”  [old song]

    “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"  Rev 7:9-10

 

Hear – What God has done

    “Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised Him from the dead. ³¹ He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. ³² And we declare to you glad tidings--that promise which was made to the fathers. ³³ God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.'”  Acts 13:29-33

    “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”  2 Cor 5:18-19

 

Believe – JESUS

    “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God ² which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁴ and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”  Romans 1:1-4

 

Repent – turn to God 

    “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. ¹¹ For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”  2 Cor 7:10-11

 

Confess – Jesus is Lord 

    “...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."  Romans 10:9-11

 

Baptized – Into Christ

    “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For he who has died has been freed from sin.”  Romans 6:3-7

    “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. ¹³ 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.”  1 Cor 12:12-13

     

Plan of Salvation Paul preached

The Plan of Salvation that Paul preached.

   Paul looked out on a World where God Has Acted!  This is Fact which cannot be changed.  God fulfilled His Covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by Raising Christ From The Dead.

 

   “The Darkness has turned to Dawning, and the Dawning to Noonday Bright!  For God’s Great Kingdom has come to Earth, the Kingdom of Truth and Light!”  [old song]

    “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"  Rev 7:9-10

 

Hear – What God has done

    “Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised Him from the dead. ³¹ He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. ³² And we declare to you glad tidings--that promise which was made to the fathers. ³³ God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.'”  Acts 13:29-33

    “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”  2 Cor 5:18-19

 

Believe – JESUS

    “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God ² which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁴ and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”  Romans 1:1-4

 

Repent – turn to God 

    “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. ¹¹ For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”  2 Cor 7:10-11

 

Confess – Jesus is Lord 

    “...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."  Romans 10:9-11

 

Baptized – Into Christ

    “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For he who has died has been freed from sin.”  Romans 6:3-7

    “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. ¹³ 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.”  1 Cor 12:12-13

     

DISCOVERY

It's OK To Let Go!      R.D.Ice  6-04

        This is a composite, but it is based on true events which took place in two large metropolitan areas plus some other places.  Names are of course changed.  I have borrowed ideas from other writings and filtered them through my mind.

        "Through the years, Central Church of Christ [not the real name] in Mytown, PA, gradually declined in attendance, from 200 to 45 or 50.  Looking out over her 80-year-old pews, you saw only beloved senior citizens, and they were dwindling fast."

       "What to do???  The gates of Hell cannot destroy the Lord's One Spiritual Church.  But individual churches can lose their candlestick.  After talking about money and trying to raise support, another patch to a leaky roof, and seeking advice from respected brethren, the church hired a young (very young) preacher who knew nothing of the difficulties.  He made plans, hired an architect and contractors, built some new classrooms, and added a second Sunday morning service."

        "But, as we found out, Central Church had wonderful facilities, but no children left to enjoy them.  The day was coming, and could not be postponed.  The candle was about to sputter out."

        Closing One Door to Open Another.  "Turn it around or close it down."

           My computer has a "refresh" button.  It resets to the original default program.  But how to do it in this case???  We could imagine the Lord saying, "OK.  You did a good job.  But the inning is over.  It is time to move on and restart anew."  It was time to abandon the past and move on to the future to accomplish the Lord's purpose.

        Central sold the building, liquidated all the assets, and gave the money to a church-planting group overseen by a large church in the Midwest.  Leadership and planning was to be completely in the hands of the church-planting group. This sort of church-planting had been done in Bay Shore, Long Island, NY, some years ago.  Begin something new and fresh, free from the past and with a new identity. 

        This new church began meeting in a movie theater.  Discovery Church of Christ spends no money on building upkeep, and rent is not all that expensive.  Some who would not come into a church-building did come to the movie theater church.  The bulk of those who came were young, skeptical, and curious.  To them the established church was irrelevant, bureaucratic.  But these same young people were, however, hungry for truth and starving for a spiritual connection with God.

          Things are happening.  Our challenge is: How do we connect with a generation starving for God but disillusioned with what little they know of the church?  How do we eliminate barriers between a dying world and a living Savior??? Every Sunday morning the lobby of the movie theater is transformed into a meet-and-greet area for the Discovery Church of Christ.  Like Paul, we preach Christ Crucified, Risen, Coming Again!  The church went back to basics, not "issues".  Sermons focused on the purpose and mission of believers in Christ (the church).  We studied fundamental doctrines (the apostles' teaching).   We set about to discover and use our spiritual gifts.  Evangelism classes and evangelistic methods were taught.  A home-cell group was begun - meeting from house to house just like in Acts.  In the first six months, Discovery Church of Christ is averaging more than 250 in worship attendance. 

        Some times a computer must be restarted.  It shuts down and then reboots.  Central shut down and then restarted in the same community - but with a new identity and a new future.  Discovery Church of Christ is just the first phase.  Additional seed money left by the Central Church of Christ will be used to start two more new churches in 2007 and 2010.

        "Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23 NKJV).

        [Note: Mytown, PA, is near a large population center and in a fast growing area.  But this fact did not help Central Church of Christ to this point.  Something drastic and new was needed.  Discovery Church of Christ was that new beginning.]

         There is more than one way of doing things.  Paul tailored his approach to fit those whom he was trying to reach (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).  We can do no less.  What Central Church did would probably not work in the rural area where I live.  But we ourselves are experiencing a time of renewal following a fire in our church-building (and we do have a younger generation coming on).  We praise the Lord and ask Him for wisdom and vision for the future.

         What can we learn from “Central - Discovery”???  How can we step away from the past and reach out to the future?  Paul said: “but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). 

         First, a quotation from Augustine.  "Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to His love, and the future to His providence."  And, as we say: "Keep on keeping on!"

         1. Why did this work?  The gospel is the same.  What really changed to make the difference in reaching out to the community?  What can we learn from this?

         2. It is always our intention to worship God and obey Him!  But we might have been more focused on "the building" than on the Lord Jesus.  Perhaps we have been trapped by the past.  Paul wasn’t.  Phil. 3:9-11; 1 Cor. 9:19-22.

         3. Someone said: “Success is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it.”  Someone also said: “Life is what happens while you are making other plans.”

         4. We always remember that Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God made the plant grow.  Compare Psalm 127:1

         5. It is dangerous to allow the recent Past to be an albatross around the neck of the church.  We always look back to Jerusalem, which is right, but we also look forward to the future.  We are not to allow the world or the Past to squeeze us into its mold.  We are to be transformed (Romans 12:1-2).

         6. Truth cannot change!  But methods may change, and may need to change.  Paul was all things to all men, “that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:19-23).

         7. When we stand before Him, might He say: “If you knew it would draw the people in to meet Me, why didn’t you do it?”

Scandal of Division

THE SCANDAL OF A DIVIDED CHURCH

R. D. ICE

There is a joke which says: "Where you have one member of the Church of Christ - you have a church; where you have two members - you have a church-split; with each accusing the other of not teaching the Bible." Another: "Old uncle John is the most spiritual man I know. He is against everything."

Perhaps you know of the preacher/elder/deacon who left to form a new church just down the street. "But I wanted to do God's will. I was in the right. That church wasn't obeying God. This city needs a church that does it right!"

Paul warned against "choosing up sides" and commanded all stand together. A new birth makes us brothers and sisters in the Lord's Family. Note Colossians 3:10-11; 1 Corinthians 12:13.

Some years ago a Church had a successful ministry. The job market was very good and people moved into the small city from all over the USA. They brought along a variety of viewpoints and traditions. They accepted each other. Jesus was their Lord; and the preacher had a peacemaking spirit. Membership grew from 50 to around 150 on Sunday mornings. They had a radio program, a good VBS, held a Campaign, got "Amazing Grace" put on the TV, and were generally very active in promoting the Lord's Cause. Elders and deacons were appointed for the very first time.

But some felt it was time for the preacher to move on, and that someone more "evangelistically oriented" be called to fill the pulpit. The new man didn't make any waves in the community, and his spirit was not as peacemaking or cooperative.

"We've got to be more conservative," some said. "If we do like they did back home, why, the building will be running over!"

Not everyone felt that way. Those who did feel that way "split off" to form a new Church. They hired a preacher and began to build a new building. This effectively tied up their finances. They had obligated themselves for serious monthly payments. Rather than "evangelizing," they concentrated on paying for the new building.

"You're still not conservative enough," others said. "You believe in doing this and that to try to evangelize people, and you support that TV program, all of which we know is wrong!" So these "split off" to form a third Church in this small city.

A preacher two generations ago said in frustration: "If Jesus had told His people to split up into as many small groups as possible, we could hardly have done a worse job." He meant, of course, can't we agree on anything!? He had raised the alarm on some issues which he believed were crucial. But he drove wedges in the Body, which fragmented into more and more "issues." Rather than "standing together," as he had hoped, even more began standing in smaller groups and drawing circles around themselves.

Some today have raised the alarm and intend to oppose what they see as a "New Movement." Old issues are being resurrected and held up as models of behavior. One wrote in "The Current Digression" [1986]. "This editor feels there is something new and fresh afoot in this brotherhood.. New Journals are cropping up with the sole purpose being to combat liberalism... Some of the old preachers see the certain unraveling of all they have labored for, and they are beginning to speak out as only they can... Our children and grandchildren will look back on us as heroes of the faith, and in some secret recess of their souls wish they had been here to help us." [This sounds like what was being said in the 50's when the "Non-institutional Movement" was organizing.]

The "brotherhood" is becoming more and more fragmented as people choose up sides in an attempt to be "pure." But going back to the 50's is not the same as returning to the church of the New Testament. And it seems unwise to "burn the house down to get rid of the mice."

Dr. Mac Lynn’s new directory: "Churches of Christ in the United States" makes interesting reading. A number of "parties" are identified. But more ominous is the observation that the average age in the "Churches of Christ" may be over 40. This is slightly older than the US population. Because of the age factor it becomes more difficult to speak to young people; to speak to the surge of immigrants; or to be "all things to all men" as was the apostle Paul [This is not to say that "old people" must lack vision or fail to give glory to Christ. This writer is 85.]  It certainly must be our intention to faithfully follow the Gospel of Christ's Doing and Dying and Rising Again. (Gal. 1:8; 3:1-7; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; Romans 10:3-13.) The Bible reveals Jesus to us. We believe in Him and love Him. "He is our everything..."

There is, however, a context. "There is no such thing as a religious occurrence that is not also a historical, social, economic, political, and cultural occurrence. Every religious movement, then, is produced and shaped by a convergence of all these and other forces." [Robt. M. Anderson] The Gospel is UNCHANGING. Note, however, that Paul adjusted the "context" to Jewish, Gentile, weak, etc. [1 Cor. 9:19-23).

There is a real danger that the "brotherhood" will "Amish-ize" in the attempt to preserve The Past As We Remember It. The Depressions years were years of amazing growth. But much of the spontaneous element has become ritualized and what had been a flowing spiritual movement has crystallized into a number of splinter groups. There are remnants of an older, rural-agrarian culture whose dominance began to wane more than a century ago. Stereotyped preaching, praying, a simple often folksy manner, are characteristic. So too, sometimes mournful hymns. It is in the realm of "music" that the crosscurrents within the "folk culture" and its interaction with the larger culture are most clearly discerned. We sing the "old hymns" [and I love them]. This new song from Malaysia, however, better reflects the Book of Acts and the living faith of the First Century.

"There is a sound coming out of Zion

That's stirring up the church for war,

And in her midst there's celebration,

Such singing we've never heard before."

"The JOY of the Lord is your STRENGTH!" [Nehemiah 8:10]. We must restore the SPIRIT of the Book of Acts as we see this being expressed in Acts 4:23-31. The devil wishes to steal away our JOY and BOLDNESS and LOVE FOR CHRIST. We must do, as Ephesus was told to do: " You must love Me as much as you used to! If you don't, I will come and take away your candlestick." [note Rev. 2:4-5].

Back To Basics

                                                             BACK TO BASICS!

                                                               Rhoderick D. Ice

        We do not expect God to speak to us directly.  But if He did, He might say something like this.  "Listen to MY voice.  Allow ME to direct your course in every area.  I will protect you from falling.  There are racial problems among MY people that are hindering My work to bring healing to your land.  MY love goes beyond cultural barriers.  MY love goes beyond the fear of meeting people of different races.  Go to the sick, the needy, the friendless.  And do so in the power of The Holy Spirit.  I am with you always!"  [Hebrews 13:5-6; Jude 24-25; Acts 11:17-18]

            The Church's foundation is unshakable and firm against the assaults of the raging sea. Waves lash at the Church but do not shatter it. Although the elements of this world constantly batter and crash against her, she offers the safest harbor of salvation for all in distress. —Ambrose (339–397)

            Heretics often provided a great service to the church. For example, Marcion rejected the Old Testament and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, thus forcing the church to define the New Testament canon. Arius, in denying the deity of Christ, made the church articulate the doctrine that became most crucial to Christianity.   Contributed by Tony Lane

 

        It is impossible for the devil to destroy Christ's One Body [Matt. 16:18].  But we, like the Israelites of old, need to be called back to Him from time to time.  Look to Him and go straight to the goal!  We have spent our time trying to build "The Church."  We should be lifting up Christ Jesus so that everyone will see Him, and proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. [compare Phil. 1:15-20]  HE will build the church!

        Let us get back to the basics of faith.  If we are to be the People God intended us to be, we must build our understanding of Jesus on the Eternal Verities of basic truth.  We see the experience of God's People in the New Testament portion of the Bible - triumphs and defeats, rights & wrongs, corrections, the good and the bad - as they struggled to give form to their faith. God has spoken through His Son [Hebrews 1:1-2].  JESUS is the final revelation of God to us!  We believe in God as we see Him in Jesus The Christ!

 

        1. FALL IN LOVE WITH JESUS AGAIN.  Paul said faith, hope, and love are the three most important virtues; but love has the highest priority of all.  If we are not in love with Jesus, we have no hope at all.  The Church at Ephesus had white-hot zeal, but had somehow misplaced the love they once had for Jesus [Rev. 2:4-5].  They were in danger of losing their "candlestick."

 

        2. A SOVEREIGN GOD.  God's power is awesome and His word is true!  The devil wants us to picture God as "a helpless old man, hopelessly confused by a world out of control."  Certainly God is in control.  God does know what is going on in this world.  God loves His creation.  God wants to save everyone who will claim His salvation [Isaiah 66:1-2; Acts 17:24-28; Rev. 22:17].

 

        3. AN UNLIMITED CHRIST.  HE has all authority and power.  By His life, death, burial, and resurrection He has been given the Name that is above all Names.  Note His description in Rev. 1:17-18; 5:5; Col. 1:15-23.  The universal declaration of the First Century Church was: JESUS IS LORD!

 

        4. THE INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT.  HE - The Spirit - is Seal & Guarantee & Partner-in- Prayer - and Fountain of Living Water [John 7:37-39].  The Door of Pentecost could not open, nor the evangelization of the world take place - until HE came with power, as Jesus promised in Acts 1:3-8.  Jesus said: "And I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever" [John 14:16].  The glory of the Church is that The Holy Spirit is continually present, molding and forming Christians into the Image of Christ [2 Cor. 3:17-18; 4:13-15; Eph. 3:16-21].

 

        5. SALVATION BY FAITH.  Paul said the righteousness which is through faith in Christ is the righteousness which is from God by faith [Phil. 3:9-11].  Christ has already won the victory and overcome the world!  Note Romans 8:1-4.  Our righteousness is based upon the finished work of Christ Jesus.  Certainly our obedience is necessary, but it cannot add anything to the perfect work of Jesus.  We tell potential converts just what Peter and the others told people in the Book of Acts.

 

        6. AN INDESTRUCTIBLE CHURCH/KINGDOM.  Not even the "powers of hell" nor the "powers of death and Hades" have any ability to destroy the church.  There never will be a time when the church winks out of existence [the One Body].  The living Church will be caught up to meet Him in the air at the end of time [1 Thess. 4:17-18].  The cycle of the church will repeat again and again until Jesus Comes [Rev. 11:11-13].

 

        7. HEARTFELT RELIGION.  Living Faith inspires commitment, dedication and involvement.  The Church at Laodicea was in trouble because they were lukewarm.  We are to give our lives and our love to HIM [Romans 12:1-2].

 

        8. WATER-AND-SPIRIT BAPTISM.  As Jesus was Himself baptized, water & Spirit were joined together.  Note the questions Paul asked the converts at Ephesus [Acts 19:2-3].  What we term "Christian baptism" involves both water and The Holy Spirit [John 3:5; Titus 3:5; 1 Cor. 12:13].

 

        9. RECOVERY OF THE MIND OF CHRIST.  There is a pattern of life and action idealized in the New Testament Scriptures, especially in the Four Gospels.  Jesus did the Will of the Father as He was "tempted in every way we are."  We want to "do it like He did" and reproduce in our lives what we see in His life!

 

        10. UNITY RATHER THAN CONFORMITY.  Note that our Unity helps promote the Cause of Christ [John 17:21[.  Conversely, our disunity impacts the Cause of Christ in an unfavorable way.  We are brothers and sisters in the same Family.  We want to preserve the unity which The Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds us together [note Eph. 4:3].  We do not produce unity but we recognize the fact that we are ONE in Christ.

 

        11. THE RESURRECTION GOSPEL.  Listen to those first Christians!  Jesus is alive forevermore!!!  Paul said the Gospel stands or falls on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead [1 Cor. 15:3,4,12-14,17-20].  Those first Christians filled the world with the POWER of His Resurrection [Acts 4:2,9-12].

 

        12. IT IS THE "LAST HOUR."  Not the "End Time," of course, since no one can know when Jesus is coming again.  But John is teaching us to live each hour as though it were the last hour.  Many anti-Christs had appeared already in John's time [1 John 2:18].  We find in this Last Hour Situation a sense of urgency - and also calmness and security, WE ARE GOING HOME!!!  "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  And great grace was upon them all" [Acts 4:33].

The Fullness of the Time

THE FULLNESS OF TIME

    God’s Great Plan – JESUS!  Good and evil are in our world.  Jesus entered the world to save it.  Jesus brings God’s unfailing love and faithfulness (grace and truth).

    “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17 (NKJV)

    “Christ is coming!  The prophets witnessed to this hope.”

    The fact of the expectation of Our Lord among the Jews at the time of His coming is accepted by all students of their history.  It is the fact that, at His Coming, Something had filled the Jewish people with the conviction that the Redeemer, the Messiah, was to come, that He would come about this time, that such and such would be His circumstances, His characteristics, the marks by which He might be known.  This expectation was not merely of an event, or of a person in general, but was detailed in its knowledge of what was to be.  This expectation, and the figure of Him that was to be, was marked clearly. He was to be born of a Virgin. He was to be born at Bethlehem; and yet by an apparent contradiction He was both to come out of Egypt, and was to be called a Nazarene. He was to be of the line of David.

    God’s Right Time!

    “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”  Gal 4:4-5 (NKJV)

    “By observing, that God sent forth his Son born of a woman, the apostle insinuates, that Christ is the seed of the woman, promised at the fall to come and bruise the serpent's head.” McKnight

    “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." ²² So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ² "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." ²⁴ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, ²⁵ and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.” Matt 1:21-25 (NKJV)

    “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God ² which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁴ and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”  Romans 1:1-4 (NKJV)

    The Apostle John wrote that God Himself became flesh in Christ (John 1:1). Jesus' humanity and divinity were complete, not partial. The two ideas—Jesus as 100-percent divine and 100-percent human—form the bedrock of a Christian understanding of Christ.  The idea that the Word became human (literally became flesh) stunned both Greeks and Jews.  The Lord's glory in the Tabernacle (Exod 40:34-38) was now present in Jesus Christ

    “I believe in the God I see revealed in Jesus of Nazareth.”  Wright 

    “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor 4:6 (NKJV)

    “The image of the true and living God, once revealed in all its glory, is to be reflected into all the world, as was always God’s intention. The mission of the Church can be summed up in the phrase “reflected glory.” When we see, as Paul says, the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, we see this not for our own benefit, but so that the glory may shine in us and through us to bring light to the world that still waits in darkness and the shadow of death.”  Wright

        “The nativity is about Almighty God sending His one and only (begotten) Son down to this earth. This is His gift to us, not for Christmas, but for eternity. He doesn’t want us to admire it, anymore than we would merely admire a gift given from a loved one. He doesn’t want us to merely acknowledge His gift. He wants everyone; He wants you, to receive His gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, by inviting Him into your life.”  DJ

    “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16 (NKJV)