Category: The Church the Body of Christ

What Does God Want Me to Do? #2

Friday, March 30, 2012

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 KJV).

Although not impossible, discerning God’s will for one’s life is oftentimes very difficult. Many times, denominational hierarchies tell you their will for your life, leading you to believe it is “God’s will” for you. Be not fooled, beloved—only Paul can tell us God’s will for us!

Today’s Scripture says God wants to work in us Christians “to will and to do of his good pleasure.” According to Ephesians 1:9,10, “[God] having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him;” Colossians 1:16-20 says “all things” refers to offices of government. Paul explains that God has revealed His will to us: He wants to use us Christians in the ages to come to rule in heaven for His glory!

Before we Christians can attain these heavenly offices (places of leadership), which we will do in eternity (Ephesians 2:6,7), God must educate us now (in this life) to understand His doctrine for this the Dispensation of Grace (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon). These 13 Bible books alone tell us that God is currently forming the Church the Body of Christ, an entity He will use to bring Him glory in heaven. In Paul’s epistles alone, we find our doctrine, duty, walk, and destiny. We study all of the Bible, but the doctrine of Paul’s epistles is God’s Word to and about us (the Body of Christ).

Study Paul’s epistles, and then, by faith, let that doctrine work in you (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Christ Jesus wants to fill your life with His life, to work in and through you so that He can use you to reach this lost, dying world for His glory. Will you, by faith, allow Him to do of His “good pleasure” in and through you?

What Does God Want Me to Do?

Thursday, March 29, 2012

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 KJV).

Someone recently asked, “What does God want me to do in life?” Well, what would God want us to do?

God wants to use us for His glory, but sin interferes: “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). So, in order to use us, God must first save us from ourselves (sin, death, and ultimately hell). This is why God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, to shed His innocent blood for our forgiveness (to wash away our sins), and to resurrect the third day for our justification (to give us a right standing before God). That is Paul’s Gospel, the Gospel of the Grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

God’s will is to have “all men saved” (1 Timothy 2:4a); God wants no one to go to hell forever (2 Peter 3:9). Do you want to do God’s will? Get saved! Trust Christ Jesus alone as your personal Saviour (Paul’s Gospel) and receive eternal life in heaven. God the Holy Spirit will then take you and place you into the Church the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). Salvation is that simple!

But, God’s will is to also have “all men… come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4b). Once a person is saved, God then wants him or her to learn why He saved them. God wants to teach us His overall goal for creation and our role in accomplishing that purpose (we learn this by studying His Word, the Bible). Do you want to do God’s will as a Christian? Follow the Apostle Paul as he follows Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1)! Learn about God’s will for you in this Dispensation of Grace by focusing on Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon.

As today’s Scripture teaches, God wants to accomplish a magnificent work in us, a work that will literally reverberate throughout the ages to come (eternity future). He wants to save us forever so He can use us forever.

My Soul is Secure in Christ

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12 KJV).

According to today’s Scripture, those of us who have trusted exclusively in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we are eternally secure in Christ. We have committed unto God our very souls, and God Himself has promised that He will forever keep us. How can we unworthy sinners have such a glorious hope?

We Christians are unfaithful, rebellious creatures who still live in these sinful human bodies. Thankfully, our salvation is independent of our performance. “If we believe not, yet [Christ Jesus] abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). No matter what, we Christians are the Church the Body of Christ. Jesus Christ cannot deny Himself!

God the Father has given us Christians “the earnest [promise] of the [Holy] Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:22). God has guaranteed our salvation by giving us the indwelling Holy Spirit, “the earnest of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14). God has promised us salvation in Christ, and He cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

We have confidence in Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul writes: “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:5-8).

Verily, verily, once we members of the Body of Christ die physically, the Holy Spirit Himself will escort us to live with the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven’s glory (to wait for the resurrection/rapture; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

I rejoice in the Lord: God Almighty has captured my soul and my soul is secure in Christ (Romans 8:35-39).

The Glory of Our Lord Jesus Christ #5

Thursday, March 22, 2012

“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:13,14 KJV).

God the Father’s original purpose for creating the heaven and the earth was to make His Son, Jesus Christ, the Head of their governments (Ephesians 1:9,10; Colossians 1:16-18). Both heaven and earth were to be filled with creatures that would bring Jesus Christ (the Creator) glory and honor. Unfortunately, sin interrupted that plan, and Jesus Christ has yet to become the rightful Ruler of the universe. In the ages to come, Jesus Christ will be glorified in both heaven and earth, and we will share that glory with Him!

We are born into this world useless to God. From birth, sin separates us from God. Thus, God used Paul’s Gospel—Christ’s finished crosswork at Calvary—so we could “obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (today’s Scripture). Now that we have trusted in that Gospel, we have restored fellowship with God, and we can be useful to God. In the ages to come, God will utilize us, the Church the Body of Christ, in the heavenly places to reflect Jesus Christ’s glory (Ephesians 2:6,7; cf. Ephesians 1:18) just as God will use redeemed Israel to reflect Jesus Christ’s glory on earth (Isaiah 60:1-3). Also see Colossians 1:16-20.

When we receive our glorified bodies at the rapture, we will be “glorified together [with Christ]” to forever reign for Christ’s glory in the heavenly places (Romans 8:16-25). Those new (enhanced) bodies will be made specifically for operating in heaven for all eternity (2 Corinthians 5:1-5). Throughout the ages to come, creation will see us reflecting the holiness and righteousness we have in Christ now (2 Corinthians 5:21). They will worship and praise the God whose righteousness and holiness our new bodies will reflect—not our glory, but “the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ!” What a glorious truth! 🙂

Unknown by Face (For Now, Anyway)

Monday, March 12, 2012

“Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; and was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ: but they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me” (Galatians 1:21-24 KJV).

Today’s Scripture says Jewish believers in Judaea (surrounding Jerusalem) merely heard of Paul’s conversion. They had not seen him in person. Nevertheless, these saints rejoiced because Paul, the very man who once murdered God’s people, was now God’s apostle of the Gentiles! Paul wrote “they glorified God in me.”

The Church the Body of Christ spans some 2,000 years. Its members, scattered worldwide, lived during various centuries, all having never met face-to-face (I have never met most of you in person). Paul never met the saints of Colossians 2:1… in this life, anyway. When the Body of Christ is complete, at the rapture, we will see—in person—our brethren, the Christians of the past 20 centuries (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Get excited!!!

Several weeks ago, I received an email from a young grace believer and college student who discovered our devotionals blog (he will be reading this too!). Yesterday, we were finally able to fellowship via telephone… spanning the 1,000-mile distance between us. We know not each other in person—we are both “unknown by face”—but we “glorified God in [each other].” We rejoiced in the Lord, how by His grace, we stood for the grace message (the Gospel of the Grace of God), the King James Bible, young earth creationism, and Pauline dispensationalism. How we were both encouraged by each other’s dedication to sound doctrine, even as our “higher education” systems consider us “outcasts.” Our fervor for upholding God’s Word rightly divided, even in the midst of persecution, encouraged him, and vice versa (1 Thessalonians 3:7,8).

Brethren, when we read or hear about other grace believers proclaiming and defending sound Bible doctrine (Gospel of Grace, King James Bible, Paul’s apostleship, et cetera), let us “glorify God in [them],” even if they are “unknown by face [for now, anyway]!”

God’s Workmanship #3

Sunday, March 4, 2012

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 KJV).

The Bible presents God as the Poet; we Christians are but His poem. He is the Mastermind; we are merely His design. God has the power; we are just His vessels. Our will and our works have not the preeminence; God’s will and God’s achievements do. The Creator of the universe is doing something excellent; the creatures’ work, our work, pale in comparison. What God did for us is foremost (grace), not what we do for Him (religion). This is God’s grace, and we are His workmanship.

Religion is not the work of God; it emphasizes man’s performance to make himself acceptable to God. Christianity is God’s workmanship, for it stresses how God can use mere frames of dust (us) for His glory (see today’s Scripture). Those of us who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, God is using us to make a “new man,” a “new creature,” the Church the Body of Christ, an entity He will use in heaven forever (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:13-17); this is something that God, not us, does. God is building us—a temple, a house for Himself (1 Corinthians 3:16,17; Ephesians 2:18-22). We are “God’s husbandry, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9).

Currently, God is preparing us Christians for eternity. We have His preserved and inerrant Word, the King James Bible, to learn and grow in His knowledge. The more sound doctrine we study and believe in the rightly divided Bible, the more equipped we are to function here and in eternity (1 Corinthians 3:10-15). In the ages to come, God will use us to restore the government of the heavens unto Himself (Ephesians 2:6,7; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:1; Colossians 1:16-22).

God saved us to use us for all of eternity future, to do His good work in us now on earth, and to do His good work in us forever in heaven. Verily, verily, we are God’s workmanship… forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever! 🙂

The LORD is On My Side #1

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Hebrews 13:5,6 KJV).

Although today’s Scripture is God’s Word to the nation Israel, we appreciate this doctrine and take comfort in it as its writer urged Israel to do.

Our human bodies are limited and frail; Satan’s evil world system is mighty. For centuries wicked men have imprisoned and killed Christians! As one would squeeze fruit to produce juice, so the daily struggles of life in this evil world continually batter us Christians, seemingly squeezing us until our strength is diminished and we are vanquished.

While Satan’s evil world system prevails today, it will manifest itself more fully once our Dispensation of Grace closes. It will become increasingly difficult for the nation Israel to exist once we (the Church the Body of Christ) are raptured from this earth. This horrible period following the rapture, the seven-year Tribulation, is the context of today’s Scripture.

Especially during the latter half of the Tribulation, God’s people (Israel’s believing remnant) will endure great oppression. The antichrist will persecute Israel (Matthew 10:16-33; cf. Revelation 13:10-17), even killing the Jews who disobey him by following Jesus Christ (Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 13:4-15).

In that time, the worst period of human history, God will comfort His people, Israel, using today’s Scripture: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” This is actually quoting Deuteronomy 31:6-8, when Moses encouraged Israel not to fear her enemies as they prepared to enter Canaan under Joshua’s leadership (cf. Joshua 1:5). Psalm 118:6 is also quoted: “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?”

Brethren, despite our persecution in this life, Israel’s faithful God is our faithful God and He will never leave us either (Romans 8:31-39)!

The Jews, the Greeks, and Paul’s Gospel

Friday, February 24, 2012

“For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:22-24 KJV).

Jews were fixated on “signs,” miraculous demonstrations that God had long used to teach them and their forefathers, whereas Greeks were obsessed with “wisdom” (philosophy, human viewpoint). These distracted them from focusing on what really mattered—salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ!

  • JEWS AND SIGNS: After Jesus performed miracles before Israel the Bible says “many believed in his name,… but Jesus did not commit himself unto them…” (John 2:23-25). Jesus understood they were just awed by the miracles; they overlooked the doctrine He was teaching through the miracles!! When Paul preached the Gospel of Grace to Jews, they too just wanted miracles, not the salvation that the miracles represented. Also, to Jews, “Christ crucified” was a “stumblingblock,” something offensive, for did they not crucify Christ (today’s Scripture; cf. Isaiah 8:13,14; Romans 9:32,33; 1 Peter 2:6-8)?
  • GREEKS AND WISDOM: In Acts chapter 17, when Paul encountered the Athenian philosophers near Mars’ Hill, they wanted to learn from him “new doctrine… for all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing” (verses 19-21). Notice again how these Greeks focused on learning/philosophy. Yet, once they learned God’s wisdom, Paul’s Gospel, the Gospel of Grace, they considered that “foolishness” (today’s Scripture; cf. Acts 17:18,32; 1 Corinthians 1:18).

Thankfully, today’s Scripture teaches that for Jews who were “called” (members of the Church the Body of Christ), Christ was TRUE POWER, “the power of God”—for God demonstrated His miraculous power by raising Christ from the dead (cf. Romans 1:4; 2 Corinthians 13:4). For Greeks who were “called” (also members of the Body of Christ), Christ was TRUE WISDOM, “the wisdom of God”—for God demonstrated His unrivaled wisdom in saving us using “the foolishness of preaching” (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:21, 25-30; Colossians 2:2,3).

Peace and Safety… Or Not!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3 KJV).

For millennia, religious and political leaders have unsuccessfully attempted to achieve world peace, especially in the Middle East (the focus of Arab, Palestinian, and Israeli conflict). One day, two men will establish world peace: first, the antichrist, and then, Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the world will be deceived into thinking the antichrist’s peace is that which Jesus Christ will establish years later.

Daniel 9:27 explains, “he [the antichrist] will confirm the covenant with many for one week.” The book of Revelation tells us this “one week” is a week of years—that is, seven years (two periods of 1,260 days each; Revelation 11:3; Revelation 12:6). The seven years begin once Satan uses the antichrist to sign a Middle Eastern peace treaty, causing Israel and her enemies to cease hostility.

Israel, wrongly believing that the antichrist is Jesus Christ, will relax, led to conclude that she is living in the peaceful earthly kingdom prophesied in the Old Testament. Jeremiah 23:5,6 says that when Israel’s Messiah-King comes, “Israel shall dwell safely.” Israel will apply this to the antichrist (when it was actually speaking of Jesus!). Remember what Jesus said to Israel? “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (John 5:43). Jesus was speaking of the antichrist!

Halfway into the seven years, the antichrist’s flattery will vanish. His true motives now exposed by his breaking that covenant and desecrating Israel’s rebuilt temple (Daniel 9:27), and persecuting God’s people (believing Israel) by instituting capital punishment (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12; Revelation 13:1-18). Israel will then realize (Isaiah 28:15), “We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement!”

As Paul wrote in today’s Scripture, “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” Notice the pronoun “they”—we, the Body of Christ, are not in the Tribulation.

Our Gospel Hid #4

Monday, February 13, 2012

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:3,4 KJV).

God’s will is “to have all men saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4). That is, God wants every lost person saved from hell, and He wants every Christian saved from religious tradition. The goal of Satan’s policy of evil is the opposite: to keep lost people unsaved (lost) and to keep Christians unaware (spiritually immature) of God’s doctrine for them (Paul’s epistles). Satan accomplishes this using over 4,200 world religions, 38,000-plus “Christian” denominations, in excess of 200 (corrupt) modern English Bibles, and various false gospels (some even mention “Christ!”). This is how Satan “blinds the minds of them which believe not.”

To Satan’s dismay…

  1. By the grace of God, we are “saved!” We who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ alone as Saviour can rejoice today that “the light of the glorious gospel of Christ” shone unto us despite Satan’s attempts to keep us lost (today’s Scripture)!
  2. By the grace of God, we have “come unto the knowledge of the truth!” We who use the King James Bible can rejoice that we found God’s preserved and inerrant Word for us English-speaking Christians! By the grace of God, we who understand the “revelation of the mystery” (Paul’s special ministry) are no longer deceived by vain church tradition.

As King James Bible believers and Pauline dispensationalists who have trusted in Christ Jesus alone for salvation, we praise the Lord. Despite all the deception out there, we sought truth, and God made sure we found it!

How we are eternally grateful to God our Father to have found our Saviour (the Lord Jesus Christ), to have found God’s Word (the King James Bible), to have found our apostle (Paul), and to have found our place in God’s program (the Church the Body of Christ).