GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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PERFECT PEACE
By DONALD W. WEFFALD,


Scripture Reading: Isaiah 26:3

'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."

This verse expresses a general truth that is true for every believer in every dispensation. As the Psalmist said, "The Lord will bless His people with peace" (Psalms 29:11). And our Lord assured His disciples, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). Paul, our Apostle, tells us that the fruit of the Spirit, among other things, is "peace" (Galatians 5:22).

In the Hebrew "perfect peace" is actually the word "shalom" repeated. It is a figure of speech, called epizeuxis, used for emphasis. Here it has the meaning of "much peace, great peace," that is, "full genuine well-being." The King James translation is a good one) for it takes into account the difference in language form. The same word "shalom" (Hebrew, peace) is used the same way in Isaiah 57:19 and Jeremiah 6:14 where it is translated "peace, peace."

Our verse is part of a song that looks forward to the restoration of Israel and Judah in a time called "that day" (Isaiah 26:1). "The first four verses sing of Jerusalem, the city of God, of its strength, its walls, gates, righteous inhabitants and the peace and trust that reign in its dwellings" (Bultema). Israel's peace, as well as ours, depends upon the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). It will be experienced by those of steadfast mind who trust in the Lord. "Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength" (Isaiah 26:4).

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HANDICAPPED FOR CHRIST
By M. Stanford



"My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in [your] weakness" (II Cor. 12:9) .


In self we are crippled; in Christ we conquer. The secret is to face up to the former, and rest in the latter. The disadvantaged believer has all the advantage - he knows it must be "not I, but Christ."

"It is a great step when the believer fully consents to his own weakness, and the abiding consciousness of it, and so works faithfully on, fully assured that his Lord is working through him. He rejoices that the excellence of the power is of God, and not of us. Realizing his oneness with his Lord, he considers no longer his own weakness, but counts on the power of Him of whose hidden working within he is assured.

"It is this secret assurance that gives a brightness to his look, and a gentle firmness to his tone, and a perseverance to all his efforts, which of themselves are great means of influencing those he is seeking to win. He goes forth in the spirit of one to whom victory is assured; for this is the victory that overcometh, even our faith. He no longer counts it humility to say that God cannot bless his unworthy efforts. He claims and expects a blessing, because it is not he, but Christ in him, that worketh. The great secret of abiding in Christ is the deep conviction that we are nothing, and He is everything." - A.M.

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God" (II Cor. 3:5).

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CHRISTIAN LIBERTY
by C. R. Stam


    Christian liberty is a priceless possession. It can be abused, of  ourse, but legitimately used it is an overflowing source of spiritual joy and power.

    God's purpose with regard to the liberty of the believer in Christ is aptly summed up for us in one short verse in the Galatian letter:

   "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another" (Gal. 5:13)."

    As the cause of spiritual decline in Israel was always their departure from God's Word to them through Moses, so the cause of spiritual decline among believers today is always their departure from God's Word to us through Paul, and if anything is made unmistakably clear in the Epistles of Paul, it is the fact that believers in this present dispensation of grace have been delivered from the Law and, as God's full-grown sons in Christ,have been "called unto liberty." The failure of God's people to appropriate and enjoy this liberty today results in spiritual decline as surely as did the failure of the people of Israel to observe the law of Moses in their day.

    Could anything be plainer than those passages in this same  Galatian epistle, where the Apostle says by the Spirit:

   "CHRIST HATH REDEEMED US FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW, being made a  curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth  on a tree" (Gal. 3:13)."

   "But when the fulness of the time was come, GOD SENT FORTH HIS  SON, made of a woman, made under the law,  "TO REDEEM THEM THAT WERE UNDER THE LAW, THAT WE MIGHT RECEIVE THE ADOPTION OF SONS" (Gal. 4:4,5)."


    Thus, to reject our blood-bought liberty and go back to the servitude of the Law is to repudiate not only the Word of God, but  the Word of God to us, and this must necessarily result in spiritual decline.

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In Search of Balance
by Pastor Scott Myers

Out of Balance

Growing up in the Church, I have had the opportunity to witness the behavior of many believers.  Sometimes those situations were less than ideal; at the loss of a parent or spouse, occasionally at the loss of a child; marital difficulty or difficulty with a child who had made, or was making, decisions that were less than ideal (which is always very hard for believing parents); conflicts between families within the church, and conflicts between believers and their non-believing neighbors or coworkers.  What I have learned is that hardship often brings to light the truth about one’s character and beliefs.

I have witnessed many who have traveled those difficult paths well, honoring God through their attitudes and actions.  But I have also watched others who have not.  When I think back to that “cloud of witnesses,” I often ask myself why?  Why the difference, why the disparity between what seems so obvious from Scripture and how believers choose to behave?  (In case you’re waiting, I don’t have many answers… just a lot of questions.)

The other day a young Christian asked me a very simple question: “What does it look like to live a balanced Christian life?”  I think he was expecting a simple answer; I didn’t have one.  Maybe he was expecting me to give him a list of do’s and don’ts, simple principles to follow religiously; I have no such list and I don’t think there is one.  I told him that it would take me more than a few minutes to answer his question and would he mind if we got together at Starbucks for an iced tea (of course I would buy) so we could take our time to discuss his very thoughtful and vitally important question.  I have yet to meet with him, but the following is what I would like to tell him.

Balance Requires Standing on All Fours

There are four “big-ideas” that enable us to lead a balanced Christian life that will bring glory to God and produce enjoyment in our lives (according to 1 Tm 6:17 that is God’s desire).  These four must be pursued in concert with one another; they do not and cannot stand alone, for they are the four foundational cornerstones of a God-honoring life.

1. Biblical and Ethical Integrity.  The greatest need among us is biblical understanding; the vast majority of Christians simply do not know their Bible.  How can followers of Jesus make Christ-like decisions if they do not know His Word?  But the second aspect of this “big-idea” is that we must maintain ethical integrity by making decisions that are consistent with the Bible.  When believers choose bitterness over forgiveness, when we condemn others rather than speak with grace, we choose to live out of balance with God’s Word.  When we justify our sinful attitudes and/or behaviors, we are lacking the integrity that the Word demands of us.

2. Complementary Relationships.  As members of the Body of Christ, we understand that we are all “one in Him” (Gal 3:28 ), that the differences caused by ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic barriers are gone in Christ Jesus.  Therefore we see value and worth in everyone regardless of how our world wishes to segregate us.  We value every member of His Body and we make no distinctions, show no favoritism based upon ability, skill, or giftedness (1 Cor 12:22-25 ).  And yet, to maintain biblical integrity, we recognize that there are certain roles God’s Word designates to be performed by men.  This in no way devalues women; it actually protects them and allows them to flourish.

3. Missionally Focused.  As a young boy there was a song that was sung at Missionary Conferences at our church: “So Send I You.”  This song was written by Margaret Clarkson, a teacher in a gold-mining camp in northern Ontario.  She desired to be a missionary on a foreign field but came to realize upon reflecting on John 20:21 , “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you,” that she had been sent to where she was.  That is true of all of us regardless of our specific circumstances.

You are His missionary, given the message of reconciliation, commissioned to live as an ambassador of grace (2 Cor 5:18-21 ) in your family, your extended family, your neighborhood, your school, your workplace, your gym; wherever the Lord leads your feet to travel, you are a missionary on a mission of mercy to those in your context.  Like the apostle Paul, your purpose is to bring glory to God by taking the message of Grace wherever you go and to whomever you connect with.

4. Spirit-filled Living.  What does it mean to be “Spirit-filled”?  Unfortunately because of some excesses within Christianity this idea gets bad press.  But according to Ephesians 5:18 , this simply means that we allow the Spirit of God to have control.  Reading from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 we are asked “Do you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore, honor God with your body.”  Living Spirit-filled is a command to obey the Word of God and the Spirit’s direction on a moment-by-moment basis.  We are to live utterly dependent upon Him, aware of His continual presence, acknowledging His right to rule all aspects of our lives.

Now, please do not be confused by all the noise generated by the biblically illiterate few who do not “test everything” before holding on to the good (1 Thes 5:21 ; Acts 17:11 ).  But we must not “quench the Spirit” (1 Thes 5:19 ) by rejecting His active working in our lives and the lives of others.  Paul’s example should be sufficient evidence of this: “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Cor 2:4-5 ).  We live most fulfilled when we live most dependent on the Spirit.

So what does the balanced Christian life look like?  While it certainly is not limited to these four big-ideas, it is not balanced if it does not include them!

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UNION WITH CHRIST
PART  1 of  3




Our problem always was a spiritual problem: sin. Jesus didn't just identify with our problem; He became the problem. "He [God] made Him Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). The cure was radical. Jesus became sin and joined our old man to Himself. Thus, our old man died with Him. And when our old man died, sin was eradicated from our inmost being. We died to sin.

Jesus didn't just die for us to forgive us. Through our spirit union with Him, He did something in us. He completely solved the sin problem. He took the sin nature out. As Paul said in Romans 6, he who has died is freed from --- cut off, separated from ---- sin. Says who? "I do," God says. "And if you ever catch up with Me, you'll see it."

But if I have died to sin, why am I still tempted to sin? Why do I have this pull within me toward sin? Paul explained that in Romans 7. Though sin has been removed from our deepest inner being, it has not been eradicated from our body, our "members," as Paul put it. So we can still be pulled by the power of sin that dwells in our body, but not in our spirit.

That's why it's so crucial to understand that our old man was crucified with Christ and that we died to sin. We are free from sin. That is a spirit level truth. Because if we live by our soul's thoughts and feelings, we feel sin's temptation and think that's the real us. It feels as if the real us wants to sin, so we conclude there must still be something wrong with the real us.

To put it in theological terms, it feels like we have both an old nature (our old man) and a new nature (our new creation in Christ). Every outward appearance seems to verify that. The only thing that doesn't is what God says is true: "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him ... that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin."

The blood side of the cross labels us FORGIVEN. The body side of the cross labels us THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD (2 Corinthians 1:21). You're the righteousness of God. You're not just forgiven, but perfect and complete. In the unseen and eternal, you are a finished product.

We are: Forgiven  by His Blood

We are: Righteous, Holy, Perfect, Complete By His Body

The old man manifested his nature through us: sins. The new creation in Christ -- the new spirit man, born by God's Spirit in righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24) - manifests Christ's nature through us: righteousness. As we learn to live from the truth of what has happened in our  spirit, we will witness externally what God has already made an internal reality. We have been separated through death from the power of sin. We have become the righteousness of God. We have a total victory over sin.

So the first thing we died to when we were crucified with Christ is sin. The second thing we died to is the law. The church drowns in confusion over the issue of the law. It has misunderstood it since the first century. Paul's epistle to the Galatians was written to set the record straight on this issue. But most of the church remains confused.

The Scriptures could not be clearer about this. In exactly the same way that Paul said in Romans 6 that we died to sin, in Romans 7 he said that we died to the law.

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THE DANGERS OF OUR DAY
By Charles Wages



“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.” (2 Tim. 3:1-5) Surely there would be an agreement or consensus of opinion that we live in dangerous or perilous times. However, why they are dangerous is not always agreed upon. The “last days” of the “church age” in which we live (not the “end of the world”) are dangerous for many reasons and in many areas.

These dangers can be classified in many areas. Warfare between the nations and people of these nations is affecting every nation on earth. There seems to be no answer to avoiding or preventing it.. Our Lord said that there would be “wars and rumors of wars;” that “nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom” (Matt. 24:5-6). Though this refers to the future tribulation period described in the book of Revelation, yet the very language is typical of our times. Will wars ever end?

There are a myriad of physical illnesses which constitute a real danger to us all. The AIDS epidemic is capable of killing literally millions of people on every continent. The number of things that affect the body and mind are overwhelming and costs billions of dollars annually.

Then there are the natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, floods, fires, and weather related dangers all over the universe.

However, after all is considered concerning the “dangers” that affect mankind, the one that is the greatest danger and least considered is the very “heart and soul” of all humankind.

This prominent and preeminent danger is the “spiritual warfare” being waged against every individual on earth. Some nineteen things are mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, but the last one could be the root cause of all the others: “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” This sort of spiritual corruption is invading and affecting every household and every person, young and old. This is the real danger!

While on earth our Lord used his harshest words in speaking to or referring to the “religious” leaders of His day. Some fifteen times in the book of Matthew, Jesus called the Pharisees “hypocrites.” This word, only used by our Lord, refers to one acting on a stage or just “play acting.” The word to describe this “play acting” is “hypocrisy” or “putting on” a front. At first glance, this may appear harmless, but when packaged as true faith, it is very dangerous.

Most of the things that we consider “dangerous” are things that harm or destroy the body. As important as this may be, it is vastly more important that spiritual dangers be our concern. Why? This involves our eternal life! Much of the “health, wealth” religious preaching that we hear is for entertainment or personal gain. The propagating and proclaiming of this dangerous medicine is far more dangerous than W.M.D.

The two leading apostles, Peter and Paul, warn over and over of these “false teachers” and their “pernicious preaching.”

We read in 2 Peter 2,

“But there were false prophets among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you; whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” (vs. 1-3)

Remember the apostle Paul told us that we are living in “perilous” or dangerous times (2 Tim. 3:1) and then warned “from such turn away.” He especially characterized them by saying, they “have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof.” He then concludes by saying, “from such turn away.” In conclusion, the wonderful truth of Ephesians 6:10-18 is always so appropriate. It stands, not only as informing truth, but as warning truth of the “danger of our days.”

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” (Eph. 6:10-18 ) “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding, In all thy ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” (Prov. 3:5-6)

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UNION WITH CHRIST
PART  2 of  3


Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God ... But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the  Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. ( Rom. 7:4,6))

It's not just the ceremonial or civil aspects of the Old Testament law that we have died to.  Many teach that. But after Paul stated that we have died to the law, he immediately provided an example--- straight from the Ten  Commandments: "You shall not covet" (Romans 7:7).

Just as we no longer have any relationship to sin, we no longer have any relationship to the law, including the moral law. Just as sin no longer has any power over us, the law no longer has any power over us. We have died to sin. We have died to the law.

Why did God crucify us to the law? Because although the law is holy and righteous and good (Romans 7:12), it has fulfilled its function in our lives. The law was given that it might reveal sin (Romans 3:20) and lead us to Christ:

Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. (Galatians 3:24-25)

Once a person becomes a believer, the law actually hinders the fulfillment of God's purpose for our lives: that He might express His life in and through us. That is because the law by its nature sets a standard which we automatically try in our own effort to live up to. And the moment we do, we are living according to the flesh, from our own self-effort, rather than by faith, trusting Christ's life in us. That is exactly what Paul chastised the Galatians about:

You foolish Galatians! ... Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (Galatians 3:1-3)

God had to crucify us to the law, because as long as we were married to it (Romans 7:1-3) we were obligated to try (and fail) to keep it on our own. Having been crucified to it, we are free to allow Christ in us to naturally express His life through us. It is not us trying. It is us resting in Him as He produces His righteous fruit.

The third thing we died to on the cross is ourselves as our point of reference. Paul testified in Galatians 2:20:

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

It's impossible for a person to know their union with Christ, and live out of that union, if they don't know that they have died with Christ. If I think that the old me is still alive, I am still my point of reference. If I am still my point of reference, I am still trying to correct me, straighten me up, make something out of me, or do something to change me. As long as my emphasis is upon me, it can't be upon Christ in me. So I'm a divided person.

Oh, I can still live in the Romans 7 trap --- what I want to do I don't do; what I don't want to do I do --- but I've had enough of that, haven't you? I Want to be out of that. What Paul tells us in Romans 6 and 2 Corinthians 5 is that we really are out of that.

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UNION WITH CHRIST
PART  3 of  3



When Paul poses the question, "Shall we continue in sin just to prove the reality of grace?" he concludes, "People who go on living like that don't really know they died in Christ." In other words, their point of reference hasn't been changed. Their point of reference is still themselves, and they think they are no good and want to sin. Consequently, they are excited about all of this grace of God that they can keep drawing on. Paul would say, "Yes, you can keep on drawing on the grace of God for everything you ever do, for every sin you ever commit. But WHY? Why not instead draw on the LIFE of God?"

A friend of mine once said to me, "You know, until I really knew that I had been crucified with Christ, there was no way for me to get rid of me. Because I was still alive to me." It's so true. Until we know we've died, we're never going to be free of ourselves, and we will never experience union. We will still be a problem to ourselves. The spotlight will still be on us. That's where most Christians are living their life: "I've got to produce for God."

Until the full work of the cross --- our death and resurrection with Christ --- becomes a reality to us, we will try to produce something that's not required of us. Our focus will still be on us, instead of Christ in us. And we will neglect to be involved in the glorious activity of God as He lives out through us for others. We participate in God's life when we see that we died to ourselves as our point of reference. Christ in us is now our point of reference in all things.

Everything necessary for living the Christian life is provided in the cross, completely and properly understood. It's all in the cross. God hasn't omitted one thing from the cross that is necessary for us to allow Him to live His life through us.

We must experientially know both sides of the cross: Christ died for us (the blood) and we died and were raised with Him (the body). In the next chapter, we will look at the "raised with Him" part. For now, it's absolutely fundamental to know that you died with Christ. You cannot know your union until God has shown you that the old you died. When you died, you died to sin. You died to the law. You died to yourself as your point of reference. As far as being an impediment to God, you are out of the way. The old you is not a factor anymore.

It's a great victory to move into the reality of who you are in Christ. You have the privilege of seeing yourself the way He sees you. Your entire point of reference is now Christ who lives in you. You and He are one. He lives His life through you.

We can continue to say, "That can't really mean me, because here I am and I know me. I know I'm not dead." Then we'll never know union. We'll never know Christ as our life. We may understand the concept of our death, but not truly know the truth of it in our inner being.

If your death with Christ hasn't become an experiential reality to you yet, I encourage you to ask the Father to make it a reality: "Lord, I want to know. I want to know and experience the truth that I died with Christ. Reveal that to me and make it real in my life." He will.

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WHO'S IN COMMAND HERE?
By Pastor Paul Hume

Scripture Reading: Rom. 16:25-27; Ps. 33:6-9

The story is told about General Wainwright who was taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese after the famous Bataan March in the Philippines in 1942. For the remainder of the war he barely existed in a concentration camp in Manchuria. But one day an Allied airplane flew into the camp, and an American officer delivered something to the Japanese officers in charge of the camp. It was the electric news that Japan had surrendered to the Allies. This news was relayed to the suffering General. By and by came a Japanese prison officer to order the General to his tasks and to harass him. But the weakened but victorious man turned to his tormentor and said. "I'm in command here now!"

So is God! But God never had to win the right of being "Commander-in-Chief!" He always was. He always shall be, and He always is in command. Did you note this in these two passages we suggest you read? "He commanded, and it stood fast"--the material creation. The blessed "revelation of the mystery" resulted from "the commandment of the everlasting God." God is in commandment -- in all things, even though to our limited and sin-stunted considerations it doesn't look like it!

This is where the subject of the Sovereignty of God comes in. What do we mean by this term, "the sovereignty of God?" We reply with Dr. A.W. Tozer in his excellent book, The Knowledge of the Holy, "God's sovereignty is the attribute by which He rules His entire creation, and to be sovereign, God must be all-knowing, all-powerful. and absolutely free." This is to further admit that God is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and earth, the "Governor among the nations" (Psa. 22:28 ), the "only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (l Tim. 6:15). He is in command!

But the question is: "Is God in command of my life?" This you must answer soberly for yourself. He may be, that is, if  you're truly saved and yielded to Him up to the light He has given you in His Word. He may seem not to be if you're not saved, or even if you are but out of His will. Yet He has a way to gently bring you to Himself and to bring your will into harmony with His!

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"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (EPHESIANS 2:6)


GLORIFIED IN CHRIST
By Richard A Mazek,


Once again, the key phrase to note is "in Christ" The doctrine of our Glorification is inseparably linked to that of our identification with Christ.  When Christ died; we died; when Christ was buried, we were buried (Romans 6:3,4); when Christ arose, we arose with Him (Colossians 2:12). The Apostle Paul further proceeds to tells us in Eph. 2:6 that when Christ ascended and was seated in glory on the right hand of the Father, we too were raised (past tense,) and glorified together with Him. This is an accomplished fact .  As far as God is concerned we are already glorified, for He see us "in Christ." The Apostle is not here referring to our state or condition, but rather to our standing or position.

It is utmost importance for us to comprehend this crucial truth. Not seeing the distinction between standing and state has, no doubt, led many a new believer down the road of discouragement and despair. Our position is perfect, holy and without blame in Christ, and yet our state fluctuates (changes) from day to day. The believer continues to sin (to his dismay) and continues to experience the daily conflict between his new nature and the flesh (one of the solid proofs of salvation). Our standing and state will never be identical until the Rapture, the grand homecoming of the Body of Christ.  But until then we rejoice in our glorious standing and destiny secured for us "in Christ"

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THREE CHURCHES IN SCRIPTURE
PART 1 of  3
 BY PASTOR JOHN  FREDERICKSEN


Much confusion exists today about the biblical word church. Without studying it in Scripture, many people conclude this word refers to a building for worship. The Bible teaches that the church is not a building, but that the believers themselves are the church. Others, who have come this far in their understanding, assume that anytime they find the word church in Scripture, it refers to them or truth about them; this is not true either. In fact, such a conclusion can lead to a multitude of practical and doctrinal errors.

THE MEANING OF THE WORD CHURCH

In Scripture, the word church means "called-out ones." When translating from Hebrew and Greek into English, the same word rendered church is also translated "congregation" or "assembly." God uses these three words with great frequency-more than 25 times in II Chronicles and 117 times in the New Testament. It can be used to describe any group of people, from an angry mob to a group of saints gathered for worship. As it is with many words, it is critical to look at the context in which they are used to understand the meaning. With this in mind, we find that there are three different churches which refer to believers in God's Word.

THE CHURCH "IN THE WILDERNESS"

As Stephen recounted his long chronology of Israel's history to the hard-hearted Jewish religious leaders in Acts, Chapter 7, he referred to "the church in the wilderness"  (v. 38 ). Who was he talking about? This church initially "refused" the leadership of Moses (v, 35), later followed him out of Egypt "after that he had shewed wonders and signs"  (v. 36), and "made a calf" for false worship while Moses was receiving God's "lively oracles" on Mount Sinai (vv. 38,41). This church "had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness" (v. 44) and as Stephen said, did "always resist the Holy Ghost" (v. 51). The context clearly identifies the nation of Israel in the Old Testament as being this "church in the wilderness."

God frequently confirmed Moses as the leader of the church in the wilderness. When the people "complained" about their journey, God's judgment was not abated until Moses prayed for them (Num. 11:1-3). When Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses and tried to usurp his authority, Miriam was made leprous and Aaron was soon stripped of his priesthood (Num. 12). When 250 sons of Korah challenged the leadership of Moses, God opened the earth and "swallowed them up" (Num. 16:32).

God so validated the leadership of Moses that, centuries after his death, the nation of Israel recognized the "customs [or laws] which Moses delivered us" (Acts 6:14) as being binding upon them. They came to revere Moses as having been God's man, who represented the foundation of all the truths they held dear, which had been given to Israel throughout the Old Testament. Now, think about what this means. It means that there was a "church," or called-out group of believers, that was exclusively Jewish, had laws or requirements specifically for them, and had Moses as their leader. When we read about this church in the Old Testament, it does not refer to us. Therefore, we need to be careful NOT to indiscriminately apply to ourselves the instructions or promises that God gave to them.

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THREE CHURCHES IN SCRIPTURE
PART 2 of  3
BY PASTOR JOHN  FREDERICKSEN



THE JEWISH "KINGDOM" CHURCH

As the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ was nearing its end, the Savior told Peter, "Upon this rock I will build my church" (Matt. 16:18 ). The immediate and long-range context of this verse gives us key information that helps us identify who this church is and what kind of instructions they were given.

In the chapter immediately preceding the above reference, the Lord Jesus said, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (15:24). Clearly, our Lord's ministry and message at that time was to the nation of Israel and not to us today. Old Testament passages such as Isaiah 9:7, Jeremiah 23:5, Daniel 2:44, and Zechariah 8:3 promise Israel a King and a Kingdom of great blessing. Throughout the Gospel accounts, the Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples went everywhere "preaching the gospel [or good news] of the Kingdom" (Matt. 4:23; 9:35), promising that "the Kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 4:17; 10:7). In this overall context, the Lord Jesus asked Peter who people were saying He was and who Peter thought He was. Peter's answer was, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16). Our Lord's response was that He would build His church on the truth Peter knew: that Jesus of Nazareth was Israel's long-promised King. The Jews who chose to believe this message were being called out of the hard-hearted and unbelieving nation of Israel by believing that the Lord Jesus Christ was their promised King and that His Kingdom would soon be established.

Many Bible students refer to this church that Christ was building during the Gospel accounts as the "Kingdom church." Such a name identifies the Lord Jesus Christ as the King of Israel. It identifies the members of this church as being exclusively Jewish, with the hope of these believers being an earthly Kingdom where they would reign from Jerusalem with their King, the Lord Jesus. It further identifies a range of specific doctrines that the Savior taught as to how these followers were to live in anticipation of their Kingdom. For example, they would be forgiven only IF they forgave others; they were to "take no thought" about providing for their daily needs, but instead completely trust God to supernaturally provide for these needs; and they were all to perform miracles, such as casting out devils or drinking poison (Matt. 6:14,24-34; Mark 16:15-18 ). All these things were intended to verify the validity of the Lord Jesus Christ as Israel's King.

A "church," or called-out group of believers, certainly did exist in the Gospels and early chapters of Acts. But what is clear is that it does not refer to believers today in the Age of Grace. We too believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but the national make-up, eternal hope, and instructions about how to live today are distinctly different from the Kingdom church. Therefore, when reading this section of the Bible, we must NOT indiscriminately apply instructions or promises to ourselves that were intended specifically for the Kingdom church.

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THREE CHURCHES IN SCRIPTURE
PART 3 of  3
BY PASTOR JOHN  FREDERICKSEN



THE CHURCH, "THE BODY OF CHRIST"

The Apostle Paul referred to a new group of believers over which the Lord Jesus Christ is "the Head" and it is called "the church, which is His Body" (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:16-18 ), or the Body of Christ. This is the distinctively different church that exists today.

Only the Apostle Paul wrote about "the dispensation of the grace of God" and only he, by divine inspiration, claimed that the doctrinal truths for our Age of Grace had initially been "given" exclusively through him (Eph. 3:1-5). This is why he repeatedly wrote, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (I Cor. 4:16; 11:1; Phil. 3: 17). The people of this church are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ from all nations. The "middle wall of partition" that once stood as a barrier between Jew and Gentile, and Gentiles and God, has now been "abolished" by the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:11-16). Today, there is "no difference between Jew and Greek" (Rom. 10:12; Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11). The eternal hope of this church is to be "raised ... up ... and ... sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6,7; I Cor. 15:40-53; I Thes. 4:13-18 ). All of this stands in contrast to the two previous churches that are described in the Bible.

Believers today are members of "the church which is His Body" or the Body of Christ. The rest of our Bible was written "for our learning" (Rom. 15:4), but the section of the Bible that contains our promises, instructions, and doctrine is found in the letters of the Apostle Paul. Let's look to the Books of Romans through Philemon as "our mail."

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JOY IN BELIEVING
By JOHN FREDERICKSEN, Pastor

Scripture Reading: Romans 15:13

Believers in the age of grace have perhaps more reason to rejoice in their salvation than believers of any previous time.

Very early in man's history, God revealed His plan to bring spiritual blessing to the entire world through Abraham. God promised him, "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed," (Genesis 12:3). Progressive revelation unfolded the details of Abraham's seed providing a specific Saviour as a sacrifice for sin. Then the remainder of the nation was to become a kingdom of priests ministering to the world. When Christ came the first time, it was "to confirm the promises made unto the fathers," (vs. 8 ). Had Israel responded in belief, the millennial kingdom would have been established and Gentiles would have at last enjoyed blessing. They would have glorified "God for His mercy," (vs. 9), rejoiced" (vs. 10), and praised the Lord because they too would trust in Him (vs. 11-12).

The problem is, Israel refused to believe and God's plan to bless the Gentiles could have been frustrated. But "the God of hope" found a solution. Romans 11:11-15 explains that God is now blessing Gentiles NOT through Israel's rise to prominence, but through her fall from God's unique favor. Today salvation is offered to all apart from Israel's promises or instrumentality, and solely on the basis of grace. No wonder then that Paul exhorted his readers to be filled with joy and peace in believing. He even exhorted them to abound in the confident expectations of eternal blessings.

Ours is a salvation provided by the determined purpose of a merciful God. Let's truly rejoice in it today!

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Does Christ Dwell in Your Heart ?
Part  1 of 2
by Ken Lawson, Pastor

That Christ May dwell in your hearts by faith ... Ephesians 3:17 a

The above scripture is an excerpt from Paul's prayer showing how he prayed for power and spiritual maturity for the Christians. What has perplexed many thinking students of God's Word is why he would request that "Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith" when the Bible plainly teaches that all believers have already been indwelt by Christ. Paul exclaimed, "Christ liveth in me" and concluded, "Now if any may have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His" (Galatians 2:20, Romans 8:9).

Indeed scripture instructs us that we are indwelt by all three members of the Trinity. (See I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19 Ephesians 4:6, 2:21,22). This is true of the saints individually as well as the church body corporately. That the context addresses believers only, is proven by the fact that this epistle is addressed to "the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 1:1). Also the previous verse in the context beseeches the Father to "strengthen them with might by His Spirit in the inner man" (v. 16). This is not the regeneration of the sinner but the empowerment of the saint.

The answer to this seeming difficulty is to understand the difference between our standing and state--or as some call it our position and condition. All believers in Christ have been baptized by the Spirit of God into Christ and thus have a standing in Him which is perfect and unalterable (1 Corinthians 12:13 Ephesians 1:4). God no longer looks at us in ourselves but "in Christ" as an abiding position. We have been "blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" and this certainly includes the presence of Christ's Spirit in us (Ephesians 1:3).

However our state or condition in this world is far from perfect and requires our continual growth in knowledge and godliness. The goal of the Christian life is not to be saved (that is only the beginning) but to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). Even the apostle Paul had to recognize that he had not yet attained to this spiritual objective (Philippians 3:10-14). While God is even now fashioning Christ's spiritual image in the believers, the final product will not be complete until our Lord Jesus Christ appears from heaven and changes our vile body (body of humiliation), that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body (Philippians 3:20,21).

With this in mind, we can see Paul's prayer for Christ to dwell in our hearts by faith refers to the believers state of dedication rather than their standing in Christ. Interestingly enough, there are several words in the Greek:. New Testament translated "dwell." This one means more than to simply inhabit. "Katoikesai" is made up of oikeo, "to live in as a home," and kata, "down," thus "to settle down and be at home" (Wuest).