Is there hope for our future generations (part two)

 

It is stated categorically; “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.’

“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:1-4).

It is because our system is established and operates on Satan’s method of ruler-ship, Jesus Christ had to fore-warned us saying; “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24).

It is quite evident that our society worldwide is controlled by mammon. Without money to solicit the services of a professional competent lawyer, it is almost inconceivable to find justice in a court of law, regardless of how much evidences and facts one may present in court.

It is quite apparent that without the power of mammon, one who requires surgery or treatment for certain diseases, sickness or accidental injuries may not be that fortunate to survive which somehow portrays God as one who favors the rich, and neglects the poor. Even our modern day preachers are inclined to portray God in this light.

But contrary to their prosperity gospel, the word of the Lord says; “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.”

“You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, you shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and the needy, in your land” (Deuteronomy15:7-8; 10-11).

We are admonished by the Lord to, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15).

The spirit of covetousness and pride is not of God, it originated from the prince of the power of the air, hence the reason why we have been duly admonished saying; “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world --- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life --- is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17).

Living through the COVID-19 pandemic should be a vivid example and experience to everyone as to how fragile and insecure the material things are and how we should be focusing on the spiritual aspect of life instead of the materialistic things, for what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

And how fast can someone leave behind everything he/she has worked and toiled for and according to wise King Solomon; “For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 2:21-23).

Since something dramatically has to happen in order to give hope to our future generations, and this change will certainly not come from the system, it will necessitate that the change or changes that are required comes from us individually which is first and foremost to set our minds on things above and not on the things of this earth and follow the advice of the wise king Solomon who wrote; “nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God” (Ecclesiastes 2:24).

It is therefore imperative that we train ourselves and the future generations to focus on the spiritual things, for God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Is there hope for our future generations?

With the world in such turmoil, high cost of living, financial crisis, global warming, volcanic eruptions, aids epidemic, wars and rumors of wars, violence, massive frauds, hunger, famine, drugs and human trafficking, exploitation, deceptions, sickness and flue epidemics, COVID-19 pandemic is there any glimmer of hope for our present and future generations?

For any glimmer of hope a dramatic change in the way we live must be effected, and must be effected without delay. But one thing is certain let no one expect the changes to come from the system, it is programmed on autopilot heading to destruction, and possible annihilation of the human race. Our system is set on a course which is irreversible, and instead of expecting a lull, we have been forewarned saying,

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!" We are further warned saying: “But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived (2Timothy 3:13).

Please note carefully that the root cause of our present predicament and the perilous times that we are in is man's selfishness, pride, greed and the love of money which is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Jesus Christ also warned us saying, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be: And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22).

Our system which is established on covetousness is the root cause of our present dilemma. The premise on which it is established and operates did not originate from the principles which God has ordained for humanity. It originated from another source apart from God’s, hence the reason we have been admonished saying, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who dos the will of God abides forever” (1John 2:15-17).

Our present system and sin originated from Lucifer the fallen cherub who was given ruler-ship of the earth. The prophet Ezekiel gives a vivid account of what transpired with Lucifer, he wrote; “You were the anointed cherub who covers. I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.’

‘You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones.’

‘Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings that they might gaze at you. You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; therefore I brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth” (Ezekiel 28:14-16).

As one can see from all indications, sin originated from Lucifer and the root cause was covetousness, which came about because of the abundance of his trading; and pride because of his beauty and splendor.

Lucifer became so vain and covetous, he was not satisfied with just the earth as his domain, he said in his heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars (angels) of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14).

It was in this attempt by Lucifer to overthrow God on His throne that Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” From all indications Satan will once again attempt to take control in heaven. For it is written; “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelations 12:7-9).

The first time Satan was cast out from heaven he fell like lightning because he was the light bringer whose light instantly dissipated as the flash of lightning, but the second downcast he was cast out as the great dragon the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world, and so we have been admonished saying; “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19).

Therefore, it is our compliance and subjection to this sinful system of governance, the way of life which originated from Satan and placing our faith in the wisdom of men rather than in the power of God that produces our woes and calamities and so the warning to God´s people is; “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues: For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities” (Revelations 18:4 -5).

https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph 

Have we been transformed?

 

Have we been transformed

The apostle Paul  made an earnest plea to all believers by saying; “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).

I therefore, beg to ask the question have we been transformed.  And if we claim to have been transformed what evidence do we have to prove our transformation? Please note carefully that the transformation the apostle Paul is referring to comes as the result of the renewal of the mind and not necessarily from one physical condition to another.

The transformation the apostle Paul is referring to has to do with mindset, which includes our attitude and disposition towards the law of God because naturally we are told that; “the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:7-8).

A transformation from this disposition means that, instead of being carnally minded which leads to death, one should now be spiritually minded resulting in life and peace because, the transition from being carnal to becoming spiritual is that the spiritually minded individual is in harmony with God being subject to the law of God and forever will be.

This transformation also means that the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But with the transformation from carnal to spiritual it means that  the spiritual man is now able to understand spiritual things because God has revealed them to us through His Spirit which He gives only to those who obey Him, and he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

Why are the leaders of this world unable to recognize and acknowledge the profanity, the obnoxious and the blasphemous consequences of their mandatory Corona Virus vaccinations? Simply because they minds are carnal and have not been transformed, they have not been able to perceive the impact and consequences that this will have on the spiritual life of man.

Being carnally minded is the main reason why even the church, the body of believers are so divided and are unable to fulfill another earnest plea from the apostle Paul which states; “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1Corinthians 1:10).

Many of us have not been able to make that clear distinction between being carnally minded and being spiritually minded and according to the apostle Paul this is the cause of the division in the body of Christ for he wrote; “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? (1Corinthians 3:1-5)

Being carnally minded also hinders one from being able to discern the spirits as we have been duly admonished saying; “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1Peter 4:1-3).

What is imperative to all those whose minds have been transformed is that we set our minds of things above and not on things of the earth as we have been duly admonished by the Lord saying: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

 But unfortunately, without being judgmental, the majority of those who profess to be spiritual are fascinated with signs and wonders which are specifically for unbelievers and are mostly concerned with breakthroughs and worldly possessions than being obedient to God and setting their minds of things above, ascribing to the Lord the glory due to His name.

https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

The church is not to be conformed to this world

 

e.       The church is not in conformity to this world

It is hard for some people to conceive the idea how the church could be in the world, but not of the world. But Jesus said quite emphatically; “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:14-17).

The church because of her status, is a living sacrifice to God, and has been admonished saying; “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”.

The church has been forewarned saying; "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities” (Romans 12:1-2; Revelations 18:4).

So although we have been duly instructed to submit ourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good: For this is the will of God, that by doing good we may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men ---as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1Peter 2:13-17).

Nevertheless, when it comes to our human body and the way we think we are to be careful to present it as a holy living sacrifice to God which is our reasonable service, for this is the will of God, our sanctification: that we should abstain from sexual immorality; that each one should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.

The main reason why the church should not be in conformity to this world it is because, the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned and the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So the way the world thinks and the way the church thinks is contrary to each other.

For example, the world has just used a kidney from a genetically modified pig and implanted it in a human being, should the church, the body of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit subject themselves to such defilement? The church therefore should take cognizance of what they allow to enter and associate with their body and what laws they subject themselves to for we ought to obey God rather than man.

https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseh

The church believe God's testimony regarding His Son

 

e.       The church believes God' testimony regarding His Son

   Now the testimony which God has given us regarding His Son is that; “There are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.

He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.  And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life' (1John 5:8-12).

 God's testimony is that He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Now the Son in Whom we have life said quite emphatically, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

 It is this testimony that has become to the Jews a stumbling block. For after hearing this statement, the Jews quarreled among themselves saying; “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?" And despite their rejection to the statement, the Lord reiterated it by saying; “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven --- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever" (John 6:53-58).

To the Gentiles on the other hand this statement is foolishness, for after hearing Christ's statement they said; “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?" Now when Jesus noticed their apprehension, He said to them, "Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe."

Only the twelve believed Jesus Christ, for it is stated that, “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom we shall go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." The sad thing is that, both Jews and Gentiles stumble at the Stone of stumbling and the rock of offense. They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

 

The church is appointed to be slaves of righteousness

 

e.       The church is appointed to be slaves of righteousness

From the moment one is delivered from sin, he/she becomes a slave to righteousness, for it is written; “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:16-18).

 One is either a slave of sin, or a slave of righteousness, and when one is a slave of sin he/she is free in regards to righteousness. In like manner, when one is a slave of righteousness, he/she is free in regards to sin. Now one becomes righteous by practicing the act of righteousness, for we have been admonished saying; “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

We have been further admonished saying; “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous” (1John 3:10-12).

The righteousness of Abel came as the result of him offering to the Lord an offering that was acceptable to Him, For it is written; “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4).

We also have been imputed with righteousness; because of the acceptable sacrifice which Jesus Christ offered to the Father on our behalf, and it is this same acceptable sacrifice that we are required to offer to the Father continually in order to be righteous even as Christ Himself is righteousness.

For it is stated that; “For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life: For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:17-19).

 Now, to those who despise the law and seems not to be able to understand the correlation between law and grace, I beg to ask the question, why is the law not made for a righteous person, but it is for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine (1Timothy 1:9-10)?

The answer to this seeming paradox to some is quite simple. The law is not made for a righteous person simply because the righteous person is already living within the confines of the law because, when we were slaves of sin (transgressing the law with impunity); we were free in regard to righteousness.

https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

The church is appointed to be Ambassadors for Christ

      The Church is appointed to be Ambassadors for Christ

  It is the responsibility of the church to fulfill the Lord's commission which states; “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen (Matthew 28:18-20).

God has appointed the church as ministers of the New Covenant, and has been admonished saying; “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).

The church has been committed with the word of reconciliation, and has been instructed saying; “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 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. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2Corinthians 5:18-21).

At the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we are to give thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14).

At this juncture our citizenship is no longer that of this world; “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:20-21).

Therefore, as ambassadors for Christ the church have been given the full authority to represent Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God on earth and should be living and practicing the principles of Gods kingdom as their lifestyle and not that of this world which violates the principles of God, for we are to obey God rather than man.

Our responsibility therefore is to; submit ourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good: For this is the will of God, that by doing good we may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men ---as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1Peter 2:13-17).

The church is not a replica of the Jewish religion, neither is it a replica of the Gentile pagan religion. The church is the Way that has been consecrated in the flesh of Jesus Christ to grant us bold access to the Father. The objective of this Way is to, open the eyes of men [Jews as well as Gentiles] and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ.

https://www.amazon.com/author/luciusjoseph

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

The church is ordained to be the body of Christ

a.       The church is appointed to be the Body of Christ

As the body of Christ, the church is subject to Jesus Christ Who is the head of the body, Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. It is stated that; “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. 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:  For in fact the body is not one member but many” (1Corinthians 12:12-14).

In order for the church to experience growth and development as the body of Christ, it is imperative that she speaks the truth in love, so as to grow up in all things into Jesus Christ who is the head, and from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

God has placed each member of His body in the position He wants them to be and so we have been admonished by the apostle Paul saying; “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:3-8).

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. 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. For in fact the body is not one member but many.

If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body” (1Corinthians 12:12-20).

But what binds and holds the body together as one, is the communion, sharing, or fellowship of the body of Christ. For it is written; “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge for your-selves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion (sharing) of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread” (1Corinthians 10:14-17).

And it is by us drawing near to the Father with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water, holding fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And considering one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

 We should therefore all be speaking the same thing and there should be no divisions among us, but that we be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment for God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

The church is preordained to be Gods spiritual Temple

 

The church is appointed to be God's spiritual temple

Not only is the church appointed to be a chosen generation, a royal priesthood and a holy nation but it is also appointed to be the spiritual temple of God and has received the instructions to; “Come to Him (Jesus Christ) as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house” (1Peter 2:4-5).

The church is the household of God and so we have been duly admonished saying; “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22).

The foundation on which our spiritual temple is being built is on the four corner stone of our salvation  as we have been duly admonished saying; “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God --- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption ---that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD" (1 Corinthians 1:25-31).

So the four corner stone of our salvation are:

Jesus Christ taking on the nature of man, the wisdom and power of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Jesus Christ our Righteousness Who through His death made things right with the Father and presently seated t the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf

Jesus Christ our Sanctification, Who sanctifies us and set us apart through His body which He gave us to eat in the form of the Unleavened Bread.

 Jesus Christ our redemption Who through His blood receives forgiveness for our sins

As the Lord's spiritual temple, it is the church's responsibility to keep her pure from sexual immorality. For we have been admonished saying; “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's” (1Corinthians 6:18-20).

The church has also been duly instructed saying; “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8).

We are told that, “Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water (flesh) by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

Therefore, the main objective of the church is to attain what was ordained for it even before the foundation of the world which is, to be holy, for it is written; “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Ephesians 1:3-4).

To be holy simply means to be free from sin and defilement of the human body and believe it or not, the Lord has made all the provisions necessary to present to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

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To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

The church is preordained to be a Royal priesthood

 

God in His faithfulness and wisdom established certain principles and guidelines by which the church should live so as to become holy, blameless and irreproachable in His sight, and they are manifested in seven distinctive ways which are as follows;

 The church is appointed to be a royal priesthood

Members of the church are the chosen people of the Chosen Stone, of whom it is written; “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).

 The main responsibility of the church as a royal priesthood, “is to be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire (zeal), and the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.” And the way the church becomes holy is synonymous to how Aaron the high priest and his sons were made holy which is stated as follows; “Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting: They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy” (Leviticus 21:6; Exodus 29:32-33).

The same way it was the responsibility of Aaron and his sons to eat of those things with which the atonement was made to consecrate and sanctify them, so must the church eat of those things with which the atonement was made, which is the body and blood of Jesus Christ in order for them to be consecrated and sanctified but an outsider shall not partake of it because it is holy. And so the admonition is; “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4-5).

 Unfortunately, this is the downfall of many so called religious institutions, even labelling the church as a sanctuary for sinners, what a delusion? This is the stone which the builders rejected and has become the chief cornerstone," and” a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense:" They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed” (1Peter 2:7-8).

The church is appointed as a nation of priests in order to offer to the Lord the food for His offerings at the appointed time. And so we have been instructed saying; “Command the children of Israel, and say to them, 'My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time.” There is one specific offering for every offering one offers to the Lord, and there are specific times for specific offerings; for example, there is an appointed time to offer the Lord the regular or thanks giving offering, which is morning and evening, and also at the appointed time to have a holy convocation to offer the peace or fellowship offering (Numbers 28:2; Leviticus 23:37).

 God's covenant with Levi (the priesthood) is continuous, for thus He said; "My covenant was with him, one of life and peace, and I gave them to him that he might fear Me; So he feared Me and was reverent before My name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity.

“For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But you have departed from the way; you have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi," Says the Lord of hosts. Therefore I also have made you contemptible and base before all the people, because you have not kept My ways but have shown partiality in the law" (Malachi 2:5-9).

The covenant of the Lord with regards to the priesthood is so permanent that He said to the prophet Jeremiah "For thus says the Lord: 'David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.' "

 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, "Thus says the Lord: 'If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me " (Jeremiah 33:17-22).

And so the reason why the majority of us stumble, it is because we are disobedient to the word to which also we were appointed, which is to be a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own special people, that we may proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

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To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

God's preordained plan for His church (part four)

•                    The church of God

The third group of people in the world is the church, these are those who have made peace with God through the blood of Jesus Christ, as it is written; “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both (Jews and Gentiles) one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off (Gentiles) and to those who were near (Jews). For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2: 13-18).

The one body by which the two, Jews and Gentiles, might be reconciled to God is the church. And so we have been duly admonished saying; “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God” (1Corinthians 10:31-32),

What differentiates the church from both the Jews and the Gentiles is her fellowship with Jesus Christ, the power and wisdom of God.  The apostle Paul in his remarks regarding spiritual gifts said, “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ: God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1Corinthians 1:4-9). 

What differentiates the church from both the Jews and the Gentiles is their belief in the message of the cross. For it is written; “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1Corinthians 1:18-25).

What is considered as the foolishness of God but is wiser than men is His decision to send His only begotten Son into this world in the likeness of sinful flesh. And what is considered as the weakness of God, but is stronger than men, is Jesus Christ being found in appearance as a man and humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

But what has eluded the eyes of many is that this was the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

What then is to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles foolishness?  It is the manifestation of the Lamb of God Who indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for us, who through Him believe in God, Who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that our faith and hope are in God.

It is through the perfect sinless sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, and giving of His flesh to eat, and His blood to drink, as the food for the Lord's offerings, His sweet smelling aroma that we become perfect, holy, blameless, righteous and irreproachable in the sight of God.

The irony of truth is, we were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from our aimless conduct received by tradition from our fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

We have been given the assurance that, He who calls us is to a life of perfection, holiness, and blamelessness is faithful, who also will do it. It is also said that, unbelief does not make the faithfulness of God of no effect, indeed, let God be true and everyman a liar.

There is no respecter of persons with God, neither is there any partiality with Him, it is God's foreordained plan that the church be holy, perfect, blameless, righteous and irreproachable in His sight. His death was on behalf of all humanity,  for it is stated that, “... the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

We know that, it is God's will that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Therefore, since it is the will of God that the church is blameless, perfect, holy, righteous and irreproachable in His sight, and He who promised is faithful, who also will do it, how is God in His faithfulness purifies His church?

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To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph