Have we received the grace of God in vain? (part two)

 

2.         Gifts, talents, and abilities

The second integral part of God’s grace is His gifts, talents and abilities which He bestowed on humanity without his or her input. It is through the grace of God who is Jesus Christ, God's gift to man that we have been endowed with gifts, talents and abilities that are unique to each individual, for to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. And according to John the Baptist, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven” (Ephesians 4:7; John 3:27).

Therefore, we are to learn not to think beyond what is written that none of us may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. For it is written; “For who makes you differs from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if one did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:6-7).

Therefore, we have been duly 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).

We are to use this aspect of God’s grace to honor and glorify Him, and minister them to others for the benefit and common good of all. For we have been duly admonished saying; “Each one should use whatever gift he/she has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.  If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”

We have been instructed saying; “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills” (1Peter 4:10; 1Corinthians 12:4-7).

And so the admonition is, “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 12:6-8).

So the question is, are we using this aspect of God's grace in the way it was intended! Or have we received it in vain?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XYGDD7M

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

Have we received the Grace of God in Vain?

We grow up and live in a society where very few people emerge as leaders and the vast majority as followers. In the Christian life however, each one must learn to stand on his/her two feet firmly planted on the solid foundation which is Jesus Christ. Whatever one builds on this foundation, his/her work will be shown for what it is, because the day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work (1Corinthians 3:12-13).

It is written, “But to each one of us grace was or has been given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” Grace is what brought us thus far in life, and it is grace that will bring us to our final destiny. Grace is what taught our hearts to fear, and it is grace that will relieve us of fear (Ephesians 4:7).

But what is this thing called Grace? Grace is God’s gift to humanity; His unmerited favor through Jesus Christ by whom we attained God's unmerited favor and so, we then, as workers together with Him also pleading that we do not receive the grace of God in vain and the way we do this is by knowing, understanding, believing and putting into practice all the components constituting grace which are:

1.         Eternal Life

Eternal life is a gift mankind received from God despite our unworthiness as we have been duly admonished saying: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus Christ is the source by which mankind receives the gift of eternal life. For thus says the Lord; “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” The apostle John also wrote saying; “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life (Romans 5:23; John 17:3, 1John 5: 20).

The testimony or witness which the Father 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." The Spirit is Christ, the living Man from heaven, the water is His flesh, and the blood His life.

It is said that, "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).

Jesus Christ who is eternal life gives to all men life, and breath, and everything else so that men will seek Him, and perhaps reach out for Him, and find Him although He is not far from each one of us, for in Him we live and move and have our existence.

It is by one Spirit we were all baptized or immersed into Him at His death and was begotten by Him at His resurrected from the dead. According to the words of Jesus Christ, “I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).

This He said referring to His body which is the true vine, and we are the branches. The branch that does not bear fruit, the Father who is the husbandman cuts, and the one that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. But for any branch to be fruitful it must remain attached to the vine, because without Him one can do nothing.

So how does a person receive this precious gift of eternal life from Jesus Christ who is the source of life? Jesus said quite emphatically; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” He again said to Martha; “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (John 14:6; 11:25-26).

The question is, do we believe this? If we believe this, then the other question is what it is about Jesus Christ as being the resurrection and the life that we believe? And if we say that we believe, how does a person receive eternal life?

Again, Jesus 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." (John 6:47-51).

I therefore beg to ask the question again; do we truly believe that Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life! If we do, what must we do in order to receive this life?

Jesus said again; “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).

Therefore, to those who think that they have eternal life, my question to them is, what it is about Jesus Christ that one must believe in order to have eternal life? Are we therefore feeding ourselves on the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood in order to guarantee eternal life? If you do how often? And has the Lord ordained specific times for His people to offer to Him the food for His offerings?

It is my firm belief that many have unfortunately received this aspect of God’s grace in vain. But truly, these times of ignorance God has overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.

Like the apostle Paul wrote; "I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of our understanding being enlightened;

That we may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

And He put all things under His feet and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

I perceived that many have indeed zeal for God, but without knowledge, and God expressed His disappointment to this by saying; “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children” (Hosea 4:6).

God's people are being rejected as priests unto God because they are failing to perform their main duty as priests of our God. Because the main duty of a priest 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, and the bread of their God; therefore, they shall be holy. And the only way one can be holy, is by eating of the thing by which the atonement was made.

May the Lord have mercy on our souls?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XYGDD7M

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

To be continued

Believers are to set their minds on things above

 

After affirming the fact that we cannot serve God and mammon, Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”

According to Jesus Christ the kingdom of God and His righteousness takes precedence over the cares and concerns of this life. We are not to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (Matthew 6:25, 33-34).

We have been admonished by the apostle Paul to withdraw ourselves from the, “Useless disputes of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain, because godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing with these we shall be content” (1Timothy 6:5-8).

To those who are fortunate to be rich in this world the apostle Paul gives the following instructions, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1Timothy 6:17-19).

This is the type of transformation that needs to take place in our minds, a different perspective on how to evaluate wealth, and how to use it, not placing it before the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Jesus Christ gave an example of an unjust steward who asked his master’s debtors to record and pay less than they actually owed, and despite of this he was highly commended by his master, for he had dealt shrewdly, and demonstrated that the sons of this world are shrewder in their generation than the sons of light.

Therefore the Lord’s admonition is, “I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteousness mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.” The Lord’s perspective of wealth is diametrically opposite to the world’s perspective of wealth. To the elect few the Lord says, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches or moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 16:9; (Luke 12:33-34).

To be optimistic about the future and prove what is that good and perfect will of God we must not be conformed to the system of this world, we are to be transformed by the renewing of the mind, by learning how to become a servant of God and not be a servant of mammon because no servant 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.

These are the basic transformation that has to take place in our minds if we are to prove that good and perfect will of God which somehow goes contrary to the secular modern day prosperity and breakthrough doctrines, but I pray that the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of all those seeing God with a sincere heart to be able differentiate truth from error

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Believers are to be transformed

 

3.  Be transformed by the renewing of our mind

The third important thing the apostle Paul exhorted us to do in order to prove what is that good and perfect will of God is that we be transformed by the renewing of our mind. There is what is called the carnal mind and there is a spiritual mind, these two are diametrically opposite to each other The carnal mind is said to be in 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.

This carnal or natural mind 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. This means that the individual who has been transformed by the renewing of his/her mind and is now spiritually minded has a mind that is diametrically opposite to that of the carnal or natural mind and it is friendly and subjective to the laws of God and indeed will always be and can indeed please God. It also means that they are now able to receive the things of the Spirit of God.

And so the admonition to those who are spiritually minded is; “Set our minds on things above, not on things on the earth. We are to put to death our members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. We also are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of our mouth. We are not to lie to one another, since we have put off the old man with his deeds.

And instead, we are to put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created us, Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, we are to put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave us, so we also must do. But above all these things we are to put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

And let the peace of God rule in our hearts, to which also we were called in one body; and be thankful. We are to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. And whatever we do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:12-17).

The examples that Jesus Christ gave us on how to live, if we study the word carefully we will find that it is diametrically opposite to how we live our lives today and what is being promulgated by the majority of  the so called prosperity and sowing a seed doctrines.

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To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Believers citizenship is in heaven

 

There is something we as believers truly need to know, understand and believe and that is, although we are by birth citizens of this world and like all other human beings we are as sojourners and pilgrims on the earth we are however not of the 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).

This translation took place at the moment we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior as we have been duly instructed saying: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

At the moment one receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior he/she receives a new birth and new citizenship in the spirit and is translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light and his/her name registered as a citizen in heaven for which 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).

Now as a registered citizen of the kingdom of light living in this world our call of duty is that of being an Ambassador of the kingdom of light and so we have been duly admonished saying; “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 5:20-21).

As Ambassadors of the kingdom of light what has been committed to us is the word of reconciliation imploring others on behalf of Jesus Christ to be reconciled to God and the way we accomplish this task is by being obedient to the word, to which we were appointed.

Our appointment as Ambassadors of the kingdom of light is that of being 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; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1Peter 2:9-10).

The main duty or responsibility of the royal priesthood is to offer the Lord the food for His offerings at the appointed time for this is what reconciles us to the Father and redeems us from all unrighteousness. But unfortunately, this is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Believers are not to be conformed to this world

 When Jesus Christ was led by the Spirit into the wilderness being tempted for forty days by the devil who took Him to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and said to Him, “All this authority I will give you, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you will worship before me, all will be yours.”

Note carefully that the Lord did not refute or disprove Satan's claim of ruler ship but simply responded by saying; “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only you shall serve” (Luke 4:5-8).

On three occasions Jesus Christ confirmed the fact that He is not the ruler of this world (age). On the first occasion when the time had come for Jesus to be glorified, He said to the people, "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." On the second occasion when Jesus Christ promised the disciples the Holy Spirit He said to them, "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me" (John 12:31-32; 14:30).

And on the third occasion Jesus again promising the disciples the help of the Holy Spirit said to them, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged" (John 16:7-11).

But there is good news in that, the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.' Therefore, our admonition is to “Come out of her (the system), my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4).

Jesus Christ In praying on behalf on His disciples said, “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” (John 17:14-16).

As believers therefore, although we are living in the world, we are however not of the world, not of the system and should not be conformed to it by practicing its customs and traditions and so 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” (1John 2:15-17)

Seeing what is happening around the world today especially in Ukraine should be a good testimony for those of us who love this world and placing the physical life and the material things above the spiritual and ignoring the admonition which the greatest Teacher of all taught us when He said; “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. "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:24-25)

He further admonished us by saying; “Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:31-34).

The apostle Paul also admonished us by saying; “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1Timothy 6:6-8).

He also gave instructions to those who possess the worldly things, he admonished them by saying; “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1Timothy 6:17-19).

Jesus Christ instructed us on how to handle the physical material things of this life He said; “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much: Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? (Luke 16:9-12).

Please note carefully that, regardless of how much of the material things one possesses it is considered as the least and this should act as a good platform for us in differentiating a false teacher from the true one, because covetousness which is an excessive or inordinate desire for wealth, possessions or power is one of the hallmarks of a false teacher as we have been duly admonished saying; “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber” (2Peter 1:1-3).

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Do not be conformed to this world

 The second important prerequisite to prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God is, not to be conformed to this world which means not to live and do things similar or identical to how the world does things. Although, we have been duly instructed saying; “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

For rulers are not terrors to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same: For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake.” Nevertheless, when it comes to doing anything which is contrary to the will of God we have to take a stand like Peter and the other apostles did when they said: "We ought to obey God rather than men” (Romans 13:1-5;Acts 5:29).

 The crux of the matter is, the whole world is under the sway of the devil, the system by which the world governs and operates is that of Satan. He is the god of this age who has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

One important thing that we should bear in mind is that, the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Therefore, when God said; "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." This is irrevocable,

But unfortunately, Satan seized control of the world from Adam, when he deceived Eve, and she fell into transgression and supported by Adam. God again reinstated the ruler ship and dominion of the world to man through a dream by king Nebuchadnezzar and a vision by the prophet Daniel. With Nebuchadnezzar's dream he dreamt of an image whose head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay, which Daniel interpreted to represent four ruling kingdoms on earth, until the stone struck the image and became a great mountain, representing the kingdom of God and filled the whole earth.

Now in the case of Daniel´s vision, he saw four great beasts coming up from the sea, each different from the other: Those great beasts, which are four, he said, “are four kings which arise out of the earth”, and with regards to the fourth beast Daniel said, “The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces” (Daniel 7:23).

Now it is clearly stated that; “The dragon (Satan the devil) gave him (the fourth beast) his power, his throne, and great authority”. Now history shows that this fourth beast or kingdom is the Roman Empire because, the first ruling empire was the Chaldean or Babylonian Empire ruled by king Nebuchadnezzar, the second was the Persian Empire; the third was the Grecian empire and the fourth kingdom beginning from 2oo BC is the Roman Empire with its many rise and falls. 

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 To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Mystery of the ages

 

Before embarking on the other two urgent pleas from the apostle Paul, I would like to conclude the first urgent plea which is, “to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service;” by having a close look at the mystery of the ages.

I wonder how many of us who profess to be believers in Jesus Christ know, understand and believe the mystery of the ages which the apostle Paul made mentioned of by stating: “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak 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” (1Corintians 2:6-8).

So what exactly is this hidden wisdom of God in a mystery which if the rulers of this age knew, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory? The hidden wisdom of God in a mystery is how; “God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4).

What they did not know is that, God would send His Son by whom all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” to come and experience life like any ordinary human being, condemning sin in the flesh by not succumbing to sin, lived a perfect sinless life, then die to pay for the sins of all mankind and giving His flesh to eat and His blood to drink for the forgiveness of our sins (Colossians 1:16-17).

What eluded the minds of the rulers of this age is that, as God alone Jesus Christ could not die so He had to divest Himself of His glory and took on the nature of man so that He could pay the price of sin in man’s stead as explained by the apostle Paul who wrote; “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Hebrews 2:9-11).

The apostle went further to explain saying; “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people: For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:14-18).

So the hidden mystery is that, not only would Christ die and pay the price of sin for all humanity but it goes further with the admonition which states; “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1John 2:1-2).

In conclusion, the hidden mystery is as follows; But of Him (God the Father) we are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God --- and righteousness (being our High Priest interceding on our behalf), and sanctification (through His flesh represented by the unleavened bread, the new and living way by which we draw near to the Father) and redemption (through His blood represented by the wine, the medium by which our sins are forgiven) that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD" (1Corinthians 1:30-31).

Unfortunately, the majority of professing Christians do not have a proper discernment of the mystery of the ages and the urgent call which states; “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:15-16).

But truly, these times of ignorance God has overlooked but now commands all men everywhere to repent.

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To be continued 

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Why is the Lord's Supper such an integral part of worship service

 

The reason why this offering is so vitally important when having a holy convocation it is because, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness: If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1John 1:6-10).

Please not carefully that it is while we are having fellowship with one another and walking in the light and partaking of the blood of the covenant that, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. This cleansing is current, something which takes place whilst having the fellowship service and it is made possible through the cup of the New Covenant which Jesus blessed and gave to His disciples saying; “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28).

Therefore, in order to fulfill the Apostle Paul’s urgent and fervent plea to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service; one must avoid defiling his /her body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit and cleanse one’s self from all unrighteousness because, God the Father chose us in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. In Jesus Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence

The earnest plea from the apostle Paul to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service is not a yearly, quarterly, monthly, or weekly phenomenon but one that is required on a daily basis, because God’s desire is to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life (Luke 1:74-75).

To serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness necessitates that we follow and practice the formula or the protocol which produces holiness and righteousness on a daily basis because, nature teaches us that in order to maintain the state of beauty, pristine and cleanliness of any physical object it must be cleaned on a regular basis and the spiritual aspect of things are no different: For since the creation of the world God’s invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that we are without excuse.

It is therefore incumbent on each one individually to come to the knowledge and understanding of how to maintain and develop the new nature in which we were created as we have been duly admonished saying; “and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).

When we speak about true righteousness it does not mean man’s righteousness which is according to the law and regarded as filthy rags before God, but it refers to the righteousness which is from God by faith, the righteousness which when practiced, one becomes righteous even as Jesus Christ Himself is righteousness as we have been duly admonished saying; “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous” (1John 3:7).

This righteousness together with holiness is derived through the righteous act of Jesus Christ who gave the free gift to all men, resulting in justification of life. And so, whenever we eat the bread and drink the cup, which represent the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ we are proclaiming or reemphasizing the purpose, the rationale for the Lord's death till He comes and there are specific ordained times and occasions on which it has to be offered.

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Means of presenting ourselves holy and acceptable to God

The church is ordained to offer an offering to the Lord whenever there is an ordained holy convocation for we have been duly 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 are specific times when we are to offer to the Lord the food for His offerings: For example, morning and evening as a thanksgiving offering for the Lord’s lovingkindness in the morning and His faithfulness in the evening, on the New Moon to commemorate the beginning of a new month and on the annual festivals (Numbers 28:2; 1Chronicles 23:30-31; Psalms 92:1-2).

This offering which should be offered whenever there is an ordained holy convocation is termed a peace or a fellowship offering and it is the medium by which members of the body of Christ have fellowship with one another and with the Father and the Son, because according to the apostle John; “that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1John 1:3).

And what grants us this fellowship is explained by the apostle Paul who wrote; “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 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).

What classifies us as a church is when we come together to partake of the Lord’s Supper at the appointed times. The apostle Paul had to chastise the church in Corinth because of the manner they partook of it, He said to them; “For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.

Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you” (1Corinthians 11:18-22).

Please note carefully that, the chastisement was not for partaking of the Lord’s Supper when they came together as a church, which is the protocol and the rationale for having a holy convocation, but the chastisement was due to the manner in which they went about partaking of it and despising the church.

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To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph