The Purpose Of Christ's Church In A Fallen World
The church, the living body of Christ on earth, is a unique creation of God designed for a specific purpose. It is called a mystery by the Apostle Paul, as is every believer in Christ, because Christ dwells in the church, as well as in the heart. Because of its union with Christ, its power and purpose is to be the instrument of God to reveal the person and work of Christ in a fallen world.
The Miracle Of The Church
The church, or the body of Christ, and every small group of believers who are born of the Spirit, is also the Bride of Christ. It is a creation of God in these latter days, created that the life of Christ should be revealed through it, as a testimony to the world that Christ is Lord, and He is Life. His Life by the Spirit is to fill this body in His power and goodness, so that His kingdom will come and His will be done.
The Beginning And Continuation Of God's Blessing
Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It also says that there is no variableness in Him. He changes not; His compassions fail not. When God begins a work in the heart, His will is to finish it, as a marvelous testimony of His grace and glory. He establishes that work in the beginning, in order that the believer, and child of God, can finish victoriously his race.
Having The Mind Of Christ
What does it mean to have the mind of Christ, but that, being in union with Him by the Spirit, all that is possible for the believer to think, believe, and live by, is available IN CHRIST. The mind of Christ speaks of His lowliness, meekness, and goodness. It also speaks of His devotion to the Father, and His commitment to reach the ends of the earth with the Gospel.
The Precise Timing Of God
What does it mean that a life can be a vessel of honor? The question must first be asked, "To whose honor?" For it to be a vessel where God is honored and glorified, it must first be a clean one, consecrated to God, and filled with the Spirit. This is blessedly possible if one appeals to the mercies of God, new every morning, for cleansing, fulness, and the fresh anointing by the Spirit.
The Precise Timing Of God
The timing of God by His intervention in the affairs of men is never by chance. That which distinguishes that which is of God and that which is of man concerning this subject is the absolute wisdom and power of God. He always moves in a manner that will reveal His glory, and ultimately, for the eternal benefit and blessing of men. His timing is always perfect, and He never makes a mistake.
The Power Of The Gospel
The Gospel of Christ is good news for mankind. It is good, not only in that it reveals the love of God, and God's provision for the sins of man so that the can be forgiven, and washed away forever, but because God declares in it that all power has been given to Christ for the reaching of souls to the end of the earth. This power in the gospel brings a person to Christ, seals him in Christ, and empowers him to walk in a manner that is pleasing to God.
The New Song Of Heaven
The new song of heaven is that which elevates and blesses the slain Lamb of God. That which is central to that song is the worthiness, the blessedness, of the Son of God, for He by the Eternal Spirit did overcome every obstacle and point of obstruction and resistance, to accomplish a work so perfect that even the vilest sinner could be saved. This Lamb is Worthy to receive the worship as the Savior of the World.
The Ministry Of Christ By The Spirit
When a person becomes a born-again believer in Christ, the Spirit of God is given to him to minister Christ in him, but also through him to others. That working by the Spirit reveals itself by bringing the believer to the point of ever willing to do the will of God. Nothing is impossible to the believer in the will of God, as long as Christ is the Author of it, and the one who will faithfully accomplish it in the heart.
The Faithfulness Of God To Lead
When a believer, by the grace of God, commits himself and all that he has to God, Christ becomes his Shepherd. To this one who did not know how to lead himself as a helpless and hopeless sheep, would be given the Holy Spirit to lead him into all truth, but also, to lead him in the way he should go. Christ by His Spirit became his everlasting, permanent Guide.