Chapter 4:
Defining the Body of Believers
Jewish readers will need to work their
way through a lot of references to what Christians call the first coming
of the Messiah, in order to grasp the full meaning of prophecy directed
specifically to the Jews. If you have never done so, for whatever
reason, this may be a good time.
Those "who believe" is a reference
to those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God,
that He was crucified and buried and rose on the third day, and that
He is now at the right hand of the Father. The body of believers is
not a specific church or denomination. It consists only of those
who, by the grace of God, have experienced salvation by faith in the
atoning sacrifice made by Jesus, faith that has brought them to repentance.
The Word makes clear what it is that God wants you to know about the
church and its Foundation.
1 Corinthians 11:3
3 But I want you to
know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man,
and the head of Christ is God. (NKJ)
Ephesians 1:22-23
22 And He put all things
under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body,
the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (NKJ)
Ephesians 3:8-10
8 To me, who am less
than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
9 and to make all see
what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the
ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;
10 to the intent that
now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to
the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, (NKJ)
Ephesians 5:23
23 For the husband
is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is
the Savior of the body. (NKJ)
Ephesians 5:25-27
25 …Christ also loved
the church and gave Himself for her,
26 that He might sanctify
and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
27 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. (NKJ)
Colossians 1:16-24
16 For by Him 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.
17 And He is before
all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the head
of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the
dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the
Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
20 and by Him to reconcile
all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in
heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
21 And you, who once
were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He
has reconciled
22 in the body of His
flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach
in His sight--
23 if indeed you continue
in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the
hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature
under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
24 I now rejoice in
my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the
afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, (NKJ)
Colossians 2:9-10
9 For in Him dwells
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
10 and you are complete
in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (NKJ)
"Believers" is perhaps too broad a
word, as we identify the church because the Bible says:
James 2:19
19 "You believe that
there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-- and tremble"!
Jesus adds meaning
to what the word believe means. (NKJ)
Luke 8:1-18
1 Now it came to pass,
afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and
bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were
with Him,
2 and certain women
who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities-- Mary called Magdalene,
out of whom had come seven demons,
3 and Joanna the wife
of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided
for Him from their substance.
4 And when a great
multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He
spoke by a parable:
5 "A sower went out
to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was
trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.
6 "Some fell on rock;
and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.
7 "And some fell among
thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.
8 "But others fell
on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold." When He
had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
9 Then His disciples
asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"
10 And He said, "To
you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but
to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see,
and hearing they may not understand.'
11 "Now the parable
is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 "Those by the wayside
are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word
out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 "But the ones on
the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and
these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation
fall away.
14 "And the ones that
fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are
choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit
to maturity.
15 "But the ones that
fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a
noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
16 "No one, when he
has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but
sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.
17 "For nothing is
secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not
be known and come to light.
18 "Therefore take
heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever
does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him." (NKJ)
The message is clear. A true believer
is one whose witness and life has "staying power." They do not,
as Jesus said, have shallow roots nor do they reside in sin. Their
lives bear fruit and they declare the secret that has been revealed
to them. As they do so, not only will their opportunities to witness,
bear fruit, but God will bless them more abundantly than those who do
not serve Him. Those who believe that God's blessings are only "material"
fail to understand that the material blessings are temporal. Material
things, including our flesh, will perish. The true blessing of God is
an eternal life, but right now we are blessed by being in His will and
by enjoying the fruits of the Holy Spirit. What God gives us more of
is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
and self control (Galatians 5:22, 23) and these gifts will distinguish
us from those who hate, are depressed and angry. The Scriptures say:
1 John 4:7-11
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone
who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 He who does not love
does not know God, for God is love.
9 In this the love
of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten
Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
10 In this is love,
not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God
so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (NKJ)
If you, as a Jew, understand the issues
surrounding the rapture of the church (the body of believers), the events
prophesied will be as a beacon to your path. Whether the rapture occurs
before, during or after the "great tribulation," the scriptures
indicate that it will occur. When it does, your choices will
become increasingly complex and yet very clear. You will see the rest
of the signs unfold. Pray for courage and discernment.
Above, we read a good summary of Paul
referring to Jesus as the Head of the church. He said:
Colossians 1:18
18 And He is the head
of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the
dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (NKJ)
Colossians 1:24
24 I now rejoice in
my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the
afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, (NKJ)
First, in verse 18 and again in verse
24, Paul refers to the "body" as being "the church." When you think
about the "body of believers" being caught up in the clouds," in
the "rapture" (this is defined in the topic, The Rapture), you are referring
to the church.
Therefore, there is only "one"
church. In heaven there will not be denominations, each independently
seeking to serve God, but one single "body of believers," the church.
I suspect that denominationalism, with its "We are right, you are wrong"
mentality greatly grieves God. God calls you to a personal relationship
with Him and has provided an Enabler, a Redeemer who can present you
blameless to the Father. Then and only then will you be in the body
of believers, the one and only true church.
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