WILL YOU BE IN IT, THE CHURCH WITHOUT SPOT OR WRINKLE?

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WILL YOU BE IN IT, THE CHURCH WITHOUT SPOT OR WRINKLE?

***Ephesians 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

King James Version

Ephesians 4:13  Till we all come to the harmony of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to full growth, to the full measure of Christ:

Bible in Basic English

Ephesians 4:13  till we all of us arrive at oneness in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and at mature manhood and the stature of full-grown men in Christ.

Weymouth Translation

Ephesians 4:13  till we may all come to the unity of the faith and of the recognition of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to a measure of stature of the fulness of the Christ,

Young’s Literal Translation

Let’s look at this verse –

***Ephesians 4:13  Till we all come to the harmony of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to full growth, to the full measure of Christ: Bible in Basic English.

# Harmony of the faith.

Ephesians 3:17  I pray that Christ may make His home in your hearts through your faith; so that having your roots deep and your foundations strong, in love, you may become mighty to grasp the idea,

Ephesians 3:18  as it is grasped by all God’s people, of the breadth and length, the height and depth–

Ephesians 3:19  yes, to attain to a knowledge of the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, so that you may be made complete in accordance with God’s own standard of completeness.

Ephesians 3:17 – 19 Weymouth Translation

***Mutuality/Membership Of The Body Of Christ

“There Is One Body And One Spirit – Just As You Were Called To One Hope When You Were Called – One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God And Father Of All, Who Is Over All And Through All And In All.”

Ephesians 4:4 -6.

If you are one with & desire the following, you are truly in membership with the Body of Christ: –

One Body _ the body of Christ

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ.

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and those members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

Colossians 2:9,10. Romans 12:4,5.

One Spirit – receiving the Spirit of Christ

 ”Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshippers must worship Him in spirit and Truth.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.”

John 4:23, 24. Romans 8:9 -11.

One Hope – hope of our call as Christians, we hope to be with the Lord forever in glory

“God did this by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.

We who have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has now become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

‘while we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

To them God has chosen to make known among the gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Hebrews 6:18. Titus 2:13. Colossians 1:27.

One Lord – anyone who confesses Jesus to be Lord, that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; that person is from God

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.

Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.

That if you confess with your mouth, `Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.

Matthew 10:32, Luke 23:42, Romans 10:9, 1 John 4:2,3.

One Faith – the faith through which we have been saved

…that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him.

I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned;

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”

I have come into the world as a light, so that no-one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 3:15, 5:24, 11:25,26a, 12:46, and 20:31.

One Baptism – all who are baptised into the name of the Lord are one in Him

For we are all baptised by one Spirit into one body……

‘for all of you who are baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.

‘having been buried with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.

1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:27, Colossians 2:12.

One God – believe in the same personal God as our Father

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of Sonship, and by Him we cry, Abba, Father.

Psalm 68:5, Matthew 7:11, Romans 8:15.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Galatians 5:22, 23. [King James Version]

If we as Christians are not prepared to live with one another in this way, and with these criteria in mind, there arises a serious question as to whether we have the Spirit of Christ.

We need –

***# knowledge of the Son of God.

The scriptures below show the knowledge we should have  of the Son of God.

*John 3:16  For so greatly did God love the world that He gave His only Son, that every one who trusts in Him may not perish but may have the Life of Ages.

John 3:17  For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Weymouth Translation

*John 3:15  So that whoever has faith may have in him eternal life.

John 3:16  For God had such love for the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever has faith in him may not come to destruction but have eternal life.

John 3:17  God did not send his Son into the world to be judge of the world; he sent him so that the world might have salvation through him.

John 3:18  The man who has faith in him does not come up to be judged; but he who has no faith in him has been judged even now, because he has no faith in the name of the only Son of God.

Bible in Basic English

*John 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

John 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

King James Version

*John 3:15  that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during,

John 3:16  for God did so love the world, that His Son–the only begotten–He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during.

John 3:17  For God did not send His Son to the world that he may judge the world, but that the world may be saved through him;

John 3:18  he who is believing in him is not judged, but he who is not believing hath been judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Young’s Literal Translation

 ***# To full growth.

***# The full measure of Christ.

We will look at the above two items in future blogs

***Except that we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, and allow His Holy Spirit to come into our hearts and minds, we are none of His because we have not the Spirit of Christ.

***We need to make manifest the incredible love of the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit for their creation, by the way we behave as believers with one another.

We need to set aside those things which separate us and bring division into the Body of Christ.

This will allow the love of Jesus to flow through us, causing the world to marvel and say “See how they love another!”.

***We will continue to explore the Church without spot or wrinkle in future blogs.

Here are some pointers of how the direction goes —

Find out more at ht.ly/eeH80Cttp://bi  and I pray it will be of help to you. Blessings.

Try

https://biblesolutionsblog.wordpress.com/

I pray it will help.

Blessings

SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG — BOOK 1:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/272883 is available for free at this link. Get yourself a copy.

There is a mine of information in the books available at

www.,amazon.com/author/dougvermeulen

Blessings

 

Doug

 

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ESTABLISHING THE CHURCH WITHOUT SPOT OR WRINKLE -WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? [4]

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ESTABLISHING THE CHURCH WITHOUT SPOT OR WRINKLE -WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? [4]

Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
King James Version
Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come to the harmony of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to full growth, to the full measure of Christ:
Bible in Basic English
Ephesians 4:13 till we all of us arrive at oneness in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and at mature manhood and the stature of full-grown men in Christ.
Weymouth Translation
Ephesians 4:13 till we may all come to the unity of the faith and of the recognition of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to a measure of stature of the fulness of the Christ,
Young’s Literal Translation
*** The scriptures above highlight two things —
# The unity or harmony of the faith, and
# The knowledge or recognition of who Jesus is.
This is followed by the statement that we will then be like Christ, not be Him, but be like Him, completely.
The term ‘the measure of the fullness and maturity’ is indicated throughout all the translations.
In this blog we will discuss the unity or harmony of the faith.
The biggest block to unity and harmony of faith is the way the Church has been broken up into theological camps.
This is not biblical.
The Bible highlights recognizing the meetings of the Church Body in terms of the geographical position of the believers.
The Church at [place] obviates any theological ideology, and allows for a common meeting basis, without disputes over ideology.
Doing Church on a geographical basis, was extensively covered by Watchmen Nee during the 1930’s in his 3 volume series “The Work and the Church”
He shows the biblical basis for meeting on a geographical basis, and also shows how this is entirely possible.
He mentions the 5-fold ministry, but does not go into fine detail on it.
It is impossible to do the 5-fold ministry pattern unless the geographical basis for it has been put in place.
A city in the olden days was wherever the people congregated and lived and were protected.
Thus the only type of description of a church [on earth] that can be found in the scriptures; is that of the `ecclesia’ [called out ones]; and is described in terms of the `city’ boundary—wherever it is found. We even find this thought carried through in Revelations; where even the exact dimensions of the New Jerusalem are given!
And so we find in the New Testament the corporate ecclesia described as: –
* The Church in Ephesus Revelation 2:1
* The Church in Smyrna Revelation 2:8
* The Church in Pergamum Revelation 2:12
* The Church in Thyatira Revelation 2:18
* The Church in Sardis Revelation 3:1
* The Church in Philadelphia Revelation 3:7
* The Church in Laodicea Revelation 3:14
That is why you don’t see the 5-fold ministry pattern in Churches around the world, because the geographical meeting is the only way the 5-fold meetings will work properly.
People who say they are doing the 5-fold ministry are doing a man-made version of the 5-fold ministry, not a biblical version of it.
I know, because we tried to do the 5-fold ministry within the old structures in home Church, and it doesn’t work. We had to switch to a strict geographical basis.
*** The different aspects of Christianity are perfectly covered in terms of the 5-fold ministry, the Apostle, the Prophet, the Pastor, the Evangelist and the Teacher.
These aspects are given full expression in the Grace 5 meetings linked to the 5-fold Ministries.
They are the Covenant Meeting, the Prayer meeting, the Worship meeting, the Good News meeting and the Bible Study meeting.
The wonderful thing about the way God has structured Church above, is that all the needs of the believers are taken care of, just by flowing with God’s pattern for doing Church.
All and every aspect is covered by God’s pattern.
Jesus says it best –
No one ever mends an old cloak with a patch of newly woven cloth. Otherwise, the patch put on would tear away some of the old, and a worse hole would be made.
Nor do people pour new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins would split, the wine would escape, and the skins be destroyed. But they put new wine into fresh skins, and both are saved.”
Matthew 9:16, 17 Weymouth Translation
The old wineskins have provided excellent and beautiful wine that was much enjoyed and which blessed people. The old wineskins had laid the foundation in which the new wine could be enjoyed.
However, as happens with all things, a time comes when the old wineskin has to fulfill its last function, and then it becomes time for the new wineskins to provide from their wine.
Paul spoke about the 5-fold ministry 2000 years ago, so the wine in the new wineskin is well matured and ready for consumption.
***We cannot move into a ‘Church without spot or wrinkle’ without putting aside our pride in doing Church in the old man-made traditions in the Church Body, and start doing things the biblical way.
God has given us complete directions in the scriptures, so let’s do it that way.
***We will continue to explore the Church without spot or wrinkle in future blogs.
Here are some pointers of how the direction goes —

Find out more at ht.ly/eeH80Cttp://bi and I pray it will be of help to you. Blessings.
Try
https://biblesolutionsblog.wordpress.com/
I pray it will help.
Blessings
SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG — BOOK 1:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/272883 is available for free at this link. Get yourself a copy.
There is a mine of information in the books available at
http://www.,amazon.com/author/dougvermeulen
Blessings

 

 

Doug

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ESTABLISHING THE CHURCH WITHOUT SPOT OR WRINKLE -WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE ? [2]

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ESTABLISHING THE CHURCH WITHOUT SPOT OR WRINKLE -WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE ? [2]

 Here, the Bible indicates where we are to go from here –

Whom we are preaching; guiding and teaching every man in all wisdom, so that every man may be complete in Christ;

Coossians 1:28   Bible in Basic English

 Him we preach, admonishing every one and instructing every one, with all possible wisdom, so that we may bring every one into God’s presence, made perfect through Christ.

Colossians 1:28   Weymouth Translation

 The Bible then goes on to point to the only direction possible in which to proceed –

How much more will the blood of Christ, who, being without sin, made an offering of himself to God through the Holy Spirit, make your hearts clean from dead works to be servants of the living God?

Hebrews 9:14  Bible in Basic English

 But through holy blood, like that of a clean and unmarked lamb, even the blood of Christ:

1Peter 1:19   Bible in Basic English

 The Bible then explains some more –

Giving praise to the Father who has given us a part in the heritage of the saints in light;

Who has made us free from the power of evil and given us a place in the kingdom of the Son of his love;

In whom we have our salvation, the forgiveness of sins:

Who is the image of the unseen God coming into existence before all living things;

For by him all things were made, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, authorities, lords, rulers, and powers; all things were made by him and for him;

He is before all things, and in him all things have being.

And he is the head of the body, the church: the starting point of all things, the first to come again from the dead; so that in all things he might have the chief place.

For God in full measure was pleased to be in him;

Through him uniting all things with himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, I say, uniting all things which are on earth or in heaven.

And you, who in the past were cut off and at war with God in your minds through evil works, he has now made one

In the body of his flesh through death, so that you might be holy and without sin and free from all evil before him: 

Colossians 1:12 – 22 Bible in Basic English

 God the Father Himself chose our ultimate goal –

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us every blessing of the Spirit in the heavens in Christ:

Even as he made selection of us in him from the first, so that we might be holy and free from all evil before him in love:

Ephesians 1:3, 4   Bible in Basic English

 Our ultimate destination, and purpose is explained in these scriptures from the Bible –

In place of brass, I will give gold, and for iron silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: and I will make Peace your judge, and Righteousness your overseer.

Violent acts will no longer be seen in your land, wasting or destruction in your limits; but your walls will be named, Salvation, and your doors Praise.

The sun will not be your light by day, and the moon will no longer be bright for you by night: but the Lord will be to you an eternal light, and your God your glory.

Your sun will never again go down, or your moon keep back her light: for the Lord will be your eternal light, and the days of your sorrow will be ended.

Your people will all be upright, the land will be their heritage for ever; the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, to be for my glory.

The smallest of their families will become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I, the Lord, will make it come quickly in its time. 

Isaiah 60:17 -22   Bible in Basic English

What is our part in all this? What do have to do?

For we know that He who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will raise us also to be with Jesus, and will cause both us and you to stand in His own presence.

2 Corinthians 4:14   Weymouth Translation

For this reason, my loved ones, as you are looking for these things, take great care that when he comes you may be in peace before him, free from sin and every evil thing.

2 Peter 3:14   Bible in Basic English

And He Himself appointed some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers,

in order fully to equip His people for the work of serving–for the building up of Christ’s body–

till we all of us arrive at oneness in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and at mature manhood and the stature of full-grown men in Christ.

So we shall no longer be babes nor shall we resemble mariners tossed on the waves and carried about with every changing wind of doctrine according to men’s cleverness and unscrupulous cunning, making use of every shifting device to mislead.

But we shall lovingly hold to the truth, and shall in all respects grow up into union with Him who is our Head, even Christ.

Dependent on Him, the whole body–its various parts closely fitting and firmly adhering to one another– grows by the aid of every contributory link, with power proportioned to the need of each individual part, so as to build itself up in a spirit of love.

Ephesians 4:11 – 16 Weymouth Translation

The only possible way to implement the 5-fold ministry advocated in Ephesians 4:11 – 16 and is by function, totally removing the idea of status.

We will look into the Biblical structure for the Church, Christ and His world-wide church in future blogs.

Find out more at ht.ly/eeH80Cttp://bi  and I pray it will be of help to you. Blessings.

Try

https://biblesolutionsblog.wordpress.com/

subscribing can be done thru

https://biblesolutionsblog.wordpress.com/feed/

I pray it will help.

Blessings

SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG — BOOK 1:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/272883 is available for free at this link. Get yourself a copy.

There is a mine of information in the books available at

www.,amazon.com/author/dougvermeulen

Blessings

 

Doug

 

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