2002-12-17
Good Morning Dear Ones,
There is a natural question that needs to be answered in the mind of every believer: How can I be worthy of all the blessings God gives me? This segment of our spiritual warfare series is designed to deal with that question in a practical way. The truth is that before we can engage effectively in battling Satan, we must be assured in our minds that we are worthy to receive all the magnificent help God gives us. The closest answer for being worthy is found in EPH 4: 4-6. “There is one body and one Spirit, just as there is one hope to which God has called you. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; there is one God and Father of all mankind, Who is Lord of all, works through all, and is in all.” Let’s break this up verse by verse. Verse 4 has one body, one Spirit, and one hope to which God has called you. Verse 5 has one Lord and one faith. Verse 6 has one baptism and one God and Father of all. If you count the number of these elements, it comes to seven all together. Seven, God’s perfect number. Is that an accident? I don’t think so.
Keeping these things in mind allows us to really be prepared to wage war against evil. 1) The church is the Body of Christ, one body. We have been called to unity in the church. To me, that means breaking down artificial human-concocted walls, walls that exist between denominations, congregations, social-economic status, gender, cultures, and anything else mankind can conger up. Now, this is not saying that God hasn’t divided the labor, but let it be His division and not mankind’s. There is plenty of Scripture to back up this assertion. GA 3: 27-29, “You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ Himself. So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free men, between men and women; you all one in union with Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised.” RO 12: 4-6a teaches how being one body works. Paul likens the church to a human body here. “We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions. In the same way, through we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body. So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us.” This concept is supported in 1 COR 12: 12, 27, “Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts…All of you are Christ’s body, and each one is a part of it.” This kind of linkage and unity in the church is exactly what I’ve written about so many times when I have mentioned our “koininea” relationship–that supernatural bond that exists between the believer, the Lord, and all other believers.
2) Unity in the church demands the acceptance that we have one Spirit. JN 14: 16-17 identifies exactly Who sends the Spirit and what He does for us. “I [Christ, knowing He will soon go to the Father] will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, Who will stay with you forever. He is the Spirit, Who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive Him, because it cannot see Him or know Him. But you know Him, because He remains with you and is in you.” It is the Spirit Who gives us faith. We see that from 1 COR 12: 3, “I want you to know that no one who is led by God’s Spirit can say, ‘A curse of Jesus!’ and no one can confess “Jesus is Lord,’ unless he is guided by the Holy Spirit.” It is the Spirit Who gives us the gifts we use to carry out God’s work. This is outlined in 1 COR 12: 1-11 and 14: 1-11 amongst other places in the Scriptures. It is the Spirit Who cries out to God is His own special way on our behalf [RO 8: 26-27; GA 4: 6]. There is only one Spirit we believe in, and He is the third personality of the Godhead. It is the Spirit Who showed us Christ is right, and His message is life-giving truth. 1 TIM 3: 16a, “He [Christ] appeared in human form, was shown to be right by the Spirit, and was seen by angels.”
So, Dear Ones, we have one body and one Spirit, so far. Tomorrow, we will continue with this crucial list of ones that give us direction on how to be worthy of the blessings God gives us to fend off Satan’s attacks and so much more.
PRAYER: O Lord, we are imperfect sinners who come before You today to confess our sins in humility and to express the utter love that we have for You. All too often, we allow such artificial barriers as were mentioned above to keep us from You and from each other in the way You intend for us to be. We take positions of prejudice which blind us from seeing the Holy Spirit trying to work in our lives. We acknowledge this problem today and are dedicated to emptying our spiritual vessels of such human agendas as greedily accumulating material wealth, thirsting for power over others, wasting our time on ungodly pursuits, closing our eyes and ears to Your commands, being selfish, being lazy, refusing to be the servants You wish for us to be, and being uncaring when others are in trouble and need us. We ask You to fill our vessels with Your Spirit, as we close off the entrance to them which Satan likes to use. You know that we are dealing with the conflict between body and spirit, and we offer You sincere thanks for Your patience with that battle [RO 7: 14-24; GA 5: 17]. We also know what the real solution to this problem is, our Lord Jesus Christ [RO 7: 25]. Each of us has been given different talents, and no one talent or person is more important than another. Each person is a treasure in Your eyes, and You prove that over and over again by keeping Your promises to us. We have been called to use our talent to do Your work and to be unified with each other in Your purpose. We are Your church, the Body of Christ and must never forget that. You have given us Your Spirit to be our Counselor forever, and that is a great blessing. It is He that allows us to understand and believe in Your teaching. Therefore, we offer you prayers of thanksgiving and praise, praying the words of PS 9: 1-2, “I will thank You, Lord, with all my heart. I will tell of all the marvelous things You have done. I will be filled with joy, because of You. I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” In humility, we pledge You our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, honor, glory, thanks, and praise. In Christ’s name, amen.
As promised above, I am led to continue discussing the list of ones from EPH 4: 4-6 tomorrow. These are the beliefs that when held dear to one’s heart can achieve the unity in the church that God desires us to have. Then, we will be able to be a powerful and effective force against the adversary. The Lord loves each of us so much that He is eager for us to really understand and believe the wisdom He teaches us. He wants as many of us to be brought under His protective wings for eternity as possible. The kind of fellowship He desires for us with Him and with each other lasts forever and brings joy yet to be experienced by mankind. We are tent dwellers here on earth, and Christ has told us that a permanent place is being held for anyone who endures in faith in heaven. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn