Devotionals on Church

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• Types of Christ Adam:- the first man was a wonderful type of Christ, Who was the second Man and last Adam - Who was made sin for the bride, that God chose for Him. Eve:- who was taken from the side of Adam – what an astonishing type of the Church - Eve who was bone of His bone, and who became one with her Bridegroom.
• Job is the fullest and more complete descriptor of the church-age believers’ choices..

• So Jesus brings this illustration over to Himself and His Church, and it is perfectly clear what is the nature of the Lord Jesus.

• God’s children became the Church, the new creation, which is His body - the Church, the fullness of Him” Ephesians 1:23.  For 2000 years the church of Christ has been quietly growing into a corporate body, and God is bringing that new creation in Christ into His planned fullness: 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: Ephesians 4:13.
• Spirit and Truth It is into the body of Christ - the Church, that God seeks to embody His noble attributes, and so into that body of believers the Holy Spirit of God took up permanent residence..

• Religious Routine In the church age, we have some different 'rules' to live by from other servants.
• Unlike Israel who require a sign, the Church is to live by faith and not by sight.

• We are living in the closing days of the Church and each day is a purposeful day.

• Faithful Stewards The Holy Spirit calls to the witness stand a multitude of mighty men and women so that the church, which is His body, may be encouraged by their example. He calls to the podium examples of good and faithful stewards, who trusted God. He calls on church-age believers to unreservedly follow this example of faith – faith in the Son of God Who loved us and gave Himself for us.

• We have heard Christian people (church-going people) say that they do not want to come into too close an association with their fellow Christians and church members; they would rather not know too much.

• Men have made an earthly representation of the New Testament revelation of the church, and ministry, and priesthood.

• Work of Christ That work of Christ has been entrusted to the church, individually and corporately, but too often the Church has fallen foul of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
• The Church is in a state of undress and unreadiness for the return of the Lord.
• The Church, as His body, has become lukewarm towards their first love.

• Distinct Creations Well, God had a plan to divide mankind into three distinct “creations”: Gentile, Jew, and the Church, and for 2000 years, from Adam to Israel, there was but one creation, the old creation in Adam – the Gentiles.
• and for 2000 years there have been three district creations - Gentile, Jew, and the Church.
• God raised His Seed and through Him and created a new creation in Christ – the Church.
• And for 2000 years the Church alone is the medium through whom God works.
• the Church – through whom He will work for the new man in Christ was to become the mystical body of the Lord Jesus Christ – until it is no longer I that lives but Christ – that lives in me.
• Law and Grace The work through Israel was through the works of the Law – which failed. The work for the Church must be carried out in Christ – which cannot fail.
• Fruit of the Kingdom The Church is the nation bringing forth the fruit of the kingdom – through Christ, and the Word of God describes in detail the gospel of this coming glory of Christ – a kingdom when the perfect Man..

• He is using the Church and the evils of this time to bring about His planned design, and He will work Satan’s schemes and the coming tribulation together – for His good.
• Israel has been promised an earthly kingdom and the Church a heavenly rule.
• Israel will be given her land inheritance and the Church her heavenly Jerusalem.
• Supreme Authority Christ would have set up His kingdom had Israel repented – but they would not. Israel failed to bring forth the fruit – and the kingdom of heaven was taken away. That part of the kingdom was given to the Church, a people bringing forth the fruit, for before Israel’s earthly inheritance is to realise the heavens must be subdued – so that earth and heaven will BOTH be under Christ’s supreme authority.
• Heavenly Jerusalem And He will have a heavenly rule with the heavenly Jerusalem as His great city, where the Church – His Body and Bride – will take up positions of rulership.
• His heavenly seed, the Church, will be a blessing to all from their heavenly position.
• Israel, the Jewish nation, the adoptive son and Wife of Jehovah for 2000 years – the Church, the body and bride of Christ, and heirs of salvation for 2000 years.
• Earthly and Heavenly And we must rightly divide the PEOPLE and inheritance of God:-  Israel – the earthly people of God with the earthly inheritance, and the Church and Bride – His heavenly people with a heavenly inheritance.

• Word of Truth We need to read and reread these precious truths packed into the epistle to the Ephesians. We need to assimilate those first few wonderful chapters of Paul’s epistle to this church.

• Little did they realise the Church-Age was to run its course before Christ’s coronation.
• Church Age In joyous anticipation, they waited for the power from above, and the kingdom of God.
• In prayerful expectation, they stepped, by faith, into the unknowns of the Church Age.
• Paul was the apostle that revealed the mystery of the Church and the body of Christ.

• Religious rituals and deceptive doctrines have flooded the Church and an empty trust in our own good works, has flooded Christendom.

• The cross is the critical spot that separates the times of Israel from the Church.
• The life and ministry of the Lord Jesus took place before today’s Church Age started.
• Church Age But God in His wisdom foreknew all that would take place in Israel, 2000 years ago. In His eternal wisdom, God addressed this rejection before the world was founded – God would set Israel aside for a time and continue His work through the Church.
• A Future Church He fulfilled biblical prophecy – identifying Himself as the anointed One from God, yet we see an occasional glimpse of God’s future plans for His future church. He was fully God, and He was fully Man but He lived His life as an example to us all. He adhered to the Law of Moses for Jesus lived all of His life before Calvary’s cross.
• Let us view the cross as that critical spot separating the Times of Israel from the Church.
• Historical Position When the cross is seen in its correct historical position, pre-cross and post-cross teachings will be better understood – for if we correctly place the page that separates Old Testament teaching from New Testament doctrine, we will better discriminate between the teaching that was given to Israel and the teaching that is specifically addressed to the church.
• And it also cuts between the times of Israel and the times of the church – the pre-cross people of God and the post-cross people of God.

• That is where the Church has ceased to be something to be reckoned with up there.
• If only Satan can get the people of God into a position where they are taken up by this world, written up by this world, made something of by this world, he has triumphed and pulled the Church down out of its heavenly place and made it an earthly thing.
• He has pulled the Church out of the heavens.
• The Lord never meant His Church on this earth to be something that would be taken up by this world, to be something that would be reckoned among the things of this world, recognized and accredited by this world.
• What He meant, and what obtained when things were right, was that the world itself could not bear the presence of the Church, did not want it.
• That is the power of the Church to testify against the world.

• Down through the church age, abiding in Him has been the Christians’ hope.

• Now to Him Who is able to do far more abundantly, beyond all that we ask or think, according to the Power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.
• Far More Abundantly Let us take God at His word. Let us believe in the rich resources of our reliable Father. Let us trust Him to supply us with the above-all abundance and riches of His grace, for in Ephesians 3:20-21 we read: Now to Him Who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us to Him be the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever AMEN and AMEN.

• He accepted us in His beloved Son, making us His church, His body, and His bride.

• But the Church of Christ, as a whole, ignores this fact.

• and His Body, the church, are one in Him – and we are all complete in Him: for in Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him, Who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
• United in Him Soon the whole church is to be united in Christ.

• and His grace continually draws you and me: that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus – that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church, to the principalities and powers in heavenly places.

• The church of Christ has been born out of God and are sent out from God.

• one who was entrusted with mysteries of the Church, that were hidden before the world was founded..
• one would become such a prolific contributor of the New Testament scriptures, would have been awarded a position of respect and honour in the early church.

• And later He speaks through His Son and works through the Church – and His love for the Church, which is His body, never changes.

• Churches, like the Church, are organisms which spring out of Life, which Life itself springs out of the Cross of Christ wrought into the very being of believers.

• Luke 19:14.  And throughout the gospel, there are little glimpses where Jesus was seen preparing and training His disciples for the dispensation of Grace – the Church-Age.
• Indwelling Holy Spirit He didn’t explain that first much had to be done in the coming Church Dispensation.
• Christ did not describe church age doctrine – that was to be Paul’s responsibility, but He did comfort them with the promise of His permanently indwelling Holy Spirit.
• The promise of the Lord Jesus was something that was to take place in the future. The promise to the disciples was to be something entirely new for the Church age.
• It was the book of Acts where the Church had its origin, its formation – its birth.
• It was in the book of Acts where we see the Spirit taking up permanent residence within the body of all believers during the Church dispensation.
• Unique Occasion Pentecost was the birthday of the Church – it was a one-off, unique happening. Pentecost was the launch of the Church – through whom God would now work. Pentecost was a unique occasion and part of the bridge between the old and new. Pentecost was the point when the Church began – and we are all one IN Christ.

• Abiding Instruments Thus “the Church, which is His Body” was brought into being.
• Thus His Body, the Church became the abiding instrument of His world-incarnation.
• There is no other ‘Church’ that God the Father acknowledges as Christ’s ‘Body’.
• There is no other ‘Body’ that the Lord almighty accepts as ‘His Church’.
• Physical Representatives The Church, which is His Body, is the only physical representation of God on earth today, and God has chosen the Church, in Him, before the foundation of the world.” While the Lord Jesus was on earth, we read many stories of His life and His work.
• The Church is the Lord’s connecting link to the physical world.
• The Church is His eyes and ears; His hands and His feet; His heart and His life… just as our own physical bodies stand in relation to our own inner beings.
• and on earth, the Church works for the Lord; acts for the Lord; prays to the Lord.
• This is surely made very clear as being the realm in which the Church in apostolic times lived.

• The Church is that or it is nothing; the teaching relates to that, or it has no meaning.

• The Church is silently growing until we come to the knowledge of the Son of God.
• Unity of Spirit The Church of Christ is viewed by the Father as a living organism – a single unit.
• Gifts and Graces Much of the Church today is being robbed of the unity about which Christ prayed,  so how can the body grow and build itself up in love – each part doing its work?  Well, Paul has already reminded us, in the previous verses, that we all are equipped.

• A Holy People The church was commissioned a holy people; a separate nation; His own possession.
• The church has a heavenly calling and we are Christ’s companions in this heavenly role.
• The church is called the “heavenly Jerusalem;” “the holy city;” the body of Christ,” We have been commissioned to be partakers of Christ’s own heavenly vocation.
• Dearly Loved Bride God betrothed Himself to Israel so that she would be His own satisfaction and joy, but Israel failed and was set aside for a time so God could complete all He purposed – and Christ is betrothed to the Church as His dearly loved bride, for His good pleasure. She is the city of the living God; the golden candlestick – the house of God.
• The Church God wanted to show forth His glory and grace to the world – through His chosen people, but Israel failed and was set aside for a time – for God must continue all He planned, and the Church has now been raised up to demonstrate the grace and glory of God.
• Church of God And the Church has also been called and chosen to be His beloved bride, and His bride is the Church of God, which He purchased with His own Blood – in love.
• Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her… that He might present the church to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing” Ephesians 5:25,27 Knowing that Christ loves the church so dearly – let us hold fast to our calling.

• and we should heed Paul’s advice to the church at Thessalonica: we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God, for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations, and that ye endure. 2Thess.1:4, and we should also follow Paul’s example, when he writes to the Corinthians: I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.

• The Church That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying: I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing hymns to You in the congregation.
• the Church. Is this not a stupendous truth?  Is this not something that should rejoice our very beings?  Jesus, the One who makes people holy and those who are made holy (that’s you and me)  are of the same family with the same Father – so He is not ashamed to call us brothers.

• Confused Christianity But the work and wisdom of God does not come through the best efforts of man. The ‘new creation’ in Christ is independent of man’s humanitarianism – but too often man’s perception of the Church is confused with true Christianity. And too often man’s perception of Christianity is confused with the true Church.
• Living Organism The Church is not built by man nor is it confined in fine buildings.
• Christ said:- I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” Matthew 16:18.
• The Church is not a worthy organisation of fine fellows and charitable ladies.
• The Church is part of Christ Himself, an extension of our Lord – His body.
• The Church is not an organisation but rather it is a living organism.
• Behold I show you a mystery… we are all members of His flesh and bones” Ephesians 5:30 – and Christ is the Head of the church.
• He is revealed within His cross; death; resurrection; ascension; glorification: We need to realise that there is a Man in heaven sitting on the throne of God, and that man is Christ Jesus the Lord,  the head of the Church.
• Jesus remains spurned, rejected, ignored, knocking – outside the door of the ‘church’
• Wise Warning There are numerous establishments and foundations that are labelled ‘Christian’, but we must beware when Christ is not central to a church or ministry.
• There can be worldliness within the church and a spiritual immaturity – there can be lack of scriptural knowledge or a tickling of ears with pleasantries.
• Foundation and Capstone We need to realise that there is a Man in heaven sitting on the throne of God, and that Man is Christ Jesus our Lord – the Head of the Church – and He alone is the foundation and capstone of all that is called Christianity.

• He abhorred the extras that were being brought into the Church of God.

• Grace Thru Faith - STUDYProduct of Saving Faith Living by faith is a foundational fact of the Christian dispensation, and that means that we just believe what God has said in His Word, for we live by faith and not by sight. 2 Corinthians 3:7 Accepting that we are 'accepted in the Beloved', is another fact of this Church age.

• It might be a 'New Testament Church' of a composite nature: certain things taught, enacted, and done in conformity to the record in the New Testament; a certain order, technique, and construction; these things have been drawn together for a creed, a form of procedure, and made the 'basis,' the form and standard, the 'constitution' of a body, an institution, a society: man's mind and man's hand defining, controlling, holding.

• If one were asked what the last issue for the Church in this age is, I would say that it stands, and that is saying a tremendous thing.
• The Church will have all its work cut out in the end to stand, but its standing will be its victory.

• Trial of Faith Every great man of God in Scripture or church history finally saw Peter’s truth.

• Calvin attempted by discipline of Church and State to make everyone live like a Christian - as did the Puritans as a result.

• God’s dealings with Israel and His working with the Church become muddled.
• Pneumatology – unless rightly-divided,  the Scriptures can be accused of distortions.  Bibliology – God’s work in the church is mixed up with His plan for Israel.  Ecclesiology – our position in Christ, and spiritual inheritance is confused.
• Israel and the Church We all need a correct dispensational understanding – to rightly divide the Word. We need to recognise God’s ways of dealing with different groups of people - if not…..
• Uncertainties arise about Christ’s return for the Church and His dealings with Israel.
• The Church IS in a mess and God’s character disgraced for lack of knowledge.  Never let us forget the truth of Scripture – Jesus has already gained the victory.
• He came as the Saviour of the world… and He is returning as the Bridegroom of the Church - His Bride.

• I am sure many in the church of Christ long to be effective in their service to Him, but fullness of life and service in the inner man is birthed from Christ’s imputed life..  and for a believer to live in newness of life in Christ – he first must die on the cross.
• Many Members The church of Christ is not an organisation but an organism… a living thing and the church of Christ is made up of many members who are all in Christ, And like all living things the church is not an end in itself but points to a larger end.
• Functional Relationship The church is a vessel that is used by God for His deeper, wider, and eternal purposes.
• The church is a channel through whom God currently works – to achieve His will.
• The church is a living body that is in a functional relationship with Jesus – her Head.
• The church is being used to reproduce – to bear fruit and to yield up its increase.
• Sacrificial Reproduction Individually and corporately the church is an organism that is to grow and multiply,  but like every living thing, reproduction is sacrificial. Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces a large crop and a lot of grain. God’s law of increase is first, sacrifice – God’s law of life is first, death.

• A popular notion that the first obligation of the Church is to spread the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth is false.

• He knows false teachers ply their doctrines of demons in every corner of the Church.
• Ever-Present Problem Paul’s gives every generation of believers much to rejoice our hearts in this epistles, but the warnings of false teachers applies to all believers of all time, in this age – from the early church to the present day this has been an ever-present problem.
• How are church age believers to discern false teachings infiltrating our lives?
• Sound Teaching Paul also gave instruction to the church at Colossae on maintaining their trust in God.

• Hear and Obey The Lord is being systematically removed from school, courtroom, church and home, and God is slowly withdrawing His hand of protection from a Christ-rejecting world.
• The Church would be wise to prepare her heart for Christ’s any day return for His body.
• How crucial to hear what the Spirit says to the Church and obey His instructions.
• Peculiar Famine There are still a few watchmen on the walls crying 'prepare ye the way of the Lord', but there is one frequently overlooked warning to which we would be wise to heed:-  a warning to apostate Israel, but one that can be applied to Church-age apostasy; a forewarning of a time of peculiar famine; a notice of great thirst in the world; a famine of hearing God’s lovely word – a scarcity of listening to God’s pure voice.
• Rebellious Apostasy Seven times the Spirit warns the Church, 'he who has an ear... let him hear'.  But too often ears are tuned to listen to the wrong voices, declaring a false gospel.
• End Times Scripture indicates this will be the sad state of Christendom at the end of the Church age.

• And when passages relating to Israel are confused with those directed to the church, unavoidable distortions results.

• Eternal Truth For the unsearchable riches of Christ were to be made known – TO whom? – to the, principalities and powers in heavenly places – BY whom? – by the church..

• That was the secret of the apostolic church.

• A number were to write epistles that would become part of God’s Holy Scripture, but none were to unfold the yet undisclosed doctrine to the coming Christian Church.
• Church-Age Truth The mysteries of the Church as the body and bride of Jesus Christ came from Paul. The necessity of grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone were all from Paul’s pen. The task of unveiling many church-age mysteries were also entrusted to this apostle.
• Unrevealed Truths Moses was the man for Israel, who revealed God’s commandments to His people. The twelve apostles were the men that were taught the truths of the kingdom of God. Paul was the person for the Church – who unfolded many unrevealed truths to us.
• The Apostle Paul The main fundamentals of our faith were given to us by the apostle Paul. The main essentials of church-age doctrine have been delivered to us by Paul. The following quote from a great expositor of scripture stated the following:
• For instance, if you were to take Paul’s Epistles out of the Bible, you cannot find anything about the Church - the Body of Christ, for no other apostle mentions the Body of Christ.”
• Great Mysteries “You cannot find one of the great mysteries, such as the Rapture of the Church (1 Thess. 4 and 1 Cor. 15) or the mystery of the present hardening of Israel (Rom. 11) in the Old Testament, the four Gospels, or from Hebrews through to Revelation; for no other apostle speaks of any of those mysteries.”

• to live with Him in the eternal ages that are to follow: That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of his grace in His kindness towards us through Christ Jesus to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church (that is through you) to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

• Warning of Paul John wrote when the church’s original form, power and spirituality burned feebly.
• Revelation 1:1 And while the remaining apostles resided in heaven, following a martyr’s death, John began to reinstate the glorious, unique and heavenly position of the Church - a Church that in so short a time had lost her way – a Church from which the glory had all but departed.
• And to that Church, which is His Body, the Lord revealed Himself: 'I am alive.
• Restatement of Truth The old order has become new – old things are passed away, and to that Church, which is His Body, the Lord revealed Himself. 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, I am the Beginning and the End, says the Lord, Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty.' Rev.1:8 John takes time and effort to restate Truth, which is only found in the Son.

• We may do many things, like the church at Ephesus later on.

• Order for Church & Missionary, p.310).

• Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood Shall never lose its power ’Till all the ransomed church of God Be saved, to sin no more.

• The world is anticipating the manifestation of the sons of God – the Church.

• Incalculable harm has been done to the deeper spirituality of the Church, by the idea that when once we are saved the using of the gifts in His service follows as a matter of course.

• The Church of God – the Bride of the Son Most High.
• Exalted God Reflect, recognise, and fully accept this fact - Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And hath put ALL things under His feet. And has given Him to be the Head over ALL things – TO THE CHURCH” (that includes you), “which is His Body, (that includes you) – the fullness of Him that fills all in all.

• Paul tells us to: mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample, in Philippians 3:17 The Old Testament stories of Israel were to become New Testament examples to the Church, so that we should live godly lives, lest anyone fall, according to the same example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:11

• Light in the Church And then, mystery of mysteries, He entrusts this privilege to His Church..
• But if as a believer I choose not to walk in His light and to return to the Law… if I choose to live my Christian life in legalistic pursuits and works of self-effort – then I am part of the Church that has chosen to hide its light under a bushel, and no refraction would be possible through me, for it would be self, working through ME – and not Christ being reflected in me.

• And at the rapture of the church (the resurrection of the dead) will be the salvation of the body.
• Our soul is being saved throughout our entire Christian life and our body will be saved at the end of this church dispensation when the dead in Christ shall rise first and then we that are alive and remain, shall be caught together with them, to meet the Lord in the air – and so we shall ever be with the Lord.

• Husbands should love their wives with the same love that Christ loved the church.

• Paul the apostle, to whom was given the mystery of the Church – the bride of Christ. Paul the prophet who wrote so much of Holy Scripture – inspired by the Holy Spirit. Paul whose instructions to the Body were on how to live a life pleasing to the Lord.

• Yes, it is that any-day translation of the church, which is His body.
• Today we find ourselves on the precipice of His wise and purposeful plan... for the church - a plan at which the church is central, as we watch and wait for his imminent return – as we teeter on the perimeter between the terrestrial and the celestial.

• The Church Age But two thousand years ago the permanent, indwelling Holy Spirit was given.
• The permanent, indwelling Holy Spirit became the gift to the church – an irreversible gift to you: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
• Indwelling Holy Spirit The permanent, indwelling Holy Spirit is the most precious gift of faith imaginable, and at Pentecost His permanent indwelling became unique to the church.
• At Pentecost, He poured out His gracious promise to the church.
• They will no longer have to live by their faith as Habakkuk said – they will all live by the faith of the indwelling Spirit, just like the Church of God in this dispensation.
• Faith in the Church Age This promise to Israel is yet future for Israel.
• This promise to Israel will happen at the end of the tribulation, but this promise to the Church has already happened: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God.

• Christ In You What glorious riches there are in this profound mystery of Christ and the church, – which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

• Firstborn+Created+Adopted The Church – God’s firstborn, created soon to be adopted sons of God sinned. And the glory of God has already departed from the church. But God continues to work His work through a small insignificant little flock. There is nothing new under the sun..
• Little Flock God has indeed withdrawn His presence from the Church He loves so much, just as He withdrew from the nation He chose to be His inheritance. But He reserves for Himself a few – a remnant that will trust in His love. He keeps for Himself a little flock – a tiny ‘Gideon’s army’ who live by faith.
• Then God will rapture His church.
• And He’ll never forget His promise to the Church – His adopted children: “I will build My church” – but I will build it in My way and not in the way that you think.
• Church Remnant Today God has reserved for Himself a similar remnant..

• the unsaved man, knows nothing of God’s wisdom – for God’s wisdom is spiritually discerned. Natural man knows little of God’s character – and the church mirrors their progress. The Church often shadows the trail of the natural – and discovers half-truths.
• Enemy Strategies This is a condition that has permeated the church of God since the days of Paul: after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock Acts 20:29.
• Biased Perceptions His fatherhood is often debased by the experiences of an imperfect earthly father. His steadfastness is frequently disbelieved – by the betrayal of spouse or friend. His commands are repeatedly translated into the demands of an imperfect Church. His grace is often belittled; His love often spurned; His gift treated with contempt – all because..

• Head of the Church His own dear Son, Who radiates God’s own glory and expresses His very character..  and Who sustains all things by the mighty power of His will would be His Christ.
• God put everything under His feet and appointed Him head over everything for the church, (His body) the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way.

• God’s Secret Hand Habakkuk tells us of a hiding of His power – a veiling of His strength. Most often in this church age it appears that God’s hand is working secretly. We read that ‘the secret hand’ of God was strong against the Amalakite enemy – in the Septuagint translation of the Scriptures.

• The Mystery of the Church Even Peter found the inclusion of Gentiles believers into Christ’s sheepfold and their equality in God’s eye difficult to accept, and he, and the other apostles, had to discover the truth through the apostle Paul – Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles who was given the mystery of the Church – the mystery of the kingdom – a parenthetical period of time, when God would call out of the Gentiles a people for His name – the Church.
• One New Man in Christ The time had come when the Church was to be the vehicle to witness of God’s grace.
• Turning Point This was the turning point in Acts – God was doing a new thing – for a time. The Jewish exclusiveness of those early chapters of Acts had to change its focus. Christ was to build His Church – and Paul was chosen to open up this revelation.
• It is a transition between the times of Israel and the church dispensation. It is a changeover period between the four gospels and the epistles of Paul.
• The focus on Peter and Israel’s earthly kingdom, (where God’s rule on earth will be through Christ for 1000 years), shifts to a focus on Paul and the mystery of the Church – the body of Christ, of which we are all members (and God’s universal rule in the eternal ages to come).
• Today God is working through the Church who are members of Christ’s body and are part of God’s heavenly, universal kingdom in the ages to come... and it is incumbent on us to be sure that we do not confuse the two.

• Typologically, Job is the most complete 'type' of the church-age believer, and its poetic form demonstrates God’s dealings with the innermost being of man.
• Peter informs us, in his letter to the believing Church, that the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous..

• as we watch the Church of God being harassed and persecuted – as we question why He permits wicked man to trample our rights. And still… God’s profound and wondrous thoughts are beyond our scant understanding, His perplexing and peculiar ways are too mystifying for our poor minds to grasp.
• should we not leave all our unanswered questions in His safe keeping?  Should we not yield the world, the church and even ourselves into His hand?  Should we not leave the unexplained ways of the Lord as His responsibility?  Should we not cast ALL our concerns upon Him..

• Now the tragedy of what is called the Church has so often been, and perhaps is more today than ever, that that distinctiveness is being lost.

• God’s Grace And abounding and abundant grace has been showered over the heads of the Church.  Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her so that He might make her holy by cleansing her, washing her with water of the word Ephesians 5:25 – and it is all by grace – God’s grace upon grace.

• Similarly, throughout the Church age – saints have been caused to wait on God’s time.

• A ministry of life, whether it be at the kitchen sink, or from the First Church pulpit, must flow from the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.

• And this snake has coiled its suffocating grip through each generation of the church.

• an allegory lurking behind closed church doors and spiritual slums of the globe.
• Jesus accused those of His day, of so much of what is infecting the church today.

• Some has a definitive application to us, who are living in the Church age.
• prepared by the Spirit to bring forth the fruit He requires; saved Jews and Gentiles, participating in a spiritual battle and heavenly war.. a bride for Christ, prepared as co-regent with Him in His heavenly kingdom – the one new man in Christ – the Church.

• It was the resolving into an earthly institution and system which cost the Church its Throne power at the beginning, and there can be no recovery without a clear position as to traditional relationships.
• There will need to be a purely heavenly position as to the really heavenly nature of the Body of Christ the Church, without any contradictions in earthly orders.

• They still go to church; but secretly they feel that victory is out of the question.

• Any power that can survive what we sometimes have to go through in the realm of our own souls is a very great power indeed; and, believe me, this power that works in the Church is going to survive allthe accumulated sensations of all the members of theBody of Christ.

• work involved with the Father, as He daily intercedes for his Beloved Church: I pray not for the world, He said, but for them which Thou hast given me; and Thine are Mine, and I am glorified in them.

• But the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan seeks his downfall, and the church epistles are saturated with the need for the saint’s perseverance.
• God is Faithful And the church composed of a small faithful remnant of good, faithful servants is told by her Lord to hold fast..
• Rev.3:11 For the return of the Lord Jesus for His Church is very near: behold, I am coming quickly!
• His Soon Appearing Christ is offering rewards to the man or woman that will overcome in this world, and the 1 warning this spiritual church is given is that of their potential loss is to hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

• Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!
• His family is to include both Jew and gentile; male and female; slave and freeman.  Not only the Spirit’s life breathed into us but His very life indwelling our frame – and then the most astonishing revelation is given to the church – which is His body.

• We became part of the one new man in Christ – His Church; His Body and His Bride.
• The foundation of God’s new spiritual house are the prophets and apostles, and Christ Himself is the divine Cornerstone Who purposed to build His church.

• Love to do the Father’s will; love for the church, which is His body.

• The Mysteries There’s the mystery of the kingdom; the mystery of the church; the mystery of Israel.
• Paul was God’s chosen vessel to convey many concealed truths to the church.

• The Church's real ministry is not multitudinous public services, so-called, but the forming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the lives of His people; the reproduction of Christ; epistles made alive by the Holy Spirit, to be seen and read of all men. -C.A.F.

• Positional Truth Christ told us the Spirit would be sent to sent to live within all church-age believers.
• Church-Age Reality Our personal identity in Christ, and He, in us is the most stunning church-age reality... and not one believer should be uninformed about this amazing, beautiful privilege.

• All the church of Christ are in unity with Him; one with Him; in union with Him, and the heart of Christ is that all who believe on Him are one with Him: as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

• Precious Passage Now read this passage from Colossians, carefully. Read this precious passage, which was written to the church, from the Amplified Bible, This is God’s Word written expressly to the Body of Christ and speaking to us.
• And Paul continues in his deep and desperate prayer for the Church:- 'for this I labour unto weariness, striving with all the superhuman energy which Christ so mightily enkindles and works within me.' Col.1:29 – as He will for all believers.

• Another definition of faith is religion, church, sect, denomination – religious persuasion, religious belief, ideology, creed, teaching or doctrine.

• The absence of this real knowledge of the Lord has proved to be the most tragic factor in the Church's history.

• Christ’s Deity There have been many sects and cults that deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not a new issue but one that goes back to the early church fathers and apostles.

• Paul’s Labour Paul also experienced times of intense anguish and bitter pain, for the Church.
• Paul did not labour for himself.  Paul laboured for the Church – for the church of God to grow in grace during this dispensation of the Church.
• Paul toiled to tell the church to believe God’s word, for by grace you are saved.
• Paul’s intense anguish; bitter pain and deep travail was for the Church.
• Paul’s labour was for the Church to know the truth: my little children, for whom I labour in birth again until Christ is formed in you.

• Frequently it’s a bias, learned in a doctrinal institution or a church denomination.
• Of-times it is the result of not rightly dividing the Word of Truth – for example:- mingling together God’s dealings with the Church and Israel.
• It may be due to a bias learned in a doctrinal institution or church denomination.

• Unto him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end.

• It is the Lord Who expands His Church, Who governs its growth.
• The Church is not increased by your going and taking a building and trying to get people to come to it, and to your meetings, and then forming them, by a church roll, into a local church.
• That is the growth of the Church.
• For the growth of His Church, the Lord must have Life channels, Life centers.

• Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for her, 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.Ephesians 5:25,27

• First Love Israel were commanded to HEAR their faithful God and to LOVE Him. Likewise, the Church are to LISTEN to our Lord and LOVE Him with our whole being.
• The Church is to hear all that the Spirit says to us, and not to wax cold towards Him.  As Christians, we need to return to our first love – the One who first loved us.
• He can be trusted. Great is God’s faithfulness, and great is Christ’s love for His Church.

• Oh, that the church would recognize this, that God last word about this matter of emancipation and separation is i>there shall not a hoof be left behind(Ex. 10:26).

• Eternal Life 2000 years ago the children of Israel reflected the church of today. Many were more interested in thoughts of their deliverance than an interest in their Deliverer, and as a result they missed three years of untold blessing in their lives.

• Never can we fathom the depth of the privilege bestowed on believers: but we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 2Cor.4:7 The glory of Jesus Christ, Who walked the earth, is now hidden in the Church, which is His Body, and the epistles tell us again and again that we have a choice.
• But also for our eternal benefit not only in this age – (this church dispensation), and in the age to come, (the millennial age – Christ’s 1000 year reign) – but also in the eternal ages that are to follow.

• The enemy is engaged more than ever upon a campaign of sabotage within the Church for its internal disintegration, and it is for us to resist him by seeking all the positive ground of fellowship possible, not looking for all the negative ground, either really or imaginatively existent.

• His reward was us.  Christ went to the cross for love of His church.... but He died primarily for love of God, for His delight was to do the Father’s will.
• Let us continue in loving, obedient, unceasing, persevering, grateful prayer, as we wait to hear His call to His own to His church to come up here.

• On the contrary you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the ever-living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to countless hosts of angels, to the great festal gathering and Church of the first-born, whose names are recorded in Heaven (Heb. 12:22, 23, Wey.).

• True Image Denominations and individuals alike envisage the God in whom they trust, and all too often the image that emerges is a distortion of the truth. All too often His resemblance has its poisoned roots in our early life. Role models we should trust and ached to believe in, let us down. Teachings of the church we attended or avoided..distorted God’s character, and over time, plus the input of life, God emerges – masked by our own imaginings. There are probably as many perceptions of God as there is sand on the seashore. But there is only one true character and likeness of God – the man Christ Jesus.

• Dire Warnings So many passages to the Church from Christ’s apostles give serious and dire warnings..
• Today’s increasing wickedness is a precursor to Christ’s return for His bride: the Church.

• Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 9 that... having made known to us (the Church) the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, He might gather together in one, all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth – in Him, Ephesians.1:9

• The Church is in a similar, sorry state of disrepair, as gospel truths become distorted.
• Nehemiah was distressed by the shocking state of disrepair of God’s beloved city and we should be pained by disunity in the Church in these increasingly dark days. Nehemiah built a material wall to safeguard the city – chosen and beloved of God, and we should build a spiritual wall of protection – around Christ’s beloved bride. The physical weapons of Israel were metal swords and spears and helmets. The spiritual armour for the Church is Christ – all we need is found in Him.
• The spiritual weapons for the Church are against satanic, heavenly principalities.
• Likewise, we need to lament over the deteriorating state of the church of God.
• Intercession for the Church, which is Christ’s body begins in anguish of heart, but like Nehemiah, we need to pray – and work with our sword in our hand - for our weapons of war are mighty through God to pull down satanic strongholds.

• Pray for the Church There are many in the body of Christ who have become indifferent to the word of God.
• There are many in the Church that do not love the Lord with all their heart and mind.  Some have failed to listen to His voice and have left their first love – the Lord Jesus,  and like Nehemiah, we too need to pray for the Church – to intercede on their behalf.
• And we too can intercede for the Church – the body of Christ if we know our Lord.
• We need to pray into the promises He gave to the Church and intercede on her behalf.
• God’s word is unchanging and His promises span from generation to generation, and like Nehemiah, we can plead the promises of God for His Body, the Church – that we all will be sanctified in Christ, as God conforms us into Christ’s likeness.
• Let us pray as we see the Church under attack from without and compromise within.

• Let us pray for the Church - the body of Christ, based on God’s everlasting faithfulness.
• Let us confess our sin and those of the church with penitential pleadings to the Father.

• Churches, like the Church, are organisms which spring out of life, which life itself springs out of the Cross of Christ wrought into the very being of believers.
• Unless believers are crucified people, there can be no true expression of the Church. -T.

• In not seeing this, the Reformers left the door open for the system and ritualism which have grown up since in the church; and hence the simple and only effectual way of dealing with either is, at the start, to refuse any place to the old man except crucifixion. -J.B.S.

• It means an utter dropping of yourself, and a handing over of yourself to God to be poured out for His Body's sake, the Church.
• rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake, which is the church (Col. 1:23, 24).

• This is surely made very clear as being the realm in which the Church in apostolic times lived.

• Is not that the tragic, dark story of the Church; man in his old creation powers and life pressing into the things of God, and making a name for himself?
• The Church has been the happy hunting ground of men for reputation, position, influence, and all such things.

• When the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, to baptise the Church into Christ and to fill them with His fullness, He took up permanent residence in each believer’s heart – and Jesus promised He is to guide us into truth and train us in all godly living.

• To the intent that now unto principalities and powers might be made known through the Church the manifold wisdom of God (Eph. 3:10,11).

• Grace of God It was His grace that was given to the Lord’s human mother and it is the same grace – given to us who believe on His name – His body, His church, His darling, His beloved bride.
• Calling of Church What is the calling of the Church..
• Accepted in Christ Ephesians gives us a glimpse of the wonders of being accepted in the Beloved - in a fountain of superlatives and glorious truths that God bestows on His Church.

• Spirit of Wisdom Having revealed to Christ’s Church the eternal riches of God’s grace towards them, Paul begins to intercede for all the saints in His powerful prayer of prayers.
• Spiritual  Discernment And it is through Christ that we have been so endowed. It is by Christ that we have been brought into God’s family. It is in Christ that we stand and in Him that we are accepted by the Father.  It is Christ and Christ alone that is the means that has brought about our eternal bliss.  All Scripture is given by God to teach, train, and encourage the whole church of God, but the wealth of knowledge within its pages are only for those that trust in Christ.  The unsaved man is incapable of trawling the depths of the wealth of Scriptures..
• God has put everything under the Messiah's feet and has made Him the Head of everything for the good of the Church - and we are that CHURCH.

• Spirit of Wisdom Having revealed to Christ’s Church the eternal riches of God’s grace towards them, Paul begins to intercede for all the saints in His powerful prayer of prayers.
• All Scripture is given by God to teach, train, and encourage the whole church of God, but the wealth of knowledge within its pages is only for those that trust in Christ.
• God has put everything under the Messiah’s feet and has made Him the Head of everything for the good of the church – and we are that CHURCH.

• God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the church.
• And the church is His body.
• Spiritual Freedom Paul prayed that the church would be given spiritual wisdom and godly insight. He wanted all believers to be able to remain confident in the hope of their calling. He did not want them to be tossed hither and thither by every wind of doctrine –  but to know the truth of their union with Christ – for that truth will set us free.
• Exceeding Grace Amazing though these revelations through Paul to the church are – there is more! We are His body and He is the head, and Christ is the fullness of His body - the church.
• God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the church.
• And the church is His body.  It is made full and complete by Christ, Who fills all things everywhere with Himself. Ephesians 1 16-23

• Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.
• Spiritual Revelation How we love Paul’s prayer for God’s revelation to the church – in Ephesians chapter one. He prays that we understand our favoured position in Christ – and His fullness in us.
• Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, AMEN

• Jesus said, I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it..Matthew 16:18
• Feast of Pentecost Jesus Himself declared that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not be able to prevail against her – nothing could overpower His Church and nothing conquer it.  And from that day on the Church of Christ started to grow in the power of the Spirit. 3000 Jewish believers were put into Christ on that momentous feast of Pentecost – all were baptised into His Body and all were empowered by the Holy Spirit.
• Jewish Believers What a wonderful start to the Church was that first, glorious day of Pentecost.
• But it was only Jewish believers that were brought into the Church that day.
• But Jesus said I will build my Church..
• Body of Christ But the Church, which is the body of Christ, is not meant to be exclusive to the Jews.
• One Body in Christ So the Church in this age, was commissioned to go and make disciples of all nations.
• The Church was to embrace Jew and Gentile, male and female – young and old.

• Creative Workmanship He revealed the Church as Body of its Saviour and Lord – His creative workmanship.
• He unveiled the household of God as the habitation of God – one-new man in Him. He presented a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle – His purchased possession. He exposed the principalities and powers of evil in high places – the wiles of the devil.

• One of the greatest needs in the Church today is for authoritative, spiritual, and sacrificial leadership.

• Battle of the Ages This battle of the ages has been raging for multiplied thousands of years, and in God’s wisdom, the church are partners, with access to His throne of grace. Should we not with veiled face contemplate this unfathomable, entrusted privilege?
• All-Prayer Now think about it… where do we read in scripture of All-Prayer? Well, Paul instructs the church that All-Prayer is a vital weapon in spiritual warfare: for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:4

• The Church All that believe on the Lord Jesus are foreknown of God and predestined by Him – predestined to adoption as sons – predestined to be conformed into the likeness of Christ.
• The Church is predestined to be adopted as God’s sons, through Jesus Christ.
• The Church is also predestined to be conformed into the image of God’s Son – simply because God knew in advance that each one would believe in Jesus.

• Areas of Hostility There is not one area of life where spiritual fighting does not permeate. Hostilities rage in the home; the street; the workplace; the shop and the church. Conflicts percolate the media; entertainment and the corridors of government.

• Well, it needs to be laboured, for that is the teaching of Scripture to the Church. This is what Paul laboured for – so that Christ’s life may be established in the believer.

• Israel was to be head of the nations and not the tail… a new day of hope was dawning. But Zacharias did not know of the glory of the cross nor the mystery of the Church.

• The contrast is painful in the extreme between the uniform language of the New Testament about Christians as thus called to worship in liberty and joy and nearness to the Father, and that of liturgies ancient and modern; and this because the results of redemption soon became merged and hidden in Jewish forms, and the law was recalled to the place of the Holy Spirit, and man in the flesh intruded wholesale into realms which belong only to those solemnly accredited as God's Church, the Body of Christ. -W.K.

• and the Church, which is His body is entrusted with this holy office.
• The Church are to be His witnesses proclaiming this sacred message.

• God has a plan for Israel and God has a plan for Christ's Body, the Church..
• Matthew 21:43 The Church was created to bring forth the fruit that Israel failed to produce.
• Israel and the Church But Israel is Israel, and the Church is the Church: and God has a plan for the nation of Israel and God has a plan for His body, the Church..
• a passing of the baton from Peter to Paul..  change of God’s focus from Israel to a focus on the Church..  change from the dispensation of Law to the dispensation of the Church – a change from the gospel of the kingdom to the gospels of God’s grace and glory.
• God also gave the Church rules to follow through Paul: Christ’s law of life and liberty.
• The Mystery of the Church But in the meantime, the mystery of the Church is given through Paul to us.
• See Romans; Corinthians; Galatians – justification; sanctification; glorification – and we discover that the church is not under the Law but under grace.
• and the gospel of grace is unlocked by Paul, for all who are His body, the Church.

• The Church:- New Creation And all people reside in the kingdom of darkness, with one exception. The Church:- the new creation in Christ is born-again into the kingdom of light.
• The Church:- with the indwelling Spirit of God.
• The Church:- which is outside the realm of darkness and released from Satan’s hold.
• The Church:- God’s fruitful nation – the bride of Christ – His heavenly heirs.
• The Church:- soon to be taken to heaven to be with her God and her Bridegroom.
• The Church:- living in this world as the only enlightened ambassadors of heaven.
• Old and New Creation No wonder the Church are people hated above all – down through the centuries.
• John 16:33 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution in this world. 2 Timothy 3:12 Satan has blinded the hearts of those that are perishing and lost in their sins, but the venom of Satan’s spiritual realm is specifically targeting two creations – Israel – the old creation in Jacob; and the Church – the New Creation in Christ.
• Heavenly Realm But first, the Church will be raptured into heaven to fulfil her heavenly position, while Israel will be ruled on earth by her victorious Messiah and Saviour.
• The Church will receive her heavenly inheritance, and Israel will receive her earthly inheritance.

• It is sad to have to say that the present-day Church is so earthy that it is of little earthly good.
• The great failure of the Church was in giving up Paul.

• Christians today, in the church age should know, understand and apply this royal law of Christ, as we abide in Him and He in us, for: it is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

• rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake, which is the church (Col. 1:23, 24).

• Virgin Bride The church is promised to Christ as a pure virgin bride, without spot or wrinkle. She will be presented to Him..
• for the Church is the redeemed bride of the Lord Jesus Christ – and the Lord Jesus Christ is the bridegroom of His ransomed church.

• Some people add works of the flesh, works of the Law – self-imposed rules or Church regulations and a variety of ‘add-ons’ to the basic gospel of salvation by grace – through faith in Christ Jesus, while others insist on actions relating to eating or drinking – places of worship or times and seasons – spiritual fruit or gifts of the Holy Spirit.

• Nefarious Plan Down through the centuries evil’s plan has been to subdue true Christian witness, but it welcomes vain religiosity and pats the toothless jaws of a worldly Church.

• and its infiltration into the church will discourage, to a point of exhausted despair,
• Traitors and Quislings The sad fact is that some Christians will betray and persecute their fellow believer, and a spirit of ungodliness is infiltrating many church organisations and pastors. The error of lawlessness has become entangled in many ministries and ministers, and many Christians are shocked to discover traitors and quislings in the flock.. men and women who betray; gossip; deceive and beat their fellow workers – Christians eaten up with jealousy; factions; backbiting; alienation; bitterness.

• But many in the Church today seek to serve – in the same way as did his disciples.

• Ephesians 4:30 Oh, that seal is fixed up to the rapture of the Church – our day of full and final redemption.

• The Holy Spirit is the custodian of the full purpose of God, and under His government the Church and the individual believer will move ever on and up.

• and Christ told us that this would be the state of the Church at His return..
• and Paul warned and instructed of the need for maturity in the Christian life. Obedience is the most important exercise in the Christian life: obedience to His Word; listening to His Voice – compliance His Commands. And instruction on spiritual maturity in the body of Christ, is the focus of most of Paul’s messages to the Church of God. Paul tells us that: he that is spiritual judges all things..

• The Holy Spirit illumination concerning the church is a thing so difficult to explain to any who may not have experienced it.
• You will be able to preach Ephesians, Colossians, Romans; preach all about the church as the Body of Christ; you may read it all in books, and still there may be no real expression of it.
• You can say, I saw that the church was no denominational or national thing; I believed in the oneness of all believers... yes, you can say all that!

• When the Corinthians were brought into the Church they left behind their obvious sins, but they carried over into their new realm the old, natural ways of thinking and reasoning which belonged to the world and not to the Spirit of God.

• N.T Epistles The rule of thumb is that most of the epistles are addressed to church-age believers. Most of the teachings from Paul – explain to the believer how to grow and mature… Understand this and you’re well on the way to rightly dividing the N.T.
• Spiritual Immaturity Many churches of the 20 century gave very limited teaching about Christian growth, and the result is a church that substitutes man’s teachings before the Word of God.  The result is that many believers remain spiritually immature and do not grow.
• Evangelist Role Two of the roles in the church today are 1)  the evangelist and 2) the pastor-teacher.
• Pastor-Teacher Role Today most pastor-teachers seem to know little of bringing believers to maturity, and keeping believers in ignorance of such matters means a weak, ineffective church. This state of affairs is the enemy’s work – designed to weaken Christian witness.
• Word of Truth Christ restated the demise of Christianity in His 7 Church epistles in Revelation, where indifference, disinterest, skewed doctrines and apostasy permeate the Body.
• Overcoming Victory Christ may be standing outside of the door of a weak and failing church, but to each individual, He continues to say.. 'Behold, I am standing at the door and knocking; if ANYONE hears and listens heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me. He who overcomes (is victorious), and I will grant him to sit beside Me on My throne, as I Myself overcame (and was victorious) and sat down beside My Father on His throne.

• and Love stooped so low as to embrace you and me from the pit of hell. Love became incarnate and poured Himself into a prepared body – and that same Love has come to reside in a Body, which is the Church.
• Expression of Love The Body of Christ is built up of love and is born out of love. The Church of Christ is constituted by love and continues in love, and Christ is the head of the Church, which is His body... and He is love.

• The Church – an Example God loves you so much that your life is to be an example in the ages to come..
• Job whose life is another ‘typical’ example of the remnant believer in the church, repented in the dust for his wrong perception of God and was shown a vision: I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You Job.43:5
• The Mystery of the Church Paul said: 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. 1Cor.2:7.

• And they were to be made known by the Church – through the manifold wisdom of God.” Eph.6:12.

• In the Breach Today in these closing days of the church-age God still seeks those that will pray..
• Leavening Process Centuries have passed, and the church has all but reached its fullness.
• Wall of Prayer Is not the Lord seeking those that will build a wall of prayer for the church:- – intercessors that will stand in the gap?
• Every church-age, child of God has the responsibility, for we are all complete in Him.

• The church, which is His body, are the only human representatives of I Am.

• Here we have the central and basic reality of true New Testament Christianity, of the Church and the churches Jesus on the right hand of God.
• There was an implicit call to the Church of Jesus to leave the Temple and all that went with it and to move into the greater, the fuller, and the abiding reality.
• The tragedy is that, with [the book of] Hebrews in their hands, responsible leaders of the Church can still adhere to a system and form which is but the extension or carry-over of the Old Testament, with certain changes of phraseology.
• All this has much to say regarding the true nature of the Church and the churches.

• Complex Service Each duty is fitted into the complex service of the Church of God..

• The Church is languishing for want of a voice of spiritual authority, for want of that prophetic note Thus saith the Lord!

• Under Grace Paul reminds us that in this church dispensation: you are not under the law, but under grace, Romans 6:14 and warns us:- do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God..

• Perceptions of God The church in general, and believers specifically, often hold to this false perception.

• The Fullness of the Gentiles A time is coming (in time) – when the Church will be completed..

• It is not an institution, even though we might call that institution the church.
• The church has no existence in the thought of God apart from the revelation of Jesus Christ, and it is judged according to the measure in which Christ the Son of God love is in evidence by its existence.

• Those asleep in Christ for 2000 years of church history, will rise first.

• There are many things to which the name of the Lord is being affixed which are being constructed, and which appear fine and great and like he Church,but the twofold reality is neither in the builders or the buildings.
• may be the products, or by-products, of what is called hristian civilization,and things for which to be profoundly grateful, but let us not confuse these with new creation,regeneration, a being orn from above.The Church is nothing which man can build by any resource in himself personally or collectively.
• The Church is an organism, not an organization.

• What does the Church exist for?
• Let that be the starting point; let that be the governing rule and reality in all matters of life and work, and see at once the nature and vocation of the Church.
• What the bloodstream is to the human body, the Divine Life is to and in the Church which is His body.
• As an individual believer is the result of a begetting, a conception, a formation, a birth and a likeness, so, in the New Testament, is a true local church.

• There is a deceitfulness about this human heart that defies our greatest attempt at tracking it down, and we shall never do it.... Here is where the church has become such a confused thing, and such a tragedy; for the prevailing idea is that if you give yourself over to God He will take you up and use you: Bring over your humanity and consecrate it to the Lord!
• Do you see what a havoc the enemy can make in that which is called the church, because people with best intentions and purest motives have come to serve the Lord with all their own intelligence, their own strength, and their own emotion?
• The church of the firstborn is something quite new, and it comes out of a death.

• Church-Age of Grace Their eyes were on the coming earthly kingdom that had been promised to Israel.
• They had little or no understanding of the coming church-age of grace to the Gentiles.
• Chosen Apostle The major teachings of the Church dispensation were to be unfolded by Paul – later.
• Saul of Tarsus would become the apostle Paul, who was to be God’s chosen apostle to reveal the mysteries of the church-age that were hidden from view in times past.
• God’s Revealer Paul was to unveil the position, privileges, and the purpose of Christ’s body, the Church.
• Paul was to be God’s revealer of the great doctrinal truths of predestination, election, justification, sanctification, glorification, and our heavenly position in Christ Jesus – but the wider plan of God for the Church age was waiting to be opened up by Paul.
• He knew that in laying down His perfect life voluntarily, He would be raised again. He knew that His death and resurrection would bring many sons to glory. He knew the cross was before the crown – the church age was before the kingdom.
• Limited Understanding At this time all the disciples had a pre-cross understanding of the coming kingdom. At this time they did not understand church-age doctrine – as designed by God.
• They had to wait until after the cross to have the scriptures opened up to them – they had to wait for Paul to be taught the full counsel of God for the church age.

• The next week would have seen my resignation in with my church officers, and I would have gone out from ministry if the Lord had not done it.

• Various Issues Most of Paul’s epistles address a variety of issues infiltrating the early church.
• Legalism and Law The church at Galatia was being pulled back into legalism and the law by Judaizers, and Paul addressed this issue to all who had been bewitched by this bad doctrine.

• The Cross makes everything safe for the Lord, and the Cross makes everything safe for the Church.

• Seek out the instruction given to the Church – to discover this basic truth. This foundational truth is that we must not trust in ourselves, but in Him.

• It is an organism; a living structure; a life-force with a purpose – it is the Church.
• The Church is the worldwide body of believers in Christ, and He is the Head.
• Spiritual Entity The Church is the worldwide body of believers in Christ and He is the Head.
• Living Sacrifice In accepting death to self, we have to see that we have no place in the equation.. until everything of self is smitten unsparingly with the Cross. Individually and corporately this responsibility has been placed on the church, which is His body.

• In the New Testament literature of the Church, creed and conduct are always related.

• Church of God A body of believers is the fragile dwelling place in which He chose to reside: forever loved forever. Dreams and delights of eternity with the eternal One ooze from scripture’s pages..

• Great High Priest We read of Melchizedek, who was priest and king of Salem and Aaron the high priest of Israel, whose individual lives and unique characters were types of our great and eternal High Priest – Who down through the centuries has been interceding for His church – for we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but in every respect has been tempted as we are – yet without sin.
• The songs of Zacharias and Mary are touching pictures of God’s faithfulness down through the centuries – to fulfil all that He promised to His people Israel. There are many glimpses of the love of God, which is seen to extend beyond the boundaries of Israel, and there are even some hidden hints of the future church of Christ for the everlasting King, Who is to sit on David’s throne is the Prince of Peace, Whose kingdom will last forever, and Whose glory will cover the earth.

• God has put everything under Christ’s feet and has made Him the head of everything for the good of the church, which is His body, the fullness of the One who fills everything in every way.Ephesians 1:22-23
• There is a man of flesh and bone in the celestial sphere – Christ Jesus our Lord, and He is the Head of His Body, which is the Church – and we are His Body.
• Earthly Representatives Christ is the invisible head of the Church – Who is seated in heavenly places, and the Church is the visible body of Christ – who are His representatives on earth – for we are one with Him and He is one with us.  We are in Christ and He is in us.
• Visible Body The Church, which is His visible Body on earth, is filled unto the fullness of Christ, and in Him, we are filled unto the fullness of the thrice-blessed triune God.
• Divine Purpose The heavenly nature and eternal perspective of the Church is central to life in Christ.
• So the Church is one with her Lord and Saviour – Jesus Christ the second Adam.
• Glorious Church In Ephesians 5 we read, Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.
• He did this to present her to Himself as a glorious Church, without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish, she will be holy and without fault.
• Head of the Church This is how Christ cares for His Church.  Christ is the Head of the Church – filling us with the fullness of Himself.
• The Church is the body of Christ – being filled with the fullness of Him.
• This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way that Christ and His Church are one.

• Paul also said to Timothy that people would be lovers of themselves.  I don’t know that we are fully there, but there is plenty of selfishness – lovelessness; bitterness, and hatred all around us… and the church is not immune.

• Last Prophet John was Israel’s last prophet who was to call the nation of Israel to repentance as the time to set up the kingdom of God had finally arrived – their Messiah had come… but the nation of Israel rejected their Messiah and crucified their King and so the kingdom of God had to be delayed for a time – during the church age, and given to a people who would produce its fruit – and so Israel was set aside – for a time…
• The Witness of the Church The witness of Israel was to be replaced with the witness of the Church – for a time. The gospel of the kingdom was to be replaced with the gospel of grace – for a time. The promised kingdom was to be postponed – until the whole nation of Israel repents.
• Church Dispensation Israel’s gospel of the kingdom had to be postponed during the church dispensation – and the Church proclaiming the gospel of grace became God’s witness to the world. But the day is coming when Israel will once again be God’s witness to the nations. The day is fast approaching when the gospel of the kingdom will again be taught.
• Gospel of Grace Today we live in the church age when the gospel of grace is taught to the nations. Today God is continuing to do His work through the body of Christ – the Church..
• but a day is coming when the Church will be raptured – and in that day the gospel of the kingdom of God will be taught to all nations… by a faithful remnant of Jews.

• They wanted man to be attracted, and that was the first step in one of the greatest perils that has overtaken the church.
• For prestige, recognition, the world to be attracted, there is the result that you get the mixed multitudes in the church.
• If you can attach some big names to it, you can attract the people, and one of the devil's greatest measures has been popularizing the church.
• The preeminent thing is lost, that the church and Christ is a mystery to the natural man and that it is no use to expect the natural man to appreciate it.
• The church is essentially a spiritual thing according to the mind of God.

• as we see the visible church becoming increasingly entangled in the world..as we recognise that end-times prophecies are flooding the scene.

• That is what he has done with the church, speaking of the church now in very general terms.
• The church which is revealed to us in the New Testament is always on high ground.... In Ephesians, it is n the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.It is a great power to be on high ground, it is a great defensive, protective factor; the enemy can do little with you if you keep up there and refuse to come down.

• and we are part of Him for we are His body, His children, His sons, His bride – and He is the Head of the body, the Church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.  Colossians 1:15-17

• What the Lord needs is an open, pure spirit towards Himself, and love toward all saints; the Lord will bring into His greater fullness where there is a genuine love one to the other - in Him.... The Ephesian letter in which there is the fullest unveiling of heavenly truth in the deepest teaching concerning the Church, the Body of Christ, there is from start to finish the golden thread of love running all through; this is significant when you consider what the letter contains. 1 Corinthians 13 is the great chapter on love, and is put over beside all the gifts.

• broken the power of sin in our life and will one day remove sin’s presence – forever. The curtain of separation has been torn from top to bottom granting access to the throne-room of grace and we’re covered from head to toe with the armour of God, for we are clothed with Christ and one with Him – His body, His church – His bride.

• Manifold Wisdom Oh yes, the church that is His body will be used to show His grace to angels: 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, to the glory of God… and to the praise of His Holy Name.

• Selfish Sinners These accusations to Israel can be equally applied to the church of today, for all we like sheep have gone astray, in one way or another. And how often scripture compares God’s people with stupid, straying sheep.. heading for destruction; unaware of danger; estranged from the Lord..

• And alongside that, many are looking to the organization, the society, the mission, the church connection to which they are related, and expecting a new day for themselves to originate there, and that when the institution, whatever it may be, takes action, then the work of their life will begin.
• And the Lord says, It is not the church, the mission, the organization, the society, the institution; it is you.

• Age of the Church The Greek word for “law” is “nomos” and also means ‘rule’ or ‘instructions’ and since Calvary, believers have been in a specific period of time called the Age of Grace.
• Christians living in this Church age are given a set of instructions; a set of rules for living – guidelines to live godly lives and ‘laws’ specific to this time-period – and they are almost exclusively laid out in Paul’s epistles.
• Laws given in Eden or during the time of the Patriarchs are not for the Church today – nor are the rules which will be implemented in the Millennial age.
• Rules for the Church Some Christians mistakenly adhere to Israel’s Law, but Paul argues that: we are not under law but under grace, Romans 6:14. and yet we are not exempt from a godly code of living, which Paul calls: the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus Romans 8:2. and which is seen in Romans 8.

• Christ indwells His church that we too may bear witness as lights to the world..

• The kingdom of heaven (it should be in the plural, the kingdom of the heavens) is like unto a treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid.... The Lord is doing a secret work in relation to the Church.
• It is always a dangerous thing to bring what we conceive to be the Church out into a conspicuous place, and make a public thing of it.
• The real Church is a secret, hidden company, and a hidden and secret work is going on in it.

• Representative Servant And Paul also said: I rejoice in my sufferings for you. I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am completing what remains of Christ’s sufferings for His body – the church.

• From the high altitude of the first years as set before us in the book of the Acts, the church began to decline.
• When we get out of the apostolic age we find that decline steadily going on, until the church publicly, generally, becomes a thing of this world, even becoming politically attached to the earth.
• The battle all through the ages has been in this very connection, as to whether the church would maintain or retrieve the loss of its heavenly high position, or for any reason at all, by prosperity or adversity, accept something lower.

• Do not think that running about taking meetings, and doing work for the Lord, is the only kind of ministry that members of the Church can fulfill.
• Here is the word: ...that NOW unto the principalities and the powers in heavenly places might be made known through the Church the manifold wisdom of God not in the coming age, but now.
• They are learning from the Lord, by reason of those very difficult and trying experiences through which the Lord is taking us, what He is doing in the Church.

• Yes, they include many who have held place in ministry and office in what is called The Church.

• The Spirit’s Ministry In the book of Acts, we discover the Lord Jesus ascending into heaven but the promised Holy Spirit was sent to be an ever-present help and comfort in this church age.

• No one who knows anything about the present conditions will disagree with the statement that the Church is in tragic need of men with a message, but our point is that what is needed is the knowledge of what the message is for the time.

• The Christian life is the expression of the Lord Jesus Christ through the believer to men in the world, and in the church.

• And God will allow His Church and its members oft-times to get into such situations as are altogether beyond human help, in order that He may give the display, which is His own display, in which no man has any place to glory.

• Do you know what the people in my church would say about me?

• And Peter makes reference to this in his first epistle, when he reminds the Church: but ye are a chosen generation; a royal priesthood; an holy nation; a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the PRAISES (arete) of Him Who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.
• His Excellencies The Church, which is the body of Christ, has been called and commissioned to display the many virtues and divine perfections of God, to a lost and dying world.
• So God called out a people for His own possession… He called out the Church, so that we might proclaim the excellencies of Him Who has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light.
• His Witnesses The Church is called to show forth the VIRTUES – the PRAISES – the PERFECTIONS of our heavenly Father, but we need to know His character if we to show forth His perfections.

• In Matthew, Jesus said, I will build My Church..
• Calvary’s cross changed the focus of God’s plans – from Israel to the Church.
• After the cross, He continued to forward His plans through His body, the Church, but Christ remained and remains the focus of God’s plans and purposes for mankind.
• Bible doctrine was given through others. It is Christ about Whom Scripture teach – but He was not the expositor of His Word. Jesus Christ is the subject of Scripture – yet others penned church teachings.
• Church Doctrine The Church in embryo was hinted at by the Lord Jesus – I will build My Church,  but it was Paul who was given the responsibility of unfolding God’s plan for us.
• Paul was the Revelator of the teachings and doctrines that were for this Church age.
• Moses and Paul Just as Moses was God’s mouthpiece in the old – so Paul was His agent in the new. Just as Moses gave Israel their Law – so Paul unveiled doctrine for the Church. Just as Moses pointed Israel to Christ – so Paul points the Church to the Lord Jesus.
• Rightly Divide Let us study the Word of God which points to the Word made Flesh, but let us rightly divide the teachings to Israel and those to the Church. Let us not confuse post-cross with pre-cross teachings, but rather, let us study to show ourselves approved before God.

• It is exactly what you find at the beginning with the Church.

• Many and various erroneous teachings are flooding the church as a witness to its apostasy. Libraries of books have been written, selling their particular brand of unscriptural teachings.
• Tears Among Wheat The seduction of western Christianity has all but reached its fullness, as sheep of His flock feed on the bitter bread and toxic manna of its leavened meal. Christ’s kingdom parables outline in great detail the final condition of His church in Matthew chapter 13 – covering the time when the enemy started to sow tares into the wheat…up to today.. a time during which a little leaven was mixed into the 3 measures of God’s good meal.

• The days of the Church's greatest spiritual power and impact were days when ecclesiastical forms, architecture and ritual were nil, and the Lord Himself was everything.... To get away from the lesser things we need a mighty visitation of the Spirit of God; this, and this only, will do it.

• For Christ loved the Church, that He might sanctify her and cleanse her – so walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
• Oh, this is a profound mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the Church.
• General Love Christ loved the Church..
• In John chapter 3 verse 16 we read that:- 'God loved the world..' within the scope of His eternal love.. for God’s love is a general love for all. Ahh, but Christ’s love for the Church, is a close, cherished, devoted, personal love.
• Personal Love Christ’s love is a precious love – betwixt Him and His Church. It’s a penetrating love – between Christ and His Body. It’s an intimate love, that flows from the Son to His own darling dove. It was for the Church that the Lord Jesus gave up His life. It was for this pearl of great price – the Lord gave all to purchase her for Himself.
• that His Church might become the wife of the Lamb. He relinquished all His heavenly glory, so that she may sit with Him on His throne. He ate the bitter fruit of sin and death for her – for you and me!
• Christ desires to be with His Church, and the prayer He prays to the Father about us, passes all understanding.
• Precious Possession This precious truth of the profound depth of Christ’s love for His Church demands our rapt attention! We are this congregation of saints that God has given to the Lord.. as His precious possession. We are the flock of God, given by the Father to the great Shepherd of the sheep.
• We are His beloved Church.
• Joint-Heirs All glory and authority in heaven and on earth have been given to the Lord Jesus, and yet He tells the Father that, glory has come to Me through them! Christ loves the Church corporately and every living stone is precious in His sight. They are so precious that He rejoices over them with singing. But Christ also loves each member individually..
• Christ’s love for the Church is a profound mystery indeed, but it is YES and AMEN in Christ Jesus.

• What is the Church?
• That is the Church.
• You do not build special buildings and call them the Church.
• You do not have special organisations, religious institutions, which you call the Church.
• Believers in living union with the risen Lord constitute the Church.

• Israel and the Church Christians are children now but the adoption of sons takes place later, for we know that: the whole creation groans, with birth pangs together until now, and not only that, but we also who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan in ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption – the redemption of our body.
• The Church is already forgiven (waiting for our adoption as sons.)
• Others prefer the trinkets of this life to the treasures that are stored up in heaven and many can’t comprehend that faith comes to the church by hearing not by sight – unlike Israel for whom signs were designed, so they could recognise their Messiah.

• If only we would believe His word – but self-effort, wrong doctrine, and inappropriate church requirements often hinder our progress.

• Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its powerTill all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.

• STUDY - Character and Attributes of GOD  Mysteries of God There are many mysteries in the Word of God: The mystery of the kingdom; the mystery of the Church and the mystery of Israel.
• This is no less true of the prideful Church of today, who kees Christ outside.
• Even Christ voiced His own condemnatory prophecy on the church of the future, will I find faith on the earth….?” Luke 18:8

• Paul, when speaking of the church, illustrates it thus: hat all the body is fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplies.No part of the body is without function.

• It is as fatal to try and make a New Testament church after the New Testament pattern as it is to have no pattern at all!

• Time is Short Every day that passes is a day closer to the return of the Lord Jesus for His church.
• Distinctive Period The imminency of Christ’s return for His saints has lasted 2000 years! This was an important fact for the early church; as it has been down the centuries.

• Jesus said: – I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.Matthew 16:18
• Pre-cross Israel lived their lives – ”under Law” Post-resurrection Church live their lives –  “under Grace,” and the generation of believers that lived both sides of the cross are unique.
• Paul’s writings and the epistles of others are connected with the Church dispensation, but the book of Acts covers a crucial and unique transitional period – linking the two.
• Acts is a book that outlines Christ's words and work, in the early stages of the Church.
• It explains the unfolding work of Christ Jesus in the embryonic Christian Church – for Jesus said I will build My Church.
• They were standing on the threshold of a new era – the times of the Church,  for Jesus said I will build My Church.
• Unique Period First and foremost Acts is a history book that tells us how the early Church started.
• Connecting Bridge Acts should never be considered a template of what today's Church should be like.
• It was a connecting bridge into the principles, doctrines, and truths of the Church age.
• It was the time that Christ set about starting the process of building His Church.
• Essential Doctrine Most of Christ’s teachings to the Church came through the epistles of Paul.
• The bulk of essential doctrine was given to the Church through Paul – from Christ.
• Doctrinal Tensions The book of Acts tells us how the Church started and where it began.
• It outlines the birth of the Church at Pentecost – and shows how the Church started.
• It summarises the inevitable doctrinal tensions that were found in the early Church.
• The book of Acts shows us how the Lord Jesus Christ started to build His Church.
• It is a history of the transition from Law to Grace – from Israel to the early Church.
• For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ – for Jesus said I will build My Church.

• Beware – Consider Beware of false doctrine – wolves that come to you in sheep’s clothing. Recognise the increase of the doctrines of demons prevalent in the church today. Magnify the Lord with me and let us exult His name together. Consider humility.
• That the church will be totally leavened, as Jesus warned us. That there will be a famine for the hearing of God’s Word. That believers will run to and fro looking for a teaching that tickles their ears, and that Christ Himself asks that haunting question: will I find faith on the earth?

• That is true, in a measure, of His Church.
• It was out of the breaking and crushing of the Church that the Life came to the world.

• but in the church dispensation, the depth of teachings are ofttimes overlooked.

• Churches, like the Church, are organisms which spring out of Life, which Life itself springs out of the Cross of Christ wrought into the very being of believers.
• Unless believers are crucified people, there can be no true expression of the Church.

• entombed in a little 10th-century church, far away from the hustle and bustle of life and one by one, little by little..

• This current world system is not where we should be placing our hope – for our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Saviour – the Lord Jesus Christ Philippians 3:20.  Scripture informs us that the love of many believers will grow cold. The Bible tells us that many Christians will forsake Him for alternative truths. The Word of God warns that the Church will be leavened at the time of His return.

• Historical Account It is crucial to recognise the book of Acts is a historical account of the early church. It outlines the founding of the church; the spread of the gospel; the main characters. It lists the different congregation and individuals who were touched with gospel truth. It shows how the early focus of church evangelism was exclusively to the Jews.
• It exposes discontent between Hebraic Jews and Grecian Jews – and how it was resolved. It details some doctrinal controversies that challenged the leaders of the early church.
• It lists the principal participants and the authoritative conclusions of the early church councils, which authenticated the apostle Paul as God’s chosen vessel to the Gentiles.
• Acts is the transitional bridge between the dispensation of Israel and the church age.
• Acts is an overlapping bridge-of-time during which evangelistic responsibility is being passed from the old dispensation of Israel to the Church – in the age of grace.
• Birth of the Church The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost can be identified as the birth of the church.
• Historic Foundation It is crucial to recognise the book of Acts as a historical account of the early church. It outlines the founding of the church; the spread of the gospel; the main characters. It lists the different congregations and individuals who were touched with gospel truth.
• Church Doctrine It shows how the early focus of church evangelism – was exclusively to the Jews, but God in His grace raised up Paul the apostle to reveal His plans for the church. May our hearts and minds be open to the Spirit’s leading concerning the book of Acts. Without Acts, Christianity could have morphed into an unorthodox sect of Judaism – but the teachings and doctrines for the Church – were given to us – through Paul.

• Process of Overcoming This is the message of the seven letters from Christ to the Christian Church.
• Christ’s Instructions These were Christ’s last words and final inspired instructions to believers.  And the warning pleading resounded with equal intensity throughout all 7 letters: “he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches.” Here are the final instructions of Christ to the Church – given through the apostle John... instructions that build on a foundation that first flowed through the pen of Paul.
• Written Instruction Some Scripture is particularly directed to Israel and God’s specific plan for them. Some is written as instruction to the Church, to show us how to live a Christian life.
• Vital Messages The message of the seven letters in Revelation 2-3 is to the Christian Church: to him that overcometh… to him who overcomes… to the one who conquers. It resounds like a giant foghorn throughout these vital messages to the believers.

• Attending a denominational church can distort one's understanding of salvation.

• It is the Church, and His irreducible nucleus of the Church is two.
• that the Church might learn more of what it means to be in living union with a risen Christ!
• Well, then, the supreme thing the New Testament shows is that the Church on its true, spiritual basis corresponds to Christ risen.
• Not the Church that we know here on earth, for it does not.
• But God thought about the Church is not an impossible and merely idealistic one.

• Be amazed at the supernatural grace of the Lord Jesus Christ towards you:  for Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for her….
• Mystery of Christ And He put all things under Christ’s feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church… the church, which is his body, (you and me) the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

• There is probably no more important message to the church today than this, for most believers having started their Christian life by grace through faith, revert from grace back to the law, by trying to live their life for God.

• The Holy Spirit's illumination concerning the church is a thing so difficult to explain to any who may not have experienced it.
• You will be able to preach Ephesians, Colossians, Romans; preach all about the church as the Body of Christ; you may read it all in books, and still there may be no real expression of it.
• You can say I saw that the church was no denominational or national thing; I believed in the oneness of all believers.

• All the religions of Christendom are mainly Judaistic, and the present-day Church is not far behind.
• The Church is foreign to the earth and related to it only as a witnessing people.

• And He is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence (Col. 1:18)

• Church of Christ But for the Church that wonderful day has already come, for we are the temple of the living God, as God said: “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 2 Corinthians 6:16

• God’s Plan In other words, He predestined all church-age believers to be part of the new creation in Christ.

• John was Israel’s final prophet, and he called them to repent and return to God. It is important to see the ministry of John the Baptist in its context of Israel. Paul was the man God chose to give greater insight into Church-age doctrine – and the book of Acts is a bridge from pre-cross teaching to post-cross doctrine.
• Church Age Baptism As church-age believers, we are baptised by the Spirit into Christ the moment we believe that Jesus is our Saviour and that He died for our sin and rose the third day. We are to grow in grace and become true followers – true disciples of the Lord and water baptism is a beautiful outward demonstration of a beautiful internal change.

• Man’s  Approach There are many people who would argue that they should certainly get into heaven. Many think they qualify to enter into paradise because of their many good deeds. Many consider that their applaudable attempts to keep the ten commandments are sufficient for God to joyfully fling wide the gates to happiness and bid them enter in. Many think that regular attendance at church more than meets God’s requirements, but this reasoning places the burden of responsibility of access to heaven – on ME. This thinking bases qualification to enter into heaven on Self..

• Christ’s death, burial and resurrection ended the period called the age of law and introduced the age of grace – the Church dispensation.
• Church Age Law Some think only part of the Mosaic Law was set aside by Christ, but His sacrificial death  fulfilled the whole Law on our behalf, which has now been superseded by the Law of Christ.
• Indeed all but one of the 10 commandments are repeated in the Church age epistles, instructing believers how to life godly in Christ Jesus.
• Christians are called to live their lives as outlined in the church-age epistles, which are almost exclusively recorded in Romans to Revelation – and specifically those of the apostle Paul.
• Command of Christ Christians are called to keep the commands of Christ, and the instructions given to the Church: have set us free from law of sin and death, [which is the code given to Israel] – in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

• New Testament Faith Paul, that great apostle to the church, reminds us to live by faith and not by sight, demonstrating that in this church age our badge must be faith – faith working through love: for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

• He was presenting the embryonic gospel of grace, which was to be more fully revealed by the ministry of the apostle Paul – to include the Church as the Body of Christ in Union with Him  – a new creation and joint-heirs of God’s Son – a heavenly citizenship and the indwelling Holy Spirit as a down-payment from God the Father – our Abba.

• Trusting Faith The Lord warned that at His return for His Church, believing faith would be rare.
• Many Scriptures remind us that Satan cannot overcome the church of Christ.
• God’s Faithfulness Today the enemy continues his assault on the Church with increasing intensity, but the saints of old bear witness of God’s never-failing faithfulness to His children.

• It is hard to understand why a nation that was so blessed would turn aside from the God of their fathers and fall into such gross apostasy, and yet how reflective this is of the Church today, for despite the incredible spiritual benefits and blessings that have been showered on the Body of Christ, so many are following after another gospel, rejecting the inerrant Word of God, and worshipping a Christ made in their own image.
• And in the same way, there are those in the Body of Christ today who are not enticed into the worldly ways of the apostate church, but contend earnestly for the faith, fighting the good fight of faith, taking hold of the eternal life to which the Church is called, and conducting themselves in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Christ.
• And the Church as members of Christ's Body are His spiritual seed, for He is the eternal Author and Finisher of our faith.

• Despite the division, defilement and ungodly behaviour that was identified in so many believers in the Corinthians church, they were nonetheless a called-out, holy people who were set apart to God.
• In his writings to the church at Corinth, there were many issues that Paul wanted to emphasise for their learning, and many behaviours that needed correction.

• Like other apostles, Paul was a special messenger who was called, chosen, and authorised by God to receive hidden revelation for the Church, and to lay down foundational doctrine and godly principles for the Body of Christ.

• No doubt, many had fled from the severe persecution that took place in those early days of the Church.

• Stephen was a young man who converted to Christianity at the start of the Church age and was given a leadership role because he was filled with the Holy Ghost and imbued with godly wisdom.

• Jesus was going to prepare a heavenly abode for each one of them, and unless He went away, the many benefits that were planned for believers and the glorious mysteries surrounding the Church which would be later revealed through the apostle Paul, would not be able to be realised.
• But in the meantime, the Church was to be the organism through which God would now continue to carry out His sovereign plans and purposes for the redemption of the world.
• There was so much that the disciples did not understand as Christ urgently started to tell them about the forthcoming Church age.

• Much of that revelation, though concealed in the Old Testament, was penned to the Church in the New Testament by Paul.
• It was always God's plan to redeem mankind and to unite believing Jews and Gentiles into one Body, the Church.

• However, EVERY post-Cross believer receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit, about which John spoke.  From the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was sent by God to indwell every member of the fledgling Church (the Body of Christ).
• Israel was set aside, for a season, and God began to work through the Church.

• People living at the time of the Cross experienced both pre-Cross and post-Cross teachings and had to go through the painful transition from Law to grace, as they moved from a dispensation based on the Mosaic Law to living in the post-Cross Church age.
• The day of Pentecost was the beautiful birthday of the Church when the Holy Spirit, Whom Jesus had promised to send only a short time earlier,, was poured out on all the believers who had faithfully gathered: All-together in one place, as instructed by the Lord Jesus.
• Let us share the good news of the gospel of Christ during this Church age, for the day is coming when Christ will stand up in preparation to return as the promised, conquering King of Israel.

• The unseen life that feeds, nourishes, and produces abundant fruit on each of the branches comes only from the roots and central stem of the growing Vine - the true and heavenly Vine without which, each weak little branch would quickly wither into barren unfruitfulness.The fruit that Christ's life will produce are the many sons that He is bringing to glory – the Church which is His Body.

• Indeed, throughout all His writings, this dear apostle had a deep affection and sincere concern for all the Body of Christ.This particular letter holds a very special place in the canon of Scripture, as it is said to be the first letter of instruction and encouragement that the apostle Paul wrote to any Church.

• Many passages in Old Testament Scripture, are used in the New to warn Church-age saints of things to avoid.
• The book of Hebrews offers a series of warnings to Church-age believers of things to avoid and often it is the chequered history of Israel that is used as a warning to Christians of things to avoid.

• God views all His people, both Israel and the Church, from an eternal perspective, and the Lord's chastening rod of correction is always carried out for our benefit and for His eternal glory.

• Living in the Church age we cannot imagine what it must have been like to have daily, weekly, monthly, and annual sacrifices.

• And what a comfort for Christians in this dispensation of grace, to know that the promises that God has made to the Church in connection with our own, heavenly inheritance are equally steadfast and sure... for the Word of God can never be broken.

• These and other foundational facts were carefully laid by Paul in His letter to the Romans, to show that Israel would be set aside during this Church age because they heard the truth but rejected the message of salvation.

• There are many places in the Word of God where we discover the symbolism of the union between a man and His bride, pointing to the future marriage between Christ with the Church.
• All who have trusted in the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus as Saviour, and His glorious Resurrection from the dead, have this special relationship with our Lord, for the Church has been chosen to be His Bride.

• But Christ also offered up His body on the Tree, as a free-will offering - a burnt offering - a voluntary sacrifice for His people, so that through Him the Church, which is His body, might be sanctified and made holy - just as Christ is holy.
• Christ loved the Church so much and gave Himself for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.
• It was out of intense love for His Father and a deep love for the Church, the Lord Jesus gave Himself freely; willingly; voluntarily and joyfully, to be our Kinsman-Redeemer.
• He died so that the Church, whom He loved, might be sanctified and made holy, without spot and wrinkle, or any such blemish.

• Both individually and collectively the Church, which is His body of Christ, needs to be cleansed - so that when Christ returns to take us to be with Himself we will be pure and chaste.
• May we take these warning to heart and seek to pursue holiness in our own lives and fellowships, so that we may be presented to Him as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but a holy and blameless bride - for His honour and glory.

• Sadly, there is an increasing move towards anti-Semitism in the world, which has been imported into the Christian Church, teaching that the Church has replaced Israel!
• And so for a season (during the Church age, the current dispensation of grace), Israel has been set aside, but as a result of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles.
• And the privileges that the Church has received, is to provoke the nation of Israel to jealousy so that they too will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ Who is salvation to Jew and Gentile alike.

• And this is equally true of the Church today, for when Christians set their thoughts of their hearts of Christ Jesus, they are flooded with an inner peace, an inexplicable peace, a perfect peace that only comes from above.

• When a church fellowship allows carnality to enter its gates and permits the philosophy of the world to infiltrate its ranks, it is not surprising that false doctrines begin to proliferate and false teachers enter the flock of God - muddying the crystal-clear message from on high.

• Having spent a good few chapters addressing disorders, dissensions and immorality within the Corinthian church community, together with lawsuits among believers and moral impropriety amongst Christians, Paul continues his epistle by outlining the godly and doctrinal elements that should be the distinguishing marks of a fellowship of believers..
• In this middle section of the epistle we see Paul addressing issues ranging from the eating of meat that has been offered to idols and head-covering for women - to the Lord's supper and the appropriate use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit within the church.
• But the first issue that Paul touched on was that of marriage and celibacy within the Christian church.
• The union between Christ and the Church is the comparison that is often used to describe the bond between a husband and his wife.

• The Law was not given to annul, supplement, or alter this unconditional Abrahamic promise and so the question arose among many Jewish believers in the early Church: Why was the Law given, what was the purpose of the Law, and did it alter the terms of the Abrahamic promise?

• The Bible, from beginning to end, points to Jesus, and this power-packed little book which details the terrible apostasy that is going to overtake the Church in the last days, similarly points to the Lord Jesus as the one and only person who can keep any of us from stumbling so that we may be presented to Him as a pure, chase virgin at His return.There are so many dangers today of which we need to be aware – not only of yielding to temptation and falling into sin, but being able to identify and avoid the influences of false teachers and apostates that are infiltrating the Church today, where an increasing number of false doctrines and teachers are flooding Christendom with another gospel.
• It also warns of the many evil and rebellious teachings that are to flood the Church in the end times.

• He knew that Babylon would be the first kingdom to stride onto the pages of history, as time marched towards the Rapture of the Church, the second advent of Christ, the Time of Jacob's Trouble, and that glorious day, when a STONE, cut without hands, would strike the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crush the kingdoms of this world - bringing in the Millennial Kingdom of Christ.

• It is incredible to think that this gross apostasy was taking place only a short time after Paul had taught them the truth of the glorious gospel of grace - and yet this situation was not unique to this church in Galatia, for this attitude and practice is increasingly popular in the churches of today.

• They were to learn of the hidden mystery, which was given to Paul: Which is Christ in You the hope of glory.  YES, there was much that they would have to learn from the apostle Paul in the early years of the Christian Church, but they could not bear it at this time as the Cross loomed ever closer.
• And Christ expanded this exciting truth by telling them: In that day, you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in You.  But the mountain of 'Church age' doctrine that Christ started to share with them following His rejection as Israel's Messiah was overwhelming to these confused men, much of which they would not be understood until later - when many Church age mysteries were revealed to Paul.
• In that day when the Church is born and the Spirit is sent, Jesus told them, you will know that you are in Me (i.e.

• We should study God's Book of instruction, particularly those passages that relate specifically to the Church, and we should continually feed on His Word in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving.

• They were a young Church, who were growing in grace, maturing in the faith and making steady progress in their Christian walk.
• Paul's letters were designed to strengthen their faith, encourage them towards holy living, correct any false doctrine, remind them of his apostolic authority, and further instruct them in Church-age doctrines and principles of godly conduct.
• Sadly, Paul and his companions had to leave Thessalonica before the Church was fully established, because they were met with strong opposition from the Jewish community, and the apostle did not want the fledgling believers to be persecuted, because of him.
• We see him reestablishing his teaching about the return of the Lord Jesus for His Church-age saints, together with the circumstances surrounding the Rapture of the Church.
• Paul not only taught these new believers about the return of the Lord in the clouds for His Church, at the Rapture, but also mentioned the spiritual rewards that will be given to believers at His coming.

• In the early Church, it was hard for Jews who were steeped in centuries of tradition to recognise that the Christian faith was not an extra bit of doctrine tagged on to the Jewish religion, but the fulfilment of God's promise to make a New Covenant with them.
• Attempts were made to incorporate Jewish rites into Christian worship, to confuse Israel with the Church, and to combine the programme God must carry out through His chosen nation, Israel, with the work He is currently undertaking through the Body of Christ.'Circumcision' was a special sign which God specifically gave to the nation of Israel, through Abraham.

• We should not be drawn into foolish doctrinal disputes about religious law or Church statutes.
• Both within the church and in the wider world of the unsaved, there are those that have a particular bee in their bonnet about a certain doctrine or one aspect of biblical truth to the exclusion of everything else, and they consistently drag up their singular theological soap-box, with the intent of entering into mindless arguments or destructive debates... or deliberately causing disunity in the body of Christ.

• Paul had been called as Christ's apostle to the Gentiles and appointed by the Father to be entrusted with the hidden mysteries of the Church and much Church-age doctrine, which is so vital for our spiritual growth today.
• There is much 'religious politics' in the Church today, and although it is important that false doctrine is exposed, the attitude that Paul displayed towards these fleshly motivated preachers (whose preaching though doctrinally sound, stemmed from envy, strife and a desire to cause him pain) is a beautiful lesson in humble discipleship and godly submission to the Holy Spirit.

• Today the Christian Church are the sheep of His pasture.
• Other sheep I have, who are not of this fold, He told Israel. And during this Church dispensation, we have also been warned that there are hired hands who mislead the people, and false shepherds, who are not honest pastors and teachers.

• Paul also mentioned another staunch brother in the Lord - Apollos, whom Paul wanted to link up with the Corinthian church, and the underlying reason seemed to be that as the Body of Christ, we are to pull together - to honour one another - to fellowship with one another and to make sure that we are one in heart and mind with our brethren..
• All such things, started to infiltrate the church in the time of Paul and seem and have exploded into multiple fragments of falsity, within today's apostate churches and heretical cults.

• This is no less true for the Church today as it was for Israel in those distant, distressing days.

• These Scriptures are some of the most well known and well loved, even with unbelievers as, year after year, they sing carols, attend nativity plays, and maybe even attend a church service celebrating Christ's birth.

• Whether the promises of God are for Israel or given to the Church, God's Word is true.

• Jewish believers in the early church found it very difficult to accept that the Aaronic priesthood, given by God, could be superseded because it was weak and useless, by comparison!
• After Christ's death and resurrection, God set Israel aside for a season and began to govern the affairs of humanity through the Church.
• He set Israel aside during the Dispensation of the Church, to fulfil His purposes through the Body of Christ.
• He will work through Israel again during the Great Tribulation period - after the Church is removed.
• Hebrews 7 systematically sets out the need for God's former administration through Israel, (the Dispensation of the Law), to be superseded with the next dispensation through the Church (the Dispensation of the Grace of God). For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness, for the Law made nothing perfect. With the advent of Christ, the Law was fulfilled on behalf of all who believe, bringing us a better hope and a better High Priest, through Whom we draw near to God.

• Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were the three original patriarchs of the Jewish nation, and their history began when Abram was called by God to leave the Ur of the Chaldees, and to go into a land which God would show him.The genealogy of Abraham and the ongoing history of his descendants, continues into Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, and can be tracked throughout the writings of holy men of God whom the Lord used to pen the Old Testament Scriptures.Israel's lineage can be tracked to Jesus, His disciples, and the early Church.
• And we discover that Benjamin, Israel's youngest son, was the forefather of Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles who penned so much of New Testament Scripture that clarifies God's plan of salvation, teaches us His objective for the Church, and guides us into all truth.Issachar and Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher, complete the sons of Jacob, and together, these twelve men are the founding fathers of the nation of Israel.

• Once the Church was founded on the feast of Pentecost, their witness began in Jerusalem, but it did not expand beyond that region. 
• The early Church in Jerusalem was made up of two Jewish groups.
• Sadly, however, not only was there external opposition to the early Church from the religious leaders, but internal conflict also erupted between the two ethnic groups of Jews.
• This positive summary of the expansion of the early Church in Jerusalem appears to be exactly what God would have wanted.
• Although God blessed their ministry abundantly, and even though many were being saved, there was much disobedience in those early days of the Church, for they did not follow Christ's clear instructions.
• While there are many lessons to learn from the gracious behaviour, wise decisions, and enormous evangelistic success of the early Church and Christ's chosen apostles, there are also many pitfalls to avoid.

• These people are the Church age saints of God (the Bride of Christ).
• Then I saw thrones, John wrote as he recorded the awesome scene, and those who sat on the thrones, were given the authority to rule and to pass judgement. The Church, which is the Body of Christ, are to be kings and priests who rule and reign with Him on earth, for 1000 years.After describing these Church-age saints, John then sees a multitude of Christian martyrs.
• They refused to take the 'Mark of the Beast' and they were martyred for their faith: And I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast, nor his image, nor had received his mark upon their foreheads or on their hands.Following the Rapture of the Church, the wrath of God will be poured out in full measure on a God-hating, Christ-rejecting, Jew-loathing, sinful world.
• They were made up of every people group and they spoke every conceivable language.John records that, like the Church-age saints, this group of martyred, Tribulation saints will also reign with Christ for a thousand years.
• However, all those who rejected God’s offer of salvation before the Cross and throughout the Church-age, as well as during the 7-year Tribulation, will be confined in hell for a further 1000 years and must partake in the SECOND resurrection – the terrible resurrection of all unbelievers at the Great White Throne of the living God, which will result in eternal separation from God.Let us increase our efforts to tell the good news of the gospel of Christ to as many as we can, before the great and terrible Day of the Lord, for the Word of God through the revelation of Jesus Christ will not fail.

• Indeed, while Paul was alive, many false teachers had already infiltrated the Church with the explicit intent to destroy Christianity and Church-age doctrine - most of which was given through God's holy apostles and prophets and recorded in the New Testament epistles.
• Paul knew that after his death, savage wolves would enter the Church not sparing the flock... and no surprise, for Satan, as a roaring lion, prowls around seeking whom he may devour and destroy.
• The relentless attack on Church-age truth against which Paul and others taught so earnestly, continues to flourish to this day but has fractured into a multiplicity of heretical cults, demonic doctrines, and unbiblical teachings.
• Despite the many false Christs, false prophets, ravenous wolves, and relentless attacks by the enemy on the Christian Church, the pure gospel of grace has reached our ears - for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

• We should not be ignorant of the spiritual gifts relating to the Church age nor the cunning devices of Satan who seeks to entrap us in worldly pursuits, fleshly activities and cunning lies.
• We should not be ignorant of God's past and future work in connection with the nation of Israel nor of God's dealings with the Body of Christ (the Church) in this present age.
• We should also not be ignorant about believers whose eyes have closed in death, nor of the return of the Lord, the Rapture of the Church, and the resurrection of the Body that will one day happen to all that have fallen asleep in Him.
• Like Christians in the early Church, we also need to know that there is a resurrection unto life for the believer, and a resurrection unto death for those that have rejected God's gracious offer of salvation by grace through faith in Christ.
• Christ was raised as the first of the resurrection harvest, then all who belong to Christ will be resurrected when he returns for His Church: The dead in Christ will be raised first and then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

• We also need to examine if we have chosen to walk in His righteous way and fulfil His instructions to the Church.

• Believers in this Church dispensation have already entered the spiritual kingdom through faith in Christ.
• We who believe during this Church age will be raptured before the Great Tribulation and will return with Christ at the end - to set up His kingdom.
• However, those who do not believe during the Church Age will be left to face the outpouring of God's wrath during seven years of Tribulation... and any who come to faith during this period and endure to the end, will enter the kingdom.
• Those who go through the Great Tribulation will witness this progression of evil, but what of those in the Church Age who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?
• Paul told us in 1 Thessalonians that the mystery of Lawlessness was already at work in his day, and that perilous times would come at the end of the Church Age, while the apostle John told us that the spirit of antichrist was already at work in his day - and since those early days of the Church, wickedness has waxed worse and worse.
• As we wait for the any-day return of Christ and the Rapture of Church Age believers, we are witnessing a cascade of evil flooding the earth which is reminiscent of the days of Noah - when the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth.

• The Church, which is the body of Christ, would have to be formed in order to be God's earthly representatives for a time..

• Paul was God's chosen vessel to expound post-Cross, Church-age doctrine and Christian principles, which apply in this dispensation of grace.
• Like us, these young pastors of the early Church were urged to hold fast to the faithful Word of God which was taught by Paul and Christ's other apostles so that they were enabled to exhort and challenge all who contradicted the sound teachings of the Word of truth.
• Titus was a true son in the common faith, which was given to us by the apostles and prophets of the early Church, and which contrasts sharply with the unbiblical teachings of false ministers which too often are founded on the sinking sands of fleshly experiences, fluctuating feelings, ever-changing opinions, fleshly propensities, carnal presumptions, and extra-biblical 'revelations'.
• There are those within the professing Church that pour scorn on the teaching of sound Biblical doctrine which they foolishly consider inappropriate in our post-modern society, and so they offer a watered-down, ear-tickling social gospel with seeker-friendly teachings which distorts biblical truth and denies the Lord Who bought them.
• And so we, along with young pastors like Timothy and Titus, are warned of the dangers of importing false doctrine into the Church and feeding on the lies of false teachers.

• No matter how far any of us have strayed, His promises to the church are as sure and His promises to Israel.

• However, it was necessary for Paul to return to Ephesus and so he left Titus to continue the missionary work in Crete, teaching new coverts and appointing leaders in every new church.
• Paul knew how quickly error can creep into a fellowship of believers, and his epistle to Titus is one of three, pastoral epistles giving him personal encouragement, reminding him of important issues in ministry, outlining the criteria and character required in a church elder, correcting doctrinal errors that may arise in a Christian church, explaining the roles and responsibilities of believers in their families and communities, and exhorting the congregations towards godly living and good works, both at home and abroad.

• It caused these believers to fear that the Day of the Lord had already started and that the Antichrist was in their midst... without the promised resurrection of Church-age saints and the Rapture of living believers having taken place... as Paul had originally taught them.
• He wanted those who had trusted in Christ to gain a thorough understanding that the Lord would return for His church before the outpouring of God's wrath in the Great Tribulation period.
• Paul had taught them that Rapture of Church-age Christians (which included both the resurrection of Christians who had died and the catching away of Christians who were still alive), would happen before the Day of the Lord because God did not appoint us to suffer His wrath... which is to be out-poured at the beginning of the Day of the Lord.
• He had also explained that when Christ returns for His church, Christians who are alive will not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep.
• The restraining power of the indwelling Holy Spirit will be removed... through the Rapture of the Church, when wickedness has reached its fullness.
• If Paul considered it necessary to teach the fledgling believers at Thessalonica the finer details of the Rapture of the Church, the Day of the Lord, and that Christians are not appointed to wrath - should we not also diligently study the Scriptures to show ourselves approved unto God?

• It was only at Pentecost, that the permanently indwelling Holy Spirit of God came to indwell His Church, and provide the sufficient strength we all need to work the work of God.
• Like Peter, we also face an increasingly uncertain future, but let us never forget that the Holy Spirit of God has been given to the Church and has taken up permanent residence within the heart of every member of Christ's Body.

• The historical record of Abraham is used to teach a fundamental truth which, if understood, would help to remove much of the legalistic confusion that surrounds 1) Israel and the dispensation of Law, which was pre-Cross and 2) the Church and the dispensation of grace, which is connected with post-Cross teaching.
• Others sadly use this passage to make the false claim that God has finished with Israel and that the Christian Church has taken their place as God's chosen people - because Sarah, the mother of Israel, is now the free-woman!

• But God has permitted the destructive effects of sin to reverberate down through the centuries, as we look towards that time when Christ will return (with the Church), to reign on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.

• As a member of the Church, it is our body that is now the 'Temple of the Living God'.

• While Israel were to bring people into the camp of God, Christians are called to go out into all the world preaching the good news of the gospel of grace, to unsaved Jews and Gentiles alike.Being taught to share the gospel by those early Christian teachers, was the hallmark of the early Church.
• And we are to do the same.They were to be responsible for the well-being of their Christian friends, supporting one another in their lack, rejoicing in their increase, and making sure that those endowed with the gift of pastor-teacher, were similarly provided for, through individual, voluntary, but cheerful offerings.As believers, we have all been blessed with every spiritual blessing from above and are instructed by the Word of God and through Church elders and Christian ministers, to share our blessings, both material and spiritual, with others so that they in turn are enabled to rejoice in the Lord for His provision and go further afield themselves, to bless others who cross their path.Sowing and reaping blessings in this way, is a biblical principle that benefits both the giver and the one that receives, as well as honouring the Lord our God from Whom all blessings flow.

• Before salvation he could boast that as to the Law, he was a Pharisee; as to zeal, he was a persecutor of the Church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, he was blameless.

• As members of the Church, we are to live a life that is worthy of our calling.
• The universal Church of believers is one Body which is in-dwelt by the same Holy Spirit of God.

• There are many that like to say that God has replaced Israel with the Church, but those pronouncements do not heed the truth of the Word of God, Whose promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus and Whose Word stands fast for ever and ever.

• However, in this Church age, all those differences have been removed: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus, our Lord. All who have trusted in Christ as Saviour are equal in the eyes of our Heavenly Father, saved by grace through faith in God's only begotten Son.
• All have been made a new creation in Christ, and all have been baptised by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ, which is the Church of God.

• This glorious verse of comfort sparkles with reassuring radiance, that the future plan God has for all of His people, both for Israel and the Church, are for our eternal good and spiritual welfare, as well as our temporal and physical needs.

• The valley of dry bones does not have anything to do with the Church, as some teach.
• And although the Church is the current beneficiary, and Christians have been made ministers of the New Covenant, it will be finally ratified and fully implemented when the scattered bones of God's chosen people are restored, physically and spiritually.

• Jesus reminded us that while He was on earth, He was the light of the world, but His light still shines in the darkness of this fallen globe for we, who have trusted Him for our salvation, have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, and the Light of His radiance continues to be reflected out to lost souls through the witness of the Church.

• These were the men who were to be the foundational members of the Body of Christ - which is the Church.

• The book of Revelation describes, in detail, the events of the future time of Great Tribulation which is coming upon the whole earth, following the Rapture of the Church but preceding Christ Second Coming, when He returns with power and great glory to set up His eternal kingdom.
• Revelation describes a literal future time of great trouble for the people of Israel, when the wrath of God is poured out on a God-hating, Christ-rejecting, sinful world which takes place just before we, as Church-age believers, return with Him from our heavenly home to rule and reign in His eternal kingdom.
• This glorious vision of the Son of Man shows Him standing in the midst of seven candlesticks, representing of the full Body of Christ; the Christian Church which He Himself is building today.
• As members of His Body, our mission during this Church dispensation is to reflect the light of His love and proclaim Christ: crucified, risen, ascended, and glorified.

• The divisions and disunity that was evident within the Corinthian church so long ago, is equally conspicuous in the Body of Christ today, and Paul lovingly exhorts each one of us to agree amongst ourselves so that there is no disharmony, disagreement, or dissention amongst us.

• His is the power, and the kingdom, and the glory, and no enemy of His Church will prevail against His chosen ones: Vengeance is Mine and I will repay, is the Lord's promise to those that are His children.
• The promise God gave to His chosen people Israel is as sure for the promises He has made to the Christian Church: 'No weapon that is formed against you will prosper, and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn, for this is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,' declares the LORD.

• Both in those fledgling days of the Church and in his later years when he penned his two epistles, Peter frequently quoted from the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, to endorse the truth of the glorious gospel he taught so passionately. His desire was to teach and encourage the saints in their spiritual growth and to glorify his risen, ascended, wonderful Saviour Whom he called Master, and Who loved him with an everlasting love.

• Paul was writing to allay the fear that they had somehow missed the resurrection of the dead and the gathering together of Christ's Church-age saints to Himself - the Rapture.
• At the start of chapter 2, Paul identifies the topic under discussion - the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the Rapture of the Church: The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him.
• the 7-year Tribulation) AND the 1000-year Millennial reign of Christ, does not refer to the Rapture of the Church.

• What a difference it would be if the Church of Christ were to follow Peter's directives in our day and age.

• Some insist that these instructions are binding on the Church of today, while others refute this interpretation.In context, this sermon was delivered early on in Christ's earthly ministry.

• In sending His seven letters to the churches early in the book of Revelation, the Lord Jesus gives great insight into the spiritual temperature of the Christian Church... as the day for His return to earth draws ever nearer.
• Indeed, we are encouraged to watch for Christ's any day return for His Church, for we do not know the day nor the hour of His coming.

• How easy it is for us in this Church age to look back to this time in Israel's history with critical contempt for their failure to walk in the ways of God and to so openly deny the Lord Who bought them - and yet as we look at our own lives and the sorry state of the Church as a whole - we can only bemoan the spiritual condition in which we find ourselves today, and cry out to the Lord to search the inner recesses of our very being and to purify our hearts in the refining fires of His holy righteousness.

• He caused an axe-head to float, bitter waters to be made pure, a cruise of oil that did not run dry, and the gospel of grace to spread throughout the world, despite severe persecution in the early Church.

• The glorious time of Israel's restoration is couched in this declaration from God, for He has promised to save His people from their sin, and His promises to Israel will never fail, just as His promises to the Church are 'yes' and 'amen' in Christ Jesus our Lord - and our present sojourn in this fallen world, is likewise hastening to its grand finale.
• Just as Israel must wait for God's timing, so we must wait for the Rapture of the Church and the resurrection of the saints, which will take place in God's time and in His way!
• Like the faithful remnant in the times of Zephaniah, we in this Church dispensation, are instructed to wait for His timing.

• It was Paul to whom the mystery of the Church, which is the Body of Christ, was entrusted, and Jesus Christ was the one Who not only preached the message of peace, but became incarnate peace for mankind: peace with God and peace with each other.
• He married sinful Jews with sinful Gentiles, baptising them by the Spirit of God into the one New Man in Christ, which is the Church.

• Throughout the Church age, many enemies, both physical and spiritual, have sought to steal, kill, and destroy the sheep in Christ's little flock, but we are not to fear for none can pluck us out of His hands.
• We are all safe in the hands of our Heavenly Father, and the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church.
• But a time of Great Tribulation, beyond this Church age is coming, when a final and terrible thief will come and try to steal, kill, and destroy both the people of God and His Anointed King.

• He tackled things that caused division within the church and exposed the foolishness of human wisdom, by contrasting it with the wisdom of God.
• It may be a simple instruction to the Church but it is one of the greatest challenges with which any of us can be presented, for it is the Holy Spirit of God Who calls us to live as Christ lived and to love as Christ loved.
• And in this final chapter of Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth, he exhorts the believers there, let all be done in love. What a sublimely simple instruction to the Church of today, and yet what a profound depth of truth is contained within this uncomplicated and divine directive.
• Every action and every attitude, every word and every work, each thought of the heart, each decision of the mind and even the motives that influence the choices we make, need to be bathed in the purifying gaze of the Holy Spirit, washed in the fountain of God's divine love and covered with the unconditional grace of Christ, Who for love of His church went to the cross willingly - so that like Him, everything we do, may be done through HIM - in LOVE.

• For two thousand years, the Body of Christ, which is the Church, has been God's single mouthpiece to unsaved Jews and Gentiles alike.The question has often been raised: Has God finished with the Jews?
• Has the Church replaced Israel?
• The Church has not replaced Israel.
• The Lord has a programme for the Church and another one for Israel.God's plans for the Church are mainly recorded in the New Testament epistles, while His plans for Israel are set out in Old Testament Scriptures and the four Gospels, and are reiterated by Paul in three detailed chapters of Romans.So!
• They called this out at His First Coming BUT then crucified Him, causing his kingdom to be delayed - for a season.When God's programme through the Church has been completed, then the Lord will remove the witness of His Church from the earth and graciously re-establish His work of redemption through Israel, during the coming time of Jacob's Trouble.
• Finally, they will ALL cry out to the Lord for salvation: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.May we make sure that we are properly informed of the mystery of the Church and the mystery of Israel.

• But how like many in the church today who rely on their own strength, their own wisdom, their own intellect and their own wealth instead of trusting in the Lord our God and holding fast to His Word of truth..
• when we see the pagan world system being absorbed into so many parts of the Christian Church, and celebrated with importunity.

• Our Kinsman-Redeemer, Who has rescued us from our sins and seated us together with Himself in heavenly places as sons of God and joint-heirs with Christ, is currently seated on the right hand of the Majesty on high, interceding for you, praying for me, defending His children from the accusations of the enemy, and protecting the Church, which is His Body, with His never-ending intercessions to the Father.Christ ever lives and Christ ever intercedes – for He has power to save through the merit of His atoning work on the cruel Cross of Calvary and His glorious Resurrection.
• There is no time nor place where His sacrifice of intercession does not reach us, thus underlining His promise: I will never leave you nor forsake you.The more we learn of God's Word and the wonderful covenant relationship that He has with His Church, the more we discover His showers of blessing and abundant privileges raining down upon our heads and come to an understanding of Who God is, what He is doing, and all that He has planned for those that love Him.

• A day is coming when the Nation of Israel will stand up with the Church of Christ and together with saints of old and those yet to be born, will sing a harmonious chorus, in unity, in spirit and in truth, Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.

• Jesus also knew that as the Head of His Body, the Church, in a new dispensation, His followers would be required to follow His example and experience the same suffering and distress that He was to go through.
• For this reason, Israel was to be set aside for a season while God implemented a new dispensation and continued His plan of salvation through Christ's Body - which is the Church.

• The prophets of old did not see the twin-peaks of Calvary and His Second Coming, with the Church dispensation nestling between these two majestic peaks (stretching from the Cross to His Second Coming and Kingdom rule) which was why the disciples asked the Lord before His Ascension: Will You at this time set up Your kingdom? Like the prophets of old, they did not understand the mystery of the coming 2000-year long Church age (from Pentecost to the Rapture of the Body of Christ), and the unique privileges (which in general were revealed to Paul), that believers in this Church age are afforded.
• But in between those two mountain peaks, nestles the dispensation of the grace of God, which includes both the Church age in which we live (which was hidden from the prophets in time past), and a time of great judgement (the time of Jacob's Trouble; the coming Tribulation Period) about which the prophets of old wrote.

• Not only is Paul's epistle a personal letter to a spiritual son, encouraging Timothy to be faithful, to stand firm in the faith, to communicate the truth of the gospel, and give advice on the selection of church elders, but he warns against apostasy and false teaching within the congregation.
• It is immediately after his initial salutation, that Paul addresses this issue of strange doctrines within the church, reminding the younger man of instructions he had already received from the older apostle: As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, Paul reminded Timothy, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines.
• As the Church grew, false teachers often incorporated myths, 'old wives' tales', and 'endless genealogies' into the pure gospel of Christ, distorting the truth while promoting empty speculations and foolish imaginings.
• We are not told what bizarre doctrine had infiltrated the church at Ephesus, but false teaching was one of the biggest problems facing the early Church, and continues to be of serious concern today.
• Realising the increasing amount of false teachings that were already infiltrating the early Church during the times of Paul, helps us understand the serious nature of the many strange creeds and teachings that taint the true gospel message today.

• However, in those early days of the Church, there was much opposition to the truth.
• It happened while Peter was visiting the Church in Antioch with some Church elders from Jerusalem.
• Paul quickly realised there was division in the Body of Christ, due to Peter's bad example, and Paul wisely addressed the disturbing behaviour of the older apostle because it was having such a negative impact on many members of the Church - both Jew and Gentile believers alike.
• At that point, a new dispensation began - the gospel of the grace of God was taught by the Church - which is the Body of Christ.

• Such parables were used to teach us important lessons in the Christian life and illustrate Church-age truth and related doctrine.

• God gave Paul a unique ministry and appointed him to be the administrator of His plans and purposes during this Church age.
• And Paul's passion was to establish the Church in sound doctrine, and to bring to spiritual maturity those that were saved by grace through faith in Him.
• He strove relentlessly to unfold to fallen sinners the great revelations that had been hidden from past generations, but which had been entrusted to him for the Christian Church.

• God's faithfulness towards the Church (which is His Body), is as equally gracious as His faithfulness towards Israel (His chosen nation).
• Great is His faithfulness towards Israel and the Church.

• It was the beloved John, that fiery son of thunder who, in his twilight years, was selected to be the final mouthpiece in God's amazing revelation of Jesus Christ to the Church and witness to all humanity, of things that are shortly to take place.

• The self-same Jesus Whom His disciples watched being taken from them on clouds of heaven, will return to earth with His Church in the self-same way, on clouds of glory, accompanied by a host of angelic ministers.
• The return of Christ, as proclaimed by the two men in white, is not referring to the Rapture of the Church, which will have already taken place, over seven years earlier, when Jesus comes in the CLOUDS to meet His people in the AIR.
• The Rapture of the Church happens at the start of Daniel's 70th week, and not at the end of the 'Great Tribulation' when He returns to the earth, sets His feet on the Mount of Olives, and begins to rule and reign in righteousness.
• This precious truth that our Lord and Saviour will return in the clouds of glory for us; to take His Body, the Church, to be with Himself, should be of tremendous comfort, glorious encouragement, and an assured hope.
• Just as Christ's first coming began with His birth at Bethlehem and ended with His Ascension into heaven, so the Rapture of the Church and the return of Christ to the Mount of Olives stand as two bookmarks, at the beginning and the end of Christ's second advent.
• How precious to know that not one promise from God has failed and we can be assured that this same Jesus Who died and rose again, is coming back to take His Church to be with Him forever, and He is also returning to set up His Millennial Kingdom; ALL for the glory of God.

• The infiltration of apostate teachers and heretics in the early Church was a serious problem just as it is today, because those teaching a false gospel can only promise their followers a false freedom, a false christ, and a false salvation, because they are slaves to their own greed and corruption, for whatever gets the better of a man makes him its servant.

• Not only had he seen the risen Lord Jesus and been commissioned by Him to carry the gospel to unconverted Gentiles, kings, and the people of Israel, but Paul argued that the fruit of his ministry within their church community, should provide sufficient evidence for the legitimacy of his apostolic claims.
• The gospel Paul taught was not given to him by the other leaders in the early Church and he was not limited by the authority of the other apostles, because his authority came directly from Christ.

• Paul's ministry was unique, for he was the one individual who had been called by God to establish much post-Cross Church doctrine, as distinct from Christ's pre-Cross ministry, where He was introduced as the Lamb of God and Messiah of Israel.
• Paul was appointed by God to serve the Church in a unique position of responsibility, and entrusted with post-Cross principles and practices which God gave to him for our benefit.
• Nevertheless, God in His wisdom caused the many imprisonments Paul endured, and the multiplied attacks that were made on the truth of the glorious gospel of grace to be used for our good, for by it we have a large portion of the New Testament, written by Paul, that give us clear teaching on our position in Christ and how to live our life in this Church dispensation.

• Even in these early years of the fledgling Church, there were many false writings, false teachings, false doctrines, false gospels, false prophets, and false witnesses that were flooding into the early Church.

• As he brings his first epistle to a close, the aging Peter gives wise instruction both to church elders as well as to those that are younger in age or spiritual infants.

• Paul had confidence in the faithfulness of Christ to finish the good work that had been started in his own life, knowing that a day is coming when Christ will return for His Church, to complete His good work in us.
• Let us unashamedly draw ever closer to our faithful God in confident assurance that He will indeed carry to completion all we have entrusted to Him on the day that Christ returns for His Church, for ALL His promises to us are 'yes' and 'amen' in Christ.

• The nefarious plans of the enemy, have all too often been employed to overthrow or undermine powerful political, military, economic, and religious machines.Paul identified the 'divide-and-conquer' method within the Church of his day and recognised that vain arguments about things unrelated to sound doctrine were causing increasing unrest within the Body of Christ.Much within Paul's writings addresses the issues of 'divide-and-conquer' and in his letter to Titus he once again addresses it with a warning to avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, strife, and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.At first, the early Church was only comprised of saved Jews.
• Before Gentiles were welcomed into the Church, only Jewish believers or Jewish proselytes were members of Christ's Body, and many found it difficult to break the tradition of the Jewish elders.
• This caused foolish controversies about genealogies, and disputes about the Mosaic Law to develop – which were unprofitable and worthless, because the consequence was 'divide-and-conquer'.Today, we see an increasing propensity towards this evil strategy, not only in the world of governmental economics, politics, social and religious platforms, but also within the very Body of Christ, which should remain pure in heart and united in the Spirit.Sadly, inter-denominational feuds, doctrinal differences, and a willingness to compromise the truth of the gospel, is causing the Church to become fractured and weakened.
• Instead of being a voice crying in the wilderness to the lost and executing our ministry of reconciliation between fallen man and a holy God, we have weakened our very voice and become a play-thing in the hands of the enemy.Nevertheless, we have the promise from Christ, Himself: I will build my Church and the gates of hell will NOT prevail against it.

• The early Church were plagued with significant persecution and pain.

• Paul, in like manner, was the God-ordained servant who was entrusted with the administration of God's Word to the Church, which is currently in effect during this dispensation of grace.
• God commissioned Paul to reveal to the Church, certain aspects of His plans and purposes that had not been revealed to man before..
• However, that which was given to Paul for us in 'the dispensation of the grace of God' gives us a perspective on salvation that was kept hidden in earlier times, but how we praise God for the ministry of Paul who became a minister to the Church to make God's message fully known: Which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

• Just before His Ascension, the Lord gave the Church their great commission to go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

• She was ready and willing to yield to her husband's position of authority in the home, which was in compliance with God’s original plans and purposes from the beginning.It was God Who ordained that the man should be the head of the home, just as Christ is the head of the Body, which is the Church.

• Paul had to address many concerning issues in the church at Corinth for there was much confusion there.
• Paul found it necessary to chastise these carnal Christians, for they were abusing their God-given spiritual gifts and discrediting the Christian Church.
• He is not the author of confusion, but is a God of order and harmony, and all His children within the Church, should reflect this godly characteristic.
• Instead of reflecting the character of Christ, they were disunited and causing disunity within the Church.
• Too often, we see that there is disorder among the saints of God and pandemonium can too readily become the norm within a local church fellowship, or the wider the Body of Christ.
• Too frequently we see the character or attitude of many Church leaders and their congregants becoming self-indulgent, while at other times we observe Christians being EITHER 1) overly critical of their fellow believers for insignificant things OR 2) prepared to compromise their Christian faith by refusing to address issues of spiritual importance which should not be ignored!
• It is important that unseemly behaviour in the Church is properly identified, addressed, and corrected in a seemly and biblical fashion.

• This famous prophesy had a partial fulfilment on that special day of Pentecost, when the church was born but it will meet its full and final consummation at the end of the seven-year tribulation period..
• To call on the name of the Lord in this Church dispensation however is not simply evoking the name of God as a magical charm or mystical talisman that responds to our every wish and whim..

• In the Corinthian church, it was a lack of love and a cooling of affection towards Paul himself that he identified.

• The church at Corinth had become shockingly entangled with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.

• This was the watershed moment when the Lord Jesus started to prepare His disciples for the post-Cross Church dispensation.

• While the Jewish Temple was future in David's day and present in the time of Christ, during this current Church age we understand that the Church is the dwelling place of God.

• Trials may not be easy, but God is ultimately in control and He has promised that they will last but for a short season and are designed for a distinct and wonderful purpose, which will only become fully evident when the Lord Jesus returns for His Church.

• Christians have been made the righteousness of God in Christ by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, and during the Church age there is a remnant of Israel that are being saved as part of that Body of Christ.

• While the first few chapters of 1 Corinthians address disorderly behaviour, immorality, and moral negligence within the Church, this middle section addresses some related doctrinal issues.
• They touch on the roles of men and women in the home and within the wider church family, and they also address the issue of appropriate behaviour during the Lord's Supper and the use or abuse of the precious gifts of the Spirit.
• There were many practices in those early days of the Church that were perfectly lawful and apparently harmless which could cause another believer to stumble in their faith because of their pagan association, and eating meat offered to idols was one such practice.

• Jesus condensed this down into a simple, universally agreed concept 1) love for God and 2) love for one's neighbour - and although these commands were specifically given to Israel as part of God's covenant with His chosen people, there is much that is supremely relevant to the Christian Church today and much that lines up with the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus which was given to the Church today, and we do well to examine them closely.
• Every commandment, with the exception of the command relating to the Sabbath day, were instructions given to the Church in the New Testament epistles in connection with living a holy and godly Christian life in Christ Jesus which is honouring to the Lord.
• The pre-Cross Law of Moses given to Israel and the post Cross 'law of life', given to the Church, tells believers how to remain in fellowship with the Lord and lays bare overt and covert sin, in the lives of redeemed people.
• One of the 10 Commandments given to Israel in Exodus and reiterated to the Church is: Thou shalt not kill.

• The Church was not an afterthought..

• Paul often prayed for the comfort, encouragement, establishment, and strengthening of the Body of Christ, which is the Church, and in this great prayer, we find Paul's fervent intercession addressed equally to the Lord Jesus Christ and to God the Father.
• But Paul's prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ and our Father in heaven, travels down the centuries and is as relevant to us today as it was in those early days of the Christian church.

• The kingdom of God is that heavenly sphere of life where His children are willingly governed by the Holy Spirit in which righteousness reigns - and it refers to the Body of Christ, the Church of the Lord Jesus.

• They were to become the privileged participants of the first Lord's Supper, which has been celebrated as a memorial of Christ's sacrificial death throughout the Church age.   

• And the Church, which is the Body of Christ, has been used of God to forward His glorious plan of redemption and make disciples of all nations.
• A day is coming when the dispensation of grace will end and Christ will remove His Church from the world scene.

• He is the Preeminent Shepherd and Leader of all who are spiritually gifted to care for the Church of Christ.
• And all who are pastors and elders have this same important instruction, FEED my sheep, FEED my lambs, CARE for my Church, SHEPHERD the little flock of God in your care.
• These church elders were to clothe themselves with humility toward one another, for God is against the proud but gives grace to the humble.
• Whether this is only given to those who are under-shepherds in a Church fellowship, or whether it is a crown that may be awarded to all who have faithfully served the body of Christ, and cared for the people of God in the graciousness of their heart, under the guidance of the Spirit is not clear, but may we all in humility of heart carry out Christ's will faithfully and fervently, by caring for the Church of Christ, as we look for that glorious day when we will be with our Good and Faithful Shepherd, Who died and rose again so that we might live eternally.

• It strives to maintain an uncompromised gospel and to expose the various heresies that were infiltrating the early Church and Jude strongly denounces those that use God's grace as a license to sin.

• But unlike us, Abraham did not know the many details that God has been gracious enough to share with the Church through his holy apostles and prophets.

• We did not receive salvation and all its accompanying benefits because of our vain acts, conceited conversation, or church activities, but through the precious blood of a Lamb, unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

• There is much confusion in the Church concerning the gifts of the Spirit and their correct use.
• In the early days of the Church, the gospel of grace was spread by word of mouth because the canon of Scripture had yet to be written.
• Paul explained in Romans that an important reason for the dramatic numbers of spiritual gifts and grace given to Gentile believers in the early Church, was to provoke Israel to jealousy.
• It was very hard for them to accept that Gentile believers were equally accepted by God as Jewish believers and that together they made up a new category in God's economy; the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
• When used correctly, the gifts of the Spirit were an amazing tool the Lord used to spread the message of salvation to Jew and Gentile alike in those early days of the Church.
• Just as spiritual gifts were exploited by some in those early days of the Church, there are those today who continue to use their spiritual gifts for their own purposes; for self-gratification, self-exaltation, ungodly manipulation, or to control others.

• What a difference the Church would make in the world, if the simple message that: A soft answer turns away wrath, but harsh words incites anger, were applied in lives of all who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ.

• The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, stand as an example of the punishment of eternal fire that awaits those corrupt individuals who indulge in ungodly perversions and reject the Lord of glory.The destruction of these cities was an example of the fate of all unbelievers who willingly turn away from God, deny His grace, refuse the truth, and ignore His warnings of the judgement to come.Jude's warning of heresy, apostasy, and the subtle infiltration of the Church by false teachers who deceptively creep into churches, deny the Lord Who bought them, and peddle a false, watered-down, feel-good, unbiblical gospel, has morphed into an apology for what is termed 'Christendom' today.The serious warning that Jude shared in his little epistle, should be taken to heart by everyone that is sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Christ Jesus our Lord.The best way to recognise a false teaching is to know the truth.

• And so in these last days of the Christian dispensation, we ourselves are witnesses to the increasing apostasy and degeneration of true spirituality in the Body of Christ as the days become darker, men grow more evil, false teachers proliferate, and doctrines of demons saturate the Church as the time for Christ's return draws ever closer.
• Indeed, they will often present themselves as angels of light in order to infiltrate the Church, deceive the Body of Christ, and cause Christians to become unfruitful and spiritually impotent.

• But Christ is the head of the Church, and as members of His Body, He feels the same sufferings and pain that we have to go through in life.

• Paul was the apostle appointed by God to reveal many mysteries to the Church that had been hidden from man's understanding and which the former prophets of old longed to look into.
• And he is the head of the Body, the Church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Paul's great desire was to glorify God in all he did, and to encourage all believers to die to self and live for Christ, to the glory of God.

• To fulfil the first commandment given to Israel and to attain to the greatest command that Christ gave the Church: To love as He loves us, brings us to the brink of despair, for it requires God's fallen creatures to attain to the impossible.

• He painted a striking parallel picture between the ineffectiveness of this weak Corinthian church and the crumbling foundation of a sub-standard building.

• Disunity within the Church generally emanates from a disagreement of doctrine.
• Instead of interpreting the Word of God literally and in context (exegesis), they would read into the text (eisegesis) what they wanted it to say, to fit in with their worldview or individual biases.Just as a proud person who denies the existence of God is labelled 'a fool' by the Psalmist, so Paul designates a proud person in the Church who distorts the gospel of Christ, as 'knowing nothing' – even though they may consider themselves to be so important and clever!Here in this passage, Paul is showing the vast difference between true 'spiritual' wealth and a false 'worldly' wealth.
• Paul accused such people as giving rise to envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved minds who are deprived of the truth.Such were the people who caused disunity in the Church in Paul's day, and such were the people who supposed that godliness was a means of gain.
• Sadly, this same proud attitude is prevalent in the Church today, which causes similar disunity and disagreement.

• Indeed, Scripture warns that many false prophets will arise in these last days and doctrines of demons will infiltrate many church fellowships.

• Praise God that in like manner, He will never break His many precious promises to His Church, which is the Body of Christ, for they are all 'yes' and 'amen' in Him.

• We should be maturing in the faith, growing in grace, progressing in the sanctification process, and becoming increasingly like the Lord Jesus Himself as we keep Him as the focus of our heart - for He is the Head of the Church and we are His Body.

• In this Church age salvation is ours by grace through faith in the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ..
• As Church-age believers we are members of Christ's body.

• Like the people of Israel in times past, Church-age believers are called to remember the mighty deeds that God has done and to recall the wondrous works that He has performed.

• Here in chapter 10, Paul outlines the state of the nation during the present Church dispensation.
• I wonder if Paul recalled his own furious rejection and vicious persecution of Christians in those early days of the Church, when Jesus spoke to him on that road to Damascus and asked him, Paul, Paul, why do you persecute Me?
• Paul was of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a strict Pharisee, and a passionate persecutor of the early Church.
• Unsaved Jews would not recognise Jesus as Messiah, while many who believed in Him could not accept that the rites and rituals required of Israel were not a requirement for the Church.
• The rejection of their Messiah caused the kingdom promised to Israel to be postponed for a time, and God required Paul to pen this series of chapters outlining His past, present, and future programme for His people, to prevent any false claims that God had finished with Israel and replaced them with the Christian Church, who some erroneously claim to be 'the new Israel'.

• In the early years of Christianity when the Church was very young, it was very difficult for many Jews, who had placed their trust in the Lord Jesus as God's and Israel's promised Messiah, not to lapse back into pre-Cross Judaism and the legalistic rituals of the scribes and Pharisees.
• While the letter to the Hebrews is a wonderful tool to teach us all that Christ is fully God yet fully Man, its initial target audience was Jewish believers who were tempted to lapse back into Judaism's sacrifices, ceremonies, and the traditions of the elders - to escape the severe persecution that was raging through the fledgling Church.
• Although this warning was particularly pertinent to certain believing Jews in the early Church who were tempted to revert to Judaism to avoid the terrible persecution that was sweeping through the early Christian Church, this danger of a Christian sinning wilfully, by returning to some pre-Cross teaching or being persuaded that other man-made policies, procedures, traditions, or customs are necessary for salvation or are required to keep one saved, is still perilous today.

• And just as Moses faithfully built up the house of Israel, as instructed by the Lord, so Christ is faithful to His heavenly calling for He is building up His Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
• But He was also entrusted with every aspect of the salvation and the calling of the Church of God.
• He has been entrusted with the construction of the Church which is being built-up of living stones into God's heavenly Temple.

• In this Church age, we are called to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
• In this Church dispensation, it is those who believe by faith who are reckoned by God as the spiritual descendants of Abraham.
• However, certain Jewish teachers were unable to let go of their insular religion in the Church in Galatia and Paul gave a strong and severe warning - that the sons of Abraham are those of faith.

• Much within the Church epistles is designed to refute false teachings and a distorted gospel.
• Paul could have lost heart being imprisoned in Rome, for he knew that fierce wolves were beginning to enter into the Church to deceive the flock, and that others were teaching the gospel out of resentment and malice against him.
• Too often in Christian ministry and Church gatherings, there is resentment against other Christian leaders because of what God is doing in their lives.

• Those who are in Christ will claim His full and final victory over sin and death, the grave and hell at the Rapture of the Church, when the dead in Christ are raised in incorruptible bodies.

• Throughout the Church age, there have been many Christian men and women who have lived in this way; believers who have rejoiced in their afflictions for the sake of Christ; martyrs who have lived and died as examples for us.

• It was sent to the Church in Rome and teaches salvation is by grace alone through faith in Christ, which has set us free from slavery to sin through the fleshly works of the Law. 
• The speed with which the Galatian church had strayed from the truth into the false 'gospel' of legalism, disturbed Paul greatly.
• Paul was jealous for the truth and his condemnation of the church in Galatia should be a warning to us all of the destructive nature of legalism.

• As Church-age believers we will not have the wrath of God poured out on us during that fast-approaching time of Jacob's Trouble - that seven-year tribulation period, when the Lord pours out His wrath on a God-hating, Christ-rejecting, satanically inspired, sinful world.
• The great whore of Babylon will be destroyed - that satanically established religious and economic system, which continues to persecute the true Church of God..
• Many speculate about the identity of this 'man of sin', but the Bible tells us that he will remain unidentified until the Church is removed from the earth at the end of this dispensation of grace.
• evil is being restrained, through Christ's ministers of reconciliation - a ministry given to the Church.
• But the day is coming when God will remove His Church from the world and once again will begin to work through His people Israel..
• it is the Church who are the chosen and faithful in this particular verse, who will accompany the Lord Jesus when He comes from heaven to destroy this satanic one-world system.
• and it is the armies of heaven (the Church) who are the called, chosen and faithful, who will be returning with Christ ..
• It is the Church-age saints who are clothed in linen, white and clean, who follow the Lord Jesus on white horses - and we read that out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treads the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

• Through time and into eternity, we must never forget the grace of God that has been extended to all who trust in Christ for salvation, for by His blood he reconciled both Jew and Gentile into one Body, which is the Church.

• The whole sanctification process from initial salvation to final glorification, is to transform us into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ Who loved the Church so much that He gave His life for us.
• God did this so that in the day of Christ Jesus, His Church (which is His Body) will be perfected: Without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

• The dead in Christ shall rise first, and then those who are still alive and remain on earth shall be caught up together with all the Church age believers into the clouds, to meet the Lord Jesus in the air, and so we shall ever be with the Lord.
• As the wonderful day of the Rapture of the Church marches ever closer, let us take these words to heart, be those who are longing for his appearing, occupying until He comes, and encouraging each other as we see the day approaching.

• Today, the Church has been called to be God's witnesses to a world of lost sinners.

• However, it was during the final few weeks before His crucifixion that Jesus started preparing His disciples for His death, Resurrection, Ascension, and Day of Pentecost together with the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell the Church during a new dispensation - the dispensation of the Grace of God.

• But Jude found that he had to address an issue that was becoming progressively problematic in those early days of the church and increasingly dangerous to the people of God - APOSTASY and HERESY.
• Certain individuals had stealthily sneaked their way into their church fellowship unnoticed.
• Their object in infiltrating the church of God was to pervert the grace of our God into an excuse for immorality and greed, fame and fortune - the consequence of which was to disown the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, as their sovereign Saviour and eternal Lord. This underground satanic, movement that started to infiltrate the early church has morphed into an unknown number of disparate cults and demonic teachings, which continue to flood into the churches of today, in increasing numbers.
• No wonder he and the other apostles gave such serious warning to the Church to contend earnestly for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. And this warning is equally pertinant TODAY

• No surprise that 3000 souls were added to the Church on that special day of Pentecost when the Christian Church was born.

• Paul used the special relationships between a husband and wife to exemplify the intimate communion there is between Christ and the Church.
• The marriage relationship is patterned on Christ's sacrificial love for His Church; for Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her.
• But the sacrificial love that Christ has for His Church also has a cleansing element, as well as a sanctifying effect upon Her.
• The Church is cleansed and purified by the washing of the water with the Word of God, for the Word of God is truth and light, alive and powerful.
• Christ's love for His Church is both a sacrificial and a sanctifying love.

• This is a truth that should rejoice our heart every moment of the day. By virtue of our new birth and spiritual resurrection, we have been placed into an eternal, spiritual union with Christ and been made part of His spiritual Body, which is the Church.

• When church elders and/or heads of a family openly demonstrate their joy in the Lord, through cheerful giving and genuine praise, it has a wonderfully positive effect on the younger generation.

• On that day, they will all acknowledge Him as God's anointed Messiah and enthrone Him, on David's throne, as their long-awaited King.The Church age is that period of time before the Lord returns to set up that promised Kingdom and be crowed King of all kings.
• He is acting as High Priest in heavenly places for the Church… and Hebrews sets out clearly Christ's present, High Priestly ministry.Hebrews emphases that the temporary, inferior Aaronic priesthood, after the order of Levi, had been set aside for Christ's permanent, superior, and eternal Priesthood.

• Mysteries connected with the Body of Christ which is the Church; mysteries planned by God before the foundation of the world; mysteries which had been hidden from ages and from generations.

• Following a beautiful chapter on faith, which reminds us of our privileged position in Christ and the glories that are yet to be realised in Him, Hebrews 12 exhorts the Church to maintain our hope in Christ; the Author and Finisher of our faith.

• There are many social issues in the world today, that the Church rightly approves or justly condemns.
• Indeed, it is recorded that there were over 60 million slaves in Paul's day, and much attention was given, in Scripture, to the instruction and conduct of slaves, as well as their slave-masters.People often offered themselves as slaves when they fell on hard times, and Paul gave important instructions on how to carry out their duties as unto the Lord, even when their masters were unfair.Although he gave instructions on godly living as a slave, Paul also encouraged those in slavery to secure their freedom whenever possible: If you are able also to become free, rather do that, was His wise advice.Of particular importance, it is to be noted that nowhere in Scripture are members of Christ's Body instructed to engage in the abolishment of slavery or the correction of any other social injustices, in preference to our given ministry to the lost.Jesus said, The poor you will have with you always, and Paul could easily have said, slaves will continue to be with you (however distasteful this is) until Christ's return when He comes to set up His earthly kingdom of peace, prosperity, righteousness, and justice.Although we must certainly stand against the evils of our day, protect those that are weak, help those that are afflicted by social injustices, and show patience towards all men, the preeminent function of the Christian Church is to honour the Lord and tell sinners about Jesus – that He died to pay the price for our sin and rose again so that all who believe on Him will not perish, but have eternal life.We are told to go into all the world and preach the word of truth to a lost and dying humanity.

• And although there is no direct revelation of the 'mystery of the Church' in Old Testament Scriptures - there are tiny hints and little pointers towards the sacrifice that Christ would make for the Church, which is His Body, for Adam was a type of Christ and Eve, Adam's bride, was a type of the Church.
• Just as Eve was taken out of Adam, so the Church is quickened from the dead for we are a part of His Body - bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh.
• Just as Adam, the husband, is the head of Eve, his wife, so Christ is the Head of the Church and we are members of His Body.

• And this promise to the Jewish nation is equally relevant to Church age believers, for we too have been created by the Lord.

• He is continually interceding for His Church and has become our holy, heavenly Mediator before our God and Father.
• Although the return of Christ is the blessed hope of all who believe on His name (first, to rapture the Church and then, to return in power and great glory as earth's rightful King), the psalmist reminds us, in verse 2, that the establishment of the long-awaited Millennial Kingdom will be accompanied by the awesome judgement of the wicked: Clouds and thick darkness surround Him - righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

• Following Israel's rejection of their Messiah and the birth of the Christian Church at Pentecost, God's chosen nation fell into two camps: those that accepted Christ as their Saviour and those that rejected His offer of salvation.
• As members of the Church in this dispensation of grace, we can rejoice that nothing will prevent God's plans, purposes, and promises from being fulfilled - for both the people of Israel and for the Christian Church.
• Both Abraham and Stephen demonstrated an unshakable faith in our Almighty God, for they knew that nothing in the heavens above, the earth beneath, or the waters under the earth, is able to thwart God's perfect plan of redemption for both the people Israel that the Christian Church.

• All believers from Adam onwards are saved by grace through faith in God's Word and all believers in this Church dispensation are considered to be a kind of first-fruit in God's eyes.

• Jesus would continue to reveal to His people, Israel, and to His Church in this dispensation, that He is Who He is, and that He is everything we will ever need in this life and in the ages to come.

• He desires that individually and collectively the Church of God, which is His Body, demonstrates the glory of the indwelling Spirit of Christ by means of an outward demonstration of a holy character and a godly life, full of grace and truth.

• But the rich and abundant mercy of God is not only poured out on His people Israel, but embraces all who are members of Christ's Body, which is the Church, and because of the great love with which He loved us, He has drawn us into permanent union with Christ and seated us together with Him in heavenly places.
• The Alpha and Omega of God's eternal and unchangeable attributes unite together in perfect love, for despite their bitter waywardness and foolish choices, the Lord loved Israel with an everlasting love, and His love for the Church reflects that same, never-ending love.

• He was a valuable assistant who was entrusted to oversee the establishment of the Church in the island of Crete.
• Titus was to appoint godly elders who were equipped to maintain doctrinal purity and support those in their care.We discover that wherever Paul founded a Christian Church, false teachers quickly infiltrated the congregation and false doctrines were rapidly introduced, to undermine the true gospel of the grace of God.Titus was chosen by Paul and assigned oversight of the church congregations in Crete.
• They were a New Creation in Christ and were equal members of His Body.The little letter to Titus gives important information on the appointing of godly elders in the congregation, establishing sound teaching, correcting doctrinal error, setting out appropriate Christian behaviour for men and women alike, and encouraging all believers in their faith during our brief sojourn on earth.Although we don't know when the Church in Crete was founded, this comprehensive letter to Titus gives clear instruction on the important issues of governance and guidance within the Body of Christ.By God's grace, we all have the Word of God as our plum-line for truth.
• May we read, mark, learn, understand, and apply its wisdom in every area of our lives – and may we become so in tune with the will of God, that we are enabled to identify and, if necessary, challenge areas of church life and doctrine that do not line-up with Scripture.

• Jesus is coming back without warning; both at the Rapture (when he comes in the air for the Church), and at His return to earth at the end of the Tribulation (when he returns as King of kings to set up His Millennial kingdom).
• But when the concluding verses of the entire Scripture repeat a proclamation to Christ's Church, THREE TIMES, we should be all ears and pay particular attention to what He says.
• Whether this is Christ's encouraging response to the pleading prayer of those Tribulation Saints that are thirsty for the water of life (at the end of the Tribulation) OR whether it is the fulfilment of His precious promise to Church-age believers, who are longing for His any-day appearance at the Rapture (before the Tribulation) or both; these final words in holy Writ should be our daily prayer and our blessed hope.

• He was one to whom the hidden mysteries of the Church and the dispensation of grace were to be revealed, at a later date.

• Indeed, he warns us that many such antichrists had already started to appear, which indicated that the last days had already arrived in the early days of the Christian Church and at the time that John wrote his epistle.
• The apostle John had walked with the Lord and spent time with his Master, but as the Church was being established and his life was drawing to a close, his warning to these maturing believers was, you know that the Antichrist is coming; you know the end-times prophecies that tell of the future Antichrist... well, even now many antichrists have already appeared - which indicates that this is the last hour.

• However, whether the gifts of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge ceased in those early days of the Church or not, they will one day fail once and for all in the eternal state, for the Bible tells us: If there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away.

• He not only delivered Church-age doctrine to believers and taught Church-age principles when he visited their cities or wrote his epistles; Paul also used Israel's past failures to illustrate Christian truth, teachings, principles, and practices.
• However, they were written for a very important reason - to teach the Christian Church some important lessons.
• The Age of Israel ended at the cross when they were set aside for a season, and the Age of the Grace (or the Church Age) began. The Church was born at Pentecost, so that the good news of the gospel of Christ would continue to be shared through a new group of people - the Body of Christ, which is the Church.
• So far it has lasted 2000 years, and this current dispensation will usher in 'the consummation of all things.' This Church Age will bring the world to the climatic end of the ages, the Day of the Lord and the return of the Lord Jesus to earth.

• Following Christ's Resurrection, James, the half-brother of Jesus, believed the gospel of grace and became the leader of the Church in Jerusalem.

• Throughout the Church dispensation, God is reconciling the world to Himself, through the Church.
• However, during the Tribulation Period, He will once again reach a lost world, through the nation of Israel.Once the Church has been raptured, God will continue His plan of salvation through His people, Israel.
• Instead of the Church proclaiming the gospel of the grace of God to a lost world, 144 thousand Jewish evangelists will start to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom – and then Christ will return as their anointed King.Although this is a time of Great Tribulation, it is not God's will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance through faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sin.
• However, from reading the book of Revelation, we discover that their faith will be severely tested, for about three quarters of the entire world's population will be slain during this period.Although there will be a global slaughter during this terrible time, a great multitude will be saved for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God, because they did not worship the beast, nor his image, nor did they receive his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands.Though not part of the Church, these saints of God will be resurrected when the Antichrist is defeated and Christ returns to earth to take up His rightful position as Israel's King.
• They will be privileged to reign on earth with Christ for 1000 years – after He has returned, in power and great glory, to sit on the throne of David and begin His earthly rule from Jerusalem.The great crowd that John saw in his vision were Jews and Gentiles who had rejected God's offer of salvation during the Church age, but who trusted Him for the forgiveness of sin during this terrible time of Tribulation.
• They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.Having rejected salvation during the Church dispensation, they are not members of Christ's Body but, like the Church, will participate in the Millennial Kingdom – and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.Unlike the Church who are destined to be kings and priest of God who will rule and reign with Christ on His throne, this multitude of saints will serve the Lord as priests in the Temple of the Lord, day and night.Today, we in the Church teach the gospel of the grace of God, but in the Tribulation, Israel will declare the gospel of the coming kingdom of Christ... and in the Millennial Kingdom, Old Testament saints, Church-age saints, and Tribulation saints will unite their voices in praise and thanksgiving for Christ – the Lamb of God and King of Israel Who takes away the sin of the world.

• Peter was led to give a serious warning concerning false teachers and false prophets in this church age, just as the prophets of old recognised this same, serious assault on the Word of God and His authority among the children of men.
• Sadly Peter lets us know that many will follow their pernicious, greedy, hypocritical and immoral ways, and they will have many eager disciples, who follow after their ungodly teachings, with itching ears - and sadly it is through them that the Christian Church will be brought into disrepute.

• There are two 'mindsets' or two 'world-views' in today's society, and there are also two 'spirits': the singular Spirit of Truth which is from God, and the false spirit of error and lies, deception and deceit, which has fractured into a multiplicity of damnable heresies saturating Christendom and infecting the Church.

• It was during his second missionary journey, that Paul not only met Timothy, but invited him to join him in ministry and he was with Paul when the church at Philippi was founded.
• While 'overseers' or 'bishops' generally attend to the pastoral and spiritual needs of the saints and provide encouragement and edification to believers in their Christian walk, deacons are those entrusted with other material needs or financial issues that might impact the Christian church.
• The simple structure of the early Church is clearly defined in the opening verse of this letter to the Philippians, where saints, spiritual leaders, and temporal stewards of the Church, are all greeted by Paul and Timothy whose humble status as bond-servants of Jesus Christ, is also in view.

• The focus of the previous chapter is to be filled with the Spirit of God, and one result of this spiritual 'filling' is the manifestation of a submissive spirit, godly love, and a true respect for one another.Not only are wives to be submissive to their husbands and men are to love their spouses as Christ loved the Church, but these godly characteristics should be displayed in their children's behaviour, and so we read: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.To obey their parents 'in the Lord' means that children should carry out instructions they receive from their parents, as if it were God Himself Who was directing them.

• It is not surprising, therefore, that Paul gives significant advanced-warning about treachery within the Church and seriously cautions Timothy against false teachers, doctrines of demons, apostasy within the Body of Christ, and ungodly heresies infiltrating the little flock of God.
• The closer we get to the close of the Church Age, the more we recognise this prophetic word from Paul coming to pass.
• Some teach a prosperity gospel with its accompanying unbiblical 'word of faith' declarations and positive proclamations, together with an emerging church where Scripture is altered to tickle the ears of carnal men and foolish women.
• Many like to focus on social changes in the community while denigrating the gospel of Christ, the salvation of the lost, and spiritual maturity, while others continue to teach an equally concerning works-based religion, rather that a grace-based faith which too often promotes the unbiblical teaching called 'replacement theology' - which incorrectly teaches that the Church has replaced Israel.

• It was for that reason that Paul and the other apostle who authored the Scriptures, spent little or no time going into the finer details of the many false doctrines that were starting to infiltrate the church of their day.
• In a day and age when the church is being flooded with false teachings and destructive doctrines..

• It was for love of the Church, which is His Body, that Christ suffered.

• A new commandment I give to you, were some of the last words that the apostles heard before His crucifixion: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. This new commandment to the Church is a foundational principle upon which Christianity is founded, and if we truly love the Lord Jesus, we will keep His commandments of love so that the life we now live in the flesh is not of us, but Christ living in us.

• However, in this Church dispensation, every person who trusts in the Lord Jesus as their Saviour is given this incomparable gift of the permanently indwelling Holy Spirit in their heart, as proof from God Himself that we live in Him and He in us.
• May the Church of God, which is the Body of Christ, be a potent witness to a lost world that is drowning in sin.

• In his desire to warn believers of the increasing numbers of false teachers and heresies that were bombarding the Church of his day, Jude wrote an epistle of encouragement and advice, but he begins with a beautiful greeting; a prayer that has travelled down the centuries to the Body of Christ, and an entreaty to God that mercy and peace and love be multiplied to all those who in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• Jude knew that the Church of his day was facing difficult days, and would be comforted and encouraged, knowing that he was praying for multiplied mercy, peace, and love for them.

• The God that stands fast on His promises to Israel is the same God that will honour His promises to the Body, which is His Church.
• Should this not reassure us, knowing that His gifts and calling to the Church will also stand fast forever and ever, to his praise and glory, AMEN.

• Death holds so much anxiety and fear for the unsaved soul, but it should never cause God's children concern, for we have the Lord's assurance that we will one day take off this mortal tent and will be clothed in a resurrected body of flesh and bone. We will be re-clothed with a new, incorruptible body at the Rapture of the Church, just as Christ was clothed when He rose from the dead.

• During those early days of the Church, there was rampant sexual immorality in every stratum of society, and little has changed in the days in which we live.

• This was obviously a problem in the early Christian church, just as it can be in the Body of Christ today..
• ot only for the heavenly reward that they themselves would receive, but to demonstrate that his work amongst this little Church at Philippi had not been in vain.

• Today however, the invisible God is manifesting Himself through the Body of Christ, which is His Church.

• However, in the Church age, we are not under the restrictions of the Law.

• In this world where many are falling from grace and straying far from sound, biblical doctrine by chasing after false teachers that tickle their ears, it is easy to see how apostates have crept into church fellowships are having a field day in Christendom.

• Love one another as I have loved you, was the command Christ gave to the Church.

• Indeed, the Jerusalem council was formally set up to clarify the fundamentals of the Christian faith.They agreed that Gentile believers could not be expected to adhere to Jewish rules, rites, and regulations, but too often, Jewish converts to Christianity clung fast to their former rituals, even though they knew that it was not the Law that justifies them before God, but faith in Christ.Although these early Jewish believers understood that salvation was by grace alone through faith in Christ alone, many of them, including some of the apostles, continued to cling to the Jewish Sabbath, Jewish sacrifices, the Temple worship, feasts days, and other Jewish observances.Time passed since Paul's first, brief visit to Jerusalem where he had met with Peter and a few Church leaders.
• It was fellow Jews who had insisted in the segregation of circumcised Jewish believers from uncircumcised Gentiles Christians – and Peter caved into their pressure.Peter wanted a peaceful existence, and although he was a pillar of the early Christian Church who knew that salvation was by faith and not by following the Law, he crumbled from pressure and withdrew himself FEARING those of the circumcision.May we know the truth, stand fast on the Word of God, and not allow ourselves to compromise the glorious gospel of Christ through fear of the world, fear of our Christian brethren, or fear of our fellow man.

• the church) by faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• Indeed he admitted that he was not even worthy to be called an apostle, because he had ruthlessly persecuted the church of God..

• Because his first letter of correction was addressed to: God's Church at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus and called saints, we know that these men and women were justified.

• Astonishing as Isaiah's magnificent vision of God's glory is, where He glimpsed the Lord seated in the wonderful splendour of His heavenly Temple, the truth for those in the Body of Christ, is far more staggering in this Church age, for we have become the chosen Temple of God's Holy Spirit.
• The Body of Christ, which is the Church, has been chosen by God to be His permanent dwelling place, throughout time and into the eternal ages to come, for our bodies are a temple of the living God and the Spirit of God dwells within each one of us.

• It must have been a sight to behold, that first day of Pentecost when the Church was born and the Holy Spirit came to take up residence within the bodies of these first Church-age believers - for the very first time.
• Although it was only Jewish believers who were present at this wonderful happening on that special day of Pentecost, when the small band of 120 believers, became the Temple of God and were filled with the Holy Spirit - it was the point in history when the Church was born.
• Indeed it was an important way to quickly spread the gospel to the far corners of the earth in those early days of the Church dispensation.
• The fledgling church had no New Testament scriptures to authenticate their teaching, and speaking in tongues was an important and identifiable witness to the world, that the sovereign Spirit of God was doing a new thing..

• Though some erroneously link a lack of faith with a lack of healing in this Church dispensation, this is unscriptural, for we live in a fallen frame and reside in a dying body.

• It is as we reflect on those final years of Paul's life and the many epistles he penned to individual people and church communities alike, that we discover the wisdom of God's plans and purposes for Paul's life, as this prisoner of Rome was a captive of Christ who wrote some of our most loved Scripture from behind prison bars.
• Paul may not have fully understood the reason for the difficulties he had to endure, and I am sure that many Christians in the early Church were grieved and bewildered as to why Paul was incarcerated in a Roman jail when he was God's chosen apostle.
• It had been the desire of Paul's heart to visit the Church at Rome for many years, and God answered his prayer - but in a very unexpected way.

• Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, confirms this by referring to Christ as the head of the Church and stating, For the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him, for whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.
• The Church is the Body of Christ and by faith we are all baptised into that spiritual Body by the Spirit of God... the moment we are redeemed.

• and even elements within the Christian Church, dictates that truth is relative.

• The person and work of Jesus was testified by God the Father and was validated by the prophesied Messianic signs, wonders, and miracles that He Himself carried out in His life and ministry and which continued into those early years of the fledgling Church.
• Oh yes, God went to great lengths to ensure that neither His chosen people nor Gentiles in the Church age could miss the arrival of the promised Seed of the woman.
• God testified to pre-Cross Israel as well as to the post-Cross Church in every way possible to bring us to faith in Christ's finished work on Calvary, for it is not His will that any should perish but that all come to faith in Him.

• As Jesus spoke to a lost woman at a well in Samaria near the beginning of His earthly ministry, He looked past the shadow of the Cross to that glorious day when the Church would be born.

• We are encouraged to be generous in our gifts and giving, not as a legal requirement or because a percentage of our income is required to meet the demands of a church body or the dictums of a denomination, but simply because cheerful giving and wise generosity is something that delights the heart of the Lord Who has saved us by His grace and has given us all things to richly enjoy, due to His over-abundant kindness.
• And in these closing words to the Corinthian church, Paul is again discussing the wisdom of generosity, in contrast with the folly of selfishness.

• John had to understand that the period of God's grace during the Church dispensation must at some point arrive at a point in God's plan of redemption, where judgement must fall on those who rejected His offer of salvation.
• Having been summoned to 'come up' into the throne room of God, John began to be informed of things that must soon take place, after the Church is removed at the Rapture.

• Then: Church-age saints are part of 'the First Resurrection to LIFE', and will be resurrected before the 7 year Tribulation.
• This resurrection of Church-age believers is often referred to as the Rapture of the Church: For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
• Let us give glory to God that, as believers in the Church age, we will take part in the Rapture of the Church, whether as part of the dead in Christ, or one who is alive and remain.

• This wonderful Second Coming is when Jesus Christ returns with the Church to defeat the Antichrist, overthrow evil, and then establish His thousand year reign upon earth.

• Christ entrusted the Church with the privileged position of being His ambassadors on earth.

• We should pay careful heed to the content of the book of Revelation and be watchful for Christ's return, and we should be spiritually alert and recognise that the time of the end is drawing ever closer, and yet there are many in the Church today who dismiss the important content of this wonderful apocalyptic book and miss the blessing it offers because they consider it is too difficult to understand.
• But Revelation is also a book or predictive prophecy, much of which has yet to be fulfilled in the coming Tribulation Period (after the Church has been raptured into heaven) when God's wrath will be poured out on a Christ-rejecting, God-hating, sinful world that has rejected God's offer of salvation and must face His justified punishment.

• Let us recognise, from the prophetic Scriptures, that the coming Day-of-the-Lord is fast approaching - which means the Rapture of the Church is even closer, as it happens before the 'Day' begins.

• Paul was to be given much revelation that had been hidden in ages past... together with many Church age truths that were not even revealed to Christ's other apostles during His earthly ministry.
• In hindsight, we see many hints of these Church age truths hidden in the things that Christ shared.

• And this same instruction and wonderful assurance is given to the Church, which is the Body of Christ.

• And Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, also tells of his personal encounter with the risen, glorified Lord on the road to Damascus, when the greatest persecutor of the Church, became the most ardent follower of Jesus.

• Some suggest that these elders represent the Christian Church who are singing a new song which only individuals saved in this Church Age are able to sing.

• There is urgency in these words from the apostle John as he continues the revelation of Jesus Christ, to the church at Sardis: Be alert, he exhorts his readers: Be watchful!
• Sardis was a busy, bustling church that had a great reputation of being lively and full of vitality.
• Despite their standing in society and their prestigious position in the community, this Christian church was spiritually dead.
• The shocking truth was that faithfulness, godliness, and brotherly love had almost been eliminated from their lives, and Christ's strong criticism was a warning to these spiritually slumbering Christians, to wake up and to reverse the lamentable spiritual demise into which they had fallen - if the church was to survive. The true gospel of Christ, which was once the foundation upon which this church was built, had been eroded, and John was instructed to urge these believers at Sardis to strengthen whatever remained of the faith that had once been delivered to these saints.
• The church was sick unto death, but yet there was still a little life left and, in this urgent appeal, John implores them to stir up their spiritual resolve and reignite their flickering flame of faith.

• The blood of many martyrs in the Body of Christ are also crying out today during this Church age.
• But before that day, the Lord will come to take His Church-age saints to be with Him forever.

• We do not hear much about Nathanael in the Gospels or the early Church, but he was recognised, by God, as a man in whom there was no guile and we recognise him as a man who was ready and willing to learn of Christ and place His trust in the Son of God Who is co-equal with the Father; co-eternal, consubstantial, co-essential, omniscient, and omnipotent.

• One in Spirit with the Father and yet a true Kinsman of humankind, Christ loved His God and Christ loved His Bride, the Church.
• But we also read that CHRIST so loved the Church that He gave Himself for her.
• Christ gave Himself willingly for love of the Church (who is His Body) so that He could make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the Word, and that in so doing He could present her to Himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless in the sight of God.
• Love was His motivating factor, love for God and love for His Bride, the Church.
• And a precious parallel is drawn between the mystic union of Christ with His Church and the sacred union of a husband with his wife.
• Just as Christ loved the Church so much that He gave Himself for her, so husbands are called to love their wives in the same way.
• What a difference there would be in the Body of Christ today, if we were to apply all that is written in the Word of God in our own lives and marriages; if wives were to submit to their own husbands and husbands were to love their wives as Christ loves the Church.

• How wonderful it is to know that Christian marriage is a picture of Christ and His Church.

• Although in context the target audience for this amazing passage is the nation of Israel, all who have been saved by grace through faith in Him in this Church age are blessed by this passage.

• God will not retain His anger forever because He delights in unchanging love, and that love is not only extended to Israel (His earthly inheritance) but also the Church (His heavenly inheritance).

• Paul tells us that all who would become His Body in the coming Church age, would be continually cleansed (sanctified) with the washing of water with the Word.

• Paul had been flung into prison for defending the gospel, but rather than having a negative effect on the Church, he rejoiced because his imprisonment accelerated the spread of the gospel.
• I doubt he fully grasped the far-reaching impact this little letter and his other epistles would have on multitudes of saints, during the following 2000 years of the Church age.

• The Church of Christ is a kingdom of priests, and unlike Israel, there is not a legal requirement to offer the Lord a tithe.

• And in this Church Age, we are given ample teachings on how to live the Christian life so that we are inwardly pure, outwardly holy, and set apart unto the Lord.

• even inside the doors of certain Church fellowships.
• He presents a Church assembly where two strangers enter into a meeting.

• Now to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.

• We in this Church age have been given the fullest revelation of God plans and purposes for the nation of Israel, the Gentile nations, and for the Church, which is His Body.

• To His heavenly people, the Church, God Himself has laid up for us an inheritance in heaven.

• And this is no less true for the Church today.
• My Word, which goes forth from My mouth will not return to Me empty, is God's promise to the Church, as well as to His people Israel.
• God's Word to His people Israel is true and will never fail to succeed in fulfilling that for which it was sent, just as His promises to the Church will never be broken.

• It begins with the prophesied 'Time of Jacob’s Trouble', continues into the Millennial reign of Christ on earth – and on into the eternal ages.The 'Day of the Lord' reaches its climax at the end of the Millenium, with the destruction of the first, fallen heaven and cursed earth, and continues with the creation of a new heaven and a blessed, new earth – before continuing into the eternal ages to come.As Church age believers we are living in the 'Day of Man' which began with Adam’s rebellion.
• Similarly, the Church is hated of all men, just as Christ was hated without a cause – and like Israel, the Church will continue to be persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

• There are no benevolent, extra-terrestrial-beings lurking in the universe waiting to make contact with us as the media-mindset tries to portray, but rather the Church is the only being that is alien to earth, for we are a new creation in Him and our citizenship and conversation is in heaven. 

• In the same way, believers in this Church age can immediately enter the promised rest we have in Christ and be kept in His perfect peace, through a living faith, humble obedience, a heart that is guided by the Spirit of God, and a life that walks in spirit and truth.
• Like Israel, the Church (who are also redeemed by faith), have only scratched the surface of the privileges that are ours by faith in Him.

• Although initially written to Jewish Christians in the fledgling years of the Church, Hebrews is written to all believers to warn of the spiritual dangers we face, if we follow Israel's example in their wilderness wanderings.

• In Proverbs, we read that the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised, while in Acts we read that the Church was multiplying because they were walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost.

• Christ interceded for His chosen disciples who would lay the foundation for the fledgling church and who would share the good news of the gospel of Christ to the Jew first and then to the Gentiles, to the uttermost parts of the earth.

• This particular verse is preceded by a section that uses Israel wilderness wanderings as a witness and warning to the Church.
• They did not trust God to provide for their needs, and Paul used Israel's lack of faith in the wilderness as a warning to the Church against unbelief.
• God's promises to Israel and those to the Church stand fast for ever and ever.

• But it was Paul who was entrusted with the mystery of Christ and the Church, which for ages past was kept hidden in God.

• Wives are to submit to their husbands in everything, because it is appropriate for those who belong to the Lord, to do so.Other verses demand that wives keep silent in their church assemblies and compare the close relationship between a husband and his wife with the intimate communion that Christ has with His Church.Elsewhere, the wives of elders are commanded to be dignified in their language and behaviour.
• Good governance in the home results where the man is responsible for loving and caring for his wife with the same self-sacrificial, godly love that Christ loves the Church – and gave Himself for her.Similarly, when the wife responds to her husband's leadership as the Bible teaches, and becomes his most responsive and devoted helper, then the relationship between husband and wife reflects God’s initial plan and purpose for the whole of humanity.Sadly, the blurring of the sexes and the demands of the supposedly 'liberated' women of the 21 century, is diametrically opposite from God's plan and purpose for the human race.
• One of Satan's greatest attacks against the Lord is on godly marriages.May we individually and collectively seek to maintain the God-appointed roles and responsibilities, as laid out in Scripture – for marriage was instituted by God, and a submissive wife is one who counteracts the enemy's wiles and becomes a beautiful reflection of the Church’s relationship with Jesus.

• Although this is not directly written to the New Testament Church there are many lessons we can learn from this weeping prophet of God and the errant nation of Israel, who had become so enamoured with the ways of the world that they had turned away from the the eternal God and Lord of hosts.

• Through His death and Resurrection, Jesus broke down the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile, uniting us together into one Body with one Lord Jesus Christ, one faith in Him for salvation, and one baptism by the Holy Spirit of God into the Body of Christ, which is the Church.

• We are the Church of God that is quietly being built into His eternal dwelling place, precious stone by precious stone.

• He lived and died so that we might die to self and live for Him, and He is seated on the right hand of the Majesty on high, continually interceding as the King-Priest of heaven for US, the Church He loves, for the glory of God the Father.

• There is no doubt that Thomas was a redeemed man who believed in the risen Lord Jesus and was a pillar of the early Church.

• And in his brief but vital letter, Jude warns of the dangers of apostates who had crept into the Church unnoticed, and who were propagating a false gospel.

• The moment we believed, we were baptised into Christ's Body and became a child of God and a member in His Church.
• But the moment that we believed in Jesus and were born-again in-Christ, we were also baptised into His Body, became part of His Church, sons of God, and were accepted in the Beloved.WOW!

• Enoch was taken before the flood-waters of judgement were poured out on the wicked, corrupt, pre-flood generation, and Enoch is a beautiful picture of the Rapture of the Church which will also take place before the fire of God's wrath is poured out on today's God-hating, Christ-rejecting, sinful world.

• They also became the first generation of believers in the Church era.
• Christ was to die, the Church was to be born, and many were to come to faith in Jesus as the Messiah before that year was completed - and judgement should have fallen on the nation.

• First, Paul calls on the Church to consider who he is and what he had done for them spiritually.
• Paul was not only faithful to God, but to the entire Corinthian church.

• Paul had been entrusted with the good news of the gospel of grace and the hidden mystery of the Church, which is His Body, and had been commissioned by God and Lord Jesus Christ to share these glad tidings of great joy to Jew and Gentile alike.
• Paul desired to present the Church as a chaste virgin: Without spot or wrinkle or any such blemish, to her betrothed husband, the Lord Jesus Christ.
• The same lie that was perpetrated in the garden of Eden by the serpent, and which was being fed to the gullible believers at Corinth, is an identical deception in the Church today; a false gospel that distorts the Word of God and twists the truth of the glorious gospel of Christ.

• Paul's pressing message was a practical exhortation to walk in holiness, brotherly love, and humble obedience before God, because the return of Christ for His Church was drawing closer.

• Jesus was destined to be the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world, and chose us in Christ (the Church) to be His children.

• Being an 'elder' or an 'overseer' in the Church is an honourable position, and those discharging this duty have to be men of integrity who demonstrate certain attributes, skills, gifts, and graces, together with a character in line with Paul's instructions in this letter to Timothy.
• Paul places much emphasis on the quality of leaders in the Church and begins to list the character traits that should be evident in the life of every man who takes on a responsibility in Church eldership: An elder (or overseer) must be above reproach.
• The great emphasis Paul places on the responsibility of eldership and the integrity of each elder, dictates that only trustworthy men with the highest principles should be permitted to become an overseer in a church community.
• It is not surprising that Paul lays such emphasis on the character and integrity of church elders when they have such an influence on the spiritual development and eternal destiny of other Christian men and women.

• While the Church is raptured before the Tribulation period begins, Israel is destined to go through this terrible Time of Jacob's Trouble.

• All Scripture has been written for our learning, but the New Testament epistles give specific guidance and instruction on living the Christian life in this Church dispensation.God has given us all we need for life and godliness, and we have been given the holy Scriptures which provide clear teaching on how to walk in spirit and truth and why we should abide in Christ and He in us.We have the indwelling Holy Spirit to lead us in the way we should go, Who has promised to lead and guide in all things... and we have Christ's assurance that His grace is sufficient for every eventuality we may face – for when we are weak in our own abilities, we have His precious promise that His strength will enable us to stand fast in the evil day.The instructions earlier in the epistle of James, cover a wide range of topics that enable the believer to live a life that is honouring to the Lord.

• His teaching touches on the role of men and women, the qualifications necessary for elders and deacons, and the desired conduct of people within the church... but first of all, Paul touches on the important issue of prayer.

• The believers in the Corinthian church had been converted from the occultic custom of the time..

• That precious promise made to Israel is equally effective today, and that same glorious truth of God's faithfulness to His people can similarly be applied to the New Testament Church of today.

• Paul then gave a detailed description of how he had persecuted the Church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it, to demonstrate God's amazing grace towards him.
• Paul considered himself as the least-worthy of sinners and certainly not deserving of salvation, yet it was by grace that God looked down at this legalistic man who was ravaging the Church, entering house after house and dragging off men and women, putting them in prison, and mercilessly persecuting the Body of Christ... and decided to use him as His apostle to the Gentiles!

• Lusting after money and the intense desire to gain more money and increase worldly wealth, is what is being spoken about here.Similarly, the love of money is not the single source of evil, as is so often implied in the secular song, mentioned above – but that the love of money is one of many ungodly ways that entices us into various sins and wickedness.Indeed, the context of this verse must also be considered, for Paul is contrasting the tranquil attitude of godly contentment and gratitude with a greedy craving for wealth, an insatiable hankering after riches, or the materialist mind-set which is embodied in a fallen world.One of the qualities that Paul lists in a church elder or overseer, earlier in the book, is that he is gentle, peaceable, and free from the love of money, for when godliness springs from a contented heart it is a great asset in a child of God.We should never forget that we came into this world with nothing... and when we die, we will take nothing from it.

• This is the promise of God to all who trust in Christ for salvation both during the Church Age and during the Great Tribulation.
• As Christians, we live in the dispensation of grace and although all who call on the name of the Lord Jesus during this Church Age are saved by grace through faith in Him - this particular prophecy specifically relates to Israel and the coming Great Tribulation period when all who call on the name of Jesus will be saved from God's terrible wrath.
• The book of Revelation tells us that there will be a multitude without number who call on His name and will be eternally saved... despite being beheaded for their faith during the Great Tribulation - and together with the Church age believers, these martyred saints will rule with Christ for 1000 years.

• The day is coming when Christ will rule and reign on this earth as King of kings and Lord of lords and Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit for a thousand years, but during this Church dispensation we are engaged in an ongoing, spiritual battle with unseen spiritual forces of evil.

• Old Testament saints believed in the coming of a promised Messiah, while Church age believers put their trust in their risen Saviour, but it is ALL by faith.

• The hatred and revilings we receive because we are His should not surprise us - rather we should rejoice, for when we suffer on His account He is glorified and because we are identified with our Saviour, the Spirit of glory and God rests upon us.In the early days of the Church, it was considered to be a privilege to be considered worthy to be persecuted for the cause of Christ, and believers rejoiced that they could suffer shame for His name’s sake.

• There are many biblical signs pointing to the end times, but there are no biblical prophecies that have to be fulfilled before the Rapture of the Church, when Christ comes to escort His Bride into heaven, but we are not left uninformed!
• And how we rejoice as well, for His promises to the Church are equally true and altogether righteous - for they are all yes and amen through Christ Jesus our Lord.

• This is the time when God's wrath will be poured out on an unbelieving world which has rejected His many calls to repentance, both through various prophets of Israel and through the Christian Church, who invite ALL to COME, drink of the living water of life - and be saved.

• They were the favoured ones who laid the foundation for the Church age, and like all who trust in the death, burial, and Resurrection of Christ, are no longer under condemnation but have been raised into newness of life in Him.

• He will save Abraham's physical descendants (the Jews) at the end of the Great Tribulation and He saves Abraham's spiritual descendants (the Church) during this post-Cross dispensation of grace.

• In his final greeting to the Church at Thessalonica, Paul gives various warnings and exhortations to the Body of Christ on how to live a godly life that is worthy of our position in Christ.
• God has set clear biblical standards for the normal Christian life, as outlined in the Church epistles and which are founded on the teachings of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself being the foundation stone.

• What gracious words to the Church are these wise instructions on holy living from the aging apostle John.

• For the time being, all in this age of grace who have recognised the Lord Jesus as our God and Saviour, both Jew and Gentile alike, are part of Christ's mystic Body (the Church).
• It was also for love of the Church, which is His Body, that the Lord Jesus willingly gave up His life, so that she might be set apart, perfected, and changed into His likeness, through a lifelong process of 'sanctification'.

• Collectively as the Church of Christ, and individually as His redeemed children, we have become God's holy sanctuary.

• Having spent three glorious chapters outlining who we are in Christ, Paul turns His attention to grounds for unity within the Church.
• And having laid out our position in Christ, Paul gives details of four groups of believers that are given a particular role in the Church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers.
• Apostles were a special group who, together with New Testament prophets, were specifically chosen to lay the foundation of the Church.
• In the early Church, the text of Scripture had not been written, and God used these foundational ministries to deliver the inerrant God-breathed Word to His Body, which is the Church, first verbally and then through the Word of God.
• There were many false apostles in the early Church, just as there are today, but the Bible gives explicit credentials of a true apostle.
• Most importantly, they were the ones who were to lay the doctrinal foundations of the Christian Church upon which our faith rests, for they were to author the Holy Scriptures.
• In the early Church, the Scriptures were yet unwritten and foundational doctrine and spiritual truth were given by God through His appointed apostles and prophets.
• Today, we do not receive divine revelation directly from the Holy Spirit, as did the apostles and prophets of the early Church.
• But the blatant abuse of these two foundational ministries is very prevalent in the Church today and should be treated with much suspicion.
• Although the foundational role of apostle and prophet was ended with the completion of the text of Scripture, the other two roles of evangelist and pastor-teachers are very important in the Church today.
• He is the Chief Shepherd of the sheep, and pastor-teachers are called to be under- shepherds; to care for the flock of God, to protect the people of God, to guide, to discipline, and to teach the whole counsel of God to the Church, and this is carried out through the systematic and clear teaching of the God-breathed Scriptures

• The wealth of spiritual gifts given to this body of believers, sharply contrasted an absence of spiritual fruit, for godly love was missing both from their church community and from the lives of individual believers.
• And this attitude of selfish greed and carelessness that the Corinthians church displayed was even present at the Lord's Table (their 'love' feasts).

• The first few chapters of 1 Corinthians deals with disorder in the church which caused chaos among the congregation.
• Having spent six chapters of his letter correcting a wide range of abuses within the church at Corinth, Paul continued by giving apostolic answers to important questions which had been asked about Christian marriage and how it relates to celibacy, divorce, remarriage, and its role in ministry.
• It must never be forgotten that Paul was living in the formative years of the Christian Church, when the principles and practices within the Christianity were being instituted and agreed.

• This future shaking of the earth and heaven of which Haggai and other prophetic voices foretold will take place during the time that follows the rapture of the Church and Christ's return in the clouds to set up His earthly kingdom..

• This is a hymn of hope - not only for the people of Israel and the nations of the world, but also for the Church of God.

• Church age believers are not to relapse into their former ways - we are not to shrink back to destruction, through works of the Law.

• It was legalism that was such a big concern to the apostle Paul, in those early days of the fledgling church.
• Paul had been called to a unique ministry by Christ, Himself, and chosen to unveil many hidden mysteries to the early Church - mysteries which had been veiled from view in earlier dispensations.
• Paul was the tool God used to write much of the inspired, New Testament Scriptures which have become so vital to the Body of Christ down through centuries of time... but he was opposed on all sides by legalists who challenged his apostolic authority and sought to return the early Church to Judaistic rules, rites, regulations, and dogma.
• But God remains in control and the Lord Jesus continues to quietly and successfully build His Church, as He promised.

• Paul's church epistles were written to different groups of Christians, dealing with matters that were important to their need at the time, and yet they address issues that remain relevant today. Paul's letters were written as an integrated whole, yet progress from one train of thought to the next.

• Their rejection of their Messiah resulted in the Church dispensation and the age of grace, but Israel will fulfil its mission in the future.

• The 'old man' refers to the unregenerate, sin nature, while the 'new man in Christ' refers to our new, born-again position as children of God in this Church dispensation.
• Today in this Church age, there is no Levitical system - no rituals to follow, no religious practices to perform, no compulsory feast day or other legal requirements in which to engage... all who believe God's Word and trust in His only begotten Son for the forgiveness of sins, are not only saved by God's grace and declared righteous before Him, but ALSO have become part of a new creation, where the OLD nature was crucified with Christ and we have received a NEW nature - Christ's own perfect nature - His own resurrected life.

• Paul had been present at Stephen's defence of the gospel and, no doubt, had heard certain teachings from Peter, John, James and other early Church leaders.
• He had been instructed by the great Jewish rabbi, Ananias of Damascus, encouraged by the kindly Barnabas, but he was increasingly being challenged by men who sought to return the early Church into Judaism's rites and rituals.
• The gospel message Paul preached and the many mysteries that he unfolded in his epistles have become foundational treasures upon which the majority of Church-age doctrine rests - with Christ being the foundational cornerstone upon which all his teachings are secured.
• Paul gave the strongest defence of his message and ministry to the church at Galatia, for they were the most proactive in challenging his apostolic authority and insisting that the Mosaic Law must be reintegrated into Church age doctrine.
• This same heresy continues to be taught today in many areas of the Church, while certain other people presume to be modern day apostles and prophets who add their own two-pennyworth to the completed canon of God-breathed Scriptures, for their own prideful gain.
• That foundation was laid and completed in the early Church and given for our learning through the completed canon of Scripture - and for two thousand years the Body of Christ has continued to be fitted together and is growing into a holy temple in the Lord - built together into a dwelling of God - in the power of the Spirit.

• Despite being defeated at the Cross, this wicked accuser of the saints has continued his unrelenting attack on the people of God - not only the Church but in particular, Israel and Judah, for it will only be when that chosen nation of God collectively repents of their sin and cries out, Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord, that Christ can return to earth and finally destroy the works of the evil one.
• By God's grace, He is using the Body, the Bride of Christ - which is the Church, to stand in the gap for Israel by prayer, supplication, and through the proclamation of the good news that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and Saviour of the world.

• while it was Paul who bestowed an equally beloved blessing on the Church, by commending them into the safe-keeping of the triune Godhead - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• Paul's blessing to the Christian Church has become beloved by generations of godly saints.

• In this Church dispensation, there are many of Paul's Jewish brethren together with many Gentile believers that have called on the name of the Lord because they have trusted in the death, burial, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ as Israel's Messiah and the Saviour of the world.
• But the day is coming when this Church dispensation will come to an end, and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will one day re-establish His work through His chosen people Israel.

• The responsibility to tell the world about Jesus was given to the Body of Christ, which is the Church.
• When Israel rejected their Messiah, the Church became God's light to enlighten a lost world.
• Today, the Church is proclaiming the 'gospel of the grace of God' to unsaved Jew and Gentile alike, until the WHOLE nation of Israel repents of their sin and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, and THEN the 'gospel of the kingdom' will be preached throughout the world, and Christ will return to set up His kingdom, as King of kings and Lord of lords.

• Despite its shocking storyline and display of human misery, the grace Hosea showed to his adulterous wife serves as a tiny reminder of the length, and breadth, and depth, and height of God's love towards us and His never-failing faithfulness towards His people; for the day is coming when every promise to Israel, the Church, and all who have trusted Christ as Saviour, will be completed, and Jesus will reign on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.

• As members of the Church, we are watching and waiting for Christ to return in the air to take His redeemed saints to heaven which will happen at least seven years before He breaks through the clouds, riding a white horse, with his vestments dripping with the blood of His defeated enemies.
• The Church today is the Temple of God, made from living stone, and the Spirit of God indwells our mortal bodies.

• Those in the church at Thessalonica heard the gospel, were ready and willing to turn from their former ways, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Paul was the chosen apostle who was called by God to open up the many mysteries of this Church age, and teach us the godly principles of walking in spirit and in truth.

• Many witnessed the angelic messengers of hope that were sent to the empty tomb, and early Church-age saints were also aware the Lord sent an angel to bring Peter out of the Roman prison.
• Those believers in the early Church were well acquainted with the concept of angels, but needed to learn that even in their lives God still sends both human and angelic messengers to minister to His people.

• As a result, Paul faced fierce opposition and much misrepresentation from those outside the Church as well as within - landing him in jail, which he knew was of great concern for these brethren at Philippi.

• Those first few years must have been quite problematic, as the fledgling Church sought to establish itself.
• The men who were to oversee the functioning of the early Christian Church were to be of exemplary character and to be doctrinally sound - and this should be the same today!
• Church overseers were to be above reproach, as God's stewards.
• The qualities and qualifications of church elders, or bishops, were clearly laid out, and the exemplary character that was necessary for this role was to ensure that the teaching of the gospel of grace would not be compromised, by the increasing numbers of false teachers, Judaizes, and demonic doctrines that were pouring into the Body of Christ with increasing intensity.
• Indeed, the qualities and exemplary character that Titus was to look for in church elders are the same standards of godliness and virtue that the Lord requires from all His children.

• However, there are many areas in the Christian life where we have been given the right and authority to make judgements, which include disputes within a church body, the corrective role of elders in a congregation of believers, and especially in the area of doctrinal error.

• And in the ages that are to come, the Church is to be an example to the angelic host, of the incomparable riches of God’s amazing grace, which are seen in His multiplied blessings towards us – in Jesus Christ our Lord.

• Each member of Christ's Body is to carry out their service to the glory of God, by using their spiritual gifts and graces wisely, within the wider Church community.

• Unlike David, Church-age believers need never be concerned that the Holy Spirit will be taken from us, for He took up permanent residence in our heart the moment we trusted Christ for salvation and He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us, even when we sin.

• Just as the disciples were awaiting the Second Coming of Christ, we in the Church age are eagerly awaiting the Rapture (before the Tribulation Period begins).
• We do not know how many days will pass before the Church will be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, as Paul foretold. But we know that these things will happen, and that same hope that the disciples had is kept alive in our hearts.

• Paul came to understand that when the Body of Christ, which is the Church is suffering..

• We may not know the time that the God the Father will send God the Son to rescue the Body of Christ (the Church) from the wrath that is to come, but we have His promise that we are not appointed to wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

• How the Corinthian church prided themselves on the multiplicity of gifts with which they were endowed.
• Indeed, of all the groups of believers recorded in Scripture, it was the Corinthian Christians who were gifted with a greater abundance of spiritual gifts than any other named church.

• He was a mature man of God who helped Paul to correct various doctrinal issues in local churches, consolidated the truth, and provide wise, spiritual leadership within the early Christian church fellowships.
• Although Paul provided Titus with sound advice on the Christian conduct of church elders and their wives, together with additional instruction to younger men and women on virtuous behaviour, he also encouraged Titus to become a true role-model of godly living.

• He was instructed that everything he heard and saw was to be written in a book and shared with the Church, which is the Body of Christ.

• In the meantime, we live in the Church age, where the question to Jew and Gentile alike is: But who do YOU say that I am?

• This truth is a blessing to all who have been born from above and are part of the Church of God, for this verse reminds us that ALL Christian are sanctified in Christ.

• It is as he draws his epistle to the Philippines to a close, that we find Paul applauding this struggling little church for the generous financial gift they sent to support his missionary work.
• Paul reminded them, Now you Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but only you... and even while I was in Thessalonica, you provided for my needs not just once, but twice.
• We discover that the little church at Philippi was the only Christian community that sent financial aid to support Paul's ministry.

• He was a murderer from the beginning and the father of lies, and throughout this Church dispensation, he is the aggressive accuser of the saints.

• Let us, like Simeon, take all that God has written in His Word to heart and believe with childlike expectation that our eyes will soon see our Saviour, as we wait for Christ's any day return in the clouds for His Church.

• No family will flourish, no building will be sound, no city will be successful, and no church will be unified unless the Lord is the one who establishes it.
• Jesus said, I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it, and He is the only One Who is able to ensure the success of our earthly endeavours.
• This first verse of Psalm 127 makes it very clear that unless the Lord keeps the home, the family, the city, or the church, the watchman’s warning or the minister’s message will be in vain – for neither diligence nor alertness will profit one whit without the Lord, Himself, at the helm.
• Whether we are building a family or a business, a home or a community, a website or a republic, a church or a nation, it is both foolish and futile to begin a building assignment - no matter what realm it may cover, if God is not the One Who builds it - if Jesus is not ascribed the principal place of honour that is due to His name.Should we not diligently seek to apply this truth in every corner of our lives, our homes, our work, and our world – for unless the Lord is afforded His rightful place in all our doing, we will labour in vain, Unless the Lord 'builds the house' our lifework will be fruitless and we will have laboured in vain.
• No family can thrive and prosper if God is not the Head of that home, no church community will flourish and become fruitful unless, personally and jointly, they have placed the Lord in His rightful place, and no country can be protected from the enemy or remain free from destruction if the Lord's authority is denied, for unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labour over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain.
• May we take this warning to heart and be diligent to establish our life and home, our family and marriage, our church and community, our country and nation on Christ - the only sure foundation.

• In context, however, the household of God refers to Christians in this Church age.
• The time that judgement began at the household of the Lord was at the start of this Church dispensation, and by God's grace, Christ took the punishment we deserve and is using the judgements of this world's system to transform us into the image and likeness of Christ.

• Instructions for the post-Cross Church are also written in the New Testament, by the Word of the Lord: FAITH in the shed blood of Christ, for there is salvation in none other than Christ, the crucified Lamb of God Who shed His own blood for the sin of the whole world.

• Spiritual gifts are one of the three issues, identified by the apostle, about which many in the Church, in general, are ignorant.
• We all should endeavour to come to a fuller understanding of Israel's role in God's plan, the return of Christ at the rapture of the Church, and the spiritual gifts with which we have been endowed.
• Sadly, some of the errors we see in the Corinthian Christians can be identified in the Church of today, and so it is no wonder that Paul wrote, Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant.
• Just as we are exhorted to learn from the mistakes of Israel, so we are to learn how to live a godly life from the mistakes of the early Church.  We are not to remain uninformed about God's plan for Israel, the second coming of Christ, and the eternal ages to come.

• From the very beginning of the Christian Church, false teachers have abounded and deceitful doctrines of demons have tortured and twisted the good news of the gospel, blinding the eyes of the unsaved and causing many believers to be led astray.
• The letter to the church in Thyatira is no exception and despite being commended for their love, faith, service, and perseverance, church members are fiercely rebuked for permitting sexual immorality to infiltrate the Body of Christ, admonished for embracing other pagan practices, and challenged to change their ways.
• Years earlier, Paul had warned that after his death, savage wolves would enter the Church and they would not spare the flock, and in the book of Revelation, John confirms this as a reality.
• The letter to the Church at Thyatira followed a similar pattern to most of the other churches, commendation of any good work, followed by the condemnation of any ungodly customs they had embraced, before exhorting the whole church towards improving their ways with a promise of reward for those that have ears to hear Christ's urgent call, and listen to all that the Spirit is saying to the churches. 
• The little remnant at Thyatira who refused to go the way of Jezebel, were instructed to do nothing more than to hold fast to what they had; to hold on to their faith until the return of Christ for His Church.
• The warning to this church is increasingly relevant in today's society, where a desire for deep, mystical spirituality, combined with the ungodly spirit of control, is increasing in every area of our current culture, and in many churches, as men crave satanically inspirited understanding which is drawn from a wrong cistern.
• That promise is still open today to all the faithful of God who hold on to what we have, until Christ's returns for His Church, when He comes in the clouds and takes us to be with Himself, forever.

• There were many such infidels in the early church, and there continues to be many today, who have set themselves up in places of authority within Christendom.

• And although in this Church dispensation, there is no written covenant, set rules, or legalistic regulations which are required of Church-age believers, it is important and wise to take note of things that outwardly demonstrate an inward change of heart.

• Timothy was entrusted, by Paul, to be pastor of the church at Ephesus, but being the leader of a Christian community in the first century under Roman rule was no easy task, and Paul's letter to this 'son in the faith' contained personal encouragement, many warnings, and a lot of wise instruction on how to deal with a myriad of theological and practical issues that Timothy was likely to meet as he shepherded the little flock of believers in their spiritual journey through life.

• This passage was of great significance to the writer's Hebrew brethren in those early days of the Church who needed to take care, lest any of them had an evil, unbelieving heart which would lead them to fall away from the living God.

• Jesus also came as the sweet-smelling savour to the Lord, for He stretched out His arms to the cross willingly, so that He could give His life for love of the Church.

• Like Jesus, we are facing increasingly difficult days before God calls us home, through death or the Rapture of the Church.

• The Christian Church has been waiting for the return of the Lord Jesus for two thousand years, and as we draw ever closer to that promised return, we are increasingly reminded that the day of His coming is very near, even at the very door, and we are warned to prepare our hearts, to put aside all sinful actions and worldly deeds, to clothe ourselves in the armour of light, and to put on the Lord Christ.

• We too are a peculiar people set apart unto Him for, like Israel, the Church also holds a special place in God's redemptive plan.
• How blessed is the Church!
• Truly blessed are His people Israel and His Body, which is the Church, for He loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him should not perish but become inheritors of His coming kingdom and be given life everlasting – and ALL His promises, both to Israel and to the Church are 'Yes' and 'Amen' in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• Following his corrective letter to the Corinthian Church, their spiritual recovery provided Paul an opportunity to boast about these brothers and sisters, to other Christians in Macedonia.
• Others insist that a tithe is a Biblical command for church members, which will result in scarcity when disobeyed.
• It was not given to the New Testament Church - although there is much teaching about godly generosity, gracious giving to others, and, as in this passage, the principle of sowing and reaping.

• The mystery of the Church was in God's heart and mind from the beginning, but there was a special reason why the Lord kept the 'dispensation of the grace of God' a secret during his earthly ministry.
• The formation of the Church, which is the Body of Christ, is a wisdom which none of the angelic rulers of this age knew about, nor did they understand the significance of Christ's humanity, His sinless life, and His sacrificial death - until after his Resurrection.
• The Lord is the ultimate teacher and the mystery, which is the Church, is an object lesson of the unsearchable wisdom of God to both the holy angels of God and fallen spirits alike.
• And they came to understand that Satan was defeated, Christ was victorious, and the Church, which is His Body, has been enthroned in heavenly places in Christ - and has been promised an inheritance which is kept for us in heaven.
• together with the creation of the Church, which is His Body, were kept under wraps so that Jews and Gentiles alike could be saved by grace through faith in Him - and become part of His spiritual Body on earth.

• It was pretty obvious that the false teaching that was infiltrating the church at Galatia, was a particularly serious error.

• The blessings given to the Church were not an afterthought nor a postscript to His perfect plan - they were an integral part from the start.

• During Christ's present, High Priestly ministry in heaven, the Church have been entrusted to be lights in this dark world of sin: Ye are the light of the world, Jesus told us, and as His representatives on earth we are to shine for Him.

• He is the Head of the Body, which is the Church, and it is through Him we are nourished and knit together, as we grow in grace and in a knowledge of our Lord and Saviour.

• Hundreds more are waiting to be brought to completion with the Rapture of the Church, the Great Tribulation, the return of Christ Jesus to set up His Millennial Kingdom on earth reigning as King of kings and Lord of lords, and the making of a new heaven and a new earth where sin and death are gone forever. 

• who had been dispersed due to the increasing persecution of believers in the early church..
• so the Church are the post-cross elect of God.

• Christians are collectively being built-up by God into a holy temple, for Christ said I will build my Church.

• Love is the primary characteristic that we see in the Father's gift of His Son to the world, and in Christ's sacrifice of Himself for His Church and throughout the Church epistles, we are called to love one another in the same way that Christ loved us.

• His faithful followers, who obeyed His instruction to wait in Jerusalem for the Promise of the Father were gloriously baptised by the Spirit of God into the Body of Christ, which is the Church.

• Just as Matthew's target audience was to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, so the book of Hebrews was initially directed towards Hebrew Christians in the early Church who found the transition from the pre-Cross dispensation of Law to the post-Cross dispensation of grace difficult.
• Matthew's goal was to identify Jesus as the Jewish Messiah Who is the fulfilment of Scripture's prophetic writings, while Hebrews was written to show that during this Church dispensation, God is speaking through His Son Who is the exact image of the invisible God and the fulfilment of the Law, the prophets, and the psalms.

• The Law of Moses was given to the Jews, and this negative command about muzzling a working ox is not a command to Christians in the Church age.
• Paul explained that just as a workman is worthy of his hire, so also a Christian worker is equally entitled to receive financial support from the church community they serve.
• Praise God that we are not bound by the Law of Moses, nor are we commanded to tithe in this Church age, as certain ministers and ministries teach.

• Like Enoch, we are to walk with God all our days - from the day when we were saved by faith, to the day He takes us to be with Himself - at the Rapture of the church, which will be ushered in at the resurrection of the dead in Christ.

• He was deeply concerned about the apostate teachers and heretical doctrines that were increasingly infiltrating the Church, and his deep desire was to impress on his readers the importance of contending for the faith.
• Jude made it clear that the Church is made up of two groups of people that were the antithesis of each other: The first group are believers; the beloved of God.
• Jude warned that such men would blemish the 'love feasts' - communal meals that were so common in those early days of the Church, which often included a celebration of the Lord's Supper.
• Indeed, every metaphor to which Jude alluded, restated the serious dangers to individual Christians and Church groups if false teachers were not addressed.
• If Jude gave his urgent warning against false teachers deceiving believers with a false gospel and gnostic teachings so early in Church history, how much more careful we should be in recognising and dealing with apostate teachers who have covertly infiltrated our own fellowships.

• Paul had already taught these believers the comforting truth about the Rapture of the Church, the devastation and destruction during the first seven years of the Day of the Lord, and the glorious Second Coming of Christ to set up His Millennial Kingdom on earth.
• False teaching, false prophecies, and fabricated letters - which were allegedly from Paul, had been circulated - causing these Christians to worry that they had missed the Rapture of the Church whilst believing that the Day of the Lord had already arrived!
• Bible scholars debate whether this means a spiritual apostasy in the Church where there is a falling away from the faith – or the physical departure of the Church when it is removed in the Rapture.
• The Holy Spirit is currently working out His role as the Restrainer of evil as he indwells believers in this Church Age.
• This happens when the Church is raptured and the role of the Holy Spirit as Restrainer of evil will come to a close.
• And so, we march ever closer to the close of this Church Age - and the time is at hand for the transition from the Age of Grace to the Day of the Lord.
• The day when Christ comes to gather His Church is closer than ever before, as evil marches on and heresies multiply with increasing intensity.

• But although in its historical context this verse is mainly towards the nation of Israel, there is much that we can learn from these inspired words of Scripture and much that we can apply in our own lives during this Church dispensation.
• How important to trust the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father Whose promises toward His nation of Israel will one day be finally and forever fulfilled and His promises toward His Church will never fail, for are all 'Yes' and 'Amen' in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

• Love seems to be both the guiding principle and pinnacle of the Christian life – for God is love. Indeed, it was love for the world that caused the Father to give His only begotten Son to die as our sin-substitute on the Cross, and it was love for the Church that held Jesus to the Cross, for He loved the Church so dearly that He gave Himself for her.

• There were things that were good in the church at Thyatira and there were men who were faithful to the Lord... but there was much that was unbiblical and many of their members entered into immorality and idolatry - having a form of godliness and yet denying the Lord Who bought them.
• When a body of believers or denomination chooses to compromise the truth of the glorious gospel of grace, we identify a church that corrupts its members and cannot maintain the truth.
• And so, despite some good works, love, service, and faith... the gross participation in pagan practices that persisted in this church at Thyatira continues to this present day.
• The Thyatiran church had adopted a false religious system, with secret doctrines, legalist rites, priestly absolution, and suffocating indulgencies, which placed its members in slave-like bondage to this corrupt and ungodly system of religion.
• But we discover a faithful remnant within this church who had not been seduced into their ungodly philosophies, nor initiated into the secret doctrines or esoteric traditions of this religious system.
• To the one who overcomes, and keeps My deeds until the end, I will give authority over the nations, was the precious promise that the Lord Jesus gave to that faithful little flock, in the church at Thyatira.
• The Jezebel spirit that permeated the infrastructure of this church, and continues to infect all who reject the truth of God for this lie of Satan, is the sin of rebellion.
• We pray that God would open their eyes to the truth of His Word and that many who have been caught up in false, religious teachings today, would reject the poisonous doctrine of the church at Thyatira (which continues to crucify Christ within their daily incantations), and hold fast until the Lord's return so that they too may receive authority over the nations in the coming kingdom of Christ.

• Jesus lived a sinless life so that He could willingly give His life as a sacrifice for you and for me, and God raised Him from the dead and gave Him authority to bestow His own eternal life on all who would believe on His name, making Him Head of the Body, which is the Church, so that He Himself would have preeminence in all things.

• Most of his epistles include sections that address various false teachings that were infiltrating a particular church or congregation, as well as providing clear teaching, sound doctrine, important correction, and great encouragement.
• In this letter, Paul had to remind the believers of his earlier teaching on the return of Christ for His Church and how we will all be gathered together to meet Him in the air, before the great and terrible 'Day of the Lord'.
• Paul was justifiably angry that the faith of these dear believers had been shaken by other church members who refused to take heed of Paul's earlier teachings.

• We further recognise the responsibility that Paul felt towards Christians throughout in Asia, because he added: When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans, and you, for your part, read my letter that is coming from Laodicea.
• Paul even included personalised greetings to members of the Laodicean church in his Colossian epistle.
• We know very little of her circumstances although she is the only named woman who opened-up her home as a meeting place for the early Church.
• In this section there is a wealth of information about the early Church and some important insights into Paul's deep love and compassion for his fellow believers, and in his closing comments, we also identify a sense of urgency.
• The entire congregation was to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest what Paul wrote, and then it was to be sent to the Laodiceans and read to the Christians there, while the Colossian believers were to read the letter the church at Laodicea had received!
• Paul predicted that after his departure, savage wolves would come into the Church and would not spare the flock, and he wanted to ensure that the whole counsel of God was firmly secured in the hearts of ALL believers, if they were to stand firm in the evil day.
• This is as true today as it was in those early days of the Church, when the people met to worship at Nympha's house.

• Knowing that the Church, which began at Pentecost, is NOT under the Law but under grace, begs the question - WHY did Paul appeal to the Mosaic Law when promoting the Golden Rule and saying, Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.  Well, we need look no further than Christ's closing command to the Church - LOVE, as I have loved.
• The Church, however, are not under the Law but under grace.
• The Church is not given a list of things to DO, in order to fulfil the law of love towards our neighbour.
• At the end of His ministry, the Lord Jesus gave a new commandment to the Church, which condenses this important law of love, into one simple command, LOVE one another as I have loved you - by THIS shall all men know that you are My disciples.

• However, for Christians in this Church age, Christ has already become our Sabbath rest.

• And Paul was able to rejoice in his suffering or the body of Christ - for in so doing he knew that he was sharing in Christ's suffering - and was filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ - for His body's sake, which is the church.
• the body of Christ, which is the Church..

• The Lord is the Head of the Church and because He arose from the grave, He is the eternal witness that the Church, which is the Body, will also be raised: For the perishable shall be clothed in the imperishable and the mortal will take on an immortal covering.

• He freely admitted he had cruelly persecuted the early Church and was only too ready to admit that his own salvation and his God-given apostolic ministry to the Gentiles (in which he served as a priest of the gospel of God) was wholly through God's boundless mercy and amazing grace. 

• Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
• James' instructions to both the sick person and to church elders is simply an outward demonstration of an inward trust in God; a prayer of faith.
• It takes humility of heart and faith in God for a sick person to admit their own limitation and to cry out for help to those in church leadership.
• It also takes an act of faith for the elders of a church to collectively gather to pray for the healing for a sick member of their congregation, and to anoint that person's body with oil, while praying collectively, in faith, for their healing.
• Whether we are in good health of suffering some malady, whether we are an elder in a church assembly or not, let us remember that prayer is a great privilege for all Christians, but let it be the 'prayer of faith'.

• There was disorder in the church at Corinth and division within the congregation.

• Peter alerted his readers, and us, to the shocking truth that scoffers would arise in the last days - both from outside the Church and within its walls.
• Both carnally minded Christians and scornful sceptics would express contemptuous disbelief of biblical truth and the promised return of Jesus Christ for His Church.
• It fosters atheistic attitudes and engenders a deep contempt for those that hold fast to the truth, believe in the Rapture of the Church, and trust in God's prophesied judgement on a world that rejects both His existence and His authority.

• The Church is the Body of Christ and in His absence from the world, we are called to be the salt of the earth and yet we are also warned that if salt loses it saltiness, it is good for nothing, other than to be thrown out and trampled under foot.

• He charged him to correct the various false teachings and strange doctrines that were springing up and infiltrating the Church, because of their detrimental effect on the spiritual growth of believers.

• As Church age believers, we were not born before the Law when personal sin was not yet imputed to sinners, nor are we under the Law (like Israel).
• Unlike Israel, the Church does not have to offer sacrifices in the Temple or keep certain feast days so that our sin can be covered, because Christ IS our perfect sin offering.
• During this Church Age, we are also justified by God's grace and forgiven of all our sin, by faith.

• He was to reach the world through the Body of Christ, which is the Church.

• One of the mysteries that was hidden for ages and generations but which was revealed to Paul for Church age believers is the indwelling Holy Spirit of Christ for all who are saved by grace through faith in Him.

• Here in this passage, James uses the farmer who waits for many months or years for the precious produce of the soil to germinate and grow, to bud, blossom, and bring forth its fruit as an example of the patient endurance that should be evident in each of our lives; a patience that waits expectantly, joyfully, and hopefully in this fallen world, until the return of the Lord for His Church.

• Israel was set aside for a season, God began to work through the Church, which is the Body of Christ, and the Kingdom of Heaven was postponed for 2000 years - UNTIL Israel repents of their sin, recognises their Messiah, and, calls on the name of the Lord. Then He will come in the clouds with His holy ones and we will rule and reign with Him.

• The second epistle of John is a short but very personal letter to a lady who was beloved by the apostle John in particular, as well as the wider Church in general.
• Attempts to destabilise the Church and destroy the ministry of believers began during those early days of Christianity.
• Peter warned of damnable heresies from teachers who even denied the truth of the gospel of God and the Lord Jesus Who bought them, while Jude, like James, denounced the various heresies that were brought into the Church by false teachers who turned the grace of God into wantonness and ungodly liberality. 
• Paul knew that after his departure, savage wolves would try to enter the Church, introducing doctrines of demons and attempting to seduce God's people from the truth.
• But it was not only in those early days of the Church that false teachers and demonic doctrines were evident.

• There is much that we, in the Church Age, can learn from the life of Nehemiah.
• We can either permit New Age pantheism, contemporary polytheism, Pagan practices, transcendental meditation, Marian apparitions, false 'christs' and another 'Jesus', which is infiltrating the life-blood of the Church of God to affect us OR we can act like Nehemiah.
• We have the choice to lose hope, compromise the truth, and 'throw in the towel' OR we can grieve about our sin and the sin within the Church and repent of the apostasy into which we have fallen.

• In this Church age of grace, the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life is to bring us into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Himself.

• As Church-age believers, we are not under any strict rules or regulations that dictate what we can or cannot eat or drink, and although we have no chiming bell to summons us to rise up in the morning at a specified time nor are we summoned to pray at a certain place for a certain period of time each day, we do have a responsibility to live godly lives and to take heed to all the wisdom of the wise that is contained in the God's holy Word.

• In this Church age, we do not live under the Law but under Grace.
• Living during the Church Age, however, does not mean that godly standards in life and living should be ignored.

• Step by step we have been led through the fundamentals of Church-age doctrine in Paul's letter to the Romans Church - a comprehensive, instructional manual that has been instrumental in influencing the various reformations and spiritual revivals that have taken place throughout the history of the Christian Church.

• It had been declared to Paul by this delegation, that they had uncovered disorder in the church, disunity within the congregation, division among certain members, and even some serious sexual conduct, causing Paul to pen his earlier letter condemning their various faults and failings, and urging them to become spiritual believers rather than remaining carnal Christians.
• And so it seems that Paul bravely chose to write this second, biblical epistle, before visiting the church once more, to ensure that any misunderstanding on their part, or any bad feeling they may still have towards the apostle, was addressed: It is out of much affliction and anguish of heart that I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.

• As John was advancing in years, one of his main concerns for the Church was the increasing numbers of false teachers and demonic doctrines that were not only infiltrating the local churches, but also being accepted, embraced and believed by many gullible Christians.

• Paul knew that perilous times were coming on the Church, when apostasy would be rife within Christendom.

• Having been born from above, we not only enjoy a new relationship with our Heavenly Father, but we have also become part of a wider and growing body; a new establishment, the Church, who are all members of Christ's Body and the holy Temple of the living God.
• The chief corner-stone of this holy Temple is Christ Himself, and His chosen apostles and prophets are the ones who have laid the doctrinal foundation upon which this spiritual temple is being built, for they were given the knowledge of the glorious gospel of grace by Christ Himself, and to them was unfolded the mystery of the Church in this present dispensation; a mystery which had been hidden in time past from all previous generations.
• It was Christ Who said that He would build His Church and one by one, down through centuries of time, men and women have come to faith in Christ Jesus and one by one, they have each been fitted into the growing Temple of the living God.
• He identified the Christian Church as a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices which are acceptable to God through our Saviour Jesus Christ.

• However, in the early Church false brethren had been secretly brought into Christian circles.
• Paul knew that the purity of the true gospel of grace was under attack from these Jewish sources and that clarity needed to be reached and implemented across the leadership of the fledgling Church, if the Christian faith was to remain untainted and flourish, but how similar to the world of Christianity today.
• False teachers and doctrines of demons have been flooding into the Church since those early days in Galatia, in increasingly loathsome and satanically inspired ways.
• It is not surprising that every New Testament writer gives serious warnings that heretical teachings and apostate teachers will continue to pervade the Church of Christ.

• But the call to break up the fallow ground and turn over the unploughed earth is an equally urgent call to the body of Christ, in this increasingly apostate Church age, as it was at the time of Hosea.

• The Christian Church can learn many lessons from this dark period of Israel's history and the many cycles of warnings they received during the time of the Judges, when everyone entertained their own liberal views and believed in relativity - for this was a time when everyone did what was right in THEIR own eyes, rather than seeking that which was right in the eyes of GOD.
• If, like Israel, we walk hand in hand with the world system and co-exist with them... if we compromise the good news of the gospel of grace and cooperate with their ungodly ways... if we choose to embrace their unbiblical philosophies, the Church will become increasingly corrupted and the gospel increasingly compromised - both individually and corporately.

• He had much to tell them but they could not yet bear it... much would have to wait until the mystery of the Church... which was later revealed to Paul and the other apostles was given... a mystery which would finally be given by inspiration of God to the fledgling Church through those early apostles and prophets.
• As part of the same Church, members of the same mystical Body of Christ and disciples of the same divine Saviour..

• There is an unbiblical teaching that is pervading the Church today and sweeping through Christendom – that God has finished with Israel and replaced her with the Christian Church.
• Let us be careful not to be swept into an unbiblical mind-set by false teachings that are infiltrating the Church today, including 'replacement theology' and 'kingdom now' teachings.

• Early in Acts, we read of the shocking victimisation of the early Christian Church in Jerusalem, which was predominantly made up of Jewish converts.
• Indeed, in the very early days of the Church, before the conversion of Paul, the gospel was only taught to Jews and when persecution arrived, many fled to Gentile regions where they would be labelled as aliens or foreigners.

• Paul explained to the believers how the Father has put all things in subjection under Christ's feet and appointed Him to be the universal and supreme Head of the Church, and how the Body of Christ is completely filled by HIM, while He Himself is completely filled by God - Who completely fills everything in every way!
• Saul, Saul why are you persecuting ME? was Christ's challenging questions to this man who was persecuting the Church.

• James makes it clear, right at the beginning of his epistle, that he is writing his letter to Church-age believers.
• James was specifically addressing his instructions to born-again Christians of Jewish descent, although his directive also relates to Church-age believers from a Gentile heritage.
• Now, although pre-Cross Israel was certainly under the Law of Moses until Christ's crucifixion and Resurrection... and although many aspects of the Law certainly harmonise with Christian conduct and godly behaviour, the Bible makes it clear that Church-age believers, whether Jew of Gentile, are not under the Law as a rule of life.
• The Lord Jesus, not the Mosaic Law, is the pattern which Christians in the Church-age are instructed to follow.
• Jesus is the One Church-age believers are instructed to follow.

• The truth in this verse remains to this day and is equally precious to the New Testament Church in this Christian dispensation.
• For, like Israel, the Church has been called by God to go into all the world and preach the gospel of grace to all people.

• The day of Pentecost, when the Church was born, was a partial fulfilment of this amazing prophecy.

• Christian conduct in the Church is a frequent topic in the epistles of Paul.

• Indeed, incredible, satanic deceptions, which distorted the truth of biblical salvation, started to flood into the Church in those early days, and has continued, unabated, into these end times.

• Christ prayed for those that would lay the foundation of the Church.
• These were the men who would go to be the foundation upon which all Church age doctrine would be founded.
• Thousands came to faith in Christ in the early years of the Church, through the ministry of their spoken word in the book of Acts, and multiple millions have come to faith through the witness of their written word, down through many centuries of time.
• On that holy night preceding His crucifixion, the Lord Jesus not only prayed for His chosen apostles who would lay the foundation of all Church doctrine, but for all who would believe on Christ's sacrificial work through their word.

• He had heard that the church at Colossae had bought into some heretical teaching that appeared to diminish the deity and preeminence of the Lord Jesus, and so he wrote to them to inform them of the centrality of Christ - in Whom is hidden all the wisdom of God and the mysteries of God.
• When the Holy Spirit placed us into the Body of believers at re-birth, we were baptised into Christ – we were placed into the Body of believers, which is the Church.When Christ died, we were buried with Him which permanently severed us from sin – although we must never forget that the influence of the old sin nature still remains and needs to be subdued daily.

• The Church at the Rapture, before the Tribulation Period; Old Testament and Tribulation saints at the Second Coming, at the end of the Tribulation Period; Millennial saints at the end of the Millennium.
• This is not a subject that should be swept under the Church carpet, as so often happens in Christendom today, but is a serious subject that should be faced, and unbelievers should be challenged so that they may hear the glorious gospel of grace and believe the message of redemption by grace through faith in Christ, and be SAVED. 

• As believers in the Lord Jesus, we are now children of God, members of the Christian Church, and part of the Body of Christ.
• As part of the Church, we have all been given individual gifts and graces which are to be exercised for the benefit of our brothers and sisters in Christ and for the glory of God.
• While most of Paul's epistles instruct us on how to live our Christian lives, his letters to Timothy and Titus explain how we should behave when we meet together for public worship or join together in our local church fellowships.
• In First Timothy, we are given some important instructions on how to conduct ourselves in public worship and how to treat people in a church setting.
• Paul also gave some clear guidance on the qualities and qualifications that are needed for pastors, elders, deacons, and others in leadership positions within the Church.
• In this verse we read: The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honour, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching, and as believers, we are all called to treat our church elders with respect and take notice of their instructions and guidance.

• As Church age believers, we are not under the law but under grace.
• However, there are many instructions Church age believers have been given, if we are to honour the Lord, to walk in spirit and truth, to grow in grace and in a knowledge of the Lord Jesus, and to mature in the Christian faith.
• As Church age believers, our bodies are a temple of the Lord for we are in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit of God.
• That same, simple little phrase is equally relevant to Christians in this Church dispensation.

• And we, who have been saved by grace through faith in this Church dispensation, have received equally precious and unfailing promises - which are all 'yes' and 'amen' in Christ Jesus our Saviour.
• Indeed, we have been called and chosen to be a kingdom of priests and to act as Christ's representatives on earth, during this present Church administration.

• Well, although Christians are not under the 'Mosaic Law' per se, we are certainly under 'the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' which James calls: The royal law according to the Scripture, and there are many instructions that believers in the Church age are given on many of the issues that are addressed in the Law of Moses e.g.
• Both Paul and the writer to the Hebrews reiterate an important principle to the Christian Church: Vengeance is Mine, says the Lord - I will repay. Just as Moses instructed the Israelites to leave the matter of reprisal and justice in God's hands, so Christians in the Church-age are also directed in the New Testament to leave God to avenge us when we are wronged.

• The prayers of Old Testament saints, Tribulation saints, and Church Age saints, are heard and answered by God, for He knows the pleadings of our heart before we translate them in prayer.

• Unlike Israel, who were given very specific laws regarding feast and Sabbath days, rules about eating and rituals for cleansing, priestly duties, and a wide range of other requirements, Christians in the Church dispensation are not governed by the Mosaic Law or any other law.

• We are to pray for church leaders and those that educate our children.

• So much of the Word of God is written to the believer, and this verse is no exception - and although this parable was directed at the Jews who were about to reject their King and crucify their Messiah, it also has beautiful application to Church age believers.

• We have the Scriptures as our compass, for we have received a more sure word of prophecy and as such we should be well-equipped to recognise the signs of the times in which we live, as we look for the any-day return of Christ coming in the clouds for His Church.
• After Church-age responsibilities have been completed, God will once again continue His work of redemption through His chosen people, Israel.
• Let us support our church leaders and live in love with one another.

• Paul encountered many people, both within and outside the Christian Church, that excited disunity and conflict between believers, and yet one of the most important messages in his epistles was the need for Christians to live in harmony - one with the other.
• And it rejoiced Paul's heart to know that this young minister's concern for the church at Philippi, reflected his own yearning love for them.
• His dedication to the Lord is evident throughout the New Testament and yet... even he had to overcome many difficulties that confronted the early Church, in the same way that we also have to overcome difficulties in Christendom in our times.

• Like much of the Old Testament, the prophecy of Malachi was specifically written to Israel and not to the New testament church.
• an immutable God Who is unchanging and unchangeable and a God Who will never go back on His word - either the earthly promises which He gave to nation of Israel or the many precious promises ..which by grace through faith in Christ, He has given to the Church - which is His Body.

• God's character never changes for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and the lessons He taught the children of Israel in time past are the lessons He continues to teach His children in this present church age.

• As Church age believers, we rejoice that Jesus is our Saviour Who redeemed us from the irreversible penalty of sin and its enslaving power over us, by His amazing grace.
• As Church age believers, we understand that we are not under the Law, but under grace.
• However, it was very difficult for Jewish Christians in those early days of the Church, to understand the full implications of Christ's sacrificial death and glorious Resurrection.
• It was hard for Jews in the first century Church to grasp that the Mosaic covenant, which their forefathers had followed for many centuries, had been superseded and surpassed by a new and better covenant, the covenant about which Jeremiah and other Old Testament prophets had spoken.

• He informed them that they had replaced the truth of God's Word with a lie from the enemy and warned that there were many false teachers within the Church who were perverting the truth of the gospel of Christ.
• The error that so quickly leached into the Galatian church in Paul's day, is still polluting the good news of the gospel of God's grace today.

• In many church assemblies today, there is much emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and though the gifts of the Spirit are wonderful and exciting, if they are not administered in love, they are of little worth and can even become abused and destructive.

• Much is wrong in the Church today.
• We have compromised the truth of God's Word and imported world's philosophies into the Church.

• Many in the Church today are leaving their first love for the more modern idols of bricks and mortar, gold and silver, fame, fortune, and the praise of man.

• Christians and the Church are a special group of people who are holy unto the Lord. We are set apart for a specific purpose in this dispensation of grace.
• Each of us are to lay aside the deceit and hypocrisy of this fallen world and grow in grace and in a knowledge of our Lord and Saviour. Each of us are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and have a unique part to play, as the Lord Jesus Christ builds His Church and constructs His holy habitation.
• The precious Foundation-Stone upon which the Church is built is Christ. He was chosen of God before the foundation of the world, tried by Satan, and learned obedience by the things He suffered.

• While believing Israel are Abraham's physical descendants who will inherit all the earthly promises given to their forefathers, the Church are Abraham's spiritual descendants; for we are IN Christ, born of the Spirit of God, and we have also been given many precious promises, including a heavenly inheritance.

• The book of Hebrews was particularly important for Jewish believers in the early Church.

• These warnings are given to Christians in this Church age, and any one of them can have a devastating effect on our spiritual growth and Christian testimony.

• May we never lose the awe and wonderment of the Treasure we have in these earthen vessels and may we look with equal anticipation for the return of Christ for His Church - our Blessed Hope and glorious Bridegroom.

• The prayers of the Colossian saints and others continue to be answered, as the gospel continues to spread and the Lord continues to be glorified, every time the letter Paul wrote to the Colossian Church is read and believed. 
• The mystery of Christ refers to the CHURCH, and we are all members of the mystical Body of Christ.
• The mystery concerns the Church being baptised into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit.

• And this is a promise from the Lord, which is equally true for Christians in today's Church dispensation, as it was for the nation of Israel during the dispensation of Law.
• The Lord promised that He would never leave them nor forsake them. Do not be afraid or discouraged, was the word of hope that was given to Israel as they prepared to pass over the Jordan, and it is a promise that is equally valid for the body of Christ, in this Church dispensation.
• In this church age, we may not have visible pillars of fire and cloud to lead and to guide, but He is with us every moment of the day, for we have the indwelling Holy Spirit, Who is our ever-present Comforter and holy Helper in time of need.

• Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith, and in Ephesians, the apostle Paul explains that the Christian Church, which is the Household of God, is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the Chief Cornerstone.

• Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.

• What an amazing day it must have been when the fledgling Church was born with those 120 faithful disciples who obeyed Christ's command.

• Many use this verse as an evangelism verse for the unsaved, but in reality, like all the seven letters in the book of Revelation, this is a warning to the Church of Christ (saved believers who are part of His Body and Bride).

• Hebrews provided Jewish Christians in the early Church a brilliant understanding that Israel's Old Covenant had been superseded by a New and better Covenant, cut at Calvary through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus.
• We are the living stones who are being built up, day by day, into the spiritual Temple of God, and today Jesus Christ is continuing to build His Church, for we are the Body of Christ: And the gates of hell will not prevail against us.

• Not only did they preach the good news of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, and open up the Old Testament scriptures to the people of Israel, but they also healed many sick people, in those early days of the Christian Church.
• While Christianity's rapid growth in the early days of the church must have been wonderful to behold, there were some who wanted to be healed without exercising faith, in the risen, ascended, glorified Christ.
• Unfortunately, certain pagan superstitions, mysticism, sorcery, witchcraft, and other unbiblical practices started to be embraced in the fledgling years of the Church.
• In those early days of the Christian Church, Gentiles had to give up their pagan practices, and Jews had to transition from being under the restrictive 'Law of Moses' to the liberating 'Law of the Spirit of God in Christ Jesus'.
• The Jews were also a race, who throughout their history, required a sign from God, and no doubt, the Lord used many of these sign miracles in the early church, to bring Jewish people to faith in Christ.
• Also in those early days of the Church, Peter, John, and the other apostles had to transition from teaching the pre-cross Gospel of the Kingdom, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, to proclaiming the post-cross, Gospel of the Grace of God, to everyone.
• Similarly, the full canon of Scripture had yet to be written, and much Church-age doctrine had yet to be clarified by the Holy Spirit, Who graciously guided Paul and the other New Testament writers, into all truth.
• During this transitional stage, from one dispensation to the next, some Jewish practices slipped into the early church along with some pagan customs.
• God in His grace used these early days of the Christian Church to teach these people that a new dispensation had begun and that God was starting a new thing through the Body of Christ - which is the Church.

• We are saved by grace through faith in Christ's work on Calvary and there is no ritual, religious activity, Sabbath rule, or Church-imposed regulation, that could ever elevate our position before God or exaggerate our spiritual importance.

• just as Paul was about to explain the reason that he was bowed in prayer before the Father, his thoughts were interrupted, and a parenthetical passage was inserted, which delved into great detail about the Church age..

• John is often called 'the apostle of love', and here he expressed his Christian love in a short letter to the 'elect lady' and her children because they were all born of the Spirit, children of God, one with the Lord, positioned in Christ, and part of His Body which is the Church.

• The Galatians heresy was of deep concern to Paul because Judaisers had entered the region, infiltrated the church community, and discredited the true gospel of the grace of God, by substituting a false one which demanded a works-based salvation centred on the Mosaic Law and not the true grace-based teachings of the Bible.
• The question is often asked, WHY did Paul apparently bless the Galatian Christians twice, if there is neither Jew nor Gentile in the Church dispensation?
• For there is neither Jew not Greek in Christ, we are all ONE in Him – ONE Church, ONE Faith, ONE Body, ONE God and Saviour.
• Some teach that 'the Israel of God' is simply another name for the whole Christian Church, but this gives rise to the unbiblical teaching of 'Replacement Theology' and 'Kingdom Now' teachings, where the Church has superseded Israel.
• During the Church-age there continues to be a small remnant of Jewish believers who, having trusted Christ as their Messiah, have become part of the One New Man in Christ and members of the Christian Church.

• His faithfulness lasts from one generation to another and His promises are all 'yes' and 'amen' in Christ Jesus our Lord, both for this cloud of faithful witnesses and for every member of the Body of Christ, the Church. 
• God works all things together for good, and fulfilment of His plan for His people, Israel, depends on the consummation of His plan for the Church.
• In the same way, His plans for the Gentile Church depended on the coming of a Messiah through His people Israel!
• Just as we were dependent on them to bring forth the Saviour, so they are dependent on the Church for the fulfilment of their promises. 

• Just as Israel was called to be God's chosen people during the dispensation of Law, so members of the Body of Christ, the Church, are called and chosen to be God's representatives on earth during this Church dispensation. We have not only been made children of God, but He has clothed us in Christ's righteousness, seated us together with Him in heavenly places, and made us to be joint-heirs with Him.

• The Bible gives a beautiful illustration of the marriage relationship that God intended in the beginning... and it can be seen in Christ's relationship with the Church, Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ also is the head of the Church - He Himself being the Saviour of the body.
• But as the Church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be submissive to their husbands in everything.
• Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church - and gave Himself up for her.

• Paul was writing to the Philippian Church from a prison cell but he wanted to emphasise that the many misfortunes that had befallen him in his ministry..

• Go everywhere and preach the gospel to everyone, was His instruction. Evangelisation was the final instruction that Christ gave to the fledgling church.

• The Song of Solomon has nearly always been interpreted to represent Christ's great love for the Church, for He is identified as the Bridegroom and we are His Bride.
• This book paints a beautiful portrait of the never-ending love story Christ has for His Church, and permits us a peep behind the scene of Solomon's household, the Shulamite woman he woos, and the love she has for her absent shepherd-lover.
• Sarah with Abraham, Rebekah with Isaac, Rachel with Jacob, Ruth with Boaz, and the Shulamite woman with her beloved shepherd, are all precursors of the Church and Christ: Listen!
• There is much that has delighted generations of Christians who have recognised, in this narrative, Christ's great love for the Church, but there are others who view this from the perspective of Israel.
• Whichever interpretation is preferred, there are many lessons for both Israel and the Church to reflect upon, about God's love for His people, Christ's love for the Church, and the importance of fidelity in our own, Christian marriages.
• There are reminders for the Church that despite His long absence, the Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd of the sheep, is coming soon to take us to be with Himself and we should yearn for His return as passionately as the Shulamite woman desires her shepherd.

• He is viewed as willingly giving His life for love of the Church and joyfully enduring the Cross for the eternal joy that was set before Him.
• In the Church age, we are not under the Law.

• There are many New Testament mysteries that were hidden from Old Testament saints - truths that were to be revealed to the people of God, through Paul, and the other New Testament writers, during the 'Dispensation of the Grace of God' - the Church Age.
• Paul spoke of many mysteries, including, 'The Mystery of Christ and the Church', 'The Mystery of the Gospel', 'The Mystery of Godliness', 'The Mystery of the Rapture', 'The Mystery of the Kingdom' and 'The Mystery of Christ in you the Hope of Glory'.
• The mystery of lawlessness was at work in the days of the early Church and it continues to be manifested today.
• And during this current dispensation the Holy Spirit, Who indwells all Church-age saints, is restraining evil, through the prayers, praises, and presence of believers, who are called to be salt and light in a dark and putrefying world of sin and lawlessness.
• The restraining work of the Holy Spirit, which is often carried out through the lives and witness of believers, will be halted, when the Church is removed at the close of this current dispensation.
• Oh, the Holy Spirit, Who is omnipresent, will still be on earth to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement, for He is omnipresent... but His specific work of restraining evil, through the prayers and praises of Church age saints will come to an end at the Rapture.
• Once the Church is raptured, lawlessness will become unfettered and the floodgates of evil will be flung wide open.

• Church-age believers are not appointed to go through this time of divine judgement, because God's wrath was poured out on Christ when He died on Calvary's Cross to pay the price for our sins.
• Church-age believers will be removed from the earth prior to the Tribulation, but as soon as the first seal on the 7-sealed scroll is broken in heaven by the Lamb on the throne (Revelation chapter 5), the first horseman of the apocalypse will gallop onto earth's history (Revelation chapter 6) followed in quick succession by the next five seals and their corresponding judgements.
• Just as Church-age believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise at the time of our salvation and are God's 'purchased possession' who are to do His will, so also this group of Jewish Tribulation believers are to be sealed in order to be used by Him during this time of trouble. 
• And so, Israel was set aside for a season, during which time the Spirit of God continued to work the works of God through the Christian Church.

• It is to participate with Him in the abuse and hatred that He received during His lifetime and which has continued to be poured out on members of His mystical Body, which is the Church, for centuries of time.

• Paul was afforded a unique role in the administration of the Christian Church, for not only was he the ONLY God-appointed apostle who did not accompany Christ throughout His earthly ministry... but he was also a murdering, hostile antagonist of the gospel of Christ at the time that the church was born - at Pentecost.
• However, not only was he commissioned to open many of these revelations to the Church... but at one point prior to His missionary journeys, he was raptured into heaven and shown unspeakable things which he was not permitted to share.

• And when we finally go to be with the Lord, whether at the rapture of the church or through the resurrection of the body we will be finally and fully sanctified - 'Perfect Sanctification' - for we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.

• THIRD: We will be GLORIFIED at the resurrection/Rapture of the Church, when the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead and who dwells in our mortal bodies will also give life to our body through His Holy Spirit.

• Acts is a book that transitions from the pre-Cross era of Israel to the post-Cross period of the Church.
• It highlights Pentecost as the beginning of a new dispensation in God's administrative work, and it shows Him moving from His pre-Cross, redemptive work through Israel, to His post-Cross provision through the Church.
• God put His redemptive work through Israel on hold, and in the interim, continued to operate His salvation plan through the Body of Christ, which is the Church.
• And while Chapter 1 deals with Christ's transition from his earthly ministry into His role as our heavenly High Priest, the rest of Acts gives insight into the development of the early Church, the ongoing work of the Spirit in and through the Church, and the postponement of God's dealings with Israel.
• It establishes the Holy Spirit as the channel through Whom God works, in the life of Christians, at the beginning of a Church dispensation.
• It identifies those who have trusted in Christ's finished work on the Cross for salvation, as the blessed benefactors of His amazing gifts and graces, and it lays many foundational principles for the Church and its unique role in God's eternal plan.
• That first day of Pentecost (when there was a sudden noise from heaven like a violent rushing wind, which filled the whole house where the disciples were sitting), marked the day of transition from the times of Israel, to the birth of the Church and the dispensation of the grace of God.

• In the early days of the Church, the only converts to Christianity were the Jews.
• He used the Israelite's wilderness wanderings to warn the Church against unbelief.
• The new dispensation began at Pentecost, with the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell Church-age believers, and will finish with the Rapture of the Christian Church.
• The removal of the Church at the end of this dispensation, will identify another marker in God's unfolding plan of redemption, For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also, and this is the point in history when God will once more start working through Israel as His earthly witnesses - and we will be in Christ's presence forever.

• May our lives be our own voluntary sacrifice to the Lord - Who loved the Church so much that He gave Himself for HER.

• One of the hallmarks of the fledgling Christian Church, was that they moved in the power of the Spirit and great grace was upon them all.
• Times were hard during these opening days of the church.
• Such communal living helped to provide for the needs of everyone in those difficult days of the early church.
• The outward action of Ananias and Sapphira, may have appeared to other church members to have been benevolent and generous, but God is omniscient and reads the intents of the heart and inner motives of the mind.
• Some use this passage to insist that Christians should sell all that they have and give everything to the church or to the poor... and although certain individuals may be called upon to do so... it is not what this passage is about.

• So much of Paul's ministry to the Church is reminding us of our eternal inheritance and our heavenly citizenship.

• At the time of the Lord Jesus, when Israel once again failed to repent of their sin and rejected their Messiah, God used the Church (which is Christ's Body) to go into all the world and tell forth the good news of the gospel of grace to the unsaved.

• Having outlined the duties of church elders and the pastoral role of those in Christian leadership, Paul exhorts Titus, and all his fellow-believers in Christ, to be subject to rulers, to obey the legislative authorities, and to be ready for every good deed that God has prepared for us to do.
• However, we read in this particular verse that pastors and those in church leadership have a duty to remind the people of God to be submissive to magistrates and other administrative authorities.
• Scripture is very clear about line-management and authority, in both the Christian Church and in secular government... and there is no question that as Christians, we are to abide by the laws and legislation of the land.

• He had just broken the bread, which represented His body and passed the cup of blessing, which represented the institution of the new covenant in His blood - and which from that night on would become a beautiful sacrament for the Church..

• Paul is clarifying the gospel of Christ to the brethren in the Corinthian church and in so doing, is giving the most comprehensive statement of the good news that our salvation is secured by believing on the death, burial, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Paul knew that some of those in the Corinthian church only believed a partial gospel.
• Without believing in both the crucifixion AND the Resurrection there is no salvation in Christ, and Paul realised that there were some in the Corinthian church who were professing to be believers, but who did not believe in the entirety of the gospel which he himself had outlined: That Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was RAISED the third day.

• It is not until we all reach unity in the faith, in the knowledge of the Son of God, (either through our physical death or the Rapture of the Church) that we will finally attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, and our sanctification will, at last, be complete.Every one of us that trusts in the Lord for salvation is already sanctified.

• As an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God, Paul set out the pure doctrine of Christianity in both his 'church' epistles, and the letters he sent personally to Timothy and Titus who were his true 'children in the faith'.

• The indwelling Spirit in New Testament believers, is a ministry unique to Church age believers and is permanent.
• The day of Pentecost was the day the Church was formed.

• Many use this to insist that the Mosaic Law is part of Church age doctrine without looking into the incredible significance of this one statement of our Lord.

• When the men and women in the Church at Corinth first heard the truth of the glorious gospel of grace, their lives were wonderfully transformed which was one vital proof that the gospel of Christ was an indisputable fact and a foundational truth to be defended at all cost.

• Pentecost was a unique, never-to-be-repeated, occasion at the birth of the Church.
• Being baptised with the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ is perhaps one of the most misunderstood concepts in the Bible, but perhaps 1 Corinthians 12:13 offers the clearest description of this once-for-all, supernatural event that takes place in the life of every Christian, the moment they place their faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting: For in the power of one Spirit, we have all been baptised into one Body; we have been placed INTO Christ's Body; we have become a Member of Christ's Body, which is the Church, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bondmen or free, and have all been given to drink of one Spirit.

• Today, we live in a world that is spiralling out of control, where evil is multiplying, the poor are oppressed, the love of many has grown icy cold, and a deep-seated hatred of both Israel and the Christian Church, is escalating out of control.

• Paul described the qualifications, qualities and duties of an elder in the Church and then he warned of the dangers of false teachers and also gave him guidance on their characteristics and how to identify these wolves in sheep's clothing.
• As leaders in their respective Church assemblies, both Timothy and Titus needed this serious reminder to preach sound doctrine to those in their charge - which encompasses the whole council of Scripture - so that the flock of God would not be hoodwinked by any false teachings or unbiblical doctrine they might come across.

• There is so much that we, in this Church dispensation, can learn from the history of Israel.

• Timothy had come to a deepening faith in Christ through the ministry of the apostle Paul and is identified in Scripture as one of the men who would wear the mantle of leadership in the Christian Church.
• It seems Timothy was somewhat reserved and may have had some health problems too, but Paul also knew that after his own death, grievous wolves would enter in among the Christian Church which would not spare the little flock of God.

• The faith of this little church had spread far and wide, and their heartfelt love for the Lord Jesus and for each other was similarly known to Paul.

• For a season, Israel has been set aside and the Church, which is the Body of Christ, has been called to be God’s witness to the world.
• And as we come to Him, we discover that it was for the Church that Jesus prayed when He said, For their sakes, I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

• Opposition to the Word of truth and the testimony of God is as old as the hills, and hostility toward the Christian faith, the Church of God, and the truth of the glorious gospel of grace, continues to rumble around the globe today and ravage many ministries, just as it did when Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt.
• Paul warned church elders in the various cities in which he taught, to be on their guard – not only for the well-being of the believers in their charge, but also for their own spiritual safety.
• Indeed, throughout the Church dispensation, this sad state of affairs has persisted.
• I am sure that Paul used this historical example to encourage Timothy, the young minister of the gospel who would become an increasingly important figure in the development and growth of the early Church.

• Paul's first epistle to the Corinthian church concentrated on teaching and correction, whilst his second letter is more pastoral and exposes the deep love Paul has for these people.

• To put it bluntly, the spirit of antichrist had infected this church... and doctrines of demons had been systematically infiltrating the Christians there, until Paul was forced to cry out, OH, you foolish Galatians!!
• New Testament teachings to the Church on how to live are very clear and never give believers a licence to sin.
• Paul was commissioned to teach the post-Cross doctrine of grace to the Church, and not the pre-Cross restrictions of the Law to Israel.
• The post-Cross doctrine of grace is for believers in the Church.
• If Paul, in these early days of the Church, was so viciously attacked by these legalistic, Pharisaic teachers who deliberately tied up heavy legalistic burdens on men's shoulders in order to entrap them, manipulate them, enslave them, and place them back under the curse of the Law... how much more do we, in these closing days of Christendom, need to be equally vigilant in our defence of the glorious gospel of God - for Christ died for our sins and rose again the third day so that by faith in His sacrificial work on the Cross and glorious Resurrection, we have been freed from the curse of the Law - which is death - and have been born anew where we walk in spirit and truth under the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

• After the Resurrection, the Church (which is the Body of Christ) were to be His witnesses on earth.
• Although over 500 people rejoiced to meet their risen Saviour, only 120 were to be found in the right place at the right time when the fledgling Church was birthed, and those present were all baptised with the Holy Spirit, as promised by the Lord Jesus Himself at His Ascension.
• Through their failure, the Church (which is His Body) has become God's witness on earth today, testifying of the glorious gospel of Christ to all who will believe on Him name.
• The call to go into all the world as Christ's witnesses continues to be the mission of the Church today.

• What a glorious hymn of praise David penned, for though originally written to rejoice in the everlasting faithfulness of the Lord towards His people, Israel, this beautiful verse is as relevant today for the Church.

• No surprise that God purposed that in the ages to come He would use the Body of Christ, which is the Church, as a demonstration of the manifold wisdom of God to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.
• Their desire was salvation from the Roman empire rather than the salvation of their souls - and so the Lord called the Church into being to sing forth the greatness of God to the sea of humanity in the unsaved nations, and to tell of the gracious character and redeeming love of Israel’s rejected Kinsman-Redeemer.
• During the time that Israel is set aside, it is the Church that has been called to preach the gospel of grace and proclaim the Saviour of the world to Jew and Gentile alike so that whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, by grace through faith in Christ.We must never forget that Israel is the nation to whom Isaiah is speaking, and we must always remember that the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
• After the Church has been removed at the Rapture, it is the people of Israel who will show forth His praises to the nations.Israel will, one day, fulfil their calling for they are precious in His sight.
• But for now, the Christian Church is called to be His witness to the world, for we too are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God – so that we too may declare the praises of Him Who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light.

• And Paul used Israel's escape from Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, and their 40-year long wilderness wanderings to teach the Church this important lesson, for they all were baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, when they were rescued from Egypt, by faith - just as the Church are all baptised into Christ, when we are rescued from the slave-market of sin, by faith.
• Just as Israel were redeemed and identified with Moses, so the Church is redeemed and identified with Christ.
• And Paul used Israel's baptism into Moses, and their subsequent failure, as a warning to the Church, not to fall from grace, into the same attitude of unbelief.
• ISRAEL were identified with MOSES, and the CHURCH are identified with CHRIST.
• Israel were baptised into Moses, and the Church is baptised into Christ.
• And Paul gave us this example of Israel's failure as a warning to the Church not to fall into the same trap of unbelief.

• And should we not prepare our hearts for the any day return of Christ Jesus for the Church?

• The Corinthians Christians had some serious misunderstandings about Paul's message and ministry, which gave rise to division within the church, immoral activities among its members, a selfish, self-serving attitude, and the stunting of their spiritual growth.

• Too often, as Church age believers, we plead, and petition, and ask, and beg the Lord to give us what is already ours, by faith in Christ.

• May we be earnest in supplications, and stand firm in our personal prayer ministry, resolving to pray earnestly and keep on praying that the gospel of Christ is effective today, that it will spread rapidly in these closing days of the Church dispensation, and that God will be greatly glorified. 

• As Church-age believers, we are not under law but under grace, which means that we are called to live by a supernatural standard which is only achieved when we live for Christ, die to self, walk in spirit and truth, and submit to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
• As Church-age believers, we are not subject to the Mosaic Law (and its many regulations) given to Israel as part of their covenant relationship with God.

• We as the Body of Christ, that is the Church, will not be on earth when the Antichrist is revealed.
• The Holy Spirit is working out His role as Restrainer through the Church, as He resides in us.
• This role of Holy Spirit as Restrainer, will come to an end at the Rapture of the Church when He is taken out of the way.

• Christ was made an offering for sin, the sin of the whole world, but He willingly went to the Cross as a freewill offering of love for his friends who are His Body, the Church.
• And Christ loved and cherished the Church so dearly that He gave Himself for it: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down His life for His friends.

• The Cross secured God's earthly land and kingdom promises, which will be brought to fruition at the right time, and the Cross won the spiritual battle which the Church has been engaged in for 2000 years, which will be ultimately fulfilled at Christ's return. 
• By His goodness and grace, God purposed to use the Church as the instrument to secure better promises for Israel (heavenly, as well as earthly promises) just as He used Israel as His instrument to bring the glorious gospel of redemption through their Jewish Messiah to the Gentiles.

• And so Christ gave a blistering response to these blind leaders of the blind: Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come -  either in the dispensation of Law or the dispensation of the Church.

• Israel had to be set aside for the duration of the Church age, and a new body of believers were commissioned to carry out God's 'ministry of reconciliation'.
• God's witnesses, in this Church age, consist of a body of believers who are made up of a remnant of believing Jews, together with a body of believing Gentiles.
• They are called the 'Body of Christ', which is 'the Church' and like Israel, have also been entrusted with their own special and unique ministry for God.
• They were to be God's witness to the world during the Church dispensation.
• Like Israel, the Church was to be used by God to circumvent the forces of evil.
• The Church is called to be a witness of God's grace to both holy angels and demonic beings... and we are not only to show forth His goodness and grace in this day and age, but also in the ages to come so that they too might come to a knowledge of the manifold wisdom of God and His amazing grace towards mankind.

• The Church had been vigorously chastened by Paul, and he considered it wise to reschedule his visit, explaining that his change of plan was to spare their feelings, following his forceful criticism of their carnal behaviour.

• What a beautiful picture this gives to Church-age believers of God's redeemed people, and the call to live a consecrated life unto Him.
• Just as the Lord promised to do wonders among Israel, He has promised to do wonders through the Church.

• He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and we too can confidently trust Him to keep all the promises he has made to the Church as well - all of which are 'yes' and 'amen' in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• By grace through faith in Him, Ruth became one of the most exquisite 'types' of the Church we discover in the pages of Scripture, and found herself elevated to be grandmother to the great king David and a descendent of the Messiah of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Yes, Jesus is the Kinsman-Redeemer of His own beloved Bride, the Church which is His Body, for we were bought with a price, the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

• The first time was at Pentecost when the Church was born.
• The Church grew rapidly in those early days of Christendom, and in Chapter 4, we find another lovely example of Christians being filled with the Spirit as they prayed together: And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
• In this passage, the filling of the fledgling Church was to speak the Word of God with boldness.

• There are many such examples of God's deep compassion for widows in Scripture, and they illustrate the way the Christian Church should behave towards them.
• Paul highlighted the right response towards needy widows, to ensure that only those who qualified for Church support received it.
• The widow who qualifies for assistance from the church is one who trusts in the Lord to provide for all her needs and necessities.

• But for us in this Church age, we are looking for the day when Jesus will come for us in the clouds: The trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ will rise first and then we that are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to be with Lord forever.

• We who have trusted in Christ as Saviour, are to remember the many precious promises He has made towards us, and we are also to the recall countless times that God has defended and comforted His people Israel in their distress, knowing that His grace is the same toward His people, the Church, as it was in ancient past.

• The truths that Jeremiah shared about the New Covenant are thrilling to both Israel and the Church, and we who believe in Christ for salvation know that this covenant was cut at Calvary, through the shed blood of Christ and will be fully and finally ratified when Jesus returns as King of Israel to set up His Millennial kingdom on earth.
• The promises given to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, are repeated and renewed in this exciting passage and bear witness that 'replacement theology' is a fallacious doctrine, and the teaching that the Christian Church has replaced Israel is a figment of man's arrogant imagination, that is spawned from the creative fancy of theologians who fail to rightly divide the word of truth.
• In those days and at that time, Christ will return in the clouds of glory (with the recently raptured Church; you, and me, and every member of His Body).

• Like Christians today, the believers at Thessalonica were living in tough, and turbulent times, and the apostle knew that the church needed the Author of peace to guide His people, sustain their spirits, and grant His perfect peace from above.

• We can trace the spread of the Christian message from the inception of the Church at Pentecost, as men of Israel, proselytes, and believers from further afield, (like the Ethiopian eunuch and Cornelius - the Gentile centurion) placed their trust in Jesus Christ, were baptised into His mystical Body, and were in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit of God.
• However, in the middle on his relentless pursuit of the fleeing Church, this renowned Persecutor of believers who followed 'The Way' - became a committed Proclaimer of the gospel to Jew and Gentile, alike.
• Saul was a most dedicated persecutor of the early Church.

• Bitter suffering and significant poverty had to be endured by the persecuted believers in the church at Smyrna, but unlike His letters to the other six churches in the book of Revelation, Christ gave no rebuke to this little Christian community.
• The Lord concluded His letter to the Smyrna Church with the words, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
• We are to walk in spirit and truth and to suffer persecution and even death, for the sake of Christ - and when this is done as outlined in this epistle to the church at Smyrna, it will qualify us for an additional reward - the glorious Crown-of-Life!

• In this passage, which was written to instruct Church leaders on godly conduct, we discover that the mystery of godliness is connected with 1) faith in Christ and 2) a spiritual walk.
• He died on the Cross for our salvation and destroyed the evil work of the devil so that by faith in Him, we might be identified with His godliness, covered in His righteousness, and become a part of His mystical Body which is the Church.
• Paul had been instructing Church deacons and other Christian leaders on godly conduct, personal purity, and spiritual living, and his teaching culminated in the fact that every area of a believer's behaviour should be in harmony with gospel teaching and founded on biblical truth.

• He also warned them to be on their spiritual guard, for false teachers and doctrines of demons were aggressively infiltrating the Body of Christ in those early days of the Church, just as they are today in these final days of the dispensation of grace.
• Oh yes, John had been chosen by the God of truth to proclaim the gospel of truth, and he had been witness to Christ's final prayer for the Church, which is His Body: I have given them the words that You gave Me, and they have received them and have come to know the truth... sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth.

• For instance, being saved must be differentiated from growing in the Christian life, and passages that were specifically written to Israel should not be confused with those that were written to the Church.

• Just as Christ was the Channel through Whom God worked to reconcile the world back to Himself during His earthly ministry, the Body of Christ, which is the Church, is called to carry out the same, responsible task.
• God Himself chose to make the individual bodies of Christians, and the collective Body of Christ (the Church), His sacred residence: WE are the sanctuary of the living God, Paul reminded these believers at Corinth, WE are the temple of the living God.
• The Corinthian Church is a good example of saints of God who neglected the truth, opened their heart to false teaching, and were not diligent in their spiritual growth or maturity in the faith.

• This is the city where the Church was born, and this is the place where the gospel of the grace of God started to be preached.

• During this dispensation of the grace of God, the Lord is working through the members of His Body - which is the Church.
• However, at the close of the Church age, the trump of God will be sounded together with a mighty shout from the archangel: The dead in Christ will rise first and then we, who are alive and remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, where we will meet the Lord in the air.
• It is after this supernatural event that all Church age believers will be judged, at the Bema seat of Christ.

• When instructing Timothy concerning church conduct, the necessary qualities in elders and deacons, the responsibilities of pastors and teachers, the roles of men and women in the Body of Christ and in their home environment, and the need to challenge false teachers and insubordinate church members, Paul lays out an established, God-given order, that should be adopted within every church community.
• Although this verse appears contentious, Paul is simply stating that women should not behave in a disorderly, noisy, or hyperactive manner, but that their outward behaviour, in Church and at home, should mirror an inner virtue and grace.
• He is simply reminding these believers of the fundamental principle of decency and order, both at home and within a Church gathering, as implemented by God in the beginning.
• We read in Acts that Pricilla instructed Apollos, and that women like Phoebe, Junia, Chloe, and others, were engaged in certain responsibilities and service within the Church Body.
• It is women who illegitimately assume eldership roles and claim unscriptural control within a Church community.
• It is women with a controlling spirit who claim to being independent of clear, church protocol as laid out in Scripture, and assume unbiblical leadership and authority over the clearly laid out instruction given through Paul.
• This passage teaches that women should not exercise authority over the church's eldership, which should consist of correctly qualified and biblically appointed male-leaders, including its pastor.
• Just as Adam was the federal head of the human race and Christ is the Head of the Church, so husbands are to exercise authority within their own families and correctly appointed men; elders, deacons, overseers, and pastors-teachers, are to exercise authority within a church fellowship.
• May we seek to read God's Word, recognise His fundamental principles, carry out His instruction at home and in our church communities wisely, and behave reverently, discreetly, soberly, and in the fear of the Lord.

• Paul had played havoc with the Church, entering into homes where he dragged both men and women to jail.
• He was influential in Christian persecution in the early Church, causing many to scatter abroad - preaching the gospel of Christ as they fled.
• They were members of the Church, and in persecuting believers he was also persecuting the Lord Jesus Christ.
• This encounter was to be the single most significant event that changed the history of the Christian church. I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting, was the staggering reply he heard from the heavenly vision.
• By persecuting the Church he was persecuting God.

• How we pray that Christian leaders in this post-Cross, Church age, do not fall into the same foolish ways as the leaders of pre-Cross Israel who allowed children and young people to oppress them and permitted feminism and similar ungodly practices to infiltrate the God-ordained structure in their homes and their meeting places.
• Oh, that the Church of Christ would learn the lesson from Israel's failure and not stray from the Word of God.

• Israel's relationship with God did not exempt them from sin and its consequences - and the same is true of the church in this dispensation of grace.
• our position in Christ in no way permits Church-age believers to sin with impunity.

• He also gives a strong rebuttal against the false teaching that the Church has replaced Israel.
• Chapter 10 has its sights on the place of Israel in the present, during this Church dispensation. For some reason certain people consider that because of her apostasy God has terminated His promises to Israel, but that is not so.

• James, the brother of the Lord Jesus Christ, had a ministry to Jewish believers in Christ in the early Church, and this epistle is addressed to Christians from the 12 tribes of Israel who are dispersed throughout the world.

• Jesus came to earth as our holy Comforter, but following His Ascension into heaven, where He acts as the Churches Mediator and great High Priest, He asked the Father to send another Comforter to the Church, to be with us forever.
• Just as Christ was filled with the Spirit throughout His time on earth, so also His Body (which is the Church), was to be filled with the Spirit.
• Just as Jesus communed with the Father, so too the Church was to enjoy fellowship with Him.
• Just as Christ's body was the temple of the Holy Spirit during His sojourn on earth, it is the Church, both corporately and individually, that has become the Temple of the living God.
• Among His many ministries in the lives of Church age believers, the Holy Spirit gives comfort to His people just as Christ gave comfort to the disciples, for He is the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of hope.
• The comfort provided by the indwelling Spirit was a very important element in those early years of the Christian Church.
• The Book of Acts is a time of transition from the pre-Cross dispensation of the Law, when God was working through Israel, to the post-Cross dispensation of grace, when the Church became God's ministers of reconciliation through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
• However, as they began to widen their evangelism to include those in Samaria and beyond, they were comforted of the Holy Spirit, and enjoyed a period of stability and calm as the gospel was taught throughout Judea and Galilee and Samaria: So the Church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the Church continued to increase.
• When the Church began to realise that the saving message of the gospel of grace was not only for Jews, Jewish proselytes, and men of Israel living in different parts of the world, but was also to be be given to the Samaritans in Samaria and Gentiles in the uttermost parts of the earth, there followed a time of peace in the land.
• This was a time when the Church expanded and the believers continued to be built up in the fear of the Lord.

• And we are currently living during a time (the Church age), when God has set Israel aside.
• We rejoice to know that nothing in heaven, on earth, or under the earth can prevent God's plans and purposes, for both His Church and His people Israel, from its final fulfilment.

• Today, He is the one and only Mediator between God and man, and He intercedes as God's Hight Priest on behalf of His Church, day and night.

• But this is an illustration for our learning and for our application as Church age believers.

• And in this verse in Matthew, the Lord specifically says that people who hungered and thirsted for righteousness would be blessed, a truth that, although specifically written to the Jewish nation, has a wonderful application for all Church age believers.

• Paul was very concerned about the disorder, division, and internal disputes that were erupting in the Corinthian Church.
• Some were arguing that Apollos was a superior teacher to Paul and vice versa, while others trumpeted their preference for Peter's style of teaching or some other favourite leader in the early Church.
• Certain members even boasted that they were the ones who belonged to Christ, which seemed to imply that others in the congregation were excluded from the 'real' Church, simply because they were siding with the wrong leader.
• Although leaders and elders in the Church should be respected by the rest of the members, they should not be revered or exalted as they were in Corinth.

• This verse has caused consternation in the Church and division in denominations.

• His letter to the Roman Church begins by detailing the most thorough and systematic teaching on God's divine wrath and justified condemnation of the fallen race of humanity, which is only evil continuously.
• Paul explains the wonder of our identification with Christ and His precious identification with us.For if we are become identified with Him in the likeness of His death, so also we shall be identified with His glorious resurrection. Paul then expounds God's wisdom in setting aside the nation of Israel for a season and His ultimate will and purpose as it relates to both Israel and the Church, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles is brought in. 
• Those in the early Church were exhorted to get ready for the return of the Lord Jesus.

• That first day of Pentecost was the day the Church was born.
• Until that point they were quite fearful, but on that day the Church was born, they were all filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and began to witness with great authority and joy.

• Members of the Church are also God's beloved, blood-bought children, and although we are not under the Mosaic Law, nor required to sacrifice in the Temple or keep the feasts of the Lord, we are called to be obedient to His Word.
• But although Haggai was written FOR our learning, it was not addressed TO the Church.

• However, Luke did not end his account to Theophilus by recording the beheading of this great apostle of Christ, which appears to be recorded in the writings of some of the Church fathers.

• And for Christians in this Church age, we look forward to the day when Christ will come in the clouds to gather us to Himself, before the Tribulation period, in the wonderful Rapture of the Church.

• Deception in the Church is ugly and dangerous and must be quickly recognised, rooted out, and removed from the Body of Christ.

• Peter cautioned the Church that in the midst of this heightened hatred for God and escalating animosity towards those that are His, we are to maintain a clear conscience in thought, word, and deed, and to endure the inevitable suffering, with a dignified, Christ-like courage.
• We who are born again in this Church age, are to be vehicles of God's grace.

• But today, as in the days of the early Church, there is a huge interest in angels and an intense fascination with the ministry of the angelic host which will often eclipse the vital message of salvation that God gave through His Son.
• Jews in the early Church were very proud that the Mosaic Law was given to them by God, through angels, and we do not want to diminish the significance of God's holy Law.

• But for the Church, which is Christ's Body, God's judgement on our sin is past, having been poured out on Jesus on the Cross, and our future heavenly judgement is where every Christian will be rewarded for the work which we did in our bodies, whether good or bad.
• After the Rapture of the Church will be the Bema Seat judgement: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

• Paul composed a lengthy and weighty letter to the Roman church that addressed every issue that is so vital to living the normal Christian life in this post-Cross era.
• His extensive epistle is written in such a way as to provide a wonderful understanding of all Church-age doctrines and how to apply them in our lives today so that we are enabled to live a victorious Christian life – the life that God intended for all His children.

• Today, we live in the Church dispensation.
• But when this Church age is finally ended, 'the Day of the Lord' which was spoken of by so many prophets of old, will finally arrive.

• And here, in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul concludes this section with the words: To Him be the glory in the Church, and in Christ Jesus, to all generations forever and ever, Amen. 
• Paul's spontaneous outburst of worship and praise in this passage, came after he had pronounced a truth that should rejoice the hearts of all God's children: Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, Amen.
• The Church is the Body of Christ, and in this verse it is the power of God working through the Church that rejoices the heart of the apostle.
• We are to do His will and glorify His name, and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of us evermore - so that in the ages to come we may show forth His glory in the Church, and in Christ Jesus, to all generations, forevermore.

• A new dispensation - the dispensation of the grace of God (the Church age) would soon be instigated, at Pentecost.
• Soon Jesus would return to the Father to carry out His present, heavenly role as High Priest, interceding for His Church.
• Soon the disciples would learn to teach the gospel of the grace of God, during the soon-to-be-instigated Church age.
• When Israel rebelled against God the Father, rejected their Messiah, refused His offer of the kingdom, and crucified their Saviour, Christ's disciples had a few short weeks to be prepared to exit the Jewish sacrificial system and enter a new era - the Church age.

• And so, we have the strongly worded letter to the Galatian church which presented the most blistering denunciation of their false doctrine and a vigorous defence of the Christian liberties we have in Christ.
• Whether it is food, morals, a community, a church, or a government, when a little poison or evil or malice is permitted to infiltrate what is good, it soon becomes spoiled, poisonous, ruined – destroyed.

• An unbeliever is barred from all the ministries He performs in the life of a Christian, but because a believer has the 'unction' of the Spirit or the Spirit's 'anointing' (because a believer is indwelt by the Spirit), they have access to His other Church-age ministries.
• What a privilege to have the unction of the Holy One of God, Who comforts and corrects, teaches and encourages, guides us into all truth, and carries out all the experiential ministries of the Holy Spirit, in the lives of all believers, during this Church age.

• For Christians today, Zechariah gives one of the most detailed accounts of the coming 'Tribulation' events - which will happen after the Church has been removed at the Rapture.
• And after the Church has been taken away - during the time of Jacob's Trouble, Israel will turn to this prophecy once more, and know that after the great battle of Armageddon, the Lord will go forth, and fight against the nations that have ravaged Jerusalem, taken half the city captive, and shaken their fist in the face of God.
• The Church will continue their ministry of reconciliation, until the day they are taken out of the way, when Israel will once again be used to finish the work God He has prepared for them to do, and finally, they will welcome their Messiah - JESUS, King of kings and Lord of lords.

• Jesus had veiled His glory during His sojourn on earth, but He now stood clothed in glorious magnificence in the middle of 7 golden lampstands (which we are told later, represent 7 churches, the totality of the Christian Church). 
• As John lay prostrate in awesome wonder and reverential fear before the glorified Son of Man, the Lord Jesus revealed that the seven stars in His right hand, represented the angels of the 7 churches. Some consider that these seven stars speak of leaders, pastors, and representatives within the Christian Church, while others suggest that the literal meaning of angels or messengers is more likely.
• Jesus is full of grace and truth, and John describes the pure words of grace and judgement that flowed from the lips of the Saviour as a sharp two-edged sword that proceeded from His mouth. During the early days of the Church, Israel were subdued under Roman authority.

• The battles that we fight in this post-Cross dispensation, may not be fought with the same slings and swords that Joshua's army used to conquer so many Canaanite cities - for in this Church age, we are in a spiritual battle which requires spiritual armour.

• As Church-age believers, we 'see' God because we have been clothed in Christ's righteousness, by faith.
• Although this beautiful verse is relevant to us in the Church age - in its biblical context, this teaching was given to Israel.
• However, this beautiful beatitude is equally relevant to Church age believers today.

• and use this verse to suggest that the promised, earthly kingdom is no longer for Israel, but has somehow been transferred to the Church - again, this is a totally false inference and a destructive twisting of Biblical truth.
• Let us trust God to fulfil all His plans and purposes as relates to both Israel's earthly inheritance and the Church's heavenly inheritance - but let us not go beyond what is revealed to us in Scripture or seek to distort the Word of God in order to satisfy our own human curiosity or our own presumptuous pride.

• All believers, whether Jew or Gentile, male or female, old or young, bond or free, were to become part of the mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church.
• It was Paul to whom this great secret was revealed: that the Church is the Body of Christ, and all members of the Body of Christ will become God's heavenly people, while the nation of Israel will one day be restored as God's earthly people.
• God in His wisdom and kindness, determined to keep the Church a mystery, for had Satan and his demonic forces known that God's plan was to secure back His heavenly realm by means of the Church, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.

• It was this wonderful and eternally significant proclamation that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel, and the Saviour of mankind upon which the Lord Jesus would build His Church – for His spilt blood was to seal the fate of Satan and destroy the evil power of death and hell that had snaked its icy fingers around the throat of every man and woman born into the human race. 
• The Church was not to be founded on Peter the person, but upon the wonderful and eternally significant confession of faith about the person of Christ that God revealed to him.
• For 2000 years, the Lord Jesus has been building His worldwide Church.
• The Church of Christ consists of all those that have trusted His name.
• The Church that Christ has been building is different from any other group of people, for it has been built up of men and women of all races and languages, Jews and Gentiles who are being united to form a new temple, a residence for God where Christ is the Head. 
• And on this confession of faith, Jesus said, On this Rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

• Every member of Christ's Body is gifted in a unique way, and each is expected to use their spiritual gifts to function in the Church so that the whole Body is edified, built up, and works together in godly harmony.

• He also began in earnest to prepare His few, faithful followers for His fast approaching death and Resurrection, and for their forthcoming ministry as the foundational apostles and prophets of the Church.

• In the early days of the Church, many Jewish Christians who had trusted Christ as their Saviour, were being drawn back into Temple worship, Mosaic observances, and practicing, customs and traditions of the elders, even though they had been replaced when Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.

• Indeed, it is impossible to love as Christ loved us - which was the new commandment He gave to each member of the Christian Church.

• We have an eternal inheritance that is kept for us in heaven, and we have an assurance from God Himself that Christ will one day return for His Church.
• We not only have confidence that Christ will come for His saints at the Rapture of the Church, but also we have an assurance in His Word, that the Lord Jesus will be revealed in glory.

• We hear the final invitation of the Spirit and the Bride (which is the Church) calling whosoever will to come and drink, and THEN we read that final, sombre warning: If anyone adds to Words of this Book, God will add to him the terrible plagues which are written in God’s Word, and that God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

• Paul gives sound advice to Timothy on the necessary qualities and characteristics that should be present when a man takes on such an important responsibility within the Church.
• In chapter 3, he gives a comprehensive list of the attributes and characteristics required for those aspiring to be overseers in the Church and also instructs Timothy on his own roles and responsibilities as their pastor.
• There appears to have been a large number of widows in the church where Timothy pastored, and Paul spends considerable time instructing Timothy on how to behave towards this group of ladies and how best to support them.
• Although the Bible shows God's concern that widows are cared for, Scripture does not promote communism, communal living, or socialism, nor does it teach that some government agency should be employed to address the needs of widows in the community. He points out that a widow with children or grandchildren should be cared-or by their families because this is acceptable in the sight of God, while Paul considers that widows who give themselves to carnal pleasures and engage in wanton behaviour, should not receive support from the Church fellowship, but should be reproached.
• These widows are no doubt women of meager means who could be looked upon by some with careless disdain, but Paul makes it clear that such ladies are to be honoured in the Church community because their trust and hope is in the Lord. 

• As Church-age believers, the coming Day-of-the-Lord will not begin to happen until the Restrainer of evil.. (the Spirit of God indwelling the Christian Church) has been removed from the earth, and the identity of the man of sin is revealed.
• Just as Zephaniah was called to warn Israel of the coming Day-of-the-Lord, so the Church, which is the Body of Christ, have been commissioned as Ministers of Reconciliation, to tell out the good news of the gospel of God to this lost and dying world.

• In this verse, Paul is instructing Timothy concerning conduct within a church fellowship and the appropriate, orderly behaviour that should be exhibited by the church elders, as well as other men and woman in the fellowship.
• Just as Christ is the head of the Church and was submissive to His Heavenly Father, during His earthly ministry, so a husband is the head of the wife, who should similarly be submissive.
• Sadly, the increase in feministic egalitarianism and blurring between the gender lines, has distorted the beautiful harmony of Scripture and the God-ordained, complimentary roles of men and women within the home and wider church family.
• This trend has caused the beautiful, submissive spirit that God has ordained for the woman, to be misinterpreted as a devaluation of her person and a disparagement of her contribution in a church fellowship.
• Nevertheless, men have been ordained by God, to govern church fellowships and women should be content to quietly learn from others and grow in grace with a submissive and gentle heart.
• When a woman accepts that she has a different role, both within church life and home life, it demonstrates her compliance and submissiveness to God's fundamental design and purpose.
• Leadership in both the home and the church has been entrusted, by God, to men and not to woman.
• When the roles and responsibilities within a church are correctly implemented and function biblically, the quiet, submissive spirit of godly women is seen to complement the leadership role of the men and helps to unite the Body of Christ in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
• Let us be careful to take to heart the whole council of God in every area of doctrine and church life so that our homes and churches become places where God's Word is followed and the Lord is glorified through our actions and attitudes.

• It did not take long for the early church to fall into apostasy as certain ungodly men crept in secretly and started to pervert the truth of the glorious gospel of Christ and indulge in unseemly activities.
• Jude warned that these were lawless, wanton and immoral people who had crept into the church by pretending to be ministers of God - but instead they perverted the grace of our God into promiscuity and twisted the liberty we have in Christ into licentiousness.

• He was also keenly aware of an evil, Jewish plot to kill him during his scheduled visit to the church at Ephesus, and had to take this into account as he planned his route by land and by sea.
• During his years in Ephesus, Paul had taught many different Church-age doctrines, but the one highlighted here was 'repentance towards God' and 'faith in our Lord Jesus Christ'.
• Indeed, the 'mother-church' used this to ensnare and control their congregations by introducing 'penance', 'indulgences', 'church-attendance', and other nonbiblical things to enslave and frighten the masses.

• Indeed, there was a small remnant of Jewish believers during Christ's earthly ministry, and in the early days of the Church, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and were saved - and today, during this Christian dispensation, there is still a small remnant of Jewish people whose eyes have been opened to the truth of the gospel of grace and who believe that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel and Son of the living God.
• This remnant of Church-age Jewish believers who have trusted in Christ's death, burial, and Resurrection for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting, is small.
• As part of the one new man in Christ and members of His mystic Body, the Church, where there is neither Jew nor Gentile, this tiny remnant of Jewish believers who have trusted Christ during the current Church age, could be the ones to whom this verse is alluding - for this is a Scripture that was addressed specifically to the people of Israel and not to the wider body of believers in the Christian dispensation.
• There are those that think this verse in Zephaniah could be a concealed allusion to the Rapture of Church age believers - and specifically the little remnant of Jewish believers who would trust in their Messiah during the times of the Gentiles - and throughout the Church age.
• Although the One-New-Man-In-Christ and the Rapture of the Church was a mystery that was hidden from Old Testament prophets and pre-Cross generations of believers, and although it was revealed to Church-age saints through the apostle Paul, there has always been a small remnant of Jewish believers in the Messiah in every generation, a tiny remnant of Israel who have sought the Lord in humility of heart, carried out His ordinances, and trusted His Word - because the Word of God has decreed it to be so.

• But this verse outlines the core truth of the message of the Cross: that members of the Body of Christ, which is the Church, all enjoy equal position, privileges, status, and title.
• There is no division in the Church, for we are all fellow members of His Body, fellow-partakers of the unconditional promise made to Christ through Abraham, and fellow-inheritors with the same birthright that is given by grace through faith to all the redeemed in Christ.

• As Christians in the Church age, we are issued with many commands, which are to be carried out in spirit and in truth through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
• Instructions for the Church are found in Paul's epistles and the writings of the other New Testament apostles, but nowhere are we commanded to keep the Sabbath day as many denominations insist.
• Indeed, the Church is instructed not to lay down such restrictions and adhere to the traditions of man – many of which are rooted in the Old Testament Law given to Israel.
• Those who choose to do so are at perfect liberty to worship on the Sabbath, and those who choose to worship on a Sunday are also at liberty to do so, but neither are legal requirements for Christians in this Church age, and we are not to judge those who DO or those who do NOT.

• It was at Pentecost when the baton was passed from Israel to the Church, for a season, and from that Day of Pentecost until the start of the Great Tribulation, God is forwarding his plans and purposes through Church-age believers who have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation.
• Today, the Church (which is the Body of Christ) is His representative on earth and believers are the ones through Whom His Spirit is working in the world.
• Many had heard Christ's words during His earthly ministry but failed to give heed to everything He said until their eyes were opened in those early days of the Christian Church.

• He did not receive it from any human source, not even the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem, but according to the will and purpose of God.
• Instead of reaching the world through His chosen nation (Israel), God began to work through the Body of Christ (the Church).
• However, during the Church age, the apostles were instructed to go into the world and preach the gospel of grace to everyone.
• The book of Galatians was written because certain Judaisers and religious-minded legalists went from church to church challenging the person of Paul and his work, his ministry and message, his teachings, his calling, and the gospel of the grace of God that is accessed through faith. They believed they were saved by their Jewish ancestry and taught that Gentiles could not be saved unless they first converted to Judaism and participated in circumcision and other Jewish practices.

• However, due to the rejection of their Messiah, God set Israel aside for a season, (after 483 of the 490 years had been completed) and the last 'week-of-years' (that future 7-year period of Great Tribulation), had to be postponed until the completion of the dispensation of grace (the Church age).
• The time clock paused for Israel and the interlude we call the Church Age began.
• And, for a time, the Lord instituted the Church to go into all the world and spread-abroad the gospel of grace - that Christ died and is risen as the sacrifice for sin.
• This interlude will end when the Church is removed at the Rapture, the time clock will re-commence for Israel, and this important 7-year prophecy of the 70th week will start to be fulfilled.
• The wrath of God was poured out on Christ in our stead, which is why the Church will be removed before this terrible day of destruction, for we are not appointed unto wrath.

• Both the extended greetings at the beginning of Paul's many epistles and the lengthy farewells at the end, give us a wealth of information on God plans and purposes for His Church and teach us much on living the Christian life, in the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace.
• Jesus is not only near in the Person and work of the Spirit in our lives, but His physical return in the clouds to take us to be with Himself at the Rapture, or resurrection of Church-age saints, is also nearer than when we first believed.

• They only had to wait 10 more days for the amazing Day of Pentecost to arrive, when the Church was born and those present were baptised into the Body of Christ, permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit, were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and were given the gift of languages.
• For most of Christ's earthly ministry, He and His disciples taught the gospel of the kingdom, but because Israel rejected God's anointed King, Christ returned to heaven for a season, while God continued His plan of redemption through the Church.
• The important position of apostle needs to be recognised and celebrated, for Scripture tells us that the Church was to be built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the Cornerstone.

• 1 Thessalonians holds a special place in the canon of Scripture, as this was the first epistle the apostle Paul wrote and it contains a significant amount of Church-age doctrine, including much notable information about the Rapture of the Church and Christ's Second Coming to set up His Millennial Kingdom.
• And we, who have believed on Christ during this current Church-age, will rule and reign alongside our Lord and Saviour.
• Not only does this passage give important information about the Day of the Lord, but encourages each member of Christ's Body with some reassuring information about the Rapture of Church-age saints, which takes place at the end of this age before the seven year Tribulation Period begins.
• After the resurrection of Church-age saints, those believers who are still living and remain on earth will be caught up into the clouds together with the resurrected saints, where we will all meet the Lord Jesus in the air.
• It will come unexpectedly... like a thief in the night, after the Church has been removed.

• As Christians in this age of grace, we are all members of the Church of Christ.

• As Church Age believers, we are not under the Law of Moses.

• Knowing that many strange doctrines had begun to infiltrate the Body of Christ, Paul wrote to warn Timothy that heretical teachings together with fleshly diversions had already been planted within the Church.
• The apostasy, deception, and false teaching that John and Paul warned against, is flooding the Christian Church today, but it started its deceptive practice 2000 years ago, and Paul wanted to impress on young Timothy the eternal value of a life devoted to God, as opposed to the practices of the world: For godliness is profitable for all things.
• Paul wanted to pass on some valuable instructions to Timothy on leadership within the Church, together with some important principles on interpersonal relationships and some wise advice on spiritual discipline.
• Not only did Paul warn Timothy that in the latter times, deceitful spirits, demonic teachings, and apostasy would infect the Church, but some Christians would foolishly pay attention to worldly wisdom and become entrapped in temporal pursuits which, though not sinful in and of themselves, offered little advantage: Bodily discipline is of little profit, while godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

• From being the greatest persecutor of Christ and His Church, be became one of His most ardent admirers - dedicating his life for the One he loved so dearly.
• As the greatest oppressor of the early Christian Church, the apostle Paul was supernaturally changed on that road to Damascus, when Jesus made Himself known to him, and Paul repented of his past life and turned to the Lord for His great salvation.

• Hebrews is a book that was mainly written to Jewish believers in the early Church who found it very difficult to let go of many of their former traditions and Jewish rituals.

• To him were given the many mysteries of the Church age, which God in His wisdom had kept hidden from view, in ages past.

• This Church age will continue until the Son of David, in His abundant grace, reestablishes His work through Israel and they will become the head and not the tail in Christ's Millennial Kingdom.

• What a privilege it is to be a Christian - a part of the Church - a living stone - a member of the Body of Christ.
• This privileged access into the very presence of the Almighty is for ALL who are the called - all who are Christians - all who are a part of the Church - all who are a living stone being built together into the Temple of God - all who are members of the Body of Christ. 

• He alone is entrusted to take charge over God's entire house, and Church-age believers are members of that household.

• The day is fast approaching when the Church Age will close and God will pour out His wrath on this Christ-rejecting, sinful world in a series of judgements; 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls of wrath.
• Paul tells us that as Church age believers who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, we are not appointed to wrath, for Christ took the punishment for our sin and we have been declared righteous in God's sight and covered in His robe of righteousness.
• And so, before the Tribulation period starts, Jesus will come in the clouds, to rapture all Church age believers into heaven.

• Titus was a man that was sound in his doctrine and had been authorized by Paul to appoint church elders in every city on the island of Crete.
• Paul not only outlined the necessary qualifications and qualities for a church elder - but he also detailed the main characteristics of false teachers, and gave guidance on how to expose and remove them from leading the flock of God astray.
• Paul knew that the best way to identify and deal with false teachings and heretical doctrines is to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the Word of God day by day and to make sure that biblically sound, responsible men are appointed as church elders - so that they are equipped to identify false, unscrupulous or ignorant teachers and be prepared to challenge any unbiblical doctrines which might distort, alter or add to the truth of the glorious gospel of Christ.

• He had been chosen as God's apostle to the Gentiles and had been entrusted with the mysteries of Christ and the Church, which had been kept hidden for ages and generation.
• It is the mystery of Christ and His Church which was given to us through Paul: Christ in you the hope of glory.

• But the first group to be raised are Church age believers.
• In the little time we have left before the Lord comes for His Church, let us tell all we meet about the glorious gospel of Christ and may many be saved and join us in the resurrection of Church-Age Saints in the Rapture of the Church.

• back to the Philippian church for mutual encouragement and to benefit to them all.
• the sake of Christ,' was Paul's request to the church members at Philippi, “and hold men like him in high regard.' And in his letter to the Philippians, Paul cited Epaphroditus' self-sacrificial service to himself while he was in prison as an example of the Christ-like behaviour that we should all seek to emulate.

• Paul and the other apostles were humbled by God's wonderful grace, and His wonderful sacrifice on Calvary's Cross which was given on our account because of the wonderful love Christ has for the Church, which is His Body.

• In this Church age, we too can leave our first love and stray from the path of righteousness.

• There are those that object, often justifiably, to Paul's clear directive to be subject to the ruling authorities and higher powers, both in secular governments and the hierarchy of the church, but the apostle Peter clearly emphasises this teaching in his first epistle: Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.

• I am the one Who heals your soul - through the sanctification process, as you walk in faith and grow in grace - ONGOING salvation.  I am the one Who heals your body - at the Rapture of the church and resurrection of the dead-in-Christ - FUTURE salvation.

• Amidst an avalanche of condemnation against ungodliness and idolatry, both Israel and the Church have received God's gracious reassurance: Blessed is the man whose delight in the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night.

• But he also corrects and chastens us which caused some critics to accuse him of being carnal and bossy, while others in the Church considered him to be weak and cowardly.
• Paul's critics were very vocal and played havoc in many church fellowships, which often necessitated him replying boldly to his accusers, vindicating his apostleship, and defending the glorious gospel of grace.

• Paul gave some important teaching concerning the organisation and orderliness of the Church in Titus chapter 2, so that the Body of Christ would come to a knowledge of the truth, which leads to godliness.
• He explained that the Church should be a living testimony to the world, a living proof of the gospel of Christ and the goodness of God.
• In the previous chapter, Paul gave Titus some instruction on the character, conduct, duties, and competence of Church elders, while here in chapter 2, he refers to qualities that should be found in different groups within the Church.
• Certainly, when reproof and chastening of a believer is necessary in a church fellowship, it is very important that the clear guidelines, given by Paul, are followed, to avoid the pitfall of misguided reproof or unwarranted correction.Paul's final instruction to Titus was: Let no one disregard you. It seems apparent that certain people had challenged the authority of Titus, just as Paul's calling and apostleship was also disputed by certain people.

• This was a vision of the eternal, transcendent, almighty God, Who stood before him surrounded by seven candlesticks, which represented the Christian Church.

• Many years before Paul started to write his epistle to the Corinthian church, he had a spiritual experience that leaves the rest of us breathless.
• Paul was not only transported to heaven on one occasion, but he was also given many Church-age mysteries and truths which had been kept hidden for ages and generations - but which God disclosed to him for our learning.

• Although we are able to see tiny glimpses of the coming dispensation of grace during Christ's earthly ministry, where the Body of Christ (which is the Church) would bring forth the fruit of the gospel of God, Christ's pre-Cross ministry was in general directed towards His chosen people, Israel.

• Christ also loved the Church so much that He gave Himself up for us to make us holy, cleansing us by the washing with water through the Word.

• The legalistic teaching that had infiltrated the Galatian church had supplanted Christ as the unique and exclusive Saviour.

• Preaching the Word is often to encourage and exhort the Body of Christ as we watch and wait for the any day return of the Lord Jesus for His Church – but it should always reflect Christ's gracious character.

• After his customary introduction to Timothy and his charge to identify and deal with distorted doctrine and silence false teachers, Paul continues his letter to this trusted, young pastor, with important instructions concerning Christian conduct and Church life.

• But He also knew that God had commissioned him as an apostle of the gospel - indeed he had been entrusted with many important truths for the Church of God - truths which had been hidden in past ages and generations.
• I am hard-pressed from both directions,  he wrote, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better. Nevertheless, for Paul to remain in the flesh was more necessary for the Christian Church and lost souls.

• As Church-age believers, we are blessed to have the whole counsel of God in the completed canon of Scriptures, which continues to open our understanding to God's eternal plans and purposes.
• Plans for His people, Israel, for the land He promised to Abraham, for the world He created, and for those of us who are His Church-age children.

• The first few chapters are addressed to the Church and explain where we are in history and what is God's expectation of those that are saved, by grace through faith in Christ.
• Here in verse 17, we have a most beautiful invitation to all people, from the Holy Spirit of God and the Church, which is the Bride of Christ.
• One is an entreaty to those that are dead in their sins and facing a lost eternity to come and drink of the water of life, while the other is the call of the Church for Christ to return and set up His earthly kingdom, in power and great glory.

• Having just told us the glories of our bodily resurrection and the Rapture of the Church (which is the believer's confident hope), and also having given us full assurance that we are not appointed to go through the coming period of Great Tribulation (when the wrath of God is poured out on a Christ rejecting sinful world, and Israel is restored to their God-appointed position of supremacy on earth), Paul gives us some wise instruction on how to live godly lives that are pleasing to the Lord, in this present world.

• In the 2nd book of Timothy chapter 4, you find the last recorded instructions in the Bible from Paul to the Church, and as such should be considered of great significance.
• Paul was about to disclose to Timothy that as the end of the Church age drew ever closer, fewer and fewer people would remain firmly founded on the sound truth of an uncompromised doctrine, while an increasing number would be enticed away from gospel truth, chasing after teachers who teach a false, but sugar-coated 'gospel'.

• He rejoices in our positional union in Christ and details the mystery of the Church, which had been hidden for ages and generations, but which the Lord permitted him to share with believers, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

• What an example this little group of down-trodden souls are, to the lukewarm Christian Church of today who, in many respects, have left their first-love for the few passing fancies this fading world has to offer.

• But he also knew that after his departure savage wolves would enter the Church and not spare God's little flock, and so he encouraged the elders in Ephesus (just as he urges church-leaders today), to stand firm in the faith, to guard their spiritual well-being, to care for God's people, and to feed the flock of God.
• And they were also exhorted to shepherd the Body of Christ which is the Church, reminding them (and us) that we were purchased with His own precious blood on Calvary's Cross.
• But Christ continues to build His Church, often in secret and often without our knowledge, but Paul's admonition still stands today that we guard our hearts, stand firm in the faith, and take heed of the whole counsel of God, not only on our own account but in order to protect those whom God has chosen to place in our care.
• Let us pray that they guard their own hearts as well as guiding and shepherding the Church of God, which our Saviour, Jesus Christ purchased with His own precious blood, 2000 years ago.

• Having given the Corinthians Christians additional insight into the glories of the new body that awaits every Church-age believer at the resurrection / rapture of the Body of Christ, Paul reminds us that following this event, each one of us will also stand before the judgement seat of Christ.

• If we are to keep the new commandment He gave to us all, we will love God's children with the same depth of love that Christ Himself loved us, and Christ loved the Church so dearly that He gave himself up for her.

• The truths of God's never-failing faithfulness, that are contained in His redemptive plan for Israel are equally pertinent for the Church today.

• However, when reading this passage it is important to recognise that it is written specifically to Israel, and covers that 7-year period following the Rapture of the Church, when God begins, once again, to work through His chosen people, Israel.

• It is a beautiful reflection of universal harmony where Christ is the head of the Church Who loves His Bride so dearly that He gave His life for love of her.

• The reason we are given this reminder in God's Word is because all Church-age believers must appear before the judgement seat of Christ at the resurrection of the 'dead in Christ' (and the rapture of those that are still alive), and this occurs as the closing event of this dispensation of grace.
• It is only the born-again, Church-age believers who are the Body of Christ, who will appear at the judgement seat of Christ.

• As believers, we live in the Church dispensation and we are not under the Law but under grace.
• The liberty that we have in the Church dispensation causes some believers to worry that Christians who do not have a series of do's and don'ts to comply with in the Christian life, are likely to think that our liberty is a licence to sin.
• There is much guidance to believers who live in the Church age on how to conduct our lives in a way that is pleasing to God.
• A brief look at the gracious life of the Lord Jesus, Whose prayer was always Thy will not mine be done, together with a study of the directives of Paul in his Church epistles, tells us very plainly how God expects each of His children to conduct their lives.

• There was an urgency in Paul's heart to make sure that Timothy and other ministers of the gospel were fully furnished for their Christian service, properly prepared as a minister of the Lord, and entirely equipped as elders in the Church of Christ.
• Paul reminded him of the influx of false teachers that had already started to infiltrate the Church, distort the gospel of God, and turn the ears of many away from the truth.
• In an earlier epistle to the Roman Church, Paul had called on the Christians there to present their lives: As a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord.

• Peter had an understanding of the future; not only the immediate future, the Rapture of the Church, and the future millennial rule of Christ, but also the far distant future, when this fallen world will be destroyed by intense fire and replaced with a new heaven and a new earth.
• The return of Christ in the clouds and the removal of His mystical Body (the Church) at the Rapture, must take place before the prophesied Day of the Lord, which begins with the 7-year Tribulation period (the 70th week of Daniel - the time of Jacob's Trouble).
• God knows the day and the hour of Christ's return in the clouds for His Church.
• He knows the exact day when He will return to earth with His Church to set up His millennial kingdom.

• The question of legalism was perhaps the most important issue in the early Church that needed to be addressed.
• It was this issue that caused much dissension within the early Church and which resulted in the first apostolic conference being held in Jerusalem to address this issue.
• This was to be the forum whereby the apostles and early Church leaders were to hammer out the post-Cross, Church-age doctrine upon which the gospel of God was founded.
• It was for this reason that Paul visited Jerusalem, where he spoke to the spiritual leaders of the Church about the gospel of grace - knowing that the message he taught was given to him by divine revelation.
• He laid out the truths that he had been teaching privately, before the Church elders there.
• Indeed, his faithful co-labourer, Titus, was someone who was right in the centre of this controversy on legalism, the Law, and the teachings of the newly founded Christian Church.
• It would be this particular issue that would prove to be one of the main topics under discussion - and one of the heresies that plagued the early Church.
• However, following Christ's sacrificial death and glorious Resurrection, there was no requirement for the circumcision of Gentile believers in Church age doctrine.
• As a member of the post-Cross Church, there was no mandate for the practice of circumcision in the revelation Paul received from the Lord.
• Many in the early Church found it very difficult to recognise that there is a difference between the way God dealt with Israel, pre-Cross (through the conditional Law of Moses) and the post-Cross Church  (through the unconditional 'Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus').
• It is only when one recognises that God has a different programme for Israel from His agenda for the Christian Church, that many of the controversies which existed in the early Church, and continue to rage today, become clear.
• Titus was a Gentile believer who was used as an example to the Jerusalem council, that Church-age believers are not under the Law but under grace.
• Rather, may we stand firm on the POST-Cross doctrines which were given to the Church and which are mainly found in Paul's epistles and the writings of the other apostles.
• May we not confuse teachings given to Israel with teachings that are given to the Church.

• However, he was often required to defend His apostolic calling in those early days of the Church, because... in the opinion of many, his credentials did not fit in with their perceived expectations of what an apostle should be.
• As Church-age believers we are called to live in spirit and truth - to live by faith and not by sight, as directed by the Word of God and as guided by the indwelling Spirit of God.
• An apostle is one that is specifically commissioned, by God, to carry out a definable task... and we discover from Scripture that God's chosen apostles and prophets were the ones He authorised to lay the foundations of the Church in this dispensation of grace - and one important, biblical criteria of apostleship was to have met with the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.
• Indeed, many mysteries were revealed to the fledgling Church through Paul, and much of the inerrant Word of God was penned by this man.
• Although there are many today who continue to discredit Paul's ministry and his apostolic calling, we would do well to pay attention to his teaching, for he opens our understanding to many Church age mysteries - including that as the Church, we are members of Christ's Body and have the permanently indwelling Spirit Who provides us with godly power to guide us in our earthly walk.

• The gospel of God's grace was made known to the Gentiles through the grace and apostleship that Paul himself received, and it was through his ministry that this good news of the grace of God and peace with Him has continued to be poured out upon all people on earth, during this Church dispensation.

• This is not only a psalm of the past that celebrates Israel's grateful thanks to their faithful God Whose steadfast love endured forever, but it is a hymn of praise for the present, it is a song of thanksgiving that the Church age can chorus with equal gusto and grateful hearts.

• Although there is much that the Church can learn from the kingdom parables, it is always important to remember that the focus of Christ's pre-Cross ministry was to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and that He is really speaking about a future generation of Jews whose blinded eyes will be opened and deaf ears will be unblocked.

• Many times the Lord used Israel, as an example to the Church, of faith in action, as well as faltering faith.
• Some of the things Israel did are warnings to the Church not to fall into the same snare, while others are godly examples, for us to emulate.  May we remember the encouraging words given to Joshua, the priests, and the people of Israel that, the Lord our God is with us, whithersoever we go.

• Today, however, the Lord is working through a people who are not a nation but who are all members of Christ's Body, which is the Church.
• The Church age, which began on the day of Pentecost and ends with the Rapture, is the interim period between Christ's shocking rejection at His First Coming and His glorious acceptance as God's anointed King at His Second Coming... when Israel will finally accept Jesus as their Messiah and will once again cry, Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.
• From the start of the Church dispensation to the times in which we live, New Testament writers have referred to this interim period as the 'times of the end' OR the 'dispensation of grace'.
• The 'day of salvation' refers to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ - but sadly, Israel did not recognise the day of their visitation and, as a nation, have been blinded in part until the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled - until the Church age in which WE now live, will be completed and the Church removed at the Rapture.

• The commands that God gave to Israel were for Israel, and although they are instructive for all people and cover many of the principles and instructions of Christian living which are laid out in the New Testament in this Church age, we must always recognise that these commands were first and foremost given to Israel in a specific, historical context and for a specific purpose.
• And although many of the commands that were given to the nation of Israel are repeated in the New Testament by God's holy apostles and prophets for the Church, not all continue to be in force during this Christian dispensation.

• First, he covers doctrine that is especially relevant to the particular Church to whom he is writing, while the latter part of the epistle encourages them to put into practice the doctrine he has just been sharing.
• Within the body of his letter Paul encourages his readers, both specific individuals and the wider Church congregation, towards appropriate Christian conduct and the need to mature in the faith and study the Word of truth.

• Paul had to dismantle these false teachings systematically, and one way he did this was to remind them that there was a time when he was as legalistically minded as these false teachers who wanted the Church to add Jewish teaching alongside Christian doctrine.

• In the early Church, we read of a young man called Timothy who learned the Holy Scriptures from his mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois.

• They were yet to discover that the Church age was to run its course and that the Body of Christ was to be become God's messengers to the world for a season instead of Israel, before God would finally fulfil His promise to the nation of Israel.
• The apostles and disciples of Christ were yet to discover that God's plans and purposes for the salvation of humanity was to follow a direction that was yet to be unfolded to them by the Spirit of God, for there was still much for the fledgling Church to learn.
• They were yet to discover that the nation of Israel was to be set aside for a season, in order for God's plans and purposes to be brought to full and final completion through the Church, which is His Body. They were yet to discover that many of them would be used by God to author the sacred text of Scripture, revealing to those who were to come after, that in these last days, God has spoken to mankind through His Son.

• And although the major mysteries of the Church (which is His Body) would be revealed to Paul, it was at this point in Christ's ministry that He started to give a glimpse into the mysteries of the kingdom, to all who had ears to hear.

• And while early chapters of Acts chronicle Israel's rejection of the Spirit, God in His mercy is pouring out His grace for a season on the Church and will in time restore His errant nation of Israel back to Himself.

• In Christ is all the fullness of God, and as His people we should KNOW that we are being built up into a heavenly Temple so that in the ages to come, the surpassing riches of His grace in His kindness toward us (the Church) will be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities in the heavenly places!

• It is written to the Church... reminding us to live godly lives and avoid the mistakes they made.
• Just as the Lord guided, protected, loved, and cared for Israel, so He guides, protects, loves, and cares for the Church.

• In this passage, Paul was addressing an issue in the Corinthian Church where different members of the congregation were behaving discourteously towards one another.
• The principle teaching of this passage, is equally relevant for believers today as it was during these early days of the Church.

• The Church is the Body of Christ and can be compared with a building of living stones that is being built up and fit together in a beautiful way by the Holy Spirit, into a holy temple, a permanent dwelling place for God.
• The Church of Christ is made up of the family of believers that have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour and God in this dispensation (from Pentecost to the Rapture).
• The Church consists of a body of believers who have become citizens of heaven by virtue of our eternal union with Christ Who is our heavenly God and glorious King of kings.

• The woman Ruth, is a most beautiful picture of the Church - as the Bride of Christ, and the man Boaz, is a stunning type of the Man, Christ Jesus - Who is our Lord and Kinsman-Redeemer, our precious Saviour and coming Bridegroom. 
• Let us sit still, and patiently watch and wait for His imminent return, knowing that the Man, Christ Jesus, rests neither day nor night as He makes intercessions for us - for, Christ loves the Church and gave Himself up for her.

• Hebrews, of course, is also written to every Church-age believer and is as relevant today as it was when it was first written.
• God's Word and the promises it contains are guaranteed to be true, and all who seek to place Church-age believers back under the Law would do well to study the book of Hebrews and take God at His Word - for God has sworn by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for Him to lie.

• We do not have to go on long missionary journeys, spend time in prison, or pastor a church to enrol in the army of believers that endure suffering in order to become a good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ.

• Similarly, it is the Baptism of the Spirit in the book of Acts that marks the start of the Christian Church at Pentecost, when the 120 souls were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them.
• Before the death of Christ, God was working through the Jewish nation to forward His redemption plan, but following His Resurrection and Ascension, God set Israel aside for a season and began a new work through the Church; the Body of Christ.
• At the birth of the Church, it was Peter who took the responsibility to explain what happened when the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in different languages.

• As Paul drew his letter to the Romans to a close, he gave them a very serious warning about the dangers of division in the Church, particularly doctrinal division.
• Paul cautioned, that those who spread this sort of disunity in the body were often smooth talkers, who use flattering speech and introduce persuasive doctrines into the church.
• Christ defeated sin, Satan, death, and hell at the Cross, but following the birth of the Church, Paul explained that very soon, He will crush Satan under their feet.
• While Jesus won the victory over Satan at the Cross, God in His grace is using the Church - which is the Body of Christ on earth today, to carry forward His plans and purposes, through spiritual warfare - for the weapons of our warfare are not physical, but spiritual.
• And while Satan will not be ultimately defeated, until he is flung into the bottomless pit, God is graciously working through the Church toward that end.
• It appears that Paul's warning against being enticed into ungodly teachings, unbiblical illumination, satanic spirituality, and repackaged philosophies is the way that Satan sought to infiltrate the early Church - and it continues to happen in Christendom today.
• May we take to heart Paul's serious warning about the dangers of division in the Church, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, be ready to identify and challenge any divisive doctrine and satanic practices that are seductively packaged, in order to twist the truth and even deceive the saints.

• On at least 3 occasions in the gospels, we hear the Lord Jesus giving a warning on the importance of hearing His message, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. However, in a couple of chapters in Revelation we have this same warning given to the Church, seven times, with additional instruction, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
• Every one of the seven Churches in Revelation were instructed to listen... and pay close attention to ALL that the risen, ascended, glorified Lord Jesus had to say to ALL the Churches. Each Church was given some important information, which is vital to our individual spiritual growth and our collective Christian witness.
• The first time this warning was given, in this series of epistles, was to the Church at Ephesus.
• Some years earlier, Paul had written extensively to this same Church to rejoice in their divine election, their adoption into the family of God, the privileges of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the spiritual blessings that have been poured out in such abundance on all who have trusted Christ for salvation.

• Micah is one of many prophets that have foretold of the coming Millennial kingdom of Christ, where Israel will be established in the land and the Church, which is the Body of Christ, will rule and reign with Him for a thousand years.

• He was only too aware that there were false teachers and demonic doctrines infiltrating the Christian Church, which were designed to deceive the elect, divide the flock, and to shipwreck their faith, and so he encouraged them to be wise in respect to that which is good, while being guileless in respect to that which is evil. 
• Paul was so deeply concerned that evil men would infiltrate the Church in Rome, that he left these closing instructions to them, exhorting them to to be wise to do the good, and to be innocent in what is evil.

• Just as Moses was called to be God's administrator to Israel, so Paul was anointed to be God's administrator to the Church.
• The administration of the mystery has a number of different labels, including, 'the dispensation of the grace of God', 'the Church Age' and 'the Age of Grace'.
• As Christians, we are privileged to be part of the outworking of God's eternal plans and purposes in the dispensation of the grace of God... and as believers who are living during the Church dispensation, our daily testing is to live by faith and not by sight.

• The dimensions of Christ's love for His Church are unfathomable and enfold all those who will trust in His name for salvation, whether they be Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male or female, black or white, young or old.
• But Christ's love for the Church was a mystery that was hidden from past generations, and yet it was revealed to Paul on our account so that we might know for certain the incomprehensible love of Christ.
• The dimensions of Christ's love for the Church have been described as vast as a mighty ocean without shores, and as lofty as the highest mountain without a summit.

• And as he pens this epistle to the saints, overseers, and deacons of the Philippian church (from yet another prison cell), Paul does not cease to praise the Lord.

• This Scripture is one of the clearest verses to indicate that Sunday was the day that the early church chose to meet together to celebrate their risen, ascended, glorified Saviour, and to break bread together, as the Lord Jesus instructs us all to do.
• Indeed, we note here that the early apostolic church had already adopted the Roman method of time-keeping, which runs from midnight to midnight, instead of the former, Jewish way.
• It is obvious from this passage that Paul and these early Church-age believers considered the breaking of bread on that first day of the week, a vital part of their Christian fellowship and witness.

• This second Thessalonian letter is written to clarify Paul's earlier teaching about the gathering together of the Church in the Rapture.
• After his comforting reassurance that the terrible Day-of-the-Lord, which was spoken about in the prophets of old, would not happen until the Church has been, gathered together unto Christ, Paul seeks to establish them in an unshakable faith that is anchored in the Word of God.
• Paul prayed that the Church would continue to faithfully share the good news of the gospel of grace.
• Then, as now, there are many that seek to undermine the spread of the gospel, both within and outside of the Church.
• However, now, as then, we need to take to heart Paul's final words of instruction to the Church at Thessalonica.
• Let us pay special heed to these final words of encouragement, so that we, do not grow weary of well doing, in the closing season of the Church dispensation!

• There is no shadow of turning with the Lord, and the elderly apostle Peter is one who rehearsed this truth with the fledgling Church at the first council in Jerusalem: God shows no favouritism.
• First, the overwhelming respect and attentiveness bestowed on a splendidly dressed gentleman who is courteously ushered, with great ceremony, to the finest seat in a church building.

• While Paul's epistles were written to specific people or church communities to teach doctrine, give reproof, provide correction, deliver encouragement, impart instruction in righteousness, and give guidance in Christian living, the book of Acts could more accurately be described as a historical document.
• The first chapters of Acts, record the happenings within the early Church from its beginnings at Pentecost, to Paul's final imprisonment in Rome.
• He had not shrunk back from declaring the entire purpose of God, even the difficult things about suffering for Christ's sake, and the satanic attack on Church members that would inevitably come from the enemy of their soul.

• This time we see the all-pervasive spread of a little yeast throughout the entire batch of dough, confirming the horror of what the little Christian Church, which started at Pentecost, has become today.
• Purity of heart, love for one another, and doctrinal truth that stems from the Word of God alone, which was the hallmark of the early Christian Church, has deteriorated into Christian mud-slinging and hostility against brothers in Christ OR has resulted in a watering down of the gospel of grace to accommodate any slight variation from the truth of the glorious gospel of Christ.
• Despite the mustard seed of early Christianity morphing into the worldwide tree of Compromises and Corruption, let us not be discouraged, for Jesus said, I will build My Church and the gates of hell will not prevail.

• Paul did not call for him to be baptised or to attend church each week.
• He did not insist that he did good works, read his Bible, or stop drinking wine, and the jailer did not have to walk to the front of a big meeting, recite 'the sinner's prayer' or join a church community.

• Such fruit of the Spirit should be evident in the lives of all Christians, but there are also many traps to avoid and snares to circumvent, and Paul's final words of instruction to this younger brother in the faith was to recognise and avoid many of the heresies, unbiblical teachings, and legalistic rituals, that were infiltrating the Christian Church of his day.
• It was not only in Paul's days that such divisive practices were evident within the Church, but today, similar divisive things are taking place which promote division within the Body of Christ and criticism of other Christian brothers and sisters, which causes confusion in the congregation.
• Paul clearly teaches that those that engage in such divisive tactics within a church congregation should receive appropriate warnings from the elders.
• However, should such a person continue in their disruptive behaviour, then they should be removed from the church, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.
• In his epistle to Titus, Paul gives much excellent instruction and great encouragement, but he also considers it necessary to give wise advice on how to deal with those that become divisive within a church fellowship.
• How important that the wise teachings of Paul, on division within the church, are applied in congregations today - if men and women are to grow in grace and in a knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

• The letter to the 'Church of the Laodiceans', is perhaps the most solemn and thought-provoking of all of Christ's post-Resurrection communications to Church-age believers.
• What a disgraceful legacy and deplorable example this church left for all that would come to faith in Christ after them.
• Whether the attitude of these believers was a total indifference to Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, a general disinterest in getting to know the Lord Jesus and the power of His Resurrection, or simply a lukewarm spirituality due to a carnal, self-inflated ego and self-satisfaction in their own abilities, these believers were the group that disgusted the Lord Jesus more than any other Church that is listed in the book of Revelation.
• May we learn important lessons from this letter to the Laodicean church and examine our own lives to see if there are any areas where we have become lukewarm.

• And although this is a warning that is specifically written to Israel in connection with His Second Coming at the end of the Tribulation (when Israel cries out for their Messiah to save them), it is equally pertinent for Church age saints today, for we too are called to be watchful and ready.
• Christians in the Church dispensation are also called to watch and be ready for Christ's any day return.

• There were many issues in the early Church that Paul frequently addressed, and in his epistle to Titus we discover the importance that he laid on sound teaching, godly leadership, the refuting of legalism in the Church, and other doctrinal errors.
• Sadly, such insubordinate practice is no less evident today as it was in those early days of the Church.
• Today, there is an explosion of false teachings and an abundance of demonic doctrines, and the Church is saturated with this pernicious infiltration.

• Like many prophets, he longed to look into his own prophetic words, but was given no understanding of the inter-advent Church age which separated the two comings of Christ and was kept hidden from his view.
• All who have trusted in Christ are already forgiven of our sin and have received the gift of eternal life, and by His grace, the Church will accompany our God and Saviour on that incredible day when Israel recognises Jesus as their Messiah.

• He is a stronghold in the day of trouble, and knows those who take refuge in Him. Although this truth was written TO Israel, it is also written FOR the Church.

• Jesus died for us to pay the price for sin - BUT, He also rose again, so that whether we wake or sleep - whether we continue to live in this mortal realm or cast off this physical 'tent' when we die, we know that we will live together with Christ until the consummation of this Church age when we will be raised in an eternal and incorruptible body - for the rest of time (the Millennial kingdom) and for the eternal ages to come.

• As the time for Christ's return for His Church draws ever closer, we are warned to be clear-minded and self-controlled.

• As Church age believers, we are not party to this aspect of God's judgement on the world.
• During the Church age we are precluded by divine decree from knowing the significance and message of these awe-inspiring seven thunders, which will only be revealed in God's time, in God's way, and for God's ultimate plans and purpose.

• Like so much of the Church today, these Christians in Corinth were not living the life of holiness and humility to which we have all been called, but had allowed the standards, morals, and attitudes of the world to infiltrate their position in Christ.
• Like so much of the Church today, these Christians in Corinth were trying to grow in grace and mature in the faith through worldly ways, not having understood that the foolishness of the simple gospel of Christ (Who died for our sins and rose again the third day, to pay the price of sin and break its power in our lives), is the only power and wisdom that is acceptable to God the Father.

• When the Christian Church was birthed at Pentecost, Peter stood up and addressed the men of Israel and Jewish converts. He told them that Jesus of Nazareth, Whom they all witnessed performing many mighty miracles through the power of God, was the promised descendent of king David, and that He was to sit on the throne of His father, forever.

• Paul also felt it necessary to warn Timothy of the difficulties and dangers in allowing false teachers to infiltrate the church.

• In the Church age, we recognise John the Baptist as that lone, prophetic voice, who fulfilled this prophecy of Isaiah.
• Today, however, it is the Church through whom God is using to reconcile people to Himself - and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

• During His earthly ministry, Peter confessed, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. The Father had revealed this wonderful truth to Peter, and it was upon this stupendous revelation that Christ would build His church.
• The foundation of the Church would be built on the one and only Rock of Salvation, and upon this Rock I will build my Church, were the words of Christ, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
• But what was the solid Rock upon which the Church was to be built?
• Who is that firm Foundation Stone that is to undergird the Christian Church?
• The foundation of the Christian Church is Jesus Christ, our Lord.
• There are those that like to suggest that Jesus was referring to the apostle Peter as the foundation stone for the Church.

• The hope upon which their faith was founded and their love expressed, was the mystery of Christ and the Church, which is His Body.

• We too are to immerse ourselves in the Word of God, to meditate on the promises of God, to trust in the truth of God's Word, to follow the demands of God that have been given to the Church - in the knowledge that Christ is with us and His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

• Moses was part of the pre-Cross household of God, and although Christians in this current dispensation are also part of the entire household of God, we are also members of Christ's Body, which is the Church.

• Paul records that, by one Spirit, (the baptism of the Holy Spirit) we were all baptised into one Body, (the Body of Christ, which is the Church).

• Events that were veiled to the eyes of these great men were brought into sharper view when the Holy Spirit started to move in the lives of the apostles, who unfolded the mystery of the Church (which is the Body of Christ), and the free gift of salvation, which is given by grace through faith to all who will believe in the only begotten Son of God as Saviour and Lord.
• But as Church-age believers, we have the incredible privilege of being given the full and final revelation of God through Jesus Christ, and we have come to an understanding of that which was hidden from these early prophets, with inexpressible joy.

• Paul knows that rejoicing in the Lord is a defence against doctrines of demons, and a safeguard that exposes legalistic practices and the abhorrent false spirituality that is flooding the Church today, which denies the finished work of Christ on the Cross.

• Paul was keen to explain what will happens to Christians at the end of the Church age, as well as instructing us on how to live godly lives during this present dispensation.
• The previous verse details the future bodily resurrection of Church age saints who have already died, while verse 17 explains what will happen to Christians who are still alive when the Church age closes: We who are alive and remain [on the earth] will be caught up together with them [Church-age saints, who died in faith and have just been resurrected] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
• There cannot be a clearer picture of what takes place when the trumpet call of God blasts out at the end of the Church age.
• And when Jesus returns to set up His kingdom, we (the Church) will accompany Him.

• Paul taught about the Body of Christ, which is the Church, and he taught about the one new man in Christ.
• However, there were many who held fast to Jewish Law, legislation, rites, rituals, and feasts, and tried to incorporate Jewish traditions into the Church which conflicted with all that Jesus had taught Paul, and his message caused much contention and was resisted by many traditionalists and legalists, and Paul found it necessary to defend the gospel he taught - the gospel he was given by Christ, during his time in Arabia.

• Salvation has nothing to do with our good works, our kind deeds, our generous nature, our offerings in the collection plate, our being baptised in water, our attending a confessional, our going to church on Sunday or Saturday or any other day of the week, our reading the Bible, our saying prayers (because all those things are works).
• In Romans chapter 11, Paul is explaining that the grace that has been extended to the Gentiles during this Church age applies equally to the remnant of Jews in this Church age.
• The remnant of Jews that trust Jesus as their Messiah during this Church age become part of the Church of God, the Body of Christ, and like Gentile believers are saved by grace, not works of the Law.

• The Christian Church is not an earthly people with an earthly inheritance.
• The Church is a heavenly people with a heavenly inheritance.
• The Church has a heavenly Sanctuary with a heavenly High Priest, and all that happened in Old Testament Jewry was a mere copy, a small shadow, an inferior version, a temporary template of the true heavenly reality.

• Not even the prophets of old, who desired to understand their own prophetic words, or the holy angels above, were privileged to understand the mysteries of the kingdom, which Christ reveals to Church-age believers.

• Marriage is a sacred reflection of the union between Christ and His Church, and was ordained by the Triune God in the eternal council chambers of heaven, before the world began.
• Paul uses the close, marriage bond between a man and his wife, as a beautiful picture of the intimacy that exists between the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church.
• Indeed, marriage is a reflection of this heavenly bond between Christ and His Church and not the other way around.
• Christ is often called the Bridegroom and the Christian Church is similarly identified as His Bride, for though we are many in number, we are one Church who, by faith in Him, have one hope of our calling.
• Paul calls this intimate 'marriage' relationship Christ has with His Church, 'a great mystery'.
• It is a wonderful truth that should encourage our hearts and fill us with joy, for as a wife is to her husband, so is the Church to the Lord Jesus.
• Its implications are astounding, wonderful, glorious, and overwhelming, for in some inexplicable way the Church, which is His Body, is intimately and eternally united with Christ, for we died in Him and are risen together with Him into newness of life.
• We who were far away from God, have been called out of every nation, tribe, people, and language to become united as the Body and Bride of God's only begotten Son, Who loved the Church so much: He gave Himself for her. He loved us so dearly that He made Himself an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma on our account.

• Today, Israel has been set aside and God is working His work of redemption through the Body of Christ, which is the Church.
• Today, the Church is that great cloud of witnesses that speak of God's tender mercy and everlasting grace.

• Like Peter, we will also put off this earthly body, at the event we call the Rapture of the Church.
• FIRST, Church-age saints who have died will be resurrected (the dead in Christ rise first) - SECOND, the rest of the Body of Christ will be taken into His presence without seeing death (then, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with the Church-age saints, and we will all forever be with the Lord).

• Although this was a command that was given to the chosen nation of Israel and related to the specific covenant that God made with them, it embraces an important principle for all God's children in this Church dispensation; There are important lessons to learn by all who have been rescued from slavery to sin and have been brought into the family of God, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

• One of the most important issues that Paul wanted to instil in the Church is that there are no racial ties in Christianity.

• Although many Christians identify 'the latter days' or 'the time of the end' as the season in which we live today, the Bible clearly indicates the 'end times' as the entire 2000 year-long Church dispensation in which we live.
• The entire Church age, therefore, has been beleaguered by apostasy, apostates, heresy, and heretics.
• One method the enemy has found to be most productive for his nefarious cause, is to infiltrate the Church with apostate teachers who seek to undermine the faith of Christians from within.
• The warning against approaching apostasy during the present Church age, is a major subject in many New Testament epistles.

• This enemy of our soul targeted many Old and New Testament saints in different ways, but in his second epistle, Peter is identifying twisted teachers and their false doctrines as one of the main challenges Christians will encounter during the Church dispensation.

• Despite the assurance that we will receive a new, glorified body at the Rapture (the resurrection of Church-age saints), the old sin nature will continue to lust against our new-life-in-Christ during our sojourn on earth, and for the rest of our life it must be kept nailed to the Cross, if we are to maintain close communion with the Lord. 

• It is an ongoing process that will be brought to full completion and beautiful perfection in the day that Christ takes us to be with Himself, at the end of this Church dispensation, for those who God justifies, He also glorifies.

• Although this little piece of Israel's history is interesting to us, it does not hold any real significance to the Body of Christ in this church dispensation, and yet there are lessons that we can learn from this interesting snippet of Israel's history.

• The Christian Church is one Body of believers who are all united together under One Head; Jesus Christ the righteous.
• Jesus is the singular Leader of the Church and Captain of our salvation Who was made perfect through His sufferings, on our account.
• Each one was saying, 'I am of Paul' or 'I of Apollos' or 'I of Peter' or 'I of Christ'. Had this attitude not been quickly corrected by Paul, or had any of these leaders allowed such foolish hero-worship to continue, the Church could have fragmented into many different sects.
• How often have we recognised the idolisation of certain preachers or the development of a greedy, self-seeking attitude in certain Church leaders, which too often encourages apostate teachers to sneak into the Church and start speaking lies in hypocrisy, causing many to fall away from the faith.
• May we look to Jesus and be quick to keep Christ alone as the central focus of our life. May we be diligent to preserve in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace within the church meetings and fellowships we attend, and may we be diligent to stand firm on the truth of the glorious gospel of grace for His greater praise.

• But we in the Church age, have unfettered access to our heavenly Lord, for His Spirit has taken up permanent residence within our mortal bodies.

• And although in context this was most certainly composed to celebrate the majesty of the Israel's honoured king, it provides a beautiful description of great David's greater Son the Lord Jesus Christ and His bride, which is the Church.

• And this same verse has also been used by some unscrupulous and legalistic church leaders as a threat against the eternal security of the Body of Christ, in order to gain control over the members of their congregations.
• It is through His sacrificial death and glorious Resurrection that He Himself will present the whole Church holy, unblamable, and unreprovable in His sight.
• How sad that such confusion within the Church has arisen over that little word 'if'.
• It is the collective Body of Christ that is being called to continue in the faith in this verse, and it is Christ Himself who has promised to build His Church and to sustain all members of His Body to the end so that together we will all be found blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• A day is coming when the Church, which is the Body of Christ, will be presented holy and without blame to God the Father in heaven, and Christ's death on the Cross qualifies Him to fulfil all that He has promised to the members of His Body.

• Just as God gave the Thessalonian Christians the grace to stand firm in the day of trouble for the honour of His name, so He has given His sufficient grace and strength to each member of the Church to become a living example of godly behaviour and Christlike character: So that the name Christ may be glorified in you and ye in Him, according to the goodness and grace of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

• It occurs after the Christian Church has been removed from the world, at the Rapture.
• For whatever reason, this great multitude, who were saved by the blood of the Lamb during this terrible time, did not believe in the Lord Jesus during the Church age and are not part of the Body of Christ, which is the Church.
• Just as Christians in this Church dispensation have been given the role of, kings and priests, in Christ's Millennial Kingdom, so these martyred, Tribulation believers will also be given a very specific role within the coming kingdom of Christ.
• What glorious blessings await these martyred saints who, for whatever reason, did not trust in Christ during the Church dispensation.
• Jesus is the Good Shepherd, Who died as Israel's Passover Lamb and gave His life as the ransom price for His little flock in the Church dispensation - but Jesus also gave His life for these Tribulation sheep, just as He did for you and for me.

• We recognise that the passages describing the days of deep darkness refer to Daniel's 70th week (the first 7 years of the Day of the Lord), which will occur after the Church has been raptured into heavenly places, when Christ comes in the clouds for His people.

• Paul reminded Timothy that a day is coming when Christ would return to take His Church to be with Himself and that He would - at the proper time - set up His earthly kingdom which was promised to Abraham and his seed forever... for He is the blessed Son of the Almighty God, the only true Sovereign Lord, the almighty King of kings and eternal Lord of lords.

• This period of time will begin after the Church has been raptured, starting with the 7 year Tribulation period, continuing through the 1000-year reign of Christ on earth, and concluding when the first heaven and first earth pass away with a great noise (for God has promised there will be a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness will dwell).
• Peter wanted Church-age believers to conduct themselves in the firm expectation of Christ's soon return, but not to consider that the Lord was in any way delaying His coming.

• The Body of Christ, which is the Church, are Ministers of Reconciliation in this Church Dispensation, and today we function as Living Stones, that are being built up into a spiritual Temple.
• As Church age believers we live under a New Law - the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
• God is faithful, and He is true to His Word, and He will fulfil all the promises He made to the children of Israel, AND He will also keep His Word to the Church - which is the Body of Christ.
• May we be careful to follow every instruction that has been given to the Christian Church in the New Testament and may we learn all He wants to teach us throughout the Holy Scripture - both Old and New.

• Paul was most thorough in his outstanding epistle to systematically set out every aspect of Church-age doctrine so that we have no doubt that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ.
• Let us seek to live as He lived, in total obedience to God, only doing those things that we hear from Him, showing a zeal for His Word and a deep love for the Church, which is His Body, knowing that it is fitting and right that we should live as unto the Lord, for His greater glory.

• James was a man who gave the Church much good advice.

• He started to open their understanding of the future Church age: A mystery that had been hidden for ages and concealed from past generations, but which was revealed to Paul and the other apostles, where Jew and Gentile would become One Body in Christ.
• It appears that as Peter shared his final thoughts in his last epistle, he called to mind the many truths that his beloved brother Paul taught so thoroughly about the Rapture, the resurrection of Church age saints, the Bema seat judgement of Christ, and the sudden destruction that falls on an unbelieving world, at the start of the 'Day of the Lord'.

• While Galatians was a book that was written to warn Gentiles not to be lured into legalistic, Jewish practices, the target audience of Hebrews was predominantly towards Jewish converts to Christianity in the early Church..

• But just before the living believers are caught up to Jesus in the air, all the believers who became part of the Body of Christ down through the last two thousand years in this Church-age of grace, will rise up out of their graves.

• However, for the time being, we eagerly wait for that future day when God will reveal to a waiting world, who His adoptive sons are in this Church-age.

• This bond-servant who was set apart from birth by God's grace, is the man who personally authored the thirteen epistles that are specifically directed towards Church-age believers today.

• The word 'Christian' has been used since the days of the early Church, when those that trusted Christ for salvation were given this label to differentiate them from the rest of humanity.
• The label they attached to early Church believers was far from complimentary.
• This oppression caused those in the early Church to be scattered far afield, in an attempt to escape harassment, imprisonment, and even death.
• When Christianity came to Antioch in those early days, it was an important landmark for the Church, because a great spiritual awakening took place in that pagan Gentile city.
• It was there in the city of Antioch, that Paul and Barnabas met with the other believers: They met with the Church and taught considerable numbers there. It was there in that pagan city of Antioch, where many believed the gospel and many more mocked the teachings of Jesus, that the disciples of Christ were first called Christians.

• At salvation, we were all 'baptised in Christ's BODY', which is the Church, which identifies us with His righteousness.

• If the risen, ascended, glorified Lord Jesus Christ chose to meet with Paul on the road to Damascus, commission him in his unique role as apostle to the Gentiles, assign him to be the human author of a significant section of New Testament Scripture, and deliver through him much post-Cross doctrine for the Church - should we not pay especial attention to all that he has to say and seek to put into practice the important instructions we have received from the Lord Himself - through His servant, Paul?

• This is a general exhortation for all believers to be faithful in attending their local church assembly, in order to participate in brotherly encouragement, strength, support, edification, spiritual nourishment, biblical teaching, and the joy of sharing fellowship with like-minded believers.
• Sadly, this verse is often used in some unscrupulous denominations and Christian communities to insist that church attendance is legally binding on their members, which places their whole congregation in bondage to man-made legalism.

• It was very difficult for Jews in the early Church to come to accept that the covenant of Law and the Aaronic priesthood, had been superseded by a new and better covenant and heavenly High Priest.
• Hebrews may have been written to help Jews in the early Church come to terms with Christ's superiority over the old order, but the lessons we can learn from this amazing epistle, provide a wealth of knowledge and understanding of our great God and Saviour Who was born into His own creation so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

• It is not only a message that is pertinent for leaders in the church but for all believers; because whether we are babes in Christ or spiritually mature, all believers have a duty to live godly lives in Christ Jesus in our countries, our communities, and our churches.

• False doctrine and distorted scriptural truths can invade the Church, and trivial dissensions and petty disputes can also be a destructive element that causes disunity.

• The early Church had to overcome some serious challenges.
• They had to come to an agreement on their set of beliefs and the gospel they were to teach, if the Christian Church was to survive.
• The Church was born on the day of Pentecost, but many men of Israel had failed to recognise Jesus as their Messiah, the Son of the living God.
• Nevertheless, many men of Israel and Jewish proselytes came to faith in Jesus in those early days of the Christian Church.
• There were no New Testament Scriptures and no doctrinal statements for the early Church to call upon, and despite Christ's intense training, the apostles were young in their faith.
• There were many things Jesus had wanted to share with them before He left them, but they were unable to bear it and had to wait until the Church had been birthed.
• In those early days of Christianity, the apostles and Church leaders had to develop their system of belief.
• And so we read in Acts 15, the apostles and elders of the Church: Came together to consider the matter.
• This was one of many doctrinal issues that had to be discussed and agreed upon, in those early days of the Church.

• Although Christ gained an everlasting victory over His enemies, God's pan of redemption continues to unfold and the next event is the Rapture of the Christian Church.
• After the Church has been removed, God will once again begin to work through the nation of Israel.

• Compassionate Christian conduct, a humble Christ-like attitude, godly and gracious service, and a childlike faith that finds its strength in the Lord when faced with suffering and pain, brings Peter to the point in his epistle where he charged Church elders with new and important responsibilities, Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder, and witness of the sufferings of Christ, to care for Christ's flock.
• Because of their new birth and position in Christ, their future inheritance, their identification with Christ's holiness, and their Christian standing in the community, these elders in the Church are exhorted by Peter to take care of their brothers and sisters in Christ.
• Peter was one of Christ's chosen apostles who was naturally an authority figure in the early Church, but he was also one who denied His Lord three times - and yet three times he was called by Jesus to Feed My sheep - to care for the flock of God and to provide for the little lambs that needed nurturing, nourishment, encouragement, and training.
• Peter was also aware that false teachers had surreptitiously infiltrated the Church of God.
• And as the time for his departure drew ever closer, Peter wanted to ensure that those who had grown in grace and matured in the faith, were equipped to continue Christ's ministry of reconciliation, and to care for the flock of God - and so he spoke directly to the elders of the Church who had the authority over God's people.
• The heavy responsibility of eldership in the Church is too often plastered with pain and overlaid with persecution for the sake of Christ.

• It must have been wonderful to be all together in one place on that first day of Pentecost, when the Church was born.
• But Peter was led by the Spirit to apply a prophecy that was given to Israel to the newly born Christian Church.
• There is much confusion about the meaning of the word 'prophecy' in the Church today, and this text is often used to introduce extra-biblical revelation to the Body of Christ, often from certain self-appointed prophets-of-God who will add to or subtract from the Word of truth.
• And so, they were given the privilege of participating in the birth of the Church, when the Spirit was poured out on them in great abundance and each one was baptised into the Body of Christ and given the gift of tongues so that they could prophesy in other languages about the wonderful works of God to the men of Israel who were present in Jerusalem on that momentous day.