LLM Question of the Day for 10-25-2011, and, THE GOSPEL OF JOHN....THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, pt. 23 of 24

First the Question: No matter how religious a dead sinner may be, God wants none of his good works or religious doings. True or False?

Please take a moment to respond at the LLM Question of the Day

And now the answer to the LLM Question of 10-20-2011

Question: Becoming identified with a local assembly is NOT called, in the Bible...Joining the Church. True or False?

Answer: TRUE! In this Age and Dispensation of Grace, the Dispensation of the Mystery; the very moment the believing sinner meets God at Calvary, receiving Christ and believing that He was delivered for our offences and raised for our justification, that believing sinner, without ritual, water baptism, or ANY religious ceremonies, immediately is made a CHURCH-MEMBER by the Grace and power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now, out of the 732 responses we received to this question, 94.9% of you got it right! Praise God! Therefore,

Today let us consider, THE GOSPEL OF JOHN....THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, pt. 23 of 24

THE DIVISION OF GOD’S PEOPLE WHICH DISPLEASES GOD

In the great prayer of the Apostle and High Priest of our confession in John 17:1-25, we read in John 17:9 that He is praying not for the world, but for believers. “That they all may be ‘ONE’. That they may be ‘ONE’ in us. That the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” (John 17:21). “That they maybe ‘ONE’, even as we are ‘ONE’.” (John 17:22). “That they maybe made perfect in ‘ONE’.” (John 17:23).

Some years later the RISEN LORD directed the Apostle Paul to write, “ye are all ‘ONE’ in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28). Again in Romans 12:5, “so we, being many, are ‘ONE’ BODY in Christ, and every ONE members ‘ONE’ of another.” Again 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, “for as the body is ‘ONE’, and hath many members, and all the members of that ‘ONE’ body, being many, are ‘ONE’ body, so also is ‘THE CHRIST’. For by ‘ONE’ Spirit have we all been baptized into ‘ONE BODY.”

God raised Christ from the dead, and raised Him far above all heavens (Ephesians 4:10), “and gave Him to be Head over all things to the CHURCH, Which is His BODY, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22-23). “There is ‘ONE’ BODY.” (Ephesians 4:4). “There should be no ‘DIVISION’ in the BODY.” (1 Corinthians 12:25).

“That there be no ‘DIVISIONS’ among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together.” (1 Corinthians 1:10). “Is Christ DIVIDED?” (1 Corinthians 1:13). There is ‘ONE’ LORD, ‘ONE’ Faith, ‘ONE’ Baptism.” (Ephesians 4:5). “Endeavouring to keep the ‘ONENESS’ of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3). Concerning the CHURCH, (of the Dispensation of Grace, the Dispensation of the Mystery), Which is the ‘ONE’ BODY, called in Ephesians 3:6, “JOINTBODY”, a “BUILDING” and a “HOLY TEMPLE” in Ephesians 2:21, we read, “In Christ all the ‘BUILDING’ fitly joined together groweth unto a ‘HOLY TEMPLE’ in the Lord, in Whom ye are builded together.” (Ephesians 2:21-22).

In spite of the unholy, disgraceful, divisions and subdivisions and more than 300 sectarian church organizations, God has His ONE BODY, but His ONE BODY is not a religious organization but a spiritual ORGANISM, the “JOINTBODY”. “The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal: the Lord knoweth them that are His.” (2 Timothy 2:19).

There are NO unsaved people in the BODY of Christ. God only knows how many unsaved people are members of so called Christian church organizations. The LORD Jesus and the CHURCH are ONE flesh (Ephesians 5:31-32). “God is making ONE New Man of believers who are reconciled to Him in ONE BODY by the cross.” (Ephesians 2:15-16). The Lord Jesus will present the CHURCH to Himself, glorious, blameless, holy and spotless. (Ephesians 5:25-27).

In this Age and Dispensation of Grace, the Dispensation of the Mystery; the very moment the believing sinner meets God at Calvary, receiving Christ and believing that He was delivered for our offences and raised for our justification, that believing sinner, without ritual, water baptism, or ANY religious ceremonies, immediately is made a CHURCH-MEMBER by the Grace and power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Becoming identified with the local assembly is NOT called, in the Bible, ‘Joining the Church’. The believer’s eternal security is IN CHRIST. (Romans 8:1, Ephesians 2:13, 2 Cor. 5:17, Ephesians 1:4-7, Colossians 2:10). God will yet gather together in ‘ONE’ all things ‘IN CHRIST’. (Ephesians 1:10).

So think again of the words the LORD gave Caiaphas, the high priest, to say in John 11:51-52, “he prophesied that Jesus would die for Israel, and not for that nation only, but also that He should gather together in ‘ONE’ the children of God that were scattered abroad.”

“Believe on the LORD Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” Acts 16:31, while there is still time!

So There You Have it!

Spread this message to everyone you know, far and wide. The time is short

Grace be to you and peace, from God: our Father, and The LORD Jesus Christ.

In The LORD Jesus Christ,
The Lion and Lamb Ministry

Pastor David Picos, D.D.
Minister and Ambassador for Christ in the Ministry of Reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-20)

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