First the Question: All of the prophesied New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31-37, mentioned in Hebrews 8:9-12, is being literally fulfilled in the present Age and Dispensation of Grace, while the Nation of Israel is set aside, and in the disfavor of God. 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 2-10-2012
Question: The Body of Christ is the Church of God, but, in the Bible, The Church of God is not necessarily the Body of Christ. True or False?
Answer: TRUE! In Psalm 22:22 we read, “I will declare Thy name unto My brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee.” In quoting this verse, the writer of the Hebrews wrote: “In the midst of the CHURCH will I sing praise unto Thee.” (Hebrews 2:12). In the light of Colossians 1:24-26, Ephesians 3:1-3, and Ephesians 3:6-11, we know that the ‘congregation’ of Psalm 22:22, and the ‘church’ of Hebrews 2:16, is NOT the CHURCH, Which is Christ’s joint-Body. (Ephesians 1:22-23). Out of the 763 responses we received to this question, only 78.9% of you got it right! Therefore, NOW, let us take a look at,
Facts to Understand the Book of Acts, part 5 of 9
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AND THE CHURCH
In Psalm 22:22 we read, “I will declare Thy name unto My brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee.” In quoting this verse, the writer of the Hebrews wrote: “In the midst of the CHURCH will I sing praise unto Thee.” (Hebrews 2:12). In the light of Colossians 1:24-26, Ephesians 3:1-3, and Ephesians 3:6-11, we know that the ‘congregation’ of Psalm 22:22, and the ‘church’ of Hebrews 2:16, is NOT the CHURCH, Which is Christ’s joint-Body. (Ephesians 1:22-23).
We have the right to wonder how and when the theologians and Bible translators decided to use the word ‘CHURCH,’ translated from the Greek, ‘Ekklesia,’ meaning literally, ‘called out.’ (An etymology of the word "Church" is in order here). Using the word ‘CHURCH’ has added so much to the confusion, especially when it is a known fact that more than ninety percent of Christians call a meeting place, a stone, brick or wood building, ‘a church.’ And, God never called out stone, brick or wood.
Every time the word ‘CHURCH,’ either in the singular or plural, is used in the Scriptures the reference is to PEOPLE. The Greek word translated ‘churches’ in Acts 19:37, ‘robbers of churches,’ is the one exception; for the word should be translated ‘temples.’ However, it is quite interesting to note that in Acts 19:32, Acts 19:39-41, the word ‘ASSEMBLY,’ referring to a mob of heathen, is translated from the Greek ‘ekklesia: You may ask why is the word here translated ‘assembly’ and more than one hundred times, ‘CHURCH.’ It is thought that the word ‘CHURCH’ is a form of the word ‘KURIOS,’ meaning ‘The Lord.’ However, that proves out to be nonsense. The word "CHURCH" was used on purpose, but that's another story and message.
In Acts 7:38 we read of ‘THE CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS’ referring to God’s people whom God called out of Egypt, under the leadership of Moses, the mediator of the Old Covenant. Surely those Israelites were not baptized by the Holy Spirit into the joint-Body, mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:13. The body of Moses for which Satan contended was not ‘THE CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS,’ but the body of Moses referred to in Deuteronomy 34:5-6. Take a moment and read Jude 9, and Hebrews 2:14-15.
In Matthew 18:17 the word ‘CHURCH’ appears twice. The Lord Jesus said, “tell it unto the Church!” The expression, ‘the kingdom of heaven’ is found about thirty times in the Book of Matthew. That Message is certainly a message concerning the King and the Kingdom. What ‘CHURCH’ the Lord referred to in Matthew 18:17 we may not know, but we do know that while the LORD Jesus was here on earth, the Minister of the Circumcision, with messages and a program fulfilling Old Testament prophecies (Romans 15:8), sent only to Israel (Matthew 15:24; Matthew 10:5-8), Jews and Gentiles were not being baptized by the Holy Spirit into the UNPROPHESIED joint-Body of 1 Corinthians 12:13, and Ephesians 4:4-5. You got all this so far? Good!
Another interesting and all important fact is that the LORD Jesus Christ is coming to redeem Israel after the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled...‘Israel shall be saved’...(Romans 11:25-29). Why? Because the gifts and calling of God are without repentance and because God said, “This is My covenant when I shall take away their sins.” Now, take a moment and read Romans 11:26-29, along with Jeremiah 31:31-37. As God, at the time He gave Israel the Old Covenant, called Israel out of Egypt, so God, under the guarantee of the New Covenant, will surely fulfill Jeremiah 32:37-40, and call Israel out of ALL the countries where they now dwell. Not leaving a great majority of them in New York and Florida! And according to the Scriptures, all Israel shall know the LORD. (Jeremiah 31:34). (Hebrews 8:9-12). Then, at that time, TRULY Israel will be The New Testament ‘CALLED OUT.’ But they will not be the ONE BODY, the JOINT-BODY of Christ of Romans 12:4-5 and 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Ephesians 4:4-5.
Surely every intelligent, spiritual, steward of the Mysteries of God must see that the joint-Body of Christ is ‘THE CHURCH OF GOD'. HOWEVER, in the Bible, ‘THE CHURCH OF GOD’ is not necessarily ‘THE BODY OF CHRIST’.
“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)
Subscribe Here to the LLM Newsletter , Follow LLM on Twitter , Subscribe to LLM on Youtube , LLM on MySpace , and FaceBook
No comments:
Post a Comment