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The Daily Word of Righteousness
God Has Needs and Desires, #2
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. (Romans 4:16—NIV)
God chose Abraham to be the father of all who believe in Christ. The word church is close enough in meaning to "called-out" or "elect" that we will consider the terms as being synonyms. In other words, the Christian Church (the called-out who are anointed with the Holy Spirit) began with Abraham, continued through the sons of Jacob, and then through those who have received the Lord Jesus Christ. It is all one Church, one elect of God, from the time of Abraham, the chosen of God.
Now, why have the members of the Church been called out of the world? This question needs a great deal of thought by Christians.
Our assumption today seems to be that everyone who is a member of the Christian Church is saved and will go to Heaven and everyone else on earth will be assigned to the Lake of Fire.
Perhaps to our amazement, the truth is that it is only the wicked who will be assigned to the Lake of Fire whether or not they view themselves as Christians. God has no intention whatever of putting the great majority of the people whom He has created, most of whom have never heard of Moses or Jesus Christ, into the Lake of Fire, there to be tormented forever.
We Christians have assigned, it appears, most of earth's population to the Lake of Fire. But we are mistaken in this.
When God called the nation of Israel out of Egypt to be a holy priesthood to Himself, the idea was not that every other nation on earth was to be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Rather the Jews were to be the custodians of the Law of Moses, the revelation of God's Person and ways to all the peoples of the earth.
In the same manner, God has called the Christians, Jews and Gentiles, to Himself to be a holy nation, a royal priesthood. The idea is not that everyone else on earth is to be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Rather it is true that the Christians are the custodians of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the means by which people can receive the forgiveness of their sins.
When we use the term "Church" in this essay it is important not to think of Christians only but of all God's elect, beginning with Abraham. For this is the true meaning of Church.
He was in the assembly [church] in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to us. (Acts 7:38—NIV)
Now why did God call the Church from the ranks of mankind? Remember, no person can come to Christ except the Father draw him. The Lord Jesus told us we have not chosen Him but He has chosen us and ordained us that we might bear fruit. Since only a small fraction of earth's population is thus called out by the Lord, it would be grossly unfair of God to send all those who have not been called, into the Lake of Fire. This doesn't make sense!
To be continued.