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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Two Current Issues
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4—NIV)
Two main events transpired after the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. The two events were the construction of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and the organizing of Israel into an army. These milestones portray today's burden of the Spirit.
In Bible symbolism, the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai is equivalent to the giving of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. We have been at Pentecost, so to speak, throughout the present century. The next century will witness the construction of the Body of Christ and the organizing of the members of the Body into an army.
The building of the Body of Christ. To the Apostle Paul was given the revelation that Messiah (Christ) is to have a Body. Messiah is the Servant of the Lord, mentioned in the Book of Isaiah. Messiah shall bring justice to the nations when He appears.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (I Corinthians 12:12—NIV)
The Head of Messiah is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Head appeared two thousand years ago and died for our sins. But He did not bring justice to the nations at that time. Rather, He made it possible for His Body to be brought into being.
The purpose of the Church Era has been to create a body for the Messiah, Jesus. When the Lord Jesus ascended He gave gifts consisting of men. These gifts are gifts to the Body. Their purpose is to build the Body to the stature of the fullness of Christ, of the Messiah.
The Church comprises people who are called out from the world to form a body for the Messiah, a body that will complete Messiah just as a wife completes her husband. When Christ has been completed with the addition of His Body, the entire Messiah, the One anointed with the Spirit of God, will return to the earth and bring justice to the nations.
The purpose of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ with His saints, His Body, is not to carry His Church to Heaven, as is taught commonly. The purpose of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ with His saints is to bring justice to the saved nations of the earth.
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1—NIV)
Because of the tendency of human beings to form a religion, the term church has come to mean a building in which the followers of a religion congregate. In order for us to comprehend what is meant in the writings of Paul by "the body of Christ" we must set aside the traditional meaning of the term church. We must think of people who are connected to the Head, to Jesus.
It appears Christianity as a whole is not connected to the Head, nor has it ever been. Christianity consists, for the most part, of good, decent people who pray, read their Bible, and worship God in the name of Jesus. This is the Christian religion. Such are members of the Body of Christ in an immature sense. However, most of the believers have not experienced the meaning of being brought to the stature of the fullness of Christ.
To be continued.