Sunday: The Holy Spirit Unites us with Christ
The Holy Spirit unites us in manifold ways. We would not exist as a church if the Holy Spirit would not first unite us with Christ. Christ is the head of the church (see Eph. 1:22-23; Eph. 5:23). Through the Holy Spirit, we are effectually united to Christ Himself. Being united with Christ is the foundation of all the blessings of salvation, because all we have in the Lord comes from Him.
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Our adoption as sons and daughters of God, our justification as well as our sanctification, our living a victorious life over sin, and our final glorification are all received through our union with Christ. Thus, He must be the foundation to our entire Christian experience.
Read Ephesians 2:18, Eph. 2:20-22 and 1 Peter 2:6-7. What do they tell us about the role of Christ and the Holy Spirit in the creation of the church?
Through the Spirit, we have access to God the Father. Jesus is the rock, the foundation of our salvation, and the one on whom all other parts of the whole building are erected.
The work of the Spirit on the individual level then leads to a specific community of faith: the church. When we have experienced salvation through faith in Christ Jesus alone, and have been touched by the love of God, there is a sweet “fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Cor. 13:14, NASB) in the church. Individual believers are being built into a new spiritual house of God “in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22, NASB). As followers of Christ we should be eager “to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3, NASB). In every way possible, without compromising what cannot be compromised, we need to seek for unity in the fellowship of believers.
Read Colossians 3:12-14. How can you exemplify those attributes and contribute to unity in the church? Why are these attributes so crucial to the unity of the church?
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Amen, thanks for the todays scripture, for we as the body of Christ are called to unity for God the father the son and holly spirit are one. And thus the spirit of God minister to us.
Yes, Eursilah, I believe that God works as one God, similar to the way a human being (made in Their Image) works as a single soul even though we are made up of three individual entities (mind, body, and spirit) like our Creator. It takes three to make one.
See what EGW says in the book "Education" p. 15
I think the only path to exemplifying the above attributes is via the motivation of our thoughts and feelings by the Holy Spirit with the perfect Love of God. For this we must give our will to be driven by God via the Holy Spirit.
He will bring the Word of God into our experience in a real and vivid way, motivated by Love, which cannot be manufactured by our selfishly motivated human mind.
All things are possible with God.
This goes with what I was thinking. \"... we need to seek for unity in the church\" would better have been; \"we must continually plead for and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us to Yeshua where only is unity.\"
The greatest wealth on this earth one could find and receive, his that of being right with God. Which show us how wealthy God is, been determined to be right with us at such a cost. Just stop right now and let your mind contemplate it. ?
Question here: This lesson is speaking of "The Church" which church is it speaking of? The comments here lead me to believe they are speaking of one church in particular and there's many church's where I feel Gods people meet, and surely the HS is there also. Does God/the HS only meet at one church? As it says "The Church" not "Church's" if that's the case if Gods not at the church I'm going to do we have the HS? I'm really confused here.
While we believe that the Church is ordained by God and is the object of his love, that does not give us ownership of God. In our own thinking we sometimes have a very church-centric view of our relationship with God. Whenever I am tempted to think liked that, I remind myself that the Church has been given responsibility, not ownership. That affects how we relate to people of faith in other churches. I see the Holy Spirit working in their lives too. The little old Catholic nun at the train station, the Jehovahs Witness next door, the unchurched believer that I meet on my walk; all of them have at some time shared something with me that has encouraged me in my Christian journey. To say that they do not have the Holy Spirit would be both egocentric and arrogant; neither attitude is Christian.
Here is a suggestion: if the Holy Spirit (I purposely use the name and not the initials) is not in our church, what are we doing about it? Do we not have the Holy Spirit in our lives to share with others? The Church is us!
Evie. the church is not a building but the people who believe in and worship our Lord and Savior. There are good people in every denomination who have been led by the Holy Spirit. God is love and wants all to be His children. All will have the same chance as anyone else to know and accept His desire for us to follow Him.
Evie, the church is comprised of those who's names are written into the Lamb's Book of Life. They wear His yoke, reflect His life and character as they grow in grace. They "wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb", making them "white". Metaphors for a real-life experience of faith in God's Word; both written and Living.
This is not limited to any profession, position, or denomination. Only faith and obedience marks them as the Lord's.
Maurice, so you are saying: Do we not have the Holy Spirit in our lives to share with others? The Church is us!
"The Church" is not a denomination? So if He is in all our hearts then He goes w/us where ever we go, no mater which church. What a peaceful thought. Thanx Maurice for your input.
The church, is us united into one body. Not us working separately. The body is organized "religion" not disorganized seperatism. Is the SDA church to be classified as just a denomination?? It is a unity and organisation that God has raised and put together not man. The Seventh Day Adventist Church exist to proclaim the Gospel and be home to those who are called out of Babylon. Other biblical evidence of church organisation is the Bible teachings on church discipline. It could not exist without the united body or "denomination" Mt 18:15-20
Ildefonso, I believe that the true church is organized by God, Himself, via the Holy Spirit. If the present organization represents that, then it is the true church. When it is not organized by God it is no longer the voice of God or the organization of God, but rather, it is an impostor in the place of the true church. Maybe the people of God can still use the organization, defective as it is, but we must realize reality and let God adjust us in case of irregularity and unlawfulness. The Character of God must be ever evident in the function and teaching of the organization. It must teach according to the law of God and not according to convienience and try to change His Word.
The bible makes clear that God has His people in false religions, and in the last work, they will be called out of them.
Yes, there is a denomination that was raised up to do a short work, but many generations later, we are falling behind the world's rate of population growth. This work was/is to be accomplished in one generation. We have been told that insubordination causes us to remain here "many more years".
The Church God recognizes in of faith that works by love, demonstrated in perfect obedience to "the commandments of God" and having "the faith of Jesus".
No denominational lines, no division of any kind except faith and obedience to the light they have been given.
Daniel(and Ellen) state that many will fall away in the last conflict, while others from "Babylon" will come in to take their place.
We have a work, and God's true people will be busy at it as they are led according to their circumstances. Our only need is to know our duty, not the duty of others. God's true people will be led of Him in everything(Ps 32:8).
The Holy Spirit unites us in one spirit in the church and prepare us for the Lords coming.
True, Trevor. If we let Him. Unfortunately most of us have a fair bit of selfishness that we need to ask forgiveness for first.
As we ask for forgiveness, why not ask that the Holy Spirit bring the light of the presence of God into us at the same time, that our joy may be full, and let Him illuminate the darkness of selfishness within us with His Love?
I believe that the Holy Spirit is in every congregation speaking to believers' hearts, wooing them to the truth as is in Jesus Christ. When they yield their hearts, he will unite them into His one true church as He has said that there would be one fold, not many folds/denominations.
Yes, I believe that the one true fold is the group of the remnant people in the world that uphold the law of God and have the testimony of Jesus which is the Spirit of Prophecy.
While no single congregation on Earth can rightfully claim that all its members fit this condition, this condition is found on Earth in many different walks of life and many different congregations to the best of their present knowledge. Every nation, tongue, and people has the possibility of this happening through the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and minds of individuals.
This is a very interesting discussion on ecclesiology (the teaching all about the church). Keeping in mind the messages of Christ to the seven churches it seems to me that being or not being a church depends on conditions. Looking at the message to the church at Ephesus, that condition becomes obvious. Although that church has unmasked false apostles and is hating the Nicolaitans, it has fallen away from its first love (Revelation 1:4). Christ is taking that kind of apostasy very seriously, admonishing that church to repent and to return to the first works. In case of stubbornly resisting saving grace, Christ will come quickly and remove that candlestick out of its place (Revelation 1:5). The assurance of salvation by the Holy Spirit speaking, is given to overcomers promising them to be granted to eat of the tree of live in paradise (Revelation 1:7).
The juxtaposition of threatening to remove the whole candlestick, the whole church, on one side; and the assurance of salvation by accepting saving grace on the other hand; suggests that not the whole church of Ephesus is cast away, but only those resisting saving grace. There is hope for the emergence of a remnant as overcomers within that church willing to accept saving grace.
A survey of all the other churches would reveal that the church is the church of a remnant meeting conditions of salvation set up by God. Whereas the book of revelation is contrasting the church of Christ with Babylon, picturing Christ as the bridegroom of Jerusalem, the capital of the kingdom of God with the church abiding therein (Revelation 19:7-8; 21:9-10)--- Babylon therefore is not the bride of Christ, nor the church of Christ.
However, the remnant within the church of Christ and the remnant within Babylon, is being gathered by the Three Angels Messages to become one church, which can be compared with the remnant of the Jews and the Gentiles being united into one church (Ephesians 2:16). The church is church only inasfar as it is founded on the apostles and prophets with Christ as chief corner stone (Ephesians 2:20). That church remains as such only if it is going to remain within the teachings of the apostles, as the apostle John admonishes the then present church (1 John 2:24).
Any church has to meassure itself by this admonishing of John. Any post-apostolic tradition going above what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6) would build the community on a foundation other than Scripture and the Holy Spirit that has inspired Holy Scripture. There has to be no spiritual pride, but a spirit of humble invitation to the church of Christ and its true foundation (1 Chorinthians 3:11).
Winfried Stolpmann
Thank you for the simplicity of truth on this issue.
To have a successful "church" Christ and the Holy Spirit must be the cornerstone. Always strive to act like Jesus and use the fruit and the gifts that have been given you. Setting a good example for each other and the community is how we need to minister God's word. Then a successful "church" will naturally follow.