“For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (Ephesians 3:1-6 ESV)
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, who is God, the
second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – left his
throne in heaven, came to earth, and was born as a human baby to a virgin
mother, conceived of the Holy Spirit. And while he was on the earth, he was
fully God and fully man (God incarnate). He healed the sick and afflicted,
raised the dead, delivered people from demons, fed the hungry, and taught
repentance and obedience to God (to Christ) as necessary components of faith
which saves.
Jesus Christ was and is the promised Messiah of Israel. But
the majority of the Jews did not receive him as their Messiah, the Christ, but
they rejected him, and they called for him to be crucified on a cross, although
he had done no wrong. But in Jesus’ death on that cross, not only did he put
our sins to death with him so that, by faith in him, we will now die to sin and
live for God, but he made Jew and Gentile one people by faith in Jesus Christ,
no longer separate, but as fellow heirs with all who believe in Jesus.
All Jews who rejected Jesus as their Lord, the Christ, the
promised Messiah, were cut out of Israel, and all believing Gentiles were
grafted into Israel, so that Jew and Gentile, by faith in Christ, would now be
one people, one nation. Any Jew who now believes in Christ will also be grafted
into Israel and be one body with all Gentile believers in Christ. See Romans
11:1-36
“For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring.” “It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise.” See Romans 9:6-8 ESV
“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:26-29 NIV
For “…His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility... For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” Ephesians 2:15-18 NIV
“Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.” 1 John 2:22 NIV
Jesus speaking to the Jews:
“I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” John 8:18-19 ESV
All who do not believe in Jesus
Christ, whether Jew or Gentile by birth, are not the children of God. For they
do not believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who is God – the Father,
the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. So they are not God’s chosen
people. They are not his holy nation, and Jerusalem is not the holy city. For she
is of Hagar, the slave woman. So all Jews who do not believe in Jesus Christ
will not share in the inheritance with those who do believe in Christ. For we
who believe in Christ are of the free woman, not of the slave woman (see Galatians
4:22-31).
Summary
Jesus Christ, in his death on that
cross, destroyed the barrier that stood between Jew and Gentile and he made the
two one people by faith in Jesus Christ. So the division is no longer Jew and
Gentile, but Christian and non-Christian. But a Christian is not in lip service
only. For by faith in Jesus Christ we die with Christ to sin and we are raised
with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to
sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness, in walks of obedience
to his commands.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John
6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32;
Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2;
1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh,
to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This
is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly
I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus,
Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh,
to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving,
forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping
the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking
the wandering sinner to find.
O
to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy
and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly
enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing
to suffer others to save.
O
to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour
out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make
me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit
me for life and Heaven above.
Oh,
to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd
Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come
in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp
Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
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Members of The Same Body
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