Our Bodies are to be Vessels for the Glory of God, Not Instruments of Sin

Our Bodies are to be Vessels for the Glory of God, Not Instruments of Sin

The moment we believe the gospel—that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again—we are placed into the Body of Christ. We are no longer just individuals navigating life on our own terms; we are now members of His Body, united with Him in purpose and destiny. This profound truth transforms not only our identity but also the way we view and use our physical bodies. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:15: 

"Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?"

Our bodies are not our own. They have been purchased with the precious blood of Christ and now serve a divine purpose. Though we still inhabit mortal flesh, the purpose of these earthly vessels has changed—we are no longer bound to sin but called to manifest the life of Christ in us. Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 4:7: 

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."

This "treasure" is the glorious truth of Christ dwelling within us. Our weak and imperfect bodies have now become instruments through which His power and life shine forth.

That the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable

That the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable

In Romans 15:16 Paul says that I should be THE minister of Jesus Christ to you Gentiles. Are we Gentiles? Yes. Then who's the minister of Jesus Christ to us? Paul. You've got 13-epistles in your Bible written by that man who said he was the apostle of Jesus Christ to us. Not a minister, THE minister. The definite, defined minister of Jesus Christ to us Gentiles.

What did Paul minister to us? He ministered the gospel of God. Why? So that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. Do you know what Paul's saying here? His ministry, those 13-epistles that he ministered to us by the spirit of God, are to be written in our hearts by the spirit of God. What's the purpose of that ministry? It is so that when you're offered up to God for his will and purpose, you'll be acceptable. It's sanctifying you; it's cleansing you.

Remember what Paul said in Ephesians 5? That Christ gave himself for the church, that he might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church. And Paul, as a minister of Jesus Christ, was ministering the gospel of God so that the offering up of the Gentiles for the will and purpose of God might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. Paul's ministry is getting us ready for the purpose for which God called us out. And guess what. It is not just to be saved by the gospel. Paul didn't write 13-epistles about forgiveness of sins, and he didn't write 13-epistles just to tell us about justification. There is a lot more to the Christian life than just being saved.

The content of his 13-epistles is a curriculum that when we study it progressively, and in order, from Romans to Philemon, it will establish us, grow us up, and form Christ within us. It will impart knowledge and understanding that will do a work of faith within us that we might be transformed by it and learn to prove the good, the acceptable, and the perfect will of God. It will bring us to sons, who are influenced by the doctrine and who are led by love and faithfulness as we patiently wait in hope of Christ's return. This doctrine is preparing us for the vocation in the ages to come. This was Paul's calling as the minister to the Gentiles, and this is our responsibility, to learn the doctrine, Paul's 13-epistles, and let it transform us and prepare us for what God has called us as the Body of Christ to fulfill.

Adapted from this video by Paul Lucas.

Why were the baptisms required for Israel?

Why were the baptisms required for Israel?

Exodus 19:5 Now, therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my Covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all the people, for all the Earth is mine. And you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Exodus 19 is when Moses begins to give the Old Testament law to Israel, and he tells them right up front, God's intention with Israel is to make them a kingdom of priests.

Lev 21:16-21 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, (17) Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. (18) For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, (19) Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, (20) Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; (21) No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.

According to Leviticus 21, there were some obvious requirements placed upon the priests who were to approach to offer the offerings of the Lord. They had to be a perfect physical specimen.

As grace believers, what is our primary objective? (Part 4)

Paul’s Encouragement to Increase in Knowledge and Understanding

Start this series of posts with: Part 1

Paul’s letters are full of statements that encourage one to learn, to increase in one’s knowledge of God’s Word, and to gain understanding of it, so that it embeds in one’s heart and becomes part of the outflow of one’s life, in thinking, reasoning, speech, and actions. You cannot go far in Paul’s epistles and not read statements that encourage growth and increasing in knowledge and understanding.

In Romans, the foundational epistle that establishes us in ‘the faith’, Paul immediately starts to fire up our minds, compelling us to think upon things, or to know things, coercing our learning and understanding. Have a look at the following statements that we encounter so early in the mystery curriculum,

As grace believers, what is our primary objective? (Part 2)

As grace believers, what is our primary objective? (Part 2)

Start this series of posts with: Part 1

In the first part of this series, I motivated the fact that the single most important thing to do, after getting saved, is to spend time in the Word of God and gain the knowledge of the Word rightly divided. In upcoming parts, I will also deal with points instructing why this is important, what happens when we do, and God’s will and purpose for us in doing this.

In this post I want to focus on what is milk and what is meat. As previously mentioned, a babe in Christ cannot be fed meat. So, it becomes really important to know what milk is in the Word, and where we will find the solid food. In this regard, we will find that God’s Word is so perfectly designed. As with the nine Hebrew epistles, Hebrews to Revelation, Paul’s nine church epistles to the Gentiles are also arranged in a form of curriculum, starting with Romans to 2-Thessalonians. It shouldn’t be surprising to note that these Gentile letters, for us in this dispensation of grace, start with a letter called Romans and the Jewish letters, for the Jewish believers in the tribulation, start with a letter called Hebrews. God could not have made this distinction clearer.

The Glory and Power of God’s Word within Us

The Glory and Power of God’s Word within Us

Paul provides some valuable insights into what will happen at our transition from these earthly ‘tents’ (flesh bodies) to our heavenly ‘building’ (spiritual, eternal bodies), 2Cor 5:1.

First, we must know that there are bodies for different purposes, for different environments, and which emit different levels of glory. Read the following passage to get the context,

1Co 15:39-43 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. 40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: