“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
“The temple was constructed using finished stones cut at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any other iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.”
“to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood,”
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26. God created man in his own image which means man was God double or duplicate or his extension on the earth to do his work. Man was meant to be God’s representative on earth, carrying the glory of God. This was before the fall of man. After the fall of man that image was soiled and man was not qualified to represent God anymore. “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.” Isaiah 42:8. There is no way God can share his glory with man. Man reigned it for himself and started hiding from God. God is jealous for his glory and he will not trade that for anything. After the fall of man, because of God’s love for man, he sent Jesus, the carrier of his glory so that he can again communicate with man. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrew 1:3. This Jesus in us is the one who holds all things together. He is the head of the church and it is in him that all authority rests according to. Colossians 1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy
So what is the church and who is the church………..? The church is the place where the glory of God is revealed. This Glory is packaged in Christ: “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Mathew 16: 16-19. This means that the glory of God that is revealed through Christ has also been accompanied with the power and authority for God’s work on earth, thus the gates of Hades cannot overcome his power at work in the Church. “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Mathew 28:18. Additionally, Hebrew 1:1-3 states “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” The glory of God communicates the nature of God which he has packaged in His son the (HEAD OF THE CHURCH) to be revealed to us (The CHURCH). If Christ is the revelation of God’s glory (Hebrew 1:3) and the head of the church (Colossians 1:18), therefore we are the church according to Galatians 1:16; ”to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood.” Our purpose is that God’s son is revealed in us since he represents God’s glory and for us to carry that revelation- the gospel of Christ and preach it to others through the same revelation by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are able to do so if we walk and live by Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” We are the church (God temple) and for it to carry and display God’s glory, we ought to be holy and acceptable to him; for it is the true and proper way to serve the Lord.
Although we individually represent the church, according to Hebrew 10:25 “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” We are required to meet together in fellowship with one another and Christ being in the center of it all. Our meeting fulfills this passage. “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5
So what is the expectation of our meeting together as a church?
When we come together as expected, God displays himself through the power of the Holy Spirit at work within and through us. When we gather, it is not about the place, it is about the Holy Spirit at work at the mountain of the Lord. In this place, God assigns his angels to minister to the needs of the church. This place carries the power of the sprinkled blood of Jesus which protects us from death and deals with any curse that was placed over us. Here God’s word is revealed and brings judgment over that which is not of God: “22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Romans 12:22-24. The church is a place of transformation so we are able to reflect the glory of God, transforming us into the image of God: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
Prayer Points
Pray that we will have the desire to serve this God in this manner as expected-holy and acceptable: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1
If the church is the place where God uses to reveal his son and we are the church, therefore ask the Lord for the grace that will help us to represent him properly wherever we go: ”to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood,” Galatians 1:16
The church is the finished stone prepared by the Lord, at the cross, in the place of prayer used for the master’s work. Ask the Lord to shape you if there be any area that needs work: “The temple was constructed using finished stones cut at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any other iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.” 1 Kings 6:7
The proper way of service is through the cross. Ask the Lord for help so that you will not use tools he has not asked you, for unauthorized sacrifices leads only to damage: “Now if you make an altar of stones for Me, you must not build it with stones shaped by tools; for if you use a chisel on it, you will defile it.” Exodus 20:25
In the church God commands his light(Christ) to shine out every darkness within us and this light reveals within us the knowledge of God’s glory through CHRIST. Pray that this light will shine out every darkness within his church: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6
The church is the temple of God. Pray that the church will not take God’s temple for granted: “Do you not know that you yourselves are God's temple, and that God's Spirit dwells in you? “1 Corinthians 3:16
Turn this verse into a prayer: “If the church is the temple of the living God, then God lives there and such we, then idols have no place in God’s temple. What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people." 2 Corinthians 6:16
The church is God's house, the pillar and foundation of the truth. Pray that the church will stand on truth, preach truth and walk in truth: “in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth”. 1 Timothy 3: 15
The church is God’s channel for the gospel to reach the ends of the earth. Ask God for the grace of this work. Pray that the church will not fail God: And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
We are not ordinary, our foundation has already been laid by the Apostles: We must build only on that foundation and nothing else, for that is how we can grow into a holy temple. Ask the Lord for help and the grace to walk on the footsteps of the Apostles: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22
Pray that as a body we will not forsake the gathering together in love: “24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25
Pray for unity in the body of Christ: “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:46-47
Turn this into a prayer for the church: Ephesians 3:14-21 “For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
Pray that the message of Christ will settle in us, as that is how we get transformed and are able to transform others through the life we live: “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” Colossians 3:16
Pray against the forces of wickedness that always rise up against the church: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world's darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12
Pray that every gate standing against the church must be lifted up so the king of Glory can come into his church: “Lift up your heads, O gates! Be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may enter! Psalm 24: 9
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