The Body of Christ Ephesians 4:11-16

As we saw yesterday, all the people who gather to worship in churches around the world form one body–the body of Christ. Jesus is the head. Paul described Him as “the beginning, the first-born from the dead” (Col. 1:18). He takes priority in the church and in the lives of every believer.

At salvation, you become a part of the body, no matter what your local church’s membership rules may be. By receiving the Savior, a person is made one with Jesus. Therefore, if you’re a believer, you are a breathing and active part of Christ, who is at work on earth through His followers. The church is Jesus’ feet to carry the gospel message, His arms to care for those in need of love, and His hands to uphold the weak.

Christ’s physical body underwent terrible pain and persecution. His church body cannot expect a cozy, easy existence either. Being Jesus to the world means making sacrifices, accepting ridicule, and loving our enemies (Heb. 13:16, Matt. 5:44). God called us to spread the gospel, but that doesn’t mean people always like what we have to say. Sin and accountability aren’t popular messages. Yet being trendy and well liked is not the point. We’re here to carry out the work and mission of God, even when doing so is uncomfortable.

The spiritual makeup of the church is linked to its mission. The gospel cannot be spread except through the strength and wisdom of Jesus Christ, the head. The body of believers is united with Him through the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit. He reaches the world through His church and its members.

The Aim and End of Life

For to me to live is Christ.

Philippians 1:21

The believer did not always live to Christ. He began to do so when God the Holy Spirit convinced him of sin, and when by grace he was brought to see the dying Savior making a propitiation for his guilt. From the moment of the new and heavenly birth the man begins to live to Christ. Jesus is to believers the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He has so completely won our heart that it beats alone for Him; to His glory we would live, and in defense of His Gospel we would die. He is the pattern of our life, and the model after which we would sculpture our character.

Paul’s words mean more than most men think; they imply that the aim and end of his life was Christ–nay, his life itself was Jesus. In the words of an ancient saint, he ate and drank and slept eternal life. Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this idea? Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? Your business–are you doing it for Christ? Is it not done for self-aggrandizement and for family advantage? Do you ask, “Is that a mean reason?” For the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ; how can he live for another object without committing spiritual adultery?

There are many who carry out this principle in some measure; but who is there that dares say that he has lived wholly for Christ as the apostle did? Yet this alone is the true life of a Christian–its source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end, all gathered up in one word–Christ. Lord, accept me; I present myself, praying to live only in You and to You. Let me be as the creature that stands between the plow and the altar, to work or to be sacrificed; and let my motto be, “Ready for either.”

The Church Ephesians 1:18-23

The church is that group of people called to stand apart from the world because of their relationship with Jesus Christ. All believers in heaven and on earth make up one body–the universal church. There are many denominations and approaches to theology, but the local fellowships that comprise the body of Christ are united by a common message, mission, and motive.

Message. The three-part message of the church is simple. 1) Man is sinful and can alleviate neither the guilt nor the penalty of sin. 2) Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay our debt, was buried, rose again, and ascended to heaven to sit at the Father’s right hand. 3) One day everyone will stand before God and give account for his life.
Believers will take responsibility for what they did with the truth they knew, but unbelievers will answer for every day they lived in rejection of Jesus Christ.

Mission. Matthew 28:19 sums up what should be the personal quest of every member of the living church: to spread the gospel to the whole world and teach new believers how to grow in faith. We witness and make disciples by sharing the experiences we’ve had with God and His Word.

Motive. The church’s motive is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ and to glorify God the Father.

Church is not a place to hide from the world. Our mission is to spread the gospel message all over creation in order to glorify God. There will be opposition and persecution that is worse for some than for others. But we stand together as one body and persevere.

Say Goodbye to Anxiety

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

It is a happy way of soothing sorrow when we can feel, “He cares for me.” Christian, do not dishonor religion by always wearing a brow of care; come, cast your burden upon your Lord. You are staggering beneath a weight that your Father would not feel. What seems to you a crushing burden would be to Him but as the small dust of the balance. Nothing is so sweet as to

Lie passive in God’s hands,
And know no will but His.

O child of suffering, be patient; God has not passed you over in His providence. He who is the feeder of sparrows will also furnish you with what you need. Do not sit in despair; hope on, hope ever. Take up the arms of faith against a sea of trouble, and your opposition shall yet end your distresses. There is One who cares for you. His eye is fixed on you, His heart beats with pity for your woe, and His omnipotent hand shall bring you the needed help. The darkest cloud shall scatter itself in showers of mercy. The blackest gloom shall give place to the morning. He, if you are one of His family, will bind up your wounds and heal your broken heart. Do not doubt His grace because of your tribulation, but believe that He loves you as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness. What a serene and quiet life might you lead if you would leave providing to the God of providence!

With a little oil in the cruse and a handful of meal in the barrel, Elijah outlived the famine, and you will do the same. If God cares for you, why do you need to care too? Can you trust Him for your soul and not for your body? He has never refused to bear your burdens; He has never fainted under their weight. Come, then, soul! Say good-bye to anxiety and leave all your concerns in the hand of a gracious God

How to Serve God Titus 3:5-8

When you encounter opportunities to serve God, how do you respond? Let me list some of the wrong reactions:

1) I can’t.

2) My schedule is too busy.

3) I don’t know how.

4) I’m just a layperson, not a pastor.

Those knee-jerk reactions slam closed a door before we’ve discovered whether or not the Lord wants us to go through it. You’ve probably never thought of a refusal to serve God as idolatry, but that’s what it is–bowing down to self instead of submitting to Him.

The Lord desires that His servants first be willing to do anything and then seek His specific plan for them. He uniquely gifts followers to serve according to His will. But when we’ve already decided what we can’t do, won’t do, or are ill-equipped to do, then we’re acting by our own will. That isn’t going to work.

You may serve the Lord as a godly parent, as a factory worker who shares the gospel with coworkers, or as a friend who listens to those who are hurting. There is no restriction on what God can do with a willing helper. The strength of His Spirit overcomes human limitations. Don’t have enough courage? God can fix that. Don’t have the right skills? God can fix that.

Laying down our excuses is the wisest thing we can do to serve the Lord. Trust that He will empower you to do whatever He calls you to do–and will see to it that you are properly equipped and trained (Eph. 2:10; 2 Tim. 2:20; 3:16-17). All He asks of you is that you say yes.

Reflecting on Light

And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:4

Light might well be good since it sprang from that fiat of goodness, “Let there be light.” We who enjoy it should be more grateful for it than we are, and see more of God in it and by it. Physical light is said by Solomon to be sweet, but gospel light is infinitely more precious, for it reveals eternal things and ministers to our immortal natures. When the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual light and opens our eyes to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, we behold sin in its true colors, and ourselves in our real position; we see the Most Holy God as He reveals Himself, the plan of mercy as He propounds it, and the world to come as the Word describes it. Spiritual light has many beams and prismatic colors, but whether they be knowledge, joy, holiness, or life, all are divinely good. If the light received be thus good, what must the essential light be, and how glorious must be the place where He reveals Himself. O Lord, since light is so good, give us more of it, and more of Yourself, the true light.

No sooner is there a good thing in the world than a division is necessary. Light and darkness have no communion; God has divided them–let us not confound them. Sons of light must not have fellowship with deeds, doctrines, or deceits of darkness. The children of the day must be sober, honest, and bold in their Lord’s work, leaving the works of darkness to those who will dwell in it forever.

Our churches should by discipline divide the light from the darkness, and we should by our distinct separation from the world do the same. In judgment, in action, in hearing, in teaching, in association, we must discern between the precious and the vile, and maintain the great distinction that the Lord made upon the world’s first day.

O Lord Jesus, be our light throughout the whole of this day, for Your light is the light of men.

A Passion to Serve God Ephesians 2:8-10

Oswald Chambers, author of My Utmost For His Highest, died in 1917. His influence, however, lives on. God uses this man’s book to speak to my heart and convict me. Chambers’ message has lasted because he gave priority to things of eternal value rather than to things of the world.

Sadly, many people choose an existence with no enduring significance. Setting out to make as much money as possible, please oneself, and retire to “enjoy the good life” is unbiblical. Worthwhile living involves giving ourselves unreservedly to God so He can use us any way He sees fit. Christians like Chambers, who make a lasting impact in their sphere of influence, have a passion to serve the Lord. They look for ways to express their love and devotion to Him.

Believers are citizens of a heavenly kingdom, so ‘Servant of Almighty God’ is part of their identity. I know what you’re probably thinking: I have a secular job or My life doesn’t matter much. Friend, if you are determined to find ways to be useful for the kingdom, God will supply tasks of eternal value. Be sensitive to people in need. Share your faith with those who hurt. Whether through your vocation or in your community, make yourself available to individuals who need help. Tell others what God is doing in your life.

You are called to serve God where you are. We have all been given the work of evangelists and teachers (Matt. 28:19) as well as the task of caring for those who are in need (Isa. 1:17; Gal. 6:2). Get busy for the kingdom. There is much work to be done.

Grow in Grace & Knowledge

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 3:18

“Grow in grace”–not in one grace only, but in all grace. Grow in that root-grace, faith. Believe the promises more firmly than you have done. Let faith increase in fullness, constancy, simplicity. Grow also in love. Ask that your love may become extended, more intense, more practical, influencing every thought, word, and deed. Grow likewise in humility. Seek to lie very low and know more of your own nothingness. As you grow downward in humility, seek also to grow upward–having nearer approaches to God in prayer and more intimate fellowship with Jesus. May God the Holy Spirit enable you to “grow in . . . the knowledge of our Lord and Savior.” He who grows not in the knowledge of Jesus, refuses to be blessed. To know Him is “life eternal,” and to advance in the knowledge of Him is to increase in happiness. He who does not long to know more of Christ, knows nothing of Him yet. Whoever has sipped this wine will thirst for more, for although Christ does satisfy, yet it is such a satisfaction that the appetite is not choked, but whetted. If you know the love of Jesus as the hart pants for the water-brooks, so will you pant after deeper draughts of His love. If you do not desire to know Him better, then you love Him not, for love always cries, “Nearer, nearer.” Absence from Christ is hell; but the presence of Jesus is heaven. Do not rest content without an increasing acquaintance with Jesus. Seek to know more of Him in His divine nature, in His human relationship, in His finished work, in His death, in His resurrection, in His present glorious intercession, and in His future royal advent. Live close to the Cross, and search the mystery of His wounds. An increase of love to Jesus and a more perfect apprehension of His love to us is one of the best tests of growth in grace.

A Living Hope 1 Peter 1:3-5

Believers are born into a living hope. However, people who are without Christ have no foundation for their
expectations and desires. Many live with a false sense of security. They assume that what is important in this life is the physical and material. But there is no safety in things (1 Tim. 6:9). Those who pursue wealth and health rather than God find that their dreams either go unfulfilled or fail to satisfy.

Believers anchor their hope in the solid rock of Jesus Christ. His words are always true and His promises always kept. I’ll sometimes hear a person project his or her unfulfilled desires on God and then argue that He came up short. But Christians who make a request and submit to God’s will always get an answer–yes, no, or wait.

The Lord does not disappoint those who seek His will. Don’t misunderstand that statement. We might feel temporarily let down when something we hope for is not in God’s plan. But He doesn’t go back on the biblical promise to give His children the best (Isa. 48:17; 64:4). When one door closes, there is another about to open with something better behind it. Friends, the Lord cannot be outdone. We can’t even wish ourselves as much good as God has in store.

The best choice a Christian can make is to fix his or her hope on the Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome whatever fits His will for your life, and turn away from all that does not. Circumstances may shift and change, but Jesus never does. He is a living hope who never disappoints.

The Property of Every Believer

I will . . . Give you as a covenant to the people.

Isaiah 49:8

Jesus Christ is Himself the sum and substance of the covenant, and as one of its gifts He is the property of every believer. Believer, can you estimate what you have received in Christ? “In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”¹ Consider the word “God” and its infinity, and then meditate upon “perfect man” and all His beauty; for all that Christ, as God and man, ever had, or can have, is yours–out of pure free favor, given to you to be your entailed property forever.

Our blessed Jesus, as God, is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent. Will it not console you to know that all these great and glorious attributes are altogether yours? Has He power? That power is yours to support and strengthen you, to overcome your enemies, and to preserve you even to the end. Has He love? Well, there is not a drop of love in His heart that is not yours; you may dive into the immense ocean of His love, and you may say of it all, “It is mine.” Has He justice? It may seem a stern attribute, but even that is yours, for He will by His justice see to it that all that is promised to you in the covenant of grace shall be most certainly secured to you. And all that He has as perfect man is yours. As a perfect man the Father’s delight was upon Him.

He stood accepted by the Most High. O believer, God’s acceptance of Christ is your acceptance; for the love that the Father set on a perfect Christ, He sets on you now. For all that Christ did is yours. That perfect righteousness which Jesus worked out, when through His stainless life He kept the law and made it honorable, is yours and is imputed to you. Christ is in the covenant.

My God, I am Thine–what a comfort divine!
What a blessing to know that the Savior is mine!
In the heavenly Lamb thrice happy I am,
And my heart it doth dance at the sound of His name.

¹Colossians 2:9

Perhaps This Year

They ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

Joshua 5:12

Israel’s weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained. No more moving tents, fiery serpents, fierce Amalekites, and howling wildernesses: They came to the land that flowed with milk and honey, and they ate the old corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved Christian reader, this may be your case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight. To be with Jesus in the rest, which remains for the people of God, is a cheering hope indeed, and to expect this glory so soon is a double bliss. Unbelief shudders at the Jordan that still rolls between us and the goodly land, but let us rest assured that we have already experienced more ills than death at its worst can cause us. Let us banish every fearful thought and rejoice with exceeding great joy in the prospect that this year we shall begin to be “forever with the Lord.”

Some of the company will this year remain on earth, to do service for their Lord. If this should fall to our lot, there is no reason why the New Year’s text should not still be true. “We who have believed enter that rest.” The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance; He gives us glory begun below. In heaven believers are secure, and so are we preserved in Christ Jesus; there they triumph over their enemies, and we have victories too. Celestial spirits enjoy communion with their Lord, and this is not denied to us. They rest in His love, and we have perfect peace in Him; they sing His praise, and it is our privilege to bless Him too.

We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly ground, where faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord. Man ate angels’ food of old, and why not now? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan this year!

God Is for Us ROMANS 8:31-34

Throughout life, there will be times when our sins and failures lead us to conclude that God is disappointed or angry with us. How can He still love me after what I’ve done? If I’m really forgiven, why do I still feel so guilty? At such times, we need to fix our eyes on the truth of Scripture and ask the questions Paul posed in Romans 8.

If God is for us, who is against us (v. 31)? Our heavenly Father proved His loyalty to us when He delivered His own Son over to death in order to save us. Without Christ’s atoning death on our behalf, we would face eternal separation from God.

Who will bring a charge against God’s elect (v. 33)? No accusation against us can stand, since at the moment of salvation, the Lord justified us. This means we were legally declared righteous, while still in our sinning condition. No one can reverse this transaction and make us guilty again. To doubt our blameless standing in Christ is to declare His atonement insufficient to cover our sin.

Who is the one who condemns (v. 34)? Although Satan rails against us, Jesus’ death and resurrection are proof that we are right with God. Christ took our condemnation and gave us His righteousness in return. Now He sits at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us.

When doubts about the Lord’s love and faithfulness arise, focus on truth. If we judge His loyalty to us by our circumstances or feelings, we will never get an accurate view of God. True security lies not in our good performance, but in our relationship with Christ, and no one can take that from us.

Let the Thirsty Come

The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

Jeremiah 8:20

Not saved! Dear reader, is this your sorry condition? Warned of the judgment to come, invited to escape for your life, and yet at this moment not saved!

You know the way of salvation, you read it in the Bible, you hear it from the pulpit, it is explained to you by friends, and still you neglect it, and therefore you are not saved. You will be without excuse when the Lord shall execute judgment. The Holy Spirit has blessed the Word that has been preached in your hearing, and times of refreshing have come from the divine presence, and yet you are still without Christ. All these hopeful seasons have come and gone—your summer and your harvest have past—and still you are not saved. Years have followed one another into eternity, and your last year will soon be here: Youth has gone, manhood is going, and still you are not saved.

Let me ask you—will you ever be saved? Is there any likelihood of it? Already the most favorable seasons have left you unsaved. Will other occasions alter your condition? Every means has failed with you—the best of means, used perseveringly and with the utmost affection. What more can be done for you? Affliction and prosperity have equally failed to impress you; tears and prayers and sermons have been wasted on your barren heart. Are not the probabilities dead against your ever being saved? Is it not more than likely that you will stay as you are till death forever bars the door of hope? Do you recoil from this idea? Yet it is a most reasonable one: He who is not washed in so many waters will in all probability go filthy to his end. The convenient time never has come—why should it ever come? It is logical to fear that it will never arrive and that like Felix you will find no convenient occasion until you are in hell. Think carefully about hell and of the dreadful probability that you will soon be there!

Reader, suppose you should die unsaved—no words can picture your doom. Write out your dreadful predicament in tears and blood; talk of it with groans and gnashing of teeth: You will be punished with everlasting destruction and banished from the glory of the Lord and from the glory of His power. Allow my words to startle you into serious thought. Be wise, be wise in time, and before another year begins believe in Jesus, who is able to save you completely.

Consecrate these last hours to lonely thought, and if you are brought to deep repentance, it will be well; and if it leads to a humble faith in Jesus, it will be best of all. See to it that this year does not pass away with you still unforgiven. Do not let the new year’s midnight bells sound upon a joyless spirit! Now, now, NOW believe and live.

ESCAPE FOR THY LIFE;
LOOK NOT BEHIND THEE,
NEITHER STAY THOU
IN THE PLAIN;
ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAIN,
LEST THOU BE CONSUMED