DNA 201 NOTES
He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfil his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring EVERYTHING together under the authority of Christ – Ephesians 1:8-10
Everything is about Jesus and everything concludes with Jesus.
The center of EVERYTHING is Jesus. The main focus of eternity is Jesus. We are called christians, because of Jesus. Jesus is the all in all, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
The book of Ephesians was written to non jewish christians in Ephesus to explain the full rights Gentile Christians had in Jesus.
When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles. assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles.
And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. God graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept SECRET from the beginning.
God’s purpose in all this was to use the CHURCH to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places – Ephesians 3
The devil has done a great job of separating Jesus and the Church.
A common sentiment among many Christians is that Jesus is cool but the church isn’t.
This is error.
If you don’t love God’s bride, how can you say you love God.
When God wanted to make sure every human could experience love, he created the family. When God wanted to make sure every Christian could experience love, he created the church. The church is Gods family.
The Body of Christ literally means Embodiment of Christ. When the church gathers together, its as if Jesus was here in person.
If you want to see Jesus, you will see him IN THE CHURCH.
The church is the hands and feet of Jesus. The church is the light of the world. The church is the only true hope for the world.
The church is the pillar and foundation of the truth
What does the church do for you?
The Church is God’s delivery system of grace.
There is no Church in the Old Testament. Have you ever wondered why.
Ephesians 3 tells us that God had a secret plan that floored the universe. The secret plan was to get God’s grace and favor to the gentiles.
So Jesus didn’t just come to die for your sin as an individual, he came to create the delivery system of Grace which is the church. When did the Church start. Resurrection Sunday. The day Jesus rose from the dead.
The Church is God’s secret weapon for the gentiles and he sent Jesus to die so it could be birthed.
Note: Amazon would not function if it didn’t have trucks to deliver the things you ordered. The Church is the truck that delivers God’s grace.
If you love God, you will LOVE his church. We are believers individually, but we are the church when we gather corporately. The church is not you. The Church is us.
When I married Ps Jane I accepted all of her not part of her.
It’s time for us to accept God’s bride and love her as much as Jesus does.
We must understand that the church is not just a social environment, or a place to receive instruction or even a place to experience great worship or to get involved. We must understand that the church was created by Jesus himself when he died on the cross. The Church is not a good idea, it is THE idea!!! It was God’s idea. It was Jesus mission to birth it. And God wants us to love the Church as much as he does. If Jesus died for the church, is it too much to ask us to Love the church too.