THE BEGNNING OF THE WAY PT 6

ESTABLISHED IN THE WAY PT 2

In Revelation 19, we read of the Marriage of the Lamb and the Bride, and of the marriage supper: “‘Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His Bride has prepared herself.’ Bright and clean fine linen was given to her to wear; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the set-apart people of Elohim (God)

Then the angel said to me, ‘Write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb”.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true words of Elohim (God)’.” Rev 19:7-9

This Marriage, or “Presenting,” will occur at the end of this age, after we have been caught up to meet the Master and are taken to Heaven - and before He comes to reign over the earth

(I have dealt with prophetic subjects in several of my other posts and notes on timeline, and I encourage you to study these.) For the present, be sure that as a member of the Ekklesia, you are a part of His Bride

The Redeemer Master Yeshua Messiah/Christ loves you so much; therefore He is sanctifying you (that is, purifying, maturing and making you holy), and one day you will be presented to Him, to share His glorious, eternal life

This is thrilling, isn’t it? In the Ephesians passage (5:22-33), we find teaching about the relationship between a husband and his wife - a relationship which YAHWEH intended to be one of love, based on the model of the love of Messiah/Christ for His Bride, and the loving submission of the Bride to the Head

Earlier in Ephesians we read of how the Congregation (Church), the Body, was formed by believers - both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) - being brought into this one new Body

“So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh - being called ‘the uncircumcised’ by those who are called ‘the Circumcision’ because of the sign performed in the flesh by human hands - remember that at that time you were separate from the Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without Elohim (God) in the world

But now in Messiah Yahshua (Christ), you who once were far away have been brought near by the Blood of the Messiah

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both groups into one, and has broken down the dividing wall between us by abolishing in His flesh the enmity and the Law of commandments contained in ordinances - His purpose being to create in union with Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body, to reconcile both of them to YAHWEH through His death on the cross, by which He put to death the enmity.” (Ephesians 2:11-16) Once, Gentiles were without hope and without Elohim

Not belonging to Israel was a disadvantage, as the revelation, the promises and the covenants were all deposited with that nation

But now, through the sacrifice of Messiah/Christ at Calvary, all who trust in Him are saved and brought into this new Body, the Body of Messiah/Christ

The inauguration of the Congregation (Church) took place on the Day of Pentecost, in Jerusalem, when the Holy Spirit came upon all the believers, baptizing them into the one body

(See Acts chapter 2) “For as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of that one body, though they are many, are one body, so also is the Messiah

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit

For indeed the body is not one member, but many.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14) Pentecost was the Biblical Harvest Festival of Shavu'ot, which came fifty days after the Resurrection of Messiah/Christ

Pentecost was the beginning of the New Covenant/Testament Ekklesia; but ever since then, the Holy Spirit has been adding new believers to the body – every day - wherever they are, and as soon as they are born again

We may not always be able to tell if a person is a member of the Master’s Body or not, but “the Master knows those who are His.” (2 Timothy 2:19) The Body has millions of members - the majority are already with the Redeemer Master ~ Lord in Heaven; the rest are still on the earth, and some are still to be born

Soon, the last member will be added, and then the Master will catch the believers still on the earth, up to Heaven, where they will be united with those who have gone before, and with the Messiah Himself

And there and then, in Heaven, the Marriage will take place

What a day of rejoicing that will be! BUILDING UP THE BODY The Master is concerned that every member of the Bride should be established and built up, and ultimately brought to mature stature - to His fullness and likeness

Therefore He provides leaders and gifts (abilities and functions) for this purpose

Let’s take some of the MEAT in the following passage: “And He gifted and gave some disciples as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as shepherd-pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the set-apart believers, for the work of service, for the building up of the Body of Messiah; until we all come to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of YAHWEH Elohim (God), to a full-grown, mature, perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Messiah, so that, we should no longer be children, tossed here and there and carried about by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of men, and their subtle scheming to lead people astray

But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the Head - the Messiah, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by that which every joint supplies, according to the effective working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:11-16

THE LOCAL EXPRESSION OF THE BODY

Whenever a group of true believers meet together to worship the Redeemer Master and Lord, they automatically form "a local body" - a local expression of the whole Congregation (Church)

They are members one of another, united around the Head, and, in Elohim's (God's) plan, having elders, pastors and teachers to build up the members

A careful examination of the text shows that each member has a special function and that each one should help build others up in the faith

(Read also 1 Corinthians chapter 12)

It is important then, that we become regular, faithful and zealous members of a local fellowship

The size of the group, or its prosperity, is not important; nor is its "reputation," but it should be a true expression of the Master’s Body

On earth, we will never find a perfect church - one that is absolutely true in doctrine, holy and blameless in conduct, loving and charitable in all relations, fervently evangelistic in reaching the unsaved, exercising the gifts of the Spirit with abundance of spiritual fruit, and without friction or division of any kind

Every congregation (church) should be working towards that perfection

Alas, all fall short in some way

But we should, at least, seek to be associated with a congregation (church), where …

The Headship of Messiah/Christ is acknowledged and YAHWEH Elohim (God) is truly worshipped

The Bible is recognized as authority, and used for guidance

There is fellowship, life and love.

...to be continued...

. . .TO BE CONTINUED...