jaunita

What constitutes "holiness" of a church? A church is made up of individual believers,the key word being "individual", so as far as a church being holy, it is only as holy as the believers who attend it. We as believers are to strive for holiness, realizing that it is only through Christ that we become holy.! Rom.13:14, tells us to "Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh....." Through our daily walk with Jesus, walking in the Spirit, and not the flesh, are we walking in holiness; Before the coming of Jesus, and His supreme sacrifice for us, we were not able to enter in to the "Holy of Holy's", to enter boldly into the throne room of grace; This was a privilege granted to the priest's.....and they had to be "ceremonialy" cleansed before entering; But now, through the blood of Christ, are WE able to come "boldly" to the throne room!! The way to "nip" legalism and "Judgmentalism" in the "bud", is to remember that it is not through works we are saved (nor made holy!) but by grace and faith in our Lord Jesus. Holiness to me is an inward work, not just an outward one. What does it do for the cause of Christ and the gospel, to look the part, but inwardly, be carrying around an "un-holy" heart?

"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by thr Body of Christ (His supreme sacrifice!); that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead......Rom.7:4 What does this teach us about His commitment? That it is total! Jesus laid down His life for us, not only for the remission of our sins, but to also bring us back into fellowship with Himself, and the Father. God created man for fellowship, with Himself...sin separated us, and the Cross bridged the gap! As the Bride of Christ, washed in His Blood, we are standing in a place of privilage...by His side.

Pastor Ralph, you're asking a lot of questions here! hahaha!! OK, here goes...Submission, in regards to the church, and Christ; Jesus is the Head, we've already established that, in the other lessons...The Church (body of believers) are to submit to Christ in all things! This is where I feel many miss it....they go about their own agenda's, leaving Jesus out of the picture! We know from God's Word, that Jesus has established office's, and positions, in His Body; Many today, try to place themselves in authority, which leads to deception.."Without God-Given authority you will, and must usurp authourity through deception" (A recent quote I read.) This begins by refusing to submite to those God has placed over us. As we have studied in this lesson...God has given gifts to His people...for the building up of the Body; But when a gift is not submitted to the Lord-ship of Jesus and to His governing authority, the gift will be submitted to the "will of self"!! We must submit ALL things to Christ, or we will end up in error! You ask "How would a congregation look, if they all were submitted to Christ"? PERFECT! haha!! They would operate as a well oiled machine! Allow me to end with this; If you find yourself in a church and under leadership, that you cannot....and I mean cannot because of false teaching, un-scriptural life-styles being played out etc., be in submission to, then get out!!! Pray, let God lead you to one that you can submit to. The church today, in a lot of case's, is in a mess, but Jesus will never give up on His "Church...His Bride"! Paul warns us of these day's in 2Tim.3....so we should not be surprised that it is here. love, jaunita

I believe verse's 13 through 16 are speaking of maturity in Christ; "The day is long spent, and nght has come"...a quote I read recently concerning the Body of Believers living today; If we really believe we are living in the "end-times", and are looking for the coming of our Lord, then it is time for the "Church" to go on into maturity....no longer being tossed to and fro, carried about with and by, every wind of doctrine. Instead of debating, and constantly "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth"2Tim.3:7. We need to grow up into Christ (I speak of myself here, as well) We all may never agree on every "jot and tittle" in the scripture's; but we had better agree on the basic's. Only a local, healthy congregation, knowing what they believe, being un-shakable, and taking a stand on truth as the Word proclams it, can be a light in their community......This to me, is the purpose of a healthy congregation.

Pastors,(under shepherds) as I wrote in my last post, are given specific job's, by God...Heal the sick, bound up the broken, go after those who have been driven away....seek the lost, etc. All this is found in Ezekiel34. To look after God's sheep, are their primary goal (or should be!) Just as Moses delegated certain job's to others, because of the size of the children of Israel, and his in-ability to handle it all by himself, so too, should a pastor focus on equipping the Saints, for ministry. This would be done, in my opinion, by teaching the word...helping the Saints to realize who they are in Christ, and the authority they have been given by Jesus! This is what Jesus spent over 3 year's doing with the deciples. As far as the part of the question, concerning "Paid Chaplains".....I read Sunshines post, and have to agree with most of what was said....To many Christian workers, (so called) seem to be in it for the $ and fame! How do we equate the many that live like "Kings", off of the money of the poor and needy, with those in the past (and some today) that give up all, for the sake of Christ? Matt.10:8.."Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; Freely have you received, freely give" Salvation is a free gift. I realize we are not living today, in the Book of Acts; "And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need; And they continuing daily, with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness, and singleness of heart; Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily, such as should be saved" Acts2:45-47.,....But maybe it would be a good idea to go back to some of the practice's!

Pastors are "under shepherd's"...under our Shepherd Jesus Christ. The best explanation I could find in the word, as to the work of a shepherd is Ezekiel34. "The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them....And they were scattered because there is NO SHEPHERD, and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered" (verse's 3&4) I know this is speaking of shepherds, that have left their first calling, but I also think it tells us what a shepherd is suppose to do, as well...Strengthen...bind up the sick and broken....go after the sheep who have strayed.....protect the flock intrusted to him, from the wolves. Wow! A pastors job, is truly a life-time comitment! They have been in-trusted with something most precious....The Sheep. I have known many, not in the "office" of pastor, or even teacher, that have fulfilled the above requirments. For these I am grateful, as well. I read someone else's post recently, and am in agreement....There are too many seeking titles, rather than sacrificeing themselves to the call upon their lives. My first Pastor, (gone on to be with the Lord) was a wonderful preacher, teacher and protecter of the Flock; He left me an example, of what a true pastor is. I thank God for my roots in that Church.

I believe an Evangelist is one, like John the Baptist, who's primary call is to bring people to repentance. Most Evangelist that I've met and heard, may be connected to one local body, but spend most of their ministry traveling from Church to Church, as God leads. Paul, when writing to Timothy, said "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ear's; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned into fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry"2Tim.4:2-5......I think the work of an Evangelist, is to keep the Church on track...!

The Apostles laid the foundation, on which our faith is based today. I am a Spirit filled Christian, believing in the Gifts of the Spirit, but have a problem accepting that there are Apostles today. If the Apostles, appointed by Jesus, laid the foundation,( and Himself, being the chief cornerstone!) how can we "Keep building it"? When building a house, there is only one foundation, not many. "According to the grace of God, which is given to me, as a wise master-builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon, But let every man take heed how he buildeth there-upon" 1COR.:3:10 The Book of Revelations even speaks of the "12" foundations..."And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, in in them, the names of the twelve (12) apostles, of the Lamb" Rev.21:14. So I guess my answer would be; The Apostles built up the body, by laying the foundation of our faith. True Prophets today, speak for God; Prophecy is one of the gifts of the Spirit, given to man, to build up the Church (body) True prophecy will alway's proclaim liberty, and never bondage, to the believer...It will line-up with the Word, it will always come to pass! We are told to judge prophecy 1Cor.14:29....We are told to "mark" those who are false prophets. True prophecy is "steeped" in love... And alway's points to Jesus, not man! "And I fell at his feet to worship him; And he said unto me, See thou do it not; I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; Worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the SPIRIT OF PROPHECY" Rev.19:10 What a wonderful experience it is, to have the Lord of all, speak a word to us, through His anointed prophets! It edifies the church, as nothing else can. I've always said "Lord, one word from you, can do what a million words from man, can never do"! Praise His Name!

"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ; by grace are ye saved" Ep.2:5...Just as we received salvation by God's Grace, we also receive the gifts of the Spirit! Jesus never intended to leave us comfortless, so He sent the Holy Spirit, who bestows gifts to the Body for the 1; Edification 2; Deliverance 3; Perfecting, of the Church and the Body of Christ. The gifts are for all belivers, and with them there comes a responsibility; "And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; To every man according to his several ability; and straightway took His journey" Matt:25:15 The Word tells us, "For the gifts and calling, of God, are without repentance" Rom.11:29. To me, this means God never take's the gifts He has given us back; it is our responsibility as to how and if we use them, and in what manner; (for the world, or for the Body of Christ!) The gift's were never given to promote a man, a church, or a denomanation; They should alway's promote Jesus, and point to Him, and Him alone. We are told to "Desire Spiritual gifts"...Paul even tells Timothy to "Stir up the gifts within you"; When the gifts are stirred up in every believer, the Body of Christ, works together...is complete! If I may add this, as an after thought; I've noticed, in some body's today the practice of teaching people how to receive, and use the gifts of the Spirit; To me this is wrong; We don't need to take class's to be taught "what is your gift"...how to use it"...and "how to receive the gifts" It is the Holy Spirit who gives the gifts, and the Holy Spirit who operates in us, to manifest the gift.

I would say the one thing I need to remember, is that Jesus died for all, and that it is not flesh and blood I am fighting against, but principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places. For forgetting this at times, I need to repent. I have a tendency to loose sight of the real enemy's...the world, the flesh, and the devil.! God has been teaching me to look past the outer man, and to see others as He see's them; To realize that people who hurt others, are hurting (inside) themselves; so I will pray for patience. I will continue to allow God to teach me these things, by keeping a open heart and open mind, to the different way's He deals with us, as a whole. I have witnessed those that many had given up on, come out of deep deception, by the continual prayers, of those who loved them enough to never give up......This is faith, and hope, which I pray for more of.

I believe Paul is speaking here, as in the previous verse's to the Ephesians, concerning unity between the Gentiles and the Jewish believer; Pointing out the fact that it is one faith, one baptizem, one God, in all. As for baptizem uniting us as believers, it should. For we as believers are baptized into Jesus, so in this we are united...one, in Him. We are commanded to submit ourselve to baptizem, as Jesus submitted Himself to be baptized by John. Baptizem is a symbol of the dying of the "old man", and the raising up, (resurrection power) of the "new man" in Christ; If it be by emursion, or sprinkling. As far as our faithfulness, to Bibical understanding and unity, causing a conflict, I don't believe it should; But I know at times it can; I know we are not to write of personal experiance's here, but I will say this; From my own experiance, and things I believe God has taught me recently, the Word has to take first place, even before unity. If you ask different cult members if they are in unity, I'm sure they would say yes....those in the past that have even commited mass suicide, would say they were in unity also, so we need to be careful to not forsake God's word for the sake of unity. When we can say "For by ONE Spirit are we all baptized into one BODY, whether we be Jews or Gentiles; wether we be bond or free; and have been ALL made to drink into ONE Spirit"1COR:12:13.......There is unity!

The Holy Spirit is the one who brings this unity....The Holy Spirit, being the Spirit of Jesus Himself. Without the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit, we labour in vain, in trying to keep this unity. We are told to "endeavour"(try!) to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Jesus is called the "Prince of Peace", so our unity is based on Him, and Him alone. We are not united because of a specific denomination, nor church, we are as one, in Him, as He is in us. This bond we share, is Jesus Himself! As far as the last part of the question (prime goal or secondary goal), I'm assuming we are speaking of "Blood Bought" Christians here, so of course we are to endeavour to walk in unity as much as we can. Sometimes because of doctrine and practice's, this is a hard thing to do; Where do we draw the line? There are so many change's that have and are, taking place in God's House today....Are we to call ourself's "unified" with those that have brought heresy into God's House...because they call themselves Christians? (I don't feel it would be wisdom to go into these changes...those of you that have been saved any length of time, would know what I'm speaking of, so enough said.) Do we embrace those in unity, or not? A deep question! Are we not to stand on the portion of truth, God has given us each, and walk in the Light? I hear these questions often from young Christians, and would like to give an explanation, that is non-judgemental. So to answer the question, I would have to say it is a secondary goal....standing on the Truth, is first. Sometime's standing on the truth, is finding yourself standing alone.

What do we need to walk in unity? The fruit of the Spirit! "For the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as they self.; But if ye bit and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another; This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the **** of the flesh." GAL.5:14,15,16. Being able to maintain unity is impossible while walking and living in the flesh; for our flesh want's it's own way...is selfish, and self-serving. Only through Christ, and trip's made often to the cross, are we able to keep this flesh under control, and walk in the Spirit, and be as "one"! "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith meekness, temperance; against such there is no law" Which of these do I feel are more important? If I'm to be honest, I feel they all are important, but if I had to pick one, it would be love. Not the "love" that the world offers, but the love only Christ can offer! The most difficult? That would be humility (meekness!) I think our pride gets in the way many times, and cause's us much grief. For how can we think of unity, if we're so concerned about "ME"!?

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are NOT your own?..."For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which ARE GOD'S" 1COR.6:19, 20. After coming to the Lord, and accepting Him as saviour, we no longer belong to our selves, we have been bought by the the precious blood spilled on calvery. And as such, we are ambassadors of Christ....representing Him on earth, to the world. The world (lost) watch us; they watch the church to see "just what is different about you?" When the lost see the same bickering and "in-home" fighting going on in God's house; the same way of living, by those who profess to know God, they ask "what is the difference, where is the change". In this we bring a reproach on the name of the Lord. We as Christians, are to show a better way...Love, forgiveness and unity in Christ. Does this mean we won't, or don't have difference's? no, it just means we have a different way...God's way, of dealing with them. Paul never hesitated to rebuke or reprove those believers that had strayed from the truth....all in love. We all must be willing to accept correction, in love, for no one, still in the flesh (which we all are, and will continue to be so, until we leave here!) know it all...."For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part but then shall I know even as also I am known" 1COR13:12 In a dog eat dog world, which we live in today, showing the love of Christ to the world....and each other (unity in Him!) is important; in this we are fulfilling our first calling, to love the Lord God with all your heart, and your neighbor as your self.

"Know ye not, that ye are the temple of God"....To congregate, speaks of coming together; if it be 2, or 3, Jesus said He will be there, in the midst. I don't believe we come together, to meet with God...we bring Him with us if we are children of God...for He dwells within us, for we are the temple, built not by human hands, but by God Himself. "And what agreement hath the temple (us!) of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I shall be their God, and they shall be my people" 11Cor.6:16 So to answer the question, We bring God with us when we meet together, when we congregate. There is something wonderful about meeting with those, of like mind and spirit, knowing that God has placed us in a certain "smaller" version (body), of His corporate body, world-wide! Its also wonderful to know, if it be 1, 200, or 3000 , meeting, that He promised to be there; for He said "I will never leave you, nor forsake you"

The Apostles, Prophets, and all those gone before us, led the way and laid the landmarks for us to follow.."Remove not, the ancient landmark, which the father's (of faith!) have set" Proverbs 22:28. They are an example to us, through their lives, and there faith in God's promise's. I guess this is why Hebrews 11, is one of my favorite chapters...."Gods hall of Faith". These all, having received the promise"afar off" believed God, and in some case's suffered for it. "These all died in faith, not having received the promise, but having seen them, afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth" Heb. 11:13 They are our examples, put down in God's word, as such. Jesus is our chief cornerstone, unto to which everything is dependent...Without Him the "spiritual building" (us!) would not be able to stand "But Christ, as a son over His own house; whose house are we,......" Heb. 3:6a As we learn and mature, in Him,.....learn to depend on Him, our spiritual house is "buildt". If we build on any other foundation, except Jesus, the house will fall, in times of trial and storm.

What does the phrase "members of God's household" tell us about the nature of the Church and about the nature of God? What does it tell us about the kind of fellowship that is appropriate in the local congregation? What are the implications for those Christians who aren't faithful to gather with the local congregation? OK, here's where some of you, and myself may part ways, concerning my belief's about the church. Let me begin by saying I love my church, and my fellow Christian brothers and sisters, but my salvation does not depend upon the church, as a building. I understand the local church is a family...warts and all. We love each other, we fellowship with each other, we pray, and worship together; and yes, this is good. I wouldn't want it any other way, but the truth is my dependence is on the Lord, and not any man. In my opinion man has put to much into building up the "natural" house of God, and not enough to building up the Spiritual temple where God dwells. 1CO.3:16, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" We are the church! Built upon the foundation, layed by those who went before us. I'm not intending to sound "super spiritual" here, I'm only trying to say, that in the 24 years I've been serving the Lord, I've seen people become dependent upon a church or man, and when either of these failed, the person was crushed; some even falling away from the Lord. Yes, the local body is important....but keep your faith in Jesus, not a congregation. The day may come, when you may find yourself not able to meet together, so be sure of your foundation, my dear brothers and sisters.

As fellow-citizens, with the Jewish believers we are citizens of God's kingdom. "And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them; Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the Living God" Romans9:26. Through the spiritual blindness of the Jew, salvation came to the gentiles, thus provoking them to jealousy. Romans 11:11. We share with them, the kingdom now, and the kingdom to come. "Joint heirs"! We are made holy, by the work done by Jesus on the cross..."Holy", consecrated (set aside) for His good will. We are commanded to be Holy, for He is Holy "Be ye Holy, as I am Holy" 1Peter1:16. To me Holiness is a work of the cross, a work done in the heart of those who believe. We must be willing to die to self, so we may live unto Him. "More of you Lord, and less of me"! Trying to obtain Holiness within our own self is futile, it can only be obtained through the death of self-will, and self desires. I read a poem some time ago titled "Me and Me". Going into a wilderness, and facing ourselves, seeing ourselves as we really are....willing to face up to our own so called rightousness; and finding out it is as filthy rags!...its a hard place to visit. Am not looking forward to my next trip through!

Why is access to the Father important? Just as access to our natural fathers would be important to any child, so is being able to come boldly before the throne of grace, as a child of God important. To know we are able to go before the one who knows us, better than we know our selves, knows what is best for us, will always listen to our cries, when no one else will....what can I say? I love Him and desire fellowship with Him; He is my Father. How was this obtained? The way was prepared for me by Jesus, He is the reason we have access to the Father. Prior to the coming of Jesus, and the sacrifice of God's son upon the cross, we as gentiles, were out-siders...we were not even able to enter into the temple. We, as gentiles were delegated to the outer court, Not able to enter in to fellowship with God, the Father. Jesus came to not only become our sacrifice, for sin, but to reconcile us to the Father...as one body, in Him, complete. "How great a love the Father has for us, that He would reconcile us to Himself!" This is why we can now say "We love Him, and our neighbor"!

Where does God's power work according to verse 20? How much power is at work there quantitatively? Why isn't it more evident? How does exercising Christ's power on earth bring glory to God? God's word tells us that "all" power has been given to us as believers, so accordingly this power resides in us; for we are the Church! As far as why we don't see this power manifested today.....well that's indeed a deep question! If I may, let me tell you where I am as far as the Church goes today; First off, I love God's Church! God has taken me on a journey this past year, opening my eye's to the "Big-ness" of His body....the Church. Do I believe in the local body...yes! I belong to one, and love it dearly, but I have also come to realize that the Church, is not a building, nor a man. We are the Church, so if we are to ask why we don't see God's power manifested today, as in the book of Act's, then we need to ask what we as individuals are doing, or not doing, that they did! I believe there is a price to pay for the power the early believers had....that price is prayer, and when led to, fasting, and of course faith! Because of working with many young converts through the years, I've had the pleasure of seeing their zeal, and belief first hand...its wonderful! It seems that when we first accept Christ, we can believe for anything...our faith is new and fresh. As time goes by we can find ourselves becoming hardened in heart, which brings on doubt and un-belief, And finally can find ourselves leaving "our first love"...Christ. I read what Ron (Buffalo) wrote and agree with him; in countries where the Gospel is "new", the power is there. As far as bringing glory to God by exercising this power, it does! Jesus Himself said "I seek not my own glory; there is one that seeketh and judgeth" John 8:50 We bring glory to the Father when we "work the works of God"

What does it mean for us Christians that Christ is "head over everything for the church"? What does this say about the Church's power? Just as the natural body cannot live nor operate without the head, its the same with the Church. Jesus "heads-up", rules, and guides the Church today.! The head is where the mind is located (we are to have the mind of Christ) The true church of Christ must rely and be guided by the head, which is Jesus, Himself! I'm sure everyone reading this has at one time, or another, stepped out into something without seeking the guidance of the Lord; and needless to say, learned the hard way, that we need to seek God in our decisions. The same is true for God's "House", the Church. It must abide in Him to fullfill it's mission, and seek Him in prayer to complete it. The power bestowed by our Lord upon the Church has been neglected, in some way's, down through the years. (forgive me, if you don't agree) We have allowed the world to convince us that we need to be more like them, to win the lost, forgetting that we are a "called out people". I look forward to the day when God's Church realize's who she is, and what she is capable of, through Him!

"From the standpoint of power, what is the significance of Paul's statement that "God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus...."? Being raised up, and seated with Christ in heavenly place's, tells us that as long as we abide in Him, that the same power and authority that lives in Christ, lives in us! The same work's done by our Lord, will be done by us, in fact He said we would do "Greater works"!! (Greater ?This I admit I don't understand) Yes, we have power over the enemy, as long as we abide in Him, and know who we are in Christ. Jesus said that these sign's would "follow" us...In His name, we would cast out devils; we would speak with new tongues; We would take up serpents( divine protection!) we would lay hand's on the sick, and see them recover. Mark16:17,18. I don't believe the Church has even started to understand, the Great power that has been bestowed upon it! Knowing who we are, in Christ, is the answer...many today still struggle with their "identity", myself, at times included.!

The Ephesian Gentile Christians believed in various spirit beings that exercised power over them. What is the significance to them of Paul saying that Christ is seated at God's right hand in the heavenly realms? In what sense are these spirit beings and powers "under his feet"? "In the beginning was the "Word" (Christ!) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.....He was present with God...All things were made, and came into existence through Him...not one thing was made, without Him...." Paul, in telling the Ephesians that Jesus is seated on the right hand, of the Father, proclaimes His preeminence, His Lordship. ("That at that name..the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess, Jesus is Lord") To be seated at the right hand,of a King, indicates equal power, equal authority. To tell the Ephesians that Jesus is seated "Far above, all powers" and every name that is named, would assure them of His preeminence...His Lordship. In what sense are these spirit's under His feet? All things ever created, were spoke into existense by Him; Does the creation, rule the creator? Jesus stepped down from His throne, to take on the form of man, a sinless man, to become our sacrifice, conquering death, hell and the grave! This authority has been given to us, the Church, because we are seated with Him.

(Ephesians 1:19) Why does Paul pray that God would open the Ephesians' eyes to discern "his incomparably great power"? What is wrong with their eyes? Where does this power operate according to 1:19? Which miraculous event does Paul use as an example of this level and type of power? After doing some reading on the Ephesian church, it seems to be that Paul is praying that the "eyes" of their understanding would be opened, by revelation from God, Himself. A lot of the early converted Jew's, tended to be "inclusive"...seperated, from the Gentile believers. Paul is praying that their eye's would see that the sacrifice, of the Son of God on the cross, was for all. Perhap's some of these Jewish believers were having a problem understanding this. Paul reminds them, that this Great Power, resides in them, this same Great Power, that raised Jesus from the dead, will keep us, and raise us also, on that day; Together, as one, in Him! "Therefore we, (Jew, and Gentile alike!) are buried with Him by baptism into death; that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Glory of the Father (Holy Spirit!) , even so we should walk in newness of life" Romans 6:4..

Greetings, in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ! My name is Jaunita, and I live in Bellevue KY, USA. This is my second Bible study with Pastor Ralph, and I am looking forward to getting started! I am also looking forward to "seeing", on-line, some old friends, and making some new ones. I attend Victory Church of God, in near-by Dayton KY. I'm sure this topic will be awesome!! Love Jaunita