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THE INHERITANCE OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
by Jeremiah opusunju Paul boldly admonished believers to always be "giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us, meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Colossians 1:12-13). God indeed bequeath to us everything needed for our glorious life styles; of which Christ did say, "Take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? Or, what shall we drink? Or, wherewithal shall we be clothed? . . . But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:31-33). In keeping with the above, God has freely added unto us (those in his kingdom) "all things that pertain unto life . . . through the knowledge of him that have called us to glory" (2 Peter 1:3). This means that God has clothed believers with his righteousness, delivered them from the power of darkness into his marvellous kingdom of light and freely bestowed great inheritance on us. As such, it is important for us to be fully aware of our inheritance in Christ, as ignorant of our lots could deny us the pleasure of fulfilment in him. On hearing the glorious truth that God abolished the Law of Moses, many have asked why then do believers still claim the blessings in that Law? To this, Paul responded, saying, "Remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles . . . were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ . . . For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father; now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:11-19). By Christ's sacrifice, we who were once alienated from the common wealth of Israel and the covenants of promise have become beneficiaries of these great treasures. Therefore, the death and resurrection of Christ made everyone living by faith (Jew or Gentile) to become a member of the household of God, inheriting the common wealth of Israel and the covenants of promise. COVENANTS WITH GOD: I have heard believers say they are entering into covenants with God; by this, they would undertake to meet certain considerations so that God will in turn meet specific desires of theirs. We must understand that shedding of blood ratifies covenants with God, which like any dead man's will; no one can amend it once ratified. Since the death of Jesus ratified the New Testament (new covenant), no one has the power to amend it, all we should do is study and apply its terms into our lives and not import strange clauses into it. In all, God has two kinds of covenants with humans, the covenants of promise and the covenants of law. Covenants of promise are such covenants enacted by God for the benefit of a particular person, group of people or the entire humanity; in which God undertakes to perform certain responsibility on behalf of its recipients (without any responsibility, except a times for faith, on the part of the recipients). For instance, the earth can never witness any deluge, outside that experienced by Noah's generation and the rainbow is a witness to this covenant (Jeremiah 34: 18 Cp. Genesis 8:20-22; 9:12-17). Humans have no responsibility in the actualization of a covenant of promise; it is entirely God's affairs. However the covenants of law, place responsibilities both on God and their recipients. The covenants of Abraham, Moses and that of Christ are examples of this covenant; exemption of that of Abraham, it always contains the laws, blessings and curses (there was no provision for curses against Abraham in his covenant). The Law of Moses contained these three sections; its blessings are the common wealth of Israel, the blessings they were to enjoy for keeping the laws of that covenant; failing which, the curses come upon them (Deuteronomy 28). It is a historical fact that the Law of Moses became a yoke of bondage to the Jews and the bond of enslavement of the Gentiles to the forces of darkness, so Christ came to liberate the Jews and the entire humanity from its bondage. BLESSED WITH ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS: Therefore the covenant of Mount Zion (the New Testament) annexed the blessings of that of Mount Sinai (the Old Testament); while abolishing its laws and curses (Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:14). This was what made believers beneficiaries of the common wealth of Israel and the covenants of promise. This annexure made it possible for every believer to partake in the common wealth of Israel; as "ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ". These blessings are part of the inheritance Christ bequeathed to the church, as he "hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light" (Ephesians 2:13 Cp. Colossians 1:12). Since God abolished the Mosaic Law, it rendered its curses impotent and freely made the blessings of that covenant available to the body of Christ. For "he that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all" has also freely given "us all things" to enjoy; so "blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Romans 8:32; Ephesians 1:3). Therefore, as we read the Bible (from Genesis to Revelation) every blessing we find in the scriptures (bestowed on humans from God) is now freely available for us to enjoy through faith in Christ. God on his part, has already blessed us with these blessings (we are not to be blessed, we have been blessed with them already); all that is required of us is to manifest them through faith in Christ, by so doing, living out God's righteousness. It is also important to know that God's blessings are empowerment to stress and sorrow free prosperity - good success (Proverbs 10:22; Matthew 11:28-29; Hebrews 4:3), believers have indeed been empowered to enjoy stress free and sorrow free prosperity. For a complete details of the contents of this article and perfect understanding of the mystery of the Godhead, the impact of the death and resurrection of Christ on the Law of Moses and how Christ is currently turning humans on earth into divine personalities, see my previous book, The Biography of Jesus Christ; the Eternal Lamb at http://www.jerryopus.com or at author-house http://www.authorhouse.co.uk And For a detailed understanding of how short a time believers now have before the rapture I recommend also my recent book: Christ's Forceful Take-over of the Earth, at http://www.smashwords.com A Nigerian aged 44; Holds a BSc and an MBA degrees in social sciences. A devout christian and a scholar of the scriptures; an anointed teacher of the gospel of Christ. Married with two children Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |