What is the church? And what can we liken it to in Genesis 17?
"And God said to Abraham, “Now as for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you, throughout their generations. This is my covenant which you shall keep, between me and you, and also with your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you."
A sign of the covenant. A sign no one except your wife may see. Not much of a sign. A cutting. Bloody. Male. A removal of something unnecessary between a man and his wife. Personal. Intimate. Yet it was there to distinguish God's chosen people from the rest of the world.
And as most signs back then, had nothing to do with the flesh which was actually cut. It points ahead, it points inward, a change of heart which can only be recognized by our actions; it points outward, forward, toward the Bridegroom who shed his blood for obedience, for his Bride: the Church...
"And now, Israel, what is Yahweh your God asking from you, except to revere Yahweh your God, to go in all his ways and to love him and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, to keep the commandments of Yahweh and his statutes that I am commanding you today for your own good. Look! For to Yahweh your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. Yet to your ancestors Yahweh was very attached, so as to love them, and so he chose their offspring after them, namely you, from all the peoples, as it is today. So you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn." Deut 10
"For the Jew is not one outwardly, nor is circumcision outwardly, in the flesh. But the Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, whose praise is not from people but from God." Romans 2
Showing posts with label covenant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label covenant. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
What is the Church? Righteous.
What is the church? And what can we liken it to in Genesis 15?
"And he (Abram) believed in Yahweh, and he reckoned it to him as righteousness."
God has made all the promises. God has done all the heavy lifting. Literally, He has lifted all the heavy things. Your Sin. Your death. Your punishment. Your obligation to worship Him as God. Your righteous life which you should lead before a loving Creator Father God. Your obedience. All of these things were lifted up upon a wooden cross. All of these things were bled for. All of these things were despised and cut off. All of these things bore the full wrath of the Justice of God.
They are paid for. It is finished.
The church are those who believe this. The church are those who are affected by this and effected by this and changed by this belief. The church are those who attempt to live according to this belief.
You see, i must say 'attempt' for on this side of death, none but Jesus did it completely or correctly but because he did 'it is credited to (us) as (if it were our) righteousness.'
"And he (Abram) believed in Yahweh, and he reckoned it to him as righteousness."
God has made all the promises. God has done all the heavy lifting. Literally, He has lifted all the heavy things. Your Sin. Your death. Your punishment. Your obligation to worship Him as God. Your righteous life which you should lead before a loving Creator Father God. Your obedience. All of these things were lifted up upon a wooden cross. All of these things were bled for. All of these things were despised and cut off. All of these things bore the full wrath of the Justice of God.
They are paid for. It is finished.
The church are those who believe this. The church are those who are affected by this and effected by this and changed by this belief. The church are those who attempt to live according to this belief.
You see, i must say 'attempt' for on this side of death, none but Jesus did it completely or correctly but because he did 'it is credited to (us) as (if it were our) righteousness.'
Sunday, March 12, 2017
What is the church? In Covenant.
What is the church? And what can we liken it to in Genesis 15?
"And he said to him, “Take for me a three-year-old heifer, and a three-year-old female goat, and a three-year-old ram, and a turtledove and a young pigeon.” And he took for him all these and cut them in pieces down the middle. And he put each piece opposite the other, but the birds he did not cut. And the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. And it happened, as the sun went down, then a deep sleep fell upon Abram and, behold, a great terrifying darkness fell upon him."
"And after the sun had gone down and it was dusk, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between those half pieces. On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram..."
God promises. God swears by himself for there is no higher authority to swear by. God, who's yes is yes and no is no and has no reason to swear by anything, makes vows to us, his people. Why?
"For people swear by what is greater than themselves, and the oath for confirmation is the end of all dispute for them. In the same way God, because he wanted to show even more to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his resolve, guaranteed it with an oath, in order that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge may have powerful encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us, which we have like an anchor of the soul, both firm and steadfast..." (Heb 6)
Okay, so what does God promise? What has God vowed to His church? Never mind that, just yet. Bask, meditate, reel from the staggering fact that He does!
"And he said to him, “Take for me a three-year-old heifer, and a three-year-old female goat, and a three-year-old ram, and a turtledove and a young pigeon.” And he took for him all these and cut them in pieces down the middle. And he put each piece opposite the other, but the birds he did not cut. And the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. And it happened, as the sun went down, then a deep sleep fell upon Abram and, behold, a great terrifying darkness fell upon him."
"And after the sun had gone down and it was dusk, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between those half pieces. On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram..."
God promises. God swears by himself for there is no higher authority to swear by. God, who's yes is yes and no is no and has no reason to swear by anything, makes vows to us, his people. Why?
"For people swear by what is greater than themselves, and the oath for confirmation is the end of all dispute for them. In the same way God, because he wanted to show even more to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his resolve, guaranteed it with an oath, in order that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge may have powerful encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us, which we have like an anchor of the soul, both firm and steadfast..." (Heb 6)
Okay, so what does God promise? What has God vowed to His church? Never mind that, just yet. Bask, meditate, reel from the staggering fact that He does!
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