There Am I - Matthew 18:19-20

 

Matthew 18:19-20 ESV 

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Christ is present whenever two or more are gathered. That happens because we are the body of Christ and we are united by His Holy Spirit. He is made manifest in the world, even as He is manifest in each of us. 

The reality of Jesus becomes visible to us and to the world through our flesh. We love God when we love each other, for He is with and in us. We have become the body of Christ. 

Jesus began His ministry in one place and to one people. He continues His ministry in all places and to all people through those who are united in His Spirit. 

 

We are blessed to be a blessing to others. 

You Are That Temple - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 ESV 

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

The body of Christ has replaced and superseded the earthly temples made of cloth and stone. The dwelling place of the Lord is now in the heart of man. The temple was rebuilt in three days, the time it took for the resurrection of Jesus to become the cornerstone in the glorified flesh of man. 

The tabernacle was built by the exact specifications of the Lord. The temple represented God dwelling among His people, which pointed to Christ Jesus. It was just a shadow of the things above. Jesus is the light of the world. 

When man assumes the image of God he will look like Jesus. He is our high priest and we are made into a royal priesthood. We have become the stones of the new temple, the Bride of Christ which will descend as the New Jerusalem. 

You now take the temple and the love of Christ into the world. Wherever you are, there He is. 

Saved By His Life - Romans 5:9-10

Romans 5:9-10 ESV 

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

These verses seem to imply that we are declared innocent and reconciled to God by power of the shed blood of Christ on our behalf, but our salvation is preserved and perfected by His life. His death makes His forgiveness available for everyone. We just need to believe and confess that this is true. 

In this way we are brought into the life of Christ. Our salvation is made certain by living the life He has given us. This is running the “race” we have entered and persevering to the end. We are told in the Revelation to the churches that the blessings of heaven will given to the one who conquers. 

Being saved by His life means living the life we have received. 

The Outer Darkness - Matthew 22:8-14

Matthew 22:8-14 ESV 

Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Many are called to follow Jesus, but few will walk with Him and complete the journey. It is in walking with Him that we weave and prepare our wedding garments. Anyone who perseveres to the end will be chosen. This is the one who overcomes the world. 

The outer darkness may be outside the walls of the New Jerusalem. The presence of God gives light to the city. This is the city set on a hill in the gospel of Matthew. Those who remain in the darkness after the Bride is chosen from those who came to light will still have a home on the earth. The light will continue to shine in the darkness and illuminate the walk of the nations. 

The clean and unclean will inhabit the earth, but the unclean will not be able to enter the city. Just as there was no room in heaven for Satan and his angels, there will be no room in the city for the unclean, detestable, or false. 

Matthew 5:14

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Revelation 21:23-27

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Virgin Birth - 2 Corinthians 11:2

2 Corinthians 11:2

For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

Matthew 1:22-23

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us).

Some would say a virgin birth is impossible and it is not necessary to believe in this to be a Christian. 

I would say it is impossible to be reborn from above and not be a virgin. Only the pure of heart will see God. 

Learning To Walk - 1 Peter 1:3

1 Peter 1:3 ESV 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Imagine being born one sort of creature, then trying to live as a new creature, as a new creation. We would have to learn to walk again in a new way. 

That’s exactly what has happened to all who accept and seek the life of Christ. No longer are we one of the walking dead, but we now walk among the living. 

Being Transformed - 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

 Being Transformed 

Jesus began and enables the transformation of man into the image of God. 

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 ESV 

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

The Lord is the Spirit, just as the Lord is the Father, just as the Lord is the Son. 

The light of the Lord is shining directly on our faces. He has chosen not only to reveal Himself, but to reveal Himself in us. We are being transformed into His image. We have been raised from the glory of man and into the glory of a son of God. Mortal man is given the freedom of immortality. We are no longer confined to the fleeting life of an earth bound creature, but have entered the everlasting life of Christ. 

Any other image created for worship by the hand of man is an affront to the will and purpose of God. God has provided the only image worthy of worship. That is in the life of Christ Jesus. As we enter the body of Christ, we begin our own wilderness journey which will end with our own resurrection from the grave of mortal flesh. 

We are given life in a body and soul when we are born on this earth. Jesus received the same when He entered our flesh. He received the Holy Spirit after His baptism in the same way we receive the Spirit after ours. He fulfills all righteousness. His righteousness becomes ours as we are transformed into His image.