Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:25-27.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Why would I call you who believe in My Son the body of Christ on earth if you were not to do His works now on earth? There is a reason you are the body. The body does what the head directs. Christ said the Words and did the works of God on earth. And just as My fullness dwelt in Him bodily, empowering Him to heal, save, and deliver, so too My power is now working through you. You are made complete in Jesus.
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority. Colossians 2:8-10.
In Christ you too are filled up to My fullness. I dwell in you and you in Me. My fullness is now working in you just as it did in Jesus when He embraced your humanity and dwelt among you as one just like you. Since He died for your sins, paid your judgment and satisfied your sentence, I have called you out to be one with Me in Him. When He died once for all, you died to sin with Him, and when I raised Him up from the dead you were justified and I raised you up with Him and seated you with and in Him in Heaven and poured My love into your heart by the gift of the Holy Spirit. You should never think of yourself as performing anything without Me, as separate from Me, you do them with Me as My body on earth. The body is not separated it is one unified whole, operating together to bring My life of abundant grace and every spiritual blessing in Heaven.
I have blessed you who believe in My Son with every spiritual blessing in Heaven and you are encompassed about in Christ by My good Will. The word for glory in Hebrew is “Kavod,” which means it weighs in heavy. It is the eternal weight of glory, of My goodness, for every good thing given and every perfect gift comes down from Me, which is surrounding you for you to draw into the world by that divine receptor of faith all you need just when you need it. I call the body of Christ the called out ones, that is, the “church.”
Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. Colossians 1:16-20.
The first time I reveal the idea of the church is in Matthew 16 when Peter declared that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. What does Jesus answer?
Simon Peter answered, “You are Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:16-19.
The Church was a whole new concept. It means an assembly of the called out ones. My Son spoke of the Church which gives you complete access to My Kingdom that is built on the rock of the revelation of Jesus, who in the past was a hidden mystery but is now at the forefront of creation. Christ in you, your hope of glory.
People speak of serving the Church as if it were a separate entity from them that they can choose to do volunteer work or not. But that is not what I mean by Church. The Church is the assembling of My called out ones who are in the world but not of the world, who are filled with My Holy Spirit who dwells in their spirit. You are not serving the Church, you are the Church. Your place in the body of Christ is your full time call. And when you walk that in faith you can step into the fullness of all I have given you as the body of Christ. It has pleased Me to give you who are in Christ, the Kingdom.
When you chose to receive Jesus as your Lord you were no longer just operating alone, you are now a member of the body of Christ to bring Me into the earth through your dominion authority. A body of called out and called forth. You have to change your mind to being above and not beneath trying to reach up to Me. Filled with My fullness you can talk with Me and Me with you.
We work as one body. You in Christ and Christ in Me and Me in you and Christ in you. And I have seated you in Heaven with Him at My right hand with the devil under your feet. You are high above him and he cannot come up to where you are in Christ. From that position you take command with Me in Christ over the things I have put under your feet with Christ as your head. You command all things I have put under your feet to get aligned with My Will.
Your prayers should become exercising your spiritual authority with your head as the church with no natural boundaries.
But now let Me talk about the beauty of the mystery of the Church, the body and bride of My Son Jesus, your Messiah.
The mystery of the Church, My secret, from before the foundation of the world. Under the Old Covenant there was Jew and Gentile—the Jews who knew Me and had My Word and the Gentiles (the nations) who did not know Me and did not have My Word. Israel, My treasure, received My Word and treasured it, and carefully guarded it for you to have today. Israel was the nation whose God I was, there was no other nation on earth like that during the period before My Word became flesh and dwelt among you. And to no other nation did I reveal Myself as I did to them.
But I had a plan that I kept in My heart for the fullness of time—a plan to show you favor. Luke 4:19. Into it angels longed to search. But I saved it for you. And it is the Church which My Son purchased with His own Blood. Acts 20:28. He is the cornerstone on which it rises and you are all living stones who believe in His Name being built into My household, which is the Church, with each one as a temple of the Holy Spirit, and as such, My dwelling place. 1 Timothy 3:15; 1 Peter 2:4-10.
The Church—the bride of Christ, the household of God, the Body of Christ, and the temple of My Spirit on earth—the mystery of Christ in you, your hope of glory. Colossians 1:25-27. A body of believers—My heirs and joint heirs with Christ. Romans 8:17. And everything I have is His. Hebrews 1:2; John 16:15; John 3:35.
The Church for whom I again opened the gates of My Kingdom of Heaven with Christ, the first fruits, entering as your forerunner behind the veil—the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in Heaven, those sanctified in the Blood of My Son and made perfect in Him. Hebrews 12:23. The Church filled with those who have been born again as citizens of the Heavenly Jerusalem, My City– those who have come to Mt. Zion (the mountain of grace).
Yes, when the fullness of time came, I sent forth My Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He would redeem those who were under the Law, and free all those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Galatians 4:4; Hebrews 2:15. And He died once for all, Jew and Gentile. 1 John 2:2, Galatians 3:28.
What an indescribable gift! Washed clean, set apart, holy and sanctified. A people who exist for the praise of My glory—the glorious Church!
Yes, in the past there was only Jew and Gentile, but now those who believe in My Son, Jew and Gentile, become a new creation in Christ as they are born again in Him of the imperishable seed of My Word and form one new man. Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6. Now there are three groups where before there were only two. Now you have Jew (those of the physical line of Abraham who still embrace the Old Covenant and have rejected their Messiah), Gentile (those who do not believe and either worship idols or are atheists), and the Church (the called out ones under the New Covenant who have been sanctified by My Son—those who believe in My Son as LORD and adhere to the Trinity).
And the Church is the apple of My eye. The mystery that was in My heart forever—to make you worthy of Heaven, holy and blameless, in My sight apart from keeping the law, which no one could keep. I made you righteous with My own righteousness by imputing all your sins and iniquities to My Son. He bought every one of you with His blood, set you apart and sanctified you. The Church was born on the Cross from His pierced side, His pierced heart. The Church is His bride. And as Eve was taken from the side of Adam and was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, so are all you who are clothed in Christ. Galatians 3: 27; Hebrews 2:14.
Yes, the Church is the Body of My Son of which each of you is an important member. Colossians 1:24. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. Flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone. And He is the Head of His body, the Church.
The Church consists of My own children, My family, My household, and is the apple of My eye. Jesus became the first born of many brothers. And you who believe are His brethren. And He is not ashamed to call you brethren for He Himself has made you worthy.
The Church is the revelation of the unfathomable riches of Christ and it is built on the revelation that Jesus is My Son and the Messiah. And the Church is the light to the nations making known My manifold wisdom hidden through the ages in Me until Christ came in the flesh —Christ in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Christ has reconciled all to Me, Jew and Gentile, making peace by the blood of His Cross. There is no longer any separation between Jew and Gentile who believe, all are one who are in Christ Jesus—a new creation in Christ, one new man—raised to newness of life and seated with Him in heavenly places. The redeemed– those who are in Christ Jesus and Christ Jesus in them—those who have received the promise of the Spirit through faith.
And the Church is the pearl of great price that My Son sold all He had and bought. He bought it with His own blood. He emptied Himself and became as a slave and humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross in order to obtain that pearl. And just as a pearl forms from an injury or irritation in the oyster, so the pearl formed from His wounded side on the Cross and the hands that were pierced as He stretched them out seeking those who love Him. Wounds He received in the house of those who purported to love Me. It broke His heart. And from His broken heart the church was born. The redeemer has come to Zion.
And My treasure Israel, Deuteronomy 26:17, Psalm 83:3, is likened to a treasure in the field of the nations (the Gentiles) in one of the Kingdom parables of My Son. And if you recall that parable, it was about a man (Jesus) who found that treasure and sold all he had and bought that field. Yes, Jesus, with His blood, bought every person, Jew and Gentile, the treasure and the field. You have been bought with a price of tremendous value and are not your own. You are now My treasure.
You now are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for My own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Jesus who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are My people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10.
The Church. Make sure you are a member of it.
I love you so much that I made you the Church.