"Salvation comes from God, whom the Bible calls as the
Living God and Savior. God is employing a human being in order for His
will to be fulfilled ... and that is the salvation of man.
"Our
Lord Jesus Christ will bring two kinds of salvation, through the Bible.
At the time He assumed human form, He saved Israel from its sinfulness.
That is written in Matthew 1:21, which says-
"'And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.' "
"However,
when He comes again, for the second time, He will bring salvation to
the faithful. And, the Bible is teaching us how we can become one among
those people that our Lord Jesus Christ will save come judgment day.
The first verse that we have to pay attention to is Ephesians 3:6,
which says-
" 'That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel.' "
"St.
Paul, the Apostle, said, "The Gentiles should be fellow heirs." But
before we continue analyzing this verse, let us find out from the
Bible: who are called "Gentiles" and why are they also called "heirs?"
In Ephesians 2:11-12, this is what is written--
"Wherefore
remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are
called uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the
flesh made by hands; That at that time ye 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."
"In
those lines, St. Paul reminds the Christians in Ephesus of their former
conditions. According to the Bible, during those times, "they were
without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel."
Therefore, Biblically speaking, the Gentiles are those who were apart
from Christ. They were "strangers from the covenants of promise," ...
they were the hopeless, and they were without a God in the world
because they were not part of Israel. And we, who live at the present
time, may also be called Gentiles if we will use the Bible as our basis.
"According
to St. Paul, for the Gentiles to be a part of the salvation that comes
from our Lord Jesus Christ, they have to be made parts first of the
body; and only after that will they become partakers of a promise in
Christ by the Gospel.
"You will notice that St. Paul made
reference to a "body" ... a body into which the Gentiles must integrate
themselves so that they also become heirs. The explanation to that may
be read in Colossians 1:18-
" 'And he is the head of the body,
the church: who is the beginning, the first born from the dead; that in
all things he might have the preeminence.' "
"Therefore, the
body whose head is Christ is the CHURCH. At this point, we must
understand that the Gentiles, like us, must join the body, or the
Church. And when we say that we must join the Church, it means that we
no longer have to build any. We no longer have to establish our own
church just for us to become partakers of a promise in Christ.
"And
whenever we say "join," or be a part of the body, of the Church, it
denotes that, there is already an existing Church. In fact, this Church
already exists even before the promise of salvation was given to the
Gentiles. There is an existing Church even before Paul was made
apostle. And this was the same Church that our Lord Jesus Christ
taught, when he assumed human form. ... And there can never be another
church.
"Today, there are preachers who claim that another
church had appeared in the Philippines. And according to them, this
church was different from the one in Israel. If this is the case, it
would appear that, despite the fact that there was already a church in
Israel, another church appeared in the Philippines. As far as the Bible
is concerned, such a belief is wrong because, according to St. Paul's
epistle to the Ephesians, in 4:4-
"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling."
"There is just one body ... there is no other body. And the proof that there is only one body can be read in Colossians 3:15-
" 'And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which ye are called in one body; and ye be thankful.' "
"Here,
St. Paul is addressing the brethren who, in the beginning were
Gentiles, but were eventually called to one body. In other words, the
body that the early Christians (the Israelites) made themselves a part
of, is also the same body, or church, into which the Gentiles were
being called upon to join. Now, if the Gentiles will just integrate
themselves to the body, then, the Church will remain ONE.
"It is
against the teachings of God, and of the Holy Scripture, that other
churches is built in other places, let's say in the US, or in England,
or in Germany, or in Rome. They also claim that another church had also
been founded in the Philippines. The truth is, God did not give any
right to anybody to build his own church. It is indeed disgusting that
today, a lot of ministers build churches of their own. They
deliberately oppose and defy what the Bible said - that, the Gentiles,
like us, must join or make ourselves a part of the body, or the Church,
for us to be saved.
"And what is the reason why we must abide by
it? It is because, as far as God is concerned, He did not give anybody
His consent to build a church right now in our time. This is what
Psalms 127:1 says-
" 'Except the Lord build the house, they
labour in vain that built it: except the Lord keep the city, the
watchman waketh but in vain.' "
"The verse mentioned of a
"house," which becomes useless if it is not built by the Lord. Let us
now ask the Bible. What is being referred to as the "house," which only
God has the right to build? In I Timothy 3:15, it says-
" 'But
if I tarry long , that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave
thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the
pillar and ground of the truth.' "
"If you have noticed, in the
New Testament, the word house refers to the Church of God. This is,
truly, the house of God because it was built by God, Himself. That is
why, if, in our time, you come across churches, whose founders are also
their ministers, you can be sure that they are NOT REAL!"
Ask the Truth Caster...
Good News!
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