Bible Study The Bride Of Christ 3

[Soul man]

When we get to heaven, there will be no camps for those who believe in justification a certain way. That would be small and insignificant thing in heaven.
Nor will there be a camp for those who thought one way about sanctification and one way for those who thought another way. Their fellowship will be perfect because they will be swallowed up by the lamb spirit.
By these comparisons I am not making doctrine unimportant, but I am making something more important than doctrine.
There are at least 10 outstanding doctrines spoken of in Ehp. Chapter 1. These 10 have been among the leading doctrines which has separated believers, and have caused more schisms in the body. We have to make Jesus the center, over and above doctrine. God in this hour is gathering a group of people who are not just interested in His power, His gifts, His money, His resources, His name, His church, or anything else that was just about Him.
But it is Jesus Himself whom we are falling in love with. That miracle comes under the heading of what scriptures call 'the revelation of Jesus.

1. being chosen as sons - v. 4
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
The reason people are divided over this fourth verse is that they have left out two words in their interpretation 'in Him.
The simplicity of the verse is if you are going to be saved it is going to be in Him.
It doesn't say he choose one over another.
Taken out of Satan and placed in Christ, that is your salvation. If we had known what it meant to be in Christ, we could never have had a schism over the doctrine of being chosen.
We were not chosen because of our doctrine or our church.
We were not chosen to be progenitors of a new religion or to be apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers or evangelists.
We were first and foremost chosen in him. The love affair is with him, for we were chosen for the lover. We were chosen in him and for him, before the foundation of the earth. Usually, if man made religion hasn't come in and told you what you were chosen for, then you decide yourself what you were chosen for.
In either case, you are wrong because you have been chosen before the foundation of the world in Him. The important thing is not the choosing, it is the in-Him position. While this is the part we must not leave out, it is also the part that we cannot see, and we cannot see it because we have not had a revelation of Jesus Christ. We do not see Jesus as the center.
We do not see Jesus as everything, so we concentrate on what it means to be chosen rather than on the fact that we are chosen in Him.

 

[Hermit]

This part especially stands out for me

...The important thing is not the choosing, it is the in-Him position. While this is the part we must not leave out, it is also the part that we cannot see, and we cannot see it because we have not had a revelation of Jesus Christ. We do not see Jesus as the center.
We do not see Jesus as everything, so we concentrate on what it means to be chosen rather than on the fact that we are chosen in Him.

Soul man, I had a re-read of a previous thread The Need For The Revelation Of Jesus Christ referring to the book of Ephesians chs 1-3, and later, in the thread, to the book of Colossians ch 3 for a way to discover a revelation of Jesus Christ.
In saying this, and referring to the portioned quote...

...We do not see Jesus as everything, so we concentrate on what it means to be chosen...

...correctly implies some of us are still 'in self' instead of 'in Christ'. The revelation of Jesus Christ has not yet been realized because the revelation in 'self' is still hogging the stage/scene of life purpose.

Long time ago a long list of miracles was made: near death experiences, escapes, beyond normal coincidences, revelations of Truth, remembered rewards for acts of faith, heart felt movements of love of Truth, breaking through denials, healings, words spoken were not my own, people giving me the words I needed to hear exactly at the time I needed to hear them. Intuitive nudges to go a particular way, warnings of impending unforeseen danger, knowing without understanding reason; and these are just what I can remember as I write now. As I said the list is long. Took over a week to recall them.

This list helped me to realize that the kingdom of God loves me. This is not a vain statement, but a tremendously humble one, for I consider myself (body-mind) parasitic. Though (at the time) I may not understand why the love is there, the revelation of Christ and God is there, and that is all that matters. Without this revelation I will still be looking outside of me for that love. Still in fear of not getting it, when in fact I already have it within me.

Then again there is the unforgiven self. We have trouble believing the self as parasitic, exploitative of all life including self. This revelation is too devastating for most to handle. It takes faith to realize that God and Christ understands this about us. Because we fear our own truth, we have not yet handed ALL our will and life over to the care of God and Jesus Christ. We still are too busy covering up our truth for the revelation of Jesus Christ within us to be realized. Releasing all our fears through shear self-honesty, and sharing it with God, makes a tremendous difference in believing that Christ loves our honesty, loves our truth, and not the self in us.

Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, such a person cannot be my disciple..."

 

[Chopper]

Chosen IN HIM to be His Bride. Once saved, He is IN US. Chosen is so wonderful if we just KNOW IT. And live it. If we do, love will be the proof of a great spiritual transformation.

 

[Soul man]

This part especially stands out for me

Soul man, I had a re-read of a previous thread The Need For The Revelation Of Jesus Christ referring to the book of Ephesians chs 1-3, and later, in the thread, to the book of Colossians ch 3 for a way to discover a revelation of Jesus Christ.
In saying this, and referring to the portioned quote...
...correctly implies some of us are still 'in self' instead of 'in Christ'. The revelation of Jesus Christ has not yet been realized because the revelation in 'self' is still hogging the stage/scene of life purpose.

Long time ago a long list of miracles was made: near death experiences, escapes, beyond normal coincidences, revelations of Truth, remembered rewards for acts of faith, heart felt movements of love of Truth, breaking through denials, healings, words spoken were not my own, people giving me the words I needed to hear exactly at the time I needed to hear them. Intuitive nudges to go a particular way, warnings of impending unforeseen danger, knowing without understanding reason; and these are just what I can remember as I write now. As I said the list is long. Took over a week to recall them.

This list helped me to realize that the kingdom of God loves me. This is not a vain statement, but a tremendously humble one, for I consider me self (body-mind) parasitic. Though (at the time) I may not understand why the love is there, the revelation of Christ and God is there, and that is all that matters. Without this revelation I will still be looking outside of me for that love. Still in fear of not getting it, when in fact I already have it within me.

Then again there is the unforgiven self. We have trouble believing the self as parasitic, exploitative of all life including self. This revelation is too devastating for most to handle. It takes faith to realize that God and Christ understands this about us. Because we fear our own truth, we have not yet handed ALL our will and life over to the care of God and Jesus Christ. We still are too busy covering up our truth for the revelation of Jesus Christ within us to be realized. Releasing all our fears through shear self-honesty, and sharing it with God, makes a tremendous difference in believing that Christ loves our honesty, loves our truth, and not the self in us.

Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, such a person cannot be my disciple..."

I am doing another thread on 'the revelation of Christ, it is so pertinent to a believers understanding, enough cannot be said about it.

 

[Chopper]

This part especially stands out for me

Soul man, I had a re-read of a previous thread The Need For The Revelation Of Jesus Christ referring to the book of Ephesians chs 1-3, and later, in the thread, to the book of Colossians ch 3 for a way to discover a revelation of Jesus Christ.
In saying this, and referring to the portioned quote...
...correctly implies some of us are still 'in self' instead of 'in Christ'. The revelation of Jesus Christ has not yet been realized because the revelation in 'self' is still hogging the stage/scene of life purpose.

Long time ago a long list of miracles was made: near death experiences, escapes, beyond normal coincidences, revelations of Truth, remembered rewards for acts of faith, heart felt movements of love of Truth, breaking through denials, healings, words spoken were not my own, people giving me the words I needed to hear exactly at the time I needed to hear them. Intuitive nudges to go a particular way, warnings of impending unforeseen danger, knowing without understanding reason; and these are just what I can remember as I write now. As I said the list is long. Took over a week to recall them.

This list helped me to realize that the kingdom of God loves me. This is not a vain statement, but a tremendously humble one, for I consider myself (body-mind) parasitic. Though (at the time) I may not understand why the love is there, the revelation of Christ and God is there, and that is all that matters. Without this revelation I will still be looking outside of me for that love. Still in fear of not getting it, when in fact I already have it within me.

Then again there is the unforgiven self. We have trouble believing the self as parasitic, exploitative of all life including self. This revelation is too devastating for most to handle. It takes faith to realize that God and Christ understands this about us. Because we fear our own truth, we have not yet handed ALL our will and life over to the care of God and Jesus Christ. We still are too busy covering up our truth for the revelation of Jesus Christ within us to be realized. Releasing all our fears through shear self-honesty, and sharing it with God, makes a tremendous difference in believing that Christ loves our honesty, loves our truth, and not the self in us.

Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, such a person cannot be my disciple..."

I don't know if I have related this event. It literally changed my idea of the Grace and Favor of Christ my Savior. He saved my life on a trip to "Rolling Thunder" in Washington DC. A young girl wanted to merge on a New York thru way and when she cut in front of me she hit my front wheel on my Harley Davidson XLH. The biggest bike Harley makes.

My bike went into the air and started jumping up and down. The rest of the bikers pulled away because they knew I was going to crash. All of a sudden, I felt, in my spirit, a hand come down and grabbed my front wheel and stabilized my bike. The unsaved bikers could not believe their eyes. It gave me and the other saved bikers a real good opportunity to praise Jesus.

That incident, not only saved my life, it got me to not ride again, of which my Wife was so very happy because I was having physical problems with my hips and spine. Praise Jesus Who has saved my old skin numerous times.

 

[for_his_glory]

As I was reading this it brought to mind how easy it is to have our names blotted out of the Book of Life.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

God knew us from the foundation of the world as he chose and created each and everyone of us sinless as we were created in His image, also putting our name in the Book of Life in the heavenlies. Because sin entered into the world through Adam many names have been blotted out of the Book of Life, even though they had opportunity to turn back to God by His grace.

What many Christians forget is that even though our name remains in the Book of Life we still have to stand in the judgement seat of Christ to give account for those things we have done whether they be good or bad, 2 Corinthians 5:10. There should never be schism over doctrine as we all need to understand the pure doctrine of Christ as we need to separate ourselves from the doctrine of man and what they believe to be true.

The true Bride of Christ needs to come in unity of the word and Spirit of God and keep that in mind when we come together to share and discuss His word. We are ever learning and will never exhaust the word of God. It's ok if we do not always agree with each other, but it's all about our attitude and what we speak to each other out of the abundance of our heart that we are either pleasing God or not bringing honor to His name.

Deuteronomy 29:20; 2 Kings 14:27; Psalms 139; Rev 3:5