~ Changes As A Child Of God ~
Introduction ~ Looking back at the history of “Abundant Life Now” posts, we discovered that there have been 60 posts entitled “7 [topic]” through June 2021. Surprisingly, that equals two months’ worth of daily posts since the beginning of ALN on October 21, 2009. During each day of this seventh month of 2021, each ALN post is a “7 [topic].”
The Church ~ The common English translation of the Greek word for the Church universal in the New Testament is Ecclesia which contains two root concepts: the preposition ek means “out from” of “out of” while the verb kaleo means “summoned” or “called.” Combining the two we find the meaning of the Church of Jesus Christ is those who are “the called-out ones.” This raises the question of called out from what? There are at least seven areas of our calling out.
Called-Out From Death To Life ~ “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Ephesians 2:1-5).
Called-Out From Darkness Into Light ~ “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Called-Out From Impurity To Holiness ~ “For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:7). “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (2 Timothy 1:9).
Called-Out From Satan’s Kingdom Into God’s Kingdom ~ “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).
Called-Out From Our Sin For Honorable Use ~ “Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?” (Romans 9:21).
Called-Out Through The Gospel Of Jesus Christ ~ “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
Called-Out From A Nations On Earth To A Heavenly Citizenship ~ Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant [Jesus Christ] seeking beautiful pearls, who, when He had found one pearl of great price [His Church], went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:45-46). Note: pearls come from the sea which in the Bible is often a term to describe the masses of humanity in the nations of the world. This particular parallel is often misunderstood but there are very solid Scriptural reasons for interpreting the pearl as the true universal Church of Jesus Christ.
Closing Comment ~ If you would like to understand the true Church of Jesus Christ more fully I would recommend the eBook “GOD’S CHURCH: Christ’s Pearl” which is widely available internationally.
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.
