Topic: Our Inextricable Oneness [Saturday, April 8th]
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence (Colossians 1:18).*_
Did you know that Jesus isn’t complete without us? And by “us”, I mean the Church. We’re inseparably united with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17). Ephesians 1:22-23 says God “…put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.” He’s the one who fills everything (Ephesians 4:10), yet His fullness is the Church, which is His body.
This should help you understand your importance and relevance to Christ. You’re “in Him,” and He’s “in you.” Without you, He can’t reach the hurting and the lost in the world. Through you, He’s able to express His love to others, and establish His Kingdom in the earth. You’re His extension in the earth, because you hail from Him and are connected to Him. He said in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” It’s the Father’s grand design for Him to need us just as we need Him: He’s our glory as we are His glory.
In John 17:19-21, Jesus prayed, “…that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” This prayer is fulfilled in us today—the new creation—we’ve become one with divinity. 1 Corinthians 12:13 says, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body….” Then, 1 Corinthians 6:17 declares, “…he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.”
You’ve been literally mingled with the Spirit as one divine creation: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
CONFESSION
Christ is my life; in Him I live, and move and have my being! As He is, so am I; His glory is resplendent in me. I’m fruitful, productive and excellent, because I’m one with the Lord, being a member of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. Blessed be God!
Further Study: || Colossians 2:9-12 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. ||
|| Colossians 1:27 To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: ||
|| Ephesians 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. ||
Daily Scripture Reading
1-Year Bible Reading Plan: Luke 11:37-54,
Judges 5-6
2-Year Bible Reading Plan: Matthew 28:1-10,
Leviticus 8
