Edition 13 of the First Principles

Friday, November 4th

Edition 13 of the First Principles

Colossians 1:15-18
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Note: The church is the body. God is the head, the church is the body.

Ephesians 2:19-22
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Note: When we become part of the church, at baptism, we become part of God’s household. Roommates! I call top bunk! We are being built to become a dwelling… interesting. God will live in us by his Spirit. I say will because here it says “being built” and you don’t live in a house that is in construction. The Holy Spirit is the builder? He is talking to a church of Christians already. They have already been baptized. You get the Holy Spirit at baptism. In verse 18 (For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.), it would appear that Paul is also talking that the Spirit is there in us. I guess the Spirit is molding us into the dwelling God wants us to be.

Ephesians 4:4-6
4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Note: There is one body. The church is the body. There is one church. So why are there so many denominations out there? Methodist, Catholic, Episcopalian, Pentecostal, Jehovah Witness, Mormon, Church of God, Church of Christ, Biker’s Church, and the list just goes on and on… can’t we all just get along? And the answer should be yes, but there is so much compromising of doctrine. We would all agree in one Spirit and in one Lord. One faith would come dispute. Some say that they can pray to the virgin Mary and other saints, but I don’t see why I should pray to Mary when I can just pray to God. Skip the middle man, like Geico. Why have faith in a person when you can have faith in God? And then the issue of baptism. Sprinkle me like a donut. Dunk me in coffee. Hose me down like a fireman. Does it matter? Yes. If we say that Jesus is Lord and that we should be like him in every way, does that stop in how we are baptized? Jesus was immersed. We are to imitate Jesus. So what does that say we should do?

1 Corinthians 1:10-17
10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."

13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? 14 I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Note: United we stand and divided we fall. I see this among churches today. Clicks, gossipers, and dissensions are huge among Christianity. It happened in the church I am in now. When the “letter” came out years ago, sin was exposed and it started to crash. People left by the droves. It all boiled down to “who do you follow?” If you follow a man, the man will hurt you. If you dig hard enough, you can find fault in man. And with the power of the internet, you can find fault in anyone, anything, at anytime. But the funny thing with the internet, it may not be true. Doubt seeps in about the source. I found an article sometime ago proving to me that God created the universe. But to those who do not want to believe, they would doubt the source or whatever nuance to boast about whatever lifestyle they so choose. And strangely enough, I am fine with that. If we, as a world, all thought the same way, did the same things, lived the same lifestyle, not only would it be boring, but it would prove the bible untrue in my mind. Do I want the world to be saved? Yes. Do I see it likely? No. And if I am to share my faith, I have to be at ease with that thought. I went way off track here somewhere, but so be it… dissensions and clicks happen. It’s not right, but it happens. At one point or another we are a click. As a church, we are a click. We set ourselves apart from society. There are other churches who are apart from us. I personally have thought about jumping up in front of other churches and preaching. That is mind-boggling to my own mind. I don’t know of that ever happening except in the bible. Christians preaching in Jewish synagogues… if we did that today, we would be shot. I don’t know… I am really typing and thinking at the same time (if you haven’t picked up on that). I think I made my point, though.

1 Corinthians 12:12-26
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Note: So what part am I? What purpose do I have with the body? What function do I do to help the others? Hopefully I am not a part that is in spasm… I serve a purpose. I am every bit as important to the body as the next person. I have to realize that to not only encourage myself, but encourage others to find their purpose as well. For if we do not know what our purpose is, we cease to function properly and become a body that is sick and needs help.

1 Corinthians 6:14-18
14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." 17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

Note: What am I uniting myself with? Do I unite myself with God or with the world. In Nevada, it is legal to be with a prostitute. In Amsterdam, drugs are legal, or at least abundant and very accessible, but I think they are legal. My actions speak about who I follow. What do my actions say about me? My thoughts dictate my actions. What does my thoughts say about me? What is it that my body is doing? Speeding, lusting, being with a prostitute, looking at pornography on the internet, cussing all speak mountains about a person. I am a member of Christ himself, so what is it that I am making Christ do?

Hebrews 10:23-25
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Note: Hebrews 3:13 also says “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.” When we encourage one another, an end result is spurring each other on toward love and good deeds. I don’t see how you could say “I love you,” and the person receiving that not feel warmth in their heart. And I mean an “I love you” with sincerity. You can say it with hatred and it come over as such. My mother has said “I love you” to me the last few times we have been together and it has made me feel all fuzzy inside because I knew she meant it. We haven’t had the best relationship in the past, but I feel our relationship is at a new all time high. I think it’s great. The church should be the same way. We should be encouraging each other by being on time to service. It not only encourages us, but God would be pleased. We should be creating new heights in our relationships with one another, as me and my mother are doing.