For where two or three are gathered
Together in my name,
There am I in the midst of them.
Matthew 18:20 (KJV)
The Body of Christ is a Royal Bride. She is preparing herself for a Royal Wedding, and an Eternal Marriage… that will never end.
Of course that is a metaphor.
[Metaphor: a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract.]
What does this mean?
In simple form: When you and I are walking together (metaphorically speaking) in agreement with Christ, and abiding in Christ, and we receive Him into our midst by Faith, and He brings to us: His blessing (His: Power, Grace, Humility, Patience, Unselfishness, Forgiveness, Righteousness, Holiness, and more), and His Spirit of Truth, JOY & LOVE–we become the Body of Christ, because He is in our midst. That is what it means to be in fellowship with Christ, while in fellowship with others believers.
This is also the definition of what it means to be in a Church Fellowship in Christ.
But let’s develop this concept a little further.
In essence, this is how we become the Bride of Christ walking together in Christ, in a true Spirit of Unity. And this is exactly what Jesus prayed to the Father that we would become.
When we walk together with Christ, with one another: This is the very answer to the prayer that Jesus asked of His Father the night He was betrayed:
John 17:6-11 (KJV)
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word [As such they have become the Body of Christ (aka The Bride of Christ)]. 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, AS WE ARE ONE.
Now that is a pretty good description of the Body of Christ. As you can clearly see there are several stages of growth involved in becoming the Body, which we won’t get into now, but just make a note, becoming the Body of Christ is not a “one step”, one time deal. It is a life long transformation based on continual growth.
Ye Shall Know …
Hopefully, you can clearly see God’s Ultimate Goal: That we may be one with Christ, as Christ is One with the Father.
John 14:20-21 (KJV)
20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father,
and ye in me, and I in you.
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them,
he it is that loveth me:
and he that loveth me
shall be loved of my Father,
and I will love him,
and will manifest myself to him.
As you can see, loving Jesus comes with one simple condition, that we keep his commands.
Take that one condition out of the equation, and you begin to have a false church, a false fellowship, all based upon a false conversion experience. And you can literally see the difference. You can always tell a tree by its fruit.
The Proof of Knowing Him, and of Him Knowing Us is that His Love is in us and moving through us, and serving others around us. Without our Love for Him and His Love for us, we will just be a banging gong, and a noisy cymbal.
The proof is our Love. That is our seal of approval. Our reward for loving Jesus by keeping his commandments, is that we will be loved by His Father, and He will show himself to US! That is a pretty good deal, when you discover who the Father is and who the Son is. They are the most Powerful yet Humble, Loving yet Just, Generous yet Frugal Beings in the Universe in which we exist.
The commission to Keep His Commands is repeated in 1st John:
1 John 2:3-6 (KJV)
3 And hereby we do know that we know him,
if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments,
is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word,
in him verily is the love of God perfected:
hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that saith he abideth in him
ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
The commission to Abide in Him, and Keep His Commands, to also to Bringeth Forth Much Fruit is repeated in John 15:
John 15:5-10 (KJV)
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. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Big important Note Here:
Ye = the Plural “You.” So “Ye” is addressing the Body of Christ, or actually the Potential Body of Christ. Also note: Thee, Thou, Thy, and Thine, denote the singular of you. This really helps to clarify and more accurately interpret what the author is saying, by knowing who the author is addressing. Our modern English language has dropped this sort of distinction.
Whether or not the audience (or the reader in this case) chooses to 1) Abide in Christ, 2) Keep His Word, and 3) Bring forth much fruit, THAT will determine if the audience will become a part of the Eternal Body of Christ (the Bride of Christ), or not. Hopefully you can clearly see how there are several Blood Covenant Conditions involved in these most precious of God’s Promises.
Make a note: It is one thing to hear God’s Promises and believe God’s Word.
It is another totally different thing to Receive God’s Promises, by Keeping God’s Word (and by proving His Word).
- Only those who Keep his Word, and Obey His Commands,
Are the ones who Love Him, according to Christ’s Own Definitions (not man’s).
- And Only those who do so, will abide in Him, and He in them.
Thus fulfilling the Prayer and Promise of Jesus to the Father, and the Father’s answer to the Son.
What powerful insights we can gain by just looking into God’s Word!
Ultimately, the Body of Christ, will become “The Bride of Christ” and Live with Him in Heaven in the Glory of the Father, and the Son for all of Eternity. At some point in time, we will enter into the New Jerusalem, and that will be a whole new thing:
Revelation 21:2-5 (KJV)
2 And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Knowing that we are preparing ourselves for an Eternal Home with Our Eternal Father, we have an entirely new and totally different perspective on life than those without this hope. If everything one values and desires is in this broken world, and one is not willing to let go of the things of earth to gain the things of Heaven, such a person, cannot be thought of as a living, breathing, example and member of the Body of Christ. When they fail to ask, seek, and obtain, the fruits of Abiding in Christ: The Love for Keeping his Commands, while abiding in Him, and enjoying His Favor, Nearness, and Holy Spirit Instruction, then, such people will miss out on truly Entering the Kingdom of God by FAITH.
When or if any man, women, or child is walking in intimate fellowship with God, it becomes abundantly clear that his mind, will, emotions, are different. His Character and Nature are different. His Hope, Motivation and direction are different. He will stand out like a sore thumb.
Without the character and nature of God walking and operating in our midst, chances are we are not walking in agreement with Jesus, and He is not in our midst. YOU CAN CLEARLY TELL A TREE BY ITS FRUIT.
Therefore it is important, not just to slap his name on our activity.
We must come into His Kingdom through the Door God has provided for us, before we can truly proclaim we are the Body of Christ. Just calling a building “a church,” doesn’t make one so. (In fact, there is no such thing in the Bible. More on this later.)
For some, getting through the Door that God has provided, will be easier than for others. It is possible for all to come into his Kingdom through the Door, but It is not always promised to be easy to get through the Door, because many things can block our entry:
Matthew 19:24 (KJV)
And again I say unto you,
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Matthew 19:25-26 (KJV)
25 When his disciples heard it,
they were exceedingly amazed,
saying, Who then can be saved?
26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them,
With men this is impossible;
but with God all things are possible.
WOW. That sounds like a difficult prospect, getting a camel through the eye of a needle.
One pastor used to say: “It is possible, but it’s gonna be hard on the camel!”
Now, if you are a rich man, feel entitled, have your own plans laid out, are doing your own thing, and dead set on achieving your own goals:
Yeah, it is going to be hard to enter the Kingdom. Why? because you are called on to dump all your worldly garbage at the door. All worldly values, all worldly pursuits, motivations, philosophies,mindsets, humanism, relativism, fatalism, nihilism, atheism, and the like won’t make it through the Door, and will block the one entering.
Everything that makes you a rich man (in the eyes of to the world) will most likely need to be stripped off of you.
John 12:25-26 (KJV) 25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. 26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
The Blood Covenant of God is an exchange of Life for Death, Truth for Lies, gaining Heaven’s Treasures by letting go of worldly wealth. In other words, turning worldly wealth into a tool to bring the salvation of God to many …
You and I need to be stripped down to the bare bones. We need to get rid of all of our self imposed rights, privileges, and the esteem we crave from others so highly, and buy the esteem that comes from God alone, so we can actually esteem others more highly than ourselves.
This is the Kingdom of God being activated in the midst of the Body of Christ:
Philippians 2:2-4 (KJV)
Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded,
having the same love,
being of one accord,
of one mind.
3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory;
but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
4 Look not every man on his own things,
but every man also on the things of others.
This is no easy prospect for the average proud an egotistical man, who is fully focused on his own plan.
Before a man can enter into the Door of Heaven, the strait gate, the narrow path, and build his house upon a rock, he must purge his life of everything that clings to him that is not of God.
Hebrews 12:1-4 (KJV)
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside [cast away, throw off] every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Mark 8:35-37 (KJV)
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it;
but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s,
the same shall save it.
36 For what shall it profit a man,
if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul?
37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Luke 16:9
Mark 8:34-38 (KJV)
34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Luke 16:9-13 (KJV)
9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Pride
Arrogance
Lust
Greed
Selfishness
Self Promotion
Self Exaltation
Self Justification
Selfish Ambition
Anger
Envy
Jealousy
Strife
Gossip
Slander
Lewd behavior
Coarse Jesting (Filthy Jokes)
Lying,
Cheating,
Immoral and Drunken Behavior
And the list goes on …