441 - Les Feldick Bible Study - Lesson 3 - Part 1 - Book 37 - The Seven Unities of the Church

https://lesfeldickbiblestudy.com Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 3 * PART 1 * BOOK 37 The Seven Unities of the Church Always remember the Scripture from Genesis to Revelation is a progressive unfolding of God’s program of the ages. And in Paul’s seven Church letters especially, you always have doctrine, reproof, corrections, and instruction in righteousness. "All scripture (from Genesis through Revelation) is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" Now that applies to the whole Scripture, but it has a unique application to Paul’s seven Church letters, as we refer to them. Always keep those formats in mind as we study these seven Church letters of Paul. What’s doctrine? Doctrine is what God expects us to believe! Doctrine is teaching, and today there is so little doctrine. You might as well shut the Book and go home, because we have to rest on doctrine of what does God expects us to believe. The Scriptures says, "Thus saith the Lord!" Now coming back to Ephesians chapter 4, and remember we’re up on a higher level of teaching doctrine than even Romans was. Doctrine is primarily for the believer. Ephesians 4:1 Well Paul is bringing that same analogy into the life of every believer. God has called us to this particular role in the midst of an ungodly world to live a life that literally reflects our vocation and our calling. Now verse 2. Ephesians 4:2 Do you remember who was called the meekest of all men? Moses. Now all of you know what a man’s man Moses was. Now verse 3. Ephesians 4:3 The Bible is, it’s a narrow Book! Now verse 4. Ephesians 4:4a "There is one body,..." You’ve got all the genealogy of those three sons, and let’s start with verse 1 of chapter 11. Genesis 11:1-3 Now look at verse 4. Now look at what God had made evidently so clear. Genesis 11:4 Now remember these people were just as human as we are. Genesis 9:1 "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." God didn’t say replenish the Middle East, He didn’t say replenish the fertile crescent, but rather replenish the earth. Now look at the Church today. Now the admonition is that the Body of Christ is to be one. Singular in purpose around the whole planet, the Body is to be one, but what has happened to the Church? Hundreds and hundreds of groups, and denominations and divisions and so forth, and that’s not what God intended. God told those people in Genesis to scatter, and they said, "No, we’re going to stay together and be one." Man has fragmented the Church. Back here in Ephesians, God’s first intentions for the true Church made up of born again, regenerated, blood-bought believers were to be one. In the true Body there are no professing Christians without salvation in the Body of Christ. Only a true believer ends up in the Body of Christ. Come with me to I Corinthians chapter 12, and let’s start at verse 12. Here Paul is using the analogy of the human body. I Corinthians 12:12-13 "For as the body (the human body) is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. (or the Body of Christ, the true Church) 13. One Spirit is putting us into the One Body of Christ. Now verse 14. I Corinthians 12:14 "For the body (or the human element or the Body of Christ) is not one members, but many." Now come over in that same chapter to verse 27. Paul is emphasizing this concept of the Body of Christ. I Corinthians 12:27 "Now ye (believers) are the body of Christ, and members in particular." Then we don’t find all that much mentioned of the Body of Christ until we get into the higher things in Ephesians. So let’s look for example in chapter 1 and drop down to verse 23, and here Paul makes another reference to the Body of Christ. Remember Paul is the only one that refers to the Body of Christ, the true Church. In fact let’s start with verse 22. This is God speaking of the Son. Ephesians 1:22-23 Ephesians 3:6 The Body of Christ, that consortium of only the true believer. Now I’ve made this comment before, and while I’m talking you can be turning to Hebrews chapter 13, because I’ve just got one more verse I want to use in reference to the Body. We’re getting letter after letter, where people are telling us, "I’m finally loving the Word of God." Now even here in Hebrews chapter 13 we also find the Body of Christ. You want to remember that Hebrews was written primarily to Jewish believers. Hebrews 13:3 So even these Jewish believers, to whom the Book of Hebrews was addressed, and does not make that much reference to the Church Body as Paul does in the Church epistle, nevertheless these Jewish believers were considered by the apostle as members of the Body of Christ. #LesFeldick #BibleStudy #Bible