You saw in the last post that God has many calls on our life. This is one of them. Called into fellowship with God. But the only way to be in fellowship with God is through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Which is why, in the next verse, Paul talks about working together, with each other, instead of against each other. 1 Corinthians 1:10 "Now I beg you brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."
No divisions. Perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. We are, after all, the body of Christ, and as such should be joined to each other that we may work well together. We are all called into service. God did not create our bodies to lay around and play. We are created to serve. Serve each other by working together in the same frame of mind and with love; thereby serving God because we have answered the call to fellowship.
There is only one God. It is God's doctrine we should all be following. It is God's Word we should all be obeying. Under the old covenant, which we know as the Old Testament, there was not a lot of grace found. Few there were who found grace in God's sight. For God looks on the heart and the heart of mankind, in the most part, was without righteousness of heart and mind. But once Jesus Christ came to earth and lived out His ministry, we came under the new covenant, which is the New Testament. Testament means covenant. This new covenant is grace.
The grace of God is available to us through Jesus Christ. He was sent from God to proclaim the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God, which could only be entered into through repentance of sin on our part. Matthew 4:17 "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom is at hand." ~ Mark 1:14, 15 "And after John the Baptist was put into prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe the gospel."
Luke 1:18, 19, 21, 43 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord....This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.....I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent."
John 3:1-5 "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that Thou art a Teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that Thou does, except God be with Him. Jesus answered and said unto him, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God'. Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit'."
Being called into fellowship with Christ, we have also been called into service with Christ. It is our mission to finish where He left off. We have been commissioned by Him to also preach the gospel of repentance, in power. Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." As followers of Jesus Christ, we have been called to receive power, power that penetrates the opposition, to witness Jesus Christ to the whole world. And it is the Holy Spirit who endows us with this power, when we receive the baptism of Him.
It is this power, the power of the Holy Spirit, that I have in good measure, by the which therefore I am able to bring the Word of God to you. I cannot do this without first knowing Jesus, and second, receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. To you I am called to preach the gospel of repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ. To you I am called by God to serve Him in whatsoever capacity He places me. To you I am your servant, also. And, as I serve you, I serve God. For it is His commandment that I love you as Jesus loves me. And how has Jesus loved me? With a neverending, ever-forgiving, unconditional, all-accepting love. As Jesus loves me, I love you. Therefore, as He teaches me, through the Holy Spirit of God, so teach I you.
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