From the Pastor’s Desk II – The Body Of Christ
Dear Believers,
I would like to share with you the inspiration that the Lord gave me concerning the Body of Christ.
Note the following Scriptures:
1 Corinthians 12: 13 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.
Ephesians 4: 4-6 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Colossians 1: 18 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 preeminence.
Friends, the Body of Christ is a mystery. You, the elect, are ordained to be placed into that body by the Spirit. One Spirit, even as there is one Lord. No man can put you in that body and likewise no man can put you out.
In Matthew 16, Jesus asked his disciples “Who do you say I am?”. Peter by divine revelation from heaven responded to Jesus “thou art the Christ the son of the living God”.
Let us look at Jesus’s response:
Jesus said, “I” will build my church, not man, not flesh and blood, but by revelation the church would be built. So what we see today in the form of buildings, bricks and stones and meetings and services and conventions is not the church that Jesus was referring to.
The Church in reality is the Body of Christ of which Christ is the Head.
If we call the Body of Christ the Bride Body then that mystical international body is a mystery. That body cannot be manhandled. The Church can be manhandled, manipulated, confused and deceived but not the elected Bride.
The eye cannot excommunicate the ears, the nose can’t be angry with the mouth. It’s a body that is made up of many members, that’s the beauty of this mystery. It is Christ being made effective in every part, as each member is positionally placed in this glorious international Bride body of many nations’ peoples and tongues.
In concluding I would like to share the following quotes with you from the Prophet William Marrion Branham:
FIVE.DEFINITE.IDENTIFICATIONS.OF.THE.TRUE.CHURCH.OF.THE.LIVING.GOD_ JEFF.IN V-9 N-5 SUNDAY_ 60-0911E
31 Now, Israel was the people of God until (We find in Acts 7:38, if you’re putting it down.) that then they were called the church of God, because they were called by God out of Egypt, out of the world, out away from other churches, out away from other religions to walk with God alone.
And now, the church of God today is the same thing: called out of everything of the world, called out of every religious cult, called out of every religious denomination, called out of every religious organization to walk with God; not being governed by a bishop, but being governed by Christ in this Messianic Kingdom that we live in. Christ is the King. Christ is the One.
33 Now, Christ is the Head of this; Christ is the Head of this Messianic Kingdom. And you cannot organize a Kingdom of which Christ is the Head. You cannot denominate a Kingdom which Christ is the Head. Because Christ is King, and you cannot take the intellectuals of a man and make an organization to which Christ will govern. Therefore, any companies, any peoples, any groups of men, that tries to organize the Kingdom of God is going contrary to the King. And if they’re going contrary to the King, it would be against the King. So if it’s against the King, it would be an antichrist. That’s pretty rough. If I had just a little more voice, we’d make that clear. It is a antichrist. And if you’ll bear with me a few minutes, I’ll prove that.
An antichrist spirit tries to take a–a people and call them from organization to organization, organizing them together, which never was the will of God. People has always fussed at me because I struck so hard at organizations. It isn’t the people in there that I’m striking at; it’s that dominating spirit that makes the people think that “We are the people.”
34 God’s people is His called-out people. I believe they’re in every denomination; they could be Catholic; they could be Protestant; they could be Jewish; they could be any kind of a church. But the real church is the mystical Body of Jesus Christ.
Now, you cannot organize the mystical Body of Christ. Now, every person that comes to Christ, comes out of the world, comes into Christ, comes into His mystical Body. And you are a member of that Body when you are brought into this church, called-out and are baptized into this mystical Body.
DISCERNMENT.OF.SPIRIT_ PHOENIX.AZ V-9 N-3 TUESDAY_ 60-0308
14 No matter how great a teacher he is, how powerful he is, how intellectual he is, or how his gift operates, if he isn’t trying to achieve something for the benefit of the body of Christ, your own spiritual discernment would tell you that that’s wrong. No matter how accurate, how perfect, how it is, it’s wrong if it isn’t used for the body of Jesus Christ.
15 To achieve something, maybe he’s got a great gift that he could draw people together with a great intellectual or a spiritual power, that he could draw people together, and maybe he’s trying to take that gift and make hisself famous so that he’ll have a big name, so that other brethren will look up to him as some big person. Then that’s wrong. Maybe he’s trying to–to edify a certain thing here that he wants everybody else to get out of the picture and let him and his group be the picture. That’s still wrong. See?
16 But if he has a gift of God and he’s trying to edify the Body of Christ, then I don’t care what he belongs to. You’re not discerning the man, you’re discerning the spirit, the life that’s in the man. And that’s what God told us to do. Not one time was we ever commissioned to discern the–the man’s group. But we was constrained and commanded by God to discern the spirit in the man, what he’s trying to do, what the spirit in his life is trying to lead him to. And then if we can find out that he’s trying to lead the people (not to break them up, but to bring them together) and to bring the church of the living God, not all to one denomination, but to a understanding, a fellowship, a unity of spirit.
End of Quotes
On Sunday June 1st 2014, the Lord placed two messages on my heart that are dedicated to the Body of Christ.
Question: Have you been baptized into the body by the Holy Ghost?
God Bless You.
Pastor Theophilus Ovid Jr.
[hr]