Monday August 20, 2012

Being the people of God entails certain responsibilities. How can you live out those responsibilities throughout    today?

 

Read Exodus 6:7, 19:5, Lev 26:12, Jer 30:22, Ez 36:28, Hosea 2:23, 2 Cor 6:16-18

 

God’s relationship with His people is probably the central theme of the entire Bible. His plan from day 1 was to make a people for Himself. He would be their God and they would be His people.

 

Adam and Eve were to be the people of God but they refused and opted out. They deliberately sinned against God. Noah was chosen as the people of God, but his descendants strayed from God. They too chose to sin.  Abraham was chosen as well and was formed into the nation of Israel, again called the people of God but they too, opted out by sinning against God.  The history of the Old Testament is the history of God dealing with His people and the people rebelling against God.

 

When Jesus came into our world He came as the true people (person, in singular) of God. He came as the epitome of what the people of God should have been. He never rejected God. He never sinned. He always lived in perfect unity and harmony with the will of God. He never grasped at equality with God, even though He was equal with God. He was obedient, even to death upon a cross.

 

And through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the church was born. The church is the fulfilment of the people of God and by faith in Jesus’ atoning work, we become known as the People of God. By faith we are grafted into the people of God.

 

In the New Testament Church we see the fulfilment of what began on day 1 of creation - God promises to walk among us, to be our God and for us to be His people, His sons and daughters.  When God looks at the Church He doesn’t see a mish-mash of individuals standing or sitting in the same building. He sees His people.  He sees His very own sons and daughters - men, women and children purchased by the blood of Christ Jesus. To understand the difference, think of a bride walking down the aisle. The audience and relatives see something beautiful and resplendent. But the groom sees something completely different. What we see when we look at the church may be beautiful and even resplendent at times. But what God sees is completely different. When God looks at the church He sees His beloved people.

 

Prayer:

¨ Pray that God would obviously be among your church, the people of God, this coming Lord’s Day. Pray that His Word would be powerfully active and that He would bring growth, maturity, conviction and healing as needed.

¨ Pray that others would see Christ among us and come seek Him. Pray that the community around your congregation would see Christ so brilliantly that many would come to seek Him, find Him and be granted repentance and faith unto eternal life.