Colossians 1:18 – “And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”

What factors differentiate a genuine Work of God from everything else we see around us in the marketplace of religion? On the most basic level, pleading the blood of Jesus has led us to three fundamental discoveries: preaching the revealed Word, following the guidance or direction of the Holy Spirit instead of human opinions, and having our relationship with Christ express itself through a genuine participation in a local Body of the faithful church.

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Psalm 119:63-79 -

v.63 – “I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts.”

v.74 – “May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word.”

v.79 – “May those who fear you turn to me, those who understand your statutes.”

Psalm 119 sets forth the ways that God’s Word should touch our lives, including our participation in the Body of Christ.  Living in the Word means living in the Body, and living in the Body must involve certain aspects of the Word.

The New Testament instructs us to be in fellowship with a faithful church (see Acts 2:41-47; Hebrews 10:24-25).  Four letters in the New Testament refer to the church as a Body, reminding us that we are parts of a living organism (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 10:17; 1 Corinthians 12:12-28; Ephesians 1:23; Ephesians 4:4-26; Ephesians 5:30; Colossians 1:8, 24; Colossians 2:19; Colossians 3:15).  The rest of the New Testament never refers to the church as a “body,” but instead simply use the term “church,” “saints,” or “brothers.”  The terminology varies as each passage emphasizes different aspects of fellowship.

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Luke 24:36-43 –

“While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’

They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?  Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself. Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.’

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.  And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’  They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.”

PEACE BE WITH YOU – Not only does Jesus give us victory over death, but also peace in our souls.  Those who loved Jesus were grieved when they saw that He had died on the cross.  Jesus appearing to His disciples comforted them and prepared them for what He had for them next.

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Esther 8:11 – “The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate any armed force of any nationality or province that might attack them and their women and children; and to plunder the property of their enemies.”

An interesting feature of the story of Esther is that even when the King discovers the plot to exterminate the Jews (Haman was planning to commit genocide), there was no measure taken to prevent this from occurring.  Instead, Mordecai and Esther convinced the King to authorize resistance by God’s people against their enemies.  This was partly due to an unusual feature of ancient Persian law, which made the previous edict irrevocable; the best they could do was try to offset it or cancel it out with an equal counter-measure.  Instead of prohibiting anyone from attacking the Jews, the new edict simply authorized the Jews to assemble and to protect themselves, and to destroy any who attacked them.

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`John 6:14-24 - After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum.  By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading…

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“…And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  - Genesis 12:3

God wants to bless each person individually with salvation and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  In addition, the Bible teaches that God has special blessings he intends to give to families as a whole, not just to individuals in isolation.  

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“Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” - Acts 2:41-42

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1 Corinthians 12:12-13 - ”The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink…”

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1 Corinthians 12:12-13 - ”The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink...”  

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1 Kings 3:26-27 – “The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, ‘Please, my lord, give her the living baby!  Don’t kill him!’”  But the other said, ‘Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!; Then the king gave his ruling: ‘Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother…’”

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