Rom 12:2 And be not conformed( don’t follow the schematic drawing or the blueprint of this world system) to this world: but be ye transformed( metamorphosis; or attain to a complete and radical inward change and becoming a totally different individual) by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove( only when we are radically changed can we then test, approve and possess for ourselves the mature, well pleasing, and good will of God) what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Transformation is as the metamorphosis of a tadpole to a frog, or a caterpillar to a butterfly. If we do not pay the price to affect that transformation, we will never be free.
Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
Of no account do I make my life or hold my life in honor, so that I may complete my course on the horse track on which I am racing upon with joy, and the ministry that I received from the Lord to testify fully and thoroughly of the glad tidings of the grace of God.
Philippians 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after ( BIBLICAL WORD FOR PERSECUTION) , if that I may apprehend (GRASP AND SEIZE) that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
I persecute, pursue, and overtake, in hope that I can grasp, seize, and make my own, all of what is contained in what Christ originally grasped and seized me for.
Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Therefore I neglect and no longer care for what is behind me. I stretch myself out and towards, and run swiftly after what is before me. The direction being, the mark of the goal of the high price of unbroken fellowship of Christ’s resurrection life, and the hope of His calling for me.
1 Timothy 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
Seize and grab to, pull in, and make it our own possession. Eternal life while we are on the earth is resurrection life. It does not come magically to us but must be seized and pulled in though obedience.
Matthew 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Matthew 25:3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
“Took” from the Greek word to receive. To get, have and make my own. The foolish virgins did not get, and possessed the fullness of the Spirit.
Galatians 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
Gal 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth(inward strength and force, to have strength to overcome health, ability, capacity) anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. Only Christ being formed and birthed in us is of any capacity or ability for us to overcome and get the spiritual victory.
Counting the Cost as Corporate Believers
God blesses in proportion to the precision that we build in accordance to the pattern for His church, already set in the heavens. The church is not a gathering of believers who come together to simply praise and worship the Lord, hear a teaching, send their kids to Sunday school, meet for coffee and pie after church, and have a mid-week Bible study or cell group. The church is the most powerful human entity ever created by the Lord with the capacity to fill the earth with His glory.
The Greek and Hebrew system
The church was built originally on the Hebrew family system of being team players. Shortly after the death of the Lord, the Greek system of independence and passivity came in. This is totally the opposite of what the NT Testament pattern is supposed to be.
The church is the only human entity, that as His body, completes the Christ (FULLNESS ) who is simply the Head, and makes the invisible God in the heavens, visible in His (GLORY) upon the earth.
As Christ’s body who completes Christ who is the head (FULLNESS), the church is the only human entity, which possesses the attributes, qualities; and the very essence that makes Christ Himself. The responsibility of the church through the ministries of all is to show the fullness of the Lord upon the earth.
Ephesians 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
The fullness of God is revealed or made visible by the glory of God. This is then the next function of the church.
Eph 3:18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
That you will have the fullness of spiritual strength needed to seize and possess with all the saints as to what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height,
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
And to progressively know the love (Of Christ) which hits a homerun over all knowledge (that pertains to Christ Himself), so that as a body you may be filled with the all the qualities and attributes that makes Christ to be Christ,as to His essence; exclusive of anything or anyone else.
Eph 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
The church’s most important job is to bring forth the glory of the Lord into all the earth, and throughout all eternity.
Ephesians 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Glory is defined as the end product of the invisible God becoming visible.
Isaiah 40:5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
The glory of God is of supreme importance. Through it, men are ushered into eternal salvation, physical healings take place, people are set free from demonic oppression, spiritual gifts are displayed, and revival of cities and nations that ultimately change civilization are started and carried out.
Mark 6:56 ….and as many as touched him were made whole.
Civilization’s most essential need, and its most desperate need, is to be capable of beholding an invisible God, who desires to make Himself plainly clear, through Jesus Christ in His glory.
The key to all humanity’s needs, past, present, and future, lie locked in the Person of Christ. To the proportion that the invisible Christ becomes visible to mankind by His glory, is to the exact proportion that all of mankind’s needs will be met and answered forever.
There is a time of judgment, discipline, chastisement, coming upon the church, call it what you will. The time is here in fact. The chastisement makes up a separation.
Revelation 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Greek: “His wife did make herself ready.”
Ready: To make the necessary preparations and get everything ready. Hath made herself ready, is in the Greek aorist active indicative tense, which tells us that it is the responsibility of the wife of Christ, out of her own will, to make all things ready.
This verse tells us that the Lamb has come and His wife made herself ready. Both of these events are in the past tense. They are accomplished events. It could either mean that Christ did come, and His wife, the church, as the result of His coming prepared herself fully. The other scenario is that Christ’s wife, the church, accomplished her preparation out of her will and obedience, and Christ out of His will came. I favor the second scenario in that it is the only one that in my spirit bears witness.
The wife will be unable to make herself ready until the full restitution of the apostolic office is welcomed and made active in the church of Jesus Christ. The apostolic office brings with it the revealed pattern or blueprint of the NT church, that the wife of Christ must build upon to make herself ready.
The apostle brings forth the blueprint for the NT church pattern out of the written word, and the prophet out from the rhema word. Together they lay they revealed foundation upon which the wife of Christ builds to make herself ready.
Eph 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
The judgment of God is that the days of building according to man-made doctrines such as seedtime and harvest, prosperity messages, are over.
God is requiring that the building of the church be done according to the heavenly pattern.
Those that persist in building by man-made doctrines will be eventually left behind.
The NT church’s success in growth and building depends upon what the apostle Paul terms as “fitly joined together” and “compacted, or knit together.”
“Fitly joined together”
Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined
together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
To build the church by being fitly joined together is to fit the church properly together through the giftings, ministries and callings of each member.
If there are to be pew sitters in the NT church it is simply because they are there during a time of preparation .
A local body, as the completion of Christ’s body on earth, will never be fitly joined, or properly fitted together, as long as part of the congregation is not manifesting the glory of Christ needed to complete His body and properly fit the church through their giftings and ministries.
The glory of God manifested through the spiritual giftings within a local body, properly fits and completes the church, making the church into perfect Man who is Christ Himself.
Eph 4: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto ( INTO) a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Upon becoming the revealed Man, Christ, in His glory, a local fellowship can then fill the earth with the glory of God.
Do you remember our teachers using the example of an apple pie cut into eight pieces? This would help us comprehend fractions. Every piece of the sliced pie would now become 1/8 of the pie. Four pieces would be equal ½; seven pieces would be 7/8; and the eight pieces together would make the whole of the pie.
I describe the fullness of the Lord and His manifested glory in just the same way. The church is the apple pie. If only one member of the church displays the fullness of the Lord, the assembly will manifest only 1/8 of his glory. If half of church’s members are holding to their responsibility to be filled with the Spirit, that local body will manifest 1/2 of God’s glory. Displaying the fullness of the Lord takes the active involvement of every member in a local body.
Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
The word “fitly framed together” pertains to, as a local assembly increases, and grows, as each parishioner within the local body supplies his or her part in accordance to the gifts and ministries.
This is what Paul means in verse sixteen when he employs the term “every joint supplieth.”
“According to the effectual working in the measure of every part”. Every parishioner has the responsibility to work within a congregation at his or her “PEAK LEVEL OF SPIRIT LED PERFORMANCE
Col 2: 19 And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.
Holding the Head: A local fellowship must seize Christ, the head for their growth. This Christ, is the revealed Christ, whom fellowships with His body out of His revealed presence of glory. (The fellowship of the mystery; Ephesians 3:8,9)
We get into problems when we seize the blessing, the miracle, the ministry, or the prosperity message. This is why our churches grow lopsided.
Christ, the head, is revealed, and His revelation is transferred to us, so that we can seize it. The revelation of the Christ in His glory, and His transference from a mystery form in the supernatural, into His revealed glory in the natural world, are both accomplished through the vehicle of the church by giftings, ministries and callings.
All the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered. Only through the joints and bands that make up each member’s gifts and ministries is this revelation furnished, and amply supplied, so that it can be seized.
Compacted, or knit together.”
Col 2:2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
Compacted or being knit together must be done through the knitting together of the members within the fellowship.
Knitting together means to keep in step one with another. Only when there is commitment, dependency, and a getting to know one other by spending time with one another, will love grow one for another, that will result in trust, transparency, and realness one with the other. Only when people are knit together, can they attain to the same focus of mind, which comes out of that one vision that they acquired as they spend time one with another.
Col 2:2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
That may be encouraged their hearts by being knit together in love. The result of this knitting together brings the body into the acquisition of all spiritual riches. These riches are the fruit of the full and confident understanding of the precise knowledge of the mystery comprising God, and the Father, and the Christ.
Only by being knit together and the resulting trust, love and transparency that follow within each member, can a fellowship show the mystery of God by glory into the world. This is the great mission of the church. The church is the most powerful human institution created by God to fill the universe with His glory.
Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
But speaking the truth in love “By truthing it or telling it like it is….”
The New Testament Church Must Be In One Accord
Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
“One accord”: The passion that a political party has as it strives to put one political candidate into office.
Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Acts 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
One accord: They were devoted to, focused upon, and holding fast to keeping identicalness, and level of passion, fervor, and ardor. Thus denotes the passion and unity of a political party as it strives together for its own candidate. Here in it is the Lord Jesus and the great purposes of the church.
Romans 15:5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
Now, the God of all endurance and encouragement give to you the same focus, content, and process of mind one with another, so that you seek and strive together for the vision that is in the very heart of Christ.
This is why the Lord stresses that the NT church must built out of committed believers
Committed believers who are in one accord will attain to the above process.
Only then will the body act as a body.
Romans 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This will result in the one thing coming out of your mouths that will truly glorify the Lord.
Phillip 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Fill up my joy by having the same focus, content and process of mind one with another, so that you may seek and strive together for that same vision and calling that is in the Lord’s heart.
The same quality and measure of divine and self-sacrificial love have one for another. Be joined in soul so that you can grow as one, in your mind, will, and emotions about the particular ministry.
The one thing that is in the center of God’s heart together focus, seek, and strive for.
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Let nothing be done through self-promotion, partisanship, or empty glory, but through a lowly attitude deeming and accounting each other as excelling.
Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
The same things one towards another constantly focuses upon, seek, and strive for to get the one vision for the ministry.
Not focused, seeking and striving for what is vainglorious, self-seeking or self-promoting, or independent of the body but rather submit, yield, and be carried away with what is lowly, and promotes a dependency on one another’s ministry.
Be not wise in yourselves.
Believers that are not knit together will never attain to the process described above. Schisms and divisions will inadvertently result from this, simply through a lack of information and understanding in the un-knit believer as to what the Lord is calling that fellowship to carry out.
1 Cor 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.(OPINION)
I exhort you to the one and same content of speech to come out of your mouth. (The content of words is the same because what is in the hearts is the same.)
That there would not be divisions. (From the Greek word that means to cause a schism)
“Perfectly joined” But rather that you would all be healed and delivered, so that you can discover and be equipped with all spiritual gifts that mold your ministries and place you in your callings.
As this process takes place all acquire the same mind internally, and vocalize the same opinion externally. The same mind and opinion results in the same content of speech coming out of their mouths. This one and same content being made up of the Lord’s calling and vision for that fellowship.
2 Cor 13:11 ¶ Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
Rejoice
“Be perfect “All of you be healed and delivered, and then raised up so as to discover and be equipped with all spiritual gifts that mold your ministries and then placed in your callings that will build up your fellowship, and manifest Christ’s glory.
“Good comfort” Be encouraged, the result of being healed, delivered and raised up in your ministries.
“One mind” This will allow you to have the same focus, content and process of mind, one with another, so that you may seek and strive together for that same vision and calling that is in the Lord’s heart.
As this oneness ensues you will live peaceably one with another.
Philipians 1:27 ¶ Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
That I might hear that you stand firm in the faith in one spirit; (Oneness in tune to what the Spirit of God is saying)
With one soul: (Oneness in thought, purpose, and in activity to promote the obedience to what the Spirit of God is saying.)
Striving together with the effort and agony exerted by athletes as the need to promote the faith of the good news, (How must this obedience be fulfilled.)
Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Let your divine and self-sacrificial love be always unfeigned and undisguised, but rather, transparent about what is really within your heart. In other words, “tell it like it is,” in love.
Have a horror for all that is evil, hurtful, and harmful.
Be constantly glued to the good.
Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
In brotherly love (Greek: Philadelphia) one towards another other showing the reciprocal affection between parents and their children (Greek: the affection of a stork)
Showing the family atmosphere of the NT church
By giving honor one to another; thus leading the way or displaying what is the proper way.
Jose and Mary Alvarez 