LESSON 19
The Bride of Christ
Part 2
Jesus died so that in
the fullness of time He might join himself to His church and the two shall
become one. Lest you misunderstand, when
God joins Himself to man, He does not relinquish His authority. Just like when a man and woman get married
and become one flesh, the man doesn't lose his authority. When Christ joins Himself to the Church, He
is still the head and we are still the body.
We are not talking about becoming gods.
You will be eternally joined to God where God retains His
authority. God chose to join us together
with Himself.
2 Pet. 1:2-4 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you
through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath
given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through
the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given
unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers
of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the
world through lust.
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You are not called just
to walk with God, but to also partake of the divine nature.
Col. 1:24-27 Who
now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the
afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:
Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is
given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; [Even] the mystery which hath been hid from
ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what [is]
the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in
you, the hope of glory.
We are not just getting
saved. We are being united with Christ
for eternity. No one can separate you
from God. You are joined together with Him.
We have become of one spirit, one flesh and one life.
Change the way you view
yourself. You are joined with
Christ.
Col. 2:8-10 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain
deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not
after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in
him, which is the head of all principality and power.
He is the Head and we
are the body. All that God is and all
that God has dwells in bodily form in Christ Jesus. We are filled with the complete fullness of
the Godhead, not a portion, but the very power and nature of all that God is
and all that God has. God’s purpose was
to join Himself together with His church, with His people for all eternity. It’s why Jesus died. God and man are to be eternally joined
together.
We have been born into
the family of God. It’s not just a nice
saying. It is a literal thing. We have been joined with Christ.
God will function, God
will exist, God will manifest Himself through His church from now on. You have been destined to be joined with God,
to walk with God, to be infused with the power and presence of God, and for God
Himself, to join Himself together with you.
Christ never loses His
authority in this joining. But He
manifests His authority through His church.
2Cor. 4:7 (amp) However,
we posses this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail,
human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power
may be shown to be of God and not from ourselves.
Inside of us Christ is
revealing Himself. He is going to bring
us all together.
We will see the visible
manifestation of God’s glory, all that God is and all that God has, through you
and me before Jesus returns. God is
going to make Himself known through the church, His body. We are His body.
John 17:20-24 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them
also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as
thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that
the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
And the glory which thou gavest me I
have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be
made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent
me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also,
whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory,
which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before
the foundation of the world.
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God is not next to us or
around us. He is in us. All that God is and all that God has, is in us. God's
glory is going to fill His temple.
There's no limit to the power of God that can be manifested in and
through your body. We are complete in
Him. When we go out, we are going out
with the complete demonstration and manifestation of the power of the God who
dwells on the inside of us. The world
will see the unrefutable, undeniable manifestation of
all that God is and all that God has, through the Church.
Let the persecutions
come. Let the world assault us. These light and momentary afflictions are
nothing compared to the glory that's about to be revealed in us.
2 Cor.
4:6-10 (amp.) For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has
shone in our hearts so as [to beam forth] the Light for the illumination of the
knowledge of the majesty and glory of God [as it is manifest in the Person and
is revealed] in the face of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. However, we possess this precious
treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the
power may be shown to be of God and not from ourselves. We are hedged in (pressed) on every side -
troubled ad oppressed in every way; but not cramped or crushed; we suffer
embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven
to despair. We are (persecuted and hard
driven,) pursued, but not deserted - to stand alone; we are struck down to the
ground, but never struck out and destroyed; always carrying about in the body
the liability and exposure to the same putting to death that the Lord Jesus
suffered, so that the [resurrection-] life of Jesus also may be shown
forth by and in our bodies.
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The same life that
walked on the earth 2,000 years ago, that cast out devils,
that raised the dead, that performed miracles is made manifest in our
bodies. The hotter the circumstance
gets, the more you are dying. The more that the devil comes after you, the more of Jesus that is
going to come out.
Jesus is coming TO
His body before He is coming FOR His body.
It's Christ in you, the
hope of glory. All that God is and all
that God has dwells in you. The two
shall become one flesh. God's purpose for
creating man is so He may have another to join Himself together with for all
eternity. He wants to live His life
through us. We have to get out of the
way and let Him out. You are the
tabernacle of God. God is going to fill
His temple once again with His manifested glory.
In Review:
1. Who
did God choose to manifest Himself through? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What
or whom is on the inside of you?
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3. Why
did Jesus die?
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4. How
much of God’s power can be manifested in and through His Body?
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5. What
is God’s purpose for creating man?
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6. What
is God filling His temple (you) with?
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