This week's question is "Do You Delight In the Bride of Jesus Christ?"
From The Gospel Primer - 12. My Inheritance in the Saints
The gospel is not just a message of reconciliation with God, but it also heralds the reconciliation of all believers to one another in Christ. Through the death of Christ, God has brought peace where there was once hostility, and He has broken down the racial, economic, and social barriers that once divided us outside of Christ (Ephesians 2:14-16; Colossians 3:11; 3:28; Revelation 5:9)
Also, when God saved us, He made us members of His household, (Ephesians 2:19) and He gave us as gifts to one another (Ephesians 1:8). Each brother and sister is a portion of my gospel inheritance from God, and I am a portion of their inheritance as well. We are significant players in each other’s gospel narrative, and it is in relationship with one another that we experience the fullness of God in Christ (Ephesians 3:17-19; 2 Timothy 2:22; 1 Peter 4:10; Ephesians 1:22, 23).
Hence, the more I comprehend the full scope of the gospel, the more I value the church for which Christ died (Ephesians 5:25), the more I value the role that I play in the lives of my fellow Christians, and the more I appreciate the role that they must be allowed to play in mine.
“One of the best tests of whether we belong to Christ is whether we delight in His delight, namely, the people who comprise His church.”
“Saints aren’t just the exceptionally devoted believers now in heaven, they are also the people who believe and live the Word of God in their workaday world on Earth.”
“Delighting in ‘the saints in the land’ means finding irresistible joy in the presence and the ministry of Christ’s people, both in their congregational form and as individuals.”
“Here are two of many possible suggestions for expressing this delight.”
- “Grow to see the bride of Christ and her work more as Jesus does.”
- ”Demonstrate your delight in the bride of Christ in ways that will make a real difference.”
