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Preceding
Étiquette : unity between Jehovah God and His son Jesus Christ
Baptised offering unity to the unbaptised
After some members were baptised, they left the unbaptised with questions. Those who have undergone baptism can now count themselves among Christ’s brethren. For them, Jesus has given assurance that they may look forward to a life without end if they continue to seek the truth and constantly absorb knowledge.
« Now this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Him whom Thou hast sent, Jesus Christ. » (John 17:3).
Jesus made God’s Name public to those whom Jehovah gave him. Here in our ecclesia, too, we find those who were allowed to hear the Word of God and took it for true. They have taken Jesus’ words for true, recognising him as the representative of That One True God, Jehovah the Most High.
« 7 Now they know that all that You have given me is from You. 8 For I brought to them the words which Thou hast given me; they accepted them, acknowledging truthfully that I came forth from Thee, and believing that Thou hast sent me. » (John 17:7-8)
Through baptism, the new members have dedicated themselves to God and are those for whom Jesus now also prays and also hands them over to his father.
« 9 I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given me, because they are thine. 10 All mine are thine, and thine are mine; I am glorified in them. » (John 17:9-10)
Left behind in the world, the baptised like the other brothers and sisters in Christ need His help in addition to God’s blessing. Jesus also expects them to be one as he and his heavenly Father are one.
« Henceforth I am no longer in the world; but they remain in the world, while I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me; that they may be one, as we are. » (John 17:11)
« I and the Father are one. » (John 10:30)
Now there are the covenants in the ecclesia who are one. But there is also the hope that those who have not yet taken the steps to be baptised, by full immersion in the purifying water, that these may be drawn by the faith and communion of the brothers and sisters present in Christ. They too, need the blessing of God and for them the baptised pray that they too will be allowed to be « sanctified » or set apart.
« For God has not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness. » (1 Thessalonians 4:7)
« By virtue of that will, we have been sanctified once and for all through the Sacrifice of the Body of Jesus Christ. » (Hebrews 10:10)
To this end, we remember Jesus words:
« 20 I pray not for them alone, but also for all who believe in me through their word. 21 May they all be one, as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee; may they also be one in Us, that the world may have faith that Thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou hast given me, I also have given to them, that they may be one, even as We are one: 23 I in them, and Thou in me.
May they possess perfect unity, that the world may recognise that thou hast sent me, and that thou hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.24 Father, I desire that they whom thou hast given me may be with me, where I myself am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me, because thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 Just Father, though the world has not known thee, yet I have known thee; and they have recognised that thou hast sent me. 26 I have made Your name known to them, and will continue to do so, that the love with which You have loved me may be in them, and I in them. » (John 17:20-26)
Now there are the baptised to further make Jesus known, and to show those who still belong to the world, the true path by which they will come to follow Jesus, so that those who present the wrong path will be exposed so that the truly interested will not be led to death.
« Sometimes one keeps a way for the straight, Which finally ends in death. » (Proverbs 16:25)
« Jesus spake unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. » (John 14:6)
It is now up to the baptised to show their relatives and friends the right door, so that God’s blessing may come upon them too and they will know how to find a safe haven.
« I am the door: if anyone enters by me, he shall be safe, going in and out, and shall find pasture. » (John 10:9)
« Through him we have gained access by faith to this grace, in which we have become firmly established; through him also we glory in the hope of the glory of God. » (Romans 5:2)
« For by him we both have access to the Father in one Spirit. » (Ephesians 2:18)
» – a new and living way, which he has made for us through the veil, that of his flesh, » (Hebrews 10:20)
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Previous
- Prayer for our gathering to save something greater than ourselves
- God’s Words for the pilgrimage #2 Words of God for life
- A pilgrimage not exactly without hurdles or obstacles #3 Availability, encounters and exposure to change
- Faithful to God are baptised
- Feeling at home in a church or not
- What it means to belong to a family
- What does it mean to belong to a church congregation
- Participants uniting into one body
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Find also to read
- Be Honest
- When believing in God’s existence and His son, possessing a divine legislation
- Concerning Christ #2 Divine source, connection and divine human being
- Concerning the saying: I and the Father are one
- Faith coming by hearing and sent preacher gift from God
- Authority given to him To give eternal life
- Atonement And Fellowship 4/8
- Atonement And Fellowship 6/8
- Atonement And Fellowship 7/8
- How to Go Forward without Fear
- Religion and the essence of devotion
- Outflow of foundational relationship based on acceptance of Jesus
- A participation in the body of Christ
- One Mind, One Accord
- a Strong Family doesn’t just happen
- A participation in the body of Christ
- Preparation for unity
- Maintaining unity of Spirit in the bond of peace becoming one with God
- Manifests for believers #5 Christian Union
- Commitment to Christian unity
- Observance of the Lord’s Evening Meal
- Disciple of Christ counting lives and friends dear to them
- To whom do we want to be enslaved
- Being one in Jesus, Jesus in us and God in Jesus
- 1st thought for today “The world may be wicked” (January 16)
- Today’s thought “It is shameful for a woman to …” (March 1)
- Today’s thought “Gather into one the children of God” (April 18)
- Today’s thought “… and learn from me” (July 10)
- Today’s Thought (August 31): In your thinking be mature
- Today’s thought “Speaking the truth in love” (October 6)
- Concerning the Spiritual Body
- One of the most important Truths
- New Covenant Possesses
- Quibbling siblings united or allied children of an organisation or a church
- Let us become nothing, and Christ everything
- Importance of Tikkun olam
- United people under Christ
- Commitment to Christian unity
- En Soma: One Body
- Unity
- Unity doesn’t mean uniformity
- Jewish and Gentile Disciples
- Difficulty in getting new young members
- Ecclesia – Church – Minding your reference
- The Ecclesia
- Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other
Participants bonded together into one body
In the ecclesiae of Christadelphians, members meet regularly to pray with each other and share bread and wine together.
There is also an annual high day commemorating Jesus’ last supper. This year, that commemoration celebration will take place on Monday 22 April. That evening, 14 Nisan is commemorated in recognition of God’s acceptance of Jesus’ ransom offering, offering Himself as a Lamb before God and instituting the Last Supper as an event to be repeated regularly.
At the service of remembrance Jesus Christ initiated at the “last supper” on Nisan 14 he broke bread and asked his disciples to do that likewise in the future. Jesus commands us to do this (eat bread and drink wine) in remembrance of him, until he comes. For followers of Christ, it is an important message and an act of connection with the master teacher.
As Paul expounds later, doing this is a participation (communion, fellowship, partnership) in the body and blood of the lord. He also emphasises that this is a communal act, and the participants are bonded together into one body. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)
“16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not [the] communion of the blood of the Christ? The bread which we break, is it not [the] communion of the body of the Christ? 17 Because we, [being] many, are one loaf, one body; for we all partake of that one loaf.” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17 Darby)
As brothers and sisters, we want to go through life united and testify for the Nazarene teacher who declared himself willing to stand up for us and even die for us.
Before Jesus was betrayed, he had prayed that there could be unity among his followers. He said:
“20 And I do not demand for these only, but also for those who believe on me through their word; 21 that they may be all 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. 22 And the glory which thou hast given me I have given them, that they may be one, as we are one; 23 I in them and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one [and] that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and [that] thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:20-23 Darby)
Note in which directions this unity extends. There is unity between Jehovah God and His son Jesus Christ. Likewise, there is unity between Jesus and his followers. These followers should be one with Jesus and His heavenly Father as Jesus is one with His heavenly Father. Some wrongly see Jesus’ unity with God as a reason to assume that Jesus would then be God. They then forget the text that people should also be one with Jesus and with God as Jesus is one with his heavenly Father. Their way of thinking would then mean that people are also God and would even be God. (So that mindset is more likely to invalidate their Trinitarian thinking.)
We must even recognise that Jesus expects that « All » his followers should be one, not only those who lived then, but that it also concerns those who, by their word — that is, by the word of his disciples — in him would put faith, so that this unity extends into the future and includes all true Christians living today.
At the same time, that unity reaches into heaven to enclose Jesus Christ and Jehovah God, so that his followers could be — as Jesus put it — „in us be one”. And that being one is what will now be commemorated and highlighted next Monday on Nisan 14.
This memory is not merely a ritual, it is something to think about, and it is a time for self-reflection. It is a look back at what Jesus received from his heavenly Father, Jehovah God. But also what Jesus did with those received gifts, such as performing miracles. In addition, it is also a special commemoration of the Lord’s Supper, when Jesus and his apostles were together around the table and saw Jesus break bread and say a blessing over it. Then Jesus indicated that he would hand over his body and that blood would flow. But from then onwards, his blood would be a sign of a New Covenant between God and people.
We cannot imagine a stronger and closer unity than that which exists between Jehovah God and his son, Christ Jesus.
“23 For *I* received from the Lord, that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, in the night in which he was delivered up, took bread, 24 and having given thanks broke [it], and said, This is my body, which [is] for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 In like manner also the cup, after having supped, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do, as often as ye shall drink [it], in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye shall eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye announce the death of the Lord, until he come. 27 So that whosoever shall eat the bread, or drink the cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty in respect of the body and of the blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man prove himself, and thus eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. 29 For [the] eater and drinker eats and drinks judgment to himself, not distinguishing the body. 30 On this account many among you [are] weak and infirm, and a good many are fallen asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves, so were we not judged.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-31 Darby)
Jesus asked whether his disciples could be included in the closest family association of God, a privileged sonship. The apostles should have seen „the glory as of a Only Begotten of the Father”.
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we have contemplated his glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a father), full of grace and truth;” (John 1:14 Darby)
They learned how to be one with each other and with Christ. They also proclaimed that their followers should take care to be one. So they had to
„preserve the unity of the mind in the unifying bond of the peace”
and had to be aware that there is one body and one spirit, as those who call themselves followers of Christ were called
« in one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, by all and in all.
Given the many things they jointly possessed, what a closely connected and contiguous body its followers must have become!
The apostle Paul compares the community of followers of Christ to a human body. That body has several limbs, but they still belong to that one body.
Our religious community also consists of many people from different nations. Each ecclesia in turn, has many members, and all its members belong to the same body of that religious community. That body of Brothers and sisters in Christ, however many, form one body. Together they are connected to and in Christ, baptised with one Spirit soaked, absorbed into that one body.
This coming weekend and Monday to Tuesday, we remember, that through Christ and through one Spirit, we have all become one body in the name of Christ.
These special days we are thinking in particular that there should be no division in the body, but that we, as brothers and sisters, as the members of that one body, care for each other equally.
“12 For even as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also [is] the Christ. 13 For also in [the power of] one Spirit *we* have all been baptised into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bondmen or free, and have all been given to drink of one Spirit. 14 For also the body is not one member but many. 15 If the foot say, Because I am not a hand I am not of the body, is it on account of this not indeed of the body? 16 And if the ear say, Because I am not an eye I am not of the body, is it on account of this not indeed of the body? 17 If the whole body [were] an eye, where the hearing? if all hearing, where the smelling? 18 But now God has set the members, each one of them in the body, according as it has pleased [him]. 19 But if all were one member, where the body? 20 But now the members [are] many, and the body one. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, I have not need of thee; or again, the head to the feet, I have not need of you. 22 But much rather, the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23 and those [parts] of the body which we esteem to be the more void of honour, these we clothe with more abundant honour; and our uncomely [parts] have more abundant comeliness; 24 but our comely [parts] have not need. But God has tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to [the part] that lacked; 25 that there might be no division in the body, but that the members might have the same concern one for another.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-25 Darby)
Let us not lose sight of that message, of that last meeting of Jesus and his apostles around the table in the upper room in Jerusalem, and grow in love for each other with the truth, under the watchful eye of one shepherd, Christ Jesus our lord, so that we will not be ashamed when we have to appear before his judgment seat.
As brothers and sisters of each other, we listen to Jesus’ voice as we unite as one flock with one shepherd.
“15 but, holding the truth in love, we may grow up to him in all things, who is the head, the Christ: 16 from whom the whole body, fitted together, and connected by every joint of supply, according to [the] working in [its] measure of each one part, works for itself the increase of the body to its self-building up in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16 Darby)
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep:” (John 10:11 Darby)
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Preceding
- The Gathering and Meeting for God
- Faithful to God are baptised
- God’s Words for the Pilgrimage #2 Words of God for life
- Questions to be posed by a baptism
- Brothers and sisters as one family
- The intentions of our Brussels ecclesia
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Find also to read
- Feast days in Belgium and these in our Belgian ecclesia
- 10 Nisan An entrance for a king
- Entrance of a king to question our position #2 Who do we want to see and to be
- Most important day in Christian year
- “Let My People Go, that they may serve me!”: The Passover & The Exodus.
- Today’s Thought (August 19): “Watch and pray”
- The son of David and the first day of the feast of unleavened bread
- The Anointed One and the first day of No Fermentation
- Day of remembrance coming near
- 14 Nisan a day to remember #1 Inception
- 14 Nisan a day to remember #2 Time of Jesus
- 14 Nisan a day to remember #3 Before the Passover-feast
- 14 Nisan a day to remember #4 A Lamb slain
- 14 Nisan a day to remember #5 The Day to celebrate
- Matthew 26 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The Last days of Jesus Christ #1 Matthew 26:1-2 – Two Days Before Execution
- Matthew 26 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The Last days of Jesus Christ #5 Matthew 26:17-19 – Passover Preparations
- Matthew 26 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The Last days of Jesus Christ #7 Matthew 26:26-30 – Keep Doing This in My Memory
- On the first day for matzah
- Most important weekend of the year 2016
- Preparing for 14 Nisan
- Preparing for the most important weekend of the year 2018
- The Most important weekend of the year 2018
- Soon it shall be Erev Pesach and Passover 2019
- Another year of 14 Nisan with restricted access
- Celebrating the evening of 15 April 2022 as a festival to Jehovah God
- Preparation for Passover
- Days of Nisan, Pesach, Pasach, Pascha and Easter
- Observance of a day to Remember
- Observance of the Lord’s Evening Meal
- Coming together for a meal to remember a special lamb
- Passover 7 days of meditation opening a way to conversion
- The Last Supper was a Passover meal
- Bread and Wine
- How should we worship God? #7 The Breaking of Bread
- A new exodus and offering of a Lamb
- New Covenant Possesses
- Jesus the suffering man who called to God
- Imprisonment and execution of Jesus Christ
- Lost senses or a clear focus on the one at the stake
- Death of Christ on the day of preparation
- Ransom
- Ransom for all
- After the Sabbath after Passover, the resurrection of Jesus Christ
- When Belonging to the escaped ones gathering in Jesus name
- Those who Jesus can call friends
- Be Honest
- A Living Faith #12 The Love for Jesus
- Being one in Jesus, Jesus in us and God in Jesus
- Bible Students and House Churches
- Fellowship over meals
- En Soma: One Body
- Unity
- To whom do we want to be enslaved
- a Strong Family doesn’t just happen
- United people under Christ
- Commitment to Christian unity
- Atonement And Fellowship 4/8
- Atonement And Fellowship 6/8
- The Ecclesia
- #Peace . . . Praying together
Kanisa la Christadelphian huko Anderlecht 