The Lord is continuing to show us how to live the Kingdom life wherever we are. Yesterday the Lord spoke to us about three principles of the incarnation that apply to the Church. This is what He revealed to us:
- Jesus is the incarnation of God - the embodiment of the essence of God. Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3
- Jesus took on the form of man to communicate God to mankind. Phil. 2:6-8; Heb. 2:17
- Christ's purpose was to lead people into "the way of peace." Luke 1:79
- The incarnation involves three principles: essence, form and purpose.
- The apostle Paul lived an incarnate life as he carried the Truth (essence), and became all things to all men (form) so as to lead people into "the God-saved life" The Message (purpose). 1 Cor. 9:19-23
- The Church is called to be uncompromising in essence and flexible in form so as to lead people into the way of peace.
- A religious people are inflexible in form and create a barrier between the believer and the world.
- The Church is called to communicate the Truth (essence) in whatever way (form) so as to reach the lost and the needy with God's love (purpose).
- Looking at Gary Chapman's "Five love languages" we saw how people communicate love (essence) in different ways (form) in order to impart love to others (purpose).
The Church is called to be uncompromising in essence and flexible in form so as to reach people with the Father's love.
Quote of the week
"Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life." 1 Cor. 9:19-22, The Message
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