Is the Church Christ?

[Cntrysner]

Just what to say, my identity is Christ and He is not a bride and my citizenship is far above all heavens in Him and not of this earth.

Joh 18:36  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. 
Joh 18:37  Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Cntrysner

[Your closest friendnt]

15 minutes ago, Marilyn C said:

And VA, why is the Lord speaking to Israel about the Body of Christ when He doesn`t reveal that purpose till He ascends and reveal it to the Apostle Paul?

Jesus did not preach the Gospel to no one..he made strong suggestions about the things to come in the Messiah the Christ of God...

He told the Parishes and the teachers of the scriptures and his disciples everything that will happened to him and the glory the Father will bestowed upon him in bits and pieces...a little here and a little there...

He told them that the Lamb of God was not after the model of Issac...to be found helpless on the Altar and the last moment his life to be spare...and his blood won't be shed....and then the witness that someone else another man whom God will bring forth from Abraham...who God will provide to be sacrificed to shed the blood of the New Covenant--the Gospel of Jesus Christ...

(this is very important because that time they did not have sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins...no Holy of Holies ...no Ordained High Priest...no Law....no vessels...no mercy seat ....no Ark with the Comandments) 

The blood the sacrifice shed it was only shed to put in effect Covenants.

The only thing that can be in the mind of Abraham is that God was looking to establish a Covenant with him....

To Abraham was not strange what the Lord was asking him ....he had understood that very well....because he was not ignorant about how the other Nations made Covenants of fertility with their Gods by sacrificing to them their first born. 

Which had a special meaning that their Gods will bless them with a lot of children and more than that that the children to be born will be the children of their Goď...

That's how their Gods had children...in this way through the blood of the first born...

The Lamb of God must be the first born who will be sacrificed and shed his blood so God so the children to be born will be the children of God...God will have children in this way without having the need to have a wife...And that is what happened with Jesus Christ...with his shed the blood of the New Covenant with his death on the Cross.  

[Vine Abider]

6 hours ago, Marilyn C said:

So, to all - from God`s word, why does the Lord marry His wife, (again) and then a thousand years later marry another?

Marilyn - I'm curious, does this paper outline your thoughts?  https://rightwordtruth.com/when-will-the-marriage-of-the-lamb-take-place/

[Your closest friendnt]

7 hours ago, Cntrysner said:

Just what to say, my identity is Christ and He is not a bride and my citizenship is far above all heavens and not of this earth.

@Marilyn C. @Cntrysner. 

There is no need for Jesus to marry to have children and he does not need a wife to have children...

He never said that he is looking for a wife...and for what proposed?  

Jesus does have a wife...he never did and he is not looking for one...

Jesus died single and he was raised with children. Figure this one out...

[Marilyn C]

2 hours ago, Vine Abider said:

Marilyn - I'm curious, does this paper outline your thoughts?  https://rightwordtruth.com/when-will-the-marriage-of-the-lamb-take-place/

Hi VA,

Good find there. I agree with most of that good article. Just a small difference is that I believe from God`s word that Jesus connects, (marries) Israel after the tribulation. That is a time purpose. And then in the new heavens and new earth there is the eternal purpose with the great culmination of God`s purpose, the New Jerusalem, the interconnecting of the spiritual and the physical realms.  

The Lord Jesus Christ and His Body, (the bridegroom purpose) Ruling from the highest.

The New Jerusalem with the Old Testament saints and others. (as a bride) ruling righteously over the earth.

Israel & the nations on earth receiving the blessings of God`s righteous rulership. Those invited to the marriage. 

[Your closest friendnt]

Paul Judge the Jews who were saying that they are the children of Abraham...and they did not to believe in Jesus Christ...that they were the people of God because they were the children of Abraham and they were in good standing in the Law...

The were the children of Abraham there is not question about that...and they were heirs together with Abraham of the blessings of Abraham but only as long as the Sinai Covenant was still in effect...After that they were continue to be the children of Abraham but they were not in the blessing of Abraham because Abraham was in the blessing of Jesus Christ..  

Jesus the first born and Abraham the second born and then everyone from his Bossom who followed Araham. 

The body of Jesus Christ it consists of everyone who believes in him...

The body of Jesus are the children of the Heavenly Father...

They are all the people who are in the eternal Life...those who believe are his body but if they die for some reason without the faith they are not....this is telling us that the living believers are in the body of Jesus Christ as long as they believe...they can believe again if for some reason they stopped believing...no one is forbitten to believe again...so we have people who one time they were in the body of Jesus Christ and then they are not because they seek to have forgiveness of sins through the blood of the animals as it is in the Law offered by the Priesthood...or for some reason stopped believing.

And then later they come to realize their error and they believed again and they are part of the body of Jesus Christ again. 

Paul had a lot of Jews who were born and raised in the Sinai Covenant and who believe in the Gospel when it was preached to them...and because of the problems they encountered living in the Jewish culture which observed the Jewish Calendar and customs and Celebrations and coming for an extended family and even though they believed their wife and the in-laws and their own family supposed they did not believe...and then their wife have birth...what a big problem...what a big problem...

Imaging living in that society when everything needed the services of the Priesthood...

So many went back to be with their families because their families did not follow up to believe in Jesus.   

But there were many who went back to faith and a lot of them were secret believers...

So the body of Jesus Christ has secret believers and unbaptized believers and non genuine believers...and many who came out of Idolatry and were very confused about many things....AMEN!

Edited February 3, 2023 by Your closest friendnt

[Your closest friendnt]

In Abraham we have Abraham as the head and everyone else who was in him as his body....the Father Abraham...the Patriarch of the family of God at first in the Covenant of the Circumcision and then at a later time in the Sinai Covenant....

Till God started a New family in Jesus Christ...Jesus Christ as the head of the New Family in the New Covenant..

Paul was telling the believers that God has only one family in Jesus Christ who is the head of the Family of God.

And everyone who believes in him is his body is in him...

The first people to be part of his body were Abraham and John the Baptist and everyone else who was gathered to Abraham after his death....the next people to joint them of course everyone who believed in him when the Gospel was preached to them after it was preached to Abraham..to the rest of the world....

Of course the Gospel had to be preached after the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross....

This is how first the Gospel was established that it required only to believe in Jesus Christ and be Saved...

Because Jesus preached the Gospel for three days to those who were without their bodies because that's how Jesus found them because they had died before him and just like him they were all without their bodies....and it was impossible for them to do anything or to be asked to do any work besides asking them to believe...can you asked them to feed the poor?

Who were the first people to be included in the body of Jesus Christ? 

The first ones to whom Jesus Christ went to see after his death...Those who were waiting for them...Abraham knew of this Day and he rejoice...

The next ones are those who believed in him those three days when Jesus Christ pteach the Gospel to them...when they heard the Gospel and they believed...they had till the time Jesus was raised from the dead to believe. 

This is what Jesus said that the dead will hear his voice and believe before the living.

While all the disciples were yet in unbelief, the dead had believed.

No one of them pray for Jesus to be raised from the dead because they did not believe that he was the Messiah because Jesus did not gave them what they were asking him for; The Earthly Kingdom...Jewish beliefs....only were looking for the earthly Kingdom..Pity!! 

The point is that anyone who does not believe in Jesus Christ he is not part of the body of Jesus Christ...Father Abraham and those gathered in to his Bossom were the first ones and then every one else... 

Edited February 3, 2023 by Your closest friendnt

[George]

@Rosie1jack2pauline3 According to GotQuestions ... their content has all rights reserved.  I'm not sure if you can copy and paste their content.

[farouk]

On 2/1/2023 at 3:33 PM, Rosie1jack2pauline3 said:

Excellent !..a Big ANEN!!!...to this!!...There is no relationship like it!!!..🙏💗

@Rosie1jack2pauline3 Ephesians seems to represent a high mark in describing Christ's relationship with the church........

[1to3]

3 hours ago, George said:

I'm not sure

Hi @George

I would like to ask your counsel on the following matter as I am getting more and more confused by the answers given by some in this thread.

Am I wrong in thinking this:  Are we the saints in Christ also called  the bride of Christ?

I always though this, if I am wrong please show mew where, because I don't want to spread something false especially as I see this as being very important

I see us SAINTS from scripture as the bride of Christ.

I see Israel as ALL who have come to Christ Jesus  Jew and Greek=Gentiles.

Jesus gave a very important  Parable /story of the virgin/ bride and keeping their oil lamps full. Matthew 25:1-13 NKJV

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meetthe bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

Meaning keeping the -oil lamps-  the Holy Spirit active in your life in your temple.

Those are the TRUE virgins of Christ Jesus , they kept their oil lamps full and were ready to meet their groom=Christ Jesus.

These TRUE Virgins are the bride of Christ

Edited February 3, 2023 by 1to3
Changing :@George