31 October 2007
Rhema Inspiration
Who are the People of God?
“Until we know who the
people of God are according to the Bible, we cannot
fully function as Christ Jesus, our Head and Builder,
intends.”
Who are the people of God? This
seems to be a question that many professing Christians
are stumbling over. Why is this so? We can gain some
insight by understanding how and why most Jews failed
to recognize and accept Jesus as the Christ while He
was on earth. I sincerely ask you not to read any
theories or any group’s theories into what I am
saying, but, rather, search the Scriptures and read the
Bible into you.
Many of the Jews who knew about
Jesus while He was on earth did not accept Him as the
Christ, the Messiah, because they had preconceived
notions and traditions of men that dictated Who their
Messiah would be and what He would come to accomplish.
They clung to these rather than seeking God in prayer
and studying the Scriptures. Jesus was a stumbling
stone to these Jews! Most of them missed, stumbled
over, who they were looking for because they had
accepted teachings that were not in line with truth.
They had received into their hearts and minds teachings
that were in error. They did not have a lifestyle of
continuing in the Word until they knew truth. If they
did study Scripture, they studied it in light of their
preconceived mindsets, mindsets that had been allowed
to develop because of their lack of true personal study
to learn truth, which opened them to listening to
teaching that was in error. Rather than studying to
receive truth from the Word of God (reading the Bible
into them), they read their preconceived mindsets into
the Word of God. The leaven in their minds was
transferred into their interpretations of Scripture.
For the most part, they missed recognizing Jesus as the
Christ, the promised Messiah.
When someone with preconceived
notions sits down and opens his Bible to read, he does
not do it with an open mind and heart ready to be
taught by the Spirit and the Word. His intention is to
prove the correctness of what he believes in order to
convince others.
Most Christians of our day,
including ministers, are doing exactly the same thing
that the Jews and their leaders did in the days when
Jesus was on earth. Ministers are preaching their
preconceived notions, and Christians are not continuing
in the Word until they know truth. They are, therefore,
missing the truth of God in many vital areas; they are
stumbling over truth that is on the pages of the Bible
right in front of them. They are stumbling over the
answer to the question posed above: Who are the people of God?
Until we know who the people of
God are according to the Bible, we cannot fully
function as Christ Jesus, our Head and Builder,
intends. I am encouraging you to become a student of
the Word of God who continues in the Word until you
know truth. In reference to this particular question, I
ask you to study 1 Peter 2:1-12 under the direction of the Holy
Spirit and free from preconceived mindsets. Pray for
the spirit of wisdom and revelation. Study and meditate
upon these words until they wash your mind and heart
with truth and are burned within you.
_____________________________
BIBLICAL APPLICATION:
And he is, to them, 'a stone
of stumbling and a rock of offence.' Yes, they
stumble at the Word of God for in their hearts they are
unwilling to obey it — which makes stumbling a
foregone conclusion. But you are God's
"chosen generation," his "royal
priesthood," his "holy nation,"
his "peculiar people" — all the
old titles of God's people now belong to you. It
is for you now to demonstrate the goodness of him who
has called you out of darkness into his amazing
light. In the past you were not "a people" at
all: now you are the people of God. In the past you had
no experience of his mercy, but now it is intimately
yours. 1 Peter 2:8-10
J B Phillips
Pastor Wayne Wilson
New Covenant Church of Jesus
Christ
3147 Klondike Road, SW, Conyers,
GA 30094 USA
770-760-1101
Sharing these messages with others
is encouraged and permission is granted for
non-commercial (free) distribution provided this
notice appears.
© 2007 New Covenant Church of
Jesus Christ, Conyers, GA USA
www.JesusAndHisWord.org
