Singing Praises in the Kingdom of God #1
In His closing exhortation to the Hebrews, the writer urged, “Through him let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, continually, that is, the fruit of our lips which make confession to his name” (Heb. 13:15). There are at least three different ways by which we may offer a sacrifice of praise to […]
Eating Bread in the Kingdom of God #2
In the night He was betrayed, Jesus gave a memorial supper of Himself by which all present and future disciples would remember His sacrifice of love for them. He said, “I shall not eat of it until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Lk. 22:16); “I shall not drink henceforth of the fruit […]
Eating Bread in the Kingdom of God #1
The night Jesus was betrayed, He met with His apostles and together with them ate the Passover. During the supper, He took a cup and said, “I shall not drink from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come” (Lk. 22:18). These words served to heighten the apostles’ expectation that the […]
“He Gave Gifts to Men …” #2
When Jesus ascended on high, “he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men … and he gave some to be apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers…” (Eph. 4:8, 11). These gifts were for the “perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of […]
“He Gave Gifts to Men …” #1
Paul wrote, “Whereby he saith, when he ascended on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. (Now this, He ascended what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all the heavens, that he might […]
Entering the Kingdom of God
When Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, convinced that He was “a teacher come from God,” he was astonished to hear Jesus say, “Verily, verily I say unto you, except a man be born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3). Nicodemus was not amazed to hear Jesus mention the kingdom — he […]
A Church That Is Just a Church
Maybe you’ve noticed that a lot of churches today are involved in all kinds of business and social ventures, and very little in teaching the word of God. Some are quite proud of the fact that they place little emphasis on doctrinal matters. Our emphasis is spiritual — not material or social. For that reason, […]
The Church: Elders, Overseers, and Shepherds
It has been shown that in the first century a local church, made up sometimes of hundreds of members, functioned as a single unit ruled over by a group of men called “elders.” It was affirmed that the church in that local capacity, under the rule of its elders, was the sole functioning unit of […]
The Church: The Autonomy of the Church
The word “autonomy” is not found in the New Testament, yet the word frequently is heard in pulpits, classrooms, and religious publications. Just what is meant by “autonomy” and is there scriptural justification to speak or write of “the autonomy of the church”? The word “autonomy” means “self-rule” or “independent.” It has been shown that […]
The Church: The Mind of God
When God spoke to Moses at the burning bush and Moses turned aside to see a bush on fire (but not consumed), God said, “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground” (Exo. 3:5). Moses was commanded by God to treat this […]