SOME THINGS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER - 5
The Body (Church) Of Christ Is The Saved. Reasons Why Christians Study God’s Word. Greatness. Just Say No! Open Mindedness.
THE BODY (CHURCH) OF CHRIST IS THE SAVED
“23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing” (Ephesians 5:23-24, KJV).
Loved ones, Paul clearly states that the husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the Head of the church. Additionally, Christ is the Saviour of His ONE body, the church (Ephesians 4:4; Colossians 1:18).
The Son of man came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). The angel of the Lord said Jesus “shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). After hearing Him for only two days, the Samaritans believed and knew that Jesus was “indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world” (John 4:42).
In Christ Jesus
The Holy Spirit plainly teaches that salvation is found in Christ (2 Timothy 2:10). Those in Christ are the saved. The saved are those in Christ. The Apostle John said, “God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” (1 John 5:11).
Concerning Jesus, the Apostle Peter said, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Concerning Jesus, the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians chapter One:
v. 3. All spiritual blessings are in Him.
v. 4. We are the chosen in Him.
v. 5. We are predestinated unto the adoption of children in Him.
v. 6. We are made accepted in Him.
v. 7. We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in Him.
v. 11. We have obtained an inheritance in Him.
v. 13. We are sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise in Him.
Salvation Is In The ONE Body Of Christ
Above we have pointed out that the body is the church and the church is the body (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:24). To be in Christ is to be in His body (1 Corinthians 12:27). Salvation is in Christ and one is baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:27; Romans 6:3-4). Since the ONE baptism (Ephesians 4:5) puts one into the ONE body (Ephesians 4:4; 1 Corinthians 12:13), then one must be in the one body to be saved (Romans 6:3-4).
Again, to be in the body is to be in the church. That's where all Christians are. Those who gladly accepted the first Gospel sermon were baptized, and they were added to the church (Acts 2:38-47). Everyday many believers are still being added to the Lord, or to the church (Acts 5:14; 11:24). Are you ready to be added?
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REASONS WHY CHRISTIANS STUDY GOD’S WORD
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV).
Loved ones, it would be impossible to overstate the importance of understanding the Scriptures through Bible study. The eternal destiny of our souls will be determined by how well we know and obey God's word (John 12:48). Therefore, we must not be careless or haphazard in our study. Below are 10 of the many reasons found in the Bible which teach us the importance of studying the word of God.
We study the Bible:
1. To know God (1 John 2:3).
2. To receive the word (James 1:21).
3. To keep away from sin (Psalm 119:11).
4. To achieve God's approval (2 Timothy 2:15).
5. To gain wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 2:6).
6. To learn what is sinful (Romans 7:7; 1 John 3:4).
7. To provide us with understanding (Psalms 119:130).
8 . To have the words of Christ dwelling within us (Colossians 3:16).
9. To be disciples who know and have been made free by the truth (John 8:31-32).
10. To make sure we are living by every word that proceeds from God (Matthew 4:4).
As we glorify God let us dedicate ourselves to search the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11). As we do so, may we always keep our view toward Heaven (Colossians 1:3-5; 3:1-4; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
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GREATNESS
“For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord…” (Luke 1:15, KJV).
Loved ones, consider the “Great” men and women of this world and you will understand that humans have a far different concept of greatness than does God. Vain are the strivings, vain the jealousies and emulations of those who press and struggle for the highest places, for the Divine path to greatness lies in quite an opposite direction.
True greatness is not measured by the headlines a person commands or the wealth he or she accumulates. The inner character of a person - the undergirding moral and spiritual values and commitments - is the true measure of lasting greatness. We thank God that those of you reading this realize that greatness is not found in those things that are “of this world,” but rather it is to be found in one’s relationship to and usefulness by God.
John the Baptizer was of that makeup. He captured the essence of greatness throughout his entire life. When the time came for him to herald the coming Messiah there were those of small minds and arrogant expectations who asked John, “Art thou the prophet?” (John 1:21), to which John plainly said, “No!”
John’s light would shine bright, but his radiance was only the dim moonlight that would introduce men to the Day Star from on high. When he could have stepped forward and claimed the limelight, he instead confessed regarding the Christ, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
The genuinely great man is the one who is completely unaware of his own greatness. He never seeks the spotlight, but rather is embarrassed when it so much as casts a flicker in his direction. Show us a genuinely great man and we will show you someone who ignores his own achievements and marches onward to the reward that awaits him. John was just such a man. No wonder the angel said of him, even while John was still in the womb of his loving mother, “For he shall be great…!”
Some of the genuinely great men who have marched across the landscape of time and left their influences and footprints in the sands of human history include men like Abraham, David, Noah, and Moses. We would include those unsung heroes in India who preach in the villages and cities that are crowded with lost souls.
In that list of great men and women would also be those restoration pioneers who blazed the trail from one end of our country to the other, in times of difficulty, discomfort, and danger, to take the Gospel to those souls on the ‘Western Frontier’ and to expand the boarders of the kingdom so that the truth of God’s word could go forth in its purity and simplicity.
It would be easy to get lost in the shuffle, and if not lost at least feel that we have not made an impact in life; that we somehow missed being genuinely great. Just remember this, the angel of the Lord called John “great” in the sight of God, and this is all that mattered.
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JUST SAY "NO"
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly, in this present age" (Titus 2:12, KJV).
Loved ones, in our day and age, people have a problem saying, "No." It is a small word but has great power in relieving the oppression of this life. In the early 1980s, Nancy Reagan, First Lady of the United States, learning the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse, launched a campaign called "Just Say No."
The power to say "no" to things that take over our lives would relieve many problems. People's inability to say "no" is often a result of parents not teaching their children what "NO" means. The fact is, and the scriptures teach that there are times when we must say "no." In "denying ungodliness and worldly lusts" (Titus 2:12), each of us must be able to say "no" to be pleasing to God.
Denying Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts
It is a foolish person who gives his life over to the things of the world and its lusts. God's grace will save man, but it will only do so if we learn to say "no" to sin. In Romans 6:1, Paul asks, "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" He then answers his own question in verse 2, "God forbid." Paul stresses to the Romans that we must say no to sin.
Paul, writing to the Corinthians said, "Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
The text tells us that the unrighteous or ungodly will not be saved. Why? Because they failed to say "no" to the various sins that are listed by Paul. The grace of God brings salvation to all men, but only those that live according to the teaching of God's will and say "no" to evil.
How Can We Have Strength To Say "No"?
The strength to say "no" to the lusts of the world is found in the attitude of living "soberly, righteously, and godly" (Titus 2:12). To live, soberly means to live a self-controlled life. Righteously means living upright, which will cause our lives to be godly, focusing on eternal things and not temporary things. Strength in our lives comes when we give ourselves to things that cause our faith to be strong: reading, studying, and meditating upon the word of God. Praying for wisdom and strength to face the things of life is essential.
God's grace has come to man so that all can be saved, but do not think that means all will be saved. We must understand that God gave His Son so that we might be saved and that we must give our lives to righteousness and godliness if we are to be saved. Therefore, let us live our lives, recognizing that what we say and do and how we live will determine where we will spend our eternity.
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Open Mindedness
Hear what the psalmist said: "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7).
Don't let the word "simple" throw you. We have corrupted that word until, as frequently used, it means something not much better than half-witted, and that is not at all what the psalmist had in mind. Moffatt's rendering, "that instructs the open minded," has much to commend it.
We recall the old phrase, "There is none so blind as he who will not see." The proud man trusts his own mind, and Solomon calls that man a fool: “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered” (Proverbs 28:26). The humble man opens his mind to receive the Word of God, and his soul is revived.
God instructs the open-minded. That ought to be obvious. What other class of people could the Eternal possibly instruct than the open-minded? No others are teachable. A foolish man in his pride proclaims, "There is no God" (Psalm 14:1). The apostle Paul has a few words for such close-minded people: “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise” (1 Corinthians 3:18).
Unfortunately, it seems that many minds are hermetically sealed when it comes to God and religion. Are we open and receptive? James says, “21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:21-22). Nor should we forget the words of Jesus, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).
Shared with you by Samuel A. Matthews, preaching with the Liberty NW church of Christ, meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA. The God of Heaven and Earth is so good, and His love reaches all. We love you with the love of the Lord (John 13:34-35) – 17 August 2026