In Acts 3, we find Peter and John going to the temple to worship. Just outside the temple gate sat a beggar who had been crippled from birth [A multitude of people would have walked past this crippled man over the years he sat begging as they walked past him to go into the Temple] Peter told him to stand and walk in the name of Jesus, and the man was healed!
When Peter and John saw crowds gathering to marvel at the miracle, they began preaching the Messiah. Thousands were saved. While Peter and John were preaching, the synagogue rulers asked the disciples, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” (Acts 4:7).
Peter was emboldened by the power of God’s Spirit and told them, “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus the Messiah of Nazareth, whom you have crucified, whom God raised again from the dead, even by him does this man stand here before you, whole. This is the stone cast aside by you builders which is become the head of the corner [Jesus had told this to the elders while he was alive]. Neither is there salvation in any other: for among men, there is given no other name under heaven, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:10–12).
The rulers sat stunned. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter
and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they
marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts
What was the mark that distinguished Peter and John? It was the presence, the shining forth of the image of Jesus from within. They had grown in maturity into the Messiah’s own likeness, becoming more like Jesus, as all his disciples should do!
Those who spend time with Jesus cannot get enough of him. Their hearts are continually filled with a desire to know their master better and draw close to him. Paul states, “…unto every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the gift of the Messiah.” (Ephesians 4:7). What is this measure [which means a limited amount]? It means we have all received a limited amount of the saving knowledge of the Messiah, and that saving knowledge is ongoing to the end of one’s life.
For some, this is all they think they need They want just enough of Jesus to escape judgment or to feel forgiven, or to keep a good reputation and to endure an hour of their church each Sunday. Such people are in “maintenance mode”, and are deceived, thinking they are believers when they are not. Such people are disciples of the Messiah Jesus in name only
It is only those who are totally committed to obeying the words Yehovah - God gave to His son to give to us that are true disciples of the lord Messiah Jesus. The true disciples of the Messiah will reflect his image in their lives and actions; obeying his creed to love God, heart, and mind, and the strength of their being, and to love their neighbors as themselves. They realize that they can only do that as they are enabled by the Spirit of God, knowing that whatever God gives them to do; He will provide the power for them to do it!
God
has given the disciples of the Messiah spiritual gifts not to maintain their
lives as they are! He wants them to be filled up with the Spirit of the
Messiah, become like him and to walk as he walked and to speak out as he spoke
out to all men/women, bringing the good news message of the soon-coming
This is crucial because deceivers, false teachers in the church will try to rob the disciples of the lord Messiah of their faith. However, If the disciples of the Messiah Jesus are rooted in him and maturing in him, no deceptive deceivers doctrine – teaching will ever sway them or lead them away from a deep and abiding faith in the lord Jesus.
The only way for disciples to grow into maturity in the Messiah is by growing in the grace and knowledge of the Messiah, enabled by God's Spirit, and by practically applying those things to become more like Jesus so that unbelievers will be able to see the Messiah Jesus in them!
In the lord Messiah, we are new creations [2 Corinthians 5:17; children of light [Ephesians 5:8]; sons of God [Galatians 3:26]; ambassadors [2 Corinthians 5:20]; friends of Jesus [John 15:15]; a temple - a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit [1 Corinthians 6:19]; living stones being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood [1 Peter 2:5]; a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his (Jesus) own possession [1 Peter 5:9]; the righteousness of God [2 Corinthians 5:21] servants – slaves of righteousness [Romans 6:18] God’s people [1 Peter 5:10]; priests [Revelation 5:10] slaves bought by the blood of the Messiah [1 Corinthians 6:20]
In all of these things that the disciples are in the Messiah Jesus the one most important one to remember is that all disciples are bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus and as such are his slaves. Since he did all things as an agent of his God and Father what he did for us was as if God his Father were doing it. So as a result we are slaves of our God and Father Yehovah! It is in that humble position that we go about doing God’s will in our lives.
Being a slave of Yehovah and of the lord Messiah ought to fill us with confidence knowing that as they are our masters, they will always provide for us with all we have need of physically, and spiritually!
It never ceases to amaze me how wonderfully God has worked everything out so that it is all of Him and nothing of us. Whatever we have has come from His hand, and we are to exercise stewardship over what He has given us! A slave owns nothing but to give loyalty and obedience to his master, who in our case is Yehovah our God and Father. His will is our will and all of this plays out when we are a reflection of His son the lord Messiah to all those we come in contact with! They see and feel his presence in us!
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