FRIDAY June 11, 2021

Christ in the Midst of the Church

“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I [Jesus Christ] am there in the midst of them.”
Matthew 18:20

In Colossians 1:24, the Church is identified as Christ’s own body: I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church. You and I, as believers in Christ, are the Church! Remember, where two or three are gathered, Jesus is in the midst of us!

Christians are born again of the Holy Spirit and identify with each other as one body––the Church: and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross... (Ephesians 2:16). We are now brothers and sisters in Christ. It is Christ who is the Head of the body: And He [God] put all things under His feet, and gave Him [Jesus] to be head over all things to the church.... The Church is where Christ dwells and lives: ...which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:22-23). Christ lives in us and through us. God’s hand is upon the Church.

In Acts 20:28, the Church is called the flock of God: Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. The Church is also known as the dwelling place of God: in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:22).

The Church is described as the household of God: Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. In the book of Revelation, the Church is referred to as the Lamb’s wife: “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7).

Are you excited to be a part of the Church, part of what God is doing?

Church is not a place. It’s a body––a family with blood ties through Jesus Christ.
~Billy Graham~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!