The Church As Body of Christ - A Spiritual Reality

Here is another truth, information or revelation of the Bible that does not readily appear real, true or feasible to the physical or natural men, it is that the Church, body of believers and followers of Christ and His life, teachings or ways, constitute His mystical or spiritual body, just as our various fleshy component parts constitute (make up) body (house) for our spirits and souls. The Bible, God's word or revelation of His will and truths, variously alludes to or speaks about it (see 1Cor.12:12-28; 10:17; Rom.12:4-8; Eph.1:22-23; 4:12; 4:16; 3:6; etc.).

The Church (Body of Christ's Believers) being Christ's body or body for Him may not be physically or humanly comprehended or appreciated, hence it is a spiritual reality. It is a thing that is only spiritually comprehended or appreciated and that by only the "spiritual men", those that are spiritually-minded (l Cor.2:14). The truth however, is that The Church is the Body of Christ. The Church as Christ's body is the physical means of His expressing His will, feelings, mind, power, etc. to and. in the world (Matt.28:19-20; In.20:21; Luke 10:16). And no single individual believer, group or congregation of believers of Christ can constitute or should assume to be the body of Christ alone or unilaterally. It is a multilateral, joint or collective thing or responsibility. This is why the Lord prayed for and encouraged His believers or disciples on oneness (see Jn.17:11, 21). It is in this status of oneness of the Church (which also is a spiritual thing) that she constitutes a body for the Lord. And it is in such a condition or circumstance that Re will fully express or manifest Himself, His life and power and wisdom to the world and the kingdom of darkness (Matt. 16:18; Eph.3:10-12).

Tallit

It is unfortunate that the Church has not come to believe, appreciate and see herself as The Body of Christ which she is, and act that way. Meanwhile, some individuals, groups or congregations may be seeing themselves and act as bodies of Christ unilaterally, without reference to or recognition of any or some others. The truth remains that only one part or some parts of a body cannot make a whole body. It takes all the components.

Like we have said, the Church being the body of Christ is a spiritual thing. And the fact of oneness we said that makes or constitutes it has nothing to do with merger of Churches into one. It has to do with understanding and appreciation of the issue and acting and relating that way. It is something that should be borne in the mind of every believer or congregation and allowed to influence them. There should be that conscious spiritual understanding and appreciation by individual believers and congregations that they are not alone or the only body of Christ but just parts or components that need others to make up the whole (I Cor.12:14-25).

We must not wait until we are in the same place or under the same name or believe the same things, have the same doctrines and outlooks before we can recognize the existence of some other places as part of the whole - Body Of Christ.

This point, or teaching as a whole does not suggest or approve any form of compromise with proven erroneous, false, substandard and apostate places, people, beliefs and practices which we must distance ourselves from (2 Cor.6:14-17; Eph.5:11-12). We are only teaching the truth or whole counsel of God we have received the command to teach (Matt.28:20; Acts 20:27). Suffice it to say that this lack of appreciation or recognition of the Church by believers and Churches as one indivisible Body of Christ and living and acting with/as same has given the world and the kingdom of darkness upper hand against her (the Church) and continues to limit her influence and victory in the world. The kingdom of darkness continues to unite into one body and wax strong in evil. Let those of us who hear the truth begin with and from themselves to make a difference.

The Church As Body of Christ - A Spiritual Reality

Vitus Ejiogu is a writer and publisher with the Fire-Brand Int"l Ministries, a media ministry that is based in Nigeria.

He is the editor of FOUNDATION SATELLITE magazine also published by the ministry. He pastors a Church in Bauchi and is married with two children.

You can reach him at: firebrandhq@yahoo.com or: 234 80 8181 829.

Website: http://www.palmgates.com or http://www.firebrandhq.com

Five Different Ways To Observe Judaism

While Judaism is generally considered one of the oldest non-pagan religions, there a numerous movements that have evolved as society has. The most traditional and most observant movement in the Jewish religion is the Orthodox. Orthodox Jews strictly interpret the Torah (also referred to as the Old Testament or the Five Books of Moses). These Jews strictly adhere to all aspect of Kashruth (keeping Kosher) dietary requirements. Kashruth not only requires not eating meat and dairy together, but is a strict code which specifies how a cow, chicken, lamb or turkey is to be slaughtered and by whom, what parts of a cow can be used, rabbinical supervision of the food preparation process, etc. Their is also a strict code regarding Shabbat (or the Jewish Sabbath, celebrated from Sundown on Friday evening through Sundown on Saturday evening). This code clearly prohibits items that are work-related, and has come to include driving or riding in a car during Shabbat, turning on or off lights, etc. Even in a movement as traditional and adherent as the Orthodox, there are several sub-movements including Lebavitch, Chabbad, Modern Orthodox, Chassidic, etc.

The Conservative movement believes in many of the traditions of the Orthodox, but has made certain modifications for their followers. while Traditional Conservatives adhere to the rules of Kashruth and Shabbat, some Conservative synagogues has made modifications related to driving on Shabbat, and egalitarianism (the Orthodox have strict rules regarding women's place within the community, including codes for a woman's clothing- what parts must be covered, and where women sit in a synagogue (Orthodox do not permit women to sit with men at services). Some Conservative synagogues have adopted a larger role for women as part of the service while others have not, and it has caused internal controversy in many synagogue communities.

Women S Tallit

The Reform movement was started because many Jews felt a need to maintain their Jewish identity, but did not feel that they wanted or needed to observe many of the other requirements. While Reform synagogues at one time were extremely liberal in their Judaic interpretation, in recent years, many have re-adopted several of the more traditional aspects of the religion. For example, while in some Reform synagogues, most men do not wear head coverings (known as Kippas, or Yamulkes), many Reform congregations encourage the use of Kippas.

A newer movement, only about 6o years old, is Reconstructionism. Reconstructionists define the movement as "Judaism for the evolving Jewish society," and has made numerous adjustments based on that premise. Originally begun by a former Orthodox and Conservative Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, this movement originally developed to offer women equality in the Jewish religion. An off-shoot of the Conservative movement, Reconstructionism lets its followers decide many things for themselves, based on understanding and learning. Rabbis in the Reconstructionist movement often decribe themselves as well- trained and educated "tour operaqtors," whose function is to help the congregation better understand issues so as to make an intelligent decision.

Kabbalah is an interpretation based on many spiritual writings, and is a deep study of an ancient viewpoint that looked extensively at spiritualism. There are major Kabbalah centers, and one of the most famous is located in Los Angeles.

Unlike some other religions, this multi-faceted look at Judaism permits people with considerably different belief levels to still participate at a level that is comfortable to them. While some prefer one movement over another, and certain movements have at time been intolerant to members of other movements, the many movements permit wider participation. There is extensive writing on all of these movements, and anyone intrigued by one movement or another, can gain considerable understanding and knowledge by further study.

Five Different Ways To Observe Judaism

Richard Brody has over 30 years consultative sales, marketing, training, managerial, and operations experience. He has trained sales and marketing people in numerous industries, given hundreds of seminars, appeared as a company spokesperson on over 200 radio and television programs, and regularly blogs on real estate, politics, economics, management, leadership, negotiations, conferences and conventions, etc. Richard has negotiated, arranged and/ or organized hundreds of conferences and conventions. Richard is a Senior Consultant with RGB Consultation Services, an Ecobroker, a Licensed Buyers Agent (LBA) and Licensed Salesperson in NYS, in real estate. Richard Brody has owned businesses, been a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Executive Officer, and a Director of Development, as well as a consultant. Richard has a Consulting Website ( http://tinyurl.com/rgbcons ); a blog ( http://tinyurl.com/rgbstake ); and can be followed on Twitter.