Christ is Wisdom

November 13, 2022 Background Scripture: Acts 19; Ephesians 1 - 23; Revelation 2:1 - 7 Lesson Passage: Ephesians 1:15 - 23 Our Lesson Passage is best understood when the last two verses are considered first. The church is the body of Christ in the world today. This is not speaking of the collection of all local churches in general, but more specifically the universal church which consists of every saved believer in Jesus Christ. It is important to make that distinction. Local church officials receive members based on their personal statements of faith. Therefore, a local church can have unsaved members as part of its membership. On the other hand, God knows who He has saved and added to the universal church. As the body of Christ in the world today, the universal church continues the ministry Jesus began when He was here in bodily form. What is required to continue Jesus' ministry in the world today? Everything that Jesus had when he ministered in the world. Jesus even declared to his disciples that they would do greater works than he did because he was going to the Father. Now, let that sink in! If the church today is going to do greater works than Jesus did, it will require more than a good offering and a Prayer Meeting. Paul's prayer for the Christians in Ephesus was that God would give them everything needed to do greater works than Jesus. Paul's prayer for them was motivated by the testimony he heard concerning their faith in the Lord Jesus. Paul was excited because he knew that they had the faith needed to receive the gifts from God to carry on the work of Christ. So, he prayed that they would be given the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so they could know Jesus better. If they were going to be successful doing the work of Christ, they needed to know Christ better. By knowing Christ, they would be given the revelation to do what would please God. Everything Jesus did pleased the Father because he knew the Father. Through redemption, God will eventually restore the saints to the perfect image and likeness of Himself. After all sin has been banished forever, God will again see His glorious reflection in mankind. Christians are the fruit of God's plan. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Christians will reflect that same image throughout eternity. This is what we have been called to. We are not called to enjoy a temporary life in a sin-sick and fallen world. God makes His full power available for the saints who wholeheartedly seek to do His will in this world. That power was witnessed by those who were captivated by the miracles Jesus worked. Raising Lazarus from the dead after he spent four days buried in a cave was a demonstration of resurrection power. Resurrection power reverses the physical decay of the human body that would commence by the fourth day after death. During his minist1Y, Jesus raised several people from the dead, Only Lazarus was raised after a considerable amount of time had passed after his death. Even then, Lazarus was not raised to eternal life. He eventually died again. However, God demonstrated that power in raising Jesus from the dead to live throughout eternity. God placed Jesus above everything and every being physical and spiritual. The universal church is now the body of Christ in the world and Jesus is our head. Everything the body of Christ needs the head supplies. The body's first need is to have the wisdom of God to know these things and live by them. We need the revelation of who we are and to know the purpose for our calling by God. Robert C. Hudson October 31, 2022