WHAT THE BELIEVERS HAVE IN COMMON - PART 1

MONDAY 12 DECEMBER 2022

There is a direct influence of the Spirit on the minds and hearts of born again Christians. That means, living on the earth in a body of human flesh, is not all there is; Christ has brought us eternal hope by giving us a new life. Moreover, at the center of all this, we must learn and practice what it means to live as born again Christians, so we can walk in the newness of life. Let's find out more!

Reference: Acts 2:42 New Living Translation (NLT) "All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper), and to prayer."

All born again Christians have something in common. They participate in the life of the Spirit, and the activities involved in this participation are listed above. The life lived in the flesh is limited, and filled with anxiety and distress. It is never the same with the life of the Spirit. To experience the life of the Spirit, we must always devote ourselves to the ministry of the Word, to fellowshipping with fellow saints, to prayer, and to sharing meals, especially the holy Communion.

Although we function in the body, we have been given a life of faith, which is the life of Christ Himself, brought to us through our salvation. Jesus said, "...My purpose is to give them a rich, satisfying and abundant life" (John 10:10 NLT). So this new life given to us in Christ, is an abundant life; it is triumphant, prosperous, persevering, inspiring, kind, noble, royal, hopeful, gentle, strong, Godlike and glorious. In a nutshell, it is the expression of the life of Christ Himself, within us.

Since we died a spiritual death together with Christ on the cross, we were raised to a new spiritual life with Him. The "old man" in us, which is considered as hopeless and condemned, because of sinful nature, has been slain and crucified. And for this reason, we have a life that is sustained by an intimate communion with Christ, because He dwells in our heart by faith. Since we are living on the earth in a body of human flesh, we must be powered by an intense faith in our precious Lord and Saviour who has given Himself to us as a proof of self-sacrificing love. To that effect, apostle Paul said, "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20 NLT).

Everyone in Christ Jesus has been crucified with Him and also, has been raised from the spiritual death with Him. In general, we are known as the body of Christ because we have come to believe in Him. 1st Corinthians 12:27 reads, "All of you together are Christ 's body, and each of you is a part of it" (NLT). More so, there are things we should be doing and such activities show that we are born again Christians. They are the things we share in common and the most important ones are noted in our referenced Scripture. As we get involved in them, the Spirit of God begins to work in us by love, thereby influencing all our actions to keep us living with the conscious presence of God. Evidently, we shall discuss them one by one in the successive parts of this topic. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - 1 Corinthians 1:2; Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 10:17; Ephesians 4:4; Galatians 3:27.

Guided Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, I thank you for your timeless love, which is evidenced by Christ in me. I'm forever grateful for the realities of the eternal life which I receive from your Word. I'm thankful for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who is in charge of running my Christian life. Indeed, no part of my life is exempt from your rule; hence you have the final word on everything pertaining my existence. As an important part of Christ's body, I live by the Word and I speak and act in accordance with the influence of the Spirit, through which I'm always filled with your presence, in Jesus' Name, Amen!