Daily Bread 3-28-17
1 Timothy 3:14-16
14 These things I write unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:
15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
ref. - Mat 1:23 - Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Ph 2:6-8 - Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
1Jn 1:2 - (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness and she unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested to us;)
Matt 3:16 - And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
1P 3:18 - For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
Matt 28:2 - And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came back and rolled the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
Lk 2:13 - And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Our instruction is clear. Whether we come together sooner or later, we must know how to behave ourselves in the house of God. This will become evident in what we study and what is taught to us. As the Apostle Paul was given the gift to lead the Churches of God at the time of this scripture so does the same Spirit continue to lead the Church today. The scripture is made very clear in the 16th verse where it says, It is without controversy great is the mystery of godliness. It seems like every time that we get off track or try to do something on our own, even thinking that we are doing right, the word of God is given to us to put us back in line where we belong. Behind Christ. Many times God sends someone to help us to get back where we need to be. But if he doesn't, just as here in this scripture, we should already know where we need to stay and how we should need to behave. God has never walked the earth before or since Christ so if we remain in Christ we will have the example of God with us. We should know how to behave because it is written, as this letter to Timothy was written, and laid out for him as well as us. Our example and our direction should come from Jesus Christ, and, if we can do this, we will not have to be rebuked and rebuilt when we come together and when the leadership of the Church sees us face to face. So let us keep moving forward in Christ and follow the same narrow path that we have been shown. Until we meet again!! Have a great day!!!