Monthly Archives: February 2025

PARTNERS IN GOD’S KINGDOM

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Philippians 3:20-21 NLT
[20] “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. [21] He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.”

If the counterfeit Christians demonstrated by their behaviour that they were citizens of this world, by contrast, said Paul, “We are citizens of heaven.”

What’s the difference?

First, heaven is the realm or dimension of God’s presence and rule. Where is heaven? As difficult as it is to explain or describe heaven, we know that heaven is, in a sense, everywhere since, if heaven is God’s dwelling place and God is omnipresent, then heaven is where God is.

Heaven is a spiritual dimension which we cannot see because we are physical and sinful. However, we can live in the realm of heaven by faith through God’s Spirit in us since He reveals God’s kingdom to us and administers God’s rule in us when we have submitted to Jesus as Lord.

Jesus told Nicodemus that he could not see or enter this realm unless he was born from above by the power of the Holy Spirit.

John 3:3, 5 NLT
[3] “Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”…
[5] Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.”

This new birth gives us the ability to perceive the spiritual dimension of God’s realm and relate to Him through faith in Jesus. New birth also provides a new nature that loves and responds to God and desires to do His will.

In the spirit, we are given citizenship in this kingdom, with all the benefits and responsibilities of citizenship. We are no longer citizens of the world and under the world’s dominion. We live under Jesus’ supreme authority as Lord and submit to Him in all things.

When we were spiritually dead because of our sin, we were cut off from the realm of heaven but…

Colossians 1:13-14 NLT
[13] “He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, [14] who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”

This transfer means that…

Ephesians 2:6 NLT
[6] “… He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.”

The realm in which we now live is God’s realm, under His rule and according to His standards. The Holy Spirit in us guides and helps us to live under His government and teaches us what His standards are and how to apply them in our lives day by day.

Everything that has happened in the lives of those who have believed in Jesus and submitted to Him as Lord because of the cross is supernatural. They have become new people.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
[17] “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

This new life means… new Master, new meaning, new thinking, new behaving, new attitudes, new standards, new direction, new motives, new destiny, a complete 180 degree about turn!

Now, anyone who has not experienced the new birth can never mimic the transformation to a new life which happens through faith in Jesus. This change begins on the inside and shows on the outside. Pseudo Christians can copy this new life but only for a short while because their inside is unchanged and still rotten.

Jeremiah 17:9 NLT
[9] “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”

In conclusion, we can only become partners in God’s kingdom if and when we enter it God’s way. No one can gate crash the kingdom. We must enter through Jesus.

John 14:6 NLT
[6]”Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

Acts of the Apostles 4:12 NLT
[12] “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Unsaved people may accuse Christians of hate speech, of intolerance but…the Bible declares that salvation is exclusive and inclusive, exclusive because there is salvation in no one else, and inclusive because whoever believes in Him will be saved.

Romans 10:9, 12 NLT
[9]”If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved…
[12] Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him.”

To be a citizen of heaven ultimately means that heaven, not earth, dominates our thinking and determines the way we live.

Colossians 3:1-3 NLT
[1]”Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. [2] Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. [3] For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Our citizenship in heaven, said Paul, also guarantees an eternal existence in a resurrected body like Jesus body which is perfectly suited for heaven. All this, and more, is part of God’s promise of eternal life for those who have entered by faith in Jesus into His eternal kingdom.

PARTNERS IN CRIME

Bible Study,

Philippians 3:17-19 NLT
[17] Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. [18] For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. [19] They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.”

In every work of God, there will always be a fly in the ointment, someone or some people whom Satan has placed in the body of Christ to disrupt and confuse.

Jesus spoke of weeds and wheat growing together. These two categories of people are often difficult to differentiate. They look and sound much alike. They are always together, busy with the Lord’s work, seemingly one, but…there are differences which identify their real nature.

Paul’s way to identify them is quite graphic. Watch what they do! “By their fruit you will know them.”

How can we tell the difference?

First, the true believer is one who identifies with and follows what Paul was teaching. This is much more than doing the right thing. This is also about attitude and motive, those inward evidences that reveal the nature of the kingdom in which they live.

They had an example to follow.

Paul was bold in calling people to follow him. We might think he was arrogant but…being an example was part of his calling as an apostle. He was mandated to “show and tell” what the gospel of Jesus was about. It was no use telling people how to live if he didn’t follow his own counsel. So, in all honesty, he could say,

1 Corinthians 11:1 NLT
[1] “And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.”

That’s s a bold claim and dangerous if it were not true. Paul often wrote, “I have learned…” implying that he was not perfect but learning and following Jesus as closely as he could.

The atmosphere of the true believer is honesty, humility, and submissiveness. He is not a pushover but a willing participant in the life of God’s family. He chooses to cooperate, to work with and to foster a peaceful environment.

A counterfeit Christian is essentially selfish, talks about himself, promotes himself, and wants his own way at the expense of peace. He likes to be out front, even greedy in a subtle way.

Second, the behaviour of the counterfeit Christian reveals the nature of the kingdom in which he lives. Selfish desires dominate his life. He lives to satisfy himself.

These people have crept into the church but they bring with them a subtly different atmosphere. Watch their behaviour, listen to their talk.

Paul didn’t mince his words. He call a spade a spade. “They are hell-bound haters of the truth of the gospel, enemies of the cross. They are self-made people who worship their “creator”, indulging in all their fleshly appetites at the expense of others.”

Trouble is, the only way such people can be comfortable in the fellowship of the church is if the members of God’s family behave like them. The only way to rid the body of these intruders is to live godly lives and behave like God’s beloved family so that the aliens are shown up and will either believe or leave because it will be too uncomfortable to stay.

PARTNERS IN DOCTRINE

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Philippians 3:15-16 NLT
[15] “Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. [16] But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.”

Unity in Christ’s body, as it is experienced and expressed in every local fellowship, is made up of different facets. It’s through humility, for example, that we set aside our own concerns for the sake of the whole. It’s rather like a colony of termites that functions as a unit. Each termite carries out its own function for the good of the whole. Many even die to preserve the colony.

Unity in a local fellowship has a solid foundation that supports the entire structure.

Ephesians 2:19-22 NLT
[19] “So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. [20] Together, we are his house, built on the FOUNDATION of the apostles and the prophets. And the CORNERSTONE is Christ Jesus himself. [21] We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. [22] Through him, you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.”

The church is a family…a team working together for the good of the whole family. The church is also God’s house, a spiritual structure in which He lives by His Spirit. A house is a building made of different kinds of material that adhere for strength, safety, and purpose.

Jesus taught that the house must be built on bedrock so that, when storms blow in, it will stand firm. The bedrock, said Paul, is the truth about God, Jesus, and salvation, that makes the house secure, which is the foundation of what the Holy Spirit has revealed and written in the Word of God. The cornerstone of His house is Jesus, everything the Bible reveals about Jesus, which supports the entire structure so that it doesn’t fall apart.

What will happen if some “stones” in the wall decide to believe something different from the truth that holds the stones together? The walls will be weakened and eventually collapse because unity has been compromised.

So, in the “walls” of God’s house, there needs to be the “bonding material” of truth, every stone connected to every other stone by the truth of the “faith” that has been delivered to us and through which we have been saved.

Unity is sabotaged when false teaching creeps in and weakens the bonds of truth which hold us together. Since love and unity in the fellowship witness to the world that Jesus is real and are the hallmarks of spiritual maturity, we cannot afford to allow selfishness or false teaching to destroy what the Holy Spirit is working in His people.

Paul urges his readers and us, “Don’t allow anything to interfere with or slow down the progress you are making towards maturity.” He trusted the Holy Spirit, the builder of God’s house, to reveal the weak places in the fellowship so that each member would play his/her part in contributing to this partnership in doctrine which bound His people together in unity.

PARTNERSHIP AT WORK

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Philippians 4:1-3 NIV
[1] “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! [2] I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. [3] Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.”

Paul’s “therefore’s” always formed the bridge between faith and practice. How believers lived their lives was firmly anchored in what they were taught and what they believed. It was imperative for them, then, to build their lives on the solid foundation of truth.

In this final section of his letter, Paul urged his readers to stand firm on what he has taught them of the faith, which was all about Jesus. As Jesus Himself had counseled His disciples in the Upper Room, “Remain in me.”

Staying in union with Jesus was the safeguard against thinking and doing things that would endanger their lives together as a family. This partnership they enjoyed in all its various facets would only work if they guarded their unity by sticking to everything he taught them, as well as to their personal commitment to their church family.

There was a weak place in their ranks…two women who were allowing self to intrude. Paul doesn’t give us details. Details weren’t important. These women disgreed about some issue which had sent ripples through the whole group.

Since he was stuck in prison in Rome, Paul called on an unnamed faithful co-worker to step in to sort out the problem. Paul knew he could trust this partner to help restore unity which was the real issue.

Paul’s example of “conflict management” is a shining light for leaders in today’s church families to follow. He didn’t urge his fellow worker to find out who was right and who was wrong, to “name and shame” the guilty party. This conflict was not about WHO was right but about WHAT was right.

Can you understand the real issue in most of the conflicts between individuals in the body of Christ? Usually, conflicts happen over minor issues. When leaders focus on who is right, they play one person against another. The winner goes up in his/her own estimation, the loser goes down…and the rift is deepened.

If the leader zooms in on the disunity the argument has caused, he deals with the root cause…pride. Someone’s pride is boosted, another’s is offended. Since pride is always “the spanner in the works”, as the saying goes, the conflict can become a war zone if left to fester.

Paul was quick to value the contribution Euodia and Syntyche had made to the spread of the gospel. He would not allow a small difference of opinion to spoil their ministry together in the church. All they needed was another perspective to help them identify and correct the real issue.

So precious was unity, based on love in the body of Christ, that Paul used a strong word to appeal to these ladies. “I PLEAD with you…” Whatever else was at stake, unity was never to be sacrificed on the altar of non-essentials.

Ephesians 4:2-6 NLT
[2] “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. [3] Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. [4] For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. [5] There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.”

Do you see the pattern? Love and unity…leading to peace… the two most important qualities in the family of God, and the only guarantee of a powerful witness for Jesus in a rotten world, was under attack.

Jesus said that we are to be salt and light, standing apart as different from the world, preserving society from total decay and piercing its darkness with His light. Nothing must be permitted to corrupt the salt and dim the light, least of all pride, the poison that kills unity.

So Paul, helpless to step in himself, calls in a partner to help close ranks in this family of God’s people. His example here, his tactics expressed to his unnamed true partner, leads the way for church leaders today to treasure and preserve unity in the body whenever it is threatened. The way to deal with issues is to identify and deal with the real issue.

PARTNERS WITH PERSEVERANCE

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Philippians 3:12-14 NLT
[12] “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. [13] No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

Partnering with God throughout life to gain the eternal prize demands a persistence that never gives up, through thick and thin.

If we consider what it took to keep Paul on track through his times of horrific suffering, we realise that he was in an all-out war on many fronts. If ever the devil had a target, it was the Apostle Paul. Yet, he gave the devil no credit for his suffering, except on one occasion. In his desperation, he cried out to the Lord for relief but God said, “No!”. It was the hardships Paul endured that shaped him into the resilient man he became and a true son.

2 Corinthians 12:10 NLT
[10] “That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

In the face of opposition and persecution, Paul argued for his qualification to speak with authority. HE NEVER GAVE UP.

2 Corinthians 11:23-27 NLT
[23] “Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. [24] Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. [25] Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. [26] I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. [27] I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.”

Is there any other person who has ever suffered or done more than Paul to be faithful to his mission and to fulfill his calling?

Why did Paul endure all this? Why didn’t he throw in the towel when his life seemed too painful to carry on?

Paul, first, had a calling from God to suffer. Suffering was part of his mandate to take the gospel to the Gentiles, from the lowliest to the highest.

Acts of the Apostles 9:15-16 NLT
[15] “But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. [16] And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

Paul regarded his suffering as a privilege. Suffering was part of the package that identified him with Jesus and qualified him to participate in his inheritance with Jesus.

Romans 8:17 NLT
[17] “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.”

What was, for Paul, the most painful part of the suffering that he shared with Jesus?

Isaiah 53:3 NLT
[3]”He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.”

2 Corinthians 12:10 NLT
[10] “That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul’s identity with Jesus in His death, especially the pain of rejection, gave him access to the power of God’s grace so that he could accept suffering as God’s gift, a privilege to participate in resurrection power. Thus he could write…

Ephesians 1:19-20 NLT
[19] “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power [20] that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.”

What is this “resurrection power”?
It’s not the kind of power we think of as POWER, for example, the destructive power of nature. This power gives us the ability to overcome our selfish, dominating, driving old nature with its passion for self-satisfaction, to serve others for Jesus’s sake with unselfish love. This power, the Holy Spirit in us, has raised us to a new life through death to self. Now that’s real power when we see what devastation selfishness creates in the world. The old nature, self, has destroyed everything in our world, from individuals to nations.

Only when the determination to overcome and rule our old nature keeps us living by faith in the power of the Spirit, will we reach that goal of perfection when we see Jesus. You see, persistent faith has a goal. Paul called it a “heavenly prize”, but this prize is only for those who win the race…

Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT
[1] “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. [2] We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

…a race that is not about who comes first but about who finishes the course.

Every “finisher” will receive the prize, perfect likeness to Jesus! Now that’s a prize worth the endurance!

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT
[16] “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. [17] For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! [18] So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”