All Christians are unified through Christ, the cornerstone. We can be united with Christians in other nations or of other denominations (etc). In a sense, this is the source of the "Jesus lives in your heart" idea that is taught in Sunday School.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. - Ephesians 2:19-22
Don't put a stumbling blck in front of your fellow Christians. Somethings are subjectively wrong for different people.
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. - Romans 14:13-14
Each Christian member of the church has been given different gifts. As such, they are able to serve in different ways. Paul describes this using the analogy of the parts of a human body.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. - Romans 12:3-8
See 1 Corinthians 12
After His resurrection, Jesus gave his disciples the ability to understand the scriptures. This is one of three gifts that Jesus gave to the disciples. The others being salvation on the cross and the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. - Luke 24:45
The Kingdom of God is not a physically observable thing. It is within believers. It is present wherever Christians gather, like in the Church.
Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” - Luke 17:20-21
Even from a very small seed, the Kingdom of God will grow. The same has been seen throughout history in the church.
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” - Matthew 13:31-32
Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” - Mark 4:30-32
Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.” - Luke 13:18-19
Paul is instructing Timothy here about how to choose good leaders for the church. It is very important not to choose someone to lead the church that will guide it to destruction because of his own failings. A good litmus test for this is a measure of how the leader interacts with non-Christians.
He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap. - 1 Timothy 3:7
Jesus did not make any distinction based on the ethnicity of those he helped. He instead looked for faith. In the same way the Church should not exclude anybody based on their background.
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment. - Matthew 8:5-13Back to List of Bible Bins Back to Blog Home