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Κηρύγματα

Subject 19 : The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the EPHESIANS

[Chapter 1-7] The Righteousness of Jesus Christ Fills All in All (Ephesians 1:20-23)

The Righteousness of Jesus Christ Fills All in All
(Ephesians 1:20-23)
“Which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
 
 

What Work Are the Members of God’s Church Doing Now?

 
It’s written in today’s Scripture passage that the Church “is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:23).
God’s Church is the gathering of those who have received the remission of their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with their hearts. The Head of this gathering is Jesus Christ, and its members are God’s children who have received the remission of their sins. As the body of Jesus Christ, God’s Church preaches the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world to fill it. Put differently, the saints who have received the remission of sins are the members of God’s Church, and God is filling the world with His love and blessings through these redeemed saints. Therefore, it is God’s Church that brings the God-given salvation of the remission of sins and the blessing of everlasting life. It is also because God’s Church is working by faith to bear witness of the gospel of the water and the Spirit in this world that whoever believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can be saved from all their sins.
God is now spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world through His Church, and all who believe in this genuine gospel have been saved. It is the born-again believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit whom God has made members of His Church. It is also through God’s Church that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is preached, and God has made it possible for whoever believes in this gospel not only to receive the remission of their sins once and for all, but also to attain everlasting life. God’s Church was called to spread the gospel of the remission of sins that enables everyone in this world to be saved from sin. It is now fulfilling an extremely important role of spreading the light of salvation in this world. And through the gospel of the water and the Spirit which is preached by God’s Church, people all over the world are now receiving everlasting life.
This gospel of the water and the Spirit that is spread by God’s Church all over the world is now leading countless people to God’s blessings. Were it not for God’s Church, this world could never have heard the gospel of the water and the Spirit. If God’s Church were not in this world to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then it would have been impossible for this world to ever taste the infinite blessings of salvation given by God. God’s Church is therefore fulfilling an absolutely indispensable role as the institution that brings new life to this world. This is the undeniable truth. Without hearing the gospel of the remission of sins, which can be heard only through God’s Church, no one can ever become a child of God nor enter Heaven, and everyone in this world is destined to be destroyed for his sins. However, whoever believes in the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit will receive the blessings of salvation to be delivered from all his sins.
It is through His Church that God has made it possible for everyone living in this world to be blessed by receiving the remission of sins and everlasting life. Therefore, only those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are the members of God’s Church. As we have now become such members of God’s Church by believing in His righteousness, we have received tremendous blessings from God. That’s because God is carrying out His work though us, the saints of His Church. It is through us, the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God is carrying out His work. Therefore we should recognize that every believer in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God’s saints and workers alike have been entrusted with priestly duties.
Indeed, all of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can triumph in all things if we just live by faith in obedience to God’s instruction. As God’s servants, we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and through our faith in the righteousness of God, we will not only prevail over all the false prophets in this world but also save countless people from all their sins.
When we look at how God’s work is unfolding all over the world to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we can see that the more the gospel is preached, the stronger faith we need as God’s workers. God the Father has raised us as His workers so that we would spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit throughout the world, and according to this providence, God is indeed working energetically through us the members of His Church. Moreover, as our labor to preach the gospel has been very fruitful, countless people all across the world are receiving God’s abundant love of salvation. By preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world, we are opening the spiritual eyes of all who listen to this gospel, and we are enabling them to be delivered from all their sins. Many people are rejoicing as they have encountered the gospel of the water and the Spirit that is preached by us and have received the remission of their sins. Verifying this fact with our own eyes, we are rejoicing together with them. All these things are possible because God’s Church is preaching together in unity the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world. That is why so many sinners could not only meet God but also receive His blessings of salvation, and words cannot express just how happy we all are for such wonderful results.
 
 

It Is Only by God’s Grace That We Could Become Members of the Body of Jesus Christ

 
All these things came about according to the plan God the Father had made for us in Jesus Christ even before the foundation of the world. God had predestined all who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit to receive the blessings of the remission of sins. God the Father had planned in His Son Jesus Christ to save whoever believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that constitutes the righteousness of God. To build His Church in this world, God the Father had planned to save all sinners in Jesus Christ, and when the due time came to implement this plan, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man. He then made His Son fulfill His will by being baptized by John the Baptist, shedding His blood to death on the Cross, and rising from the dead. God the Father’s purpose was to make our status the same as His Son’s status. It’s to achieve this goal God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ into this world, made Him be baptized by John the Baptist and shed His blood and resurrected Him from this death. God has thereby blessed us all so that anyone can become His own child by believing in this gospel Word of salvation. And entering into the hearts of all in this world who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God has given the gift of the Holy Spirit to guarantee their complete remission of sins.
Whoever believes in this amazing gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit has been blessed by God to never end up as a failure no matter how many shortcomings they may have. Since we have been saved from our sins and become God’s own children, we have succeeded. Having come to this earth for our salvation, Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist, crucified to death, and resurrected from this death, and He has thereby become the perfect Savior to all His believers. We have become God’s children by believing in our Lord Jesus Christ who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and He has made us preach this true salvation. God has blessed us with eternal life through His Church.
It is only through God’s Church that one can receive God’s blessings. And such people can discern the Truth from everything false and have nothing but possess the real Truth by faith. God has worked energetically to implement His will through His Church. He has enabled all who believe in His gospel to receive the blessings of the remission of sins. God’s Church is preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over this world, and God has enabled whoever believes in this gospel to be washed from all his sins and receive every heavenly blessing.
Even now, God is spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit through His Church, and God has blessed all who hear and believe in this gospel to lack nothing and to be happy in both this world and the Kingdom of Heaven. They are blessed with the fullness of God, for He has made them belong to His Church. Jesus Christ is the Head of the righteous, and we are the members of His body. Therefore, we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are the people of the Kingdom of God, and we can all live there together forever. That is why the members of our Church love and cherish each other.
The members of the Church on this earth must get together regularly and frequently for their spiritual growth. To do so, they ought to worship God and listen to His Word as often as possible. As such, as members of God’s Church, we have united together to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit in this world. This has been made possible only because we have abided in God’s Church. All who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are members of God’s Church, and they alone can spread the true light of salvation in this sinful world.
Why is it so? It is because the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit is found in their hearts along with the Holy Spirit. Only those who have become God’s own people through their faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can worship God truthfully, and their prayer can move God. Wherever these people gather together to worship God, the Spirit of God works with them.
There is a certain elementary principle that every saint in God’s Church must grasp properly. This principle pertains to the order among the members of God’s Church. God infallibly carries out His work through the order of His Church. This is not only true, but it is also extremely important for you to grasp it and conduct yourself accordingly.
God has raised leaders from the members of His Church, and He has made them preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit under their leadership. In other words, God has made us preach His gospel under a certain order in His Church. Therefore, those who have become God’s people by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit must follow the instruction of Jesus Christ, the Head of God’s Church, and to do so, they must work according to the guidance of their Church leaders. Only then can they obey the will of God and serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit in their lives.
For this to happen, there must be a leader in God’s Church who can guide the congregation to the right path. This leader, in turn must have spiritual knowledge and faith in the pure Word of God that is not mixed with any leaven. Such faith is not attained as a matter of intellectual exercise, but it is attained only by the awakening and guidance of the Holy Spirit when facing the Word of God. This faith is given to the leader only when he understands and believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and obeys the will of God. That is because no man can reign over God’s Church, but it is reigned only by God.
There are many church buildings in this world. But few know which of these places actually constitute God’s Church. So it’s absolutely indispensable for you to have the ability to discern where God’s Church is. You can discern where God’s Church is only when you understand the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit through the Word of God and believe in this gospel. It’s only then that you can realize clearly what really sets God’s Church apart from worldly churches.
Even though worldly churches may look the same as God’s Church in outside appearances, in reality they are profoundly different. The vast majority of today’s visible churches are the gathering places of those who believe in pseudo-gospels rather than the true gospel of the water and the Spirit. Of course, every Christian claims that his church is God’s Church. However, any sinner who does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and therefore has not been completely washed from all his sins, cannot be a member of God’s Church. If you want to become a member of God’s Church in unity, you must first be saved from all your sins by believing in the true gospel of the water and the Spirit.
There is no place in this world other than God’s Church that preaches the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Most Christians are sure that they can receive the remission of their sins just by believing in Jesus’ blood on the Cross, even if they don’t believe in the baptism that Jesus received from John the Baptist. Such people do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that the Lord Himself had fulfilled through His baptism and His blood on the Cross, and their gatherings are not the true Church where the Spirit of God works.
The members of God’s Church are those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They alone constitute the true Church whose sole purpose on this earth is to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world. God’s Church follows the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if you believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then you have already become a member of God’s Church. You are made God’s saint only if you believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Only then can you become a member of the Church. And your faith is approved by God only if it is testified by the gospel of the water and the Spirit and witnessed by both Testaments of the Scripture.
 
 

God’s Church Is Spreading the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit to Fill the Whole Wide World

 
God is spreading this true gospel all over the world through His Church. In fact, it is God Himself who is working to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit throughout the world. And God is helping His Church because it is following His will. It is by God’s power that His Church is spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the world. God has helped us and blessed us to this very day to preach His gospel. If He had not worked on us so powerfully, could we have spread this gospel of salvation until now? No, it is God Himself who has spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit through His Church. Were it not for the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we believe in, how could we have ever been saved from all the sins of the world and become God’s children? Indeed, all these things were possible because of God’s power working on our lives through His Church.
Every book published by us holds the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and we have heard from people all over the world testifying that they have received the complete remission of their sins and their hearts have been completely transformed to become sinless just from reading one of our books. We are very thankful to God for this wonderful news. After all, how could we have witnessed such amazing works unless we had the gospel power of the water and the Spirit? It is all because of God’s truly amazing power that so many souls all over the world have received the remission of sins all at once and become God’s workers by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Ephesians 1:23 says, “Which [God’s Church] is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Thanks to Jesus Christ, God’s Church has filled the whole world with the blessings of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Now everyone in this world can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit by believing in this genuine gospel. If you want to become a member of God’s Church, then you must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Once you receive the remission of sins by believing in this true gospel, you will realize that you have received the Holy Spirit as a gift.
As we have been washed from all our sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we now have the duty to spread this true gospel all over the world. As mentioned, to become a member of God’s Church, one must first have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Like this, the remission of sins is received by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with the heart, and wherever such people are gathered together to spread the true gospel all over the world is God’s Church.
However, anyone who knows the gospel of the water and the Spirit just with his head and does not believe in it with his heart is not a member of God’s Church. If such people are found in God’s Church, they may obstruct the gospel of the water and the Spirit from spreading. That’s because God abhors those who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and He never works with such people. God has not entrusted His precious work to such people. As the Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts of only those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, He cannot work on anyone who does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Even those who don’t have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and understand this gospel only intellectually can eventually realize the righteousness of God one day. True faith may also spring forth among such people if they continue to listen to the Word of God in His Church. However, anyone who rejects the gospel of the water and the Spirit until the end will turn into an enemy of Jesus Christ to stand against Him, only to be called a servant of the Devil. No enemy of Jesus Christ can abide in God’s Church. This is an extremely important principle, as it clearly shows that whoever does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit cannot become a member of God’s Church. Therefore, if there is anyone here who still does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit even as he is in God’s Church physically, this person must submit himself to the righteousness of Jesus Christ as soon as possible. But generally speaking, it is very difficult and time-consuming for such a person to wholly believe in the gospel, so we should leave his soul up to God and continue to devote all our effort to preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit throughout the world.
Because God’s Church is the body of Christ and the Kingdom of God, all the workers in this Kingdom must have no sin in their hearts. Only then can the Holy Spirit work in these servants’ hearts. Those who believe in the righteousness of Jesus Christ alone are completely sinless. Such people are sinless on account of their faith, and they alone can become workers of God’s Church. Put differently, only those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can have the God-approved faith. It is therefore absolutely crucial for all the workers of God’s Church to discern the sheep from the goats and guide their flock carefully.
God always holds steadfast those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and He works through them. The problem, however, is that there are some people in God’s Church who think that even someone who does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can carry out God’s work of spreading the gospel. We should never think of God’s work in the same way we think of man’s work. God works only with the believers in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, and He ensures that everyone else has the same faith as theirs. Such results cannot be achieved through anyone who does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and therefore God never works with such unbelievers.
The institutional role of God’s Church is to serve the righteousness of Jesus Christ, its Head. For this institution to grow healthy, its members must always be united with the will of Jesus Christ and serve Him as the Head of God’s Church. Just as the Lord is forever holy, we must always keep our hearts holy by continuing to trust in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit. We must make up our minds clearly to obey the will of God, and we must defend this faith.
Why is this so necessary? It is because there are many misguided Christians in the nominal churches all over the world who are actually standing against the gospel of the water and the Spirit, even though they all profess to believe in Jesus as their Savior. Of the baptism of Jesus and His crucifixion, these people believe only in the blood of the Cross, but they still think mistakenly that they are good Christians. There are so many people like this in today’s Christian communities.
Many Christian churches and organizations in this world are willing to call anyone a saint if this person just believes in Jesus as his Savior. To be biblically correct, anyone whose heart is sinful cannot become one of God’s people. In other words, those who have not washed away their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are not God’s people. That’s because their hearts remain sinful, whereas the true saints are those who have washed away all their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Wherever such believers are gathered together to preach this gospel is God’s Church. However, if such a gathering is tainted by any unbelievers who don’t believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then this gathering has already lost its ability to function as God’s Church.
God’s Church is the place where holy people are gathered together with Jesus Christ as their Head. Therefore, those who believe in the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross as their salvation have become God’s people. In contrast, those who believe only in Jesus’ blood on the Cross without believing in His baptism as their salvation cannot become members of the body of Jesus Christ or His people. Such people can only be described as having become worldly Christians or Christian sinners. If you believe in Jesus’ blood alone as your salvation from sin, then you can neither be delivered from your sins nor become one of God’s people. With this kind of faith, you cannot help but remain a sinner in your heart, and if there is any sin in your heart, then this proves that you are not a saint. Anyone who does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is clearly a sinner with a sinful heart. And no one whose heart is sinful can be a child of God.
Just because today’s Christians profess to believe in Jesus as their Savior and call on His name, clapping their hands to praise Him and praying to Him fervently, this does not mean that they are approved as members of God’s Church. This kind of faith is prevalent even among the many non-Christian religions that are in this world. As God is holy, He doesn’t want to be glorified by any sinner. Although God can certainly bestow His mercy even on sinners, He cannot receive any glory from them.
 
 

The Mistake of Today’s Evangelicals

 
Although there are many Evangelicals in Christian communities around the world, what they are serving cannot actually be described as God’s work. That’s because they do not make the confession of faith to say that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the only true gospel. It is on this true confession of faith that God has built His Church. Jesus Christ is the Head of God’s Church. It is the will of Jesus Christ for everyone to be saved from all his sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and to join God’s Church to preach this genuine gospel to others as well. Just as God had entrusted His work only to Noah and his family among the people of his generation, He has allowed His work only to those who believe that the gospel of the water and the Spirit alone is the true gospel.
Despite this unfortunately, many Christians who lack this faith still boast of their own churches, claiming that theirs is the best church in the world. Rather than confessing that only the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the true gospel, they say that faith in the blood of the Cross alone is the true Christian faith. Some of them look very pious in serving the Lord. But what are they actually serving? They are actually trying to satisfy just their fleshly desires when they preach the gospel of the blood of the Cross. In contrast, the members of God’s Church believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, confess that this gospel alone is the true gospel of the remission of sins, defend this faith, and serve this gospel alone as God’s workers.
We believe in the Truth that Jesus Christ, the Head of God’s Church, was baptized by John the Baptist, crucified to death, and resurrected from the dead to save us from all our sins. We also believe that the Lord has turned all of us who believe in this Truth into God’s workers. Therefore, only those who have washed away all their sins in Christ by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit alone can become God’s holy people. In obedience to this will of God, we know and believe that the gospel of the water and the Spirit alone is the true gospel of God and everything else is a false gospel. That is why we must bear witness of the gospel of the water and the Spirit through the Truth revealed in the Scriptures. From the Word of God, everyone must realize the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and everyone must believe that this gospel is the Truth. Yet, there are many people in this world who think contrary to God’s will that the gospel of the water and the Spirit and every other gospel are all true. Such faith is profoundly mistaken. It is therefore absolutely indispensable for us to testify the Truth of salvation from the Word of God to show clearly to everyone that there is only one true gospel; the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
My point here is that the only people who can completely solve away everyone’s problem of sin are those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Everyone else is a false servant. Whoever does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit ultimately stands against it. Today, many Christians who don’t believe in this genuine and original gospel are just trying to satisfy their fleshly desires. They are devoting all their effort into expanding their church buildings, raising their own status, or exalting their own righteousness. In contrast, those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit as the only true gospel are serving God’s work united with His Church, yearning to fulfill the will of God alone. Such people who have become God’s true servants exalt only His righteousness, believe that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the true gospel, and glorify God alone. These true servants of God want to serve Him forever along with the gospel of the water and the Spirit that reveals the righteousness of God. Those who believe in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit as their salvation do not try to reveal their own human righteousness.
 
 

What Does It Mean to Believe in God’s Righteousness Then?

 
What is God’s righteousness? It is that to save us from all the sins of the world, Jesus was baptized on His own body, shed His blood on the Cross, rose from the dead, and has thereby become our Savior. That is how the Lord has forever saved all of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Whoever believes in this gospel of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord is delivered from all their sins.
The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. In other words, God’s righteousness is the very fact that Jesus Christ has blotted out all our sins once and for all by coming to this earth, being baptized by John the Baptist, dying on the Cross, and rising from the dead. Just as John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world,” God loved us so much that He came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man, was baptized by John the Baptist, shed His blood on the Cross, and thereby washed away all our sins and delivered us from destruction. It is by believing in this righteousness of God that we have been remitted from all our sins and become God’s own children. In this way, by believing in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit that constitutes God’s righteousness, we have put on this righteousness of God. God the Father loved this world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, and as this only begotten Son has blotted out all our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist and shedding His blood on the Cross, we have become completely sinless through our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Now, whoever believes in and follows the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit is someone who believes in and follows the righteousness of God. Since it is in God’s Church that such righteous people are gathered together, the Church is the body of Jesus Christ. It is extremely important for you to realize clearly here that God’s Church is the body of Jesus Christ, and that if you want to become a member of this body of Christ, you must first believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
The Lord said in the Gospel of John that He is the door of salvation. This means that just as we cannot enter any house unless we go through its door, we cannot be saved from our sins unless we have faith in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and therefore all of us must believe in this righteousness of the Lord. Only then can we reach the destination that God wants us to reach. It is with the gospel of the water and the Spirit that the Lord has taught us about the way to our true salvation. He has told us to come into this salvation through the gospel of the water and the Spirit that He has personally accomplished for us.
Despite this, sadly, countless people on this earth are still trying to reach their salvation through their own good works without understanding and believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. But for Christians today to be delivered from their sins, they must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
It’s written in Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” There is only one way that we can be saved from all the sins that we commit, and this way is to believe in the true gospel accomplished by Jesus Christ. It is the way to the Kingdom of Heaven, one that is reached by believing in the work of salvation that Jesus has fulfilled for us by shouldering all our sins through His baptism and shedding His blood on the Cross in our place. By any faith other than this faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we can neither be saved from our sins nor enter Heaven.
The problem, however is that so many Christians nowadays believe in Jesus as their Savior without actually believing in His righteousness. Like any other religious people in this world, most Christians in this age and time think that they just have to live an ethically upright life. Spiritually speaking, such beliefs are completely wrong. Although countless Christians today all profess to believe in Jesus as their Savior, few of them actually believe that one is born again only by believing in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. But Jesus taught us that the Kingdom of Heaven will be given only to those who believe in His righteousness, saying, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
When we say that we believe in the righteousness of Jesus Christ as the door of our salvation, it means that we believe in all His righteous work of salvation as our salvation, from His incarnation, His baptism to His shedding of blood, His death on the Cross, and His resurrection. The Bible therefore declares, “As through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life” (Romans 5:18).
The door of salvation that all of us must enter by faith does not require our own good works, for it is made only with the righteousness of God. For us to enter through this door of salvation, we must honestly admit all our filthy sins first of all, and then accept the gospel of the water and the Spirit into our hearts. Given the fact that this is the only way to reach our salvation, how could we be saved if we reject the righteousness of God? So I ask you all to step inside the door of salvation by believing in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, solve away all the problems and worries that you are grappling with over your sins, and transform them into joy. The moment you realize the gospel mystery of the water and the Spirit, you will experience the power of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Christianity has been corrupted going from bad to worse because its leaders remain incapable of realizing the mystery of the water and the Spirit. They have therefore been demanding human virtues and religious piety from their followers, teaching them to live an ethically upright life. If we could ultimately reach the Kingdom of Heaven just by living virtuously and doing good works, then there would be no need for us to believe in Jesus’ righteousness. If we were to believe in Jesus merely as a matter of religion, then the Christian faith would be no different from any other religion in this world. Worldly religions demand virtue from their followers; if our faith in Jesus were also hinged on our good work, then how could our faith be any different from any other religious faith?
What sets our faith apart from all the religions of this world is that thanks to the baptism of Jesus Christ and the precious blood He shed on the Cross, all our sins have been forever washed away and we have been cleansed whiter than snow. We are therefore now able to boldly come to the presence of God the Father by trusting in His righteousness. But for us to stand boldly in God’s presence like this, we must first receive the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit without fail.
 
 

The Righteousness of Jesus Is the Door of Salvation for All Mankind

 
Jesus said in John chapter 10:9, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” And He also said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Anyone who refused to step into the door of salvation that the Lord has made with the gospel of the water and the Spirit cannot enter the Kingdom of God. The baptism that Jesus received from John the Baptist to bear all our sins and the blood that He shed on the Cross in our place constitute the Truth of salvation that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Without the baptism of Jesus Christ, His blood and death, and His resurrection, no doctrine can ever save anyone from the sins of the world. Even if you believe in Jesus as your Savior, unless you understand and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that constitutes the Truth of salvation, you cannot go through the door of salvation. That’s because you can never be freed from all your sins unless you believe in this true gospel. In the age of the Old Testament, the screen gate of the court of the Tabernacle was made of blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine woven linen, all foreshadowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit. In this present age, we cannot go through the door of salvation unless we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
For us to go through the door of salvation that the Lord has made for us, it is absolutely imperative to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. When Simon Peter met the Lord at the Sea of Galilee before being born again, he finally discovered himself and realized that he was a sinner in God’s sight, confessing, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8) Like Peter, when we realize that we are destined to be destroyed for our sins, we must infallibly believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
When we do not examine ourselves before the righteousness of Jesus Christ and instead compare ourselves to those around us, we may fail to recognize our sinful selves and claim to be better than everyone else, but when we truthfully reflect ourselves before the Law of God, we can see just how insincere, evil, and filthy we all are. It’s then that we discover the love of God out of which Jesus has saved us from our sins. Through this love of God all of us must discover His righteousness and believe in it. That is why Jesus Christ said to us that He Himself is the door of salvation.
Once we reflect ourselves on the commandments of God and realize what a wicked and filthy sinner we all are, we can’t help but admit and accept the primacy of the righteousness of God. If we did not possess God’s righteousness by faith, then we could not have enjoyed any genuine satisfaction or peace in our hearts no matter how rich, powerful and famous we were. Although one could jump over the screen fence of the court of the Tabernacle in the days of the Old Testament, but such people would only have been driven out by the priests of God. Unless you believe in the Truth of salvation held in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen, you can neither discover the door of salvation nor meet the holy God.
For those whose problem of sin remains unresolved, their hearts are a living hell. The door of the Tabernacle of the Old Testament was made of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and this is manifested as the gospel of the water and the Spirit in the age of the New Testament. If we had not known the significance of the baptism of Jesus that washed away all our sins, and instead just believed in Jesus’ blood on the Cross alone as so many Christians do nowadays, then it would have been impossible for us to cleanse away our sins. The fence of the court of the Tabernacle separated what was holy from what was filthy, and therefore to come into the Tabernacle, everyone invariably had to go through its door by faith. Although uncleanness may be tolerated outside the fence of the Tabernacle, only those who have become holy by believing in the Truth that Jesus had washed all our sins with His baptism and blood can step inside the wall.
Through the Truth of salvation manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen, God has made the real salvation known to us so that we would enter into His righteousness. You must therefore believe in Jesus who has accomplished the righteousness of God as your Savior. The baptism that Jesus Christ received from John the Baptist to bear all our sins and the crucifixion that He suffered in our place shows us clearly that He bore all the condemnation of our sins perfectly. It is by abiding in the righteousness of God by faith that we can dwell in the holy city of God without any guilt or shame.
When we turn to the Bible, we see the Apostle Paul confessing that he had been the chief of all sinners. Paul was speaking of his past, remembering just how he had persecuted Christians when he did not know Jesus Christ as his Savior. But he also said that such a sinner like himself had now become God’s worker. The Apostle Paul had found the grace of salvation from God by believing in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
A filthy sinner standing outside the Tabernacle had realized that he was saved from all his sins by believing in the grace of salvation constituted by the blue, purple, and scarlet thread of the gate of the court of the Tabernacle. And today, just like Paul, everyone can be washed and freed from all his sins if he discovers the righteousness of Jesus Christ fulfilled through His baptism and crucifixion. If you are otherwise still trying to wash away your sins with your legalistic faith and your own good works, then you are still standing outside the door of salvation and have not come through this door yet, and therefore you are no different from the religionists of this world. Even if you have believed in Jesus as your Savior all this time, if all your sins have not been cleansed from your heart as white as snow, then you are clearly someone who does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that constitutes the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
What deity in this world could be baptized to take all our sins and die to blot them out in our place? Only Jesus Christ, God Himself, was baptized to bear all our sins as our Savior and died on the Cross. And He arose from the dead. That is why all our sins could be washed away as white as snow and be clothed with the holiness of God, all by believing in the power of the baptism of Jesus and His precious blood. The Lord said to us that whoever does not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is a thief and a robber. No matter how virtuous and faithful anyone may look outwardly, if this person has not washed away his sins by believing in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, then he is a thief and a robber, someone who has nothing to do with the Lord.
Wherever the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are gathered together in this world is God’s Church. There you will find God’s servants and saints, all of who believe in this Truth of salvation. We believe in the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit, and we believe that the righteousness of God is revealed in this gospel. That is why we boast of God’s righteousness and all the blessings that He has bestowed on us, for we believe in this righteousness of God. And that is why it is through His Church that God is making everyone all over the whole world receive the blessings of true salvation by believing in the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit. So I ask each and every one of you to clearly understand and believe in God’s righteousness preached by the gospel of the water and the Spirit through His Church.
 
 
Everyone Who Believes in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit Will Enter the Kingdom of Heaven
 
It’s written in Ephesians 1:9-10, “Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.”
The dispensation here refers to the great plan God made for us in Christ. In other words, it means that God the Father planned to make us, who are mere useless human beings, His own children in Jesus Christ. What an amazing and righteous plan of God this is! God the Father’s plan found in the righteousness of Jesus Christ is all revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It shows us clearly that God made this plan to give us the remission of sins and transform our station in life into His own sons and daughters.
Fundamentally speaking, you and I are no more than mere creatures before God. Yet to make such people like us exalted as His own Son, God has made it possible for us to reach our true salvation by believing in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And in His plan God has made all of us abide in His Church by serving the gospel of His righteousness. So we can’t help but praise God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ with thanksgiving.
God the Father has blessed us to forever enjoy splendor and glory in the Kingdom of Heaven together with Jesus Christ. It is then only a matter of course for us to thank God the Father for achieving such a wonderful work in Jesus Christ our Savior. Jesus Christ the Son of God has personally fulfilled the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and only those who believe in this gospel are allowed by God to reach their true salvation. All who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in this age and time will surely receive the true remission of sins and everlasting life from God.
Any man did not make the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, but it is the Truth of salvation fulfilled by God the Father and Jesus Christ alone. That is why all of us ought to believe in this God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit and praise His righteousness with this faith. In Jesus Christ, we must discover the righteous work that God has done for us, believe in it, and praise Him for this wonderful work of salvation.
As our hearts have been made righteous, out of gratitude we ought to write songs and hymns praising God, and sing of His love and this salvation and the glory He has bestowed upon us. Whenever I have any free time, I find myself humming along a hymn praising God. Although this world is filled with many songs that sing about romantic love or other such human feelings and affairs, the best song of all is praising God for the righteousness He has bestowed on us. God not only made us but He has also saved us from all the sins of the world, and the way for us to pay Him back for these wonderful blessings is to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and praise God for it.
The reason why we must praise God is found in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that is in Jesus Christ. The gospel of the water and the Spirit is the gospel of Truth through which God has saved us from all our sins; and these hymns that praise this true gospel is never tiring to us no matter how long we sing them, but they only make us even more thankful for God’s love. So we are compelled to thank and praise God sincerely from the bottom of our hearts.
Having planned our salvation in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world to save us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God has indeed saved us all; and this blessing and this salvation are so amazing and wonderful that we cannot help but thank God. We are so amazed by what God has done for us, and we are so grateful for this grace. Why then do so many people still refuse to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that has saved them from the sins of the world? Why do so many Christians still remain ignorant of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, only to keep on wandering around lost in their sins?
How could any human being, a mere creature, ever become a child of God? How could we as mere creatures ever be adopted by God as His own sons and daughters? This is possible only by believing in the Truth that the baptism Jesus Christ received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross constitute our salvation. How has God made us His own sons and daughters then? God Himself has accomplished this through the gospel work of the water and the Spirit. Therefore, it is only through our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we could become God’s sons and daughters. Is this not utterly amazing? How could our words ever express such amazing and wonderful grace, and how could we ever thank our God enough for all His blessings? Even so, we try our best to express our gratitude through songs and hymns, praising God for His truly amazing grace.
As all of us who know the mystery of God’s Church and the gospel of the water and the Spirit have put on the glory of God, we cannot help but thank Him. Now that we have the proper understanding of Jesus Christ, the Head of God’s Church, we are compelled to preach in obedience to His will all over the world that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the real gospel.
My fellow believers, as we have received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we are living our lives in gratefulness to God for making us members of His Church. That’s because this very life of faith that we are now living by trusting in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is what brings God’s tremendous blessings to us. Before our God’s plan, we cannot help but believe in it according to His dispensation, thank Him and praise His righteousness. Even though our own ego is sometimes bruised, we will praise God forever, for we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and follow the righteousness of God. God has fulfilled His plan of salvation for us through the baptism of Jesus Christ, His blood and death on the Cross, and His resurrection, and therefore whoever believes in this Truth has been made perfect. Although we can never praise God enough for His grace, and even though our flesh is weak, we must still serve the righteousness of the Lord in every way possible, even if it’s just with our bodies. All of must live by trusting in God and thank Him always for the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit.
We are now bearing witness of the gospel of the water and the Spirit in many different languages of the world. We are carrying out this literature ministry by faith, realizing fully that this is the righteous, God-given calling. People all over the world who have not known the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit are now finding this gospel of Truth for the first time through our books, and they are sending letters to us telling us how thankful they are to God. These readers are saying that the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit is so compelling that they want to work with this Truth for the rest of their lives. Such amazing works have unfolded because God Himself has completed the work of salvation. It is then only too proper that everyone all across the world who believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit should serve the righteousness of God by faith. All of us must entrust ourselves to God and participate in this gospel work to serve His righteousness in our lives.
The gospel of the water and the Spirit preached by us is not just one of the many teachings of this world. This gospel of the water and the Spirit is the only genuine gospel that holds the righteousness of God. Any single book of ours can deliver a soul from all sins. I believe wholeheartedly that everyone in this world will soon come to know God’s righteousness.
However, many Christians today still think that anyone can be saved even if he does not know the righteousness of Jesus, so long as he believes in Jesus somehow. So, they all claim to have been saved from all their sins, but the reality is that they are still bound by their sins. In fact, they are not obeying the will of God. In contrast to this, all who have been saved by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have received the remission of sins to transform their hearts completely.
God wants to reveal His true salvation to those who are honest before His Word. God is saying to us that if we profess to believe in His Word, then we should believe wholeheartedly in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. God shuns whoever says that there is more than one true gospel, and that any and all gospels are equally right. If you try to have both ways as a wobbler and say that the gospel of the water and the Spirit and the gospel that advocates the blood of the Cross alone are both right, then it can only mean that you do not actually believe in the Word of God, and you are someone who is disobeying His righteousness.
Ephesians 1:23 says that the Church is “His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Who in this world fills all in all? It is Jesus Christ our Creator who fills this world with salvation, blessings and glory. With what does God fill us? He fills us with His righteousness that is found in His gospel of the water and the Spirit. As we believe in the blessings of salvation that have come by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God has indeed filled us all with the spiritual blessings of His Kingdom.
The Bible says that God fills all in all, which means that there is someone who does something to fill everything in this world. Through whom then would Jesus have been filling all in all? Wouldn’t God carry out His righteous work through you and me, the members of His Church? If you don’t realize this even as you abide in God’s Church, then you must realize now that you are indeed a redeemed saint and a member of God’s Church. And you should thank God with faith. If you don’t realize that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church and you are a member of His body, God will not work through you. All of us must therefore grasp and believe that we have become God’s children by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Each and every part of your body, from your hair to your toes, is integral to you. Even your hair is precious as it is part of your body. When even the smallest part of your body falls ill, your whole body will suffer as a result. Likewise, if any member of God’s Church goes astray and his faith in Jesus Christ the Head of the Church is corrupted, then the whole body of Christ will suffer. That is why all of us must unite our strength to defend our faith in the Truth.
As we have become members of God’s Church by believing in His righteousness, all of us ought to share the belief that we are one family. We ought to thank God trusting in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. To know and believe in this genuine gospel is absolutely indispensable for us to receive God’s blessings. For us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit to grow spiritually, the first necessary step is taken when we recognize and believe that we have become one body in Jesus Christ, and that Jesus Christ is our Head.
That’s because we have put on the fullness of Him who fills all in all. It is through us that God preaches His precious gospel to bestow His love and blessings on everyone all over the world, and it is to us that God has entrusted this important work. We have become members of God’s Church by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that constitutes the righteousness of God. As such believers in this beautiful and original gospel, all of us ought to thank God for His wonderful blessing. Indeed, it is thanks to God’s mighty work that we have come to have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and it is on account of this faith that we are now living amid God’s blessings.
The gospel of the water and the Spirit is spread effectively only when we unite ourselves with God’s Church. You should realize here that this is not achieved by one man’s effort, but it is achieved only when all the members of the Church obey the commandments of Jesus Christ the Head, for it is only then that the will of Christ is fulfilled. All of us must now realize clearly to which church we belong, and that we are very precious in God’s sight.
There are some people who, even after believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, still fail to discern the Church that has the righteousness of God, thinking that every church is the same. Such people make this kind of misjudgment even though they have clearly received the remission of sins because they do not know whether they belong to God’s Church or Satan’s synagogue. So long as they remain unclear as to where they really belong, they are all bound to live without any spiritual nourishment.
Through the righteousness of God, all of us must know what must be known; through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, all of us must believe what must be believed; and through the plan of God the Father, all of us must recognize what must be recognized as truly beautiful and precious. As we know and believe that our status has changed on account of our faith in God’s righteousness, we ought to serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We have been completely transformed from our past selves, for we are no longer sinners but have become righteous people by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. As such, it is extremely important for us to examine ourselves every day to see whether or not we are standing unwaveringly on our faith, verify our salvation, recognize where we belong, have faith in our newly gained status as the children of God, and do everything accordingly.
God’s Church is the most blessed place in this world and the storehouse of blessings. None other than God’s Church here is the treasure house of all blessings. And it is through His Church that God is bestowing His blessings of salvation on you, your family, and everyone else all over the world. God sent Jesus Christ to you and me living on this earth in order to make us members of God’s Church. Having come to this earth, Jesus has saved us from all our sins once and for all by being baptized and shedding His blood to death on the Cross.
But what would have happened to us if Jesus had just abandoned us after saving us? No doubt we would all have gone astray. That is why, because God knew us all too well, He made us members of His Church and put us there. God has given us this beautiful gospel of the water and the Spirit and saved us from all our sins so that we would actually become members of His body.
What an amazing blessing it is! I give all my thanks to God for saving us from all our sins and calling us to be the members of His own Church.
 
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Sermons on Ephesians (I) - WHAT GOD IS SAYING TO US THROUGH THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS