ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ကပ်ရောဂါနှင့်အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာစာပို့လုပ်ငန်းဝန်ဆောင်မှုများပျက်ပြားခြင်းကြောင့်ကျွန်ုပ်တို့၏ 'အခမဲ့ပုံနှိပ်စာအုပ်ဝန်ဆောင်မှု' ကိုယာယီရပ်ဆိုင်းလိုက်သည်။
ဤအခြေအနေ၏အခြေအနေအရကျွန်ုပ်တို့သည်ယခုအချိန်တွင်သင့်အားစာအုပ်များမပို့နိုင်သေးပေ။
ဤကပ်ရောဂါသည်မကြာမီကုန်ဆုံးပြီးစာတိုက်လုပ်ငန်းပြန်လည်စတင်ရန်ဆုတောင်းပါ။
Subject 19 : The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the EPHESIANS
[Chapter 3-1] Do Your Spiritual Work Ceaselessly (Ephesians 3:1-21)
(Ephesians 3:1-21)
“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
When we look at what the Apostle Paul wrote in his Epistle to the saints in Ephesus, we can see that God our Father has delivered us from all our sins and saved us from our destruction through Jesus Christ and His gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Apostle Paul is testifying here that God has adopted all of us who have been saved in Jesus Christ as His own children, and that He has given us everlasting life.
In today’s Scripture reading, the Apostle Paul is preaching the dispensation of salvation that God has bestowed on us—that is, he is bearing witness of the profound providence of God. So, we can see the evidence that God the Father has saved us humans from all our sins through His Son Jesus Christ. We are therefore also able to realize the Truth of salvation.
Although the Word of God is applicable to everyone equally, it is specifically through God’s Church that His Word is preached. In the age of the Old Testament, it was through the prophets that God had revealed His Word, while in the age of the New Testament, it was through the Apostles of Jesus Christ that God manifested His Word. In particular, in this New Testament era, God made the Truth of salvation known to not only the people of Israel but also the Gentiles, so that they would also realize that God the Father has saved every human being through His Son Jesus Christ and the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Gentiles therefore could also become God’s children and His people through faith and participate in the glory of His Kingdom.
Does this then mean that everyone born on this earth came to accept the Word of God? No, this is not the case. Although God made His Word known to everyone, He did not allow everyone to put on His grace of salvation unconditionally. Rather, God has given a conscience to everyone and put the fear of God in everyone’s heart, so that whoever seeks to find God could find Him, whoever wants to meet Him could meet Him, and whoever wants to know who he is and where he is going could realize that he is a desperate sinner bound to hell. In other words, God has made it possible for all to realize that they are the objects of God’s love that must be saved by Him.
God Met with All Who Looked for Him Sincerely
Let me give you a concrete example of this. When we turn to Acts 8:26-40, we see Philip preaching the gospel to an Ethiopian eunuch. The eunuch had just begun his long journey back to his country after visiting Jerusalem to worship God, and while on his way back home, he was reading the Scripture in his chariot, specifically the following passage from Isaiah 53:7-8:
“He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.”
At the time, the Ethiopian eunuch could not comprehend what this passage meant and for whom it was written, as he had no understanding of the gospel. Knowing this beforehand, God had sent Philip the Deacon and told him to teach the meaning of this passage to the eunuch. So Philip approached the eunuch’s chariot and asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” When the eunuch said that he did not understand what the passage meant, Philip explained to him that it was actually speaking of Jesus and His salvation, saying to him, “Jesus Christ has become our Savior by coming to this earth, bearing all the sins of the human race through His baptism, dying on the Cross, and rising from the dead again. That’s what the passage in Isaiah means, prophesying that Jesus Christ would save the entire human race by sacrificing Himself.” Hearing Philip’s explanation, the Ethiopian eunuch was able to understand the meaning of the passage he was reading, believed in Jesus, and was saved.
Like this, God has enabled everyone who is sincerely looking for Him to actually find Him. The problem, however, is that people don’t look for God even though God has given them the ability to know Him (Romans 1:19). On the contrary, they not only refuse to believe in God, but they even think that they themselves are like God. As if this weren’t enough, they have made and worshipped false gods of their own out of the perishable things that God made. God therefore says that all human beings are destined to be destroyed, for they have worshiped idols instead of God. Moreover, from the very birth everyone inherited the sins of Adam, the forefather of the human race, and therefore everyone is a sinner and all human beings need the grace of salvation that Jesus Christ the Son of God is offering.
In this present age of the New Testament, we are made God’s children if we realize and believe in the Word of Truth, that God the Father has saved us from all our sins through Jesus Christ. In other words, God has granted the gospel of the water and the Spirit through His born-again Church in this age of the New Testament. So, as the Apostle Paul preached the gospel of the water and the Spirit during the Early Church era, those who heard and believed in this gospel were saved to form God’s Church and become the citizens of His Kingdom.
At that time, it wasn’t just the Apostle Paul who preached the gospel of the water and the Spirit. His fellow servants also preached the gospel with him. God raised up many Apostles and Evangelists, making them preach that God loved human beings so much that He had saved them through His Son and delivered them from all their sins, destruction and hell; but God made this Truth known to only those who were looking for Him. God had permitted only those who believed in this gospel preached by the servants of God to reach salvation, receive everlasting life, and accept Jesus Christ into their hearts.
The Apostle Paul testified that he himself was also saved because God the Father had saved the human race from all its sins through Jesus Christ. Paul was imprisoned like a criminal to bear witness of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and he was even put to death. He was thrown into jail just for preaching this gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. Yet even so, Paul was so grateful to God that he testified, “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8).
The Very Gospel Preached by the Apostle Paul Was the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit
It wasn’t just the Apostle Paul who preached the gospel of the water and the Spirit, but the Apostle John and the Apostle Peter also preached the same gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Apostle Paul said, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27); the Apostle John testified, “This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth” (1 John 5:6); and the Apostle Peter testified, “There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism” (1 Peter 3:21). As these passages show clearly, the gospel that all the Apostles preached at the beginning of the Early Church era was the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Even before the foundation of the world, God the Father had planned to save us humans from all our sins through His Son. And God wanted to save us according to this plan by sending Jesus Christ to this earth. This is all explained in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This gospel shows the plan of salvation made by God Himself, the Creator of all things, as it’s written in Ephesians 3:9, “To make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ.” Just like the Apostle Paul, we are now also revealing the gospel of the water and the Spirit to the entire world.
Just Like the Apostle Paul, We Are Also Bearing Witness of the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit
The gospel of the water and the Spirit that we are now preaching is the great mystery of salvation that God had planned even before the foundation of the world and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. As we believe in this gospel of the water and the Spirit, we ought to realize and believe that this gospel entails God’s great plan of salvation for all of us humans. It’s by believing in this plan of salvation designed in Jesus Christ that we are able to come boldly to the presence of God without any hesitation. The only way for all human beings to come out to God without any shame is to receive the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Although there are many religions in this world, the object of their faith is not God. These religions are all about deifying some creature and worshipping them as idols. The only true faith is one that’s placed in the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit. Those who can come to the presence of God are only those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with all their hearts, the gospel through which Jesus Christ has saved all human beings. In contrast, those who are now just following religious doctrines of this world can never reach the righteousness of God.
The Word of God that the Apostle Paul is preaching here in today’s Scripture passage is the Word that all of us must understand and believe without fail. The Apostle Paul wanted us all to understand this Word, to realize and believe in the depth and width of the will of God, and to thereby receive Christ into our hearts. Such a heartfelt desire of the Apostle Paul is aptly expressed in Ephesians 3:17, which says, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love.”
How Does Jesus Christ Come into Our Hearts?
This is possible only through faith in the righteousness of God. Our Lord has saved us by bearing all the sins of the human race by being baptized by John the Baptist, dying on the Cross, and rising from the dead. It’s by believing in this Truth that we are able to receive the Lord into our hearts. In other words, you and I must receive the remission of sins by believing that our Lord has blotted out all our sins, and this is how we can accept Jesus Christ to dwell in our cleansed hearts. Indeed, it’s our faith that makes it possible for Jesus Christ to dwell in our hearts.
It’s through His Son Jesus Christ that God the Father has done His work of salvation. And God continues to work through the gospel of the water and the Spirit fulfilled by His Son. Put differently, Jesus Christ is working continuously through His people who have the knowledge of and faith in this salvation. So let us never forget the fact that it’s only because of our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that the Spirit of Jesus Christ is able to dwell in our hearts.
How does Jesus Christ dwell in our hearts? He dwells as the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That is why the Apostle Paul testified that it was because of the Holy Spirit dwelling in his heart that he had become a valuable worker in God’s sight.
The Apostle Paul was a spiritual priest. You and I are also spiritual priests. Just like the Apostle Paul, all of us are spiritual priests. You may know that there was no chair or couch in the Tabernacle or its court. This means that the priests did not rest while they were carrying out their priestly duties. Did the Apostle Paul then rest from carrying out his priestly duties? No, it was unheard of. He confessed in 1 Thessalonians 2:9, “For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.”
The problem in today’s Christianity is that there are too many priests who are idle and standing around. It’s wrong for any priest not to fulfill his priestly duties. Just as the Apostle Paul carried out his priestly duties day after day without ever ceasing, so must we also fulfill our priesthood without ever stopping.
To fulfill our priesthood properly like this, it’s necessary to first understand what a priest does. A priest is someone who ministers between God and His people to blot out their sins. It’s through priests like us that God fulfills His justice and love, and as we the priests preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit, sinners are saved from all their sins by passing them to the Lamb of God through the principle of laying on of hands—that is, through the baptism of Jesus Christ. God has entrusted such duties to every priest, and just as the Apostle Paul carried out these priestly duties in the days of the Early Church, you and I are carrying them out in this present age.
Every Priest Must Carry Out His Duties
You and I have become spiritual priests in God’s sight. Such priests can wash away the trespasses of the people of this world. In particular, they can remit away the trespasses of those people who are deceived by false prophets. The priests’ role is to remit away their people’s sins through a righteous sacrifice and fulfill God’s love to the people. But that is not the end of the role of priests. They have to also play the role of prophets. Therefore, no priest can claim to have done all his priestly duties just by pointing out others’ sins. The priest still has the important duty of making Jesus Christ’s righteous work of salvation known to all.
Jesus Christ was the first to fulfill this priesthood. Let’s all then take a moment to see what Jesus Christ has done for us. First of all, He fulfilled His role as the Prophet to come. He has taught us our fundamental origins, explaining to us how we are all sinners before God, where every sinner is heading, and what we should believe to receive the remission of sins. That is why Jesus Himself bore all our sins on His own body by being baptized by John the Baptist. He then gave up His body and offered Himself to God for our propitiation, thereby bringing God’s love into our hearts. Through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, in other words, Jesus Christ has made it possible for us to be saved from all our sins, become God’s children, and receive everlasting life. And thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we have come to know and believe in the righteousness of God and His love.
A priest is someone who serves God and men simultaneously. One of his priestly duties is saving people from sin. The priest not only points out his people’s sins, but he is also required to save the people dying for their sins. That is why God has appointed you and me to the priesthood, so that we would carry out this work of saving souls. And that is why you and I must offer ourselves to God as His priests, and carry out our priestly duties. As those who have become today’s priests, we must work tirelessly to save everyone from sin, condemnation and destruction.
Every priest must dedicate all his body and heart to God to fulfill his priesthood. All that you have to do as a priest is just offer yourself to God boldly, for you are dedicating yourself to a righteous cause. Dedicating oneself to God’s righteous work is how every priest serves Him. Priesthood is all about offering himself to serve God, and every priest ought to devote himself to God’s righteous work.
You and I have received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. What’s our role in this world then? As mentioned, we are the priests of this present age. None of us should ever rest from our priesthood. Far from it, you and I must strive to become faithful priests in this age and time and carry out our priestly duties properly. For us to fulfill our priesthood properly, we must never serve the wickedness of this world. After all, devoting ourselves to the spreading of the gospel to save other souls rather than to any wicked cause is what it really means to fulfill our priesthood properly.
If you and I really want to do what’s pleasing to God, then we must serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It’s a serious dereliction of duty for us to serve anything else. All of us must have a clear understanding of what we ought to live for. Whether or not we can lead a proper life of faith depends on whether or not we know and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and serve this gospel. Our priesthood, in other words, does not depend on how much secular knowledge we have. Rather, it depends entirely on whether or not we believe in the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit and choose to do what is right.
Those whose livelihood depends on secular knowledge are either school teachers or university professors. A professor’s job is to devote himself to teaching his students and sharing knowledge with them. The only responsibility that professors have toward their students is to teach the courses that are assigned to them effectively, for their occupation is just a means to make a living for them.
In contrast, those who have been entrusted with spiritual priesthood cannot afford to restrict their duties to just teaching. It’s not enough for a priest to just teach the Word of God properly, but every priest himself must also serve God’s righteousness. Every priest ought to fulfill his priesthood faithfully, just as Jesus Christ faithfully completed all His work of salvation by bearing all our sins on His own body through His baptism, being crucified to death, and rising from the dead again. Having come to this earth as our High Priest, Jesus Christ offered Himself to God as the perfect propitiation, and that is why the entire human race can now receive the remission of sins and enter the Kingdom of God by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Jesus is the High Priest of Heaven; and just as the Apostle Paul is a heavenly priest, you and I are also heavenly priests. That is why you and I must also offer ourselves to God’s work. I’m not sure how you see me, but I am also a priest of God serving the Lord with all my devotion. And like me, you are also devoting all your body and heart to the Lord’s gospel of the water and the Spirit to support its ministry. Jesus was baptized and shed His blood to fulfill the work entrusted to Him as the High Priest of the Kingdom of Heaven. As the priests on this earth following in His footsteps, you and I also are offering our bodies to God as a living sacrifice every day. We are now fulfilling our priestly duties by dedicating our bodies and hearts to the Lord’s work.
By any chance, is there anyone here who has given up his priesthood? Or is there anyone who wants to give up the priestly work that he has been carrying out until now? When we turn to the Bible, we see the Sabbath Day mentioned, as well as sabbatical years. The people of Israel rested on both the Sabbath Day and the sabbatical year. Once a plot of land was cultivated for six years, this field was given rest on the seventh year. Following this practice, many pastors ministering in this world put a great deal of emphasis on their sabbatical year. When the seventh years comes since a pastor first began ministering at the same church, he would usually ask for a sabbatical year to get some rest and recharge himself spiritually. His church would then grant his wish and still pay his salary, so that he could rest for a year. Such pastors can rest like this because they consider their ministry only as a worldly occupation.
We the Believers in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit Can Never Rest from Our Priesthood
If we were to rest from our priesthood for a year, countless people will perish as a result. Of course, it’s true that we all wish we could get some rest for our tired bodies. But we can’t afford to take any break, for it would mean countless people perishing. Every priest must therefore continue to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit ceaselessly day after day, month after month, and year after year. All of us must offer ourselves to the Lord time after time. It’s our priestly calling to live like this.
If anyone who believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit fails to carry out his priestly work, then he will inevitably come to practice wickedness. We know and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit; we know that God is our Father and Jesus Christ is our Savior; and we also know God’s Church. Yet despite this, if we were not to devote our hearts to serving the righteousness of God, what would happen to all these sinners in this world? They will no doubt all perish. If you are not doing God’s work despite believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, it’s all because your heart has no communion with God. And if your heart isn’t devoted to this precious work of God, then you will go astray and end up lost. You wouldn’t even care whether God’s gospel is preached or not, how many people are visiting the website of the New Life Mission, or whether or not our gospel ministry is going well.
Every spiritual priest must offer his faith to God. Only then can he have communion with God and carry out his priestly duties. The Apostle Paul wished us in today’s Scripture passage, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:17), and if we really want Christ to work in our hearts like this, then we must obey His will. To do so, we must first realize that we ourselves are priests, and we must dedicate ourselves to the work that’s pleasing to Christ.
The problem, however, is that we are often tempted to give up our priesthood. If your heart is no longer devoted to your priesthood, then you are far removed from Christ, and therefore even if you are now trying to carry out God’s work, you are bound to struggle immensely in both body and spirit; and consequently, you will end up giving up your priesthood sooner or later. This can happen to any of you; if your thoughts go astray, you will end up giving up your priesthood. Sometimes, I myself also wish I could go to some place and take a break even for just a few days. When I feel weary enough, I wish I could rest for just a few days on my own without being disturbed.
What Will Happen to the World If We Stop Working to Serve the Righteousness of God?
If we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit do nothing but rest idly, not only is there no hope to the sinners of this world, but there is also nothing that we can gain from this. This will just result in our minds drifting away from Christ, only to be troubled and become weary. Our hearts will be troubled and our bodies will fall ill for no particular reason. That’s why we are so compelled to carry out the Lord’s work and serve Him even when it’s hard, because not to do so is even more troubling to our hearts.
Whenever I am at the Inje Discipleship Training Center, I always think about how we can run our discipleship training camp more effectively and safely, so that all our saints would be both spiritually nourished and joyful during their staying there. It’s natural for me to think about God’s work like this because I have become one of His priests. Indeed, for all who have become spiritual priests, not a moment goes by without thinking about God’s work. That’s because thinking about God’s work is itself also serving God, just as the Apostle Paul said that whatever we do, whether we drink or eat, we ought to do all things for the glory of God. Like this, all of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit must carry out God’s work every minute and every second.
We must realize here that when we offer ourselves to God to carry out His righteous work, it’s then that we fulfill our priesthood faithfully. No matter how exhausted and weary we may get from serving the gospel, we cannot afford to take any extended break. That’s because if we rest even for a few days, our passion for God will dissipate considerably. Once a priest’s heart begins to drift toward the world, it will drift far away from God uncontrollably. And once our hearts drift too far away from God, it’s very difficult for us to return, and that is why we must do God’s work every day for the rest of our lives.
It Is Next to Impossible for Anyone Who Left God’s Church to Worship the Golden Calf to Return to the Church
Why is this so? It’s because once a priest allows his heart to be captivated by this world, he cannot return to God’s arms even if he wants to. As the world is like a swamp, once you fall into it, you will sink deeper the more you struggle. We must therefore never rest from God’s work even for a moment. Those who seek after worldly gains and worship idols are ridden with too much guilt to return to God’s Church, thinking to themselves, “God’s Church won’t accept me after I have defiled myself so much like this.” Once the righteous step into the world, they can’t return to God’s Church not because anyone is stopping them, but because they themselves can’t bear it. Their hearts are too captivated by the things of the world to turn around. So we should never set a foot down into this filthy world in the first place.
We are now preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit all over the whole wide world with the same heartfelt desire that the Apostle Paul had for the people of his days when he said, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:17). The gospel of the water and the Spirit is the mystery of Christ. God the Father has saved us through His Son with the water, the blood and the Spirit (1 John 5:6-8). Jesus Christ accepted all our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist and saved us by being crucified to death and rising from the dead. We the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have no sin in our hearts. The Lord has saved us from all our sins through this Truth of the water and the Spirit, and we have become God’s own children by believing in this Truth. How could we then devote our hearts to the things of the world rather than God’s work? If there is anyone among us who devotes himself to the things of the world, God will no doubt call him wicked.
Having saved us from all our sins, God has told us to fulfill our priesthood to spread His gospel. What would God then say if we were not to serve His work but serve something else in disobedience to His will? God will surely rebuke us for having an evil heart and worshipping idols. If this happens we would in the end not be reconciled to God, and therefore our hearts would not be at peace either. God would then be uneasy with us, just as we would feel awkward to face Him. Since we would not be united with God in one heart, our relationship with God would be mutually troublesome. And since our relationship with God would be troubled, our hearts would also be troubled. Moreover, the spiritual wisdom that we now have would disappear, and as a result we would turn spiritually disabled and be incapable of doing anything despite staying in God’s Church.
Wisdom comes from God; when one is faithful to God, He gives heavenly wisdom to him (Proverbs 9:10, Psalm 111:10). Those who are spiritually wise can recognize those who are spiritually disabled. And the spiritually wise can also confront all the challenges that this world throws at them. That’s because God teaches them everything. It’s because they have the God-given wisdom. Therefore, it’s absolutely imperative for all of us to be at peace with God. We must be in harmony with God at all times. If we want to receive blessings in both body and spirit, it’s absolutely necessary for us to be reconciled to God.
How Do We Offer the Peace Offering That Reconciles Us to the Lord?
To be reconciled to God, we must offer a sacrifice according to the requirements of God’s sacrificial system. If you and I have really received the remission of sins and become priests by faith, then the way of serving the Lord is to walk according to the sacrificial system. You and I must take up our duties as God’s priests and blot out His people’s sins. Every priest must minister sacrifice faithfully to be at peace with God. Only then can our hearts also be at peace.
It is our destiny as the born-again to carry out God’s work. Whoever has become a priest in God’s sight must fulfill his priestly duties ceaselessly. You and I are such priests before God, are we not? Although priesthood was allowed only to the tribe of Levi in the age of the Old Testament, in this age of the New Testament, whoever has received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is a priest in God’s sight. God has allowed all who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit to come to His presence, and He has also promised that He would listen to their prayers; and therefore, in this present age, only those who have been born again of water and the Spirit are God’s priests.
Now then, let’s examine in more detail what the priests of the Old Testament did. The priests of the Old Testament mediated between God and the people of Israel, ministering peace offerings on their behalf. When the people of Israel brought a sacrificial animal to make atonement for their sins, they passed their sins onto the animal by laying their hands on its head and drew its blood; the priests then ministered the sacrifice for them, putting the blood of the sacrificial animal on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and burned its fat (Leviticus 3:1-5). This was the sacrifice that God wanted from the people of Israel, and so the priests ministered it on behalf of the Israelites. If the priests took a break even for a day, it would have caused an uproar among the people of Israel since they could not have received the remission of sins. So the priests had to carry out their duties without missing a single day. Such priestly duties are carried out by none other than us in this present age.
The Apostle Paul said in today’s Scripture passage, “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8). The same grace was given to you and me also. Just as the Apostle Paul carried out this work of God, so are we also doing the same work, for you and I are the holy priests of God (1 Peter 2:5). If we fail to serve God even as we have become His priests of this present age, we will feel so miserable in our hearts that life will be unbearable for us, and our hearts will also be defiled.
Even at this very moment, we are faithfully carrying out the Lord’s work to evangelize the whole wide world. And we will continue to carry out this work until the day the Lord returns no matter what anyone says. Whenever we preach the Word of God, it’s only the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we preach. You and I are offering ourselves to God to serve and spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Indeed, every priest must faithfully devote himself to remitting away the sins of his people, and only then can the priest himself also lead a spiritually upright life.
When it comes to carrying out our priestly duties, nothing can be achieved if we preach the gospel just with our lips. We must actually offer ourselves to the gospel ministry and devote all our dedication to it. That’s precisely why we are publishing our gospel books in unity with God. Some of us are working to make financial contributions to this end, while some of us are working diligently to prepare the manuscript. Some of us then use these financial contributions to publish the finished manuscript; some of us work on our website to process book requests from every country; and still others among us are in charge of distributing our books to the souls all over the world. As a result of this collective effort, many people are able to read our gospel books and receive the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Of course, even if people receive and read our gospel books, anyone who does not believe in the gospel won’t receive the remission of sins. Nevertheless, through our literature ministry, you and I are preaching the gospel in unity, calling upon every lost soul to receive the remission of sins
Just as the Lord sacrificed His own body to pay off the wages of all our sins, so must we sacrifice our bodies to lead everyone else to salvation. In short, as we have become priests, we must sacrifice ourselves to save others. The Lord has entrusted this work to you and me, just as He had entrusted it to the Apostle Paul. We should therefore never forget the fact that we have become spiritual priests, and we should actually fulfill our priestly duties in our everyday lives.
In this age and time, you and I who have been born again through the gospel of the water and the Spirit are the only true priests. So let us never forget this fact, and let us all offer ourselves to the Lord and live as His faithful servants until the day we take our last breath.
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