Although we are still studying the Gospel of Matthew, seeing the church in Matthew 16:18 has launched us into the intrinsic view of the church, which is the Body of Christ. We saw that only those who have received the life of Christ form a part of the Body of Christ. In this Bible study we explore the fact that we believers are the members of the Body. We also ask a couple of questions to help us open up to the Lord and to one another – that we might see His Body and enter into its experience.
Questions for Fellowship
1. In the attached excerpt (linked in the second reading), Watchman Nee briefly refers to the universal aspect of the church as the Body of Christ. Who do you think is included in the universal Body of Christ?
2. What can we do to practice the Body life?
Ephesians 1:22-23 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.
1 Corinthians 12:12 For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ.
In this Bible study we have 3 questions and two readings. We will dig deep into the significance of the church in this and the following few Bible studies. We believe this is the right time for the Lord to unveil us further concerning the church. Let us get into it in a prayerful way.
Questions for Fellowship
1. When you were a kid, what did you think was the meaning of
the word “church”?
2. How has your realization of the church changed over the
years?
3. If someone asks you for some steps they can follow to begin
to have a personal time with the Lord, how would you answer
them?
Matthew 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Ephesians 1:22-23 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.
We have mentioned that the gospel according to Matthew presents the gospel of the kingdom. In this Bible study we want to see that the kingdom is established and developed through the seed of the kingdom.
First we will see the parable of the sower. Then we want to emphasize that Christ the King is literally within His believers – as opposed to only being in them figuratively. This is very important, especially since we conclude this Bible study seeing the expansion of Christ as the king. That’s right, “The expansion of Christ”. How can this be? What does this mean?
If you have a soft heart toward the Lord, we believe you will be enlightened through this Bible study and even enter into the experience of the kingdom.
For Matthew Chapter 5, the outline in the Recovery Version of the Bible opens up to us “The Decree of the Kingdom’s Constitution concerning…
1) The nature of the kingdom people, 2) The influence of the kingdom people, and 3) The law of the kingdom people.
We encourage you to read this whole chapter. The humanity presented by our Lord Jesus in this chapter is the highest humanity. Many of us would wonder if what is found here is even attainable. The last verse tells us how our Lord feels about this. It is an unwavering statement.
You therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. – Matthew 5:48
The context for this verse is love, and love is God’s nature. In this Bible study, we want to linger on this unwavering and now resounding statement and enter into its being worked out in us. Ready? Let’s go.
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
1 Peter 1:23 Having been regenerated not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, through the living and abiding word of God.
1 John 5:1a Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten of God
Fellowship to help us know Christ and pursue Him
From these verses, we can see that regeneration is to receive Christ, who is the life-giving Spirit, into us as our life. To receive this life, we need to repent to God and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
To say that Christ is our life now is not a figurative statement. Christ being our life does not merely mean that we are now completely focused on Him. Rather, this means that we have literally another life, a new life, which we didn’t have before. Humans have the human life, dogs have the dog life, cats have the cat life, and believers have God’s life! The following short quotation emphasizes that by regeneration, we obtain God’s life.
Regeneration is having God enter into us as life—having the life of God in addition to our human life. This is the second life, the second birth; hence, it is called regeneration. In man’s first birth he is born of his parents, thereby receiving Adam’s life. In his second birth he is born of the Spirit and of God, thereby obtaining God’s life. Regeneration is to be born of God. (Lessons for New Believers, Lesson 1, published by Living Stream Ministry)
With this in mind, enjoy reading afresh the following passage from the gospel of John.
John 3:1-8 But there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This one came to Him by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher, for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him. 3 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?
5 Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born anew. 8 The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
With the human life, if you take away the life from the person, you take away that person. In other words, you cannot separate the life from the person. We also then realize, that just as one cannot be unborn of their human life, a believer cannot be unborn of their new life from God. We cannot be un-regenerated. This is good news! You believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; you have a new life, the life of God, and this life can never be taken away from you. This is what John 3:16 means when it says, “have eternal life”.
Again, when we believe in Jesus Christ, we receive Him who is the very life of God into us, to be our new life. We are regenerated! The realization of such a fact led the author of hymn 1174 to praise unceasingly.
How mysterious! Yet how real! Such a man now lives in me. Into all my heart He’s spreading— He, my human life, to be. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! I will praise unceasingly.
