WE ARE HIS BODY!
"Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular" (1 Corinthians 12:27). We are the very members of Christ's body! By faith, we are made bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh. And now we all have been adopted into one family: "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another" (Romans 12:5).
You see, out of the grave came a new Man. And from the time of the cross, all who repent and believe in this new Man are gathered up in Him: "By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many" (1 Corinthians 12:13-14).
There is no longer any black, white, yellow, brown, Jew, Muslim or Gentile. We are all of one blood in Christ Jesus. And because of Christ's work on the cross, man could no longer attempt to be holy by keeping the law and the commandments. He could not become holy by good works, righteous deeds, human effort or strivings of the flesh.
"That he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby" (Ephesians 2:16). "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain [two] one new man, so making peace" (verse 15).
Only one Man would be accepted by the Father—the new, resurrected Man! And when this new Man presented to His Father all who had faith in Him, the Father responded, "I receive you all as holy—because you are in My holy Son!" "He hath made us accepted in the beloved" (1:6).
Moreover, we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit: "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ . . . in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise" (1:10, 13).
So, you see, holiness is not something we do, or attain, or work up. Rather, it is something we believe. God accepts us as holy only as we have faith in Christ and abide in Him. The path to holiness is not through human ability, but through faith!
You see, out of the grave came a new Man. And from the time of the cross, all who repent and believe in this new Man are gathered up in Him: "By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many" (1 Corinthians 12:13-14).
There is no longer any black, white, yellow, brown, Jew, Muslim or Gentile. We are all of one blood in Christ Jesus. And because of Christ's work on the cross, man could no longer attempt to be holy by keeping the law and the commandments. He could not become holy by good works, righteous deeds, human effort or strivings of the flesh.
"That he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby" (Ephesians 2:16). "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain [two] one new man, so making peace" (verse 15).
Only one Man would be accepted by the Father—the new, resurrected Man! And when this new Man presented to His Father all who had faith in Him, the Father responded, "I receive you all as holy—because you are in My holy Son!" "He hath made us accepted in the beloved" (1:6).
Moreover, we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit: "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ . . . in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise" (1:10, 13).
So, you see, holiness is not something we do, or attain, or work up. Rather, it is something we believe. God accepts us as holy only as we have faith in Christ and abide in Him. The path to holiness is not through human ability, but through faith!