Love Your Church—Jesus Does! – Part 8

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10

It took seven years to build Solomon’s temple. In Scripture the number seven represents completion. So when it comes to your ‘position’ in Christ, you’re as saved right now as you’ll be when you stand in heaven. When Jesus cried, ‘It is finished’, everything required to reconcile you to God was completed. The word ‘complete’ means ‘lacking nothing’. And when you put your trust in Jesus, that’s how God sees you. When He positions you in Christ, ‘You are complete in Him’ (Colossians 2:10). You say, ‘But I still sin.’ The Bible says, ‘We all…beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image…by the Spirit of the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 3:18). Did you get that? The Holy Spirit is at work in your life every day, in every way, molding you into the image of Jesus. God’s ultimate plan for you is greater than you can comprehend. Jude writes, ‘Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy…be glory and majesty’ (Jude 1:24-25). Note the words ‘Him that is able’. This is something Christ does for you, not something you do for yourself! And one of the tools He uses to bring about your perfection (maturity) is trouble. Peter writes, ‘May the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.’ It may take a while, but you’ll get there!

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for taking me into Your body – not by any thing I can do but all by what You have done. In Jesus’ Name, Amen