JOY!

Once you have tasted and lived even a smidgeon of the richness of the mystery talked about in Ephesians 3, there is no return to the lackluster humdrum of everyday religion. Loving God  is a moment by moment walk of confidence and true freedom. The  joy of enjoying the same confidence and freedom with others is an irreplaceable treasure not to be treated lightly.

 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me(Paul) the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: 7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. 8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;9And to make all men see what is the fellowship (link) of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12 In whom we have boldness (link) and access with confidence by the faith of him.

-->  Camaraderie, friendship, community are all examples of groups of people relating together; but genuine fellowship based on God’s Word is the highest form of relationships. It is what the mystery is all about. It is Christ in every believer functioning together, openly and honestly believing together, respecting together, and accomplishing great things together. It does not happen without the ‘unity of the spirit’. It cannot be fabricated, manufactured, forced, or compromised by untruth.

1 John 1:5-7 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship (link) with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship (link) one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

I have participated on many, many, many teams during my lifetime, and the only truly effective ones were those based on acting on the principles in the Word.   Some of the people I worked with may have not even been aware that they were utilizing Biblical principles but they still worked regardless. Light is light no matter which room it is in. God's methods and practices, whether He gets the credit or not, absolutely work! It is pure joy to do things God's way.

Godly Teamwork - The Mystery

How many books, plaques, posters, cards and conferences are devoted to team-building?  Everybody has a theory on building a team, maintaining a team and making it more effective. Teamwork is such a common thread in our lives, we all ought to be  experts at it. I have been on curriculum teams, staff development teams, class teams, sports teams, political teams and many leadership teams. It takes a team to do a baby shower, raise a family, plan a wedding, run a home, grocery shop and worship God. You name it, everything involves teamwork.

On the day of Pentecost, 12 men sat down on their prayer rugs in a temple and manifested power that only God could give, holy spirit. It was the full measure of the spirit that Christ had and each man had an equal amount. Then Peter standing up gave one of the most significant sermons in the history of the world and said at the end:

Acts 2:38-39 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.

What started in the lofty temple on the hill in 12 men moved into everyday life in people who gladly received and became a part of the body of Christ. This team (homothumadon link) has the potential of being the most effective team on the face of the earth. God supplies the juice. People make it happen together.

Ephesians 3:16-20 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

If people would just believe that God called each one of us uniquely, we would surely walk in the power and spirit of God. There would not be manipulation, power struggles, gossip and the damaging comparisons that go on in an uncommitted team. This group of people that emerged out of Pentecost were excited and motivated. They didn't understand completely what it all meant but as we will see as the book of Acts unfolds, many new and exciting revelations emerged as they started to effectively live and breathe in the new grace administration.