I call on
you as God’s prisoner to live your lives in such a way that you are an honor to
your noble calling. Exercise humbleness and gentleness, and be patient with one
another, thus fulfilling the law of love. Make every effort to cooperate with
and exercise peaceful intentions towards your fellow believers, as this is
pleasing to the Spirit of God who dwells within you.
There is only
one body and only one Spirit, just as you were called to only one hope when you
came to a saving knowledge of Christ. There is, (as you are all too aware) one
Lord, one faith and one baptism. There is only one God and one Father of all of
us; who is and will always be preeminent and living through the lives of all
believers.
The Holy Spirit
distributes different gifts, and those who minister in the gifts have different
roles. And each and every believer has been given grace as God has chosen to
apportion that amazing grace. This is why the scripture says,
“After He rose into the heavens
He took many captives
and gave various gifts to mankind.”
What, after all, does the word “ascended”
imply, except that He (meaning Christ) also descended from heaven to a base and
troubled world? He who descended from the very throne of God is the same One
who returned there, and in so doing, He fills up the entire universe.
And the gifts He invests in men and
women vary. So, Christ gave us apostles,
prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers to equip believers for the work
of the ministry, so that the body of Christ might be edified, until we all attain
unity in our faith, and the knowledge of Jesus Christ and have reached maturity;
obtaining the level of faith, character, and giftedness which He so badly
desires for us.
God did not create us, nor did He
commission us to behave as infants, tossed about by the winds, and waves of the
sea, and negatively influenced by the cunning and teaching of false prophets
who stand against our glorious Gospel. We are, however, called to tell the Truth,
to pursue it with love, to mature in Him, and emulate the nature of our Savior,
Christ Jesus. For through Him the entire body, joined and held together by
ligaments and tendons and joints has been built up and functions in love; as
each part does it respective work.
Thus, I admonish you in the Lord. Refuse
to continue living as the heathen live. For they are darkened in their comprehension,
and have been separated from the vision and vitality of the Lord because of the
innate ignorance and insensitivity which resides within them. They have
surrendered every last bit of sensitivity to the leading of the Spirit, they
have embraced a spirit of lust, and they indulge themselves in the most
provocative of sins.
But this is not the manner of life
which you were taught by Jesus Christ, if by chance you ever heard Him speak,
and if you comprehended the meaning of His words. For our Lord instructed you to
dispense with your former way of behaving, (which was rotten through and
through) to adopt the mind of Christ and to put on a new mindset; for you were
created to cooperate with God and to emulate His righteousness and holiness.
Therefore, each of you should
renounce any tendency for lying, and you should tell the truth to believers and
unbelievers, alike. For, after all, we are members of one body, the Body of
Christ (and we represent our beloved Master). Avoid useless displays of anger
which result from pride and a biased attitude. Refrain from going to bed
without resolving any petty arguments with your spouse; which only causes your
natural enemy to take pride in his power over you. If you once earned your
living as a thief you must cease and desist, and procure honest work, and,
subsequently, contribute to the needs of believers who don’t have quite as much
as you.
“Swear off” the kind of abusive
language which you used as an unbeliever, and make use the kind of words which
will benefit your brothers and sisters. And, by all means, do not grieve the
Holy Spirit of God, by whom we have been identified and set aside ‘til the Day
of Redemption.
Dispense with bitterness, anger and
rage, pride, slander and empty accusations. Exercise empathy towards one another,
and attempt to understand and compromise with your fellow believers. And, of course, I want to encourage you to forgive
one another, as you have been forgiven by God; through the person of His Son,
Jesus Christ.
by William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from The McDonald Paraphrase of the New Testament. Copyright 2018
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