Christians and other titles

We belong to the collective Body of Christ whether we're alive or in glory. The Greek word for church is ekklesia, which means "an assembly of called-out ones. " The church is made up of people called by God to be His children. We have become united with all other believers by faith in Christ, who said, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). Jesus meant He would gather together a body of believers. He wasn't talking about buildings; He was talking about people. We who know and love Him are the living church that has been born into the family of God by the Holy Spirit. As members of "the general assembly and church of the first-born, who are written in heaven" (Heb. 12:23), we have been declared righteous because our sin has been washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:5). We are His Children as Romans 8:17 says "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." I looked up the references of "Christians" in the Bible. Aliens....................Ephesians 2:12 Believers................Acts 5:14 Brethren.................Romans 7:1 Children of God........Romans 8:16 Children of Light.......Ephesians 5:8 Christians ...............Acts 11:26 Disciples.................Acts 9:25 The Elect................Romans 8:33 Friends...................John 15:14 Heirs of God.............Romans 8:17 Light in the Lord.......Ephesians 5:8 Light of the world.....Matthew 5:14 Little Children...........1 John 2:1 Members.................1 Corinthians 12:18 and 12:25 Pilgrims....................1 Peter 2:11 Priests.....................Revelation 1:6 Saints......................Romans 8:27 Salt of this earth........Matthew 5:13 Servants of God..........Acts 16:17 Sheep.......................John 10:27 Soldier.......................2 Timothy 2:4 Vessles for honor.........2 Timothy 2:21 Witnesses...................Acts 1:8

Appointed Time

Still... in order for the body to stop functioning, an organ must stop so death can occur. When a human created temporary body dies, it turns to dust. 1 Corinthians 15:47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. My temporary body will go back to dust with no memories. Ecclesiastes 9:5 "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten." About "long life"? Some will have long life, others will not. God have "appointed" their time to die so we don't know when our appointed time except God. Ephesians 6:3 "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." Psalm 103:14 "for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust." Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. God appointed my time to die before I was born. (NKJV) Proverbs 8:23 "I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began." (NKJV) Psalm 79:11 Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You;According to the greatness of Your power Preserve those who are appointed to die; (NKJV) Ecclesiastes 7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him. Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV) And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. (NIV) Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. The Bible repeatedly speak of two kinds of life—physical and spiritual, as well as two kinds of death—physical and spiritual. Physical death is the separation of the immaterial part of us from our material body. Meaning our spirit will leave the temporary body and move on to eternal life. Spiritual death is the separation of a created being from God, who is the very Source of eternal life. The first two humans immediately died spiritually, where cut off from God, and corruption and decay entered the universe. Years later, they both died physically. My Christian view of life and death ends on a very positive future. Revelations 21:1-4 says "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away...Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them…and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties

What does Paul mean when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:10 "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." ? Weaknesses: (From Strong's Greek #769) of strength, weakness, infirmity, of the body, its native weakness and frailty, feebleness of health or sickness, of the soul , want of strength and capacity requisite 1b, to understand a thing 1b, to do things great and glorious 1b, to restrain corrupt desires 1b, to bear trials and troubles Insults: (From Strong's Greek #5196) insolence impudence, pride, haughtiness, a wrong springing from insolence, an injury, affront, insult, mental injury and wantonness of its infliction being prominent, injury inflicted by the violence of a tempest Hardships: (From Strong's Greek #318) necessity, imposed either by the circumstances, or by law of duty regarding to one's advantage, custom, argument, calamity, distress, straits Persecutions: (From Strong's Greek #1375) persecution Difficulties: (From Strong's Greek #4730) narrowness of place, a narrow place, metaph. dire calamity, extreme affliction. If you look at verse 9 leading up to verse 10..... God told Paul "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." Did God's grace made Paul strong?

"Once Saved, Always Saved"

I don't agree with "Once Saved, Always Saved". My real concern is: Are you TRULY SAVED? Remember, God looks in our hearts, not our works. Anyone can know this by looking in their hearts and see where they are at in their relationship with God. Is my heart bearing fruits from the Holy Spirit rather than works? Romans 2:29 (NIV) No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God. 2 Corinthians 3:2 (NIV) You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 2 Corinthians 3:3(NIV) You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Christ through His death and resurrection, every legal hindrance has been met and satisfied. There is nothing that can keep me from assurance except my own faith. Its not about thinking our way into salvation or to reason our way into salvation. The only way to get in is to believe Him with my heart which is sealed by the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 1:22 set His seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Ephesians 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."

Spiritual Healing

Christ's Atonement for sin is available to ALL but only few will acknowledge the conviction of the Holy Spirit to accept God's gift. The most pressing virus is sin. Sin is the basic problem because sin has to do with a person's soul. It comes to every human being: "What am I going to do about sin?" Sin is more than a disease. It is a deformity of the spirit, an abnormality in that part of human nature. We must make confession concerning our relationship with sin. Christ by His death on the cross made it possible for the sinner to exchange his sin for Christ's righteousness. It's that simple. Christ actually paid the penalty; suffered the wrath of God, and was a perfect and satisfactory atonement for the sins of all of who would ever believe. My issue is this: if there was physical healing in the atonement, then it was an incomplete atonement. Of course, someday I will die. Now, if that’s how it is with the promise of my physical healing, where is my hope for the promise of my spiritual healing? Is that the same thing? Once someone start defining the work of the atonement in temporal terms, they have a problem, because, even now, I am saved, I am righteous by virtue of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, but I’m certainly not what I’m going to be. The atonement was designed for our ultimate glory, and our souls’ ultimate glorification as well as a glorified body like the resurrection body of Jesus Christ. In that sense, our ultimate, final healing is in the atonement when the time come. We are not going to enter into the glories of heavenly perfection unless our sins have been dealt with. We are healed from the disease of sin (in a spiritual sense), but, we also understand, even though we are healed from sin, our sinful bodies all dying from sin. I have been forgiven all my sin and I know that. I have been delivered from the power of sin. I’ve been delivered from the penalty of sin, its ability to control my life, and, yet, I’m dying from the effect of sin. I have been given a healing. Physically, I will, one day, be perfect in a glorified body, and yet my body is still dying, until I get to that other world and realize the full significance of His atoning work. Is Healing part of Christ's Atonement, YES.. but not in WoF's terms. If we are physically healed today, we would not physically die, EVER. Its common sense spiritually.