The
Church Age
(The Body of Christ)
The Church Age (Body of Christ) is a part of God's plan that has been kept secret since the world began. If it weren't for this age, you and I would probably not be here today. This dispensation is much different from any other that we have looked at thus far for a couple of reasons: salvation comes by faith alone without any works and there is no longer any law that we must live under. We will look at both of these characteristics in greater depth a little later. Right now we are going to look at how this dispensation was actually brought in.
The man that God chose to give this new revelation to was a little bit strange. In those days, one of the biggest persecutors of Christians was a man named Saul. One day while Saul was on his way to Damascus, the Lord spoke to him, here's what happened:
And as he journeyed, he
came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from
heaven:
(Acts 9:3)
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me? (Acts 9:4)
And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou
persecutest: [it is] hard for thee to kick against the pricks. (Acts 9:5)
And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And
the Lord [said] unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee
what thou must do. (Acts 9:6)
And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but
seeing no man. (Acts 9:7)
And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but
they led him by the hand, and brought [him] into Damascus. (Acts 9:8)
And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. (Acts 9:9)
¶ And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said
the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I [am here], Lord. (Acts
9:10)
And the Lord [said] unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called
Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for [one] called Saul, of Tarsus:
for, behold, he prayeth, (Acts 9:11)
And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting [his] hand
on him, that he might receive his sight. (Acts 9:12)
Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he
hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: (Acts 9:13)
And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy
name. (Acts 9:14)
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to
bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: (Acts
9:15)
For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. (Acts
9:16)
And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on
him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, [even] Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the
way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be
filled with the Holy Ghost. (Acts 9:17)
And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received
sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. (Acts 9:18)
The revelation of this new Gospel was given to Saul, or Paul which he is called throughout the rest of the New Testament, and to him alone. It was his job to go out and spread this Gospel throughout the world. Now do you think Paul had some trouble convincing people that everything that they had been taught by Christ while he was on earth was null and void for the time being? They tried to argue with Paul and tell him what Jesus had taught them when he was on earth. Paul basically just said to them, he may have said that then but I just talked to him yesterday and he told me to tell you guys that this is the new plan. The Jews wanted no part of what Paul was telling them. This was why Paul became the apostle to the Gentiles.
And when Silas and
Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and
testified to the Jews [that] Jesus [was] Christ. (Acts 18:5)
And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook [his] raiment, and
said unto them, Your blood [be] upon your own heads; I [am] clean: from
henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. (Acts 18:6)
This is probably a good time to talk about what this new plan is all about. The Bible is very clear about where this age begins and where it ends and Paul is very clear about which Gospel we should be living by during this age.
But though we, or an angel
from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached
unto you, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8)
As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto
you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:9)
The Bible says that if you are teaching any other Gospel than Paul's, you are accursed. That means that if you are telling somebody that you need to be baptized to be saved, you are accursed. If you are telling someone that you can lose salvation, you are accursed. If you are teaching anybody anything that is not consistent with what Paul teaches, you are accursed.
Remember the difference between Jew and Gentile, and how the Gentiles were outside of the covenant and promises given to Israel? This is no longer the case, both Jew and Gentile are now equal.
But now in Christ Jesus ye
who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians
2:13)
¶ For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle
wall of partition [between us];
(Ephesians 2:14)
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments
[contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so]
making peace; (Ephesians 2:15)
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain
the enmity thereby: (Ephesians 2:16)
And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were
nigh. (Ephesians 2:17)
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. (Ephesians
2:18)
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with
the saints, and of the household of God;
(Ephesians 2:19)
If you are a Gentile, this is the best news you could have ever received. We no longer have to go through Israel to get to God, "we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." This means that all the promises that God gave to Abraham can now go to Gentiles as well, and this is why.
Know ye therefore that they
which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. (Galatians 3:7)
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:
for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree: (Galatians
3:13)
That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ;
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians
3:14)
So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. (Galatians
3:9)
When Christ died on the cross,
he was able to get rid of the law that we once had to live under because he took
every person's punishment for ever breaking the law. Think of it this way,
if there was a way to know every penalty that would be called in Hockey for all
of time, and one man said I'm going to serve all of those penalties right now so
all the players can be free to play the game without worrying about sitting out
for two minutes. If all those penalties are already served, the rules
simply become redundant and their really is no more use for them. Sin can be thought of as those
penalties in Hockey. Christ knew all of them for all of time and he paid
for every single one on the cross and in doing so he freed us from the
law. So today when we sin, there is no need to make an animal sacrifice
like they had to under the law. Christ is the sacrifice that was made
for every sin that you will ever commit in your life.
This brings us to salvation for this age. If you want to be saved in this
age, you need bloodshed to make up for your sins just like every other man
throughout history. Remember what we said about bloodshed and why it is
necessary to make atonement? Christ's bloodshed on the cross is all that
you need to wash away every sin that you will ever commit. If you have
Christ, you are clean in the eyes of God.
In whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace;
(Ephesians 1:7)
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood
of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13)
In whom we have redemption through his blood, [even] the forgiveness of sins:
(Colossians 1:14)
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all
things unto himself; by him, [I say], whether [they be] things in earth, or
things in heaven. (Colossians 1:20)
And you, that were sometime
alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
(Colossians 1:21)
In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and
unreproveable in his sight:
(Colossians 1:22)
... but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)
The only thing you have to do in this age is have faith to obtain salvation. Christ did all the work for us on the cross and he wants to give it to us as a free gift all out of love. There are no works involved in salvation in this age according to Paul, and remember what Paul says about anyone who teaches another gospel.
But God commendeth his love
toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the
gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8)
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
(Ephesians 2:9)
But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of
Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. (Galatians 3:22)
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26)
The Bible is very clear about salvation for this age. Salvation comes by grace through faith in Christ Jesus.
If you would like to hear more about salvation and get saved right now, Click Here.
Many people have a very hard time accepting that salvation comes through a simple act of faith. Humans are very proud and they feel that they should have some part in earning their salvation. Many think that they are actually good enough to make it to heaven by themselves (Click Here to find out where this will get you.) The things you do in this age, your works, have nothing to do with your salvation. They do however serve a purpose which we will discuss later on.
You may be asking yourself at this point, since we are talking about the present time, what the future holds for Christians. This age ends in something we refer to as "The Rapture" of Church Age saints. If you are saved right now, the Bible says that you are a saint. Pretty amazing huh? You didn't even have to live an overly holy self-righteous life, die, or perform any miracles either. The time of the rapture is not known by anybody but God and when it happens it will happen in the blink of an eye. What is going to happen is that every saved sinner that has lived since Paul received the revelation will be caught up together in the clouds to meet Christ. The dead will rise first, tearing out of their graves looking as if they had just been buried, followed by any saved sinner who is still alive on the earth. It's going to be the craziest thing people have seen in a very long time.
¶ But I would not have you
to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not,
even as others which have no hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
(1 Thessalonians 4:14)
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and]
remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (1 Thessalonians
4:15)
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise
first: (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in
the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
(1 Thessalonians 4:17)
As soon as all the Church Age saints are gathered together in the air, we are all going to absolutely haul faster than the speed of light straight north through the universe to the throne room in heaven where we will all be judged for our lives as Christians on earth. Nobody goes to Hell at this time, everyone is there to stay but there are rewards given out to those who allowed Christ to work in their lives. Every man's works are brought up before God and he tries them in a fire. All self-righteousness, and things that were not done for Christ are burnt up in the fire, but all the works that were done by allowing Christ to work through us are gold, silver, and precious stones, and they are the works that will earn rewards. This is the significance of works in this age, they have nothing to do with salvation.
¶ For other foundation can
no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1Corinthians 3:11)
Now if any man build upon this foundation
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; (1Corinthians 3:12)
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because
it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what
sort it is. (1Corinthians 3:13)
If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a
reward. (1Corinthians 3:14)
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be
saved; yet so as by fire.
(1Corinthians 3:15)
God went a couple thousand years out of his way to have a dispensation in which both Jew and Gentile can be saved the same way by grace through faith, and become part of the Body of Christ. What is the point in just racking up as many people as possible for so long? God's purpose for this age is to show his mercy and grace.