House of God – New Covenant Churches
1) New Covenant worship is based on spirituality, not a physical location.
The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our
fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem
is the place where one ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman,
believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain,
nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know;
we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is
coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is
Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:19-24
These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but
which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with
spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the
Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges
all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has
known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the
mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:13-16
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just
as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we
should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined
us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the
good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by
which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to
pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of
His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk
worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good
work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all
might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and
longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified
us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He
has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the
kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His
blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9-14
Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the
twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and
golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And
they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, and
to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by
Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and
have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the
earth.” Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the
throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them
was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying
with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power
and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the
earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard
saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on
the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” Revelation 5:8-13
2) New Covenant churches will be established by confession of Jesus Christ.
“Therefore, whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess
before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men,
him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew
10:32-33
Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon
Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My
Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and
on this rock (confession) I will build My church, and the gates of
Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:16-18
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your
heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you
confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that
God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the
heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on
Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew
and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” Romans
10:8-13
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you
were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence
of many witnesses. I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all
things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession
before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot,
blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will
manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the
King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in
unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor
and everlasting power. Amen. 1 Timothy 6:12-16
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we
do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,
but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us
therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood
of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through
the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house
of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope
without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider
one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but
exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day
approaching. Hebrews 10:19-25
No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in
us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we
abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And
we have seen and testified that the Father has sent the Son as Savior
of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God
abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love
that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in
God, and God in him. 1 John 4:12-16
3) Through faith or belief, we become a member of a New Covenant church locally.
So, the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the
prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” Then Philip opened
his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now
as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch
said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then
Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he
answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So,
he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch
went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up
out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that
the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. Acts
8:34-39
But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being
witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God,
through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there
is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood,
through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His
forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously
committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that
He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:21-26
For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you,
not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to
think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as
we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the
same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and
individually members of one another. Romans 12:3-5
And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is
written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and
therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also
raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things
are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may
cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 4:13-15
But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith
in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith
came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which
would afterward be revealed. Therefore, the law was our tutor to bring
us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has
come, we are no longer under a tutor. Galatians 3:22-25
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and
your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you,
making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding
being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling,
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and
what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe,
according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in
the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also
in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet and gave
Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the
fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:15-23
For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things
on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of
His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by
wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh
through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach
in His sight— if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and
steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you
heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I,
Paul, became a minister. Colossians 1:19-23
4) Jesus Christ is cornerstone of the New Covenant churches.
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone
which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was
the LORD’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore, I say to
you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation
bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be
broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” Matthew
21:42-44
“Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and
destroy the vinedressers and give the vineyard to others. Have you not
even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has
become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, and it is
marvelous in our eyes’?” Mark 12:9-11
Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief
cornerstone’? Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on
whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” Luke 20:17-18
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the
people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed
done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be
known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the
dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the stone
which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief
cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no
other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:8-12
For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s
building. According to the grace of God, which was given to me, as a
wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on
it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other
foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus
Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:9-11
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow
citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having
been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being
fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also
are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:19-22
Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen
by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a
spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is also contained
in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect,
precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
1 Peter 2:4-6
5) The apostles and the prophets are the foundation of the churches.
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not
come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till
heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass
from the law till all is fulfilled.” Matthew 5:17-18
“The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom
of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. And it is
easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law
to fail.” Luke 16:16-17
Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I
was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were
written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning
Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the
Scriptures. Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was
necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third
day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in
His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses
of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but
tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on
high.” Luke 24:44-49
The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both
to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He
through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He
had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering
by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and
speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Acts 1:1-3
Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God
shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works
righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which God sent to the
children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of
all— that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and
began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who
went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil,
for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all things which He did
both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by
hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him
openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God,
even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And
He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He
who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him
all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in
Him will receive remission of sins.” Acts 10:34-43
“While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and
commission from the chief priests, at midday, O king, along the road I
saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and
those who journeyed with me. And when we all had fallen to the ground,
I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language,
‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick
against the goads.’ So, I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am
Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I
have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a
witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which
I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as
well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes,
in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of
Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an
inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’” Acts
26:12-18
Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus
Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead), and all the
brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and
peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself
for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age,
according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever
and ever. Amen. Galatians 1:1-5
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—
if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which
was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the
mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read,
you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in
other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been
revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the
Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His
promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister
according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective
working of His power. Ephesians 3:1-7
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He
counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was
formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I
obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace
of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in
Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am
chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first
Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who
are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. Now to the King
eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and
glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:12-17
6) Believers are the New Covenant House of God.
So, the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us,
since You do these things?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said,
“It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise
it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered
that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the
word which Jesus had said. John 2:18-22
Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would
come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with
observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed,
the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20-21
“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and
He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither
sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and
will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. John
14:15-18
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of
God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will
destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 1
Corinthians 3:16-17
Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body,
but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do
you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in
you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were
bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your
spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of
that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one
Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks,
whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
For in fact the body is not one member but many. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what
fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has
light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what
part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the
temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As
God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be
their God, and they shall be My people.” 2 Corinthians 6:14-16
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of
the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and
gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There
is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your
calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all,
who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:1-6
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is
lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which
is the church, of which I became a minister according to the
stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word
of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from
generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God
willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:24-27
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider
the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was
faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all
His house. For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than
Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the
house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things
is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant,
for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but
Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast
the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. Hebrews
3:1-6
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with
Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I
also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation
3:20-22
7) Jesus Christ is central to New Covenant churches.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to
condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John
3:14-17
For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the
Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He
who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. John
5:22-23
Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among
yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws
him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the
prophets, and they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore, everyone who
has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” John 6:43-45
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the
sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own
the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the
wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he
is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good
shepherd; and I know My sheep and am known by My own. As the Father
knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the
sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I
must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock
and one shepherd.” John 10:11-16
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in
Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears
fruit He prunes that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean
because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the
vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are
the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for
without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:1-5
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not
with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no
effect. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it
is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing
the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world
through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness
of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a
sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to
the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those
who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:17-24
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to
you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you
are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless
you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I
also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third
day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then
by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at
once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have
fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the
apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out
of due time. 1 Corinthians 15:1-8
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the
saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge
of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of
the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to
and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery
of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking
the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the
head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what
every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every
part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of
itself in love. Ephesians 4:11-16
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on
earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for
Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He
is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the
preeminence. Colossians 1:15-18
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put-on tender
mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one
another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against
another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all
these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the
peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one
body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in
all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And
whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:12-17
These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but
if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct
yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy great is
the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in
the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in
the world, received up in glory. 1 Timothy 3:14-16
Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I
saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands
One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and
girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white
like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His
feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as
the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of
His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like
the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet
as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be
afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead,
and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades
and of Death. Write the things which you have seen, and the things
which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery
of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden
lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and
the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. Revelation
1:12-20