Be in Christ or in the church
2 Corinthians 5:17
¨ So if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; here they are all made new.¨ 2.Cor. 5:17
In this lesson we are going to look at the fourth cause because divorce has entered the church.
What it means to be in Christ.
In Christ Jesus we were made into a new creation and a child of God.
“To be in Christ” and what it means. “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus; for all of you who have been baptized into Christ are clothed with Christ.
Being in Christ means participating in all that Christ is and in all that he did.
We read three concepts of the meaning ¨ Be in Christ ¨ then we are going to study verse 2.Cor. 5:17 and discover this fourth enemy who has infiltrated the church to destroy the sacred covenant of marriage.
So if anyone is in Christ.
¨Being in Christ ¨ is not the same as ¨Being in the Church ¨, in the beginning the word church was assigned to the group of people who met, this means that you and I are church, not the four walls, the four walls were called, synagogue, temple, building, or. Meeting place, this means that a group of people inside a building, temple or synagogue, make a church.
The problem with this is that today I only know the church as a person but it is not in Christ as a change in the person resulting from the presence of Christ in the Christian.
Being in church:
It's professing a faith, but not change
It is believing in Christ, but not believing that I can or should change.
It is to continue living disorderly.
It is practicing all the rudiments of a religious life
It is living according to my wishes by doing my will and not God's.
If I am in Christ I am being directed to a new life that is manifested in secret as in public, we are carriers of changes and we express the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in our lives, marriage and family, being in Christ is a sign of a an effortless lifestyle to bear witness to our conversion to the people around us.
So why is there divorce in the church of Christ? What is the difference in being a Christian? Could it be that you are in the church, but not in Christ?
Let us discover then which is the enemy in this fourth lesson, the enemy is called ¨ Remain in the old man 'there is a saying that says: ¨ for the new to enter, we must remove the old ¨
If the old man has not left our inner being, this will be the cause for divorce to become the first option at the time of a marriage crisis, the old man does not know reconciliation, love, and forgiveness etc ...
When we speak of an old man, it also refers to a woman.
The old man represents the old creation fallen into sin; The "new man" represents the new creation by the work and grace of the Holy Spirit, who acts in believers (Rom. 6: 6; Eph. 4:22; Col. 3: 9; 2 Cor. 5: 1)
It is necessary to renounce the old man vitiated by sin and harmful and damaging feelings in marriage, let's look at what it means to be a new creature in Christ.
New Creature is. Romans 6: 5-6
5 For if we were planted with him in the likeness of his death, so we will also be in that of his resurrection;
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, so that the body of sin may be destroyed, so that we no longer serve sin.
A new Christian is one who renounces sin and decides to bear fruits worthy of repentance, leaves the old man and starts a lifestyle in Christ Jesus, stops practicing the old life and his way of living is a blessing for his wife, family and environment.
28 He who steals must not steal any more, but rather work, doing what is good with his hands, so that he may have something to share with those in need.
29 Let no corrupt word come out of your mouth, except that which is good for the necessary edification, in order to give grace to the hearers.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4: 28-30
Act differently, speak differently and manage the Presence of the Holy Spirit in your life and yours.
Old things passed away.
The Past is the worst enemy in a relationship where there has not been a new birth, divorce will be a permanent whip in the heart and mouth of one of the two spouses, the past does not allow us to enjoy the present and much less prevents us from dreaming with in the future.
Ephesians 4: 22-24
22 As for the old way of life, put off the old man, which is corrupted according to deceitful desires,
23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and put on the new man, created according to God in the justice and holiness of truth.
The Christian who is in Christ renews his mind day by day, he is someone who becomes a doer of the word of God, his marriage and family are the church that the best minister and testify of a change from the inside out, and it is the one that in the midst of the crisis does not seek divorce but seeks the direction of Jesus Christ.
Love reconciliation and mercy.
Here they are all made new.
Isaiah 43:19
19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; it will soon come to light; Will you not know it? Once again I will make a way in the desert, and rivers in solitude.
God makes man and woman new people who make a difference in their relationship with others because of the presence of Christ in their lives, he makes us new creatures where the past has no part in our relationship, only the Present and the future .
The Christian who walks in the new, practices and fosters love in the hearts of his wife and children, is encouraged with a daily relationship with the Father, his life is not a sacrifice, it is a thanksgiving for what God has put into her hands.
The new of God brings freshness to marriage, freshness that produces justice, love, dynamism, joy, etc.
When the church is truly in Christ we will be light and salt of this earth that groans for justice, justice that the church can transmit with healthy marriages bearing the presence of Christ that influences a decadent world in sexual immorality and a life of sin.
Say no to the old man, say no to divorce and bring out the best of God in you.
Jeremiah 15:19
19 Therefore thus says the Lord: If you turn, I will restore you, and you will stand before me; and if you separate the precious from the vile, you will be like my mouth. Convert them to you, and you do not convert to them.