~ Membership: To belong to and / or be part of the whole ~
~ Hath: to have now ~
~ Privilege: To have a special advantage, immunity, permission, right and / or benefit granted to an individual or class of people ~
The Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 12:18 & 27 wrote, "Now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. *Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular."
Regardless of what mankind may think or want, God “YHWH” is the One that sets up and establishes the Church, the Bride, the Body or Christ, the Saints in Glory.
Once a person has accepted the Precious Blood of Jesus for the Forgiveness of their sins, they are a Member of the Body of Christ. Then, God “YHWH” will place them where He wants them to be if, they are willing to follow His Will.
In Romans 12:5, the Apostle Paul wrote, "So we, being many, are one Body in Christ, and everyone members one of another."
I like the thought of this Scripture; “Everyone Members of Another.” This means that there isn’t any separation of one member from another. In other words, if you and I are a Member of the Body of Christ, the Body cannot be Complete without you or me. Therefore, let’s be steadfast in holding on to the Truth that our Membership be not revoked.
The Apostle Paul in Romans 3:1-2 wrote “advantage”, "What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? *Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God."
Being one of the Members of the Body gives us the advantage of receiving the Profit of Membership and thereby receiving the Commandments of or Oracles of God “YHWH.”
In Isaiah 54:17, the Prophet Isaiah wrote, “immunity”, "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD."
My, what a Blessing it is to be a Member of the Body of Christ, to know that NO weapon formed against you can prevail and that regardless of what satan or anyone else says, you will not be condemned. Praise the Lord!
Jesus being the Only Begotten Son of God affords the Saints to be made the Righteousness of God in Jesus. This is what the Saints inherit being a Part of the Body of Christ.
King David in Psalms 119:165 wrote, “Immunity,” 'Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them."
When we are in Jesus, Nothing “Nothing is a O without the lines” shall offend us. The only Real Peace anyone can have comes from being a part of the Body of Christ. When a person has Peace, they have Everything.
Think about this, when Daniel and his three brethren were in captivity, even though they were threatened with death, they did not fear for their life. In spite of the threat, they remained steadfast unto observing the Truth of God’s Word.
In 1st Corinthians 7:6, the Apostle Paul wrote, “permission”, "I speak this by permission, and not of Commandment."
Once a person is knowledgeable and observant of God’s Holy Written Word, the Bible, they too will know what the Perfect Will of the Lord is so, that they will be able to Minister with all confidence the Word of Truth.
We read in Revelation 22:14 “right” - "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
We hear much these days about Civil Rights and other Rights afforded to mankind in various aspects of this life. In like manner and even greater than the Rights a person has in this present life, the Saints have the Privileges and Rights that Jesus has because we are Joint Heirs with Him. Praise His Holy Name!
On a little side note, in thinking about entering in through the Gates of that City,
it is said, that those Gates are made of One Pearl ~
It is “my opinion” that those Gates will not swing open but that Saints will pass through them in the same way that Jesus entered into the room where the Disciples were gathered together after the death of Jesus, “the doors and windows were shut” but Jesus came in among them.
The Prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 18:9-10 wrote, “benefit” "And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; *If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them."
It is up to every individual to make a conscious choice to Obey or Follow the Written Word of God or to have their own way and / or follow in the traditions of men. By their choosing they will receive the Blessings of the Benefit of Serving God “YHWH” or they will be cut off from All Benefits.
In Isaiah 58:6-14, the Prophet Isaiah wrote, “privileges”, "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? *Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? *Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. *Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; *And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: *And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. *And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. *If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: *Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."
The above Scripture speaks of many Wonderful Blessings that are given to the Saints when their lives are pleasing to the Lord. It is a privilege to be Blessed of the Lord.
The Blessing of Jacob was / is, "the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: *Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee."
Genesis 27:28-29
A privilege is not something a person earns; it something that is Given by the
One that is in Authority therefore, we must Seek His Favor and Do His Perfect
Will ~
Once the People of the Living God are walking in compliance to His Written Word, they can expect His Blessings to be bestowed on them.
Derwood A. Stewart, Minister House of Prayer Sabbath Ministries Comments? Email Us: hope@preachersteacher.org
