BIBLE NAMES OF BELIEVERS

(Part 4)

Acts 11:26

Morning Meditation 10/29/17

"And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."

Well, here we are same subject part four. "And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

WE ARE CALLED PRIESTS

Revelation 1:6, "And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

We are also called kings. But I want to emphasize the name given us as priests. The word "priest" translates, "hiereus" and is defined by Strong as, "a priest is one who offers sacrifices and in general in busied with sacred rites." Strong also comments on the metaphorical meaning, "of Christians, because, purified by the blood of Christ and brought into close intercourse with God, they devote their life to him alone and to Christ." There are sacrifices that a Christian can offer. He can offer himself a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1), and he can offer the sacrifice of praise (Heb. 13:15).

Peter brings the believer's priesthood out in 1 Peter 2:9, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:"

Our priesthood takes on an altogether different nature than the Old Testament priesthood. We do not offer blood sacrifices for our sins. Jesus made the one sacrifice that is necessary for anyone that has been saved since He died. Hebrews 10:10, "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

What do we do today as Christians that would call for us being identified as priests? First, we preach the one sacrifice that will take away man's sins. Paul says that we have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18). So we are priests in the sense we stand between God and man. Man as a priest does three important things:

1. He witnesses and gives the gospel to the lost.

2. He intercedes for man. I do not think the church as a whole has the slightest idea the power of united prayer. It plays a major part in the salvation of the lost. If the Holy Spirit does not open the unsaved heart, he will not receive the gospel. Study the prayers in Acts and see the astounding results they had in many being saved and other miracles wrought by the hand of God.

3. He experiences the presence of God by going into the holiest on a regular basis. See Heb. 10:19-22. The glory of God fills the life of the Christian who makes it into the holiest and it is reflected on his countenance, words, and works.

John Gill says, "they are "priests", as well as kings; being made so by Christ, and through his priestly office; are anointed with the Holy Ghost, and sanctified by his grace, and allowed to draw near to God, and offer up by Christ their spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise; and are enabled and assisted to offer up the sacrifice of a broken heart, and their bodies also, and even their lives when called to it; the allusion is to the kingdom and priesthood being formerly together, and which met in Christ, Zech. 6:13 and in his people. The Jews were wont to call the priestly dignity and office, "the crown of the priesthood":

"An holy nation; referring to the same place in Exo. 19:6 where the Israelites are so called, being separated by God from other nations, and legally and externally sanctified by him; as all the true Israel of God are sanctified, or set apart by God the Father, in eternal election, to real and perfect holiness; and are sanctified or cleansed from sin, by the blood and sacrifice of Christ; and are internally sanctified by the Spirit of God; have principles of holiness wrought in them, from whence they live holy lives and conversations:"

What a blessing and position to which we are appointed to be priests and to be installed by the Lord Himself to serve with Him in that capacity. One only has to read Hebrews to discover that Jesus is the one and only high priest to whom we constantly resort for counsel and intimate fellowship.

WE ARE CALLED THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Matthew 5:14-16, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

The words, "Ye are the light of the world," are a description of the disciples by Christ. This description describes their position and work.

There are three verses in John's gospel where Jesus describes Himself as the light. Jesus says in John 8:12, "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. When Jesus said, "I am the light of the world," the words "I am" are in the text from which our King James Bible is translated, "ego eimi." This is the Greek equivalent to Jehovah who revealed Himself by His name, "I am," at the burning bush. A. T. Robertson says, "It will not do to praise Jesus and deny his deity. Only as the Son of God can we justify and accept this language which otherwise is mere conceit and froth."

John said of "the Word" in John 1:4-5, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." The word "comprehended" means, "Literally, to take in; to take with, or together. To contain; to include; to comprise. If there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Rom. 13. -- Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary.

The darkness doesn't get it. It is what the word means. You can't see anything. The world is in darkness. This is the reason brilliant men are totally ignorant when it comes to understanding the Bible. Why will a smart man in the things of science and this world bow down and worship idols that cannot see, hear, speak, etc. Then when someone suggests that God made the world he says he believes that this world along with man and all animals, fish, and fowl came out of an explosion somewhere in the distant past. If you told him the house he lives in did not have an architect or a builder, he would consider you crazy. Well, he just put himself in that same class when it comes to origins!!!

There is no way that men (all mankind) in darkness can find their way out until the light, that darkness cannot resist, shines unto them. You do not turn darkness on. The switch in your home that turns on the light, what happens to the darkness when you flip the switch? Darkness is the absence of light. When light is present, the darkness disappears because it cannot resist the light. Jesus is the light of the world and the only way man can be delivered from the darkness is for Jesus to shine unto him.

He said in John 9:5, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." John Gill said of this, "Though doubtless he said this with some view to the cure he was about to perform, it being agreeable to his character and work, while he was in the world." The Lord's giving sight to the blind man. The man was in physical darkness and Jesus as the light of the world shined into this man's eyes and the darkness disappeared. It is not possible for the blindness to continue in the presence of the Light of the world. Someone please hold my mules!!! Hallelujah!!!

Then finally in John 12:46 Jesus says, "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness." Jesus came that a world that was in total darkness would have light. Jesus came for that purpose. Faith is the response of those who dwell in darkness to be freed from that darkness. Believing in Jesus will set men free from the darkness so that they dwell in darkness no more. The words "that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness" means that the believer dwells in the light. It seems to me that many confessing Christians have little or no light. Jesus gave a parable of Satan sowing tares among the wheat. The meaning of this is that the kingdom of God will have unbelievers (unsaved) existing in the same environment that true Christians dwell in. When Jesus gave the Parable of the tares among the wheat, the disciples said do you want us to go out an remove the tares. Jesus answered in Matthew 13:29-30, "But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."

We do not have the responsibility of making a judgment as to who the tares are. This has nothing to do with church discipline. When discipline is exercised by a Church, what they have done is clearly spelled out in the Word of God along with the command to withdraw fellowship. In the case of the tares they are keeping the rules externally and are ACTING like Christians.

How does this harmonize with Jesus saying, "I am the Light of the world," and Jesus saying to His disciples, "Ye are the light of the world?" When Jesus was on earth, He was the Light of the world. But when He went back to heaven, He is out of sight so that the only thing that those who dwell in darkness see are those of His disciples that they see. And they dwell in the light and they are like the moon that has no light of its own but reflect the light of the sun.

Back to what Jesus told His disciples. Matthew 5:14-17, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

The believer is the candle in this passage. The candlestick is the church. This is brought out in Revelation 1:20, "The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches."

If one is a believer, he is a candlestick. If he does what the Word of God teaches here, he will put the candle (his life) into a New Testament Church. If he is saved and does not get into a Scriptural Church, his light is under a bushel and it will not shine. You say preacher, I am not in a church but I'm saved and I witness and I have won people to Christ. Proverbs 3:5-7 says, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.." One is acting on his own if he refuses to do what Jesus says to do.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White