Last week, we addressed the transforming effect of being in God’s manifest presence, His parousia. It was the apostles’ inquiry about His parousia that provoked Jesus’ discourse in Matthew 24. We may think that we should just wait for this to come and not worry about working so hard at evangelism, the unity of His people, or the basic Christian disciplines that help transform us, but this is not so. The Lord gave many exhortations, such as keeping our vessels filled with oil, staying awake, and waiting expectantly for His return. Above all things, as the time gets closer,...

      When Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24 about the signs that would mark the end of this age, He spoke about His presence coming on the earth. That time is unfolding now, and is the most important event of the age yet: the Lord’s presence, which is to be distinguished from His second coming.

      The word Jesus used for “presence” is the Greek word parousia, which is sometimes inaccurately translated in English as “coming.” A different Greek word, erchómenon, is translated “coming,” and is used in Matthew 24 when speaking of the Lord’s physical second coming. There is an...

      I know that I am only speaking to the most serious Christians in these Words for the Week. For this reason, I share with you things I do not feel at liberty to share with a general audience. I know I’m addressing some who will pursue the high calling in Christ that the apostle Paul wrote about in Philippians 3:13, where he said this “one thing” had become the focus of his life. I know there are some alive today, and many who are reading this, who cannot be satisfied with even the best the world can offer, because...

        As previously covered, two of the Greek words translated “church” in the New Testament are ecclesia and koinonia. Ecclesia is the structure and government of the church, and koinonia is the church bonding together in love. Which is the most important? We are called to be a family first, not an organization, but we do need organization, too.

        True koinonia is rare in the church today, because most of our emphasis is on organization, the ecclesia. This will change at the end of this age, when the main emphasis of church life will be loving God and one another. This is...

     We concluded last week’s Word for the Week asking why we might find ten people who will applaud the Ephesians 4 vision for the body of Christ for every one who will actually find their part in the body, get equipped for it, and then function in it. This may be the most important question we can ask today. The first answer is that the Lord’s exhortation to “seek first His kingdom” (see Matthew 6:33) will result in us seeking our place in His body, which is the first place His kingdom is manifested today. If we are in our right place in His body,...