CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH;
The Fulfillment of the Ages

• As members of the church we are a part of something timeless.

• God has been working His PURPOSE and PLAN throughout the ages, from the Garden of Eden up until today.

• After we read of the heroes of FAITH IN HEBREWS its amazing to see our wonderful part in the fulfillment of God’s purpose.

Hebrews 11:39,40

“These were all commended for their faith, yet none

of them received what had been promised. God had

planned something better for us so that only

together with us would they be made perfect.”

• OUR STORY IS THEIR STORY

We are not only connected to them, they are connected to us. If they are the prologue and beginning chapters, we are the CONCLUSION!

They are our cheerleaders, urging us every step of the way.

• To be a part of the ‘FULLFILLMENT OF THE AGES’, should give us a deeper realization of the significance of being a member of THE CHURCH today.

1 Corinthians 10:11

• “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.”

• We are a vital part of the unfolding and fulfillment of God’s

ETERNAL PURPOSE

IN CHRIST

EPHESIANS 3:10,11

“His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

• The church, and its worldwide MISSION and its KINGDOM NATURE, is prophesied clearly.

Daniel 2:44,45

"In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands--a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.”

• The church is God’s household where He is father; and God’s kingdom, where Jesus is King; and it is God’s final plan and fulfillment of the ages.

1 TIMOTHY 3:15

“… if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.”

Note the reference to the
“LAST DAYS”

Isaiah 2:3,4

Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us

go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of

the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that

we may walk in his paths. "The law will go out from

Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”

cont.

“He will judge between the nations and will settle

disputes for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares and

their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor

will they train for war anymore.”

ACTS 2:17

Peter quoted the prophet Joel,

" In the last days, God says, I will pour out my

Spirit on all people…”

HEBREWS 1:1,2

“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through

the prophets at many times and in various ways,

but in these last days he has spoken to us by his

Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and

through whom he made the universe.”

• These ‘Last Days’ are when God’s eternal plan for saving man reaches its fullness.

Jeremiah 31:31-33

"The time is coming," declares the LORD, “when I will

make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with

the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I

made with their forefathers when I took them by the

hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my

covenant, though I was a husband to them,“ declares the

LORD. cont.

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD.

"I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

• In Christ, the mystery of His will and purpose, has been fully made known.

(Ephesians 1:3-10)

IN CHRIST AND THE CHURCH, WE SEE…

• The Fulfillment of the Ages

• The Eternal Purpose of God

• The Mystery made Known

• The New Covenant In Effect

• The Reign of God (Kingdom)

MATTHEW 16:18,19

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I

will build my church, and the gates of Hades will

not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the

kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will

be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth

will be loosed in heaven."

COLOSSIANS 1:18

“ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”