Scripture reading: Ephesians 4:9-16
Let me ask you a question: Why is the ministry given to the church at this time? Ephesians 4:12 explains the reason, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Do you think that it means that the ministry is going to be completed; come to its completion, its end? That the prophets will cease? That the apostles will cease? Or that the apostle will become the Body, the prophet will become the Body, the evangelist will become the Body? God has set some temporary caretakers to help the Body to come into Christ. I Corinthians 13:10, “But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” For the prophet can only prophesy a part, and the evangelist can only evangelize a part, and the apostles can only apostle in part, but Christ is the fullness! Hallelujah! So therefore, that Christ may dwell in you (Ephesians 3:17). There will be in you the fullness of Christ so that the Body becomes Christ. Glory to God!
The scriptures speak of the manchild (see Revelation 12). Do we know what the manchild is? You see, God uses all these little analogies and phrases. A woman in Revelation 12 is pregnant, which means that the church is impregnated with something, the manchild. The manchild church is a church that has Jesus Christ as its head, when Jesus is completely placed on His throne in our hearts. He becomes the Head of the church, and we don’t do anything anymore. No man will be there – man will be gone. Then things will go like this:
John walks down the street, and everybody says, “Hi, John,” and, “Didn’t we know his father and mother? Didn’t he grow up among us? Isn’t he a realtor? Didn’t we know him?” John laughs because they don’t know him. Do you remember what happened to Jesus? They said, “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” (Matthew 13:55). “We know him. He built the chair for Miss Jane over there, and he built a table over there for so and so. We have the table, so we have proof that this man is a carpenter.” They didn’t know Him. So when Christ takes over, man is displaced.
There are people saying that we are claiming to be the manifested sons – NONSENSE! I wish I were. We are not manifested sons, but we believe in it. One day, not far away. It will be any day that you see the world come to the brink of destruction. Then you say, “Jesus, I am ready.” It is because Jesus must activate the church to save the world. God’s world is in danger of being destroyed by the devil, but God will not allow the devil to destroy it. So at least we have that knowledge. We will be activated just in the nick of time, just when midnight is getting so dark that no morning would be there; otherwise, it would have destroyed the whole world. At that time God will bring forth His saints.
He said that the first thing that they will do is stop the war. Hallelujah! Stop the war! Proclaim the Sabbath! No man shall kill any more. Stop it! If any man raises his hand, he will be done. Amen. God said the manchild will rule with a rod of iron (Revelation 12:5); will shepherd the people with a shepherd’s staff of iron. We can’t do it now. We don’t have Christ as our Head as He should be. The fullness is not there. But let us begin to press God. Press God! Do you know why? God will never make you perfect without making me perfect. The brothers in the early church were saying that they were perfect, and Paul responded, “Well, very well. I wish to God it were so, for I would have profited myself.” He is not going to make one person perfect and then you become another Christ, and everybody starts worshipping you. What He is going to do is to perfect all of us together. So there will be a company of people who understand what is going on, and our duty is to save the world, to save humanity.
(Excerpt from Keeping in Touch, December 2006, pg. 8-9)
Thought for today: When midnight gets so dark that there is no more hope for the morning, God will activate His people to save the world.
Sonlight Devotional 
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