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should there be the Church of
God?
To many-and probably most–
the Church plays no part in their
liveS. lndeed God plays no part in
their lives. God is not consciously
in their world . Just people, material
things and interests. Of course, far
back in the subconscious recesses
of many minds may lie the dormant
supposition that God exists. But he
does not seem real to them.
That means also that the average
person has no conception of what
he, himself, is, why he is, or of any
purpose for bis being alive.
Y
et the Church, too, .does exist.
But, again, why? What is it, really?
What purpose does it serve?
We have seen that there is
indeed a
purpose
being worked out
here below. Winston Churchill
stated that before the United States
Congress. There is a reason for the
presence of humanity on the earth.
And for the working out of that
purpose there is a master plan. The
Church is an important part of that
plan.
Never lose sight of the setting
that led up to the raising up of the
Church. Keep in mind
WHO
and
WHAT
God is- the divine creating
family.
now reproducing them–
selves in man.
for aiding him in bringing about
salvation to humanity.
Remember God has set out a
7,000-year master plan for accom–
plishing his purpose. We have
stated that bis purpose is to repro–
duce himself. But actually repro–
ducing himself means convert ing
the world from sin into God's righ–
t~ousness.
It
means instilling with–
in God's potential children the per–
fect spiritual character of God.
They would become finally born
sons in the God family .
And just as God has not created
all at once, but in successive stages,
so he is bringing salvation to the
world in successive stages. The
Church is a necessary instrumen–
tality preparatory to, and in order
to, bring salvation to humanity.
Therefore, once again, let it be
emphasized that the purpose of the
Church is not merely to give salva–
tion to those called into the
Church, but to teach and train
those predestined and called into
the Church as instruments God
shall use in bringing the world to
salvation.
Church a "Teachers' College"
Let us illustrate by an analogy.
Many states in America have state
teachers' colleges. The states could
not start or conduct
nyone who
"join~
the
church of bis choice" has
not come into God's true
Church. One cannot just
"join" the true Church.
schools until they had
first trained teachers for
those schools . The
Church may be called
God's teachers' college to
prepare rulers and teach–
ers for the kingdom of
God when God does offer
redemption and eternal
life to the world as a
~hole.
The Church was
Bear in mind further: In order
for Christ to restore God's govern–
ment over the earth, he would need
with and under him a qualified and
organized personnel of God Be–
ings- all having rejected Satan's
false way and having proved their
loyalty to the government and righ–
teous ways of God!
God's Church was designed in
bis supreme master plan to prepare
that dedicated. and organized per–
sonnel .of God Beings. The Church,
then, became God's instrumentality
20
planned to be God's
instrumentality fúr calling predesti–
nated human beings out of this
world to be trained for positions of
leadership in the world tomorrow,
when they shall teach and train
others. That is why in the New
Testament the Church is called the
firstfruits of God's salvation.
All this necessitated certain vital
steps--one at a time- in the proce–
dure of God's supreme master
plan!
N ow we remind the reader that
the Holy Spirit was closed to
humanity at the time of Adam's
sin at the very foundation of the
world.
It
was c losed to humanity
as a whole
UNTIL
Christ the sec–
ond Adam should restore the gov–
ernment of God and unseat Satan
from the throne of the earth. That
fact is made clear by Jesus' state–
ment in John
6:44,
applying to
this Church age, that none could
come to him except the Father
that sent him draws them. That is
why repeatedly in the New Testa–
ment those in the Church are
referred to as having been called
or chosen. That is why the
Church is called a chosen genera–
tion. That is why predestination is
m·entioned twice in the New Tes–
tament-that the called were pre–
destinated to be called. Indeed,
they have been drafted. They are
not volunteers.
'rrue Christians: Draftees- Not
Volunteers
It
is only through Christ that sin–
ning humanity may be reconciled
to God the Father. They must first
come to Christ. But none can come
to Christ except God the Father
selects and, through his Holy Spir–
it, draws them.
That may come as an astonishing
new truth, but the more you study
the New Testament, and how this
truth is constantly borne out
throughout the New Testament,
the more clear this will become to
you.
No wonder the Church and its
purpose has been a mystery. Satan
has blinded the minds of a deceived
and counterfeit Christianity.
Anyone who "joins the church of
bis choice" has not come into God's
true Church. One cannot just
"join" the
TRUE
Church of God.
One is first selected and drawn by
God the Father through his Spirit,
brought to a complete heartrending
repentance, and changed in bis
total life-style, and has also not
only believed in and accepted Jesus
Christ as personal Savior, but also
has believed Christ. Remember
Christ is the Word of God. Jesus
was the Word of God in Person.
The Bible is the same Word of God
in writing. To believe Christ is to
believe what he says- in other
words, to believe God's Word the
Holy Bible.
o
The
PLAIN TRUTH