The promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 22:16-18 had two parts: “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, …indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore, and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed…”
Clearly, the promise to Abraham was for both a heavenly “star” seed and an earthly “sand” seed. The Apostle Paul teaches, “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29) The church is this heavenly seed. “He (Jesus Christ) is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,” Colossians 1:18. If a follower of Christ, you are a prospective member of the Church. Christ Jesus is its head.
The Apostle Paul also wrote, “…the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints…which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:24-27)
This mystery is “hidden” in the open, so to speak, because the Church has been developing since Jesus’ first advent. The world around them has other expectations of what the church is and of its functions. The true Church is made up of many individuals who believe that they “are the temple of the living God”.
God planned the development and creation of the church class before the world began. 2 Timothy 1:9, “Who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling… which is given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” He draws us to repentance and then calls us to become “sons of God” – what a grand, grand privilege. This Church, with its Head Christ Jesus, will be a spiritual class and will work to bring all humankind to perfection, living forever on a perfected earth.
