Holiness is one of the essential elements of God's nature required of His people. Holiness may also be rendered "sanctification." The word holy denotes that which is "sanctified" or "set apart" for divine service. God's high expectations of His people flow out of His own holy nature.

Elisha was called a 'holy man of God.' - 2 Kin. 4:9 -

Herod feared John the Baptist, 'knowing that he was a just and holy man.' - Mark 6:20 -

The throne of mercy you must place on top of the ark inside the Holy of Holies. - Ex. 26:34 -

Who would not revere and praise your name, O Lord?
You alone are holy,
and all the pagans will come and adore you
for the many acts of justice you have shown. - Rev. 15:4 -


The first covenant also had its law governing worship, and its sanctuary, a sanctuary on this earth....... was called the Holy Place; then beyond the second veil, an innermost part which was called the Holy of Holies....... By this, the Holy Spirit is showing that no one has the right to go into the sanctuary as long as the outer tent remains standing; it is a symbol for this present time............ But now Christ has come, as the high priest of all the blessings which were to come. He has passed through the greater, the more perfect tent, which is better than the one made by men hands because it is not of this created order; and he has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for us. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of the heifer are sprinkled on those who have incurred defilement and they restore the holiness of their outward lives; how much more effectively the blood of Christ, who offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit, can purify our inner self from dead actions so that we do our service to the living God. - Heb. 9:1-14 -

The Lord Jesus Christ was the very personification of holiness, He reinforced God's demands for holiness by insisting that His disciples must have a higher quality of righteousness than that of the scribes and Pharisees. "For I tell you, if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven." - Matt. 5:20 -

The theme of "Holiness and Sanctification" or growing into God's likeness and being consecrated for His use, is prominent throughout the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible.

Do not behave in the way that you liked to before you learnt the truth; make a habit of obedience: be holy in all you do, since it is the Holy One who has called you, and scripture says: Be holy, for I am holy. - 1 Peter. 1:14-16 -

Saint Paul prayer for the saints at Thessalonica is timeless in its application to the universal Church and individual believers. "May God our Father himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, make it easy for us to come to you. May the Lord be generous in increasing your love and make you love one another and the whole human race as much as we love you. And may he so confirm your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless in the sight of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus Christ comes with all his saints. - 1 Thess. 3:11-13 -

The One, Holy, Universal, and Apostolic Church is held, as a matter of faith and love, to be unfailingly holy. This is because Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit is hailed as "alone holy" loved the One, Holy, Universal, and Apostolic Church as His Bride, giving Himself up for her so as to sanctify her: He joined her to Himself as His body and endowed her with the gift of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. The One, Holy, Universal, and Apostolic Church, then is, "the holy People of God" and her faithful are called "saints." United with the Lord Jesus Christ, the One, Holy, Universal, and Apostolic Church is sanctified by Him; through Him and with Him she or her [The One, Holy, Universal, Apostolic Church] becomes sanctifying. "All the activities of the One, Holy, Universal, and Apostolic Church are directed, as toward their end, to the sanctification of men in the Lord Jesus Christ and the glorification of God. It is in the One, Holy, Universal, and Apostolic Church that "by the grace of God we acquire holiness." - CCC 823,824 -

Give way to one another in obedience to Christ. Wives should regard their husbands as they regard the Lord, since as Christ is head of the Church and saves the whole body, so is a husband the head of his wife; and as the Church submits to Christ, so should wives to their husbands, in everything. Husbands should love their wives just as Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her to make her holy. He made her clean by washing her in water with a form of words, so that when he took her to himself she would be glorious, with no speck or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and faultless. In the same way, husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies; for a man to love his wife is for him to love himself. A man never hates his own body, but he feeds it and looks after it; and that is the way Christ treats the Church because it is his body - and we are its living parts. - Eph. 5:21-30 -

Love is the soul of the holiness to which all are called: it "governs, shapes, and perfects all the means of sanctification." "Christ, 'holy, innocent and undefiled' knew nothing of sin but came only to expiate the sins of the people. The One, Holy, Universal, and Apostolic Church, however, clasping sinners to her bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, follows constantly the path of penance and renewal. All faithfuls of the One, Holy, Universal, and Apostolic Church, including her ministers, must acknowledge that they are sinners. In everyone, the weeds of the sin will still be mixed with the good wheat of the Gospel until the end of time. Hence the One, Holy, Universal, and Apostolic Church gathers sinners already caught up in Christ's salvation but still on the way to holiness. - CCC 826,827 -

In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men's faults against them, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ's name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God. - 2 Cor. 19-21 -

Since all the children share the same blood and flesh, he too shared equally in it, so that by his death he could take away all the power of the devil, who had power over death, and set free all those who had been held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For it was not the angels that he took to himself; he took to himself descent from Abraham. It was essential that he should in this way become completely like his brothers so that he could be a compassionate and trustworthy high priest of God's religion, able to atone for human sins. That is, because he has himself been through temptation he is able to help others who are tempted. - Heb. 2:14-18 -

To suit us, the ideal high priest would have to be holy, innocent and uncontaminated, beyond the influence of sinners, and raised up above the heavens; one who would not need to offer sacrifices everyday, as the other high priests do for their own sins and then for those of the people because he has done this once and for all by offering himself. The Law appoints high priests who are men subject to weakness; but the promise on oath, which came after the Law, appointed the Son who is made perfect for ever. - Heb. 7:26-28 -

If we say we have no sin in us,
we are deceiving ourselves
and refusing to admit the truth;
but if we acknowledge our sins,
then God who is faithful and just
will forgive our sins and purify us
from everything that is wrong.
To say that we have never sinned
is to call God a liar
and to show that his word is not in us. - 1 John 1:8-10 -

Jesus put another parable before them, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in the field. While everybody............ I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn. - Matt. 13:24-30 -

Then, leaving the crowds, he went to the house; and his disciples came to him and said, "Explain the parable about the darnel in the field to us." Jesus said in reply, "The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the devil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end time. The Son of man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that provokes offences and all who do evil, and throw them into blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears! - Matt. 13:36-43 -

Apostolic or pertaining to the twelve apostles, or the faith and love in the Lord Jesus Christ, teaching and practice of these apostles. While the word "Apostolic" does not appear in the New Testament, the period in early Church history when the Apostles were alive is commonly called the "Apostolic Age." Apostolic Age - that period of Church history when the apostles were alive, beginning with the Day of Pentecost [about A.D. 30] and ending near the conclusion of the first century [about A.D. 100] with the death of the apostle John. During the apostolic age, all the books [Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible] of the New Testament were written, including the four Gospels, the Book of Acts, the letters of apostle Paul, the general letters, and the Book of Revelation.

During A.D. 50 an "Apostolic Council" was established, that is, the assembly of apostles and elders of the New Testament Church in Jerusalem. This Apostolic Council considered the question of whether Gentiles had to be circumcised and keep certain other laws of the Jewish faith in order to be a faithful of the Church. - Acts 15 - this assembly decided that a Gentile does not first have to become a Jew in order to be a Christian.

Apostle is a special messenger of the Lord Jesus Christ; a person whom the Lord Jesus Christ delegated authority for certain tasks. The word apostle is used of those twelve disciples whom the Lord Jesus Christ sent out to preach, with power to cast out devils, and it was on that occasion, evidently, that they were first called "Apostles." - Mark 3:13-19 - "The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, 'You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while' for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat." - Mark 6:30-31 -

The word apostle has a wider meaning in the letter of the apostle Paul. It includes people who, like himself, were not included in the Twelve, but who saw risen Christ and were specially commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ. - Rom. 1:1-2; 1 Cor. 1:1-2; 2 Cor. 1:1-2; Gal. 1;1-2; 1 Cor. 15:9-11 - Apparently, apostle Paul also counted James, the Lord's brother, as an apostle. - Gal. 1:19 - In fact, James was not a believer in Jesus Christ before the Crucifixion. - John 7:5 - It was the resurrected Lord Jesus who appeared to James and presumably commissioned him to preached the Good News. - 1 Cor. 15:6-8 - The authority committed to the apostles by the Lord Jesus Christ was unique. It could not be transmitted to others. The apostles could install elders or other leaders to the Church.

Now you together are Christ's body; but each of you is a different part of it. In the Church, God has given the first place to apostles, the second to prophets, the third to teachers; after them, miracles, and after them gift of healing; helpers, good leaders, those with many languages. - 1 Cor. 12:27-28 -

When it says, "Jesus ascended" what can it mean if not that he descended right down to the lower regions of the earth? The one who rose higher than all the heavens to fill all things is none other than the one who descended. And to some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ.

In this way we are to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself. Then we shall not be children any longer, or tossed one way and another and carried along by every wind of doctrine, at the mercy of all the tricks men play and their cleverness in practicing deceit. If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ, who is the head by whom the whole body is filled and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to its function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love. - Eph. 4:9-16 -

The One, Holy, Universal Church is Apostolic too, because she is founded on the apostles, and because we are part of a building that has the apostle and prophets for its foundation, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone. As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord Jesus Christ; and we too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit. That is, the One, Holy, Universal, and Apostolic Church. Amen!

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Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The universal Church is One. Although the full revelation of God was in Jesus Christ, the human mind cannot fully comprehend God. How can human finite mind fully understand the infinity of God? It is not possible. "God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth." - John 4:24 - It is the Lord Jesus Christ who, through the Holy Spirit makes His universal Church One, an emphasis on that which makes the "truine God" essentially One.

Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is One Body, One Spirit, just as you were all called into One and the same hope when you were called. The one Lord, One faith, One baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all. - Eph. 4:2-6 -

In his body lives the fullness of divinity, and in him you too find your own fulfillment, in the One who is the head of every Sovereignty and Power. - Col. 2:9 -

In the light of the grace I have received I want to urge each one among you not to exaggerate his real importance. Each of you must judge himself soberly by the standard of the faith God has given him. Just as each of our bodies has several parts and each part has a separate function, so all of us, in union with Christ, form One body, and as parts of it we belong to each other. - Rom. 12:3-5 -

A man may imagine he understands something, but still not understand anything in the way that he ought to. But any man who loves God is known by him. Well, then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: we know that idols do not really exist in the world and that there is no god but the One. And even if there were things called gods, either in the sky or on earth - where there certainly seem to be 'gods' and 'lords' in plenty - still for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and there is one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we exist. - 1 Cor. 8:2-6 -

There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people. it is the same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person........ All these are the work of the One and the same Spirit, who distributes different gifts to different people just as he chooses. - 1 Cor. 12:4-11 -

May they all be One.
Father, may they be One in us,
as you are in me and I am in you,
so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.
I have given them the glory you gave to me,
that they may be One as we are One.
With me in them and you in me,
may they be so completely One. - John 17:21-23 -

The universal Church is One because of her source: "the highest exemplar and source of this mystery is the unity, in the Trinity of Persons, of one God, the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. The universal Church is One because of her founder: for "the Word made flesh, the prince of peace, reconciled all men to God by the cross,... restoring the unity of all in One people and One body. The universal Church is One because of her "soul." "It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who believe and pervading and ruling over the entire universal Church, who brings about that wonderful communion of the faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ that He is the principle of the universal Church's unity. Unity is of the essence of the universal Church. - CCC 813 -

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who, through the Holy Spirit, makes the universal Church One.

The Lord Jesus Christ bestowed unity on His one universal Church from the beginning. This unity, we believe, subsists in the One universal Church as something the Church can never lose, and the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it, and it will continue to increase until the end of time, as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ. "And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time." - Matt. 28:20 - The Lord Jesus Christ always gives His universal Church the gift of unity, and the reconciliation of all Christians in the unity of the One universal Church that transcends human powers and gifts that we place our faith, hope, love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The Lord Jesus Christ "is the head of the body, the universal Church." The Lord Jesus Christ is the principle of creation and redemption. Raised on the Father's glory, "in everything He [is] pre-eminent", especially in the universal Church, through whom He extends His reign over all things.

Now the Church is his body,
he is its head.

As he is the Beginning,
he was the first to be born from the dead,
so that he should be first in every way;
because God wanted all perfection
to be found in him
and all things to be reconciled through him and for him,
everything in heaven and everything on earth,
when he made peace
by his death on the cross. - Col. 1:18-20 -

In the four Gospels of the New Testament, the term Church is found in Matthew 16:18. Thus, the best explained by the fact that the universal Church as the body of the Lord Jesus Christ did not begin until the day of PENTECOST and after the ASCENSION of Jesus Christ.

Jesus put this question to his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets". "But you" he said, "who do you say I am?" Then Simon Peter spoke up, "You are the Christ" he said "the Son of the living God". Jesus replied, "Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man!" Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven. Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. - Matt. 16:13-20 -

That the universal Church began on the day of Pentecost may be explicitly explained: ( 1 ) Christ Himself declared the universal Church to be yet future. ( 2 ) There could be no Church until it was fully purchased with the Lord Jesus Christ's blood. ( 3 ) The universal Church was founded upon the Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, and as such an accomplished fact was not possible until Pentecost.

That will explain why I, having once heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love that you show towards all the saints, have never failed to remember you in my prayers and to thanks God for you. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us believers.

This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet, and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation. - Eph. 1:15-23 -

The word "Church"(Latin - ecclesia, from the Greek - ek-kalein, to "call out of") means a convocation or an assembly. It designates the assemblies of the people, usually for a religious purpose. - "And if you want to ask any more questions you must raise them in the regular assembly." - Acts 19:39 - Ekklesia is used frequently in the Greek Old Testament for the assembly of the Chosen People before God, above all for their assembly on Mount Sinai where Israel received the Law and was established by God as his holy people. - Ex. 19:1-25 -

By calling itself "Church" the first community of Christians believers recognized itself as heir to that assembly. In the Church, God is "calling together" his people from all the ends of the earth. The equivalent Greek term Kyriake, from which the English word Church and the German Kirche are derived, means "what belongs to the Lord". - CCC 751 -

On the day of "Pentecost" also known as the "Feast of Harvest". This feast was observed early in the third month on the 50th day after the offering of the barley sheaf at the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It included a holy convocation with the usual restriction on manual labour.

The Book of Numbers, chapter 28:26-31 describes the number and nature of offerings and the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 16:9-12 describes those who were to be invited to this feast. Israelites were to be reminded of their bondage in Egypt on that day.

The early disciples, believers, and the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ who were gathered in Jerusalem for observance of this feast, encountered and experienced the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit in a miraculous way.

In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven, He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. When he had been at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but wait there for what the Father had promised. "It is" he had said "what you have heard me speak about: John baptised with water but you, not many days from now, will be baptised with the Holy Spirit." - Acts 1:1-5 -

When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech. - Acts 2:1-4 -

On that day, [Pentecost] the Holy Trinity is fully revealed. Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ has been open to those who believe in Him: in the humility of the flesh and in faith, they already share in the communion of the Holy Trinity. By the Lord Jesus Christ coming which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the "last days" the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated. - CCC 732 -

The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us. - Rom. 5:5 -

The mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the universal Church, which is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. This joint mission henceforth brings Christ's faithful to share in His communion with the Father in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit prepares men and goes out to them with His grace, in order to draw them to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Spirit manifests the risen Lord to them, recalls His word to them and opens their minds to the understanding of His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. He makes present the mystery of Christ, supremely in the Holy Eucharist/Holy Communion/Holy Mass, in order to reconcile them, to bring them into communion with God, that they may 'bear much fruit." - CCC 737 - John 15:8,16 -

The gathering together of the People of God began at the moment when sin destroyed the communion of people with God. The universal Church congregation is, as it were, God's reaction to the chaos provoked by sin. Sin is also viewed as estrangement or alienation, from God. In this case, the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ includes the reconciliation of sinners to God, through His universal Church. The initiative in this reconciliation work is taken by God. By all His actions, the Lord Jesus Christ prepares and builds His Church.

Then, Peter addressed them: 'The truth I have now come to realize' he said, 'is that God does not have favorites' but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him. -  Acts 10:34-35 -

And anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God's work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation. In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men's faults against them, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. - 2 Cor. 5:17-19 -

When the work which the Father gave the Son to do on earth was accomplished, the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually sanctify the universal Church. Then, the universal Church was openly displayed to the crowds and the spread of the Gospel among the nations, through preaching, was begun. As the 'convocation' of all men for salvation, the universal Church in her nature is missionary, sent by the Lord Jesus Christ to all the nations to make disciples of them. - CCC 767 - John 17:4; AG 4; Matt. 28: 19-20 -

It is in the universal Church that the Lord Jesus Christ fulfills and reveals His own mystery as the purpose of God's plan. "He has let us know the mystery of his purpose, the hidden plan he so kindly made in Christ from the beginning to act upon when the times had run their course to the end: that he would bring everything together under Christ, as head, everything in the heavens and everything on earth." - Eph. 1:9-10 -

Like the Father, and the Son, the Holy Spirit is at the disposal of the other persons of "a triune God." The Holy Spirit's attitude and ministry are marked by generosity; His chief function is to illuminate Jesus' to glorify His person, and to work in the life of the believer and the universal Church.

From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to them and gave them a share in his mission, joy and sufferings. - Matt. 13:10-17; Mark 1:16-20, 3:13-19; Luke 10:17-20, 22:28-30 - Jesus spoke of a still more intimate communion between him and those who would follow him. "Make your home in me, as I make mine in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, but must remain part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches, Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing. - John 15:4-5 - And the Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed a mysterious and real communion between his own body and ours. Jesus answered:

I tell you most solemnly,
it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven,
it is my Father who gave you bread from heaven,
the true bread;
for the bread of God
is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.

Sir, they said 'give us that bread always' Jesus answered:

I am the bread of life.
He who comes........................
No one can come to me
unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me,
and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They will all be taught by God,
and to hear the teaching of the Father,
and learn from it,
is to come to me.
Not that anybody........................
I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever;
and the bread that I shall give
is my flesh, for the life of the world.

Then the Jews started arguing with one another: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat? they said, Jesus replied:

I tell you most solemnly,
if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood,
you will not have life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood
has eternal life,
and I shall raise him up on the last day.

For my flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me
and I live in him.
As I, who am sent by the living Father,
myself draw life from the Father,
so whoever eats me will draw life from me.
This is the bread come down from heaven;
not like the bread our ancestors ate:
they are dead,
but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever. - John 6:32-58 -

It is the spirit that gives life,
the flesh has nothing to offer.
The words I have spoken to you are spirits
and they are life. - John 6:63 -

When his visible presence was taken from them, Jesus did not leave his disciples orphans. He promised to remain with them until the end of time; he sent them his Spirit. "God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are witnesses to that. Now raised to the heights by God's right hand, he has received from the Father the Holy Spirit, who promised, and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit." - Acts 2:32-33 - John 14:18, 20:22 - Matt. 28:20 - As a result communion with Jesus has become, in a way, more intense: By communicating his Spirit, Christ mystically constitutes as his body those brothers and sisters of his who are called together from every nation. - CCC 788 -

The comparison of the universal Church with the body casts light on the intimate bond between the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church. Not only is she gathered around him; she is united in him, in his body. "What the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the universal Church.' - Saint Augustine of Hippo - "To this Spirit of Christ, as an invisible principle, is to be ascribed the fact that all the parts of the body are joined one with the other and with their exalted head; for the whole Spirit of Christ is in the head, the whole Spirit is in the body, and the whole Spirit is in each of the members." - Pope Pius XII - the Holy Spirit makes the universal Church "the temple of the living God."

Didn't you realise that you were God's temple and that the Spirit of God was living among you? If anybody should destroy him because the temple of God is sacred; and you are that temple. - 1 Cor. 2:16-17 -

Do not harness yourselves in an even team with unbelievers. Virtue is no companion for crime. Light and darkness have nothing in common. Christ is not the ally of Beliar, nor has a believer anything to share with an unbeliever. The temple of God has no common ground with idols, and that is what we are - the temple of the living God. We have God's word for it: I will make my home among them and live with them; I will be their God and they shall be my people. Then come away from them and keep aloof, says the Lord. Touch nothing that is unclean, and I will welcome you and be your father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says Almighty Lord. - 2 Cor. 14-18 -

Glory be to him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine; glory be to him from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. - Eph. 3:20-21 -

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Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -