BIBLE NAMES OF BELIEVERS
(Part 3)
Acts 11:26
Morning Meditation 3/9/2013
"And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."
WE ARE CALLED PILGRIMS
1 Peter 2:11 says, "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;"
Let's note the following:
1. First, we note the affection that Peter had for those to whom he writes. One of the outstanding features of our Lord's discipling the twelve is His emphasis on love. He said in John 13:35, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Peter is speaking the truth in love. He has learned his lesson about loving the brethren.
2. Peter's attitude stands out in his exhortation to those he calls "Dearly beloved." He says, "I beseech you." This is used in the sense of entreating someone. It is not an order it is pleading. Peter is saying, "Dearly beloved, I plead with you." This is the kind of approach that makes one want to listen and consider seriously doing what is being ask. Grace pleads, law threatens. There was a time when Peter would not have pled, he would have exercised apostolic authority and threatened anyone who challenged him.
3. The word pilgrim is a term by which Christians were called. The word pilgrim is "one who comes from a foreign country into a city or land to reside there by the side of the natives." The word "strangers" describes further what the pilgrim is. He is a stranger. He originated in another country.
I was reading one of Watchman Nee's books where he made a point I want to share with you that fit with the word pilgrim and its definition. John 15:19, "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."
The particle "if" is a second class condition. The "if" in a second class condition means, "if, and it is not true." A paraphrase is, "if ye (the plural you) were of this world, and you are not." Then follows, "the world would love his own." Jesus is saying that you are not of this world any more, and this is why the world does not love you. Let me ask you a question. Has the world changed its attitude toward you since you have been saved? This is a question, the answer to which, makes the difference between heaven and hell.
The words, "but because ye are not of (of is a preposition denoting origin) the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." Jesus is saying, "you did not originate in this world like the unsaved." Next Jesus tells them how this change in their origin took place, "but I have chosen you out of the world." When we were born again, we were born from above, i.e., from heaven as a country. So when one is saved, his Spiritual birth gives him a new origin. We have a heavenly accent in our speech and our walk unveils a different culture. Have you ever noticed that people who are different make you uneasy? Our doctrine and walk infuriate the unsaved world is what Jesus is saying.
One of the names by which we are called as Christians are Pilgrims. Next,
WE ARE CALLED HEIRS
Paul says in Romans 8:17, "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."
The word "heir" according to Strong: "in Messianic usage, one who receives his allotted possession by right of sonship."
The word "joint-heirs with Christ," means that the believer is by right of birth an equal heir with Christ. Jesus is the Son of God and we are sons with Him because the New Birth puts us in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." The words "in Christ" describe the believer's permanent position. He also has Christ's righteousness imputed to him. And because he is in Christ, he shares what Christ inherits because of His incarnation, sinless life, death, and resurrection.
Peter refers to this in 1 Peter 1:3-5, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." The believer's origin is in heaven and that is where the inheritance will be.
