If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17
In his book “Peace of Mind,” Joshua Liebman states a very obvious truth: “No reconstructed society can be built on unreconstructed individuals.” By the same token, you cannot have a strong chain that has weak links, a good forest without good trees, a productive farm with unproductive fields.
At the level of civil righteousness, reconstructed individuals are those who from high motivation keep the laws and do more than what the civil laws demand. They set good examples. Their vision of the public good exceeds that of private gain.
But rebuilt persons in God’s sight – that is, at the level of righteousness that meets His approval – are individuals born anew by water and the Sprit – by the Gospel that has brought the Savior Jesus Christ into their hearts and keeps Him there. Their hearts and lives have been cleansed by the shed blood of Christ. They are the temple of the living God. In them the Holy Spirit has found a home. Now a new community consisting of such persons can begin. This is the holy Christian church, the communion of saints. It is in itself the good spiritual society, and it is the only true prop for the society surrounding it.
Spiritually reconstructed persons constitute a community worthy to be called the body of Christ. Saint Paul writes of the church built on Christ as the chief cornerstone: “In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:21). Spiritually rebuilt persons make for a perfectly constructed church. Christ’s church is without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish.
PRAYER: O Lord God, grant me a stronger, more active faith to serve Your Church as it goes forward in this sinful world. Amen.
(Devotions from "With Jesus Every Day" copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 67, 71 Philippians 2
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