The Church is not a continuation of the Old Covenant Law and Temple system but from a Christian perspective; rather it is the culmination of God’s meticulously planned workings beginning with Adam man from creation, to the promises to faithful Abraham and the patriarchs, to Moses and the Law concerning the nation of Israel, and now it is His highest work through Christ and the Church. This is the progressive unfolding of the manifold wisdom of God down through the ages now being made known by the Church. Each age is a dispensation in which God interacts with His people in a different way, progressive working towards the fulfillment of His master plan. His work is different within each succeeding age, but all work towards a single purpose of bringing a people into intimate fellowship with Himself.

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Jesus Christ most often spoke of spiritual things in likeness to the natural so His disciples often misunderstood Him. When He cautioned them to, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees,” at the mention of the word leaven their minds immediately thought of bread, which they did not bring with them. Jesus however, was speaking of something much more sinister; something very deceptive that could creep into their lives and that of the Church He was to build.

At the time of the apostle Paul’s ministry, this leaven of the Pharisees had infiltrated the Galatian Church, as they started to embrace the beliefs and practices of the Old Testament Law. It seems that there is a tendency in man to drift from the spiritual into the natural, from the pursuit of life in Christ Jesus to the pursuit of obedience to commandment and rituals; from the freedom of the Spirit to the bondage of religion. You see, religion is a “no brainer” so to speak, something that requires or involves little mental effort, or most importantly, the “work of faith” to believe in and pursue the spiritual, the invisible and intangible realities of God.

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The thought of mixture entering into the Church remains a constant concern. Anything foreign to the absolute truth of the Gospel and the testimony of the apostles is an impurity that must be discerned and purge out. This mixture can come from multiple sources, such as false doctrine, false prophets and teachers, worldly influence, culture, as well as a subtle mixing in of other religions and philosophies. Two things for sure, a church in mixture cannot mature falling short of the expectations of Christ, and Satan does not fear it but encourages it for it poses no real threat to him or his kingdom. If another Jesus or a different Gospel were preached today, would you recognize it or may well put up with it?