₦airaland Forum

Hello everyone,
Please bear with me because this post is a rather lengthy one. The issues being discussed here require a good dose of patience and time to unravel and properly understand. What you're about to read won't be sufficient to tackle it completely. However, I will try to lay a proper groundwork to adress the multi-sided matter.

I don't think there's any need for arguments as to whether cele or white garment churches belong to Christ or not.

Our number one problem in Christianity is ignorance. Most Christians are ignorant of the accurate word of God and you can tell when you hear them speak, including many church leaders, pastors and founders.

What we need to do is to first examine critically Who Christ is and what He came to do.

Secondly, we need to know what He said about those who belong to Him and how we can identify such people. After going through scriptures, even the unbelievers can tell who belong to Christ and those who do not.

In everything I will say here, I will allow the Scriptures speak for itself.

JESUS IS GOD IN THE FLESH.
Scriptures (ie the Bible) sufficiently makes us know this:

John 1:1, 14 NKJV
[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[14] And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

I Timothy 3:16 NKJV
[16] And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

John 14:9 NKJV
[9] Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Colossians 2:8-9 NKJV
[8] Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. [9] For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

Even Prophet Isaiah and the Psalms testify of Him as being God in the flesh👇

Isaiah 9:6 NKJV
[6] For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The Psalms tell us about He Himself (God) coming in the flesh to save us from our sins👇

Psalms 130:7-8 NKJV
[7] O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption. [8] And He shall redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

The above Psalm was fulfilled in Matthew 1:21👇

Matthew 1:21 NKJV
[21] And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

So, we see from the sufficiency of God's word that Jesus is God in the flesh. Unfortunately, many Christians are still in doubt of this truth. While Jesus Himself is appearing to Muslims, Buddhists, Satanists, etc and telling them that He is God and saving them, many Christians are still arguing about this eternal truth.

WHAT CHRIST CAME IN THE FLESH TO DO.

I John 3:5 NKJV
[5] And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

See I John 3:5 in two other translations below👇

I John 3:5 NLT
[5] And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.

1 John 3:5 AMP
[5] You know that He appeared [in visible form as a man] in order to take away sins; and in Him there is [absolutely] no sin [for He has neither the sin nature nor has He committed sin or acts worthy of blame].

Matthew 1:21 NKJV
[21] And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Ephesians 1:4 ESV
[4] even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

Hebrews 10:9-10
[9] Then he [Christ] said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. [10] For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.

Hebrews 10:14
"For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

So, we can see from the abundant quotes from the Scriptures that Jesus came to take away sins. And by taking away sins, He came to make us Holy, Blameless, without Fault and Perfect before God.

WHO ARE THOSE WHO TRULY BELONG TO CHRIST?

John 10:27 NLT
[27] My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

John 8:12 NLT
[12] Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 14:21 NLT
[21] Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

John 14:23 NLT
[23] Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.

John 14:24 NLT
[24] Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.

John 15:10 NLT
[10] When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

II John 1:9 NKJV
[9] Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

I John 3:6 NKJV
[6] Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

I John 3:7-8 NKJV
[7] Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. [8] He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

I John 3:10 NKJV
"...Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."

We can see from the above scriptures that those who are the sheep (or followers of Jesus) are those who listen to Him and obey Him.

We can also see from the above scriptures that anyone who is living in sin cannot claim to belong to Jesus Christ.

To say that the Bible is not a sufficient book for us to know God (that God has other ways of speaking to man which may not agree with the Bible) is a very dangerous thing to utter.

Anyone who is practising anything that Jesus never did or taught while He was on earth here does not belong to Him. How do we know the true ways of Jesus Christ? It is documented in scriptures for us to know and learn.

And anyone that doesn't belong to Him doesn't belong to the Father.

Anyone that doesn't belong to the Father doesn't have eternal life.

Any religious practice that doesn't agree with Christ and His teachings are not from God. They are from the devil. Remember, satan can also appear as an angel of light to deceive people that he is from God.

2 Corinthians 11:14-15 ESV
[14] And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

[15] So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

The fact that you had a vision or saw an angel (and that angel gave you instructions or prophecies that came to pass) doesn't mean it came from God.

All prophecies, visions and dreams must be tested by the Word of God.👇

1 John 4:1-3 ESV
[1] Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. [2] By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, [3] and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

The reason God gave us His Word is that we can walk in accuracy and avoid the deception of Satan.👇

2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV
[16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

[17] that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

So, we see from the above that the scriptures was breathed out by God and it is for teaching, for reproof (ie testing of the genuineness of a thing), for correction and training in righteousness so we can be complete and ready to do every good work.

If you refuse to submit your vision, revelations or doctrines to the scrutiny of The Scriptures, then you are to be avoided by other believers 👇

2 John 1:10-11 ESV
[10] If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, [11] for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

It's important to know that the word "Scriptures" means "that which is written."

Do you remember when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil, during his fasting for 40 days and 40 nights?

Did you notice that Jesus didn't respond to Satan's temptations by talking about the visions and revelations God gave Him. He didn't even say, "Satan, do you realise who you are talking to? Do you realise you're tempting Jesus, the One who created you?" Jesus never said any of that. Rather, He began to respond to satan by saying, "It is written..." What is written? The answer is: Scriptures!

If anyone was to brag to satan (who is the god of this world) about dreams and visions and revelations, Jesus should be number 1! But He never did! Wow!

Now, just in case you're saying, "But Jesus never had any revelation or dream or visions from God. So He had nothing to brag about before satan" Well, you'll be incorrect to say so. Jesus Himself said:

John 5:20 ESV
[20] For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

Also remember the encounter on the Mount of Transfiguration where Moses and Elijah appeared. Jesus never spoke to satan about any of these. Rather, He responded to the enemy with scriptures.

This is a big lesson to all of us who claim to the following Jesus.

We have no right to call Jesus our Lord if we are not consistently doing what He commanded us👇

Luke 6:46 ESV
[46] “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

We may cast out devils, do mighty miracles or even raise dead persons, but we do not belong to Jesus and He doesn't even know us if we are living in lawlessness 👇

Matthew 7:21-23 ESV
[21] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ [23] And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

One may ask, "So, what is lawlessness?" Lawlessness is sin👇

1 John 3:4 ESV
[4] Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

HOW CAN WE IDENTIFY TRUE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST?

Matthew 7:20
By their fruits, you will know them

However, if you do not know how to recognise one fruit from the other, it becomes impossible to tell the difference between a good fruit and a bad one. This is the reason the believer must know the Bible and know it more accurately.

Unfortunately, many occult groups (including those claiming affiliation to Christianity) say that the Bible is not the only word of God. They even say Jesus Christ is one of many messengers God sends to the earth. This is a big red flag. It a sign that such people do not belong to Jesus Christ or to God.

Lastly, let me say this...

Some people quote John 16:12

John 16:12 ESV
[12] “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

And they mean it to say that Jesus still has many other new truths to tell us. If we don't read John 16:12 in context, we will make it say what Jesus never meant.

For the sake of time, let's consider only a portion of the context of that Verse carefully:

John 16:12-15 ESV
[12] “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. [13] When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. [14] He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. [15] All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

If you're a Bible student, you will know that the Holy Spirit ism called The Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9, I Peter 1:11, Galatians 4:11). In Verse 13 above, He is called "The Spirit of Truth" because Jesus is Truth (John 14:6). Hence, the Spirit of Truth (ie Holy Spirit) cannot say anything that will contradict what Jesus has already taught (read Verse 13 fully).

Verse 14 says:

"He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you."

So, we see that the Holy Spirit is not coming to tells us anything outside Christ. All He is coming to tell us is in Christ Jesus.

And Jesus already told us in verse 15 that all that the Father has is what He has. Hence, we can authoritatively say that the Holy Spirit has come to reveal the Father to us! Jesus is the revelation of the Father! (See John 14:9) The Holy Spirit came to Reveal Jesus more and more to us and nothing else.

The Holy Spirit didn't come to tell us anything outside the core teachings of Jesus Christ. His work is to lead us to all truth. Jesus is All Truth

That Truth is not a thing but a Person, the Person of Jesus!

Jesus is the Only Way to the Father!👇

John 14:6 ESV
"....No one comes to the Father except through me."

And anyone who must come to the Father through Jesus and then decide to follow Jesus, must be subject to His teachings👇

John 8:31 NLT
[31] Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings."

Always remember Jesus is the Embodiment of Truth. There's no truth from God anywhere that can contradict the teachings of Jesus.

John 7:16-17
[16] So Jesus told them, “My message [teaching] is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. [17] Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.

Any truth that anyone claims to have that doesn't agree with Jesus and His teachings is not of God! And it can only be of the devil.

I know I have had to repeat many things several times. It is deliberate! That's the way Truth can sink in for many of us!

Hi guys