Hello New Believer!

If you are a new believer or a baby Christian, we welcome you to this site and we invite you to check out the links to teachings that will help you on your journey of how to build your life on the solid foundational Rock of Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach). You are encouraged to take time to read the blogs, listen to the podcasts or watch the videos as they become available, and most importantly to open your Bible and let the living word of Yahweh (God) come to life and fill you with all He has for you. Feel free to contact us with questions or comment on the links with your thoughts as you go through the teachings.

(Note of clarity: You will notice that the name Yeshua and Jesus are both used in this and other posts as is Yahweh and God. This is because depending on where you live in the world, you may know Him as Yeshua or Jesus. I can not list His name in every language so I use the two most common to me.)

When you first accepted Yeshua HaMashiach as your Savior, you may have heard the words, “Welcome to the body of Christ!”, and now you are seeking to understand exactly what that means and what is the purpose of the body of Christ. 

What is it’s purpose?

The purpose of the body of Christ is first and foremost for the bride to make herself ready for the return of her Bridegroom. The body of Christ not an organization. It is a living, breathing human organism. While we are on this earth, the body of Christ is called to be His helpmate in bringing the good news of Jesus and His redeeming love for the salvation of mankind, to destroy the works of the devil, and to worship Yeshua in spirit and in truth. In the Bible, scripture tells us that though we are many members, we are of one body and that it is by the Holy Spirit that we are joined together. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 reads:

12For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14For in fact the body is not one member but many.

Please take the time and read the full chapter and you will gain a better understanding of the importance of each person, their gifts, and how critical unity is in the body. Unity being that we do not mock or judge others for that which we are not familiar with or that which is different from us. If your spiritual gift(s) differs from another person’s gift, their gift and your gift are equally important in the eyes of the Creator, even though you may know nothing about it. 

Who is the Bridegroom?

Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ) is the Bridegroom. The analogy of the word ‘bridegroom’ is significant in that it reflects the new marriage covenant that Yahweh has made with mankind. With Yahweh as our heavenly Father, He has created mankind to receive an inheritance into the Kingdom of Heaven. His sent His son, Yeshua to earth, in the form of man but was conceived by the Spirit of Yahweh. Just as we are on this earth in the form of man, we are also of the spirit because Yahweh has placed our spirit within each of us along with a soul and body. It is our spirit within that has the authority to commune with the Holy Spirit. When Yeshua made His appearance on Earth, He came, born son of man and son of Yahweh. He came for the sole purpose of reconciling the state of fallen man back to our Creator, Yahweh. Yahweh made a promise to Himself that he would have a bride for His beloved Son, Jesus. This Bride will be a people who have made themselves ready to be betrothed to His son and be joint heirs to the throne of Yahweh. She will be in her glorious splendor without spot or wrinkle, and she should be holy and without blemish upon His return.

When you become a believer in and follower of Yeshua HaMashiach, you are adopted into the family of Yahweh as joint-heirs to the throne; and, even though you are as a babe desiring spiritual milk, as you grow and develop your relationship and understanding of who you are in Yeshua, you will mature and sit in heavenly places with the beloved bridegroom, Yeshua. We can only be united as one with the Father through a marriage covenant with His Son, hence becoming His bride. 

In the book of Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul gives instructions regarding marriage between wives and husbands. He concludes the message as being one of a great mystery. The mystery is then explained as the marriage covenant between Christ and the church (aka body of Christ which includes men, women, and children). Christ desires to be our husband and we His wife. Paul however places an emphasis on the importance of how marriage between husband and wife on earth is a reflection of our relationship with Jesus. It is also important to recognize that not all believers are married. They may be single or widowed, in which case the mystery becomes even more clear that Jesus is your betrothed and your marriage covenant is with Him first and foremost. At such time you may marry, you will have a solid foundation on which to build your marriage with your earthly husband or wife. 

In the blog “Congratulations on Your Marriage,” we explain this further to help you understand the importance of this covenant and how our relationships with others reflect our relationship with Him. With this foundational understanding, it is our hope that when you read scripture and it’s references to marriage, you will begin to catch the revelations of how they point to Jesus Christ and why He is looking for a bride (You) who has made herself ready. 

Ephesians 5:22-33 (NKJV) “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also love the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” 

Where is the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God and How Do You Get There?

This is another mystery that has been debated among religious groups since the days of the Pharisees during Yeshua’s ministry. Yeshua clarified and settled the debate in scripture for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see. He explained it several times using parables which confused many. Listen carefully! We want you to know it is absolutely okay to be confused just as His disciples were. This is where life grace comes into play. His disciples (those who truly wanted to know more of Yeshua and the kingdom of heaven) took the time to ask Him what He meant and Yeshua took the time to explain. He gave us the answers and they are written in the Bible (word of God) following the parables. For example:

In Luke, Chapter 8, scripture tells us that Jesus and His twelve disciples went through the cities and villages, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. When a large crowd gathered around, Jesus began to speak a parable of the Soils. The reason He spoke the parable as He did is because He knew the hearts of man and He knew who was truly interested in hearing what He had to share and who were there merely to mock Him due to their hardness of hearts. He ended the parable with “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” His disciples then asked Jesus what the meaning of the parable was. You see, even His disciples were confused about it until it was explained. Jesus didn’t judge them for being ignorant but rather He took the time to break it down for them. In Luke 8:10, Jesus said,

“To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand,’ “Now the parable is this:…”

Yeshua then goes on to explain the parable of the Soils (aka Sower and the Seed) in detail. You will notice that in that particular parable, He addressed four types of people that were among the multitude, as well as future generations of people who would hear of the good news of the kingdom of God. When you read in your Bible about the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven, you can be relieved to know that the kingdom of God is the same thing as the kingdom of Heaven. The Israelites did not like to say the word God or Yhwh so they chose to substitute it for the kingdom of heaven. Hence the reason you see them spell God G_d. The mystery solved here is the two are one in the same.

Let’s read the parable beginning in Luke 8:4-15 (Amplified Version) and it’s explanation below:

(Parable Part)

Luke 8:4 When a large crowd was gathering together, and people from city after city were coming to Him, He spoke [to them] using a parable: 5 “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up. 6 And some seed fell on [shallow soil covering] the rocks, and as soon as it sprouted, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. 8 And some fell into good soil, and grew up and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words.”

9 Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable meant. 10 And He said, 

(Explanation Part)

“To you [who have been chosen] it has been granted to know and recognize the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that though seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

11 “Now [the meaning of] the parable is this: The seed is the word of God [concerning eternal salvation]. 12 Those beside the road are the people who have heard; then the devil comes and takes the message [of God] away from their hearts, so that they will not believe [in Me as the Messiah] and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky soil are the people who, when they hear, receive and welcome the word with joy; but these have no firmly grounded root. They believe for a while, and in time of trial and temptation they fall away [from Me and abandon their faith]. 14 The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, but as they go on their way they are suffocated with the anxieties and riches and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But as for that seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word with a good and noble heart, and hold on to it tightly, and bear fruit with patience.”

You can see that Yeshua takes the time to explain the meaning. As a new or young believer in Yeshua, you can do a self-exam and ask yourself what type of soil you are. You now know from the above parable that the seed is the Word of God and your spirit, soul, and body is the soil. Take time to pray when you open your Bible or read it on your device that the word of God will cultivate your soil within, nurture it, water it, and then watch Him tend to you as a tender shoot of a tree so that you can begin to grow from the infant stage needing spiritual milk to maturity in Yeshua HaMashiach, bearing good fruit. 

Right now you may feel as though you still have some bad fruit dangling from your tree (self) and, believe it or not, that is actually a really good place to start. After all, literally the day prior to accepting Jesus into your heart as your Lord and Savior, you were carrying some baggage with you from hurts, rebellion, works of the flesh etc. Learning how to remove the bad fruit from your life is what begins your “Born Again” process into a new creation in Yeshua. This site has an amazing resource on the Foundational Elementary Principles of the sound doctrine of Jesus Christ (spoken of in Hebrews 6:1-2) that you will want to study. Be sure to check them out and reach out to us with questions or help in this area.

When you accept and invite Yeshua HaMashiach as your Savior, you have accepted His kingdom into your heart. It is He and Yahweh, through the Holy Spirit that indwells within you. Yeshua is the kingdom of God. He is the way, the truth, and life and He desires to do a work in and through you during your time on this earth. When the pharisees of His day asked Him the question as to where this kingdom of heaven was at, Yeshua responded by saying, 

“20Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21nor will they say, See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed,the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20-21

What your heavenly Father wants you to know about His kingdom is that He sent His only begotten Son, Yeshua HaMashiach, to this earth to redeem us and reconcile us back to Yahweh through our faith and belief in Him. When Yeshua gave His life up on the cross, died, rose from the grave and ascended up into the heavenlies, He spoke of another that would come and teach us all things. That ‘other’ is the Holy Spirit of Truth. In Yahweh’s infinite wisdom, He gave us His Spirit to dwell within us so that we can fulfill His great commission through us in our lifetime. There is also the “eternal Kingdom of Heaven” where our spirit will return to upon our physical death and that is our promise of eternal life. Yahweh has called you to be a part of His body of believers—His family. You have been called for a time such as this.  You are loved and you are important. Your family and the world around you needs that which Yahweh has deposited in your spirit to be used for His glory, for His kingdom to come here on earth as it is in heaven.

We hope this has been a blessing to you as you begin your new relationship with Yeshua. There is so much more He wants to reveal to you. Subscribe to the website below. It’s free and you will be notified when new posts are available.

In His Service,

Garry and Norma