Being a Bulwark that
Serves God's Purposes
“..The
household of God, which is the church
of the living God, the pillar and
bulwark of the truth”
–
1 Timothy 3:15
In This Issue
The Lord Jesus came to establish a New Covenant
sealed by the blood he shed for us on the cross to
reconcile us to God the Father in one Body, the
Body of Christ, and one Spirit who makes us a
Living Temple and dwelling place of God. We are
called to be "living stones.. built into a
spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5). That is why the
Apostle Paul in his First Letter to Timothy
describes the Christian people as “..the
household of God, which is the church of the
living God, the pillar and bulwark of the
truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).
This issue focuses on the
image of the Christian people as a "bulwark"
of "living stones" joined together in unity
as disciples of Jesus Christ. The Sword of
the Spirit is a network of Christian
covenant communities who have been called to
be part of a bulwark to defend the truth of
the Gospel and to stem the tide of evil
sweeping across the earth.
Steve Clark, a key founder of the Sword of
the Spirit, in his article On
Mission: Being a Bulwark, describes
what we are called to do as a bulwark and
community of disciples on mission:
“We
are called to live, work and strive, by the
power of the Holy Spirit, so that others might
have true life in Christ, now and
forever.” Note that there is a purpose
to our calling – for
others to have true life in Christ, now and
for all eternity. We have a treasure: we
have discovered what true life is really about – life
with God, life God’s way. We are called to be
coworkers with God, to use the Apostle Paul’s
phrase, to bring others to that life. This is
foundational to all that we do in
mission. We are not always expressly
evangelistic, of course. We do not start every
day by preaching the gospel or spend it
calling people up on the telephone to talk
about Christ. We may do that sometimes, but
all that we do, the very way we live our
lives, is so that others might have true life
in Christ, now and forever.
May this issue
inspire, encourage, and call each of us to pray
earnestly and strive to "maintain the unity of
the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians
4:3).
Sincerely in Christ,
Don Schwager
editor
top photo of the
Assembly of senior leaders of the Sword of the
Spirit communities meeting in Lisbon, Portugal
last May 2018
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