2 Chronicles 15:2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, Hear you me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you… I. WHAT IS MEANT BY GOD WITH A CHURCH? Luther used to say that there was a "great deal of divinity in prepositions." This word "with" has diversity as well as divinity in its meaning. It means — 1. To be present. God present, seeing and hearing all that is said and done. 2. Blessing. A helping, gracious presence. "The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man." 3. Divine protection. II. WHAT IS MEANT BY A CHURCH WITH GOD? 1. It is a Church faithful and fearless in proclaiming God's Word. "Strike, but hear!" said a philosopher to an angry disputant. "Laugh, strike, kill, but hear the Word of God!" is what the Church says to mockers and persecutors. 2. It is a holy Church. The Emperor of Rome issued a command that all houses, shops, and public institutions, ships or boats, named after members of the Royal Family, should be kept clean, or forego the right to the name. "Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord." Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." 3. A Church with God does God's work. A Church tries to be to men all that Christ was, the earthly organ of His Spirit, the instrument of "the mind of Christ." 4. It means a Church in which every member lives in personal communion with God. (J. M. Gibbon.) Parallel Verses KJV: And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. |
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