THE PERFECT JESUS CHURCH

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit poured down upon the disciples and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other different languages at Jerusalem. The languages spoken were from Asia, Egypt, Crete, Rome and Arabia. The church of Jesus Christ was established with the help of the Holy Spirit. Peter gave a sermon on Jesus Christ and three thousand souls were baptized (Acts 2:41) on the same day. Praise the Lord! Thus the Church of Jesus Christ was established by the Holy Spirit.

God is interested in the salvation of His people and His ultimate purpose of salvation will be realized through our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord God appeared in a vision to Isaiah as he worshipped in the Temple about 740 B.C. saying, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14).

About seven centuries later, Matthew, the apostle described Jesus as the fulfilment of the prophecy by Isaiah as "Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God, with us." "Jesus shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1: 21-23). God through His manifestation, Jesus Christ came to earth to die for our sins so we can be redeemed from the inherited sins of Adam and our own sins.

John 10:30 I and my Father are one.

• 38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the work: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

• John 12:45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.

• John 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

• :8 Philip saith unto him, Lord shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

• :9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

• :10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

• John 16:15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

ATTRIBUTES OF JESUS

The perfect Church of Jesus Christ must have the character of the Lord God, His almighty power (Holy Spirit), love, holiness, compassion, righteousness, mercy, and complete submission to the Lord God.

COMPLETE SUBMISSION TO GOD

From the following we know that Jesus was completely submissive to God.

• Matthew 6:10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
• Matthew 26:30 O my Father, If it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.
• Rom 6:13 Yield yourself unto God.
• James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

7TH DAY SABBATH, 10 COMMANDMENTS

Jesus observed the commandment of the Sabbath, worshipped and taught on the 7th day Sabbath. He came not to revolutionize the laws or commandments of the Old Testament, but to set a more humane way of keeping them by love and compassion. He was called the Lord of the Sabbath meaning He set and governed the laws pertaining the commandment.

Matthew 5:17

• Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Luke 6:5

• And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.

Luke 4:16

• And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

Luke 4:31

• And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.

Luke 13:10

• And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.

Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan which separates Israel from Jordan. He was not baptized in man-made concrete or steel tanks which were constructed by man.

1 Corinthians 10:1-2 records, "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. (2) And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea."

BAPTIZED TO FULFIL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS

JESUS WAS SINLESS AND HE DID NOT NEED TO WASH AWAY HIS SINS. However, Jesus set us an example that we must follow to have our sins forgiven through baptism of water, the blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

If we believe in Jesus, we must also obey Him to be baptized for our sins to be forgiven in the likeness of Jesus' death and arise as a new born person. We start afresh as a Christian and follow the ways of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ walking in paths of righteousness.

Matthew 3:15

• And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.

REMISSION OF SINS THROUGH BAPTISM

Acts 2:38

• Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 22:16

• And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

HOLY COMMUNION AND SIGNIFICANCE (I COR. 11:26; I COR. 10:16-17)

The Lord Jesus established the Holy Communion on the night of His betrayal. The cup is the cup of the Passover (Luke 22:17) and the bread is the bread of the Holy Communion. "This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19).

The Church should perform the Holy Communion in remembrance of Jesus Christ. Take note that Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to the disciples. This is why the Church should have one bread, give thanks before breaking it and distributing the bread. The one loaf represents the body of Christ for there is only one body of Christ. The bread is unleavened bread and no matter how big the congregation, there is only one bread to represent His body. The congregation may be over a thousand members, but we still have one bread before blessing and distributing and not many small individual wafers.

You do not bless one wafter and then distribute other wafers to the congregation. One wafer does not represent the body of Christ. Remember Jesus took bread, blessed and then distributed

Peter and John were the chosen disciples to prepare the Holy Communion. The important task was given to the leaders of the apostles.

THE SACRAMENT OF FOOT WASHING (JOHN 13:14-15)

This rite is called a sacrament because Jesus instituted the rite, commanded the disciples to obey and follow His example. If Jesus as the Lord and Master stooped down to wash His disciples' feet, then the ministers of the Lord should also do likewise.

If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. [15] For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

SIGNIFICANCE

It indicates the great love of the Lord (John 13:1). Jesus the Master washed the disciples' feet reversing the role of master and servant.

It reveals that Jesus requires His disciples to be holy (Jn 13:10-11). After baptism in the name of Jesus, a believer can keep his feet clean by cleansing the feet. Feet symbolize behaviour of a person (Prov 4:14,26-27).

It shows the humility and service of the Lord (Jn 13:12-14).

It testifies the forgiveness of the Lord. Jesus showed kindness to Judas by washing his feet, hoping that he could repent, but he did not. In God's church, there may be discord and misunderstanding. We must forgive one another when we remember the forgiveness of the Lord in the case of Judas Iscariot. (Col 3:12-13; Mat 18:21-35).

Please note that though Jesus knew Judas Iscariot's character, He did not discard him and he was given a chance to repent but he did not. Do not judge whether a person will be saved or not until the very end of his life like the thief on the cross who repented and was saved.

It signifies to be Part with the Lord (Jn 13:8). If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." To be perfect in word or deed, we must physically have foot washing as well as washing with the Word spiritually. Jesus washed the disciples' feet and the workers of God should do likewise. Do everything in word or deed.

The power of God lies in the miracles which the Holy Spirit or Jesus perform. The Holy Spirit and Jesus are God's manifestation, A church without miracles is an empty shell and does not have the approval of God. Jesus performed many miracles when He was on earth and after His death, His disciples continued to do likewise. A church that lacks miracles is a church that does not have the authority of God.

Acts 2:22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

MIRACLES PERFORMED BY JESUS

The miracles performed by Jesus are too many to enumerate. 10 of them are listed below.

• John 2:9 Water changed to wine
• Luke 5:6 Draught of fishes
• Mark 1:26; Luke 4:35 Demoniac in the synagogue
• Matthew 8:3; Mark 1:41 Cleansing the leper
• Matthew 8:5; Luke 7:2 Centurion's servant
• Matthew 8:26; Mark 4:39: Luke 8:24 Tempest stilled
• Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26 Demoniacs of Gadara
• Matthew 14:15; Mark 6:41; Luke 9:12; John 6:5 Feeding five thousand
• Matthew 15:32; Mark 8:8 Feeding the four thousand
• Luke 17:12 Ten lepers

The apostle John saw in a vision of "new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" [Revelation 21:2]. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God" [Revelations 21:3].

Jerusalem is where the house of the Lord was built by Solomon where the Lord God appeared to David [2 Chr 3:1]. God told David not to build the house because of much blood shed on his part.

Cyrus king of Persia also reiterated the same thing saying, "The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah" [Ezra 1:2]. Cyrus encouraged the Jews to rebuild the temple after the Jews were taken captive to Babylon and allowed to return to Jerusalem.

The third verse referring Jerusalem as the house of the Lord is in Ezra 5:2. Zerubbabel led the captive Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple of the Lord. "Then rose up Zerubabbel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of of Jozadak, and he began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.

On planet earth, Jerusalem is in Israel but New Jerusalem is the church coming down from Heaven. Jesus is God's manifestation born of the Holy Spirit to live on earth to die for our sins and returned to heaven. In His stead, the Holy Spirit of God comes to dwell in our hearts. The Spirit of God is the same as the Spirit of the Lord Jesus.

On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the earth and filled the 120 disciples of Jesus Christ and they spoke in different tongues as the Spirit gave utterance. Peter spoke to the people about Jesus Christ and three thousand people were moved and were baptized unto the Lord Jesus. The Church of Jesus Christ was the perfect Church. They all owned everything in common. The Church was a glorious church! All glory to the Lord God.

Which of the 40,965 denominations of today is the perfect church of Jesus Christ?

It is very difficult to choose one out of the 40,965 denominations. So many are disobeying the commandments not to follow pagan festivals, and a very high percentage follow Christmas, and Easter, Halloween, etc. Others disobey the 10 Commandments by not keeping God's sabbath, but following Emperor Constantine in observing Sunday as Sabbath, even though there is no evidence in keeping this day, you receive God's blessing. There is no verse in the Bible for blessing Sunday.

Jesus said to remember His death when we partake of the Holy Communion. But they continue keeping Christmas as His birthday when it is of pagan origin, and they believe that in collecting money for charity, God would be pleased, but what does God say?

"And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubborness is as iniquity and idolatry" (1 Samuel 15:22-23).

Choose your own church to follow and reap the consequences. All glory to God!

GOD'S SABBATH OR MAN'S SABBATH http://hubpages.com/hub/godormansabbath?

GOD'S LAWS AND MAN'S LAWS http://hubpages.com/hub/godslawsandmanslaw

WHY DO CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE PAGAN CHRISTMAS? http://hubpages.com/hub/whychristianscelebratepaganchristmas