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The New Testament did not exist
when the Christians in Ephesus received Paul's letter that
instructed them how to behave as believers in Christ. Most of them
came out of idolatry where there were no moral or ethical standards.
Suddenly, they were saved but didn't have the slightest idea what
God expected from them. It was against this backdrop that Paul spoke
about living a life that is worthy of their calling and introduced
new concepts such as lowliness, meekness, longsuffering and love
that did not exist within the heathen religions. Furthermore, the
idea that believers can become part of the deity's body doesn't
exist, nor is there any belief system that the believers are to be
in unity with one another. Paul also explained what took place at
the resurrection of Jesus and how these new believers would be
resurrected as well. As a believer in Christ, your body will go to
the grave when you die, but your soul and spirit are immediately
taken to heaven in all its glory, where you will wait for the day
when Jesus returns to the earth with all the saints and sets up the
thousand year kingdom. |
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