Cohesion through Christ
By Apostle Aje Pelser, Harvester Reformational Church, Cape Town, 26th June 2016

God chose Jesus to bring us all together in Him. IN fact, all things hold together firmly united in principles, relationships and interest when Christ is the centre. As a Body of Christ – His Bride, we become aesthetically and logically consistent reflections of His glory!

Here are some benefits of cohesion through Christ.

Colossians 1:17-20 Wuest’s Greek Translation
“And He himself antedates all things, and all things in Him cohere. And He Himself is the Head of His Body, the Church. He is the Originator [i.e. creator], the firstborn out from among the dead, in order that He might become in all things himself the One who is pre-eminent, because in Him [God] was well please that all the fullness be permanently at home. And [God was well pleased] through His agency to reconcile all things to himself, having concluded peace through the blood of His Cross, through Him, whether the things upon the earth or the things in the heavens.”

Benefits of Cohesion through Christ:
1. Access Eternal Rewards: Jesus existed before all things. Rev 1:8 \”I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,\” says the Lord, \”who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.\”

2. The Body connects with the Head. And He Himself is the Head of His Body, the Church. Ephesians 4:15, 16
Eph 4:15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ.

3. Cohesion Releases Creative Power.
He is the Originator & Creator. John 1.

4. We connect with our Firstborn Brother Jesus!
Jesus is the Firstborn out from among the dead, and later the Firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:29 Rom 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

5. Seeking Jesus first opens up the Kingdom of heaven for us.
HE is the One who is pre-eminent. Col 1:18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

6. We experience God’s fullness when we cohere in Christ.
The fullness of God (is) permanently at home with Him. Col 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
Col 2:10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

7. We please God by our cohesive Faith in Jesus.
Hebrews 11:6 reveals that faith pleases God.
God is pleased with Jesus: at His Baptism, at His Transfiguration, during his Crucifixion, His resurrection, His future return – God is always pleased with His Son Jesus.
Mat 17:5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, \”This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!\”
We enter into the pleasure of the Father and the Son through faith activated by His Spirit in us.

8. We are reconciled with God.
Jesus reconciles everything. 2Co 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Please note Jesus does the reconciliation. Man often gets it wrong when he plays reconciler. To us is committed the Word of Reconciliation – we as Ambassadors for Christ, as though God is pleading through us, we encourage people to be reconciled to God.

9. We get peace for our souls!
Jesus brought peace through the cross – in heaven and on earth. Peace was announced even at his Birth:
Luk 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
Luk 2:14 \”Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!\”
Luk 2:15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, \”Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.\”

Word Study for Cohere
Full Definition of COHERE FROM MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY
co•hered co•her•ing –
1a: to hold together firmly as parts of the same mass; broadly : stick, adhere
b : to display cohesion of plant parts
2: to hold together as a mass of parts that cohere
3a : to become united in principles, relationships, or interests
b: to be logically or aesthetically consistent
: to cause (parts or components) to cohere

Synonyms Related to COHERE
accord, agree, answer,
chord, check, coincide,
comport, behave; especially : to behave in a manner conformable to what is right, proper, or expected
conform, consist, correspond, dovetail, fit, go,
harmonize, jibe, rhyme (also rime), sort, square, tally
Antonyms
differ (from), disagree (with)
line up, register

Related Words
equal,
When God created Adam and Eve, he made a helper match, parallel; align (also aline),
Gen 2:18 And the LORDH3068 GodH430 said,H559 It is notH3808 goodH2896 that the manH120 should beH1961 alone;H905 I will makeH6213 him an helpH5828 meet for him.H5048

HELP
Hebrew definition H5828 e?zer pronounce: “ay\’-zer”
From H5826; aid: – help.

H5826 ?a?zar pronounced: “aw-zar”
A primitive root; to surround, that is, protect or aid: – help, succour. This word relates to the name of the Lord Ebenezer

1Sa 7:11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar.
1Sa 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.

Ebenezer H72 \’eben ha??e?zer pronounced: “eh\’-ben haw-e\’-zer”
From H68 and H5828 with the article inserted; stone of the help; Eben ha-Ezer, a place in Palestine: – Ebenezer.

Opposite of Cohering in Christ
IF we do not focus on Christ the attributes are evident:
Christians that constantly contradict, are not teachable and can’t receive the Word with meekness in order to save their souls. Goats “but” but sheep say “Amen.”

Those who desire pre-eminence oppose God’s messengers and cause disputes, clashes, conflicts, jar relationships making people feel uneasy.

3Jn 1:9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.

People who are gainsayers;
-deny or disagree with (something)
-show or say that (something) is not true, normally with their own interests at heart. -To say something for your own gain would be the simplest rendition!

Without cohesion people negate and nullify the benefits of Cohering in Christ

Appeal:
Let us see the benefits of cohesion in Christ and allow Him to reconcile us to God and each other. The closer we draw to Christ, the closer we draw together in Him.