The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, has averred that the only means by which one can be part of God’s family (the Church) is to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Saviour.
“Anyone who accepts Jesus as Lord, no matter the background, is born into God’s family and has become a brother,” he said, adding, “Whoever believes in Christ becomes part of God’s family; they come with their nationalities; they come with their race; they come with their backgrounds; they come with their perspectives. Whether we like them or not we have become one family in Christ and then we form the temple of God in which God dwells by His Spirit.”
Apostle Nyamekye made this known in a live televised sermon on Pent TV on Sunday, November 8, 2020, as part of the Sunday Special Evening Service with Chairman series.
Speaking on the topic, “The Family of God,” the Chairman explained that the church is an extension of the family of God in heaven. He further said that the church is the house of God and it is a great house because there are all kinds of vessels.
Apostle Nyamekye noted that the church should be new humanity, God’s new community, a model of a human community, a family reconciled to God and to one another, who love their Father and love each other with whom God dwells by His Spirit and this Spirit cries in them “Abba Father!”
He added that as a new human race whose characteristics are no longer alienation but reconciliation, the church must avoid division and hostility but rather propagate peace and unity.
Reading from Galatians 3:28-29, the revered theologian established that the church is nothing short of the new creation. He stressed that if only a person belongs to Christ, then they are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise, without taking into consideration their nationality, sex, tribe, and educational level.
“Our identities have been dissolved in the blood; we have all put on Christ so Christ covers our identities,” he said.
Buttressing his assertion, Apostle Nyamekye quoted Ephesians 2:18 and Romans 8:11 to explain how Jews and Gentiles have access by one Spirit to the Father through Jesus Christ.
“Jesus’ Father is our Father; the Creator Holy Spirit lives in us. The same Spirit that was in Christ is the same in us, who are born again. By this Spirit, He cries Father and with the same Spirit we also cry Father,” he said.
Also, reading from Romans 8:29; Hebrews 2:11-12, 17; Acts 9:13, the Chairman stated: “In this family, if God is our Father, then Jesus is our big brother because we know that He is the Son of God.
“Jesus rent the curtains that separated us from God and has allowed us access to God and reconciled us to one another. We have been born into the body of Christ and God’s family.”
According to the Chairman, the power of this great family of God lies in unity (Psalm 133:1-3; Proverbs 30:29-30).
“The greatness of this family or the power of this family is not because God is our Father, No. Not because Jesus is our big brother, No. But it is in our unity; our oneness. Our unity is our beauty, our testimony, our strength that we are children of God,” he pointed out.
He, however, stated: “Disunity renders our prayer non-effective and our fellowship unavailing. So without unity, we may have God, we may have Jesus; we may have the Holy Spirit but our prayer will not be effective. So when we gather together it will be a futile exercise, sometimes a waste of time.”
Apostle Nyamekye explained that it is against this backdrop that the devil always sows seeds of disunity among the people of God to divide them to see themselves as enemies.
The Chairman mentioned that the rule for the people in God’s family is the word of God and nothing else (Hebrews 1:5-7).
“In this family, our rule is the Word; it sets our boundaries. Our aim is His glory. Our rule is not what angels say; it doesn’t come from the dreams of people. Angels serve us; we don’t take instructions from them,” he said, whilst narrating the story of the old and the young prophets in which the latter was deceived to disobey God’s word as contained in 1 Kings 13.
Apostle Eric Nyamekye, therefore, admonished church leaders to be careful not to build what Jesus has demolished (Galatians 2:18), saying, “The Gospel has the power to equip the believer with the help of the Holy Spirit to live holy and God-honouring lives.”
Report by Emmanuel Nana Nsiah.
