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Has anyone ever taken a Bible and shown you how you can know you’re going to heaven? May I?

The Bible contains both bad news and good news. The bad news is something about you and me, and the good news is something about God. Let’s discuss the bad news first.

• Bad News #1 ‑— We are all sinners. Romans 3:23
• Bad News #2—The penalty for sin is death. Romans 6:23

Since there was no way you could come to God, the Bible says that God decided to come to you.

• Good News #1—Christ died for you. Romans 5:8
• Good News #2—You can be saved through faith in Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9

Is there anything keeping you from trusting Christ right now? Would you like to pray right now and tell God you are trusting His Son as your Savior?

Bridge to Life (Navigators)

The Bible teaches that God loves all humans and wants them to know him. John 10:10; Romans 5:1

But humans have sinned against God and are separated from God and his love. Draw a chasm. This separation leads only to death and judgment. Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:2

But there is a solution. Draw bridge. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins (the bridge between humanity and God). 1 Peter 3:18; 1 Timothy 2:5; Romans 5:8

Only those who personally receive Jesus Christ into their lives, trusting him to forgive their sins, can cross this bridge. Everyone must decide individually whether to receive Christ. John 3:16; John 5:24

Four Spiritual Laws (Cru)

God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life. John 3:16; 10:10

Humans are sinful and separated from God. Thus, they cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for their lives. Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23

Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for humanity’s sin. Through Jesus, you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life. Romans 5:8; John 14:6

We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives. John 1:12; Ephesians 2:8-9

Using John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

“Has anyone introduced you to Jesus so you could know Him? May I?”

• God loves—God is real. He loves you with an unconditional, never-ending love. “For God loves you (name) so much…” He created you to have a relationship with Him. But, we can’t experience this loving personal relationship because of sin in our lives. Sin is disobeying God. It puts a barrier between us and a holy God. No matter how hard you try, you cannot be good enough on your own to overcome this sin barrier. The penalty for sin is death. But God’s love had a plan…
• God gave—“God gave His one and only Son” Jesus – to live as a human without sin and then to take the penalty for our sin on himself when he died on the cross. He was buried as a dead man then raised from the dead to be alive again. He did this so that our sins could be forgiven.
• We believe God’s love—“Whoever believes in Him” – Faith is trust. God asks that we trust in His plan, admit our sin and desire for a relationship with Him. Accept what Jesus did on the cross for us out of love.
• We receive what God gave!—“Shall not perish but have eternal life” – Everyone dies and ends up somewhere. To perish means to die separated from God and His love for you. Eternal life means you can enjoy a forever-family relationship with God and promise of living securely with Him now and after your life on earth ends.

When offered a gift you want, you take it and say thank you. It’s forever yours. Is there anything keeping you from trusting in Jesus right now?

November 15, 2015

One thing I love about kids is their strong desire to grow up. The late pastor Ray Stedman said that once he asked a boy how old he was. Quick as a flash he said, “I’m twelve, going on thirteen, soon be fourteen.” He was eager to grow up.

Every parent has a growth chart somewhere on a wall or closet door, where you measure your kids’ heights every few months. When they see how much they’ve grown, they beam with delight. I remember going to Disneyland as a boy and discovering that I didn’t quite reach the bottom of the sign that gave the height requirement for driving the miniature cars. Wow, was I disappointed! Finally, of course, I reached that goal, but that only whet my appetite to turn 16 so that I could get my driver’s license and drive a real car. I wanted to grow up!

As a parent, it always brings great joy when your kids grow old enough to learn what pleases you and then they do it. “Daddy, I helped Mommy bake your favorite cookies!” “Daddy, I knew you didn’t feel well, so I made you a card!” You know that they’re growing because they want to do things to please you.

Have you ever thought about what spiritual growth looks like? Can you measure it by how often you go to church or by how many ministries you’re involved in or by how much you give? Sometimes those things may reflect spiritual growth, but they aren’t at the heart of it. At the heart of spiritual growth is learning how God wants us to live so that as His children, we can please Him by living that way. In his prayer for these new Colossian believers, Paul shows what spiritual growth looks like:

Spiritual growth means growing to know how God wants us to live so that we seek to please Him in all things.

I’m approaching this prayer as a picture of spiritual growth, but don’t miss the fact that it is a prayer. It shows us how Paul prayed for these new believers, most of whom he did not know personally. Along with Paul’s other recorded prayers (Eph. 1:15-23; 3:14-21; Phil. 1:9-11; 1 Thess. 3:9-13; 2 Thess. 1:3-12), we can learn how to pray for our families, our friends, for ourselves, and for other believers. When Paul says here that he and Timothy had “not ceased to pray” for the Colossians, he means that they had often remembered them in their prayers. Use this prayer as a guide for your prayers!

Paul’s prayer here actually begins in verses 3-8, where he thanked God for their faith in Christ Jesus, their love for all the saints, and the hope laid up for them in heaven. Now he tells them his request, that they would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will so that they will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him in every way. Then he lists four things that please the Lord (indicated by four participles in the Greek text): bearing fruit in every good work; increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with God’s power so that we can steadfastly and patiently endure trials; and, joyfully giving thanks to the Father for His great salvation. I’m going to treat this prayer from the perspective of what spiritual growth looks like.

1. Spiritual growth means growing to know how God wants us to live.

Colossians 1:9: “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding ….”

Paul’s prayer that the Colossians would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will does not mean that he wants them to know whether they should take a different job offer or marry a particular person. Rather, he’s asking that they might know God’s moral will as revealed in His Word. “Being filled” with this knowledge is a prayer that they would be controlled by this knowledge so that it would govern every thought, word, and deed. Since God’s moral will is a reflection of His holy character, Paul’s prayer is that these new believers would grow to know God Himself as He has revealed Himself in His Word.

The false teachers who had infiltrated the Colossian church may have been emphasizing how their teachings would bring you fullness of knowledge. To counter this claim, Paul emphasizes the theme of fullness by repeatedly using the words “all” or “every”: “all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Col. 1:9); “to please Him in all respects” (Col. 1:10); “bearing fruit in every good work” (Col. 1:10); “strengthened with all power” (Col. 1:11); and, “for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience” (Col. 1:11; see, also, Col. 2:3, 9-10). He wants us to know that every spiritual need that we have is to be found fully in Christ. So why go elsewhere?

Paul modifies this true knowledge of God’s will with two words (Col. 1:9): “in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”

A. The knowledge of how God wants us to live requires spiritual wisdom.

“Spiritual” is emphatic by position and applies both to “wisdom” and “understanding.” Spiritual wisdom and understanding come from God’s Spirit and stand in contrast to the worldly wisdom of the false teachers (Col. 2:23). “Wisdom” is an Old Testament concept emphasized often in the Book of Proverbs. The same Greek words for both “wisdom” and “understanding” often occur together in the Septuagint, as in Proverbs 9:10:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

The main idea behind the Hebrew concept of wisdom is “skill.” The men who were able to construct the tabernacle according to God’s plan as revealed to Moses are called “wise,” meaning skillful (Exod. 31:3, 6; 36:1-2). Just as a skilled carpenter can take a piece of rough wood and shape it according to a plan into a beautiful and useful piece of furniture, so the wise person is able to take the rough elements of life and shape them according to God’s plan into something beautiful and useful to Him. Spiritual wisdom requires learning about God and how He wants us to live so that our lives will not be ruined by sin, but rather will become a finely crafted product that will cause others to be attracted to the Maker, who displays His glory in us.

B. The knowledge of how God wants us to live requires spiritual understanding.

Wisdom and understanding are somewhat synonymous, but there may be a subtle nuance of difference. “Wisdom” refers to knowing how God’s Word commands us to live, whereas “understanding” refers to insight, perception, or the ability to discern between things. Understanding enables us to put the pieces of wisdom together in specific situations. In 2 Timothy 2:7, after using the analogies of the solider, the athlete, and the farmer, Paul tells Timothy, “Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” The Lord would enable Timothy to grasp mentally the truths of those analogies and put them together so as to gain insight into how he should conduct his ministry.

Early in the 20th century Bishop H. C. G. Moule (Colossian and Philemon Studies [Christian Literature Crusade], p. 58) warned against what he called “an untheological devotion,” or a sentimental religion which thought that it could be healthy on a minimum of reasoned doctrine. But, he said, such people are easily swayed by the current fashions of thought or by attractive personalities. More recently, D. A. Carson (A Call to Spiritual Reformation [Baker/IVP], p. 104) observed that in the Western church, “the knowledge of God declines while our fascination with techniques and fads increases.” He’s right. I often get offers to attend pastors’ conferences or buy books that promise to tell me how to have a successful church. But these techniques and fads come more from the world than from God’s Word. Spiritual understanding is the ability that God gives to be able to bring together the principles of His Word so that we can stand against the ungodly trends of our times.

How do you become filled or controlled by the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding? To illustrate, when I was in the Coast Guard and we were navigating in the fog, we used two things to keep from running into something. First, we used our radar, which would show up an object as a little blip on the screen. We couldn’t see it out the window because of the dense fog, but the radar said, “Look out! Something is out there!” But in addition to the radar, we’d send a man to stand on the bow. Sometimes it was so foggy that you could barely see him, but he would wear a headset so that he could talk with the bridge. Sometimes he could see something from his vantage point that those on the bridge couldn’t see.

In the same way, two things have helped me grow in spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that my life hasn’t run aground in the moral fog of this world. The first is prayerfully to read and meditate on the Word of God. By reading the Bible over and over and thinking about what it says and asking God for understanding, I can see the blips of danger on the screen and avoid smashing into them. God’s Word exposes the dangerous winds of doctrine that are blowing in our times. It also reveals the way that Satan has tempted people in the past and the consequences when they have yielded to his evil schemes. All of you men should burn into your minds the portrait of the foolish man in Proverbs 7, whose first mistake was to go near the home of the loose woman. Then he succumbed to her enticement, “as a bird hastens to the snare. So he does not know that it will cost him his life” (Prov. 7:23). God’s Word imparts spiritual wisdom and understanding.

The second way I’ve been helped is by reading church history and Christian biographies. God’s Word is like the radar, but reading church history is like the guy on the bow. You don’t depend on him alone, but sometimes he can help you interpret what you’re seeing on the radar screen or point out something that you missed. By reading what God’s people have faced down through the centuries and how they either succeeded or failed, you gain insight into our times.

For example, in his book The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors [Banner of Truth], Martyn Lloyd-Jones has a chapter on “Sandemanianism.” I had never heard that term until I read that chapter back in the late 1980’s, but I instantly realized that this error from a man named Robert Sandeman in the early 1700’s was exactly the same error that John MacArthur combats in his books, The Gospel According to Jesus [Zondervan] and Faith Works [Word]. It’s the error that saving faith involves only bare assent to the work of Christ, not repentance. Also, by reading (twice now) Iain Murray’s two-volume biography of Dr. Lloyd-Jones, I’ve learned how he insightfully applied God’s Word to the spiritual battles in his day. That has helped me navigate the foggy waters of our day.

As we grow in the knowledge of how God wants us to live, the result is that we will walk worthily of the Lord, pleasing Him in every way.

2. Spiritual growth means walking in a manner worthy of the Lord as we seek to please Him in all things.

The knowledge of God’s will leads to a walk that is worthy of the Lord. The result of all biblical knowledge should be godly conduct. And the primary motive for godly conduct is not that we can live a happier and better life (although that always is the result), but rather that we please and glorify the Lord.

Before we look at the four ways Paul says that we can please the Lord, note that this is a walk. That implies steady progress in a deliberate direction. You don’t get there by a dramatic spiritual experience or a quick fix, but rather by steady, deliberate, day by day growth in understanding through God’s Word.

It’s also a walk that is “worthy of the Lord.” Dr. Carson (pp. 105-106) explains that this had a more profound meaning in the first century, where most cultures were shame-based. In America we don’t usually think this way, but in shame-based cultures, to dishonor your father is a really big deal. So here Paul is urging these new believers to live in a way that would bring honor to the Lord, who gave Himself on the cross to rescue them from Satan’s domain of darkness (Col. 1:13-14). So in every situation, we should ask, “What sort of speech or conduct would honor or glorify the name of the Lord? What would please Him the most?” Paul spells out four ways that we can please the Lord:

A. We please the Lord when we bear fruit in every good work.

Fruit is what God accomplishes through us as we depend on Him. As Jesus taught (John 15:5), “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” Good works are the outworking of the life of Christ flowing through us as we rely on Him. Although we could go into more detail, fruit generally consists of Christlike character, conduct, and converts (Rom. 15:26-28; 1 Cor. 16:15; Gal. 5:22-23; Heb. 12:11; 13:15). We’re saved by grace through faith apart from works, but genuine saving faith inevitably produces good works (Eph. 2:8-10). While fruit takes time, if there is no sign of fruit, a person should question his faith.

B. We please the Lord when we increase in the knowledge of God.

This phrase may mean that we are growing to know God better. Or, it could mean that we are growing by knowing God better. Either way, there is the idea that we must know God Himself. Since God is an infinite being, to know Him is an infinite process. As a parent, it always pleases me when my children want to spend time with me so that they can know me better. In the same way, we please God when we desire to spend time with Him in His Word so that we can know Him better.

The knowledge of God (vs. 10) is inseparably connected with the knowledge of His will (vs. 9) and with obedience to that will (walking worthily, pleasing Him, bearing fruit, v. 10). In John 14:21, Jesus said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” If you want to get to know Jesus better, then obey Him. He only reveals Himself to those who obey Him.

You can see this principle in human relationships. You don’t disclose yourself to those who are not worthy of your trust. You won’t share your heart with just anyone, but only with those who care enough about you to keep your trust. In the same way, when the Lord sees that we love Him and are trustworthy because we obey Him, He will reveal Himself to us. It pleases God when we bear fruit and grow to know Him better through His Word.

C. We please the Lord when we are strengthened with His power to be steadfast and patient.

“Strengthened” is a present participle, indicating our need for a continual infusion of God’s power. “All” power points to the fact that it is an unlimited supply. “According to His glorious might” is literally, “according to the might of His glory.” God’s glory is the outward manifestation of His splendor or inherent majesty. Often in the Old Testament, it was a blinding light, a bright cloud, or lightning with thunder. Whenever anyone encountered God’s glory, he fell to his face in awe and reverence, afraid that he would die.

In the New Testament, we see God’s glory in Jesus Christ (John 1:14). Sometimes it was veiled, but at other times, such as on the Mount of Transfiguration, when He performed miracles, in the Garden when the soldiers fell backwards, or on the cross when the sky was darkened and the earth quaked, His glory was seen. God’s glory in Christ knocked the belligerent Paul to the ground, blinding him, and bringing him into submission to Jesus Christ.

Paul here says that we please the Lord when we are strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory. I ask you, as I’ve asked myself, do you experience this mighty power of God in your life? Before you answer, keep reading! Otherwise, you may think, “If I were experiencing God’s mighty power, I’d see people miraculously healed through my prayers. I’d command demons and they would flee. I’d see the dead raised. I’d preach and 3,000 would get saved. I’d always see dramatic answers to my prayers.

But that’s not what Paul says. He says (Col. 1:11), “Strengthened with all power, according to the might of His glory, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience.” Huh? You don’t need steadfastness and patience if God is miraculously delivering you in every situation. You only need steadfastness (endurance in trials) and patience (bearing with difficult people) when there are no miraculous deliverances! The word “joyously” can either go with “steadfastness and patience” or with “giving thanks.” Either way, Paul is saying that when we bear up in difficult circumstances or with difficult people with joy in the Lord because of His great salvation, we are experiencing God’s mighty power in our lives. We please the Lord when we experience His sufficiency in our weakness and His grace to sustain us in our trials (2 Cor. 12:7-10).

Thus we please the Lord when we bear fruit, when we grow to know God better, and when we experience His power so that we are steadfast and patient in our trials. Finally,

D. We please the Lord when we joyously give thanks to Him for His great salvation.

Col. 1:11b-12, “… joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” As I said, “joyously” could go either with steadfastness and patience or with giving thanks. Either way, the point is that when we go through trials, we please God if we don’t grumble, but rather are filled with joyous thanksgiving to Him. We live in a world of grumblers. If we are joyously thankful people, we’ll stand out as lights in the darkness (Phil. 2:14-15).

How do you develop this joyous, thankful attitude in the midst of difficult problems or difficult people? Paul’s answer is to set your mind of the fact that the Father has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light (the Greek text has the definite article before “light”). The picture in Paul’s mind is the division of the land of Canaan in the Old Testament. After Israel conquered Canaan, they divided up the land by lot. Each tribe received a portion of the land to live on and pass on to their descendants after them.

Even so, Paul is saying that the Father has given us an inheritance that we share with all the saints in the light. We all have Christ in us and enjoy His full salvation. Individually, we’ve been given gifts to use for the common good. And, we should pass this spiritual heritage down to our children and grandchildren. They should see our joy in the Lord, even when we go through trials, and want to experience the same blessings that we enjoy.

Conclusion

There used to be a lot of ways I could tell that my kids were growing. I could measure them on the growth chart. I could see their pant legs creeping up over their socks. They needed bigger shoes. They started eating as much as I eat. Personally, they were growing when they started thinking about life’s important issues and talking with me about more grown up things. In their case, it happened all too quickly! Now, they’re all married, rearing children of their own.

How can you tell if you’re growing spiritually? There are many different ways. But here Paul shows that you’re growing if you’re learning more and more through God’s Word how He wants you to live. And you’re growing if, as His child, you’re seeking to live as He wants you to live in order to please Him.

Application Questions

1. What has helped you most to grow spiritually?
2. How would you help a struggling Christian who said, “How can I walk worthily of the Lord when I feel so unworthy?”
3. What should we do if we don’t feel like pleasing God? Is it hypocritical to obey when we don’t feel like it?
4. Spiritual growth often seems so slow. Is there any way to speed up the process? How?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

This study guide consists of 12 lessons covering the lives of 16 women in New Testament history. For those who are not familiar with the culture of the New Testament, each lesson begins with a brief “Historical Perspective” of the culture relevant to the lesson.

The lessons are divided into 4 daily sections that should take less than 20 minutes per day to complete. The goal is to help you establish a regular time of study in the Word for 5 days each week, considering your small group session to be one of those days.

The Basic Study

This study guide consists of 12 lessons. If you cannot do the entire lesson one week, please read the Bible passage(s) being covered.

Process of Bible Study: Each lesson includes core questions covering the narrative associated with each woman’s life. These core questions will take you through the process of inductive Bible study—observation, interpretation, and application. The process is more easily understood in the context of answering these questions:

• What does the passage say? (Observation: what’s actually there)
• What does it mean? (Interpretation: the author’s intended meaning)
• How does this apply to me today? (Application: making it personal)

Questions identified as “Living Out His Love” lead you to introspection and application of specific truths to your life. In this series of lessons, the applications will also help you learn how to share your faith with others who need to know Jesus or need to know Him better. This is called “Disciplemaking.”

Study Enhancements

Deeper Discoveries (optional): Embedded within the sections are optional questions for further research of subjects we don't have time to cover adequately in the lessons or contain information that significantly enhance the basic study. If you are meeting with a small group, your leader may give you the opportunity to share your "discoveries.”

Study Aids: To aid in proper interpretation and application of the study, additional study aids are located where appropriate in the lesson:

• Historical Insights
• Scriptural Insights
• From the Greek (definitions of Greek words)
• Focus on the Meaning
• Think About It (thoughtful reflection)

Living Out His Love

The Lord Jesus demonstrated in His life on earth how much He loved and valued women. He taught, forgave, accepted, and gave new life to them. Jesus was and is a lover of women’s souls. Because His care for them was so countercultural to what they had previously known, they responded with love for Him and a desire to serve Him. Many of them had walks of faith that brought challenges as well as times of joy. They focused on following Jesus and serving Him in their daily lives, sharing His love with others so they could benefit from Jesus’ great love for women, also.

Today, many women like you and I are longing for more direction in our walks of faith than attending a weekly Bible study and the annual Christmas brunch. That longing is a desire put in our hearts by God’s Spirit to fulfill the purpose we have while on earth serving the Lord Jesus in our daily lives. That purpose is to live for Him, experiencing His love for us, as we share His love with others around us.

Jesus is calling us! His commission to His followers to share the good news about Him with others is given to everyday people like you and I are, to be fulfilled in the everyday world in which each of us “lives and moves and has our being” (Acts 17:28). Since Jesus is the one calling you to join Him on mission everyday, then He will enable you to do what He asks you to do. And, it might even be fun!

Just relax, trust in Him, and begin an adventure that will transform your life and others as well. Are you ready for adventure?

“For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:16-17)

Christianity is Christ!

You heard the good news of the gospel and believed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God who gave himself for your sins so that you could have eternal life just by believing in him—the Savior. But more than salvation, Jesus Christ calls you into a relationship with himself! Christianity is Christ! It is not a lifestyle, rules of conduct, or a society whose members were initiated by the sprinkling or covering of water. Christ calls us into a close relationship with him as brothers and friends.

Yet, he is also our Lord, the one who sits at the right hand of his Father God as head over everything else in heaven and on earth (Ephesians 1:20-22). As Lord, Jesus Christ is our master—the one to whom we should willingly give our obedience. He is our model of how to live as humans in a dependent relationship with God, and he is our mentor in walking with us in that dependent relationship. Jesus Christ calls us to a new life, clothes us with himself, commissions us with a purpose, and empowers us to fulfill that purpose.

Jesus Christ commanded his disciples to make disciples—the very ones who watched him make disciples of them. They saw him do it! They knew what he was commissioning them to do. They experienced that relationship with him that changed their own lives. So, they were willing to bring that experience to the lost, hurting, hopeless populace in their neighborhoods, cities, and destinations. They brought good news that was real, relevant, and life-giving.

Jesus’ disciples 2000 years ago were no different than we are except they physically beheld the risen Christ. We must see him through eyes of faith and allow the gospels to leap off the page revealing our Lord so that we may know this God-man who changed our lives as we received the Good News—Christ. We need to frequently read the Gospels, watch movies based on them, and tell the stories about Jesus as often as needed to know his life well because…Christianity is Christ! Let’s get to know this Christ who is the ultimate grace gift to us.

Day One Study

The claims of Jesus Christ

According to the Bible, God chose to reveal himself to the nation of Israel and, through Israel, to the world. Many truths about God (“attributes”) are taught in the Old Testament. Our God is:

If there is anything clearly and relentlessly asserted about God in the Hebrew Scriptures, it is that there is only one true and living God. The Jewish statement of faith is from Deuteronomy 6:4-5:

“Listen, Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength.”

God desires man to worship him alone (Isaiah 42:8; 43:10-13). Jesus of Nazareth appeared and issued his challenge within this most monotheistic of cultures. When he came on the scene, Jesus called people to a spiritual relationship with himself and God the Father (John 17:3; Matthew 11:28-30). He claimed to be the answer to the needs of the human heart. Of all the world’s religions, Jesus is the only “founder” who claimed to be equal with God. Let’s see what the scripture says about who Jesus Christ is.

1. Notice what Jesus claims about himself in each of the following sections of John 5:16-47.

• John 5:16-27—
• John 5:31-40, 46—

2. Christ made claim to divine rights and authority. What right or authority does Jesus claim in the following passages?

• Mark 2:1-12—
• Luke 8:26-33—
• Luke 17:11-19—
• John 14:12-14—

3. Jesus claimed preexistence. What do these verses reveal about his preexistence?

• John 6:32-35, 38, 49-51—
• John 8:56-59—
• John 17:5, 24—

Think About It: Was Jesus just a great religious teacher? “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse ...You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, pages 54-55)

Day Two Study

Jesus Christ claimed to possess a unique relationship with God the Father, a unique authority from the Father, and to be the center and goal of the Hebrew Scriptures. He accepted worship, claimed the authority to forgive sins and pronounce judgment, demonstrated authority over demonic powers and claimed the ability to answer prayer.

4. What else did Jesus claim about himself in John 8:28-29, 46?

Scriptural Insight: The innocence of Jesus—Though Jesus was executed by Rome as a state criminal (the meaning of crucifixion), his innocence was repeatedly confirmed by others: Pontius Pilate (Luke 23:4,13-15,22), King Herod Antipas (Luke 23:8-12,15), a crucified criminal (Luke 23:41), and a Roman centurion (Luke 23:47).

5. Read Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:13-14.

• What position of authority would the promised Messiah hold?
• What did Jesus claim about himself regarding this position in Mark 14:61-64?

6. Deeper Discoveries (optional): The coming of Jesus Christ into human history was not an event that suddenly burst upon an unsuspecting world. It was the fulfillment of a long line of prophecies that started with the beginning of human history in Genesis 3:15. The arrival of Jesus in human form was planned before the creation of the world (1 Peter 1:20) as well as the mission he was sent to accomplish (2 Corinthians 5:18-20—reconciling the world to God.

• Some of the most astounding prophecies about Jesus concern his crucifixion. Psalm 22 was written hundreds of years before the life of Christ, yet it contains a detailed description of what took place at the cross. It is interesting to note that the practice of crucifixion was introduced hundreds of years after this prophecy. Read Psalm 22:1-18. List the prophecies from this Psalm that you see fulfilled by Jesus Christ in the gospels.
• The book of Isaiah deals more with the person of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, than any other Old Testament prophetic book. Every major aspect of the life and ministry of the Messiah is foretold. The most remarkable part of all of Isaiah’s prophecies are the detailed description of Jesus’ suffering and death by crucifixion in our place. Remember that Isaiah was written 700 years prior to the death of Jesus. Read Isaiah 53:1-12. What prophecies from this chapter do you see fulfilled by the death of Christ?

7. Graceful Living: Read Matthew 16:13-16. Notice the question Jesus asked his disciples. This is the world's most important question: "Who do you say Jesus is?" Evaluate the diagram below for your options then declare your response.

Day Three Study

What others claimed about Christ

Many modern skeptics say that Jesus never claimed to be God and that the writers of the New Testament never claimed that he was God. It is important that we test these statements against what the New Testament writers did claim about the deity of Christ.

8. Read the following passages to answer the question, “What claims do the New Testament writers make about Jesus Christ?”

• John in John 1:1-3, 14—
• Peter in Acts 2:32-36—
• Paul in Philippians 2:5-11—
• Paul in Colossians 1:15-18; 2:9—
• The writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 1:1-4—
• Peter in 2 Peter 1:16-18—

9. The New Testament writers are consistent in their claims about Jesus. What would you conclude about these writers if they knew that he was not God and yet claimed that he was?

10. Read 1 Corinthians 15:3-7. What is claimed about Jesus in these verses?

Historical Insight: A Historian’s View of the Resurrection—”There were, to be sure, ways of coping with the death of a teacher, or even a leader. The picture of Socrates was available, in the wider world, as a model of unjust death nobly borne .The category of ‘martyr’ was available, within Judaism, for someone who stood up to pagans, and compromising no-better-than-pagans, and died still loyal to YHWH (the Hebrew name for God). The category of failed but still revered Messiah, however, did not exist. A Messiah who died at the hands of the pagans, instead of winning YHWH’s battle against them, was a deceiver…Why then did people go on talking about Jesus of Nazareth, except as a remarkable but tragic memory? The obvious answer is the one given by all early Christians actually known to us (as opposed to those invented by modern mythographers). Jesus was raised from the dead.... The resurrection, however we understand it, was the only reason why his life and words possessed any relevance two weeks, let alone two millennia, after his death.” (N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God: Christian Origins and the Question of God, Volume 2)

From the beginning, the church has maintained that Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead, is Savior and Lord of heaven and earth. Apart from his resurrection from the dead, historians have no feasible theory for the birth and progress of the Church.

11. Read Acts 5:34-39. What advice is given to the skeptical ones back then?

12. Graceful Living: Do you believe that Jesus was raised from the dead according to the eyewitnesses who claimed this truth? How does your faith about this truth influence your life?

Scriptural Insight: “The Christian church rests on the resurrection of its Founder. Without this fact the church could never have been born, or if born, it would soon have died a natural death. The miracle of the resurrection and the existence of Christianity are so closely connected that they must stand or fall together. If Christ was raised from the dead, then all his other miracles are sure, and our faith is impregnable; if he was not raised, he died in vain, and our faith is vain. It was only his resurrection that made his death available for our atonement, justification, and salvation; without the resurrection, his death would be the grave of our hopes; we should be still unredeemed and under the power of our sins. A gospel of a dead Saviour would be a contradiction and wretched delusion.” (Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Volume 1, page 172)

Day Four Study

The God you can know

A relationship with God must be based on a true knowledge of the God who is (John 4:20-24; 17:3). The Bible teaches that man can know truth about God (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10). God has revealed himself as tri-personal:

• The Bible clearly teaches that there is only one true God.
• From the start of the Christian movement, believers have worshiped Jesus Christ and have spoken of him in terms appropriate only of deity.
• The Bible clearly teaches that there are three Divine Persons, each rightly called God. The doctrine of the Trinity (or “Tri-unity”, a man-made label not in the Bible) is a summary of the teachings of the Bible regarding the nature of God.
• The New Testament asserts that the invisible God can be known through his Son.

13. What does John 14:6-10 reveal about our being able to know God?

Think About It: Jesus is our savior and our ultimate grace gift from God!

14. Graceful Living: Read 1 Timothy 2:3-6. God invites all men into a personal relationship with himself through faith in his Son Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ is who he claimed to be, then knowing him is the single most important issue in all of life. If knowing him is the most important issue in all of life, what choice(s) do you need to make in order to grow in the process of knowing him?

Think About It: “Today, all sorts of subjects are eagerly pursued; but the knowledge of God is neglected…Yet to know God is man’s chief end, and justifies his existence. Even if a hundred lives were ours, this one aim would be sufficient for them all.” (John Calvin)

15. Graceful Living: You can have a personal relationship with God through faith in his Son Jesus Christ. Describe the significance of that relationship to you through words (prose, prayer, poem) or any other means (song, art, craft).