Introduction to Momentary Marriage by John Piper

Why study Momentary Marriage? I read this book two years ago before embarking on my marriage with GraceAnna and it was profoundly influential in my life because I think it strikes the Biblical roots of what marriage is. The book was so important and foundational in my thinking on marriage that I decided that when I am a pastor, I am going to have every couple I marry read this book before marrying them. It really is that important because marriage is that important. In our culture today where marriage is attacked and marginalized, I can't think of a more important topic that we as Christians need to clearly understand and practice. Below are the notes that I used to begin the Introduction of the book with the Knowing God class at Community Bible Church.

Marriage is more than a relationship between a man and a woman. It is the institutional building block of culture. God instituted marriage is His pre-fall, primary means of cultural order:

Genesis 2:18-25 – Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought the to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. The man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. “Therefore a man shall leave father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

What is the difference between marriage and a live-in relationship?

What does it mean when it says that a man and his wife are one flesh?

Here is what I think is unique about marriage: It involves God’s common grace:

Mark 10:2-12 – And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife” He answered them, “What did Moses command you? They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

God establishes every marriage as a gift of his common grace. This is one result of the cross. Instead of receiving God’s wrath, God permits non-believers to marry and experience happiness and oneness in relationship. I believe that this is a result of the cross and an act of grace that God extends to even the worst of sinners.

An Apologetic for Christ and His Work and an Explanation of What the Resurrection Accomplished

An Apologetic for Christ and His Work and an Explanation of What the Resurrection Accomplished

By: Grant R. Castleberry

Note: The Apologetic material was obtained from www.carm.org and Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Christ.

Did Jesus really exist?

The Existence of Jesus is more established than the existence of the Roman Emperor of the time, Tiberius Caesar, who rained during his day:

1.) 9 New Testament authors make reference to Christ (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and the writer of Hebrews)

2.) 20 Early church fathers make reference to Christ (Clement of Rome, 2 Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Martyrdom of Polycarp, Didache, Barnabas, Shepherd of Hermas, Fragments of Papias, Justin Martyr, Aristides, Athenagoras, Theophilus of Antioch, Quadratus, Aristo of Pella, Melito of Sardis, Diognetus, Gospel of Peter, Apocalypse of Peter, and Epistula Apostolorum.)

3.) 9 secular sources mention Christ (Josephus (Jewish historian), Tacitus (Roman historian), Pliny the Younger (Roman politician), Phlegon (freed slave who wrote histories), Lucian (Greek satirist), Celsus (Roman philosopher), Mara Bar Serapion (prisoner awaiting execution), Suetonius, and Thallus.)

4.) Tiberius Caesar has 10 sources that mention him within 150 years of his life; so there are almost four times as many sources for the existence of Christ than for Caesar.

Did Jesus really die by Roman Crucifixion?

Read the fourteenth and fifteenth chapters of Mark’s Gospel.

Yes, not only do all four Gospels along with the rest of the New Testament affirm Jesus’ death via crucifixion, but historical writers Josephus, Tacitus, Lucian, Mara Bar, and the Talmud all reference the crucifixion of Christ. Here is a quote from Tacitus “Nero fastened the guilt [of the burning of Rome] and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus” (Tacitus, Annals 15.44).

Was Christ really resurrected from the dead?

Read the sixteenth chapter of Mark’s Gospel.

Yes. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is an established historical fact.

1.) Jesus was buried outside Jerusalem in Joseph of Arimathea’s grave (Mk. 15:43), so it would have been impossible for Christianity to spread through Jerusalem (which it did), if the body of Jesus was still in the tomb in Jerusalem.

2.) The first century enemies of Christianity presuppose an empty tomb (Matthew 28:11-15; Justin Martyr, Trypho 108; Tertullian, De Spectaculis 30) in combating Christianity. They have contrived various explanations on why Jesus’ tomb is empty.

3.) Christianity documents the testimony of women to the fact of the resurrection during a period of time when a woman’s testimony was not trusted. Why would the Disciples of Christ base a lie on the testimony of “untrusted witnesses?” Of course, the answer is that the women who saw the empty tomb (Mark 16:4-5) were indeed telling the truth.

4.) Jesus appeared to over 500 eye witnesses besides the eleven disciples after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:6), and their claims collaborated each other so that no one could refute their witness (Paul saw Jesus after His death and also, with Luke, interviewed all the living witnesses in Jerusalem circa twenty years later).

5.) Almost all of Jesus’ disciples along with many in the early church (i.e. Clement, Tertullian, Polycarp, etc.) died as martyrs because they would not renounce their belief in the living Jesus. It is folly to believe that hundreds would die to protect a falsehood.

6.) Jesus’ tomb can be seen empty to this day outside Jerusalem.

Why should we believe in Jesus and what did Christ accomplish for us in His death?

Many believe that at the end of life, they will appear before God, and God will judge them based on their good deeds and bad deeds. They think that if they were a relatively good person during their life, went to church, and believed in the historical death of Jesus that they’ll go to Heaven. However, those that were truly evil will go to Hell. Many, when they think of God’s judgment at the end of their life also place their hope in the love and mercy of God. They hope that God will accept them based on the goodness of His character. After all, isn’t He a loving God?

However, the problem with those ideas is that the Bible describes every single person on the earth as an awful sinner and transgressor of God’s law. Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” and that the punishment for any one of our sins before a righteous God is eternal death and punishment (it’s not based on the gravity of the sin that is committed, but on the gravity of the person that is sinned against, namely God). Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death…” Since God is a righteous judge, he cannot leave any person’s sin unpunished. Every sin, to the smallest offense such as lying, lusting, fabricating a story, cheating, is punishable by death and an eternity in Hell because the character of God has been violated.

However, the Good News of the Bible (called The Gospel in the New Testament) is that God, rich in mercy and love, has given us hope and extended peace. He has provided salvation through the death of Christ for all those that believe in Jesus as Savior. The death of Christ was not merely symbolic or historic. Christ, who lived a perfect life, died for the sins of the world, so anyone that professes faith in Christ will be saved. Paul went on to say in Romans 3:24 and 25 “and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

To be counted righteous before God in light of your sins, you must believe in Christ! That’s it! Paul and Silas preached in Acts 16:31, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…” Notice, you are not just believing in what Christ accomplished for you: namely His perfect life, His death, His resurrection (even the demons believe this and they are not saved), but you are trusting in the very person of Christ Himself for your salvation. This is the Good News that God offers you: your ultimate salvation (your escape of judgment) is a free gift offered to you. To receive it, you must believe in Christ. But what type of belief is this? Is it a mere intellectual acquiescence to the fact that Jesus is Savior? No! Jesus describes the type of faith we must have in Him in Matthew 13:44, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” By believing in Christ, you see Him as the most valuable thing in the Universe! Your faith has as its object, Christ, who you see as the ultimate treasure. Also, the type of faith that believes in Christ is the type that believes in the whole person of Christ. You cannot believe in Jesus as Savior and then reject Him as God (as the Jehovah’s Witnesses do), Lord, Creator, High Priest, our Mediator before God, etc. In recent years, there has been the terrible false notion that you can believe in Christ as Savior but not acknowledge or submit to His Lordship. But such a belief divides the person of Christ and presents a false Christ! That is why Paul said in the before mentioned verse, “Believe on the Lord Jesus…” Christ is both Lord and Savior and to not acknowledge Him as such is not true belief. We must believe in Jesus as all who He is revealed to be in sacred Scripture, not who we want Him to be. This belief in Christ is solely in Christ and in nothing else.

Hopefully the following formulas will clarify this “Good News”

Works + Church Attendance + Belief in the Historical Works of Jesus = Eternity in Hell

Works + Belief in the Historical Jesus = Eternity in Hell

Faith in Jesus Christ as Savior + Works = Eternity in Hell

Here’s the only right formula that is saving!

Faith in Jesus Christ as Savior = Eternity with God in Heaven + Knowing God Now + Good Works

Only on the merit of Christ’s perfect life, death, and resurrection can someone be saved. When someone places their faith in Jesus Christ, they are resting on Christ alone for their salvation, in the final analysis. That is why faith in Christ and good works together does not work (the traditional Catholic belief). By adding good works as a requirement, a person stops relying solely on the merit of Christ and starts relying on their personal merit before God as well. Therefore their faith in Christ is not a full faith, but a half-hearted faith. That is why so many Catholics struggle with assurance and wrestle with the worry of unconfessed sin. That is why Martin Luther, before he started believing solely on Christ, would rush to confess every small sin to another priest. We cannot rest on our own merit. Indeed, all of our righteous deeds before God are “like filthy rags (Is. 64:6).”

Why then was the resurrection of Christ necessary if His payment for sins was complete at the cross?

There are multiple answers to this question, I will name five, although there are many more.

1.) The first and most obvious is that if Christ had not risen from the dead, than He would have been a liar (and NOT God) because he prophesied many times that he would be killed and would be raised from the dead. For example Luke 9:21-22 states “And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”” A liar cannot be God!

2.) God, by His nature, must eternally exist. If the God Man, Christ, was truly God, his physical body cannot stay dead. Thus, Jesus paid the penalty for sins (according to Romans 6:23 the penalty for sin is death), but Jesus Himself never sinned. So because He is God and is sinless, death cannot contain Him! And therefore death cannot contain those that are in Christ! Thus the Apostle Paul says, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting (1 Corinthians 15:54, 55)?”

3.) Paul says in his first letter to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 15:14 “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” Why would this be the case? The reason why our faith in a dead Jesus would be in vain is that Jesus’ resurrection was God’s stamp of approval of His acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice for sin. The resurrection of Christ is the assurance of our justification! That is why Paul ties the death and resurrection of Christ together in 2 Corinthians 5:15: “and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” Do you see how the resurrection is linked to the work of the atonement of Christ? Think of the resurrection as the receipt that God gave Christ, showing his acceptance of His sacrifice for sins. The resurrection is our assurance because if Christ had not been raised, then we would have no hope of also been raised after our death. But since Christ was raised, we know that if we belong to Christ as his child in faith, we will be also raised with Him on the last day. Thus Jesus says in John 6:40, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day.” It is clear that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, like I mentioned earlier, we would not have hope for a future resurrection.

4.) Christ must live to act as a Mediator between us and God. Paul says in his first letter to Timothy, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5). For all those that are God’s children, Christ intercedes for them (Hebrews 7:25). We need the intercession of Christ to approach a Holy God. Thus we need a living Christ!

5.) When Christ was raised He had a glorified body! This also guarantees our future glorification when Christ returns (Romans 8:30). John says in his first epistle, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2-3).” As believers we are guaranteed bodies that will not die or decay! We will be like Christ!

Thank God for sending His Son Jesus to live a perfect life, die for our sins, and for raising Him from the dead!

Growing in Spiritual Leadership and Biblical Submission

Lesson 7: Defining Female Submission According to the Bible.

“When the New Testament speaks about the fullness of grace which we find in Christ, it does not mean only forgiveness, pardon and justification. Christ has done much more for us. He died for us, but he also lived for us. Now he has sent his own Spirit to us so that we might draw on his strength. He grew in grace, and when we draw on his power we shall likewise grow in grace.” –Sinclair Ferguson

Christ didn’t come just to die! But to perfectly obey all the commandments and fulfill all of the prophecies. He lived for us! And he sympathizes with us!

Heb 2:17-18 – For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God…Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Heb 4:15 – For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.

Not only is Christ the author of our salvation, but He is the Pioneer of our salvation. He’s gone before us, and blazed the path. He’s done so perfectly! That’s why we are exhorted by Christ himself to follow Him (Luke 9:23). He is our great pioneer that lived for us! Not only did he blaze the path as an example, but He also died for our imperfections, so that we are not saved by our obedience to His law, but by His grace. That’s why Paul says in Gal 6:14 “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” We boast in the cross, because that’s where we find grace, it is the cross that not only saves us, but by which we have the power to live the Christian life. That’s why Paul boasts in the cross.

And that is why as husband’s, spiritual leaders in the church and family, they must display servant leadership. Because the savior served us by giving Himself for us.

“The reason why we lack assurance of his grace is because we fail to focus on that spot where he has revealed it. But if we fail to focus our understanding there, we will fail to grow in grace.” – Sinclair Ferguson

As spiritual leaders, men must strive to grow not only in grace, but in their ability to spiritually lead. -Small Steps (You can’t go from being a baby Christian to a spiritual giant overnight) -Spiritual Leadership begins with taking the initiative

“Spiritual Leadership looks different for different men.“ – John Piper “Biblical Submission looks different for different women.” – John Piper 1 Peter 3:1-7 What Biblical Submission is NOT! 1) Submission does NOT mean agreeing with everything your husband says. 2) Submission does NOT mean leaving your brain or your will at the wedding altar. 3) Submission does NOT mean avoiding effort to change your husband. 4) Submission does NOT mean putting the will of the man above the will of Christ. 5) Submission does NOT mean that the wife gets her spiritual strength from her husband. 6) Submission does NOT mean acting out of slavish fear toward the husband. 7) Submission does NOT mean blind or unqualified obedience to the husband. Definition of Biblical Submission: Submission is the divine calling of a wife to honor and affirm her husband’s leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts. Submission is an inclination of the will to say yes to the husband’s leadership and a disposition of the spirit to support his initiatives. 1.) Biblical submission honors the Lord. 2.) Biblical submission honors the husband and the wife. 3.) Submission is not a place the husband puts the wife, but an “inclination” of the will of the woman to follow the leadership of the man and “support his initiatives.”

Abortion in our land

As a father with a little girl that is about to be born next month, abortion has been weighing especially heavy on my heart in recent days. I have stayed awake in bed almost every night for the past month praying for my baby girl, and my heart is already with her. It makes me wonder how as a nation we tolerate the murders of millions of defenseless children? And from a Biblical perspective, how long until we receive God's judgment. I pray that on account of the many believers in our country that God would have mercy. God has already spoken on this issue! But in an age where God is mocked and his existence is questioned, his word is not valued. As we say in the Marine Corps, "Stand-by!" Our time is coming. Do not be fooled, what we sow we will also reap.

http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/01/13/chilling-almost-beyond-belief/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlbertMohlersBlog+%28Albert+Mohler%27s+Blog%29

Knowing God Chapter 15 - The Wrath of God

-Wrath: old English word which means intense anger and indignation

-God's wrath, fury, and anger are referred to more in Holy Scripture than His love.

-Strong verse in OT that refers to God's wrath:

Nahum 1:2-8

-Strong verse in NT that refers to God's wrath:

2 Thess. 1:7-10

2 Points about God's Wrath:

1.) God's wrath is always judicial.

Romans 2:5-6

2.) God's wrath is something people choose for themselves

John 3:18-19

The meaning of God's Wrath:

God resolute action in punishing sin

Romans 2:5

Romans 5:8-9

Romans 3:5-7

The revelation of God's Wrath:

God's wrath is imprinted on our conscience

Romans 1:18

The deliverance from God's Wrath:

Romans 5:8-9

Romans 3:24-25

Knowing God Chapter 14 - God As Judge

Genesis 18:25 - "Will not the Judge of the earth do right?"

Psalm 75:7 - "It is God who judges."

Hebrews 12:25 - "God the judge of all."

Think in your mind about the worst sins. . . God will right every wrong.

God does not judge in a whimsical or capricious way.

Old Testament Examples:

-God judged Adam and Even and expelled them from the Garden.

-God judged the world in Noah's day (Gen. 6-8).

-God judged Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18-19).

- God judged Israel's Egyptian captives (Ex. 7).

-Myriad of other OT examples.

New Testament Examples:

-Judgment falls on the Jews for rejecting Christ (Matt. 21:43-44).

-Ananias and Sapphira for lying to God (Acts 5).

-Herod judged for his pride (Acts 12:21-23).

-The Christians in Corinth for irreverance to the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:29-32).

Ecclesiastes 12:14 - "For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil."

The Bible speaks of a Future Judgment:

-James 5:9

-1 Peter 4:1-6

-2 Timothy 4:6-8

-Acts 17:30-31

-John 5:22

4 Thoughts or Qualities about our God:

1.) God has ultimate authority.

-God made us and everything in the universe

-God has a right to demand righteousness

2.) The Judge is both good and right.

-God loves righteousness and hates iniquity

-God sent His son to die for sinners

3.) The Judge is a person of wisdom, able to discern truth

-There is NO instance where wrong goes unpunished

4.) The Judge has the power to execute a sentence

-God is his own executioner

Retribution:

-Romans 2:6-11

-The character of God guarantees that all wrongs be righted.

-Jesus is the ultimate agent of God's justice.

-Matthew 25:31-46

-Those that are justified will not be cast aside

-But Christians have to give an account for their actions.

-1 Cor. 3:12-15

-2 Cor. 5:10

Romans 8:1 - "There is now, therefore, no condemnation for those in Christ..."

Christmas ABF Fellowship

Knowing God Ch. 13 - The Grace of God

The Grace of God

“God’s riches at Christ’s Expense.”

No Grasp of Grace

1. The moral ill-desert of man.

-“For modern men and women are convinced that, despite all their little peccadilloes-drinking, gambling, reckless driving, sexual laxity, black and white lies, sharp practice in trading, dirty reading, and what have you-they are at heart good Christian folks.”

Young Life

-You can’t be a slave to two masters!

-Fail to realize that are image is tarnished in the fail.

-Doctrine of original sin…our hearts are evil from the beginning.

2. The retributive justice of God.

-God must punish sin (Gen 18:25).

-Many simply want to cast themselves on the character of God, thinking that God is a God of love, but he has to be a God of justice as well.

-Morality? Where does that come from? Have you ever had a discussion about ethics without Scripture?

3. The spiritual impotence of man.

-Rom 3:20 – “No one will be declared righteous in his sight observing the law.”

-We strive in this place where we think our actions will please our savior!

-You can’t please him by your actions.

-Isaiah 64:6 “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.”

4. The sovereign freedom of God.

-We think we are the good guys. And God is obliged to love us and take care of us.

-God is perfectly free and is not served by human hands. He doesn’t need you on His time. But you should desire to be on His team.

Not Earned or Deserved

-Grace and salvation go together hand and hand (Eph 2:8-9).

-Rom. 5:8 – God paid the highest price for us.

-Lemon Lot – God buys you. But that’s not the incredible thing…he pays top price.

1. Grace is seen as the source of the pardon of sin.

-Change from a condemned criminal to a joint-heir.

-Free to us, but costly to God.

-Eph 1.7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will…”

2. Grace is the motive of the plan of salvation.

-God planned redemption before the earth was created. Because God gets glory when his grace is praised. (Eph 1)

3. Grace as the guarantee of the preservation of the saints.

-1 Peter 1:5 “who by god’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

The Marks of a True Christian

This is GraceAnna :-)

For those interested, I posted a link to Grant's recent sermon from MY BLOG.

Grant started another training cycle on Parris Island, but hopefully he will be able to update his class notes soon.

Merry Christmas!

Knowing God Chapter 7

Read Hebrews 11

Abel – Genesis 4

Enoch – Genesis 5:18-24

Noah – Genesis 5:29-10:32

Abraham – Genesis 12-25

Sarah – Genesis 12-23

Isaac – Genesis 17-35

Jacob – Genesis 25-50

Joseph – Genesis 37-50

Moses - Pentateuch

Rahab - Josh 2:1, 3; 6:17-25

Gideon - Judges 6-8

Barak - Judges 4-5

Samson – Judges 13-16

Jephthah – Judges 11-12; 1 Samuel 12:11

David – Ruth 4, 1 & 2 Samuel

Samuel – 1 Samuel

How can we relate to these people? Many of us when we open up the Scriptures, it’s so hard to enter into this world! Why? When the pleasures of simple entertainment are so readily available? Why even open the Bible? Because our lives our in the balance! And life is so short. The God is the same that the Old Testament saints worshipped. God is directing our lives. Your destiny is in His hands. The Bible reveals God’s unchanging character.

God is immutable!

1.) God’s life does NOT change!

Psalm 93:2 Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.

1 Timothy 6:15-16 he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

Psalm 102:26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.

Our lives are so short. Story of my dad’s things…that have outlasted us. Trees outlast us. The Broad River will be here long after your gone…God the unchangeable one is here and wants to have a relationship with you.

We need God! Christianity is not a religion where we go to feel good about ourselves. We need God for our every breath.

2.) God’s character does NOT change!

Exodus 3:14-15 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, “The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Exodus 34:5-8 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.

We change. And you become what you worship. Are you the person you want to be? Are you being daily transformed even more into the image of Christ. Progressive Sanctification. The Holy Spirit brings it about in our lives, but we have to follow Christ! That’s our responsibility. Don’t be the same person you were two years ago or fiver years ago. If you are, you are wasting time.

3.) God’s truth does NOT change!

Our words are always changing and they’re not always true! Sometimes we think we’re right but we’re wrong!

Story about LIZ at school.

Seriously, how many things have we said that have been flat out wrong?

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

4.) God’s ways do NOT change!

God has not changed. God is not more advanced. God wasn’t primitive when he was destroying villages. The people were evil and had rebelled against God. God deals with us the same way we he did with OT saints. If you’re hear today, I think the LORD has a special hand on your life. God loves everyone, but there are some that the LORD loves more.

5.) God’s purposes do NOT change!

1 Samuel 15:29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the LORD your God.”

God doesn’t change his mind or his intentions!

We can believe God’s promises!

Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Psalm 33:11 The plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

6.) God’s Son does NOT change!

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Knowing God Week 7 Chapter 6

Knowing God Chapter 6

Trinitas: Latin for threefold. The English word “Trinity” is not found in Scripture.

Genesis 1:1-2 – In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:26 – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

The Bible opens focusing on the Trinitarian nature of God!

But there is only 1 GOD!

Deut 6:4 – Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

God is Trinity, and He demands our worship.

The Biblical teaching on the Trinity embodies 4 essential affirmations (taken from ESV Bible Doctrine: An Overview):

1.) There is one and only one true living God.

2.) This one God eternally exists in three persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

3.) These three persons are completely equal in attributes, each with the same divine nature.

4.) While each person is fully and completely God, the persons are not identical.

The Trinity may best be seen in the NT passage Matt 3:13-17 – Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

John also opens his Gospel in the same manner:

John 1:1-3 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Colossians 1:15 – He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

The classic Arian heresy: Christ is a created being – he’s not. Paul is talking about rights as the divine Son (Psalm 89:27)

When Christ left, he promised to be with us always! – He is in the form of the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit is our “comforter.” – John 14:16 – And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:26 – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 15:26 – But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Great way to introduce the forgotten member of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit!

The Father sends the Spirit in John 14 just like the Father sent Jesus (John 5:43)

Establishes Authority:

The Father has authority over the Son and Spirit. The Son has authority over the Spirit. But all three are equal and are God. (Matt 28:19-20)

Divine Attributes of the Spirit (from ESV Biblical Doctrine: An Overview):

The Holy Spirit is eternal	Heb. 9:14
The Holy Spirit is omnipresent	Ps. 139:7-10
The Holy Spirit is omniscient	1 Cor. 2:10-11
The Holy Spirit is omnipotent	Luke 1:35-37
The Holy Spirit is holy	Rom 1:4

There wouldn’t be any rebirth without the Spirit!

Salvation was designed by the Father, purchased by the Son, and given by the Spirit!

John 3

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “how can a man be born when he is old? Cane he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. D not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hears its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

The Spirit causes rebirth! We can pray for a revival, but we can’t bring revival.

Ephesians 1:13 – In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.”

It is also the Spirit that empowers us to live the Christian life. Prophesied in Joel 2:28 – And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see vision.”

Ezek. 39:29 – And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.

Galatians 5:22 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Believers can still be tempted by their flesh to follow the ways of the world: Eph. 4:1-3…walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

His greatest goal is to glorify Christ!

John 16:13-14 – When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

The Spirit wants to lift up Christ at all costs. We know that the Spirit is in us by a sanctified life!

Rom 8:9 – You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Knowing God Week 6 Chapter 5

LESSON by Matt Wells

Definition of Incarnate: embodied in flesh; given a bodily, esp. a human, form.

People have a difficult time believing that JC walked on water, fed 5,000 ppl, etc.

However, if God truly made the worlds and is the author of life, it is not hard to

believe he performed these divine acts of creative and supernatural power.

The more amazing fact is that God was made man. Read [ Rev 1:13-19]

Movie: of how a man became an ant - - this gives only a slight taste of what it was

like for JC to become man. .

1. What affect does Jesus’ brutal entry into the world have on you?

[Phil 2:5-8]

2. Who is Jesus? Read [Colossians 1:15-20] 1- Image-bearer of God

the Father, 2- Creator of everything, 3-transcendent ,4- Sustainer

of all life and all creation. 5- Husband/head of the bride/church. 6-

Ultimate sacrifice/ reconciler What are some things this passage tells

us about Jesus? [Col 2:9] Christ is human.

[Jn 20:31] Son of God

LAMININ Story… Universe Story [X-factor]

Read John [1:1-18] Who else is Jesus? 1-eternal 2-fellowship w/God 3-Deity/

God 4-God directed him to make all things 5-He sustains all life 6-became

flesh=incarnate. MANY of these themes repeated.

Maker of universe: [Hebrews 1:2]

God being made fully man. He who created the angel who became Satan was now

tempted by Satan. Became God plus man.

3. WHY did Jesus become human, using Scripture? [Hebrews 2:17-18,

4:15-16] JC as a sympathizing high priest. & [Phil 2:5-8]

KENOSIS Theory: In order to be fully human, the Son had to renounce some of his

divine qualities. Based off of [Phil 2:7] ]emptied himself’, ‘made himself nothing’

Bishop Gore: Jesus gave up divine knowledge while maintaining moral infallibility

[page 59] Believed that Jesus had an incomplete view of the OT.

Jesus did not lay aside divine power, but divine dignity and glory. [page 60].

Yet how can Jesus lack divine powers and still have deity? How can he be the image

of God, and yet not have his power or attributes? Read [Matt 26:52-54]

[John 7:16 and 8:28, 12:49-50] JC spoke what God had ordered him to, so either

everything JC says is a lie, or everything he says is truly of God.

4. What were some instances in which Jesus Christ had divine knowledge or

asked a question? [Mk 13:32] unsure of his return date, Who touched his

clothes, how may loaves do you have? Lazarus is dead, fish that Peter will

catch has a coin in its mouth.

5. It’s not that Jesus lost his divine powers but restrained them- - how are we

to account for this restraint?[Jn 5:19,30] [Jn 6:38] Jesus dependent on God

and there to do His will. Read [I Cor 11:3] We are called to do the same

[15:5] JC as the vine

6. What does Packer refer to as the “real-kenosis” ? [II Cor 8:9 ~ JC became

poor] JC was born to die.

Story of the Good Samaritan [Luke 10:30-37] [Matt 9:13] I desire mercy…

He did not simply go halfway, he went all the way. Compassion/pity requires action.

Good Samaritan = Jesus

7. What are some specific actions you can perform to manifest the Christmas

spirit?

Knowing God Week 5 Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Knowing God Week 5

Exodus 20:4-6 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them for I the LORD our God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Q: What are some ways that you try to obey this command?

Q: What do you think you can do to avoid breaking this command?

At first glance, it seems that this is an example of idol worship. Packer mentions Romans 1:23…”they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

The best explanation of Romans 1:23 is Romans 3:23! Falling short of God’s glory is sin.

The second commandment has always been taken to mean that the worship of God by images is forbidden.

“…or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above.” This is clearly forbidding the use of images of God in our worship. That’s why we don’t have a picture of Christ or a depiction of the Father in our sanctuary.

Packer notes that Christians have historically debated the use of pictures of Jesus for teaching children. Personally, I am in favor of using pictures for teaching children. As long as there are not images during our times of worship, I think we are fine with allowing children to color/view pictures of Jesus.

1.) Making an image of God obscures His glory? Why? Because it hides His attributes! Our God is a living God. He is real. And He is Spirit. What is God’s glory again? The manifestation of God’s unique and unending attributes. His glory must be fought for and protected in our lives. We must not exchange it for a lie! And that’s what God is forbidding in the 2^nd Commandment. This is what God is jealous over…His own glory! God is motivated by His own glory. God doesn’t exist to serve us. By His nature He must praise His own glory the most. And He wired us so that we can only be satisfied when we our truly glorifying God (that’s what we talked about last week).

So let’s talk about some symbols and whether or not they are appropriate.

What about a crucifix? A crucifix is not appropriate because it does not reflect Christ as risen and glorified. It doesn’t properly express His deity!

What about a cross? A cross is appropriate because it doesn't represent a member of the Trinity. It points towards our salvation in Christ, but it is NOT a direct representation of Christ.

2.) Images mislead us, for they convey false ideas about God. Not only do images NOT contain the total truth of God, they contain errors as well.

Packer – “Psychologically, it is certain that if you habitually focus your thoughts on an image or picture of the One to whom you are going to pray, you will come to think of him, and pray to him, as the image represents him. Thus you will in this sense “bow down” and “worship” your own image; and to the extent to which the image fails to tell the truth about God, to that extent you will fail to worship God in truth. That is why God forbids you and me to make use of images and pictures in our worship.”

Which leads to the aspect of mental images. Does your mind contain an image of God when you worship?

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.”

What does this 2^nd commandment tell us about God’s character?

Knowing God Week 4 (October 3) Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 3 “Knowing and Being Known” Part 1

Packer introduces the chapter with these two verses:

Jeremiah 9:23-24 – “Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

Hosea 6:6 – “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

Most of the time, our knowledge of a subject is only hindered by how much effort we are willing to put into studying it. I think of studying Physics or Chemistry or Calculus. All three calculated sciences, but yet can be understood with study and application with a strong mind. People are different though! You can spend a lot of time studying a person, getting to know them, but you are only going to know as much about a person as that person chooses to reveal.

GOD is the same way!

What we know of God is what He has revealed to us. Remember back to week 1 where we talked about God’s General Revelation (Creation) and His Special Revelation (Christophanies, Messages from Angels, Holy Scripture). We interpret God’s General Revelation (all that we experience with our 5 senses) with what God has revealed about Himself through His very Special Revelation to us, Holy Scripture! All that we can know about God right now is in Holy Scripture. In your personal relationship with God, God will reveal Himself to you as the same person and character that you see in Scripture.

But God is not a normal person! We should feel privileged that He has chosen to reveal Himself to us at all! The President of the U.S. and the Queen of England are poor metaphors compared to the immeasurable greatness of our God. To just be in His present should leave us in awe. In that situation, whatever God chooses to reveal to us about Him, should leave us content.

Packer points to 4 aspects that Knowing God Involves:

1.) Listening to God’s Word and receiving it as the Spirit interprets it.

2.) Noting God’s character and nature as His Word reveals Him.

-We should always reflect and think about His greatness!

-Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork..”

-James 1:16-17 “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

-God is good. Everything in Creation and everything good that we experience in our lives is from Him! Everything! But, if our joy is found in those goods things, our joy in them will diminish over time (as C.S. Lewis talks about in almost every book he wrote) because we’ll be searching for something as happy and good as we once experienced, but the newness and joy you felt at that moment won’t be matched. But if our joy in the sunset points to our joy in God, we will enjoy sunsets with increased intensity because our love and joy is ultimately in God the maker of the sunset. And our love for God should increase over time!

3.) Accepting His invitations and doing what He commands.

-Psalm 119:2 “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart.”

-Many in the “Modern” Christian generation before us seemed to emphasize rules over relationship. The old adage, “As long as you don’t drink, smoke, chew, or date girls that do” characterizes the thought processes of a lot of church-goers. In a negative reaction to that, the current generation has plunged into Post-modernism where as long as there are NO rules, everyone seems to be happy. But God did make rules! And Jesus reinforced them. But they are not supposed to be followed out of cold-heartedness towards God. They are supposed to be followed because we “seek Him with our whole Heart” and this is what He has told us to do. As soon as you divorce keeping God’s testimonies from a relationship with Him, you are bound for disaster in your Christian walk, because you will start to rely on your own works in a legalistic way instead of the righteousness of Christ. You will start spinning your wheels to measure up to God, and you will always be failing. The rules that God has given us as law should point us to knowing God.

4.) Recognizing and rejoicing in the love that he has shown us in approaching you and drawing you into divine fellowship.

-Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ dies for us.”

-1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins.

ABF Cookout