THE KEY TO THE BIBLE, INSTRUCTOR - 6th SESSION
·
Assign
kingdom verses to read.
GET ACQUAINTED – What questions would
you like to ask other participants?
We have been
considering how the entire Bible relates to Christ. Revelation builds progressively and accumulates
images as previews to prepare mankind for the coming of Christ and the Gospel.
What insights did you
bring to share?
2 Pt.1:16-19 "We [Peter, James, and John] were eyewitnesses of [the Lord Jesus
Christ's]
majesty…while we were with Him on the mountain, we heard God the Father say He
was well-pleased with Him [Mt.17:5], yet the prophetic word
is more sure [than even that experience]…"
·
The phrase
Tracing the
1. What was the purpose of
Christ's coming and redeeming the world?
So
God and His people can dwell together.
God’s intent is to be in relationship and fellowship with
His people. Many images are employed to
describe that relationship and union: covenant; chosen people;
adoption; family; father/son; marriage; redemption; reconciliation;
restoration; tabernacle; temple; peace; rest; abide; etc. The
·
Ask participants to read
and state the point being made: Mt.4:17, 23; 5:20; 6:33; 13:10-11,
40-43; 24:14; Jn.3:3, 5-6; 18:36; Lk.
1:31-33; 17:20; Acts 1:3; 8:12; 19:8; 1 Cor.4:20; 15:50-53; Heb.1:8;
12:25-29
2.
What indication do we have in the early
chapters of Genesis that God's original intention was to dwell with man? “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness ...”God created man in
His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created
them. (Gen.1:26-27)…And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the
garden" (Gen.3:8a)
·
The
first time the idea of establishing a kingdom is explicitly stated is in Gen.17:7-8, where God changes Abram's name
to Abraham and says, "I will establish My
covenant...to be God to you and to your offspring after you…and I will be their
God". Generations
later, a famine in the
3.
What reasons did God give for delivering
Ex.6:2-8 "I have heard the groaning of the people of
Ex.29:45-46 "I am the LORD
their God, who brought them up out of the
·
Remember
that because of sin, man was cast out of God's holy presence (Gen.3:23-24); His dwelling with people necessitated
first dealing with sin. God used the
delivery of
4. Where did God say he
would meet with
·
When
the tabernacle was completed, it was filled with the glory of the LORD
signifying God's presence among them (Ex.40). The tabernacle was a symbol of God's
dwelling with man. "I will set My dwelling place among you...I will walk among you and be
your God, and you shall be My people" (Lev.26:11-12). Years later,
after they had conquered the land and settled in it, Solomon built a permanent
structure and "the glory of the LORD filled the house" (2 Chron.7:1-5).
·
But
5.
Ezekiel also saw a renewed city of
·
As
prophesied,
6. What was the prophecy
made by the post-exilic prophet Zechariah?
(Zech.2:10-13) "I am coming
and I will dwell in your midst."
·
This
brings us to Jesus. Read Jn.1:1-2, 14.
Thus begins the story of how God
dealt with the sin that separated [cut off]
man from God in the first place. In Mt.1:20-23, an angel of the Lord
announced, "all
this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through
the prophet saying, 'Behold the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and
they shall call His name Immanuel which is translated 'God with us'." [Isa.7:14].
7. On the eve of Christ's death, He
instituted the New Covenant. What did he promise the disciples at this last supper? (Jn.14:16-18) (a) He was going to send the Holy Spirit to live
in them. (b)"I will come to
you"
8. As a result, what do
all believers (Jew and Gentile) become? [see
Apdx.E]
1 Cor.3:16 - the temple of the Holy Spirit. - the new
temple of God [notice the connection with redemption in 6:19-20] 1 Pt.2:5, 9-10 - spiritual house, holy priesthood, a chosen
people, royal priesthood, holy nation, people belonging to God, the people of
God {also Eph.2:19-22;
Ex.19:5-6}
9.
The apostle John describes eternity in terms of
a New heavens and earth to which the
holy city, the new Jerusalem comes. What does
the angel say he will show John? The bride, the wife of the Lamb What does he show him?
The holy city
Rev.21:1-3, 9b-11a, 22-23. "Now the tabernacle [ESV dwelling place] of God is
with men, and He will tabernacle [live, dwell] with them. They will
be His people, and God Himself will be with men, and be their God." "I did not see a temple in the city,
because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its
temple. The city had no need of the
sun…for the glory of God illuminated it.
The Lamb is its light."
·
Notice that this study did not progress
by going through passages on the kingdom. Read and comment on the following: Lk.16:16; 1 Cor.15:50; Col.1:12-20; 1
Thes.2:12; 2 Tim.4:18; Rev.1:4b-6; 5:8-10; 11:15
10. What is the goal of the
Gospel?
Completion,
fulfillment, and satisfaction of His people in fellowship with God
1 Cor.15:20-28 “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead…in Christ shall all
be made alive…then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the
Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power…For ‘God has
put all things in subjection under His feet’…When all things are subjected to
Him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to Him who put all things in
subjection under Him, that God may be all in all.”
1 Pt.3:18 "For
Christ suffered once for sins…that He might bring us to God" [means to an end]
Ps.42:1 “As a deer
pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God”
THE BIBLE STORY
Telling the story of
the Bible means relating the historical account to the Gospel. This is most effectively accomplished by
chronologically going through the historical narrative pointing out the significance
of what is revealed by the story. It is
not just a matter of reviewing the historical facts and describing the events
as they occur. The lessons
involving the unseen realities of God and His ways, as well as Man and his
condition, are key to preparing hearts to receive the
Gospel. Spiritual truths
answer questions: What is the underlying truth? Why are things the way they
are? Why does it have to be this way? and What is the
remedy? See God’s Big Picture – Tracing the storyline of the Bible
[Firm
Foundations by Trevor McIlwain, New Tribes
Further study
The God Who Is There, finding your place in God’s story, 2010 by D.A.Carson
The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm, the story of the
Bible told and illustrated for children
Read APDX G, MESSIAH - SON OF MAN/SON
OF GOD http://pop.eradman.com/
See Books of Historical
Movement Chart and Bookmarks
APDX D, Chap.6 of RPCD http://pop.eradman.com/ CHRIST REIGNS AS KING
TODAY
The
good news is that the Kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus Christ.
APDX E, Chap.7 of RPCD http://pop.eradman.com/ THE PEOPLE OF GOD ARE ONE
Old
and New Testament saints constitute a single united body of the redeemed.