Bible Studies

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LESSON 2

JESUS CHRIST IS TRUSTWORTHY

Unlike man, Christ’s promises never fail. His commitment is not based on our faithfulness and His love for us is not dependent on ours for Him! He will never leave us or forsake us. He will love us for all eternity. His very nature is that of sacrificial love and He cannot change or deny His nature.

Here are a few passages that reveal something about God’s lovely character:
He is dependable, perfect and just;
· Deut. 32:4 – ‘He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.’
He is sinless;
· John 8:46 – “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says”.
As man, he (Christ) identifies with us;
· Heb. 4:14 and 15 - ‘Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 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’.
He is the all-powerful but personal God;
· Isaiah 40:9-31 – ‘Here is your God! … He tends his flock like a shepherd… and carries them close to his heart … (He) has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand … (and) with the breadth of his hand marked off of the heavens. (He) has held the dust of the earth in a basket (and) weighed the mountains on the scales … (Who can instruct) him as his counsellor? Who was it that taught him knowledge? Before him all the nations are as nothing …To whom, then, will you compare God? … He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy … he brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this earth to nothing … “To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: who created all these? – He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. What do you say O (my people) – “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired and weary … but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint”.
He is our only hope;
· 1 Tim. 6:17 – Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
He is holy;
· John 15:9-14 - … and I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”


He is intimately concerned about us;
· Isaiah 46:3,4 – Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and grey hairs. I am he; I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

The Bible reveals to the Christian the utter perfection of our God. Man will let us down but God never does. He is ever loving, ever faithful and forever our husband.
Our union with Christ is a wholehearted abandonment of ourselves to the one we love. For some, this is often difficult to grasp or accept, due to the sexual union that forms part of human marriage. Keep in mind that sex is only one form of loving ‘abandonment’ between a human husband and his wife and was created by God, therefore it is a good and lovely thing. Sin in the world causes many of us to view sex as something impure, but this is only so outside the union of marriage. In Christ, we obviously become one without this particular form. Just as a man gives himself entirely to his wife in all sorts of ways, so is his relationship to Christ. Jesus Christ is God, not only a man.
Men in our society sometimes struggle to submit to Christ because they are often trained from childhood to be strong, independent, tough and in charge of their emotions. Submission to authority or showing emotion may be viewed as weakness.
Study the life of Christ and you will find that he is anything but weak. He is meek! Meekness is not weakness – it is a willingness (an act of the will) to humble oneself in submission to God and one another, in obedience to the word so that His purpose will be accomplished in our lives, and in others through us. Christ himself did so for just these reasons.

SHARE ANYTHING NEW THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE LEARNED ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF GOD FROM THESE PASSAGES.

READ AND DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING, POINT BY POINT:
When we accept Christ as our Lord we commit to the union of marriage with our holy, infinitely loving and powerful God by:

Asking in faith for his forgiveness for our sin (unfaithfulness):
· 1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
· Matt. 6:33 – “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things (earthly needs) will be given to you as well.
Trusting God through Christ by faith.
· Rom. 1:16,17 – I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes… For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written; “The righteous will live by faith.”
· Gal. 5:4-6 – You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Trusting in God’s promises.
· Psalm 25:1-3 - ‘To you O Lord, I lift up my soul, in you I trust, O my God… no one whose hope is in you will be put to shame.’
· Proverbs 3;5,6 – ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.’
Uniting with Christ and our brothers and sisters in love as one flesh.
· John 17:20-23 – “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.”
Accepting His free gift of perfect love.
· Psalm 31:7,8 – I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.
· 1 John 4:18,19 – There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.
Promising to love and obey Him.
· John 14:15 - If you love me, you will obey what I command.
· 1 John 5:3-5 – This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Committing to hold Him in high regard and esteem.
· Psalm 145 – ‘I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom… and I will meditate on your wonderful works… I will proclaim your great deeds… The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. (I) will praise you O Lord; (I) will extol you. (I) will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendour of your kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you will give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving towards all he has made. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.’
Offering our hearts, minds, souls and bodies to Him exclusively.
· Psalm 40:6,7 – Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, “Here I am, I have come - … I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is in my heart.”
· Mark 12:33 – “To love (God) with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all offerings and sacrifices.”
· Rom 12:1,2 – Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Recognizing that He alone is the Head of this union.
· Eph. 1:22 – And God placed all things under (Christ’s) feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Loving and caring for your Christian family together.
· Phil. 2:1,2 – If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

In the next lesson, we will be learning about the dangers of breaking our union with Christ by going our own way – loving God wholeheartedly.

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