Bible Studies

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LESSON 8

LIVING IN CHRIST

We cannot accomplish perfection and maturity in our own strength no matter how hard we try, but practicing goodness accomplishes this: it creates a desire for perfection and exposes our inherent sinfulness, causing us to turn in our weakness to the only One who can make us perfect.

· Gal. 3:23-25 – Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

God urges us to practice goodness in order to draw us to the source of our righteousness – Christ. When we learn to trust him for all our needs in all things and to obey Him – we are then consistently ‘living in the Spirit’ and no longer ‘living under the law’. This is how God wants all his children to live.

The Holy Spirit teaches us by first exposing our sin or wrong-thinking and, after we have repented, turns our minds around to a new way of thinking – God’s way! The terms ‘walking with God’; ‘walking in the truth’; ‘living in the Spirit’; ‘in Christ’; ‘dying to self’ and ‘denying self’ all mean basically the same thing – faith, trust and reliance on Christ instead of one’s self.

Countless Christians throughout the centuries testify to the deep peace and joy that they experience when ‘in Christ’, even in the midst of terrible suffering and trial. As we take each new step of trust, by believing and then obeying God’s word (demonstrating our faith), He takes us the rest of the way by the power of His Holy Spirit. We began our walk by faith in Christ and we must continue in the same manner:

· Gal. 4:8-9 & 15 and 5:1,7, 16-18, 25,26 – Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God -–or rather are known by God – how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? ……… What has happened to all your joy? …… It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourself be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. ……… You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of person does not come from the One who called you. ……… So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.
They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. ……… Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
· Rom. 6:22 – But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
· Gal. 6:7-10 – Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

SHARE HOW YOU PERCEIVE THE TERM ‘IN CHRIST’.

READ AND DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING IN THE LIGHT OF ALL YOU HAVE LEARNED IN THE PREVIOUS LESSONS:

· 1 John 1:3-7 – We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make your joy complete. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
· John 15:1-8 – “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off any branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
· 2 John:9 – Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
· Rom. 8:12-15 – Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation – but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.
· Rom. 6:13 – Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
· Gal. 2:19-21 – For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!
· Gal. 3:2-5 – I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing – if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

In conclusion, it is obvious from all of the 8 Lessons that ‘passionate spirituality’:
· Is expected of each true believer.
· Demonstrates our love for Christ.
· Is a natural outcome of the relationship we have in Christ.
· Involves emotion and commitment.
· Believes God.
· Causes us to obey God.
· Is a natural response to the love of God.
· Is concerned with all the things of God through His Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

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