February 11, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Living in the Light

Living in the Light

Isaiah 42:5-9 - New International Version (NIV)

⁵ This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
    who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
    who gives breath to its people,
    and life to those who walk on it:
⁶ “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
    I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people
    and a light for the Gentiles,
⁷ to open eyes that are blind,
    to free captives from prison
    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

⁸ “I am the Lord; that is my name!
    I will not yield my glory to another
    or my praise to idols.
⁹ See, the former things have taken place,
    and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
    I announce them to you.”

 

Who created the heavens and stretches them out (verse 5)?

Who “gives breath to” the people of the earth (verse 5)?

Who “called you in righteousness” (verse 6)?

What will the Lord make the Servant be (verse 6)?

What will the Servant do for the blind (verse 7)?

Who will not share God’s praise (verse 8)?

When are the “new things” declared (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about living in the Light?

Luke 2:25-35 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

³³ The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

How was Simeon described (verse 25)?

Who was on Simeon (verse 25)?

What had been revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit (verse 26)?

Why was Jesus in the temple courts (verse 27)?

What did Simeon do (verse 28)?

How could the Lord dismiss Simeon (verse 29)?

Where was the salvation that Simeon saw prepared (verses 30 and 31)?

What kind of light is Jesus to the Gentiles (verse 32)?

What is Jesus for the people of Israel (verse 32)?

How did Joseph and Mary react to what Simeon said (verse 33)?

What does Simeon tell Mary that Jesus is destined to cause (verse 34)?

What will be revealed (verse 35)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about living in the light?

In your opinion, how does God use Simeon in Luke 2:25-35 to transform the promise of God in Isaiah 42:5-9 from a promise to the Jews and Gentiles to a promise to all individuals?

Colossians 1:9-12 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, ¹⁰ so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, ¹² and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 

When did Paul begin praying for the Colossian Christians (verse 9)?

What did Paul ask they be filled with “through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives” (verse 9)?

Who should their lives be “worthy of” (verse 10)?

How should they bear fruit (verse 10)?

What does Paul pray that the Colossian Christians will have by “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might” (verse 11)?

How should they give “thanks to the Father” (verse 12)?

What has the Father qualified them to do (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about living in the Light?

In your opinion, what does Isaiah 42:5-9 help us understand about what it means to have a share “in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light” as proclaimed by Colossians 1:9-12?

In your opinion, how is Simeon in Luke 2:25-35 a model for all who want God to fill us in the same way that Paul ask for the Colossian Christians to be filled in Colossians 1:9-12?

1 John 1:5-2:2 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ⁷ 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.

⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

¹ My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

What message does John say that he has heard and declares (verse 5)?

When do we lie (verse 6)?

When do we “have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (verse 7)?

What do we do “if we claim to be without sin” (verse 8)?

When will God “forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (verse 9)?

How can we make God “out to be a liar” (verse 10)?

Why does John write this (verse 1)?

What do Christians have if they sin (verse 1)?

Who is Jesus “the atoning sacrifice for” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about living in the Light?

In your opinion, how is 1 John 1:5-2:2 help us understand the “new thing” that Isaiah 42:5-9 said the Servant who be a “covenant” and a “light” would accomplish?

In your opinion, how is Simeon’s statement in Luke 2:25-35 that “the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed” expanded by 1 John 1:5-2:2?

In your opinion, how is Colossians 1:9-12 the next step for those living in the light who have confessed their sins as commanded in 1 John 1:5-2:2? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Luke, Colossians, and 1 John help us understand about the source of our freedom, peace, knowledge, strength and salvation as we live in the light?

In your opinion, for what can we praise God today?