June 1, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – Receiving God’s Blessings

Receiving God’s Blessings

Ruth 2:2-13 – New International Version (NIV)

² And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.”

Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” ³ So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.

⁴ Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!”

“The Lord bless you!” they answered.

⁵ Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”

⁶ The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. ⁷ She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”

⁸ So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. ⁹ Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”

¹⁰ At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”

¹¹ Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. ¹² May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

¹³ “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”

What did Ruth ask Naomi to allow her to do (verse 2)?

Where did Ruth end up gleaning (verse 3)?

How did Boaz greet the harvesters (verse 4)?

How did the overseer answer Boaz’s question about who Ruth was (verses 5 and 6)?

How hard had Ruth worked (verse 7)?

Where did Boaz tell Ruth to work (verse 8)?

Where is Ruth to drink from (verse 9)?

How did Boaz answer Ruth’s question “why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me-a foreigner” (verses 10 and 11)?

Where does Boaz say that Ruth has taken refuge (verse 12)?

What did Ruth hope for from Boaz (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about asking God for blessings?

Matthew 7:7-12 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

When “will it be given to you” (verse 7)?

Who “receives” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus want us to understand from the question, “which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?” (verse 9)?

Who knows how to “give good gifts to your children” (verse 11)?

What kind of gifts will our Father in heaven “give to those who ask him” (verse 11)?

What “sums up the Law and the Prophets” (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about asking God for blessings?

In your opinion, what can we learn about the promises of Jesus in Matthew 7:7-12 from the interaction of Boaz and Ruth in Ruth 2:2-13?

James 1:2-12 - New International Version (NIV)

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

⁹ Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. ¹⁰ But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.

¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

What should Christian brothers and sisters consider “pure joy” (verse 2)?

How is perseverance produced (verse 3)?

What are Christian brothers and sisters like when perseverance finishes “its work” (verse 4)?

How does God give (verse 5)?

How does the translation of doubting as “to be in strife with oneself” (Hebrew – Greek Key Word Study Bible) help us understand what it means to say “you must believe and not doubt” (verse 6)?

Who is “doubleminded and unstable in all they do” (verses 6, 7, and 8)?

What should “believers in humble circumstances” do (verse 9)?

Why should the rich “take pride in their humiliation” (verse 10)?

When will the rich “fade away” (verse 11)?

Who is “blessed” (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about asking God for blessings?

In your opinion, how does Boaz’s blessing of Ruth, “May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge” in Ruth 2:2-13 help us understand what James means about believers taking “pride in their high position” in James 1:2-12?

In your opinion, how does James’s instruction to “believe and do not doubt” in James 1:2-12 impact your understanding of Jesus’s statement “ask and it will be given to you” in Matthew 7:7-12?

Galatians 5:13-26 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

What should believer’s freedom allow them to do (verse 13)?

How is the entire law fulfilled (verse 14)?

What might happen if believers “bite and devour each other” (verse 15)?

When do we not “gratify the desires of the flesh” (verse 16)?

What “are in conflict with each other” (verse 17)?

Who is “not under the law” (verse 18)?

What is obvious (verse 19)?

What are “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (verses 22 and 23)?

Who “crucifies the flesh with its passions and desires” (verse 24)?

Why should Christians “keep in step with the Spirit” (verse 25)?

What should Christians “not become” (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about asking God for blessings?

In your opinion, how is Paul’s instruction in Galatians 5:13-26 to “serve on another humbly in love” demonstrated in Ruth 2:2-13?

In your opinion, how does the discussion of the “acts of the flesh” and the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:13-26 help us understand what kinds of gifts Jesus meant when He talked about how our Father in heaven will “give good gifts to those who ask him” in Matthew 7:7-12?

In your opinion, how does the discussion in Galatians 5:13-26 about the conflict between the desires of the flesh and the Spirit help us understand what James 1:2-12 means when it says that “Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. ¹⁰ But the rich should take pride in their humiliation”?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Ruth, Matthew, James, and Galatians teach us about how the conflicts that we have within ourselves can influence our prayers?

In your opinion, how do we receive the blessing of “good gifts” from our Father in heaven today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 20, 2016 – Letters From Home – Second Death and Victorious Life

Second Death and Victorious Life

Revelation 2:8-11 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. ⁹ I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

¹¹ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.”

Where is the church that John was supposed to write (verse 8)?

Who died and came to life again (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus say that this church is rich, even though he knows “your afflictions and your poverty” (verse 9)?

Who are the ones who are slandering the members of this church (verse 9)?

What is the church not to be afraid of (verse 10)?

Who will put “some of you in prison to test you” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of the persecution lasting “for ten days” (verse 10)?

How long were the church members to “be faithful” (verse 10)?

What will those who remain faithful receive “as your victor’s crown” (verse 10)?

What will “the one who is victorious” not be hurt by (verse 11)?

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

James 1:2-12 - New International Version (NIV)

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

⁹ Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. ¹⁰ But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.

¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

What are believes to consider “pure joy” (verse 2)?

What produces perseverance (verse 3)?

When do believers become “mature and complete, not lacking anything” (verse 4)?

Who should we ask if we lack wisdom (verse 5)?

How does God give (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “believe and not doubt” (verse 6)?

Who should not expect to “receive anything from the Lord” (verses 6 and 7)?

Who should “take pride in their high position” (verse 9)?

What should the rich take pride in “since they will pass away like a wild flower” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what can we understand about the rich from the comparison of the wild flower and the rich (verse 11)?

Who is blessed (verse 12)?

What will the one who has “stood the test” receive (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how does James’ discussion of believers in “humble circumstances” and the rich taking “pride in their humiliation” in James 1:2-12 help us to understand how Jesus in Revelation 2:8-11 indicates that He knows the afflictions and poverty of the church at Smyrna but says that they are rich?

John 5:24-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. ³⁰ By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”

Who “will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (verse 24)?

When will the dead “hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live” (verse 25)?

What do the Father and the Son have in themselves (verse 26)?

Who has the “authority to judge” (verse 27)?

In your opinion, when will “all who are in their graves” hear His voice and come out (verses 28 and 29)?

Who will “rise to live” (verse 29)?

Who will “rise to be condemned” (verse 29)?

Why is Jesus’ judgment just (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, what can we understand from considering Jesus’ statement that “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal live and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” in John 5:24-30 with along with James’ statement that “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” in James 1:2-12?

In your opinion, how does Jesus’ statement in John 5:24-30 that “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” help us to understand about His statement in Revelation 2:8-11 that “the one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death”?

Revelation 21:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. ⁷ Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. ⁸ But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

What did John see (verse 1)?

Where was “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem” coming from (verse 2)?

Who said “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them” (verse 3)?

Why will there be “no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (verse 4)?

Who said “I am making everything new” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what is “done” (verse 6)?

What will “the thirsty” receive (verse 6)?

Who will inherit (verse 7)?

What is “the second death” (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what does Revelation 21:1-8 help to understand about the life that Jesus promises to all who “hears my word and believes him who sent me” and also the condemnation of those who have done evil in John 5:24-30?

In your opinion, how is promise of Jesus in Revelation 21:1-8 when He says “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” especially meaningful to the people that James instructs “consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds” in James 1 2-12?

In your opinion, how does Revelation 21:1-8 explain how the promise of Jesus in Revelation 2:8-11 that “the one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death” is fulfilled?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Revelation, James and John show us about ourselves today?

Next, back to Revelation 2:12 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 22, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Prayer, Doubting and Maturity

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Prayer, Doubting and Maturity

Matthew 21:18-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ “Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

²⁰ When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

²¹ Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. ²² If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

How did Jesus feel as He was heading to the city early in the morning (verse 18)?

What was on the fig tree that He saw beside the road (verse 19)?

Why did the tree wither (verse 19)?

In your opinion, why were the disciples amazed (verse 20)?

What did Jesus say that the disciples needed in order to be able to get the mountain to throw itself into the sea (verse 21)?

When will the disciples receive whatever they ask for in prayer (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 21:18-22 show us about the Great Commission?

2 Kings 5:1-19a - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy

² Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. ³ She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

⁴ Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. ⁵ “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. ⁶ The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

⁷ As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”

⁸ When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” ⁹ So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”

¹¹ But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. ¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

¹³ Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

¹⁵ Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”

¹⁶ The prophet answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.

¹⁷ “If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord. ¹⁸ But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.”

¹⁹ “Go in peace,” Elisha said.”

Who was Naaman and what was wrong with him (verse 1)

Why was an Israelite girl in Naaman’s house (verse 2)?

Who did the Israelite girl think could cure Naaman (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did the King of Aram send a letter to the King of Israel (verses 4 through 6)?

How did the King of Israel respond to the letter (verse 7)?

What did Elisha tell the King of Israel that Naaman would know (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why did Elisha send a messenger to tell Naaman to bathe in the Jordan (verses 9 ad 10)?

How did Naaman react to Elisha’s instructions (verses 11 and 12)?

How were Naaman’s servants able to change his mind (verse 13)?

What happened when Naaman dipped himself seven times in the Jordan (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why did Naaman tell Elisaha that “there is no God in all the world except in Israel” (verse 15)?

Why did Naaman request all the earth that a pair of mules could carry (verse 17)?

What did Naaman ask the Lord to forgive him for (verse 18)?

How did Elisha send Naaman off (verse 19)?

In your opinion, how does understanding that Naaman almost missed getting the answer to his prayer because it did not come in the manner he expected in 2 Kings 5:1-19a help us to understand part of the message of Jesus about having faith and not doubting in prayer to get what we are praying for in Matthew 21:18-22?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 2 Kings show us about the Great Commission?

James 1:2-12 – New International Version (NIV)

² “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

⁹ Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. ¹⁰ But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.

¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

What are we to consider “pure joy” (verse 2)?

How is perseverance produced (verse 3)?

When will we be “mature and complete, not lacking anything” (verse 4)?

How does God give when we ask for wisdom (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why should we “believe and not doubt” when we ask for wisdom (verse 6)?

What should the person who “is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” expect to receive from the Lord (verses 6 and 7)?

In your opinion, how is a double-minded person “unstable in all they do” (verse 8)?

Who should “take pride in their high position” (verse 9)?

Who should “take pride in their humiliation” (verse 10)?

What will happen to the rich “even while they go about their business” (verse 11)?

How will the “one who perseveres under trial” be blessed (verse 12)?

In your opinion, how does the fact that Naaman was blessed by healing when he not only doubted but was angry in 2 Kings 5:1-19a help us to understand what James says about “God, who gives generously to all without finding fault” in James 1:2-12?

In your opinion, how does the statement that James makes about “the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” in James 1:2-12 help us to understand about what Jesus meant when He said “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.  If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” in Matthew 21:18-22?

In your opinion, what does this passage from James show us about the Great Commission?

Ephesians 4:11-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

Who gave the “apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers” (verse 11)?

Why are Christ’s people equipped for works of service (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why do we need to “reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature” to attain “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (verse 13)?

What happens to infants in the faith (verse 14)?

How will we speak the truth when we “grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” (verse 15)?

What does “each part” do as “the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love” (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that both James 1:2-12 and Ephesians 4:11-16 urge us to become mature and both also talk about being blown and tossed about?

In your opinion, how does Naaman, who went from doubting and anger to faith that was strong enough that he wanted the earth of Israel to take back to aid him in worshipping the God of Israel in 2 Kings 5:1-19a help us to understand what Paul meant in Ephesians 4:11-16 when he talked about “infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching”?

In your opinion, how does Paul emphasizing love in his discussion of the mature, who are not “tossed back and forth by the waves” in Ephesians 4:11-16 help us to understand the statement of Jesus in Matthew 21:18-22 “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. ²² If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Ephesians show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 21:23 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)