October 15, 2023 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Living Fully

Living Fully

Isaiah 22:12-22 - New International Version (NIV)

¹² The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    called you on that day
to weep and to wail,
    to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth.
¹³ But see, there is joy and revelry,
    slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
    eating of meat and drinking of wine!
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
    “for tomorrow we die!”

¹⁴ The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

¹⁵ This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:

“Go, say to this steward,
    to Shebna the palace administrator:
¹⁶ What are you doing here and who gave you permission
    to cut out a grave for yourself here,
hewing your grave on the height
    and chiseling your resting place in the rock?

¹⁷ “Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you
    and hurl you away, you mighty man.
¹⁸ He will roll you up tightly like a ball
    and throw you into a large country.
There you will die
    and there the chariots you were so proud of
    will become a disgrace to your master’s house.
¹⁹ I will depose you from your office,
    and you will be ousted from your position.

²⁰ “In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. ²¹ I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. ²² I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

What has the Lord called for the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do “on that day” (verse 12)?

What did the people say while they were eating meat and drinking wine (verse 13?

Who said “till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why was Shebna, the palace administrator, hewing his “grave on the height” (verses 15 and 16)?

What is the Lord going to do (verse 17)?

Where will Shebna die (verse 18)?

Who will depose Shebna (verse 19)?

How is Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, described (verse 20)?

What will Eliakim become (verse 21)?

Where will the “key to the house of David” be placed (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about how we should view death and/or life?

Luke 12:13-21 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴ Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” ¹⁵ Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

¹⁸ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

²¹ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

What did the person from the crowd want Jesus to do (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask “who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you” (verse 14)?

What did Jesus say that “life does not consist” of (verse 15)?

Whose ground “yielded an abundant harvest” (verse 16)?

What was the man’s problem (verse 17)?

How did the man propose to remedy the problem (verse 18)?

Then what was the man going to say to himself (verse 19)?

Why was the man a fool (verse 20)?

What was the man going to get (verse 20)?

For whom will it be like this (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about how we should view death and/or life?

In your opinion, how are the steward who thinks he is going to die in Isaiah 22:12-22 and the rich man who is planning to store even more riches in Luke 12:13-21 alike?

1 Corinthians 15:31-44a – New International Version (NIV)

³¹ I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. ³² If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,

“Let us eat and drink,
    for tomorrow we die.”

³³ Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” ³⁴ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.

³⁵ But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” ³⁶ How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷ When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. ³⁸ But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. ³⁹ Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. ⁴⁰ There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. ⁴¹ The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

⁴² So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

Who does Paul board about (verse 31)?

Under what circumstance does Paul say we should “eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (verse 32)?

What corrupts “good character” (verse 33)?

What does Paul want the Corinthian Christians to “come back to” (verse 34)?

What must happen for something that is sowed to “come to life” (verse 36)?

Who determines what body “each kind of seed” will have (verse 38)?

What is not the same (verse 39)?

What is different between the sun, the moon and the stars (verse 41)?

How is the body that is sown perishable raised (verse 42)?

How is the body that is sown “in dishonor” raised (verse 43)?

How is the body that is sown as a “natural body” raised (verse 44)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about how we should view death and/or life?

In your opinion, how does Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:31-44 help us understand the mindset of the people of Jerusalem who were saying “let us eat and drink” in Isaiah 22:12-22?

In your opinion, what could the rich man in Luke 12:13-21 have done to comply with Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 15:31-44 to “come back to your senses as you ought”?

Romans 8:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Who is there “now no condemnation for” (verse 1)?

What does the “law of the Spirit” set believers free from (verse 2)?

How did God accomplish what “the law was powerless to do” (verse 3)?

Who is the “righteous requirement of the law” met in (verse 4)?

What do those who “live according to the flesh” have their minds set on (verse 5)?

What do those who “live in accordance with the Spirit” have their minds set on (verse 5)?

What is “life and peace” (verse 6)?

What can the “mind governed by the flesh” not do (verse 7)?

Who “cannot please God” (verse 8)?

Who is “not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit” (verse 9)?

Who gives life “even though your body is subject to death” (verse 10)?

Who will give life to those “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in” (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about how we should view death and/or life?

In your opinion, what does Shebna cutting out a grave for himself in Isaiah 22:12-22 reveal about where his mind was set as defined by Romans 8:1-11?

In your opinion, how are the plans of the rich man in Luke 12:13-21 “hostile to God” in the way that Paul discusses in Romans 8:1-11?

In your opinion, how is the life given by the Spirit “because of righteousness” in Romans 8:1-11 the ultimate solution for the despair the statement “let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” expresses in 1 Corinthians 15:31-44? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Romans teach us about the difference between living like that we are going to die tomorrow and living eternally in Christ?

In your opinion, how can we overcome living in fear to living fully, completely and eternally today?

October 8, 2023 – Isaiah in the New Testament – A Banner for the Thirsty

A Banner for the Thirsty

Isaiah 11:10-16 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. ¹¹ In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

¹² He will raise a banner for the nations
    and gather the exiles of Israel;
he will assemble the scattered people of Judah
    from the four quarters of the earth.
¹³ Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
    and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
    nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.
¹⁴ They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;
    together they will plunder the people to the east.
They will subdue Edom and Moab,
    and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
¹⁵ The Lord will dry up
    the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand
    over the Euphrates River.
He will break it up into seven streams
    so that anyone can cross over in sandals.
¹⁶ There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
    that is left from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
    when they came up from Egypt.

Who will “the nations rally to” (verse 10)?

Where will the Lord reclaim the “surviving remnant of his people” from (verse 11?

In your opinion, why does Isaiah say the Lord will “raise a banner for the nations” and “gather the exiles of Israel” (verse 12)?

What will happen to the relationship between Ephraim and Judah (verse 13)?

Who will they plunder (verse 14)?

What will the “scorching wind” of the Lord’s hand do (verse 15)?

What will there be “for the remnant of his people” (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, who does this passage teach us that the “Root of Jesse” will stand as a banner for?

John 4:10-26 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

¹⁶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

²¹ “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

What would the woman at the well have received if she “knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why is the question “where can you get this living water” important (verse 11)?

What will happen to the people who drink the water from Jacob’s well (verse 13)?

How is it different for the people who drink the water that Jesus gives them (verse 14)?

Why does the woman want to drink the water that Jesus gives (verse 15)?

Who does Jesus want the woman to bring to the well (verse 16)?

Why did the woman say she couldn’t bring him (verse 17)?

What did Jesus know about the woman (verse 18)?

What did the woman now know about Jesus (verse 19)?

How does the woman attempt to move the discussion away from her past and present (verse 20)?

How does Jesus show that the past is not going to limit of the Jews and the Samaritans (verse 21)?

What has now come (verse 23)?

How must God be worshipped (verse 24)?

What did the woman know (verse 25)?

Who did Jesus claim to be (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, who does this passage teach us that the “Root of Jesse” will stand as a banner for?

In your opinion, how is the diversity of the nations and of the surviving remnant of the Lord’s people who return in Isaiah 11:10-16 become unity in John 4:10-26?

Romans 15:5-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, ⁶ so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. ⁸ For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed ⁹ and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
    I will sing the praises of your name.”

¹⁰ Again, it says,

“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”

¹¹ And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
    let all the peoples extol him.”

¹² And again, Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
    one who will arise to rule over the nations;
    in him the Gentiles will hope.”

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

What kind of “attitude of mind” does Jesus pray for the Roman Christians (verse 5)?

How would they react to “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” if they had that “attitude of mind” (verse 6)?

Why should they “accept one another” (verse 7)?

What has Christ become (verse 8)?

Why will the Gentiles “glorify God” (verse 9)?

Who are the Gentiles to rejoice with (verse 10)?

How are “all the peoples” to respond to the Lord (verse 11)?

Who will the Gentiles hope in (verse 12)?

How can someone “overflow with hope”  (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, who does this passage teach us that the “Root of Jesse” will stand as a banner for?

In your opinion, how does having the “same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had” in Romans 15:5-13 cause both the “nations” that rally to the Banner and the remnant of the Jewish people who will be gathered in Isaiah 11:10-16 to have “one mind and one voice”?

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s discussion with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:10-26 help prepare Paul in Romans 15:5-13 to make it clear that “the Root of Jesse” became a “servant of the Jews” in part so that “the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy”?

Revelation 22:16-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. ¹⁹ And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

How does Jesus identify Himself (verse 16)?

Who says “Come!” (verse 17)?

Who can take “the free gift of the water of life” (verse 17)?

What is John’s warning to “everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll” (verse 18)?

What will happen to the person who “takes words away from the scroll of prophecy” (verse 19)?

Who says “I am coming soon” (verse 20)?

What does John pray to “be with God’s people” (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, who does this passage teach us that the “Root of Jesse” will stand as a banner for?

In your opinion, how does Isaiah 11:10-16 saying that the “Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples” and that nations will rally to Him made richer by Jesus claiming to be the “Root” in Revelation 22:16-21?

In your opinion, how does the discussion of water with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:10-26 help us understand the significance of the instruction to “let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life” in Revelation 22:16-21?

In your opinion, how is your “attitude of mind” changed when you realize that the one that Romans 15:5-13 said became “a servant of the Jews” is the same one who claims in Revelation 22:16-21 to be the “bright Morning Star” who is coming soon? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, Romans and Revelation teach us about why the “Root of Jesse” needs to be a banner and a prophet, a servant and a Star? 

In your opinion, how do we worship the “Root of Jesse” “in the Spirit and in truth” today?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

October 1, 2023 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Seeking His Kingdom and His Righteousness

Seeking His Kingdom and His Righteousness

Isaiah 11:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
⁵ Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb,
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
    and a little child will lead them.
⁷ The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
⁸ The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

¹⁰ In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 

Where will the shoot “come up from” (verse 1)?

Who will rest on the shoot (verse 2)?

In your opinion, how can you “delight in the fear of the Lord” (verse 3)?

How will He judge the needy (verse 4)?

What “will be his belt” (verse 5)?

Where will the wolf live (verse 6)?

What will the lion eat (verse 7)?

Where will the young child put its hand (verse 8)?

What will fill the earth “as the water covers the sea” (verse 9)?

Who will “stand as a banner for the peoples” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the importance of Christ’s righteousness in a Christian life?

Matthew 6:25-34 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

What is life more than (verse 25)?

Who feeds the “birds of the air” (verse 26)?

In your opinion, “can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life” (verse 27)?

What don’t the flowers of the field do (verse 28)?

Who was not “dressed like one of these” (verse 29)?

What happens to the “grass of the field” (verse 30)?

What do pagans run after (verses 31 and 32)?

When are we to seek “his kingdom and his righteousness” (verse 33)?

What does each day have enough of (verse 34)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the importance of Christ’s righteousness in a Christian life?

In your opinion, how is not worrying about what we eat, drink or wear, as instructed by Jesus in Matthew 6:25-34 a part of seeking the kingdom described in Isaiah 11:1-10?

Ephesians 6:10-20 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

How should we “be strong” (verse 10)?

Why should we “put on the full armor of God” (verse 11)?

Who are our struggles against (verse 12)?

What does putting on the full armor of God enable us to do “when the day of evil comes” (verse 13)?

Where should the breastplate of righteousness be (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what is the source of the righteousness?

How should our feet be fitted (verse 15)?

What can the shield of faith do (verse 16)?

What is the “sword of the Spirit” (verse 17)?

When should we pray (verse 18)?

What did Paul want prayers for him to ask for (verse 19)?

How did Paul want to declare the “mystery of the gospel” (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the importance of Christ’s righteousness in a Christian life?

In your opinion, why are the things that the “Spirit of the Lord” will rest upon the branch in Isaiah 11:1-10 different from the things the believer is to put on to stand against the devil’s schemes in Ephesians 6:10-20?

In your opinion, how is equipping yourself with the whole armor of God to stand against the devil’s schemes as instructed by Paul in Ephesians 6:10-20 a part of the seeking “first his kingdom and his righteousness” as commanded in Matthew 6:25-34?

2 Peter 1:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

² Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Who does Simon Peter write the letter to (verse 1)?

How are the readers to receive “grace and peace” (verse 2)?

What has “His divine power” given us (verse 3)?

What can Christians participate in through “his very great and precious promises” (verse 4)?

What are we to add to faith (verse 5)?

What is the chain that connects faith to love (verses 5, 6, and 7)?   Faith, _____________, _____________, _____________, _____________, _____________, _____________, Love

In your opinion, why is righteousness not a part of that chain?

How do we keep from “being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the importance of Christ’s righteousness in a Christian life?

In your opinion, how does 2 Peter 1:1-8 help us understand why it is important that Isaiah 11:1-10 highlights the righteousness of the Branch?

In your opinion, how does having confidence in the promise that “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us” in 2 Peter 1:1-8 help us move away from the worrying that Matthew 6:25-34 instructs us to avoid?

In your opinion, how are the things that Christians are to put on in Ephesians 6:10-20 different from the things that Christians are to possess in increasing qualities in 2 Peter 1:1-8 different?  Why would Christians need both? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Matthew, Ephesians and 2 Peter teach us about how seeking “his kingdom and his righteousness” is the beginning of the way that Christians escape the “corruption of the world caused by evil desires”? 

In your opinion, how is seeking “his kingdom and his righteousness” critical to balancing our standing against the devil’s schemes and being productive in our “knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)