Thank

Romans 1:8 - First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.


2 Thessalonians 1:3 - We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

Colossians 1:3-8 - We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

John 15:16 - You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Application:

· Is my faith growing more and more? Is my love for others increasing?
· The Bible never thanks man for his faith and love. The Bible thanks God, the source of faith and love.
· I usually desire a strong prayer life in order to be fruitful. The opposite is true: Jesus enables me to bear fruit, and then the Father will hear my prayers.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Saints

Romans 1:7 - To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.


1 Peter 1:1-2 - Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

1 Corinthians 1:2-3 - To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jonah 4:2 - And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Application:

· I am a saint. I am positionally set apart to God. I am being made holy by the Holy Spirit.
· All three persons of the Trinity are involved in my redemption. The Spirit draws me from sin toward holiness.
· I am sanctified, not because of my conduct, but because of my relationship to Christ.
· My God is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love and relents from calamity. In contrast, there is me; not gracious, not compassionate, slow to love, abounding in anger.
· Do I have peace? Do I have total well-being, inner rest of spirit, in fellowship with God?

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Prophets

Romans 1:1-7 - Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.


Luke 24:44 - Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Romans 9:5 - To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 1:2-3 - To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Application:

· Christ was foretold in the whole Old Testament.
· Christ is God over all.
· I am sanctified, not because of my conduct, but because of my relationship to Christ.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Being

1 Corinthians 15:45 - Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.


Genesis 2:5-7 - When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Romans 5:14 - Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

Romans 8:2 - For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Application:

· I am made in the image of God, unlike any other species on earth.
· Adam brought universal ruin on the human race. Christ brought universal blessing.
· Through Christ Jesus, the controlling power of the life-giving Spirit has set me free from the controlling power of death-producing sin.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Splendor

1 Corinthians 15:34-44 - Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.


Psalm 19:4-5 – Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

Genesis 2:5-7 - When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Application:

· My resurrection body will be different from my fleshly body
· Creation declares the glory of God throughout the world
· I am made in the image of God, unlike any other species on earth

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

So That God May Be All In All

1 Corinthians 15:25-28 - For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.


Revelation 19:11 - Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

1 Corinthians 3:21-23 – So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.

Application:

· Christ will return as Warrior, Messiah and King.
· Christ will completely conquer all of His enemies.
· The triune God will be shown to be supreme and sovereign in all things.
· I am united with and belong to Christ, who is in union with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

For He Must Reign

1 Corinthians 15:25 - For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.


Isaiah 9:7 - Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 52:7 - How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

Isaiah 2:2-3 - It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Micah 4:5 – For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

Psalm 110:1 - The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

Application:

· Christ must reign as He destroys all dominion and hands over the kingdom to the Father.
· Christ will rule in righteousness forever.
· God rules sovereignly over the world.
· All nations will stream to the mountain of the Lord’s temple
· Am I confessing, loving, obeying and relying on the Lord?
· The enemies of Christ will be a footstool for His feet.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

But Christ Has Indeed Been Raised

1 Corinthians 15:3-6,11-20,23 – For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep…Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.


1 Thessalonians 4:18 - Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Application:

· Jesus appearance to more than five hundred should help bolster the faith of those who doubt the resurrection of Christ.
· Christ’s resurrection is the pledge that my resurrection will follow.
· Christ died for my sins, was buried and was raised from the dead.
· Do I encourage others with the knowledge that Jesus will return and we will meet Him in the air?

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Church Of God

1 Corinthians 15:9-10 – For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.


1 Corinthians 10:32-33 - Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

Acts 9:4 - And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

Romans 3:21-25 - But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Application:

· Living to glorify God will result in doing what is beneficial for others, whether Christian or non-Christian. Am I living to glorify God?
· To persecute the church is to persecute Christ, for the church is His body.
· Although I clearly and totally deserve to be declared guilty, because of my trust in Christ God declares me righteous.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

The Twelve

1 Corinthians 15:3-6 – For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.


John 20:22 - And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19-20 - Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Application:

· The disciples needed God’s help to carry out the commission they had been given
· The appearance of Jesus to so many people after His resurrection should bolster the faith of those who doubt
· Baptism is a sign of union with and commitment to Christ.
· Am I obeying everything He has commanded me? He is always with me

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Christ Died For Our Sins

1 Corinthians 15:3-5 – For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.


John 1:29 - The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Luke 24:44 - Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Isaiah 53:6,11 - All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all…Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Application:

· Christ died for my sins, He was buried and He was raised from the dead
· Jesus is the sacrifice that atones for the sin of the world
· Christ was foretold in the whole Old Testament
· My iniquities have been laid on Jesus
· I am justified by the knowledge of Jesus.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

A Revelation

1 Corinthians 14:27-34 - If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says.


1 Corinthians 12:8-10 - For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

Acts 13:2 - While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

1 Corinthians 7:17 - Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.

1 Corinthians 10:32-33 - Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

Application:

· Has God imparted to me by the Holy Spirit a communication of His mind?
· Paul’s first missionary journey did not result from a planning session but from the Spirit’s initiative as the leaders worshiped.
· Am I living contentedly for the Lord in the station (economic, social, religious) in life He has placed me?
· Am I living to glorify God? Am I doing what is beneficial for others, whether Christian or non-Christian?

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

A Hymn, A Lesson, A Revelation, A Tongue Or An Interpretation

1 Corinthians 14:17-26 - For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers. If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you. What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.


Isaiah 45:14 - Thus says the Lord: “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.’”

Zechariah 8:23 - Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

I Corinthians 12:7-10 - To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

Luke 4:16,18-19 - And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read...“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Application:

· One day the nations will acknowledge Israel’s God.
· True godliness attracts others to the Lord.
· Have I been given some spiritual gift that is an evidence of the Spirit’s working in my life? Do I use it for selfish advantage?
· Have I been given wisdom or knowledge?
· Do I have faith to meet a specific need in the body of Christ?
· Has God imparted to me by the Holy Spirit a communication of His mind?
· Jesus custom of regular worship sets an example for all His followers.
· The Messiah’s ministry of preaching and healing was to meet every need
· Jesus proclaimed liberation from sin and its consequences.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV