Age

1 Corinthians 2:8-10 - None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.


1 Corinthians 1:20 - Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

James 2:1 - My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

Application:

· Do I have a wrong concept of God and His revelation?
· Do I show favoritism?
· Do I comprehend what God has prepared for me?

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

The Coming Age

Hebrews 6:4-9 - For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.


Mark 10:29-30 - Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.

John 15:5 - I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

1 Corinthians 10:14 - Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

Application:

· The present age is evil, but the coming righteous age will begin with the second advent of Christ and continue forever
· Apart from Christ I can do nothing of eternal value. Apart from Christ I am unable to produce spiritual fruit
· Does my life give evidence of genuine spiritual renewal?
· I cannot participate in idolatry and then think that I will receive eternal life on that day

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

For Our Sins

Galatians 1:3-5 - Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 15:3-5 - For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.

1 Corinthians 1:20 - Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

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

2 Corinthians 4:4 - The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Ephesians 6:12 - 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.

Conclusions:

• Paul’s source of the early Christian tradition was other Christians
• The heart of the gospel is that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried and that He was raised from the dead
• Wise man is probably a reference to Gentile philosopher in general
• Scholar is probably the Jewish teacher of the law
• All humanly devised philosophical systems end in meaninglessness because they have a wrong concept of God and His revelation
• Lamb of God is an expression found in the Bible only in John 1
• John was saying that Jesus would be the sacrifice that would atone for the sin of the world
• The god of this age is the devil, who is the archenemy of God , the unseen power behind all unbelief and ungodliness
• Those who follow the devil have in effect made him their god.
• Christ, who is both the Incarnate Son and the Second Person of the Trinity, authentically displays God to us, for He is the very radiance of divine glory
• Christ is the image of God in which man was originally created and into which redeemed mankind is being gloriously transformed until at last, when Christ comes again at the end of this age, we who believe will be like Him
• “Not against flesh and blood” is a caution against lashing out against human opponents as though they were the real enemy and also against assuming that the battle can be fought using merely human resources
• Rules and forces are Paul’s allusions to powerful beings in the unseen world

Application:

• Is your source of tradition other Christians?
• Do you have a wrong concept of God and His revelation?
• Did Jesus sacrifice atone for your sins?
• Has your mind been blinded?
• Do you lash out against human opponents?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Goal of Christians

1 Thessalonians 3:11 - Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you.

Ephesians 1:18-23 - I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Philippians 1:9-11 - And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Colossians 1:9-12 - For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

1 Thessalonians 1:1 - Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.

Conclusions:

• The extraordinary divine force by which Jesus Christ was raised is the same power at work in and through believers
• Christ is not only Head of the Church, but also Head of everything
• Christian love is not mere sentiment; it is rooted in knowledge and understanding
• Christians are to approve what is morally and ethically superior
• The goal of Christians in this life is to be without any mixture of evil and not open to censure because of moral or spiritual failure
• On the day of Christ, the goal will be perfectly realized, and the Christians must give an account
• Knowledge and wisdom in the Bible are practical, having to do with godly living
• Knowledge, wisdom and understanding result in a life worthy of the Lord
• Light symbolizes holiness, truth, love, glory and life
• God and the Christian are characterized by light
• Christians have a vital union and living relationship with the Father and the Son
• The close connection between the Father and the Son points to the Trinitarian relationship

Application:

• Is the power that raised Jesus Christ at work in and through you?
• Is your love rooted in knowledge and understanding?
• Do you approve what is morally and ethically superior?
• Is your goal to be without any mixture of evil?
• Are you ready to give an account?
• Are you characterized by light?
• Do you have a vital union with both the Father and the Son?
• Do you live a godly life?

All scripture verses taken from the NIV.

Conclusions may derived from NIV study Bible comments