Chosen

Amos 3:1-2 - Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the LORD has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt: “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”

Exodus 19:5-6 - Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

Deuteronomy 7:6 - For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

Application:

· Does my present strength and prosperity give rise to complacency about my privileged status as the Lord's chosen?
· Am I part of the Lord's kingdom? Am I wholly consecrated to His service?
· Am I separated from all corrupting people and things? Am I consecrated totally to the Lord?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Chosen

1 Peter 5:13-14 - She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Ephesians 1:4-6 - For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Conclusions:

• Divine election is a constant theme in Paul’s letters
• In Ephesians 1 divine election is emphasized in the following ways: (1) He chose us; (2) He predestined us; (3) we were also chosen; (4) having been predestined
• Holiness is the result—not the basis—of God’s choosing
• Holiness refers both to the holiness imparted to the believer because of Christ and to the believer’s personal sanctification

Application:

• Has holiness been imparted to you because of Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Living Stone

1 Peter 2:3-4 - Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:11 - He is " 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.

John 1:4 - In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

John 4:10 - 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."

Acts 2:22,26-27,34-35 - "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know…Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay…For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, " 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." '

Acts 3:13 - The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.

Conclusions:

• Fulfillment of prophecy was an important element in early Christian sermons and defenses
• Life is Christ’s gift, and He, in fact, is the life
• The Gospel of John also links light with Christ, from whom comes all spiritual illumination
• Christ is the light of the world, who holds out wonderful hope for man
• The stark contrast between light and darkness is a striking theme in the Gospel of John
• Jesus gave life and gave it freely
• The living water in John 4:10 refers to eternal life
• The mighty works done by Jesus were signs that the Messiah had come
• God would not allow the Messiah’s physical body to decompose
• Not only was Christ to be resurrected but He was to be exalted to God’s right hand
• And Christ’s presence there was now being demonstrated by the sending of the Holy Spirit
• Disowned Him means they voted against Jesus, spurned Him, denied Him, and refused to acknowledge Him as the true Messiah.

Application:

• Have you rejected the stone?
• Is Christ your light?
• Has Christ given you eternal life?
• Do the mighty works of Christ reveal Him as your Messiah?
• Christ's body did not decompose.
• Have you received the Holy Spirit?
• Do you vote against, spurn, deny and refuse to acknowledge Christ as your Messiah?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

These Last Times

1 Peter 1:20 - He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

Ephesians 1:4-6 - For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Acts 2:17 - " 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

1 John 2:18 - Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.

Conclusions:

• Divine election is a constant theme in Paul’s letters
• In Ephesians 1 divine election is emphasized in the following ways: (1) He chose us; (2) He predestined us; (3) we were also chosen; (4) having been predestined
• Holiness is the result—not the basis—of God’s choosing
• Holiness refers both to the holiness imparted to the believer because of Christ and to the believer’s personal sanctification
• In the passage quoted from Joel in Acts 2:17 the Hebrew has “afterward” for last days and the Septuagint “after these things”
• Peter interprets the passage in Joel as referring specifically to the latter days of the new covenant in contrast to the former days of the old covenant
• The age of Messianic fulfillment has arrived
• With other New Testament writers, John viewed the whole period beginning with Christ’s first coming as the last days
• New Testament writers understood the last hour to be the last of the days because neither former prophecy nor new revelation concerning the history of salvation indicated the coming of another era before the return of Christ
• The word last in last days, last times and last hour also expresses a sense of urgency and imminence
• The Christian is to be alert, waiting for the return of Christ
• John assumed his readers knew that a great enemy of God and His people will arise before Christ’s return
• That enemy is called antichrist, the man of lawlessness and the beast
• But prior to that enemy, there will be many antichrists
• Antichrists are characterized by the following: (1) They deny the Incarnation and that Jesus is the divine Christ; (2) they deny the Father; (3) they do not have the Father; (4) they are liars and deceivers; (5) they are many; (6) in John’s day they left the church because they had nothing in common with believers
• The antichrists referred to in 1 John were the early Gnostics
• The anti in antichrist means against

Application:

• Are you being made holy and blameless in His sight?
• Has God's Spirit been poured out on you?
• Are you alert, waiting for the return of Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible