We Live On

2 Corinthians 6:4-10 - Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.


2 Corinthians 1:9 - Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

Philippians 2:17 - But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.

Colossians 1:24 - Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

1 Thessalonians 1:6 - You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 8:9 - For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Acts 3:6 - Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

1 Corinthians 3:21-23 - So then, no more boasting about human leaders! 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 of Christ, and Christ is of God.

Philippians 4:19 - And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Application:

· God’s grace is all-sufficient, and my weakness is precisely the opportunity for His power to be displayed
· Even if I have nothing of this world’s goods, I have everything in Him who is Lord of all
· Do I emulate Paul’s joyful service to God?
· What was lacking in Christ’s afflictions was the future suffering of all who are afflicted for the sake of the gospel
· Suffering affliction is normal for those destined to be saved at the end
· My supreme incentive for generosity should be that Christ became poor so that I could be rich
· Peter did not heal by his own power, but by the authority of Jesus Christ
· I am in union with the church’s true leaders and with Christ
· If I am generous toward God, I will find that He is generous toward me and will supply my every need in Christ Jesus

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

I Will Live Among You

Zechariah 2:6-10 - “Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven,” declares the LORD. “Come, Zion! Escape, you who live in Daughter Babylon!” For this is what the LORD Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye—I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me. “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the LORD.


Isaiah 42:6-7 - “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

Zechariah 9:9 - Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Numbers 23:21 - “No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The LORD their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them.

2 Corinthians 6:16 - What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Application:

· Have I been freed from spiritual and moral bondage?
· My King is righteous and has brought salvation!!!
· My Lord is with me!!!
· God dwells directly and immediately in my midst!!!

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Live

Ecclesiastes 9:3-7 - This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion! For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun. Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.

Jeremiah 16:12 - But you have behaved more wickedly than your fathers. See how each of you is following the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying me.

Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Ecclesiastes 8:15 - So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.

Application:

· Do I try to blame the coming judgment on the sins of previous generations?
· Do I allow wickedness to take root in my heart?
· Am I grateful that I can eat, drink and be glad?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Live By

Galatians 5:16 - So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Romans 8:1-4,13-14 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit…For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Conclusions:

• Live by the Spirit means go on living by the Spirit
• Living by the promptings and power of the Spirit is the key to conquering sinful desires
• The law of the Spirit of life is the controlling power of the Holy Spirit, who is life-giving
• Paul uses the word law in several different ways in Romans--to mean, a controlling power; God's law; the Pentateuch; the Old Testament as a whole; a principle
• Law of sin and death is the controlling power of sin, which ultimately produces death
• The law still plays a role in the life of a believer--not, however, as a means of salvation but as a moral and ethical guide, obeyed out of love for God and by the power that the Spirit provides
• The righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in us
• God's aim in sending His Son was that believers might be enabled to embody the true and full intentions of the law
• According to the Spirit is how the law's righteous requirements can be fully met--by no longer letting the sinful nature hold sway but by yielding to the directing and empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit
• God is the Father of all in the sense that He created all and His love and providential care are extended to all
• But not all are His children
• Redemption is the restoration and fulfillment of God's purposes in creation and this takes place in Christ, through whom all things were made and in whom all things are restored or created anew

Application:

• Do you live by the promptings and power of the Spirit?
• Has the controlling power of the Holy Spirit set you free from the controlling power of sin?
• Do you embody the true and full intentions of the law?
• Are you led by the Spirit of God?
• Are you in Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Over You In The Lord

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 - Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.

1 Timothy 5:17 - The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

Hebrews 13:17 - Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Mark 9:50 - "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other."

Conclusions:

• All elders were to exercise leadership and to teach and preach, and all were to receive honor
• Those who excelled in leadership were to be counted worthy of double honor
• Double honor was especially true of those who labored at teaching and preaching
• Double honor should include financial support
• Dictatorial leadership is not condoned by the command to submit to authority, but respect for authority, orderliness and discipline in the church are taught throughout the New Testament
• Hold elders in the highest regard in love, not merely because of personal attachment or respect for their high position, but in appreciation for their work
• Living in peace applies to Christian relationships in general, but in 1 Thessalonians 5:13 they probably refer especially to right relations between leaders and those under them
• The distinctive mark of discipleship typified by salt is allegiance to Jesus and the gospel
• Strife is resolved and peace restored when we recognize in one another a common commitment to Jesus and the gospel

Application:

• Do you honor your elders?
• Do you obey your leaders and submit to their authority?
• Do you hold your elders in the highest regard and live at peace with them?
• Do you have a commitment to Jesus and the gospel?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Live Together With Him

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 - For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Romans 14:9 - For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 - Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Ephesians 4:29 - Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Conclusions:

• Awake or asleep is alive or dead; or, if the sense is moral, are alert or carnal
• Christ’s Lordship over both the dead and the living arises out of His death and resurrection
• The primary purpose of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is not to give a chronology of future events, though that is involved, but to urge mutual encouragement
• The Christian not only stops saying unwholesome things; he also begins to say things that will help build others up

Application:

• Have you entered a relationship that nothing can destroy?
• Is Christ Your Lord?
• Do you encourage others?
• Do you say things that will help build others up?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible.

Holy

1 Thessalonians 3:13-4:1 - May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.

2 Peter 3:14 - So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

1 Corinthians 1:2-3 - To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 4:4-6 - that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.

Conclusions:

• Believers have peace with God as a result of being justified by faith, but they may displease Him by failing to live as He desires and thus not receive His commendation and His reward when He returns
• The Old Testament counterpart to church of God is the expression assembly of the Lord
• Sanctified means set apart for the Lord
• Sanctified can also mean made holy, which is done by (1) being declared holy through faith in Christ’s atoning death on the cross, and (2) being made holy by the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians
• In spite of the fact that Paul found much in the Corinthian Christians to criticize, he still called them sanctified—not because of their conduct, but because of their relationship to Christ
• The Christian is to be different from the heathen

Application:

• Do you fail to live as He desires?
• Are you being made holy by the work of the Holy Spirit in your life?
• Are you different from the heather?

All Scripture verses taken from the NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible