Enhance Your WEI Lessons by Teacher's Comments

NEW BIRTH                     NEW LIFE                   THE CHURCH

By now, a time line should be drawn for the student aiding them to connect the lessons into a meaningful Bible message. Emphasizing "Someone Is Coming," "Someone Has Come," and "Someone is Coming Again" with a time line strengthens the message.

Book 3, Lesson 1: The King is Born
Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-20; Matthew 1:18-23; 2:1-23; John 1:1-3, 14; 5:39

Teacher's Comment:
I noticed in this lesson the frequency of angels. God has a number of names in the Old Testament. One is El Shaddai. This name means "Lord of hosts." God is Lord over a host of Angels. He has many. There are many angel stories in the Bible and some from today.

In Albania, one of the missionaries was out after dark in the city of Vlore. This is a dangerous city. While driving home, a car with four men passed him and stopped in front of him. Then, the car began backing up. The missionary had to stop and back up too. He was backed into a corner and could not escape. The men got out of the car and began to come back to rob them. Virgil said to his wife Jackie, "This is it!" Immediately, a large man stood in front of the car and told the four men to stop. The four men ran, got in their car and fled. Virgil was saved. The large man disappeared and could not be found.  I asked Virgil, "What was this?" He said, "It was an angel, I'm certain."

Truly, God had his angels to carry out his plan to bring Jesus into the world. And we are not without them.

Hebrews 1:14
14    Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
(NAS)

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Question 4. What have you learned in this lesson that is especially meaningful to you?
According to this lesson, Jesus is “savior” but when Jesus was born, a lot of babies were killed. God loves all of us, so why did God only protect his Son and didn’t protect other babies?

Teacher's Comment:
You asked why God did not protect the babies.
To answer this, we need to go back to God's stories and see what we have learned about him and his creation. What we know is revealed. We cannot know this by ourselves; but, God has revealed himself in the Bible.

God created us free to choose. We can choose between God or Satan. This is awesome! God gave up some of his power. He lets us choose. We can choose to obey him or choose to disobey him as did Adam and Eve.

God did not go on a vacation and forget us. He has been in the life of humans throughout time. We read about some of his work -- Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and others. He is active today in people who know and follow his will. He has revealed his will in the Bible for us today.

God made the universe and all of the laws of physics, chemistry, biology and every other field that we call scientific fields of learning. These laws are his laws. In them we can trust because they are fixed. God's laws are true and must be discovered to understand them. Science is continually learning about God's laws.

God is a spirit and he has a plan. This plan was first told to us in Genesis 3:15, a reference in Book 1, Lesson 2 where he said to Satan in the form of a snake, "Someone" is coming who will crush your head. Satan, you will bruise him, but he will get over it. When Jesus came by a miracle, this was God's spirit. In this special case, God did not obey his laws of physics. He did a miracle. Later, you will read of the biggest miracle of all time -- Jesus was killed, but God raised his body from the grave and he lived again on the earth. This is God carrying out his plan to accomplish his purpose.

Now, keeping the babies from being killed was not part of his plan. Saving Jesus was part of his plan. So, God chooses what he wants to accomplish his plan and he lets his laws of physics, "natural laws," do what they will do.

We wonder why God lets good people get sick and die. That doesn't seem fair. But, we all will die. It is because of God's "natural laws," the physical laws of God.

When Jesus comes to earth again, it will be a miracle and he will not obey natural law. It will be God's power accomplishing his plan.

I hope this is clear. I tried to "step you through" what we know. Does it make sense to you? What questions do you have?

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Book 3, Lesson 2: The King is God's Son
Isaiah 40:3: 61:1-2; Matthew 3:1-17; 4:1-11; 17-23; Mark 1:1-11; 2:1-17; Luke 3:1-21; John 1:29-49; 3:1-17; 5:1-18, 24; 6:1-58; 7:32-46; 8:23-59; 90:1-7; 10:7-30; 11:1-44; 12:44-50; 14:1-6; 15:1-5; Romans 6:1-23

Question: How did Nicodemus know that Jesus was a teacher went from God?

Teacher's Comment:
Nicodemus said to Jesus, "No person can do these miracles that you do without God's help."

The most amazing history to ponder is the miracles that Jesus did, especially the resurrection of Jesus by God.

In the NT, we read that Jesus said, " Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves."

Unreal! They are supernatural events. When we follow Jesus, we win the war with Satan too. All this is for one purpose, to show us that God is God and that he loves us. 

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Now, it comes down to this: Did Jesus or did he not come out of that grave?

History says he did. If it is true, it puts us into a completely different way of thinking and behaving. Touch something. He made it. You know he did. Such truth changes everything. We are only here for a short time. When we die there is more. We are not alone.

So, the war between Satan and us is a spiritual war. It is real. Satan and Jesus fought. Jesus won. He came back from death which is Satan's favorite thing. If Satan can kill you, you no longer can choose Jesus. Satan loves death. Jesus overcame Satan when he came out of the grave. This is an astonishing miracle. Remember, miracles do not obey the laws of earth physics. They are supernatural events. When we follow Jesus, we win the war with Satan too.

All this is for one purpose, to show us that God is God and that he loves us.

Consider Hebrews 2:1-4
2:1 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

The way Nicodemus and the temple guards knew Jesus was supernatural was that they had seen his miracles. They saw him heal the sick. All the people knew it and they brought their sick to public places everywhere Jesus walked. The miracles revealed that he was the Messiah even before his resurrection from the dead. They knew about his raising Lazarus from the dead. Amazing!

If all this is true, any temptation has a way of escape for us. Believers follow Jesus.

We are told in scripture that there is a way of escape provided when we are tempted.

1 Corinthians 10:13
13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

The escape is for us to remember these truths and choose to obey God.

If all this is true, think of being alive after the earth is gone. Dwell on it for a while. It's almost scary. But, if it is true, we have some really exciting "days" ahead of us.

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Book 3, Lesson 3: The Kingdom is Coming
Matthew 3:2-3, 13-15; 4:13-22; 9:9; 10:1-7; 12:22-29; 13:1-23, 31-32, 36-44; 16:13-19; Mark1:1-11, 14-20; 2:13-14; 3:13-27; 4:1-20, 30-32; 8:27-38; 9:1; Luke 6:12-16; 9:18-27; 11:14-22; John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; Revelations 20-22

Question 1. What is the difference between the church and the kingdom of God?

Teacher's Comment:
There is a scripture worth examination when we come to the subject of church and kingdom -- Matthew 16:18.

Jesus promised to build his church -- in the future tense. It would come soon!

Mark 9:1
1    And he said to them, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."

Notice that Jesus uses the words "church" and "kingdom" interchangeably.

Matthew 16:15-15
15             He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16             And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17             And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18             "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.
19             "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
(NAS)

Compare the English to the original text.

What is interesting here is the Greek Vs. English translations.

In Matthew 16, Jesus did a word play. He taught a lesson to his apostles by using the word "Peter" and the word "rock" to give special meaning to his promise.

"Peter" = rock = petra = masculine gender: means small rock, pebble, and a piece of rock

 "Rock" upon which the church was to be built = feminine: means massive rock, bedrock

Now, in the paragraph, "this rock" refers to the confession made by Peter, not the word "Peter" as said by the Catholic community where Peter is claimed to be the pillar of the church in Rome. The church is build upon "You are the Christ," a fact that Peter confessed. English translations make fools of us sometimes. It's important to go back to the original language to get clear meaning in scripture.

This means that Peter is one of the building blocks, just as we all are.

2 Corinthians 5:1
1               For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (NAS)

Keys
Another important point in this text is verse 19. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom. There are two elements to notice here: 1) Peter had the keys to open the door to the church, and 2) the words "you shall bind, shall be bound."

In the first element, we see Peter used those keys in Acts 2 where he preached the first sermon opening the door of the church Jesus promised to build.

What did Peter Preach?
In the second element, the grammar is future perfect tense. The English scripture should read, "Whatever you shall bind on earth, will have been (not will be) bound in heaven."

Peter was to preach as the Spirit told him. The message did not originate with Peter.

The message would come directly from the Father to the Son, to the Holy Spirit, and to the Apostles. This is what Peter preached:  what the Father told Jesus to tell the H.S. who told Peter what to say. Finally, it came to us by way of Luke who wrote the record of Peter's speech in Acts 2.

How Revelations Came to the Apostles
The following scriptures are important to tell us what the source of the message "already bound in heaven" really is. John 7:16 (from the Father to the Son); John 8:28 (Son speaks from the Father); John 16:13 (the Holy Spirit hears only what is "mine" or from Jesus); John 16:13 (Holy Spirit will guide and not speak on his own); John 16:15 (Father > Son, "mine" > Spirit > Apostles), said Jesus.

So, the words "church" and "kingdom" are used interchangeably. The church and the kingdom are the same. And, we are added to the church or kingdom of heaven when we are baptized. The Apostles taught from the Spirit and the new Christians "continued in the Apostles' teachings." What a wonderful promise for us.

Acts 2:47
47             praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

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Teacher's Comment:
The consequence of misunderstanding the church and kingdom leads to errors in understanding other parts of the Bible.

There is one more point about the Kingdom of God that is misunderstood in many churches today. Some teachers say that the kingdom will come when Jesus comes back to earth. This teaching is know as Premillennialism.

Premillennialism claims that the kingdom is yet to be established and that it will be established on earth when Jesus returns. This is not what the Bible says. Reread Lesson 3 to review what Jesus told his Apostles about the church and kingdom.

When Jesus comes back to earth he will not set his foot on the earth. He will not reign as King on the earth for 1000 years. He will not come again to establish his kingdom. He kingdom on earth has was established as described in Acts 1 - 2.

The clear teaching of Jesus' second coming is found in Paul's letter to the church at Thessaloniki.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep (die), or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 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 (Christians who have died). 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth about the second coming of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:51-57
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed- 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."

55 "Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
NIV

Summary:
1. The church and kingdom are the same thing.
2. The church of Christ is a spiritual kingdom.
3. Jesus will come again to take his church to heaven.
4. Christians who have died already will come with him.
5. The end will come quickly and without warning.
6. The voice of the archangel will sound.
7. Christians who have already died will not be after those who remain alive.
8. All human bodies will be changed.
9. Christians who are alive will rise and meet him in the air and in the clouds.
10. Christians will be with the Lord forever.
11. Satan, sin, and death are over.
12. Christians win the victory in Jesus.

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ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM TEACHINGS
The millennium refers to a 1000 year period.

There are 3 major views of end times. They do not agree.

The millennium is viewed by interpreters in several different ways. One position holds that the millennium only refers to Christ's spiritual rule today from heaven. This symbolic view is known as the millennial interpretation. Another position views Christ's spiritual rule as working through preaching and teaching to bring gradual world improvement leading up to Christ's return. This is the postmillennial view.

The position that holds to an actual thousand year period in the future is known as the premillennial view. This interpretation does not diminish the power of Christ's present rule from heaven or limit that rule to the church only. That position sees the need for a thousand-year place in history for an earthly fulfillment of Israel's promises of land and blessing. It stresses that the one thousand years in Rev 20 are actual years and are not symbolic.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

Summary:
1. Amillennialism holds to 1 Thessalonians 4 teachings.
2. Postmillennialism expects the kingdom to eventually be established on earth by preaching and teaching. Then, Jesus will come again.
3. Premillennialism expects the kingdom to be physical and on the earth for 1000 years. Jesus will be King.

Where does the theory of Premillennialism come from?

This doctrine teaches that Jesus failed to establish his kingdom on earth while he was here because the people rejected him. They killed him. So, they say that Jesus will come again and this time he will establish his kingdom on earth. This simply is not true. Jesus was not a failure. His kingdom is spiritual.

The Jews in Israel were expecting a physical kingdom. They hoped that Jesus would become the King of Israel and overpower the Romans whom they hated. But when Jesus was before Pilate, he said,

John 18:36
36 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."

His kingdom is spiritual.

The 1000 year reign is taken from the Book of Revelations. This book and several others are call Apocalyptic. This means "revelation" and the Book of Revelations is called by this name because of its content. It is very figurative. Figurative language can be interpreted many ways. This is the source of the different views.

Every figure of speech must be interpreted. The rule for interpretation is simple.

Rule: Let the Bible interpret itself. Every figure of speech with uncertain meaning must agree with the clear, nonfigurative teachings found elsewhere in the Bible.

When this rule is applied we can discount the Premillennial view.

The book of Revelations was written to the people who were under severe persecution by the Romans. Christians were being killed. Rome was feeding Christians to the lions in the coliseum. The book was written in a secret language that the Christians knew. They understood what was written. We have difficulty with it. The message to the persecuted Christians is simple -- Victory! Do not worry!

Question 2. Is the church, with all its human faults, the kingdom of God on earth?

"Unquestionably, the Holy Spirit wants us to view the church as a kingdom.  Paul spoke of conversion to Christ as a translation from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Christ:  "For He delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son" (Colossians 1:13). Since conversion is described elsewhere in the New Testament as entrance into the body of Christ (Romans 6:3, Galatians 3:27) and since the body of Christ is spoken of as the church (Ephesians 1:21-23), it follows that the Holy Spirit intends for us to see the church, the body of Christ, and the kingdom of Christ (or the kingdom of God) as the same spiritual organism." 

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Book 3, Lesson 4: The King is the Suffering Servant
Matthew 16:21-23; 17:1-9; 21:1-11; 22:32; 26:1-68; 27:11-54; Mark 8:31-9:1; 9:2-13; 11-1-11; 14:1-72; 15:1-41; Luke 9:22-36; 19:29-44; 22:1-63; 23:1-49; John 12:12-19; 13:1-30; 14:1-31; 15:1-17; 16:4-15; 18:1-40; 19:1-37; Colossians 2:14-15: Hebrews 8:6-8; 9:8-28; 10:19-20; 12:26-29; 2 Peter 3:9-14; 1 John 4:4
Teacher's Comment: About the Suffering Savior Becoming Sin

While the Jews were looking for the Messiah, they were confused because of the cross. The cross meant to them that Jesus could not be the Messiah. They believed the passage in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23
22        "And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
23        his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance. (NAS)

And, they held to the importance of keeping the law, perfectly.

Deuteronomy 27:26
26        'Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'

The cross became a problem for the Jew in Jesus' time. When they saw Jesus on the cross, they saw him as a sinner who deserved death. The cross was a problem for them.
1 Corinthians 1:18
18        For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

After the resurrection, the Jew had to make a decision. What was the meaning of Isaiah 53?
Isaiah 53:3-5
3          He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4          Surely our griefs He himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5          But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.    (NAS)

One dedicated Jew, who traveled 1,100 miles to Jerusalem for the Passover feast, who had made himself a eunuch as a dedication of his life, and gave his offerings was reading Isaiah 53 on his way home to Ethiopia.  He was the Queen's treasurer. He asked who is the one in Isaiah 53 and Philip told him it was Jesus -- the one who hung on the cross!

I wonder just what did Philip tell him. Perhaps, the words are in Paul's letter to the Galatians.
Galatians 3:13
13        Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us -- for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"-- (NAS)

It was not the sins of Jesus for he had no sins. When the treasurer heard this, he must have realized that the one in Isaiah 53 was the savior, the one who took the curse for us. A savior indeed! It became clear to him. The cross was no longer a stumbling block to him.

Question: What does it feel like when it becomes clear that it is for your sins that Jesus became a curse?

Question: What was the response of the treasurer? You will study this question in Lesson 7.

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Book 3, Lesson 5: The King Conquers Death
Matthew 12:39-40; 16:21; 17:9, 23; 20:19; 25:31-46; 26:2; 27:55-66; 28:1-28; Mark 15:42-47; 16:1-16; Luke 18:30-33; 23:50-56; 24:1-53; John 5:28-29; 19:31-42; 20:1-29; Acts 1:1-11; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Psalms 16:10; Isaiah 53:10

Teacher's Comments:
Jesus was either resurrected or he was not. If he was, then you can be sure that we are not alone on this planet!  All that Jesus claimed is true. All scriptures become immediately imperative!

Factors as evidence for your faith
1. Something happened. There was an immediate explosion of Christianity throughout the world. Why?
2. Christians who claim to have seen Jesus alive again went to their death refusing to deny him.
3. About Jesus: He said he was to die and that he would rise again on the third day. He was either 1) a fanatic, setting himself up to be killed, 2) he was a liar, or 3) he was telling the truth. If he were a fanatic, people in his time would not have spoken about him as a great teacher. If he were a liar, then, his body would have been in the grave. It was not. This leaves us to consider Jesus as telling the truth.

Argument Against Jesus' Resurrection Evaluated
Resurrection theories abound, trying to discount Jesus' resurrection.
1. The women and apostles went to the wrong tomb. But, they had a mission and were prepared. It was daylight.
2. The Swoon theory: Jesus was only wounded; he fainted. In the coolness of the tomb, he recovered and escaped. Record shows Jesus was dead. His legs were not broken as were the two thieves, because he was dead. If he had been alive in the tomb, he had a solid rock tomb from which to escape under the watch of Roman soldiers.
3. The body was stolen. If true, his body would have been displayed by the Pharisees as proof of their case. Of course, a stolen body with huge payoff to the soldiers is the claim reported in scripture. But, why was the body not produced?

Argument For Jesus' Resurrection
1. There was an empty tomb. Jesus was not in the tomb.
     a). The tomb was empty.
     b). The grave clothes were carefully folded which would take time.
     c). Jesus was seen many times by many people after the cross -- Mary, women on the road, Peter, the disciples, ten in the upper room, the 11 apostles, 500 at one time, James, many on Bethany, and by Saul.
2. If the story had been invented, and Jesus remained in the grave, there would have been a "bandstand" presentation. The Pharisees would have gone down in history winning over Jesus' claims.
3. The lives of the apostles were dramatically changed.
4. There were Roman guards given instructions to "make the tomb as secure as possible." Failure to do so was death to the soldiers, a Roman custom.
5. The stone door was huge and the tomb is believed to have been solid rock. There was no escape.
6. All prophecies were fulfilled down to the dividing of his garments among the soldiers.
7. There were many eye witnesses of his presence after 3 days in the grave, as many as 500 at one time.

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Book 3, Lesson 6: The King Begins His Rule
Acts 1:1-26; 2:1-47; 5:32; Matthew 16:15-19; Mark 9:1; John 3:3-5; Romans 6:3-5; 8:5-16, 26-28; 1 Corinthians 4:15; 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; 5:17; Galatians 3:27; 5:16-25; Ephesians 1:13-14; 5:198-19; 6:11-18; Colossians 1:15; 2:11-15; Titus 3:3-7; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3-5, 22-25

Question 2. How did God know ahead of time that Jesus would be killed on a cross?

Teacher's Comment:
God knew ahead that Jesus would die on the cross. We found out in Genesis 3:15 with the prophecy that Jesus would crush the head of Satan, rendering him impotent, and that Jesus would die. Actually, the plan was "before the foundations of the world." God's plan was determined before the earth was created.

Paul's letter to the Ephesians makes it clear.
Ephesians 1:4
4    For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love

Jesus was before the earth began. He is God, the creator. - John 1
1 Peter 1:20
20    He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
John 17:24
24    "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

The plan of God that was "before the foundation of the world." This plan, described in Ephesians 1 claims a number of important items -- we are chosen, predestined to be adopted, freely given Jesus, redemption, forgiveness, and grace -- all purposed in Christ.

Predestined is an important concept. The word comes from the Greek word proorizo, from which we get the English word "horizon." A horizon is the boundary line we see as we view the edge of the earth from a distance. It is a boundary and the word means "to limit." See Strong's definition: 

4309   proorizo (pro-or-id'-zo);
from 4253 and 3724; to limit in advance, i.e. (figuratively) predetermine:
KJV-- determine before, ordain, predestinate.

The boundary, according to Ephesians. 1, is "In Him" which is used 30 times in the Ephesians letter and 200 times in all of Paul's letters. The boundary is described as "those IN CHRIST" who are the ones who will receive the list of items in Ephesians. 1 -- being chosen, being adopted, freely given Jesus, redemption, forgiveness, and grace.

The thing to remember about "predestination" is that God predetermined THE PLAN, NOT THE MAN.

How does one get "Into Christ"?
The next question one should ask is, "How do I get into Christ?" The answer is found throughout the New Testament. It is clearly stated in several scriptures.
Romans 6:3
3    Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
1 Corinthians 12:13
13    For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body -- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free -- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
Galatians 3:26-27
26    You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,
27    for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

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Teacher's Comment:
Actually, Isaiah did not mention baptism. In fact, the text in Acts 8 tells of Philip explaining Isaiah 53 to the Ethiopian official, but it doesn't say that Philip told him about baptism either. All it said was that Philip "preached to him Jesus" (about whom Isaiah spoke). This isn't a trick question, but how did the Official know of baptism? For some reason he wanted to be baptized. We can conclude that "preaching Jesus" includes telling about baptism. Baptism is part of obeying the gospel of Jesus. Its description and importance is fully described in Book 4 (Advanced Book 1, The New Birth).

Teacher's Comment:
The problem with the Jews was that they were not to associate with a non-Jew, the Gentiles. (We are Gentiles, by the way.) This is how God keep the blood line of Jesus pure among other reasons for not associating with non-Jews. It was Old Testament Law. But, when Peter was approached in a dream to go to the Gentiles (Acts 10), he learned that the gospel was for the Gentiles too, not just the Jews. Cornelius was a Gentile. The OT was now fulfilled, complete, served it's purpose, and was replaced with the New Testament. Cornelius and his household heard the gospel, believed in Jesus, and obeyed. They were baptized.

Author: Bob Patterson, weibp@aol.com

References to Strong's Greek/Hebrew Dictionary is acknowledged. Scripture references are from the New International Version (NIV) except where noted as New American Standard Version (NAV).

Book 1 / Book 2 / New Birth / New Life / The Church

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