This lesson provides us with more things that we should always remember, according to the principle stated in Deuteronomy 8:18, "You shall remember the LORD your God". The points of this lesson follow the pattern shown below...
Out of his love for us, God the FATHER gave us his uniquely begotten SON who lives and reigns today, and who was revealed to us by the HOLY SPIRIT that we might believe and not perish
but have everlasting life.
The whole statement above should be reflected with equal emphasis in our faith, and in the church's teaching and preaching. Many religious groups seem to emphasise one Person of the Godhead or one aspect of their work. They may focus on the Father or on the Holy Spirit or on Jesus and forget or almost ignore the other two Persons. Similarly, they may focus on our believing or faith as a personal relationship with God, and forget or almost ignore the importance of revelation through the written scriptures. As further examples, they may emphasise the eternal life and forget or almost ignore the alternative, the perishing in eternal death. Or they might emphasise Christ's second coming, forgetting or almost ignoring that he reigns in his kingdom today. I thought I would just mention this observation, to urge us to remember well each aspect of our lesson statement, so that our faith and our teaching is well rounded, and not distorted by focussing on some aspects while forgetting others.
God our Heavenly Father is Above All
The first four words of the Bible are, "In the beginning God..."(Gen 1:1). God is the First Cause and everything originates from him (although not all creatures of God remember and recognize this as they should). Paul says, "There is one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all"(Eph 4:6). That is one "sweeping statement" which is justified. There are no exceptions. God is above all. We should live our lives remembering that salient fact moment by moment.
Christ the Son of GodLives and Reigns Today
Christ died for the sins of the world, but then God raised him up. He was taken up into heaven and sat down at God's right hand (Acts 2:22-24,32-33,36). Jesus said in a vision shown to John, "I am he who lives, and was dead. Behold I am alive for evermore"(Rev 1:18). "I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne"(Rev 3:21). Jesus Christ is "King of kings and Lord of lords"(1Tm 6:15). He claims, "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me"(Mtt 28:18-20). Notice also in that passage that Christ shares the "name" of the Father and of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit of God Inspired the Bible
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God"(2Tm 3:16). "Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit"(2Pe 1:21). Jesus said to his apostles, "Whatever you shall bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven"(Mtt 18:18). They were told, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth"(Jhn 16:13). The Bible contains "all things that pertain to life and godliness"(1Pe 1:3). Through the Spirit inspired word, Christ is revealed to us.
The whole statement above should be reflected with equal emphasis in our faith, and in the church's teaching and preaching. Many religious groups seem to emphasise one Person of the Godhead or one aspect of their work. They may focus on the Father or on the Holy Spirit or on Jesus and forget or almost ignore the other two Persons. Similarly, they may focus on our believing or faith as a personal relationship with God, and forget or almost ignore the importance of revelation through the written scriptures. As further examples, they may emphasise the eternal life and forget or almost ignore the alternative, the perishing in eternal death. Or they might emphasise Christ's second coming, forgetting or almost ignoring that he reigns in his kingdom today. I thought I would just mention this observation, to urge us to remember well each aspect of our lesson statement, so that our faith and our teaching is well rounded, and not distorted by focussing on some aspects