TM

Bearing gods Image

fall 2013: Personal Study Guide Ed Stetzer General Editor Trevin Wax Managing Editor

the gospel project for students

personal study guide, Fall 2013 volume 2, number 1 PRODUCTION and MINISTRY TEAM Vice President, Church Resources: Eric Geiger General Editor: Ed Stetzer Managing Editor: Trevin Wax content editor: Andy McLean DIRECTOR, STUDENT MINISTRY PUBLISHING: Jeff Pratt DIRECTOR, student ministry: Ben Trueblood Send questions/comments to: Content Editor, The Gospel Project for Students Personal Study Guide, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0174, Or make comments on the Web at www.lifeway.com Send questions/comments to: Publishing Team Leader, The Gospel Project: Personal Study Guide, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0102; or make comments on the Web at www.lifeway.com. Printed in the United States of America

The Gospel Project for Students (ISSN 1939-0742; Item 005508013) is published quarterly by LifeWay Christian Resources, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234, Thom S. Rainer, President. 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources. For ordering or inquiries, visit www.lifeway.com or write LifeWay Church Resources Customer Service, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0113. For subscriptions or subscription address changes, e-mail subscribe@lifeway.com, fax (615) 251-5818, or write to the above address. For bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address, e-mail orderentry@lifeway.com, fax (615) 251-5933, or write to the above address. We believe that the Bible has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter and that all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. To review LifeWays doctrinal guideline, please visit www.lifeway.com/doctrinalguideline. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved. Photos: iStockphoto and Getty Images

TGP Personal Study Guide

SESSION 7

Jesus REconciles

ne of the Bibles most powerful stories of reconciliation is the story of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph, one of the two youngest sons of the patriarch Jacob, was sold into slavery by ten of his brothers because they were jealous of his relationship with their father. The brothers lied to their father Jacob, telling him Joseph had been killed by an animal (Gen. 37:31-33). After many long years of bad situation after bad situation, Joseph found himself in one of the highest positions in the world, advisor to the pharaoh. When Joseph was finally reunited with his brothers, reconciliation instead of revenge was the path he chose. Joseph recognized that God was at work guiding the circumstances he had been through in order to accomplish the salvation of his family when the time of famine came. Despite the evil done to Joseph by his brothers, God fulfilled a greater purpose: the salvation of Jacobs family and Josephs reconciliation with his brothers. This week we will see how reconciliation is a work of God wherein a relationship that had been destroyed is brought back together and rightfully restored. There is nothing more powerful than seeing ruined relationships restored by the power of God in the gospel of Christ. No matter how difficult it may be, God is able to reconcile even the worst damage done by human sin. Reconciliation does not just make for a powerful story; it is a powerful reality!

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Ready Your Heart

The Mystery of the Gospel

Colossians 1:15-20 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesall things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Think about your favorite mystery story. Whether you experienced that story snuggled up in bed reading a book, sitting on your couch watching TV, hanging with friends at the movie theater, or watching a live theatrical performance, you probably noticed plot and character structures that are common to the mystery genre. Many mysteries are set up like this: First you are introduced to several main characters. Soon thereafter, something strange or unexplainable happens. This causes the characters, and by extension the audience, to begin looking for clues. Finally, someone is able to piece together the clues and explain what occurred. In the best mysteries, this final aha! moment makes the entire story worthwhile. After discovering the resolution, you are able to go back in your mind and piece together all sorts of little clues and subtle hints along the way. As you think back through the early parts of the story, you realize that all of those little, and at times seemingly insignificant, details were in reality pointing toward this great ending. In the letter to the Colossians, Paul wanted to communicate the knowledge of Gods mysteryChrist (Col. 2:2). By understanding the gospel as a mystery that has been fully revealed, we can now go back and look at all of the details that point us to this truth. Many of these details are clearly laid out in Colossians 1. Here we see that Christ created everything, everything is held together by Christ, and everything is reconciled through Christ. In other words, everything that occurred in Scripture, everything that has occurred in history, and everything that is occurring in our world today ultimately points us toward the glorious mystery of the gospel. As believers, we know the end of the story, and it is our task to communicate this story to world.

Pause and Reflect

Why is it important to understand that Jesus has reconciled all things to Himself? What are some things in your life that has pointed you toward the gospel? How can you use life events to help you point others toward the gospel?

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Ready Your Heart

Reconciled to God
Colossians 1:21-23 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. Growing up in Texas, Ive been a lifelong Dallas Cowboy fan and Texas Longhorn fan. I root for the Horns on Saturdays and for Da Boys on Sundays. The past couple of seasons Ive found myself in a bit of a dilemma. You see, the Dallas Cowboys starting running back has been Demarco Murray. Murray played his college ball (not too long ago, I might add) for the Oklahoma Sooners. The same Sooners that are the biggest rivals against Texasand the team that I most actively root against. So heres the dilemma: How can I root for my Cowboys to do well when I naturally want to root against the Sooners? After discussing this with my friend who has similar allegiances, he gave me a bit of advice thats stuck with me. He said that with some players, you just have to hate them on Saturdays, but love them on Sundays. I took this message to heart. Even though I actively rooted against Demarco Murray many Saturdays, I now hope he puts the ball in the end zone every single Sunday. This one act of being drafted by my team completely shifted my mindset of this player. In a similar manner, our relationship with our Heavenly Father is completely shifted by our relationship with Christ. Notice that we were once alienated and hostile because of (our) evil actions (v.21). But, because of reconciliation through Christ, we are now presented holy, faultless, and blameless before Him (v.22). There is nothing Demarco Murray could have done on his own to make me root for him. But because he was picked by the Cowboys, he immediately gained a new fan. Likewise, there is nothing we can do on our own to shed our alienation and hostility toward God. But, because Christ is the ultimate reconciler, through Him we can have a relationship with our Holy Creator.

Pause and Reflect

How does Jesus reconcile believers to God? Why is this reconciliation necessary? How are we to respond to this wonderful truth of reconciliation?

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Ready Your Heart

Reconciled to Others
Colossians 1:27-2:3. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of Gods mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Did you know that you can get a direct and specific response from the White House on virtually any issue you may have in our country? All you have to do is go to petitions. whitehouse.gov, draft a new petition, and acquire 100,000 signatures in 30 days. Simple enough, right?Have you ever thought about why a response from the White House would require so many signatures? Why wouldnt just any one concern get a direct response? It goes back to the principle that there is strength in numbers. If every person in our country demanded a direct response for any little thing that comes to mind, the White House would get nothing done because they would be too busy answering goofy requests. But by filtering those concerns down to those that attract over 100,000 people, those concerns must be taken seriously. If that many people band together and want the same thing, then the White House believes that those people ought to at least be heard and responded to. This strength in numbers principle also applies to the church. Jesus doesnt save us simply to reconcile us to God. While we are definitely reconciled to God, we are also reconciled to other believers. This reconciliation takes place in the context of the church. Paul states quite clearly that he has become a servant for the church (v.25). Why is serving the church so important? The answer is because the church is able to make Gods message fully known (v.25). In other words, Paul realizes that he can make a much greater and longer lasting impact for Christ by being a part of the church. For these same reasons, we must love and commit ourselves to the church, so that we too may help make Gods message fully known!

Pause and Reflect

How does Jesus reconcile us to other believers? What role does the church play in this reconciliation? Why is it important to be committed to the church?

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Jesus reconciles...

Because of our sin, we fail to relate correctly to God and to each other, and the world is groaning under the weight of our rebellion. Through His work for us on the cross, Jesus Christ is restoring the world and reconciling us to God and to one another.

All things.
Taking into account the biblical storyline, we remember how the entire creation was profoundly affected by the sin of Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:1-24). Things changed. There was a divine curse pronounced upon the ground because of Adams sin. Because of sin, creation needs reconciliation too. Thats why Christ came to reconcile all things to God the Father and to Himself. Christs reconciling work is the only cure for the brokenness of nature and human nature. Just as humans are freed from sin, so also creation will be freed from the curse and reconciled as well.

Read Colossians 1:15-20.

 Why do you think Paul described all of Jesus qualifications before listing His accomplishments? In what ways does the reconciliation of all things to God depend on Christ being who He says He is?  How does Gods ultimate plan for the world affect the way you view the circumstances going on in your life right now?

Us to God.

The vertical nature of reconciliation focuses on the realm of our personal relationship with God. This is the heart of the good news because it involves our relationship status with God. In Christ we are no longer alienated from God. We have access to the Father through the Sons work of reconciliation on the cross.

Paul himself was an example of alienation from God. He persecuted Christians prior to his conversion to Christ (Acts 8:1-3; 9:1-9). He described himself without Christ as a blasphemer and a persecutor, a violent man (1 Tim. 1:13). But the alienation and hostility of Paul was no match for the life-changing love of the Risen Jesus.

Read Colossians 1:21-23

Christs work of reconciliation provides a stark contrast to the alienation, hostility, and depravity we had in our hearts toward God. In these three verses, we go from alienated and hostile to reconciled, holy, faultless, and blameless. What an astonishing contrast! The gospel produces a profound break with the past.

 Have you ever known someone hostile in attitude before knowing Christ who now is very different after having received Christ? What are some of the differences you noticed?  How has your own attitude, lifestyle, desires, and thoughts changed now that you are a Christian?  Do you believe in humanitys need to be reconciled to God? If so, how do we go about telling others how to be reconciled?

Us to one another
In addition to the vertical dimension of Christs reconciliation, there is a horizontal dimension as well. In other words, reconciliation brings us into right relationship with God and it also brings us into right relationship with each other.
To be rightly related to Christ is the basis for being rightly related to others. Christ has accomplished a new unity between factions of people who once could hardly tolerate each other.

 How does horizontal reconciliation with others flow from a vertical reconciliation with God?  How has reconciliation with Jesus impacted the way you interact with your parents, teachers, and siblings?

There is no greater testimony to the power of the gospel than for those who were separate and alienated to be reconciled and brought together in peace. In Colossians 1:20, we are told that Christ has made peace through the blood of His cross. Through the cross we are reconciled to God and to one another. It is because of Jesus that people from all walks of life and backgrounds, people who would not seemingly have much in common, can come together in unity as they experience the reconciling work of Christ.

Conclusion Reconciliation is powerful.

 Do the relationships in your life reflect the fact that you have been reconciled to Christ?  How important do you think it is to be actively involved in your church in light of Jesus reconciliation in your life?  Why is it important that we understand how grace preceded the giving of Gods law? What is the danger of thinking grace is what we earn with our law-keeping?

Encore

Jesus Reconciles Jesus reconciles...

1. all things (Col. 1:15-20). This passage gives us a glimpse of the universal, sweeping nature of Christs reconciliation. He reconciles the world to God. Before we take a look at the cosmic reconciliation described in this passage, lets see what we learn about Jesus. The apostle Paul gives us some profound statements about the person of Christ. He begins with the truth that Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God and that He is preeminent over all Gods creation. He is Lord of all. The apostle Paul affirms seven truths about the person of Christ. These seven truths give us confidence in the sufficiency of Christs work of reconciliation on our behalf: 1) Christ is the Image of God (image of the invisible God) 2) Christ is the Preeminent over Creation (firstborn over all creation) 3) Christ is Eternal (He is before all things) 4) Christ is Sovereign (by Him all things hold together) 5) Christ is Head of the Church (Head of the body) 6) Christ is Creator (He is the beginning) 7) Christ is Risen from the Dead (firstborn from the dead) These seven affirmations show that Christ is uniquely qualified to bring about reconciliation between God and humankind and the entire universe. No one else could do it. Jesus is the basis for reconciliation with God. The gospel is about the reconciliation of repentant human beings to God. But the implications of this reconciliation extend to all of creation. Gods forgiveness, given to us in Christ, leads to reconciliation in all kinds of things. All things doesnt mean that every human being will be saved. (Many reject Christ and His gospel and, in so doing, refuse to be reconciled to God.) It means that reconciliation and restoration will extend to all kinds of things, including nature, the environment, the universe. Nothing is beyond the redemptive accomplishment of Christ. 2. us to God (Col 1:21-23). Weve seen the cosmic focus of Christs work for us in reconciling all things to God. Watch now how the apostle Paul shifts his focus to the vertical nature of reconciliation: Christs work of reconciliation brings people into right relationship with God. The vertical nature of reconciliation focuses on the realm of our personal relationship with God. This is the heart of the good news because it involves our relationship status with God. Do you see how Paul described our state before coming to Christ? We were alienated and hostile toward God. Alienation and hostility are the opposite of reconciliation and restoration. Alienation from God is an awful state of being separate from God, estranged from Him, without Christ, and without hope in the world (cf. Eph. 2:12).
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Encore

Paul himself was an example of alienation from God. He persecuted Christians prior to his conversion to Christ (Acts 8:1-3; 9:1-9). He described himself without Christ as a blasphemer and a persecutor, a violent man (1 Tim. 1:13). But the alienation and hostility of Paul was no match for the life-changing love of the Risen Jesus. Christs work of reconciliation provides a stark contrast to the alienation, hostility, and depravity we had in our hearts toward God. In these three verses, we go from alienated and hostile to reconciled, holy, faultless, and blameless. What an astonishing contrast! The gospel produces a profound break with the past. In Christ we are no longer alienated from God. We have access to the Father through the Sons work of reconciliation on the cross. 3. us to one another (Col. 1:24-2:3). In addition to the vertical dimension of Christs reconciliation, there is a horizontal dimension as well. In other words, reconciliation brings us into right relationship with God and it also brings us into right relationship with each other. Christ has reconciled us to one another by His shed blood on the cross. We can see in this passage how God desires to make His glory known among the Gentiles. The separation and alienation between Jews and Gentiles is destroyed by the cross of Christ. Likewise, in Ephesians 2:13-14, Paul declares the dissolution of the barrier between Jew and Gentile in Christ: But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. Earlier in this study, we saw how God created us to relate rightly to one another. But sin has caused a break in our personal relationships. The beauty of the gospel is that reconciliation takes place on both the vertical and horizontal levels. To be correctly related to Christ is the basis for being correctly related to others. Christ has accomplished a new unity between factions of people who once could hardly tolerate each other. Today, our culture is saturated with people who place top priority on financial and material wealth and riches. But Christ offers us riches that money could never buy. In Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden (Col. 2:3). Christ makes us truly wealthy by reconciling us to one another by His wisdom and understanding. Conclusion Like Paul, our suffering and labor are not in vain. Weve been reconciled to one another by His blood. Why? So that we may labor together to take the good news of Gods reconciliation in Christ to everyone on earth. Together we are Christs ambassadors with the message of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:17-21), which means, among other things, that we share this message of reconciliation through the way we interact and deal with others around us. Because of this, it is good to ask yourself regularly, Am I making much of Jesus by being reconciled to others around me? Reconciliation is powerful. There is no greater testimony to the power of the gospel than for those who were separate and alienated to be reconciled and brought together in peace. It is because of Jesus that people from all walks of life and backgrounds, people who would not seemingly have much in common, can come together in unity as they experience the reconciling work of Christ.
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