hanks

Q3. (Ephesians 3:7-9) Why is Paul so careful to be humble about his call and apostleship? How can his example help us remain as humble servants? Anyone who sees Christ in His glory realizes his own sinfulness and uselessness. This is what we see in Paul, who followed Christ in humility, rejection and suffering. We will do well to follow his example. Paul was not proud and arrogant being rather wise and understanding. Those that are truly wise, like the Apostle Paul, will have the hallmark of genuine humility. We should note that the divine character is made up of holiness, love, humility, meekness, kindness and forgiveness. This we can only aim to reflect from our association with the Lord Jesus.

Q3. (3:17) How can Paul be so bold as to ask others to imitate him? Why are we so hesitant to do this? How does God use imitation in building disciples? Who is likely to imitate you? We know from Philippians 3:7-8 that Paul had put his faith in Christ and that he had a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus. Because of this I feel he was justified in asking others to imitate him. He was not asking that we should copy everything he did. In Philippians 3:12 he had stated he was not perfect. So he was not boasting. Some of us satisfy our own desires before thinking of others; we live a self-centred life and would therefore be reluctant to imitate Paul. Our churches can be involved in the creation of disciples; they can do this by having believers leading by example. I would be very honoured if there are any who imitate me; this would confirm that Jesus is working hard in my life, and being successful in getting rid of the rough edges, and I give Him all the glory.!

Q2. (Ephesians 3:6) Just what is the "mystery" that Paul is talking about? Why was it important to the Gentile Christians in Paul's day? The Gentiles are to be co-heirs with God

Q2. (3:14) What is it like to be called upwards by God? Have you ever experienced this? What causes God's call to become dim in our hearing? How can we renew our hearing of his call? What is the content or specifics of this message or summons or call? It was a fantastic time in my life

Q1. (Ephesians 3:2-5) Why is God's revelation to "his holy apostles and prophets" our authority for faith and practice? What is the danger of minimizing or straying from that revelation? What is the danger of superseding that revelation? What is the danger of denying that God reveals himself to us and to his church today? We know that the Bible is God

Q1. (3:13) How can the past get in the way of our quest to know Christ? What do you need to "forget" so that you may focus on Christ today and tomorrow? Is there forgiving you need to do so you can grow in Christ? We are not to dwell on our past. We are to repent and ask for forgiveness of our sins. We have all sinned and done things for which we are ashamed. However, by letting go of past guilt we can now focus on getting to know Jesus better and becoming more and more like Him. Our hope is in Christ. We have a glorious future, and can now live a life of faith and obedience knowing our sins have been forgiven. Fortunately I am at complete peace with my Lord and Saviour, having asked forgiveness for any people I might have offended and also having forgiven those who have offended me. And I know that by grace I have been forgiven.

Q4. (Ephesians 2:22) What is the significance that your congregation was made to be "a dwelling place for God in the Spirit"? What hinders that from being fully experienced? What can you do to help that become more fully experienced and appreciated? Since the dwelling place of our Lord Jesus, is the congregation itself, we have to be united in our love for each other and in our worship of our Heavenly Father. The quickest way to suppress Christ's love is to be friendly with only those people that we like. We have to be united, one body, in spite of differences in race, colour, nationality, culture, language, and temperament. All our man-made divisions will be swept away when our Saviour returns. Eventually Jesus will knock down all these barriers and we will be all unified in one family.

Q4. (3:8-10) What does it mean to "know" Christ? Does this mean to have faith, or to have a personal relationship? Is it possible to have a personal relationship with Christ without faith? Is it possible to have faith without a personal relationship? Where are you on your quest to know Christ? To know Christ is to have a deep personal relationship with Jesus, to have Him involved in our daily activities, and to always be aware of His presence. We definitely need to put all our trust in our Lord Jesus to have a personal relationship. Sometimes our relationship wanes, especially when we

Q3. (3:9) How does righteousness obtained through faith differ from righteousness obtained through law observance? How seriously does righteousness by law observance infect your congregation? Society's view of Christianity in general? Why is this concept of justification or righteousness by faith so difficult to grasp? Our righteousness only comes from God. No amount of law keeping, self-improvement, discipline, or religious effort can make us right with God. He exchanges our sin and various other shortcomings for His complete righteousness. The only way we can be made righteous is by faith, by putting our trust in Jesus Christ. The Bible says,

Q3. (Ephesians 2:17) What does it mean to have "access to the Father"? Jesus has removed the barrier, due to our sin, that existed between God and us. A state of peace now exists between God and believers, and we now have access at any time into the presence of God. This is in sharp contrast to the OT times when only the high priest could go into the Holy of Holies, the place of God's presence. And he could enter there on only one day of the year. It is such a blessing and privilege to think that we can through prayer have direct access to our Heavenly Father

Q3. (Ephesians 2:17) What does it mean to have "access to the Father"? Jesus has removed the barrier, due to our sin, that existed between God and us. A state of peace now exists between God and believers, and we now have access at any time into the presence of God. This is in sharp contrast to the OT times when only the high priest could go into the Holy of Holies, the place of God's presence. And he could enter there on only one day of the year. It is such a blessing and privilege to think that we can through prayer have direct access to our Heavenly Father

Q2. (Ephesians 2:14-15) In what sense did Jesus as Messiah "fulfil" the Mosaic Law? What is the significance of that for Jewish people? For us Gentiles? Jesus died to pay the penalty of the law that had been broken. He became a substitute for our sin and removed the barrier between God and man, giving us direct access to God. He thus completely satisfied the righteous claims of God. Now the law has nothing more to say to those who are

Q2. (3:2-6) Why isn't Paul merely neutral about his religious pedigree? Why does he consider it loss, dung, an obstacle? In what way could your religious background be an impediment to your faith? Paul realises that everything before he met Jesus, acted as a barrier to getting to know Jesus intimately. He had had to turn his back on the things he had always been taught to prize most highly. Ancestry, nationality, culture, prestige, education, religion, and personal attainments, these were all abandoned as grounds for boasting. Indeed, he counted them as dung or rubbish in order that he might gain Christ. I also have to be careful not to place any value to what I have done but to put all my faith in Jesus, knowing that He has done everything.

Q1. (Ephesians 2:11-12) Why does being out of touch with what it means to be "lost" impede our willingness to witness? In your own words, what is the spiritual condition of a friend or co-worker who doesn't know Christ? We need the Holy Spirit to help us to witness effectively, and being

Q1. (3:2-6) How does "confidence in the flesh" show up in your congregation? Have you ever struggled with it? Our salvation and Christian walk is dependent upon the grace of God, and because we live by grace, we attach no importance to confidence in the flesh. The

Q4. What exactly is faith? Can we take credit for having it? Can we be condemned for lacking it? Define "faith" in terms a 10-year-old could understand. Faith is essentially believing and receiving the Word of God, and what God has revealed; it is a trust in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ. Faith is the exact opposite of trusting in ourselves, we start believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. We come to Jesus and tell Him that we no longer depend on ourselves or our own good works any longer, and that we can never make ourselves righteous before God. It is an attitude of the heart that depends not at all on our own merit but entirely on God

Q3. According to Ephesians 2:10, what were we created to do? Why? (Matthew 5:16) What is the difference between these works and the works Paul discredits in verse 9? Through our union with Jesus Christ, we are a new creation (2Cor 5:17). We were not saved by good works; we were saved for good works. We do not work in order to be saved; we work because we are saved. In Matthew 5:16 we read that the reason we do good works is to let our light shine. People will then see our good works, and these will then glorify our Father in heaven. The good works we are expected to do are those that God has prepared us beforehand to do. It is our responsibility to find His will for us and to then obey it.

Q2. "Saved" has become Christian jargon. How can you "translate" this word into modern speech so people can understand what it really means and why they need it? In explaining the word saved, to unbelievers, we have to explain what they are being saved from. Each one of us is dead in sins, separated from God, and enslaved to this world. We are completely consumed with our desires. We must know that Jesus came to earth, that we might have life and have it more abundantly. We must also recognise that God is the source of real life, and not to know Him is to be dead. So we must be saved or rescued from death, spiritual death, and from alienation from God. We must also understand the dire situation in which we are in, we need to be rescued not only from our sins and spiritual death, from our rebellion against God, from our slavery to this world and to the temptations of the devil, but most importantly of all from the wrath of God. The only way we can be rescued is by the grace of God. It is not something we can attain by doing, but only by believing. We cannot do anything to earn or deserve this grace; we just reach out our hand and trust Jesus, the Son of God, to give us something that we don

Q1. Why is it so hard for us to understand grace? What commonly held life principle does it demolish? Translate the word "grace" into language a 10-year-old child would understand. Because of our self-centredness and selfishness, we always want to be in control. It

Q4. From what you've read in Philippians so far, what seems to be the Philippian church's chief problem? How does Paul's description of Timothy's character speak to this problem? How does Paul's call to honour men like Epaphroditus speak to this problem? Like most churches today, there were differences of opinion amongst members of its congregation, and this often led to arguments and strife. Most of the people were self-centred, except for Timothy who was unique in his unselfish care for the Philippians. There was no one else, besides Timothy, whom Paul could send to them with the same confidence. The believers had become so engrossed with the cares of this life that they had no time for the things which are of Christ Jesus. Otherwise the church seemed to be functioning well. When it comes to Epaphroditus, Paul speaks highly of him. He was a man who could work with others, and this is certainly of importance in Christian life and service. We also notice he was willing to do common or menial work. Many today are only interested in work that is public and pleasant.

Q3. (2:22) What is the significance of serving Jesus as a "slave" as opposed to serving him as a preference? What does it say about the quality of our service? Of our commitment? What is wrong with leaders who serve out of preference? What a privilege to serve our Lord Jesus in any capacity possible. We are also to do it gladly and at the best of our ability. When I think of how Jesus suffered and was humiliated on my behalf, I honestly feel that to serve Him is the least I can do. I don

Q2. (2:22) Who has come alongside you to teach you? My pastor has been most helpful in helping me understand the Word. Not only, through his Sunday sermons, but also during his weekly Bible studies. What potential leader in your church needs someone to come alongside them? I have not noticed any potential leader needing a spiritual mentor. Do you have a person or two that you are mentoring "as a son with a father" or "a daughter with a mother"? Yes, my youngest son.

Q1. (2:19-21) Why was Timothy's selfless concern so rare among church leaders? Rather than pointing the finger at others in your church, consider yourself. What things has Jesus had to deal with in your life that has helped you to become genuinely selfless and focused on the concerns of others? How has he refined you? (Of course, he is still at work in us!) Yes, the other church leaders were too preoccupied with their own personal needs. Paul mentions that there was no one else that he could send with the same confidence who would unselfishly care for the spiritual condition of the Philippians. Concerning my own life; I had to overcome a fear of rejection, and a complete lack of confidence. Although I

Q4. (Ephesians 2:6) What does it mean that we are seated with Christ in "the heavenly realms"? What does this say about God's grace? What does this say about our spiritual authority? How should this knowledge affect our prayers and our boldness? Wow! Besides being made alive, we have been raised up with Christ. Christ who dwells in us has given us a new, powerful, and unique life and position. And because of this we have a new set of values,

Q4. (2:17) You have gone through struggles and obstacles to your faith. If you were to look at your sufferings as a "drink offering" poured out before God, how does that honour God? How does that bring value to your struggles? If I understand the question properly; it would mean all the sacrifices and struggles that I endured, I did for God and He would consider them as an act of worship. Making my life worthwhile, in the end, and bringing glory to our Heavenly Father.