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HOME GROUP BIBLE STUDY SERIES
Purpose
This Bible Study series was created to assist those meeting in homes to come to a clearer understanding of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God so together they might grow as obedient disciples into the stature of the fullness of Jesus Christ.
The group leader is encouraged to facilitate the participation of all in attendance by having group members read, discuss, consider, and review together the key concepts of each particular lesson.
Portions of the lesson that are italicized are excerpts from the writing of Robert B. Thompson, which can be found in the Library of Writings.
LESSON #9 The Power of His Resurrection
Objectives
At the end of this lesson the participants will be able to:
1. Define the rest of God in practical terms.
2. Characterize the role our will plays in entering God’s rest.
3. Describe why God needs a resting place.
Read Together
Hebrews 4:10
Discuss Together
How can we define the rest of God in simple terms?
Consider Together
When we are referring to the rest of God we are not including the idea of a solution for tiredness. God is never tired. He did not sit on the Mercy Seat of the Tabernacle. He dwelled between the wings of the cherubim.
The idea is not one of tiredness but of completion. God completed all His works in six days. Then He ceased from working. In the same manner we are to cease from seeking to accomplish our own will. We are to strive to enter that completed work.
A human being has two choices. He can plan his own life and pursue his own objectives, whether they are short-term or long-term. Or he can give his full attention to discovering God’s plan for his life, presenting his body a living sacrifice in order to prove God’s will.
Review Together
Concerning the rest of God what two choices do we have?
Discuss Together
What role does our will have in entering the rest of God?
Consider Together
Although we are a part of the foreordained plan of God, the decisions are our own, and God respects them. He will not have us become puppets. A portion of light is given to each one of us, depending on our assigned role in the Kingdom, according to that which has been prepared for us to possess and accomplish.
If we walk in that light, Christ will be formed in us. Each day it will be increasingly true of us that we delight to do God’s will. Now we are living by the power of His resurrection. Now we are in the rest of God.
But if our self-will prevails and we save our life, it will be only to lose it. For we will not be in the rest of God. We will die in the wilderness of disobedience and unbelief. The choice is ours, and it must be made today. There is no yesterday or tomorrow in the plan of salvation. Today is always the day of salvation.
We make our choice to seek God’s perfect will now—today. Tomorrow may be too late. When people continue to resist and complain God becomes angry. Then He declares on oath that they shall not enter His rest.
It always is God’s rest, His work completed from the beginning of the world, that is the issue.
Review Together
What danger is there in preserving our self-will?
Read Together
Acts 7:49
Discuss Together
Why does God need a resting place?
Consider Together
Now, why does God need a resting place? It is because His creation is in rebellion. Angels of the highest order have rebelled against God. These angels work unceasingly to create rebellion both in the world and in the Christian churches. How many people do you know, in the world or in the churches, who have as their highest goal the doing of God’s will?
Until our highest goal is that of doing God’s will, we are not suitable as a resting place for Him. In fact, we are rebellious creatures. This is as true of Christians as it is non-Christians.
The reason there are gifts and ministries in the Body of Christ is that a resting place for God might be created.
Review Together
What makes us a suitable resting place for God?
Lesson Summary
We have been saved through the blood atonement. We have received the Holy Spirit. What is next in the program of salvation?
After salvation and receiving the Holy Spirit we are to enter the process of the crucifixion of the first, adamic personality, and the forming of Christ in us. Christ Himself is the Resurrection and eternal Life, and so the forming of Christ in us is equivalent to the forming of the resurrection and eternal life in us. This is the rest of God, the objective spoken of in the Book of Hebrews.
Recommended Future Reading
For additional information on this topic please click on the underlined hyperlinks and open the following titles:
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