Your Life in Christ (Paperback)

Chapter One

You are a special person.

You are special because of God. God says you are valuable to him. He genuinely cares about you and what happens to you.

In this chapter, you will investigate four statements of God's concern for you:

* God created you. * God knows you. * God loves you. * God made you part of his family.

GOD CREATED YOU

1. Genesis is the book of beginnings. Chapter 1 tells us that God created the universe. Read Genesis 1:1-5. List at least three facts concerning the creation.

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2. How did God create the world? Read Hebrews 11:3

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3. How should you respond to God's creation? Revelation 4:11

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4. Why did God create you? Isaiah 43:7 _____________________________________________________________________

5. The dignity God gave man is shown by man's uniqueness, his authority, and his purpose. List some facts from Genesis 1:26-28 that indicate:

a. The uniqueness of man ____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

b. The position or authority of man _________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

c. The purpose of man _______________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

GOD KNOWS YOU

6. In Psalm 139:1-6 David mentions several areas of his life which God has "searched and known." List at least four of them. Then place a check mark by the areas God knows about your life.

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7. How did David respond as he realized how completely God knew him? Psalm 139:23-24

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8. What does Jesus reveal about God's detailed interest in you? Matthew 10:29-31

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GOD LOVES YOU

9. What was God's greatest demonstration of his love? 1 John 4:9-10

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(Manifest means to show or make apparent; propitiation or expiation means a payment that restores favor.)

GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD ...

WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM

SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE DEATH->LIFE

HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON

10. Study John 3:16 in relationship to the illustration above.

a. What did God's love cause him to do?

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b. What does it mean that God "gave" his Son?

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c. How can a person receive eternal life?

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11. In John 10:9-16, Jesus compares his love and concern to the love and concern of a shepherd. According to this passage, what are some of the things he wants to give you?

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12. Which items that you listed in question 11 are most important to you?

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Take a moment to pray. Thank God for all the things you listed in question 11. Specifically remember those which mean the most to you. Praise him that these things are given to you because of Jesus, and that you do not earn them by your actions.

GOD MADE YOU PART OF HIS FAMILY

13. How did Jesus teach his disciples to address God? Matthew 6:9

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14. Is it true that God is everyone's Father? Why or why not? John 8:42-44

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15. How is one born into God's family? John 1:12-13

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"The importance of the assurance of faith lies in the fact that, childlike, I cannot possibly love or serve God if I do not know whether he loves and acknowledges me as his child." -ANDREW MURRAY

16. List some of the advantages of being a true child of God from Romans 8:15-17.

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(Abba is a personal name for father.)

17. State briefly how you know God is your Father.

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It is important for you as a Christian to be assured that God is your Father and that you have eternal life. Since feelings change, this assurance must ultimately depend on the word of God. "I write these things to you who believe ... that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13).

Below are three verses that have helped many Christians gain this assurance. You may want to memorize the verse which helps you most in this area.

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." -JOHN 5:24

"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." -1 JOHN 5:11-12

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will go in and eat with him, and he with me." -REVELATION 3:20

Remember These Points:

* God created you for his own purpose and his glory. He gave you dignity by shaping you after his own likeness.

* God considers you to be of great value. He takes personal interest in knowing you completely.

* He loves you so intensely that he sent his Son to die for you on the cross. This demonstration of his love shows he wants to give you an eternal and abundant life.

* When God gave you this life in Jesus Christ, you were spiritually born into God's family. He is your Father. You are his child.

Chapter Two

Man is incapable of fully understanding God. God is holy and man is sinful. To bridge the gap between God and man, God took the form of a man in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is "the image of the invisible God.... For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him" (Colossians 1:15,19).

To be the complete expression of God, Christ had to be God. To be seen and understood by man, he had to be human. Jesus Christ has a dual nature-he is the God-man.

In order to begin understanding Jesus Christ, it is necessary to explore his deity and his humanity.

THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST

Some speak of Jesus Christ as a great man. To some he was the founder of a new religion. Others consider him a prophet. But Jesus himself claimed that he was God. If this claim were not true, he could not be called even a good man, but would be an imposter and a liar.

The writer of Hebrews discusses Christ's deity in chapter 1. Read this chapter before answering questions 1-4.

1. Jesus' superiority to the angels is shown by:

Verses 4-5 ________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

Verse 6 ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

Verses 13-14 ______________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

2. Look again at Hebrews 1:8-12. In the blank next to each statement below, write the number of the verse that brings out the truth stated.

Jesus is the Creator_______________________ Jesus is unchangeable______________________ Jesus is eternal___________________________ Jesus is righteous_________________________

3. What is one fact about Jesus mentioned in Hebrews 1:3 that enables him to reveal God? (There is more than one fact given in this verse.)

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4. How does God address Jesus in Hebrews 1:8?

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In Hebrews 1:10? __________________________________________________

5. What did Jesus claim for himself? John 10:28-30

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6. While on earth, Jesus performed many miracles which clearly demonstrated his divine power. From the following verses in Matthew 8, list the ways Jesus showed supernatural power.

Verse 3 ___________________________________________________________

Verses 6,13 _______________________________________________________

Verses 16-17 ______________________________________________________

Verses 23-27 ______________________________________________________

7. What did Jesus do in John 11:39-44 that revealed his unique power?

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8. After observing Jesus' life, power, and preaching, what did Peter conclude about him? Matthew 16:13-16

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9. The chart on pages 14-15 illustrates how Jesus fulfilled prophecy. How do the verses in this chart influence your concept of who Jesus is?

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10. Review questions 1-9. Give three reasons why you believe Jesus Christ is God.

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THE HUMANITY OF JESUS CHRIST

11. How is Jesus' humanity seen in the following situations?

John 4:6___________________________________________________________ John 4:7___________________________________________________________

John 11:35_________________________________________________________

12. Matthew 4:1-11 is the account of a series of temptations Jesus faced.

a. In each of his three answers to Satan, Jesus used the same phrase.

What is it?________________________________________________________

What does it mean?_________________________________________________

b. Draw lines to connect the verses in Matthew 4 with the corresponding verses in Deuteronomy.

Matthew 4:4 Deuteronomy 6:13 Matthew 4:7 Deuteronomy 6:16 Matthew 4:10 Deuteronomy 8:3

c. What is one temptation you often face?

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d. How can you follow Jesus' example and arm yourself against this temptation?

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Take time right now to pray:

* Thank God that he understands what it is to be tempted.

* Ask him for help to overcome this temptation.

* When you fail, be sure to claim his promise: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

* Thank him for his mercy.

13. What has Jesus experienced that is common to man? Hebrews 2:10

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14. How does Jesus address believers? Why isn't he ashamed to address them this way? Hebrews 2:11

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15. What are some results of Jesus becoming a man? Hebrews 2:14-15

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Remember These Points:

* Jesus Christ is the perfect image of God. As God, he has authority over the earth.

* Jesus was human, too. Many of his experiences were similar to those you have today. He suffered and was tempted. Though he never yielded, this allows him to understand when you are tempted. When you fail, he forgives as you confess your sins to him.

Chapter Three

Many have heard about the last events of Jesus' sinless life on earth. He was condemned as a common criminal, hung from a cross until dead, and three days later he rose from the dead. But few people understand the meaning of these events.

In this chapter, you will explore Jesus' life, his death, and his resurrection.

THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST

About 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ was born in the obscure town of Bethlehem. While Jesus was an infant, Joseph and Mary took him into Egypt to escape the wrath of an irate king, Herod the Great. Then, while he was still a young child, they moved to Nazareth of Galilee.

1. When the angel announced his birth, what purpose did he give for Jesus coming into the world? Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:31-33

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2. In what ways did Jesus develop as a youth? Luke 2:52

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3. What are some activities of Jesus' public ministry? Matthew 4:23

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4. What was his purpose in selecting the twelve apostles? Mark 3:14

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5. What characterized Jesus' leadership? Luke 22:25-27

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How can you follow Jesus' example?_________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

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This study booklet merely touches on the events of Jesus' life. At the end of the Gospel of John we read, "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written" (John 21:25). Some of the more familiar events of Jesus' life are presented in the illustration on page 20. THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST

6. What did Jesus predict would happen to him? Matthew 16:21

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7. What kind of death did Jesus suffer? Matthew 27:35

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With what kind of men did he die? Matthew 27:38

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8. Did Jesus go to the cross voluntarily? Explain your answer. John 10:17-18

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9. What is man's condition apart from Christ? John 3:18

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