Cornerstone Class Outline for 3/17/19
·
Announcements,
praises and prayer requests—Dawn Eden
 |
| Purchase Mornings with Larry at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HNQKB1L |
o
Good morning!
§ It’s been two weeks since the last Cornerstone class
and I’m happy to say that since then we’ve only had one short-lived power
outage.
·
Yesterday I
finally got my chainsaw out and made firewood out of most of the fallen trees
and limbs
·
Next on the list
is getting a burn pile going for all the debris from the snowstorm
o
Two weeks ago we
decided to study the book of Esther next, after we’re done with 2
Thessalonians. We still have a couple of weeks of good stuff in 2 Thessalonians
so I’m fine with being in the present moment.
·
In the last class
we finished up with the end-times prophecy section in 2 Thes. 2.
o
Now Paul moves
into a lengthy section of seemingly miscellaneous, yet important, material that
precedes the final section dealing with idle and disruptive folks.
·
Let’s read 2
Thessalonians 2:13-17 NIV:
“13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers
and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and
through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
“16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
“15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
“16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
o
This section
could be divided into 3 parts :
§ Assurance of salvation
§ Exhortation to stay true to sound teaching
§ A prayer that God will encourage and strengthen the
Thessalonians.
·
QUESTIONS on 2
Thes. 2:13-17
o
In verse 13, what
do you think the word “firstfruits” means?
§ Dawn Eden mentioned that in the OT, firstfruits represented
the best offerings and sacrifices. Likewise, Christians are God’s best. We are
living sacrifices.
§ It may refer specifically to the young Thessalonian
church
·
They were the
first Christians in Thessalonica.
§ Also, the first-century church as a whole could be
considered young enough to be called firstfruits.
§ The KJV and other versions use the phrase “from the
beginning” instead of firstfruits.
·
Greek manuscripts
differ in the word used for this term, hence the two different meanings
o
What aspects of
verse 13 do you think apply to all Christians?
§ We are “loved by the Lord.”
§ We are “saved through the sanctifying work of the
Spirit and through belief in the truth.”
o
What type of
“sanctifying work” is being done in verse 13?
§ Sanctify means to be set apart
§ This likely refers to positional sanctification that
occurs at conversion.
§ A new believer is set apart for God’s purposes as soon
as they are saved. We belong to God, we are bought with a price.
o
In verse 14,
believers are called to salvation that they “might share in the glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ.” How will we share in His glory?
§ Could be that because we are joint heirs with Christ,
we share in His glory.
§ Could be referring to the process of sanctification
where we are transformed from glory to glory. 2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV says, “And
we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being
transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the
Lord, who is the Spirit.”
§ Also could be referring to our final glorification
when we receive our resurrected bodies. (Romans 8:30)
o
In verse 15 Paul
tells the Thessalonians to stand firm and hold fast to his written and verbal
teachings. How do we stand firm and hold fast today?
§ We have God’s Word that we can stand firm on.
§ We can take a solid hold on the truths in God’s Word.
o
Based on verse
16, how has the Father and the Son given you “eternal encouragement and good
hope….”?
§ I’m encouraged now and forever because I will spend
eternity with Jesus.
§ He gives me a heart of good hope because I’m saved and
going to heaven.
o
In verse 17, Paul
prays that the Father and Son “encourage your hearts and strengthen you in
every good deed and word.” How does God strengthen us “in every good deed and
word.”?
§ Our good deeds are done in God’s strength, not our own
strength
§ The good words we speak are done in God’s strength.
·
Application/Conclusion
·
Closing prayer
No comments:
Post a Comment