September 24, 2015 Bible Study — The Mystery of Christ

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 24:1-2

    The wicked may seem like they have everything they want, but they are constantly stirring up trouble and plotting violence. It is sometimes hard to remember that the “nice” things such people have do not offset the sense of self=loathing we would have if we acted like they do.

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Psalm 68:1-18

    The wicked fear God and His presence drives them away, but the godly rejoice in His presence. God is father to the fatherless and a defender to widows. The powerless turn to Him for justice, and He grants it to them. God will turn aside a mighty army with a horde of those with no military skills. They will flee leaving behind their wealth for those they thought to oppress. Let us praise God for His mighty acts.

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Ephesians 3

    We, as people, constantly want to separate ourselves into groups. Those who are “inside”, or us, separated from those who are on the “outside”, or them. Paul points out the great mystery of the Gospel. God has declared that these two designation no longer have any meaning. He sent Christ for the purpose of uniting all people into one body (and by body Paul does not mean group, he genuinely means a body composed of many people, just as our bodies are composed of many cells). God intends for the Church, the Assembly of believers, to demonstrate this new way of being. God has called us to demonstrate that the Gospel message is for all people, not matter what their heritage. In God’s plan as revealed through Christ, there are no Jews and Gentiles, there are no Brahmans and Untouchables, there are no Blacks, Whites, Asians. In God’s plan there are only people, who need to accept God’s love and grace.

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Isaiah 43:14-45:10

    Here Isaiah prophesied what Paul said in the Ephesians passage. God declared through Isaiah that He was going to do a new thing. God has chosen a people for Himself, that people is composed of those who proudly declare that they are His and follow His commands. God will pour out His Spirit on those people who will proudly proclaim themselves as belonging to Him, those who take the name of Israel as their own.
    I was going to stop there, but I really have to comment on the end of this passage. What a sad day we have come to when people believe that they have the understanding to tell their Creator, “Stop, you are doing it wrong!” We live in a society where children have sued their parents for giving them birth…and there are those who think they are right to have done so. God is our Creator and He has made us the way we are for a purpose. Let us recognize that our physical flaws are not a mistake, they are there to serve God’s purpose.