Bible Study for Life Sample Lesson
1 Peter Lesson #1
Good Questions Have Small Groups Talking
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1 Peter 1.1 - 12
OPEN
Let’s each share your name and one thing you look
forward to about heaven.
DIG
1.
Anyone have a study Bible? Look at the
introduction to 1 Peter. What can we expect as we study this book
together?
Persecution can cause either growth or bitterness
in the Christian life. It’s our response that determines the result.
In his first letter, Peter encourages believers
struggling with persecution to conduct themselves courageously for the
Person and program of Christ. They must keep both their character and
conduct above reproach. Having been born again to a living hope, they are
to imitate the Holy One who has called them. The fruit of that character
will result in conduct rooted in honor and submission: citizens toward
government; servants toward masters; wives toward husbands; husbands
toward wives; and Christians toward one another.
Only after Peter explains the meaning of submission
does he deal with the difficult area of suffering. Persecuted Christians
are not to “think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try
you, as though some strange thing happened to you” (4:12). Instead they
are to rejoice as partakers of the suffering of Christ. In fact, “let
those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in
doing good, as to a faithful Creator” (4:19). Only those who joyfully
submit their lives to the good hand of God can manage such a supernatural
response to a sometimes painful life.
Peter wrote his letter to Christians in the Black
Sea coastal area. Evidently they were facing severe suffering and
persecution because of their faith. Peter wanted them to know that they
shouldn’t be surprised or dismayed if they faced opposition and
persecution, for Jesus Himself certainly faced both. Indeed, believers
should feel hope and joy whenever God asks them to share with Jesus in His
suffering: “rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings,
that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy”
(4:13). — Charles F. Stanley, The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version
(Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles, 2005), 1 Pe.
2.
When was this letter written?
3.
What do you know about Peter?
Peter was a successful businessman and a natural
leader. He was enthusiastic and impulsive, quick to speak and quick to
act. While driven by the best of motives, Peter was not always wise in
what he said and did. Yet, Peter was open to God and teachable. He was the
acknowledged leader of the disciples and of the earliest church, and the
man God chose to open the door of the gospel to Jews and Gentiles alike.
We truly have much to learn from Simon Peter.
•
Peter reminds us that men who are willing
to step out and take risks have great value in God’s kingdom. Men who are
willing to put themselves on the line and who will lead by example are at
a premium today as in the first century.
•
Peter challenges those who come to Christ
later in life. Peter was mature and a successful businessman when called
to follow Jesus. Many like Peter today seek second careers in ministry.
•
Peter encourages us not to expect too much
from our leaders. Peter was a man with flaws as great as his strengths.
Yet his commitment to Christ shines through. Our leaders, too, will be
imperfect. We need to encourage them, not judge them or gossip about their
flaws.
•
Peter alerts us to the dangers of too much
self-confidence. None of us is immune to temptations or to failure. None
of us is so strong that we can follow Jesus in our own strength.
•
Peter encourages us to believe in growth
and change. Peter made mistakes, but he increasingly displayed a teachable
spirit and a desire better to carry out God’s will. And Peter matured! In
this, Peter is an encouragement to all.
•
Peter focuses our attention on trust in
Christ and empowerment by His Spirit as the secret of spiritual
accomplishment. Peter’s natural gifts were great, but they were not
enough. When Peter kept his eyes on Christ and relied on the Spirit, He
did his greatest work for the Lord.
Larry Richards, Every Man in the Bible (Nashville:
T. Nelson, 1999), 176–177.
4.
Verse 1. Who was the recipient of this
letter? What was life like for them?
Peter encourages his readers to endure suffering
and persecution (1:6–7; 2:18–20; 3:9, 13–17; 4:1–4, 12–19; 5:9) by giving
themselves entirely to God (4:19). They are to remain faithful in times of
distress, knowing that God will vindicate them and that they will
certainly enjoy the salvation that the Lord has promised. The death and
resurrection of Christ stand as the paradigm for the lives of believers.
Just as Christ suffered and then entered into glory, so too his followers
will suffer before being exalted.
The letter is addressed to Christians dispersed in
“Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1:1), an area north of
the Taurus Mountains in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey); see map above.
These provinces were ethnically (and at times linguistically) diverse, yet
all these territories had been impacted by Greco-Roman culture and were
firmly under Roman control from the mid-first century B.C. The order in
which the areas are listed probably designates the order in which the
courier (Silvanus, see 5:12) would carry the letter to its intended
readership.
Most scholars are convinced that the recipients of
1 Peter were primarily Gentiles. The reference to their “former ignorance”
(1:14) and “the futile ways inherited from your forefathers” (1:18)
suggests a pagan past that would not fit with Jewish readers. Further, the
former lifestyle of the readers (4:3–4) fits with Gentiles rather than
Jews. But undoubtedly there were also some Jewish Christians in these
churches, for Jewish residents of “Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia” were
present at Pentecost and heard the gospel at that early date (Acts 2:9;
see note on Acts 9:19b–20). Though the recipients may have been literally
“exiles” (1 Pet. 1:1, 17; 2:11), it is more likely that Peter speaks
figuratively here: they are spiritual exiles awaiting their heavenly
inheritance.
In the past, many scholars detected an empire-wide
persecution of Christians in 1 Peter, whether under Nero (A.D. 54–68),
Domitian (81–96), or Trajan (98–117), and even used this argument to deny
that Peter wrote the letter by specifically placing 1 Peter in the reign
of either Domitian or Trajan. However, the evidence is lacking for an
official government policy against Christians in the reign of all these
emperors. Instead, there were spasmodic and general outbursts against
Christians during the first century. Nero’s persecution of Christians
after the great fire in Rome (A.D. 64) did not launch official empire-wide
persecution of all Christians; nor does 1 Peter reflect an official policy
against Christians. Also, an empire-wide decree against Christians is not
necessitated by Peter’s writing about the need to respond when asked about
one’s faith (3:15), the charges brought against Christians (4:14–16), or
the reference to believers suffering worldwide (5:9). The questions and
charges brought against Christians that Peter mentions in 3:15 and 4:14–16
were typical of the everyday questions believers would encounter because
of their faith. In some instances, Roman authorities punished Christians,
but even in these cases it was a local and restricted response. The
reference to believers suffering throughout the world (5:9) does not
signal that the Roman Empire had passed a decree against the Christian
faith. This verse simply reveals that the Christian faith was under threat
in the entire Greco-Roman world. Indeed, 1 Peter says nothing about
Christians suffering physically for their faith. The focus is on the
verbal abuse and discrimination they receive because of their Christian
commitment (4:3–4). Of course, verbal abuse easily leads to physical
mistreatment, and it is possible that some of the believers to whom Peter
wrote were suffering physical abuse for their faith as well (cf. 2:18–20).
— Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study
Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2402–2403.
5.
Locate these recipients on a map.
6.
Verse 1 describes the recipients as exiles
or strangers. What does it mean for us? What does it mean that we are
exiles and strangers?
The idea of “stranger” referring to one who is
displaced, Peter could be addressing the Jewish Christians who were
dispersed—as well as speaking to any Christian feeling displaced or lost.
This side of heaven, we’re part of an empire in
which we don’t fit, part of a system with which we can’t agree. This is
why Peter’s words are as needful for us now as they were for the early
church. — Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s
Application Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003),
1542–1543.
7.
Peter calls himself an apostle. What
exactly is an apostle?
What does the word ‘apostle’ mean? It refers to a
representative. An apostle was a messenger. The twelve disciples, plus
Paul, are called apostles. Also there was a much larger group of
representatives of the Lord, like Barnabas, who were called apostles too
(see Acts 14:14)—perhaps they were apostles with a small ‘a’. However,
Jesus is the supreme apostle. He was the one sent from heaven (Hebrews
3:1–3). He is ‘the one from whom all other apostleships flow’. But does
this mean that we can have apostles today? Certainly not. I find it very
difficult to understand how certain groups claim to have apostolic
oversight in this twentieth century when the apostles (and their doctrine)
were foundational to the faith (Ephesians 2:20; 3:4–5), and it is clearly
stated that each apostle had seen the Lord with his own eyes (Acts
1:21–22). In addition to the twelve we must remember that Paul also saw
the risen Lord (1 Corinthians 9:1). — Michael Bentley, Living for Christ in a Pagan World: 1 And 2 Peter Simply Explained,
Welwyn Commentary Series (Darlington, England: Evangelical Press,
1990), 16.
8.
Verse 1. Elect is a controversial word.
What exactly does the word itself mean?
Why, then, does Peter call these Christians ‘God’s
elect’, if they were not Jews? He calls them that because all true
Christians have been ‘chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father’ (1:2). Peter, the proud Jew, had had to learn a very hard lesson.
When he went to Cornelius’ house in Joppa he had a vision bidding him eat
all kinds of food which were not ‘kosher’. (Kosher is the term used to
describe food which is fit to be eaten by Jews—the foods described in
Leviticus 11.) That day God taught him that in Christ all the blessings of
God’s people have been granted to everyone who comes to God through faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. All who repent of their sins and
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are saved and are part of God’s elect. —
Michael Bentley, Living for Christ
in a Pagan World: 1 And 2 Peter Simply Explained, Welwyn Commentary Series
(Darlington, England: Evangelical Press, 1990), 19.
9.
Why do you suppose Peter starts this letter
to these people at this time with this controversial word?
It happens again and again in the New Testament
that the true greatness of a passage lies not only on the surface and in
what is actually said, but in the ideas and the convictions which lie
behind it. That is particularly so here.
It is clear that this letter was written to people
who were Gentiles. They have been released from the futile way of life
which they had learned from their fathers (1 Pet 1:18). Those who were
once not a people had become nothing less than the people of God (1 Pet
2:10). In previous times they had walked after the will and the lusts of
the Gentiles (1 Pet 4:3). But the outstanding thing about this passage is
that it takes words and conceptions which had originally applied only to
the Jews, the Chosen Nation, and applies them to the Gentiles, who had
once been believed to be outside the mercy of God. Once it had been said
that “God created the Gentiles to be fuel for the fires of Hell.” Once it
had been said that, just as the best of the snakes must be crushed, so
even the best of the Gentiles must be destroyed. Once it had been said
that God loved only Israel of all nations upon the earth. But now the
mercy, the privileges, and the grace of God have gone out to all the earth
and to all men, even to those who could never have expected them.
(i) Peter calls the people to whom he writes the
elect, God’s Chosen People, Once that had been a title which belonged to
Israel alone: “You are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your
God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, out of all the
peoples that are on the face of the earth” (Deut 7:6; compare Deut 14:2).
The prophet speaks of “Israel, my chosen” (Isa 45:4). The Psalmist speaks
of “the sons of Jacob, his chosen ones” (Ps 105:6; Ps 105:43). — Barclay’s
Daily Study Bible (NT).
10.
Rather than fighting about election, how
should it make us feel?
The Christian is chosen according to the
foreknowledge of God. C. E. B. Cranfield has a fine comment on this
phrase: “If all our attention is concentrated on the hostility or
indifference of the world or the exiguousness of our own progress in the
Christian life, we may well be discouraged. At such times we need to be
reminded that our election is according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father. The Church is not just a human organization—though, of course, it
is that. Its origin lies, not in the will of the flesh, in the idealism of
men, in human aspirations and plans, but in the eternal purpose of God.”
When we are discouraged we may well remind ourselves that the Christian
Church came into being according to the purpose and plan of God and, if it
is true to him, it can never ultimately fail. —
Barclay’s Daily Study Bible
(NT).
11.
Verse 4. How could heaven encourage them?
How would heaven encourage us?
We tend to think of Heaven as someone playing a
harp on a puffy cloud somewhere. We say that people there are at rest. It
doesn’t sound like they are having a lot of fun. Someone told me once,
“When I think of Heaven, I kind of get depressed.”
A Greek Philosopher named Aristides, who was not a
believer, described Christians at a funeral in 125 AD: “This religion is
successful because if any righteous man among the Christians passes from
this world, they rejoice and offer thanks to God and they escort his body
with songs and thanksgiving as if he were setting out from this place to
eternity.”
The early church saw death as a graduation—a time
of celebration and joy. That is how death was perceived by the early
church. It was visible, even to those who were not followers of Christ.
Some people feel more at home in the country
whereas others gravitate more towards large cities.
I find it interesting that the Bible is depicted as both a city and
a country – it’s the best of both worlds. — Brandon Park, After Life
12.
Is there any danger in thinking too much of
heaven? Perhaps you have heard the saying that some people have so many
thoughts of heaven they are not earthly good. Is this a danger?
It is since Christians have largely ceased to think
of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. — C. S.
LEWIS
Over the years, a number of people have told me,
“We shouldn’t think about Heaven. We should just think about Jesus.”
This viewpoint sounds spiritual, doesn’t it? But it
is based on wrong assumptions, and it is clearly contradicted by
Scripture.
Colossians 3:1-2 is a direct command to set our
hearts and minds on Heaven. We set our minds on Heaven because we love
Jesus Christ, and Heaven is where he now resides. To long for Heaven is to
long for Christ. To long for Christ is to long for Heaven, for that is
where we will be with him. That’s why God’s people are “longing for a
better country” (Hebrews 11:16).
In Colossians 3:1, the Greek word translated “set
your hearts on” is zeteo, which “denotes man’s general philosophical
search or quest.” The same word is used in the Gospels to describe how
“the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10,
emphasis added). Zeteo is also used to describe how a shepherd looks for
his lost sheep (Matthew 18:12), a woman searches for a lost coin (Luke
15:8), and a merchant searches for fine pearls (Matthew 13:45). It is a
diligent, active, single-minded pursuit. Thus, we can understand Paul’s
admonition in Colossians 3:1 as follows: “Diligently, actively,
single-mindedly pursue the things above”—in a word, Heaven.
The verb zeteo is in the present tense, suggesting
an ongoing process. “Keep seeking Heaven.” Don’t just have a conversation,
read a book, or listen to a sermon and feel as if you’ve fulfilled the
command. If you’re going to spend the next lifetime living in Heaven, why
not spend this lifetime seeking Heaven so you can eagerly anticipate and
prepare for it? — Randy Alcorn, 50
Days of Heaven: Reflections That Bring Eternity to Light (Carol
Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2006).
13.
Does thinking of heaven come naturally for
you? Should it?
The command, and its restatement, implies there is
nothing automatic about setting our minds on Heaven. In fact, most
commands assume a resistance to obeying them, which sets up the necessity
for the command. We are told to avoid sexual immorality because it is our
tendency. We are not told to avoid jumping off buildings because normally
we don’t battle such a temptation. Every day, the command to think about
Heaven is under attack in a hundred different ways. Everything militates
against thinking about Heaven. Our minds are set so resolutely on Earth
that we are unaccustomed to heavenly thinking. So we must work at it.
What have you been doing daily to set your mind on
things above, to seek Heaven? What should you do differently?
Perhaps you’re afraid of becoming “so heavenly
minded that you’re of no earthly good.” Relax—you have nothing to worry
about! On the contrary, many of us are so earthly minded we are of no
heavenly or earthly good. As C. S. Lewis observed,
If you read history you will find that the
Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought
most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion
of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the
English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on
Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is
since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they
have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth
“thrown in”: aim at earth and you will get neither.
We need a generation of heavenly minded people who
see human beings and the earth itself not simply as they are, but as God
intends them to be. Such people will pass on a heritage to their children
far more valuable than any inheritance.
We must begin by reasoning from God’s revealed
truth. But such reasoning will require us to use our Scripture-enhanced
imaginations. As a nonfiction writer and Bible teacher, I start by seeing
what Scripture actually says. As a novelist, I take that revelation and
add to it the vital ingredient of imagination.
In the words of Francis Schaeffer, “The Christian
is the really free man—he is free to have imagination. This too is our
heritage. The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the
stars.”
Schaeffer always started with God’s revealed truth.
But he exhorted us to let that truth fuel our imagination. Imagination
should not fly away from the truth but upon it.
You may be dealing with great pain and loss, yet
Jesus says, “Be of good cheer” ( John 16:33, NKJV). Why? Because the new
house is nearly ready for you. Moving day is coming. The dark winter is
about to be magically transformed into spring. One day soon you will be
home—for the first time.
Until then, I encourage you to find joy and hope as
you meditate on the truth about Heaven revealed in the Bible. — Randy
Alcorn, 50 Days of Heaven:
Reflections That Bring Eternity to Light (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale,
2006).
14.
What do you imagine heaven being like? How
do you picture it?
When Scripture speaks of a “new song,” do we
imagine something that is wordless, silent, or without rhythm? Of course
not. Why? Because it wouldn’t be a song.
If I promised you a new car, would you say, “If
it’s new, it probably won’t have an engine, a transmission, doors, wheels,
windows, or upholstery”? No, you’d never make such assumptions. Why?
Because if a new car didn’t have these things, it wouldn’t be a car.
Likewise, when Scripture speaks of a new Earth, we
can expect that it will be a far better version of the old Earth, but it
will truly be Earth. By calling it the New Earth, God emphatically tells
us it will be earthly and, thus, familiar. Otherwise, why call it Earth?
Why not call it a new kingdom or empire or territory or dwelling place?
The word new is an adjective. Adjectives modify
nouns, but they don’t negate them. The noun is always the main thing.
Thus, a new car is first and foremost a car; a new body is first a body;
and a new Earth is first an Earth.
The Bible begins with this powerful statement: “In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). “The
heavens and the earth” is a biblical designation for the entire universe.
So when Isaiah 65 and 66, 2 Peter 3, and Revelation 21 all speak of “new
heaven(s) and a new earth,” they indicate a transformation of the entire
universe.
In Revelation 21:1, the Greek word kainos,
translated “new” in the term New Earth, means new “in the sense that what
is old has become obsolete, and should be replaced by what is new. In such
a case the new is, as a rule, superior in kind to the old.”
Paul uses the same word, kainos, when he speaks of
a believer in Christ becoming “a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The
believer is still the same person as before, but he or she has been made
new. Likewise, the New Earth will be the same as the old Earth, but made
new.
In our resurrection, God may gather the scattered
DNA and atoms and molecules of our dead and decayed bodies. In the earth’s
resurrection, he will regather all he needs of the scorched and disfigured
Earth. As our old bodies will be raised to new bodies, so the old Earth
will be raised to become the New Earth.
So, will the earth be destroyed or renewed ? The
answer is both — but the destruction will be temporal and partial, whereas
the renewal will be eternal and complete. Those who emphasize our
citizenship in Heaven—and I’m one of them—sometimes have an unfortunate
habit of minimizing our connection to the earth and our destiny to live on
it and rule it. We end up thinking of eternity as a non-earthly spiritual
state in which Earth is at best a distant memory.
Understanding and anticipating the physical nature
of the New Earth corrects a multitude of errors. It frees us to love,
without guilt, the world that God has made, while saying no to that world
corrupted by our sin. It reminds us that God himself gave us the earth,
gave us a love for the earth, and will give us the New Earth. — Randy
Alcorn, 50 Days of Heaven: Reflections That Bring Eternity to Light (Carol
Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2006).
15.
Do you think there will be dogs in heaven?
Humorist Will Rogers said, “If there are no dogs in
heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” This statement was,
of course, based on sentiment, not theology, but it reflects something
biblical: a God-given affection for animals.
I’ve often thanked God for my golden retriever, who
crawled into my sleeping bag as I lay in my backyard gazing up at the
stars when I was a boy. Though I didn’t know God then, he touched my life
through that dog. Nanci and I have experienced many hours of laughter and
joy with animals. When our children and grandchildren have delighted in
animals, they have delighted in God, their Creator.
Christ proclaims from his throne on the New Earth:
“Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5, NASB). It’s not
just people who will be renewed, but the earth and everything in it. Do
“all things” include animals? Of course. Horses, cats, dogs, deer,
dolphins, and squirrels—as well as the inanimate creation—will be
beneficiaries of Christ’s death and resurrection. Christ’s emphasis isn’t
on making new things, but on making old things new. It’s not about
inventing the unfamiliar, but restoring and enhancing the familiar. Jesus
seems to be saying, “I’ll take all I made the first time, including people
and nature and animals and the earth itself, and bring them back as new,
fresh, and indestructible.”
Romans 8:21-23 is a clear statement that our
resurrection, the redemption of our bodies, will bring deliverance not
only to us but also to the rest of creation, which has been groaning in
its suffering. This raises an obvious question: Who or what in this
creation, besides human beings, is groaning in suffering and is waiting
for deliverance? Surely the most obvious answer is animals. This seems to
indicate that on the New Earth, after mankind’s resurrection, some animals
who once suffered will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death
and decay.
If God created on the New Earth human beings who
had never before existed—rather than resurrecting people who had lived on
the old Earth—would it fulfill the promise in Romans 8 of redemption,
deliverance, and resurrection? No. Why? For the passage to be fulfilled,
those redeemed and resurrected into the new world must be the same people
who suffered in the old world. Otherwise, their longing for redemption
would go unmet.
As mankind goes, so go the animals. If we take to
its logical conclusion the parallel that Paul makes between humans and
animals groaning, then at least some of those animals who suffered on the
old Earth must be made whole on the New Earth.
Remember, it’s not some abstract “animalkind” that
cries out; it’s specific animals living and suffering and dying on the old
Earth, just as it’s specific, suffering people who groan and cry out for
their own resurrection—not for someone else’s. This suggests that God may
resurrect, or at least re-create, certain animals that lived on the old
Earth. — Randy Alcorn, 50 Days of
Heaven: Reflections That Bring Eternity to Light (Carol Stream, IL:
Tyndale, 2006).
16.
What won’t be in heaven?
Randy Alcorn has written what is, perhaps, the best
book ever written on Heaven. The full volume is 560 pages. He did a
follow-up called Heaven: Biblical Answers to Common Questions, which is
only sixty pages. In it, he speaks eloquently about what will not be in
Heaven:
No death, no suffering. No funeral homes, abortion
clinics, or psychiatric wards. No rape, missing children, or drug
rehabilitation centers. No bigotry, no muggings or killings. No worry or
depression or economic downturns. No wars, no unemployment. No anguish
over failure and miscommunication. No con men. No locks. No death. No
mourning. No pain. No boredom.
No arthritis, no handicaps, no cancer, no taxes, no
bills, no computer crashes, no weeds, no bombs, no drunkenness, no traffic
jams and accidents, no septic-tank backups. No mental illness. No unwanted
e-mails.
Close friendships but no cliques, laughter but no
put-downs. Intimacy, but no temptation to immorality. No hidden agendas,
no backroom deals, no betrayals.
Imagine mealtimes full of stories, laughter, and
joy, without fear of insensitivity, inappropriate behavior, anger, gossip,
lust, jealousy, hurt feelings, or anything that eclipses joy. That will be
Heaven.
There won’t be churches or temples in the new
universe, not because they’re bad, but because they won’t be necessary. We
won’t need to be drawn into God’s presence. We’ll live there, constantly
and consciously. We’ll thank God profoundly, and worship and praise him
together, whether we’re working in a garden, singing, riding bikes, or
drinking coffee (no reason to think there won’t be coffee trees on the New
Earth).
Revelation 21:4 is a classic: “He will wipe away
every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall
there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things
have passed away.” (ESV)
As I was preparing this material, my son was
fishing in the backyard. We have a lake on our property and he enjoys
fishing. He cast his line into the water, and the fishing pole slipped out
of his hand. We attempted to retrieve it, but to no avail.
I sat down to try to comfort my son in his tears,
and in the back of my mind I was thinking about this passage. No more
tears. In this life there are plenty of tears for him to look forward to.
In this world we will have trouble. There will be pain; there will be
sorrow. But Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us where there will be
none of that.
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they
shall be comforted.” Matthew
5:4 (ESV) — Brandon Park, After Life
17.
Will we recognize loved ones in Heaven?
Yes! We will know more in Heaven than we know now,
not less. Of course we will recognize one another. We will even remember
all of their names!
Being with Christ will be the greatest joy in
Heaven. The second greatest joy will be reuniting with loved ones. We will
know them. We will remember things that happened here on earth.
At the transfiguration, Peter, James, and John
recognized Moses and Elijah, even though they had never seen them. They
weren’t introduced to them as strangers; they recognized them.
This suggests we will instantly recognize people we
know about but have not met. If we will recognize them, surely we will
recognize people we know.
Eternity is forever. We will have all eternity to
meet and get to know everyone in Heaven. We can hear their stories and
they can hear ours. I have a long list of people I want to meet. I have a
long list of people who have passed away and I want to see them again. I
bet you do too. — Brandon Park,
After Life
18.
Verse 3 speaks of hope. What difference
does hope make in daily lives?
The cynical editor and writer H.L. Mencken once
defined hope as “a pathological belief in the occurrence of the
impossible.” But that definition does not agree with the New Testament
meaning of the word. True Christian hope is more than “hope so.” It is
confident assurance of future glory and blessing.
An Old Testament believer called God “the Hope of
Israel” (Jer. 14:8). A New Testament believer affirms that Jesus Christ is
his hope (1 Tim. 1:1; see Col. 1:27). The unsaved sinner is “without hope”
(Eph. 2:12); and if he dies without Christ, he will be hopeless forever.
The Italian poet, Dante, in his Divine Comedy, put this inscription over
the world of the dead: “Abandon all hope, you who enter here!”
This confident hope gives us the encouragement and
enablement we need for daily living. It does not put us in a rocking chair
where we complacently await the return of Jesus Christ. Instead, it puts
us in the marketplace, on the battlefield, where we keep on going when the
burdens are heavy and the battles are hard. Hope is not a sedative; it is
a shot of adrenaline, a blood transfusion. Like an anchor, our hope in
Christ stabilizes us in the storms of life (Heb. 6:18-19); but unlike an
anchor, our hope moves us forward, it does not hold us back. — Bible
Exposition Commentary (BE Series) - New Testament - The Bible Exposition
Commentary – New Testament, Volume 2.
19.
What do you want to recall from today’s
conversation?
20.
How can we support one another in prayer
this week?
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