4G Family

IntroductionIsrael taken into captivity by Assyria (Assyria lately conquered by Babylonia)Judah -- Southern Kingdom was taken into captivity later.  The nation was never really restored until 1946.  But, a remnant came back to rebuild the temple, etc.Isaiah 10In verse 20 . . . ."in that day" --> a reference to the futureIsaiah 11Verse 1 "A shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse" (there will be a new and better David)Verse 10 "Then it will come about in that day that the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the people; and His resting place will be glorious."Ezekiel 34 -- "I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out . . . and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered . . . And will bring them to their own land . . . Will set over them on shepherd, My servant David and he will feed them from himself and be their shepherd . . And I will make a covenant of peace with them . . . Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they  . . . Are my people."Scripture, rightly taken, orients our perspective such that we realize that God is in control and knows what he's doing (and that the world doesn't revolve around us).Isaiah 12 -- praise to the Lord for the things done "in that day"Isaiah 13 -- "prophecies concerning Babylon"Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah and took them into exile. Per Bill "I'll use 'em but I won't bless 'em."The fall of Babylon at the hand of the Meades and Persians is documented in Daniel. (And referenced in Isaiah 13:17 and following -- Isaiah's word was 135 years ahead of the activity)Mark 13"For the sake of the elect . . .He shortened the days . . . " Verse 9 . . . "Behold the day of the Lord is coming . . .I will punish the world for its evil" A reference to the Tribulation.  A word about judgment that is yet to be.Isaiah 14 -- "When the Lord will have compassion on Jacob, and again choose Israel, and settle them in their own land, then strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob . . ."  (A reference to the Milennium)In this passage, Babylon is discussed but is used as a type or reference to SatanLuke 10:17 and following . . . ."I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning . . ."See Is 14:12 and following "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You had been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God,  . . . I will make myself like the Most High'". Per Bill:  That's why Jesus saw Satan fall from heaven.Revelation 20:10 "And the devil who deceived them was thrown in to the lake of fire and brimstone . . . And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever"Isaiah prophesied thatA remnant will be preservedSatan will be judgedThere will be ultimate restoration of the remnant under Jesus and with his blessing.

After beginning with a message of hope and a description of Messiah who will one day set things fully aright, Isaiah calls out specific sins. To be arrogant, to trust corrupt leaders, to have brother against brother, and to have justice denied to those that need it is to bring upon yourself the judgment of God.

This lesson covers chapter 6 which starts with one of most well known verses in Isaiah:  "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord."  Uzziah became king at the age of 16 and reigned for 52 years and "did right in the sight of the Lord."

However, pride lead to corruption when Uzziah tried to usurp the authority of the priest and was cursed.

The chapter includes an unparalleled description of the glory of the Lord and His attending angels. We must not forget the holiness of God. As a reminder, Keith Green's version of "Holy, Holy, Holy" was played.

Isaiah 6 also includes Isaiah's testimony of his commissioning "Here I am, send me!"

In this chapter we hear a song of a vineyard -- a vineyard prepared by God with every thing needed for success. But, the only yield was bitter grapes.  The hearers of this are then invited into the story:  "What more could I've done?", God asks.  The answer comes quickly and in the form of judgment and curse.

There's a description of various "woes" that follow -- evidences of how crazy things have become now that the people have rebelled against the Lord. 

The chapter closes with the sound of hoofbeats -- the army that is coming at God's command!

Completing the prophetic section that began in Chapter 2, Art Morris finds an unexpected connection with Christmas.  Isaiah 4:2-6 are the focal verses:

2In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel.

3It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem.

4When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning,

5then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy.

6There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.

 New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Is 4:2–6). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

*The next section in Isaiah starts with Chapter 2 and goes through Chapter 4.  Bill Morris covers the first half of this in this lesson.  A recurring theme of judgment is represented by Isaiah 2:17:

17The pride of man will be humbled

And the loftiness of men will be abased;

And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,

 New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Is 2:17). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

*The volume of this recording is low because of a technical glitch.

This first chapter has themes of judgment, God's righteousness, God's offer of correction, and God's promise to discipline those whom He loves.

We learn that when man sins, God is faithful to confront and point the way back to reconciliation.

Part 2 of the Introduction to Isaiah by Bill Morris. See also the chart of the kings of Judah (The Southern Kingdom) and Israel (The Northern Kingdom).  

As the Covenant 4g class begins its study in Isaiah, Bill Morris outlines the course. Below find the week by week plan:

 

OUTLINE OF ISAIAH

 

1.     Judah’s sins confronted 1:1-31
2.     Judah’s hope 2:1-5
3.     Judah’s guilt 2:6 through 4:1
4.     Judah’s hope 4:2-6
5.     Judah’s sins condemned 5:1-30
6.     Grace—through judgement---for Isaiah 6:1-13
7.     Grace—through judgement—for Judah 7:1 through 9:7
8.     Grace—through judgement—for Israel  9:8 through 11:16
9.     The enjoyment of God’s grace 12:1-6
10.  Oracles—Babylon 13:1 through 14:27
11.  Oracles—Philistia 14:28-32 *(Chapters 15 through 23 are God’s judgement of the nations—we will skip these chapters in our study)
12.  The wasted city  24:1-20
13.  The Lord will punish 24:21-23
14.  He will swallow up death forever 25:1-12
15.  He will ordain peace 26:1-21
16.  The whole world will be fruitful 27:1-13
17.  The proud crown of Ephraim 28:1-29
18.  The city where David encamped 29:1-14
19.  Those who turned thing upside down 29:15-24
20.  Stubborn children with their own plans 30:1-24
21.  Those who go down to Egypt for help 31:1 through 32:20
22.  The destroyer who has not been destroyed 33:1-24
23.  Two final outcomes: judgement or salvation 34:1 through 35:10
24.  Practical trust in God vindicated 36:1 through 37:38
25.  Human inconstancy sent into exile 38:1 through 39:8
26.  The God of glory: his coming, exclusivity, power 40:1-31
27.  The one true God moving history for his people 41:1-20
28.  False hopes, the Lord’s servant, a new song 41:21 through 42:17
29.  God reclaims his people for His glory 42:18 through 43:21
30.  God revives His people for His glory 43:22 through 44:23
31.  God predicts his use of Cyrus 44:24 through 45:25
32.  The gods and pride of Babylon doomed 46:1 through 47:15
33.  God will free His people from Babylon for his own sake 48:1-22
34.  The Lord’s servant displayed, his people assured 49:1 through 50:3
35.  The Lord’s servant taught, His people attentive 50:4 through 51: 8
36.  Encouragements to a responsive faith 51:9 through 52:12
37.  The Lord’s servant: the exalted sin-bearer 52:13 through 53:12
38.  Compassion for God’s people, offered to all 54:1 through 55:13
39.  The true people of God redefined 56:1-8
40.  The false people of God exposed 56:9 through 57:13
41.  The true people of God invited 57:14-21
42.  The path to blessing: ritual vs. responsibility 58:1 through 59:13
43.  Present failure, eternal covenant, future glory 59:14 through 60:22
44.  The anointed Preacher renewing the world 61:1 through 62:12
45.  The coming Victor; his past faithfulness 63:1-14
46.  Praying for the power of God 63:15 through 64:12
47  The eagerness of God for His people’s eternal joy 65:1-25
48.  True worship now and forever 66:1-24

 

Outline from ESV Study Bible                                                                                            Covenant Baptist Church—4g Class

Crossway Bibles Wheaton, Illinois                                                                                   2015-2016

In this episode, Bill Morris, leads the class in studying the first verses of Philippians 4. It includes the great advice to "worry about nothing, pray about anything, thank God for everything."

Ephesians 5 has some rich teaching on Christian marriage -- Art Morris works through the initial teaching on submission in a relationship.

Bill Morris covers the first part of Ephesians 5

Our study in Ephesians continues today with a look at the verses from 4:25 - 5:2.  Paul continues the earlier work in chapter 4 by working out the implications of the new life for the individual Christian.  

As Klyne Snodgrass in his Ephesians volume of the NIV Application Commentary observes, many of these commandments follow a formula of:  stop doing a negative, start doing a positive because of a certain motivation.

This is easily seen in the first verse of the section:  ²⁵ Therefore, having [put away falsehood], let each one of you [speak the truth] with his neighbor, [for we are members one of another].(ESV, brackets mine)

In Ephesians 4:17-24 Paul continues to explore the implications of Christ's work and blessings. This time, the corporate implications give way to a more personal, individual message.  The culmination is in verse 24 where he describes the equation for authentic Christianity: "and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." (ESV)

Breaking down the passage into a couple of "equations" provides a memory device:

Soul Arithmetic

Good presuppositions + Good logic → Good conclusions

Bad thinking + Bad walking (habits) → Bad Practice

[(Good teaching – Bad Habits) + Renewed “in the Spirit of your minds”] + Good Habits → Authentic Christianity 

(We apologize as this recording is less than optimal: it is marred by brief pops and intermittent dropouts of a second or two )

In this lesson Ephesians 4:11-16 is explored.  The concept of spiritual gifts is covered. Spiritual gifts are given to individual Christians. Seen another way, these individually gifted Christians are part of Christ's gifts to the church.

Spiritual gifts are given for a variety of reasons. Interestingly, part of the reason is to keep us on track during changing and challenging times: ⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (ESV)

Rich teaching on the concept of Spiritual Gifts can be found in several key areas of Paul's letters: Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12-14 and today's passage in Ephesians 4.  

These gifts are "given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift." (ESV)

In this lesson Bill reviews the redemptive history from the viewpoint of the Jews and carried forward to the work of Christ for us. This is yet another of the spiritual blessings of being "in Christ".

⁶ This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 

In Ephesians 2:19-22 Paul uses three metaphors to describe our relationship with God now that we are "in Christ". A sermon by Pastor Ray Stedman is the source of the observation that each metaphor shows God drawing us closer and closer to Him until we, as a body of believers -- still under construction and being fitted -- become His dwelling place.

The focus on this lesson is Ephesians 2:11-17. While still reviewing many of the blessings we have "in Christ", Paul begins to move from an emphasis on the individual blessings toward the new positions we enjoy as a group of likeminded believers. 

Dr. Wiersbe offers this helpful outline in understanding our the passage regarding our position before Christ:

The one word that best describes the Gentiles is without. They were “outside” in several respects.

Without Christ. The Ephesians worshiped the goddess, Diana, and, before the coming of the Gospel, knew nothing about Christ. Those who claim that pagan religions are just as acceptable to God as the Christian faith will have a problem here, for Paul cites the Ephesians’ Christless state as a definite tragedy. But then, keep in mind that every unsaved person, Jew or Gentile, is “outside Christ” and that means condemnation.

Without citizenship. God called the Jews and built them into a nation. He gave them His laws and His blessings. A Gentile could enter the nation as a proselyte, but he was not born into that very special nation. Israel was God’s nation, in a way that was not true of any Gentile nation.

Without covenants. While the blessing of the Gentiles is included in God’s covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:1–3), God did not make any covenants with the Gentile nations. The Gentiles were “aliens” and “strangers”—and the Jews never let them forget it. Many of the Pharisees would pray daily, “O God, I give thanks that I am a Jew, not a Gentile.”

Without hope. Historians tell us that a great cloud of hopelessness covered the ancient world. Philosophies were empty; traditions were disappearing; religions were powerless to help men face either life or death. People longed to pierce the veil and get some message of hope from the other side, but there was none (1 Thes. 4:13–18).

Without God. The heathen had gods aplenty, as Paul discovered in Athens (Acts 17:16–23). Someone in that day said that it was easier to find a god than a man in Athens. “There be gods many and lords many,” wrote Paul (1 Cor. 8:5). But the pagan, no matter how religious or moral he might have been, did not know the true God. The writer of Psalm 115 contrasted the true God with the idols of the heathen.

Thankfully, when we are in Christ, we get all of the above things.  Truly, the walls that previously separated the "haves" from the "have nots" have come down because of Christ's saving work!

 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 22). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

In this lesson from Ephesians 2:5-10, the focus is on the grace of God to save us from death and to save us for a life of service.  Verse 10 makes the point that we are God's workmanship. We are a result of his creativity.  Amazing!

Reviewing Ephesians 1:16-2:3 Art Morris notes that one of the great desires of Paul for his people is that they really know some things. Jesus, of course, said in John 8 that "the truth will set you free". There are some liberating truths Paul wants us to embrace:

• Because we've been called, we can have hope (God will finish what He started)
• Because we have been promised an inheritance we can begin to lay claim to it by faith
• Because of the power of the resurrection we can know that God can be powerful in our lives today -- He is FOR us!

In case they (we) didn't get it, Paul goes on in Chapter two reminding us of who we were before Christ and then drives home the point: You Aren't that Person Anymore!

This is the knowledge that sets us free!

The key verse in this passage is Ephesians 1:19 where Bill Morris encourages us to understand "what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe."

During the lesson, Bill references an article by Dane Ortlund that presents some concepts gleaned from Jonathan Edwards' writings.  The main points are listed below but check out the full article (it's brief!).

---

Here are five things Edwards teaches us about the Christian life—your Christian life.

1. If you’re a Christian, you don’t realize how radically different and freshly empowered you now are.

2. Even if you’re a Christian, you don’t realize how radically fallen and blindly dysfunctional you remain.

3. Authentic discipleship to Jesus Christ calms and gentle-izes (not radicalizes and excites) Christians.

4. Christianity is gain, and only gain.

5. Revival is not what you think it is.

By Dane Ortlund 12/26/2014

In this lesson Bill Morris reviews some additional content from Ephesians 1:

• Considering our mind, will and emotions in the context of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (check out the chart used in this post on Galatians 5). "At salvation we get all of God that we're gonna get but how much will He get of us?"
• An overview of what we've learned so far in Ephesians through verse 14.
• New content beginning with verse 15

Below is the outline of verses 1-14:

Ephesians Chapter 1

The Blessings of Redemption

1:1-2 God at Work

Paul speaks with authority and holds this office “by the will of God”

The Church is a society of the “Saints” and “faithful in Christ Jesus”

Divine blessings of Grace and Peace

1:3-6 The Work and Blessings of the Father

The blessing of redemption, God is the giver of these blessings

The medium through which blessings come—Christ

The blessings are in harmony with eternal purpose

The election of grace, which is the foundation of all spiritual blessings

The election is from eternity

Adoption originates in the free grace of God

Adoption is in connection with the person of Christ

Adoption is to bring believers into communion with God Himself

1:7-12 The Work and Blessings of the Son

Redemption is “in Christ”

The procuring cause of redemption is the blood of Christ

Redemption in the first and characteristic blessing is the forgiveness of sins

Redemption has its measure in the Divine grace

Revelation of the mystery—part concealed and part revealed

Unification is to be in Christ—in the fullness of time

Obtained and Inheritance “after the counsel of His will”

1:13-14 The Work and Blessings of the Spirit

The Jewish and Gentile Christians have in common—the seal of the Holy Spirit

A common guarantee of inheritance, extends until of redemption

The guarantee consists—the “down payment” of the Spirit

The common doxology “Unto the praise of His glory”

Outline by Dr. Ray F. Robbins or Pastor Ray C. Stedman

the 4g class studies Ephesians 1:11-14. We closed out the class with this version of Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.