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English Sabbath School Bible Study podcast - an unpretentious and fun way to study the Bible Classe da Escola Sabatina em inglês do Unasp SP. English Sabbath School Class at Unasp SP Brazil

  1. 20 HR AGO

    Episode 2687 - Lesson 10 - Sunday March 01 - The wisdom and knowledge of God

    The Wisdom and Knowledge of God Job asked, "Where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?" (Job 28:12, NKJV). Paul answers: in Christ, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3, NKJV; compare 1 Cor. 1:30). If we have Christ, we have everything, even the "full assurance of understanding" the purpose of life (Col. 2:2, NKJV). Through Him the mystery of God, which embraces the entire plan of salvation, has been revealed. Read Colossians 2:1-7. What is Paul's purpose in writing this epistle? The Greek word paraklēthōsin means "encouraged" or "strengthened" (Col. 2:2). Paul's desire is not only to help the believers in Colossae recognize false teachings but also "to unite" (sumbibasthentes) them in Christian love. The tense used for both verbs--"encouraged" and "united"--indicates Paul's confidence that this epistle will achieve its intended purpose. He, did, however, commend them for "your good order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ" (Col. 2:5, NKJV). The Greek term taxis, translated "order," is used in the New Testament in reference to the priestly orders of Aaron (Luke 1:8, Heb. 7:11) and Melchizedek (Heb. 5:6, 10, NKJV; Heb. 6:20, NKJV; Heb. 7:11, 17, NKJV), but Paul applies it to order in the church (1 Cor. 14:40), including here. Sometimes there is a tendency to consider church order and organization as merely an ecclesiastical institution with no theological significance. But by prescribing proper decorum in worship (see, for example, 1 Corinthians 11), and specifying how elders and deacons should be selected (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1), Paul was very careful to preserve order in the church. Through these measures, God's wisdom and the teachings of the Bible are preserved and promulgated. As a result of the correct teaching that the Colossians had received from Paul's associates, they had "steadfastness" of faith. It cannot be shaken because it rests on a solid biblical foundation that, if adhered to, would help protect them from the errors being promoted by the false teachers. What has been your experience with the need for "order" in your own spiritual life?

    13 min

  2. 1 DAY AGO

    Episode 2686 - Lesson 10 - Sabbath Feb. 28 - Complete in Christ

    Complete in Christ Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week's Study: Colossians 2; Heb. 7:11; Isa. 61:3; 1 Cor. 3:6; Deut. 31:24-26; Rom. 2:28-29; Rom. 7:7 Memory Text: "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ" (Colossians 2:16-17, NKJV). Have you ever been asked why you keep the Sabbath? Perhaps even this week's memory text was used as "evidence" against it. Yet, the text was written not about the fourth commandment, but in response to errors taught by some false teachers in the church. What were these errors? First, the false teaching is described as "philosophy," "the tradition of men," "the basic principles of the world," and "not according to Christ" (Col. 2:8, NKJV). It also involved circumcision and the keeping of Jewish festivals (Col. 2:11, 16), along with Jewish purity rituals and regulations connected with food (Col. 2:16, 21). It involved the worship of or with angels or an attempt to emulate angelic worship (Col. 2:18). And, finally, it was based on "the commandments and doctrines of men" and possibly involved ascetic practices (Col. 2:22-23). These false teachers were clearly religious and sincere, but they also got the gospel wrong. This week we'll see why. And we will see why the memory verse has nothing to do with our keeping the seventh-day Sabbath. * Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 7.

    7 min

  3. 2 DAYS AGO

    Episode 2685 - Lesson 9 - Friday Feb. 27 - Further Thought

    Further Thought: "We have no righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of God. But Christ has made a way of escape for us. . . . If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ's character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned. "More than this, Christ changes the heart. He abides in your heart by faith. You are to maintain this connection with Christ by faith and the continual surrender of your will to Him; and so long as you do this, He will work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure... "So we have nothing in ourselves of which to boast. We have no ground for self-exaltation. Our only ground of hope is in the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and in that wrought by His Spirit working in and through us."--Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, pp. 62, 63. "The light given me has been very forcible that many would go out from us, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. The Lord desires that every soul who claims to believe the truth shall have an intelligent knowledge of what is truth."--Ellen G. White, Evangelism, p. 363. Discussion Questions: Read again the memory text: "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Cor. 5:21). What does this mean? What does it mean that Christ became sin for us, and how should that help us understand the substitutionary nature of the Cross? Also, what does it mean to be "made the righteousness of God in him"?Dwell more on the question of "once saved, always saved," which many Christians believe. Why do we believe that this is a false doctrine? What obvious dangers does it present to someone who believes this? How can we, even while rejecting that doctrine, still have assurance of salvation?How "grounded and steadfast" (Col. 1:23, NKJV) in your faith are you? How well do you know what you believe and why you believe it? What can you do to better know what you believe? And why is it so important that you are "grounded and steadfast" in the faith?

    8 min

  4. 3 DAYS AGO

    Episode 2684 - Lesson 9 - Thursday Feb. 26: Power of the Gospel

    Power of the Gospel Read Colossians 1:28-29. What is Paul's focus? Why do you think "everyone" (ESV) is repeated three times? The focus of Paul's preaching was Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 1:23). According to Ephesians 5:27, the purpose of Christ's sacrifice is "that He might present her [the church] to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish" (NKJV). Thus, the aim of Paul's gospel preaching is to "present everyone mature in Christ" (Col. 1:28, ESV). He does this by teaching and warning--teaching the various points of Christian doctrine and practice (2 Thess. 2:15, 1 Tim. 4:11, 1 Tim. 5:7, Titus 1:9) and warning of the consequences for rejecting the gospel and of the dangers of false teachers (Acts 20:29-31, Rom. 16:17). This is how we grow to be mature Christians, by accepting the teachings and heeding the warnings of Scripture. Maturity is an important concept. The parents of a newborn baby celebrate every milestone--first words, learning to walk, and learning to read. What parent would not be alarmed if their child, after several years, was still unable to walk or talk? Growth and development are normal and expected. The same is true of the Christian life. The Greek word translated "mature" (teleios) means perfect and without defect. Through the process of Christian growth, we become keenly aware of the depth of God's law and that its requirements are "exceedingly broad" (Ps. 119:96, NKJV). We understand it extends to "the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). But we need to be careful, which is why Paul used the word "warning" in Colossians 1:28. The way that "seems right . . . is the way of death" (Prov. 14:12, NKJV). Spiritual discernment comes from a Spirit-guided knowledge of God's Word. False teachings usually have some truth but either add to or take away something of what the Bible says (see Isa. 8:20). The latter often succeeds, if not by directly doubting what God says, then at least by questioning whether it is really possible or whether it is applicable to our day. We must be wise as serpents but harmless as doves when it comes to discerning doctrinal truth from error. How do you understand what it means to be "perfect in Christ Jesus" (Col. 1:28)? How does an understanding of what Jesus accomplished for us at the cross help in knowing what it means to be "perfect in Christ Jesus"?

    10 min

  5. 4 DAYS AGO

    Episode 2683 - Lesson 9 - Wednesday Feb. 25: The Mystery of God revealed

    Mystery of God Revealed Read Colossians 1:26-27. Paul twice talks about "the mystery." What mystery? In another place, Paul refers to "the mystery of God," which is God's eternal purpose "ordained before the ages for our glory" (1 Cor. 2:7, NKJV) and revealed through the plan of salvation. Peter speaks of this truth as something that the prophets anticipated and that "angels desire to look into" (1 Pet. 1:10-12). It was devised "before the foundation of the world" (1 Pet. 1:20) and "kept secret since the world began" (Rom. 16:25). However, through Christ's life, death, and resurrection, this mystery has been unveiled (2 Cor. 3:14). How do the following references to the mystery of God illuminate various aspects of the plan of salvation? Eph. 1:7-10 Eph. 3:3-6 Ultimately, "all things" in heaven and on earth will be brought together into complete oneness in Christ. This was the focus of Christ's prayer in John 17. Exactly how this would come about was a mystery that has now been revealed through the gospel. Why God would love us so much that He would give Jesus, heaven's priceless treasure, for our salvation, will be our study throughout eternity. But we know this: Christ "died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again" (2 Cor. 5:15, NKJV). As a result, all who believe in Christ, both Jews and Gentiles, share equally in the promises of God through the gospel and have been brought together into one body, the church. "Christ in you" (Col. 1:27) refers to Christ's dwelling in the heart by faith (Eph. 3:17; compare Gal. 2:20). This spiritual union with Christ enables believers even now to "sit together in heavenly places" (Eph. 2:6) and taste "the powers of the world to come" (Heb. 6:5). Through Christ's presence in our lives, He is already beginning to unite us with heaven. It is the gospel working in the hearts of believers that "has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light" (Col. 1:12, NKJV).

    16 min

  6. 5 DAYS AGO

    Episode 2682 - Lesson 9 - Tuesday Feb. 24 - God's eternal plan

    God's Eternal Plan Read Colossians 1:24-25. What does Paul say about his suffering for Christ's sake? Though Paul wrote Colossians while under house arrest in Rome, perhaps his greatest suffering came from not being able to labor intensively from place to place and house to house, as he had done previously (Acts 20:20). These afflictions (or tribulations), which Christ forewarned of (Matt. 24:9, John 16:33), "are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom. 8:18). This is the bigger picture. As Paul had written to the Christians in Philippi, so now to the Colossians he rejoices over his sufferings, which are for their benefit (Col. 1:24). Paul may be in prison, but "the word of God is not bound" (2 Tim. 2:9). While Paul was in this confinement, Philippians, Ephesians, and Philemon were also written. After his release, God inspired him to write the important counsels found in 1 Timothy and Titus. Then, during his final imprisonment in a Roman jail, he wrote 2 Timothy. In short, these final years provided Paul the opportunity to write a significant portion of the New Testament, which probably included Hebrews. God's eternal plan envisioned all of this and more. The Greek word Paul uses in Colossians 1:25, generally translated "stewardship," is oikonomia. Used in a limited sense (as, for example, in 1 Tim. 1:4), it refers to "God's way of ordering things."--Luke Timothy Johnson, The First and Second Letters to Timothy (New York: Doubleday, 2001), p. 164. That would include Paul's apostleship. But in a broader sense, it includes all the provisions God has made in the plan of salvation. The ministry of Paul, the other apostles, and even the prophets of the Old Testament (Eph. 2:20, Eph. 3:5), including Moses, were designed "to fulfill the word of God" (Col. 1:25), all in connection with this divine plan. Although we will look more closely at this topic in tomorrow's study, it is helpful at this point to notice that Paul recognized his ministry as just one small part of a much larger, long-range divine plan that began being implemented "from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 13:35, Eph. 1:4). Think about your own life. How might the decisions you make (big and small) fit within God's larger plan? Can we really know whether a decision is actually "small"? How might it have larger ramifications that will become apparent only later?

    14 min

  7. 6 DAYS AGO

    Episode 2681 - Lesson 9 - Monday Feb. 23 - If you continue in the faith

    If  You Continue in the Faith Read Colossians 1:23 (NKJV). What do you think Paul means by remaining "grounded and steadfast" in the faith? (See also Col. 2:5 and Eph. 3:17.) There are four different types of "if" statements in Greek, each with different nuances. The one with which Colossians 1:23 begins assumes that the condition is true. That is, Paul encourages the Colossians with the thought that they will, indeed, continue in the faith. As Paul soon indicates, he has already seen evidence of their faith and steadfastness (Col. 2:5). Nevertheless, their hope is still conditional on their persisting on the path of faith that they have entered. This idea of persisting is the meaning of the Greek word translated "continue" (Col. 1:23, NKJV). It is used of the scribes and Pharisees who continued to demand of Jesus an answer as to what should be done with the woman caught in adultery (John 8:7); also of Peter continuing to knock at the door after Rhoda recognized his voice but left it locked and ran inside to tell the others (Acts 12:16). It is also used by Paul, who encourages Timothy to remain faithful to the doctrinal and practical instructions he has given (1 Tim. 4:16). His meaning here is similar except that it is applied to believers generally. As we will see in next week's lesson, Paul is concerned that the Colossians may chase after human-based ways of salvation instead of holding fast to the hope offered by the gospel (see, for example, Col. 2:8, 20-22). The word "grounded" refers to having laid a solid foundation of faith and love based on God's Word (see Matt. 7:25, Eph. 2:20, Eph. 3:17). Related to this idea is the Greek word translated "steadfast," referring to an immovable structure and, by extension, to a Christian who cannot be "moved away from the hope of the gospel" (Col. 1:23). The same word is used in 1 Corinthians 15:58: "be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (NKJV). Contrary to the common belief of "once saved, always saved," Paul is saying something completely different. What has been your experience regarding the importance of continuing to exercise faith? That is, why must you always make a conscious choice to do that? What will happen if you don't?

    12 min

  8. 22 FEB

    Episode 2680 - Lesson 9 - Sunday Feb. 22 - Reconciled from wicked works

    Reconciled From Wicked Works Read Colossians 1:21-22. What is Paul alluding to with his reference to alienation and being enemies? And what is the expected end result of Christ's death (see also Eph. 5:27)? Paul has always painted a dark picture of humanity, at least humanity apart from the righteousness of Christ. And who today, almost two thousand years later, could argue with that sentiment? Someone once said that the one Christian doctrine that doesn't need to be taken on faith is the sinfulness of humanity. However, since the entrance of sin, God has taken the initiative to reconcile us, as bad as we are, to Himself. That is, from the start, God has worked to solve the problem of sin, even if the solution could be found only in His own death on the cross. In Eden, He called out to Adam, His masterpiece of creation, "Where are you?" (Gen. 3:9, NKJV). And today, He continues to seek His one lost sheep--us. He seeks us out one by one. He has a perfect plan to reach us, applying the embryonic gospel promise of Genesis 3:15, putting enmity between us and Satan. Sometimes the gospel is made so complicated and theoretical that it has little practical meaning for twenty-first-century living. But it's really quite simple and straightforward. The gospel has three parts: First, because we are helpless to save ourselves, Jesus came and died for our sins. (See Rom. 5:6-8.) Second, by accepting His death as ours through faith, repentance, and baptism, we are justified and set free from the condemnation of sin. (See Rom. 5:9-11; Rom. 6:6-7.) Third, the life we live now is the result of being united with Christ, experiencing His re-creating power, and His living His life in us. (See 2 Cor. 5:17-21, Gal. 2:20.) These are not necessarily separate steps or events. They can happen all at once, as soon as we are ready to accept Jesus into our lives. And they can be renewed every day as we give ourselves to Him each morning. Regardless of how each one of us has experienced the saving work of Christ in our lives, the foundation rests always upon the death of Jesus. To that we must always return. When you look at yourself, your character, and your innermost being, what does the sight tell you about your need of the cross?

    13 min
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English Sabbath School Bible Study podcast - an unpretentious and fun way to study the Bible Classe da Escola Sabatina em inglês do Unasp SP. English Sabbath School Class at Unasp SP Brazil

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