Tag: Disciples

Living in the Image of God, The Gospel

Understanding and Sharing the Basis for Faith

Living in the Image of God M07S08

This bible study discusses a two-part message. First, understand the basis for your faith and, second, be prepared and willing to share the understanding with others. As you share the basis for your faith, you understand better, your faith grows stronger, clarity of your presentation increases, and your message becomes bolder and more effective. The study is anchored on the testimony of a man born blind that Jesus healed. Initially, he knew only the facts of his healing but did not understand what they meant regarding Jesus. Subsequently, he understood that he was seeking to represent God among others by conveying to them a message that Jesus is the Son of God, which defines the basis for his faith. Given the specificity of your situation, if your intended action is motivated by seeking to fulfill a purpose of God, then your task belongs to God and he will guide you to victory. That defines the basis for your faith.

We discuss the testimony of a man born blind that Jesus healed (John 9:1–38). Motivated by appreciation, he shared his experience with neighbors, other relations, and Pharisees (also known as Teachers of the Law). Initially, he knew only the facts that Jesus gave him sight, by soiling his eyes and directing him to wash in a pool. However, he did not understand any message of the healing regarding Jesus. We discuss the man’s experience in a previous two-part lesson entitled Testimony of Man Born Blind (M02S14 and M02S15). This study discusses the testimony again toward understanding the basis for our faith of God.

His understanding evolved as he shared his experience. First, he understood that his healing was a miracle of God. Second, he understood the man that healed him must be of God. Later, through a subsequent encounter with Jesus, he understood that Jesus is the Messiah: the Son of God that came to the world in human form to represent God among people. He understood better and his faith grew stronger as he shared his experience with others. Telling his story became a Gospel mission that he discovered incrementally as he interacted with others.

Additionally, to understand the basis for faith, we review Christ interactions with his disciples during two storms on the Sea of Galilee and David’s message as he stepped into battle against Goliath. If you are seeking to represent God among other people—to be for the others what God would be for them if he lived in human form; then your task belongs to God and he will guide you to victory. That, is the basis for your faith as it applies to the specificity of your situation.

Regarding the man that Jesus healed from life-long blindness, the basis for his faith was that he was seeking to represent God among others by conveying to them a message that Jesus is the Son of God. Regarding Christ’s disciples during the storms on Sea of Galilee, the basis for their faith was that the task of sailing across the lake to the opposite shore was assigned to them by God (in human form as Jesus). Regarding David in his battle against Goliath, the basis for his faith was that killing Goliath to lead Israel to victory against the Philistines was a task of God.

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Assessing Capability to Intervene

Living in the Image of God M06S09

We discuss Christ disciples feeding a crowd of thousands in the wilderness as an example in assessing capability to provide goods or service to address a need. The disciples recognized a need and cared about feeding a large crowd that had come to see Jesus. They assessed their capabilities and realized their resources would be overextended. They consulted with Jesus, in his dual role as their human leader and as God. They presented him with the problem and a proposed solution. Jesus challenged them to feed the crowd and provided a miracle, using the disciples’ human effort as channel for the miracle, by multiplying food that they provided, in a way beyond human imagination. To assess your capabilities regarding a need: evaluate your personal resources, provide opportunities for others to contribute, and include their potential contributions in the assessment. Focus on what you can humanly do, because God may use your human effort as channel for a miracle.

When you recognize a need that calls for your intervention and you are interested in doing what you can to alleviate the need, start by understanding the need and assessing your capabilities to intervene. Your capabilities include what you can raise from your personal resources and contributions from others. Although you consult with God in prayer continually and have faith of his potential intervention with miracle, you should not include miracles in assessing your capabilities.

The disciples did not count on miracles when they assessed that their resources would be overextended by feeding the crowd: “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” [Mark 6:37]. Based on their assessment, they presented their leader with a proposed solution: “Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” [Mark 6:36].

Jesus asked them to show what they could do, which they presented as a few loaves of bread and fish [Mark 6:38]: “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.” He blessed and multiplied the bread and fish to more than needed to feed the crowd, illustrating that God would often use your human effort as channel for miracles.

Therefore, to commit to doing what you can to alleviate a need, understand the need and assess your capabilities, counting what you can personally provide and what you can raise from contributions by others. However, count only your human capabilities. Do not include miracles, because only God will determine if and when to intervene with miracles.

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From the Gospel, Living in the Image of God

Priority of Compassion

Living in the Image of God M03S05

There should be no law, custom, or regulation against providing goods or service to alleviate the need in a call to compassion. Whereas the procurement of goods or service could be subject to laws, customs, and regulations; there should be no hindrance by any authority against providing procured goods or service in an act of compassion, such as humanitarian assistance to refugees. We draw parallels from Christ response to Pharisee challenge regarding compassion on the Sabbath.

Priority of Compassion 13:09

We discuss Christ response to two challenges by the Pharisees regarding compassion on the Sabbath: to understand that there should be no law, custom, or regulation against providing goods or service to alleviate the need of others. Although the procurement of goods or service in a call to compassion could in general be subject to laws, customs, and regulations; providing the procured goods or service to alleviate the need, such as in humanitarian assistance to refugees, should not be hindered by any law, custom, or regulation.

We draw parallels based on Christ response to challenges by the Pharisees regarding acts of compassion on the Sabbath. One challenge was about the disciples picking and eating grains from a grainfield on the Sabbath. The other challenge was about Christ healing a man with shriveled hand on the Sabbath.

Jesus responded to the first challenge by referring the Pharisees to an interaction between David and the priest of Nob (1 Samuel 21:3–6), whereby the priest provided leftover consecrated bread to David and his men. He authorized them to eat the bread, having determined that he could give the bread to them without violating the religious custom regarding consumption of such bread. Similarly, Jesus, as the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27–28), authorized his disciples to pick and eat grains as they passed through a grainfield on the Sabbath, knowing that their action does not violate the spirit of the Sabbath law. The law calls for the seventh day of the week to be reserved as a day of rest so that the people and beasts of burden that provide household labor could rest and be refreshed for the next days of work (Exodus 23:12). Therefore, because the disciples were not at work in the grainfield but only picked grains as they passed through, they did not violate the spirit of the law.

He responded to the second challenge by explaining that an act of compassion, such as healing, has higher priority than observing the Sabbath; thus, does not violate the Sabbath law.

We discuss the challenges and Christ response. Additionally, we discuss the Sabbath law and David’s interaction with the priest of Nob, to understand the challenges and response.

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