Bible Study

The Gift of Eternal Life Berean Bible Study Course

PART III--The Way Of Serving God In Christ Jesus

B. Lesson 14--We Serve By Continuing To Learn

7. READ: MATTHEW 28:16-20

c. What must we learn to do?

Answer: We must learn to obey EVERYTHING Christ has commanded us, (verse 20).

MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:

• Everything Christ has commanded us is God's command as well. He taught and lived these Words of God while He was a man here on earth. His disciples/apostles would then teach the very Words of God to others. And the commands were just as binding, because they were not the words of man, but the Words of God. The Holy Spirit was sent from the Father to the disciples/apostles after Jesus ascended to teach them all things and to remind them of what Jesus had taught them:

John 14:23-26: "Jesus replied, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me will not obey My teaching. These Words you hear are not My Own; they belong to the Father Who sent Me. All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.'"

• The Holy Spirit guided these men to write down the Words of God, and these Words became the inspired (God-breathed) Word by which we learn of reconciliation with God, and by which we learn of all of the commands we are to obey to live a faithful Christian life until death.

2 Timothy 3:14-17: "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

2 Peter 1:19-21: "And we have the Word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

• The apostles' teaching was, and is, the inspired Word of God. These Words have been faithfully handed down so that when you open your Bible today and study the commands you are to obey, you are breathing in the very Words of God. This teaching directly from God is one of the things we are to be devoted to as children of God:

Acts 2:40-42: "With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.' Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

• The process of learning Christ's commands, and of obeying Christ's commands is a life-long process:

Hebrews 5:14: "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."

James 1:2-4: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

• The mature child of God will teach only the Word of God, will baptize those who receive the message and will teach more of Christ's commands so that the new child becomes mature in the body of Christ. That child who matures then becomes a teacher, and the process repeats itself until the Lord shall come again.

The failure of the child of God to obey everything Christ has commanded results in a weak body--Christians who are still feeding on the milk of the Word, and not ready for the solid food of the Word.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3: "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?"

Hebrews 5:12-14: "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary Truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."

• Consider the following thoughts and Scriptures also:

1) To obey Christ's commands is to remain in His love:

John 15:10-11: [Jesus said,] "If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."

2) To obey Christ's commands is to truly know Him, walk as He did, obeying all of the commands of His Father:

1 John 2:3-6: "We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, ‘I know Him,' but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the Truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His Word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did."

3) To obey Christ's commands is to please Him. If we obey His commands, He lives in us, and we live in Him:

1 John 3:21-24: "Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him. And this is His command: to believe in the Name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us. Those who obey His commands live in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us."

4) To obey Christ's commands (which are the commands of God) is love for God:

1 John 5:3-5: "This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."