No Longer Enemies

The Doctrine of Reconciliation 

Jesus offered reconciliation and restoration to Peter, who had denied Him three times. Reconciliation describes the process by which parties at odds with each other are restored and brought together again. We need to be reconciled to God because our sins separate us from Him. 

In His grace, God sent Jesus Christ—His own Son—to bear sin’s penalty on behalf of Peter’s sin and ours. Though sin blocks humanity’s fellowship with God, Jesus removed sin’s curse when He shed His blood on the cross to cleanse all who believe in Him. Without Jesus, we remain estranged from God, placed under His wrath, and face nothing but His just condemnation. Like Peter, we can be reconciled to God.1 We are called by God to care for His sheep and be agents of reconciliation for others, as Peter was.2 Believers can share the greatest news of all time—the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

To reject Christ’s work of reconciliation leads to utter hopelessness and eternal peril. Without Jesus’s intervention on our behalf, we remain God’s enemies. No human effort can sufficiently bridge the gap between sinful people and holy God. Only Jesus can reconcile us to God.3 

Accepting Christ’s reconciliatory work on the cross brings peace that surpasses all understanding. Though we still stumble like Peter, Jesus has borne the punishment for our sin and offers the way of repentance and restoration. We long for the day we see Jesus face-to-face and no longer endure sin, sorrow, or tears.4 Jesus reconciled Peter to Himself and does the same for us. Our reconciliation rests solely on Jesus and His completed work. He calls us to follow Him with repentant hearts and receive His sacrifice on our behalf. His victory becomes our victory. 

1. Reconciled to God: Romans 5:18; Colossians 1:19-20 

2. Agents of reconciliation: 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 

3. No longer enemies: Romans 5:7-10 

4. New heaven and new earth: Revelation 21:1-5

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 28, The Gospel of John

Jesus’s Post-Resurrection Appearances

Resurrection Sunday, in and near Jerusalem 

● To Mary Magdalene in the garden outside the tomb; early morning (John 20:11-18) 

● To Mary Magdalene and the other Mary returning from the tomb; early morning (Matthew 28:1-10) 

● To two disciples on the road to Emmaus, about 7 miles (11 km) from Jerusalem; late afternoon (Luke 24:13-35) 

● To Peter privately (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5) 

● To all the apostles except Thomas in a locked room; evening (John 20:19-23) 

A Week Later, in Jerusalem 

● To all the apostles, including Thomas, in a locked room (John 20:26-29) 

Later, Likely in Galilee 

● To the 11 apostles and a group of more than 500 believers (1 Corinthians 15:6) 

● To the apostles and others on a mountain; perhaps the same occasion as 1 Corinthians 15:6 (Matthew 28:16-20) 

● To James, probably in Galilee (1 Corinthians 15:7) 

The 40th Day, near Bethany 

● Jesus was taken up bodily into heaven as the apostles watched (Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-10) 

On the Road to Damascus 

● To Paul (Acts 9:1-16; 1 Corinthians 15:8) 

Future 

● The Lord Jesus will return bodily and visibly to stand on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4; Acts 1:11; Revelation 1:7)

Resounding and Indisputable Victory over Death

The Doctrine of Resurrection

The indisputable fact of Jesus’s resurrection displays glorious proof of God’s sovereignty over all creation. The One who was with God in the beginning and creates life from nothing1 has overcome death and now reigns with the Father in heaven.2 Jesus’s resurrection demonstrated God’s validation of Jesus’s mission and all He claimed about Himself. 

Through faith in Christ, all believers are raised into resurrected life with Him.3 Jesus promised that all who believe in Him will be given new life and saved from God’s condemnation of their sin.4 Believers await future resurrection in imperishable, glorified bodies but also walk in new life today. The Holy Spirit raises the spiritually dead to abundant life and implants new desires and priorities within them. God supplies the power to overcome sin and point others to our Saviour. 

To refuse to believe in Christ means remaining dead in sin. To turn away from Jesus necessitates accepting the judgment we deserve. There is no hope in anything or anyone but Jesus. Without Jesus, death reigns without hope of deliverance. 

Faith in Christ’s resurrection breathes new life and hope into every believer. God’s children look forward to joining heaven’s chorus of fellow believers—past, present, and future—in eternal worship in the presence of our Lord. The Holy Spirit allows believers to radiate the joy and beauty of Jesus, drawing others to faith in Him. 

1. In the beginning: John 1:1-5 

2. Reigns with the Father: Hebrews 1:3; Revelation 11:15-18 

3. Raised into eternal life: John 6:40; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:9-14 

4. New life in Christ: John 3:16-17

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 27, The Gospel of John

Jesus’s Resurrection: The Witnesses and Evidence

Supporting evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ surpasses many events recorded in ancient history. The testimony of many witnesses and the detailed accounts compiled shortly after the events offer compelling proof that Jesus rose from the dead.

● The disciples expressed no hope of Jesus’s physical resurrection before it happened.1

● The tomb was empty when the angel rolled away the stone and announced Jesus’s resurrection, despite the Roman soldiers assigned to seal and guard the tomb.2

● Had Jesus not risen, the Roman and Jewish leaders would have found evidence. Instead, the chief priests bribed the guards to say they fell asleep on duty.3

● The grave clothes remained in place in the empty tomb where Jesus’s body was laid.4

● At least two women physically clasped Jesus’s feet and worshiped Him.5

● Jesus showed and allowed His disciples to touch His wounds.6

● Jesus walked, talked, taught, and ate with believers at various times and places.7

● Jesus appeared to 500 at one time. When Paul published this fact, most of the 500 were still alive to confirm the truth.8

● Many witnessed Jesus ascend bodily into the clouds of heaven.9

● The witnesses to the truth of Jesus’s bodily resurrection gladly suffered ridicule, persecution, and even death.10 No witnesses suffer willingly for what they know to be untrue.

● The changed lives of believers offer enduring evidence of Jesus’s resurrection.11

1. No hope: Luke 24:13-24
2. Sealed, guarded tomb: Matthew 27:62-66; 28:2-4; Luke 24:1-10
3. Bribed guards: Matthew 28:12-15
4. Grave clothes: John 20:6-8
5. Clasped: Matthew 28:1, 9
6. Wounds shown: Luke 24:37-43; John 20:27
7. Met believers: Luke 24:13-34; John 20:19, 24, 26; 1 Corinthians 15:5-7
8. Met 500: 1 Corinthians 15:6
9. Jesus’s ascension: Luke 24:50-52; Acts 1:9-11
10. Persecution: Acts 2:1-41; 4:1-31; 5:17-31; 12:2; Revelation 1:9
11. Believers’ lives: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:9

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 27, The Gospel of John

The Significance of Blood and Water in Scripture

Blood 

Humanity’s sin results in separation from God, who is perfectly righteous, holy, and set apart from everything evil.1 In love and grace, God provided a substitute, His own Son, to pay the penalty our sin deserves. 

In the Old Testament, God declared to Israel, “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”2 The New Testament confirms, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [of sin].”3 The sacrificial system of the Old Testament pointed to Jesus, who died as the ultimate offering for sin.4 Animal sacrifices are no longer necessary.5 Jesus’s death provides reconciliation to God for all who trust in Him. 

At the Last Supper, Jesus lifted the cup and said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”6 John, who wrote this Gospel, drank from that cup. Surely the significance of that night resonated deeply within his memory. John later wrote a message he longed for God’s people to know: “The blood of Jesus ... purifies us from all sin.”7 As an elderly apostle imprisoned on the Greek island of Patmos, John declared the truth that sustained him: Jesus “loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.”8 

Water 

Jesus said the water He gives to believers is “a spring ... welling up to eternal life.”9 He promised, “Whoever believes in me, ... rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this he meant the Spirit.”10 The water that flowed from Jesus’s body may point to the new spiritual life that is given to all who believe and receive Jesus.11 The Bible’s final chapters repeat Jesus’s promise. God invites all who thirst to receive “water without cost from the spring of the water of life.”12 The Spirit and the Church repeat the invitation: “Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”13 

1. Set apart from evil: Habakkuk 1:13 

2. Atonement: Leviticus 17:11 

3. Shedding of blood: Hebrews 9:22 

4. Sin offering: Romans 3:25-26; 8:1-4 

5. Animal sacrifices not necessary: Hebrews 10:1, 4 

6. Last Supper: Matthew 26:28; Luke 22:20 

7. Purification from sin: 1 John 1:7 

8. Freed from sin: Revelation 1:5 

9. Living water: John 4:14 

10. Spirit: John 7:38-39 

11. New life: John 1:12-13 

12. Water of life: Revelation 21:6 

13. Let the thirsty come: Revelation 22:17

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 26, The Gospel of John

The Meaning of Life

The meaning of life is to know God, obey Him, and to make Him known.

Declared Righteous Despite Our Sin

The Doctrine of Justification 

Jesus’s death on the cross accomplished more than our minds can conceive. Jesus paid sin’s price on behalf of all who look to Him for salvation. When Jesus died, He bore the sins of the world. Jesus opened the way for repentant sinners to be justified—declared right with God. 

A legal term, “justification” refers to God’s gracious act in forgiving and declaring righteous the sinner who believes in Jesus Christ.1 God does not overlook anyone’s debt of sin but accepts Christ’s payment for sin on behalf of the believer.2 God attributes Christ’s perfect righteousness to the forgiven sinner. When Jesus died, He paid in full every believer’s debt of guilt and sin. Clothed in Christ’s righteousness, believers enjoy right standing with God. Justified sinners also enter the process of sanctification by the indwelling Holy Spirit, who enables them to live a new life that increasingly reflects Christ.3 

Everyone sins because we are all born with a sinful nature that automatically rebels against God.4 Unless we turn to Christ for salvation, the penalty for our sin remains on us. No one can earn salvation because the best we can offer will never satisfy God’s standard of perfect righteousness. We cannot be justified before God without turning to Christ for salvation. 

How can we express the wonder of justification in Christ? The pain Jesus suffered on the cross represents the price He paid to justify sinners before a holy God. If you are a believer, when God looks at you, He does not see your sin. Instead He sees only the perfect righteousness of Jesus—who never sinned in word, thought, or deed. We do not deserve justification but receive this gracious gift because of what Christ accomplished on our behalf. Believers live in eternal gratitude for the Savior who suffered in their place and the God who has declared them righteous. Justification is God’s gift—not earned but bought. Jesus paid for our justification with His own blood—an amazing gift received by grace through faith in Christ. 

1. Justified: Romans 3:21-26; 4:25; 5:9 

2. Free from sin’s penalty: Romans 5:18-19; 8:1-4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:6 

3. Sanctified: Romans 6:1-4; 8:12-13; 12:1-2; Galatians 5:16-26; Colossians 3:1-17 

4. Sin within: Romans 3:9-18

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 25, The Gospel of John