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

A Kingdom Not of This World

The Doctrine of the Kingdom of God

Jesus’s conversation with Pilate addressed God’s eternal kingdom. Scripture uses the “kingdom of heaven” and the “kingdom of God” interchangeably to describe God’s sovereign rule and reign throughout history. The Old Testament presents God’s established rule over all creation and all earthly kingdoms.1 God promised David that his descendant, the Messiah, would rule a kingdom without end2 —a promise Jesus came to earth to fulfill.3 

The kingdom of God describes both a present and future reality. God rules and reigns over all.4 God’s kingdom comes now as people receive the gospel, believe in Jesus, and embrace God’s rule and reign over their lives. God’s kingdom also awaits future consummation, on a day known only by the Father, when His kingdom will be fully realized. When the Lord Jesus Christ returns at the end of human history, He will reign over all people forever in all glory and honor as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.5 

People fail to recognize Jesus or are indifferent about who He is—the true King who will reign forever. Without God’s righteous reign in view, life presents only chaos in the here and now and a lack of hope for the future. Human leaders fail and human pursuits disappoint. The limitations of self lead to a life void of God’s infinite blessings and eventually to eternal death and separation from God. 

Those who seek God’s kingdom experience fullness of life here on earth as they await the untold blessings of eternity. Seeing God’s sovereign hand over every circumstance and submitting to His rule bring joy and blessings. Life’s disappointments still exist, but God provides hope and strength for every day. With God on His throne, every day we can anticipate a bright tomorrow. God’s children remain steadied by the certain hope of eventually seeing Jesus in all His glory—face-to-face.

1. God’s rule over creation: Genesis 1; Daniel 7:14, 27
2. Enduring kingdom: 2 Samuel 7:16
3. Jesus’s birth: Luke 2:11
4. God’s rule: Revelation 11:15
5. King of Kings: Philippians 2:10-11; Revelation 1:7; 19:11-16

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 24, The Gospel of John

Jesus Died in Our Place

The Doctrine of Substitution 

The truth about the salvation Jesus offers involves several richly immense concepts—all of which are awe-inspiring. The doctrine of substitution expresses the truth that God saved guilty sinners by sending Jesus to die on their behalf. Believers are saved through faith in Christ because He took our place. Jesus willingly drank to the dregs the cup of wrath that every sinner deserves to drink.1 The New Testament epistles expand the concept of Jesus’s substitution, which was also depicted at the Last Supper.2 When Jesus stood in our place, He bore the full force of God’s wrath for our transgressions. 

Only with Jesus as our substitute can we be counted righteous before a holy God and escape the judgment we deserve. Believers are enveloped in Christ and covered with His righteousness.3 Jesus wore a crown of thorns,4 a symbol of sin’s curse, so that we might be crowned with His righteousness.5 

Without Jesus as your substitute, you will bear God’s wrath for your own sin. Unless you recognize that Jesus bore your deserved punishment in your place, you will face God on a coming day without the substitute you desperately need. To fail to recognize personal sin and Christ’s sacrifice is to ignore the greatest gift of love ever offered. 

With Jesus as your substitute, when God looks at you He sees Jesus’s righteousness, not your sin. The record of your sin will never be charged against you because Jesus’s once for-all sacrifice in effect proclaims, “I paid for that!” The only debt believers owe their Savior is a debt of gratitude. Life has hope and eternity’s glory shines brightly because Jesus willingly offered Himself as a substitute for sinners. 

1. Jesus took our place: Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:25-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 2:17 

2. Substitution taught at Jesus’s Last Supper: Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20 

3. Covered by Christ’s righteousness: John 1:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; Hebrews 2:9; 9:28; 10:10; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18 

4. Crown of thorns: John 19:2 

5. Crown of righteousness: 2 Timothy 4:8

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 23, The Gospel of John

Personal Conversation with Almighty God

The Doctrine of Prayer 

We often complicate the idea of prayer. Does God expect perfect words, a serene setting, a strategically planned list, or a scheduled appointment when we pray? What if we are struggling to know what to say, fighting a bad attitude, or battling temptation? Most simply, prayer is talking with God. The God who knows everything listens to what we tell Him. The God who cannot be contained by space or time meets us wherever we are. The God of all power hears us and can help us. Because of Jesus’s sacrifice, every believer enjoys open access to God and a restored relationship with Him. We can talk to God in prayer, and He wants to hear from us. How amazing! 

When we pray, all three persons of the Godhead participate. We pray to God the Father1 through the Lord Jesus Christ and because of His atoning sacrifice.2 We pray to and through Jesus, who lived as a man and understands our weaknesses, though He never sinned.3 Amazingly, Jesus remains at the right hand of the Father as our intercessor.4 Our prayers are also offered through the power of the Holy Spirit.5 In fact, when we do not know what to pray or lack the strength to even speak, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us.6 We call on the Holy Spirit to fill us with God’s power when we struggle, and we seek the Spirit’s illumination as we study Scripture. God’s presence and power work on behalf of His people when they pray. 

What is lost in this life if we ignore or reject God’s gift of prayer? When we fail to pray, we fail to believe that God cares, listens, or can do anything to help us. We disregard who He has revealed Himself to be. Without deliberate words that pierce through this world’s cares to reach for heaven’s hope, we are left with only short-term solutions and a limited perspective on life. Without talking and listening to God, a million confusing voices echo around us. We miss the opportunity to seek truth from our Creator, the author of truth. 

We bow before a God who knows our struggles and cares about us. He hears us when we pray. He has the power and purpose to accomplish the greatest good in every situation. Prayer puts a believer in the posture of seeking God and recognizing His exalted status. God does not seek our eloquence—He longs for our hearts. If Jesus, God’s Son, regularly sought time alone to speak with His Father, shouldn’t we? 

1. Prayer to the Father: Ephesians 1:17; 3:14 

2. Prayer through the Son: Romans 1:8; 5:1-2; Colossians 3:17 

3. Jesus understands our weakness: Hebrews 2:17; 4:15; Acts 7:59 

4. Jesus’s intercession: Romans 8:34 

5. Prayer through the Spirit: Ephesians 6:18; Jude 1:20 

6. Spirit’s intercession: Romans 8:26-27

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 22, The Gospel of John

The Three-in-One God

The Doctrine of the Trinity

In some ways, trying to explain the Trinity is like describing the beauty of a rainbow to someone who is colorblind. We can state the facts, but the full spectrum of color remains beyond our ability to grasp. All illustrations fall short in capturing the innermost nature of God’s very being in human terms. Our glorious triune God is infinite; the most brilliant human mind is finite. The Old Testament presented shadows of this doctrine1 that become clearer in the New Testament. The incarnation of the Son2 and the coming of the Holy Spirit3 reveal the triune God—three-in-one. 

The best approach to the mysterious truth about unity and distinct persons within the Godhead is to simply accept what the Bible teaches. Scripture clearly reveals there is one God who exists in three persons who are equally God. The passage we are studying this week offers a glimpse of the harmony and unity of purpose that God has ordained within Himself. John 15:26 explains that Jesus asked the Father to send the Spirit, who reveals the Son and glorifies God. John 16:12-15 tells us that the “Spirit of truth” speaks only what He hears from the Father as He reveals what belongs to the Son. This intricate, cooperative unity confounds and amazes us. 

Our ability to explain the fullness of God’s revelation does not determine the validity of that truth. Much of what God reveals cannot be fully contained in human language or thoughts. To dismiss the doctrine of the Trinity due to its mysterious complexity represents a grave loss. If God’s person, work, and ways can be confined by our limited minds, He is no different than we are. The fullness of God’s person represents the totality of His work and the immeasurable glory due Him. God is to be humbly worshiped more than fully explained. 

How can we experience the blessing of a God who exceeds us in every way? We look to the Father and praise His power, majesty, and eternal plan for humanity. We praise the Son for His sacrificial death and victory over sin on our behalf. We seek the internal witness of the Holy Spirit to reveal truth we would otherwise miss or dismiss and rely on His power to witness and live for Christ. The three persons of the Trinity work together on our behalf and to the eternal glory of God. Praise be to God—three yet one!

1. Old Testament shadows: Genesis 1:2, 26-27; 16:9-13; 22:15-18; Exodus 3:2-6; Deuteronomy 6:4; Judges 13:17-23; Isaiah 6:8; Zechariah 3
2. Incarnation of the Son: Matthew 1:18-20; 3:16-17; 17:5; Luke 1:35
3. Holy Spirit’s coming: Acts 2:1-13

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 21, The Gospel of John

Christ’s Intimate Union with His People

The Doctrine of the Church

The Church is God’s family—true believers who have received salvation in Christ and are united in Him. As Jesus poured His love and wisdom into His disciples, He was building the foundation of His Church.1 Upon that foundation, the Church stands as the body of God’s redeemed people. Jesus Christ is her head and cornerstone.2 Jesus loves and died for His Church. He considers her His bride.3 

The universal Church consists of the totality of believers across the ages and around the world known by God and called His own. People do not become a part of the true Church by following a code of behavior or joining an organization. Faith in Christ knits God’s people together and binds them to Christ in a life-giving union. Christians take part in local churches where they unite for worship, fellowship, and service. 

The power and purpose of the Church cannot be understood or experienced apart from faith in Christ. Apart from Christ, we miss out on the beautiful fellowship God has intended for His united people. Without seeking eternally significant pursuits, our lives pass quickly by, devoid of enduring accomplishments. 

Believers connect with others who share the same Savior, Holy Spirit, and eternal destiny. Their organic unity with Christ and one another unites them as they walk through this world, give God glory, and prepare for eternity. Jesus did not save people and leave them to walk alone. The Holy Spirit indwells God’s people, and the community of the Church unites them with eternal values in view. 

1. Apostolic foundation: Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 2:20 

2. Head of the Church: Ephesians 5:23 

3. Bride of Christ: Ephesians 5:25-32

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 20, The Gospel of John

The Spirit of God at Work in the People of God

The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit

Jesus prepared His disciples for His departure as He approached the cross. Though they enjoyed His physical presence as firsthand witnesses of His authority and power, Jesus explained that something amazing awaited them. Eternally joined in purpose and power, the Son would ask the Father to send the Spirit to fill and empower His followers. Jesus’s very person would not just stand beside them but live within them. Every believer receives the Holy Spirit when they receive Christ as Savior.1 

In fact, it is the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit that makes belief possible. Wherever Jesus is exalted and people come to saving faith, the Holy Spirit is active—awakening dead hearts to come to Christ in faith.2 The indwelling Holy Spirit empowers believers to not only want to obey God but be able to do so.3 The Holy Spirit propels God’s work within believers and furthers God’s plan and purposes over all the earth. 

Without recognizing the Holy Spirit’s presence, help, and work, we miss much of God’s involvement in our lives. Unless the Holy Spirit intervenes and illuminates God’s truth, we cannot comprehend God’s Word or His ways. Until God’s Spirit awakens our hearts and minds to recognize God and His work, we futilely try to interpret the past, present, and future with a warped and limited view of reality. We need the Spirit of truth to help us understand what is real and true. 

Jesus promised not to leave His disciples as orphans. He kept His promise. Jesus came back to them just as He comes to every believer—through His indwelling Holy Spirit. If you are a believer, how often do you stop to think about how truly amazing this is? The Holy Spirit’s unlimited power resides within every single child of God. He works within each of us to remove our stony hearts and give us hearts of flesh that love God more than our sinful selves.4 God’s children learn to expect His internal guidance and welcome His trustworthy conviction of specific sin. God’s children are never alone! In a world of confusion and conflict, God’s children have peace with God through Christ’s sacrifice. They also experience the peace of God as the Holy Spirit brings God’s presence into daily life—no matter what life brings.

1. Indwelling Holy Spirit: Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 12:13
2. The Holy Spirit reveals Christ: John 15:26; 16:7-15
3. Desiring and doing God’s will: 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 3:5; Philippians 2:13; Hebrews 13:20-21
4. Stony hearts: Ezekiel 36:26-27


Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 21, The Gospel of John

Jesus’ Second Coming

The Doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ

Christ’s second coming emerges as one of the most important New Testament themes. In fact, many verses in the New Testament relate to Jesus’s second coming. Jesus Christ will return to earth physically, visibly, and suddenly, in the same way He left at His ascension.1 Scripture gives no time or date for Jesus’s return. Only God the Father knows the exact timing for this long-anticipated event.2

As the time of His crucifixion drew near, Jesus spoke often of His return to earth.3 Jesus’ return includes the bodily resurrection of the dead and the judgment of sinners.4 He will also bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.5 Jesus will vindicate His people and bring justice to the seeming victories of evil in a sin-filled world.6 The certain return of Christ offers hope to believers.

John presents a stark divide between belief and unbelief throughout his Gospel. This chasm remains equally great today. Most people fail to consider the seriousness and certainty of Jesus’s return. Life goes on with little thought of accountability to God. Jesus came to earth so that all who would believe would have eternal life. Those who live life without recognizing their need for God and redemption will face Jesus as righteous Judge when He returns.7 Jesus’s urgent commission “to go and make disciples of all nations” rises from this sobering certainty.8 Who do you know who needs to hear the truth about Jesus? How might you speak to that person in love about the love of Jesus?

Jesus will bring salvation to all who await His return. All who trust Christ are prepared for Jesus’s return because they rest confidently in His sacrifice for sin. The Father laid our sins upon Jesus, the spotless lamb of God, when Jesus went to the cross on our behalf. Believers cling to the cross and God’s promise that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.9 Jesus is our steadfast hope and sure reward. How will you thank and worship Jesus as you long for His return? Believers find deep comfort in the certainty that Jesus will come and take them to their heavenly home!

1. Ascension and return: Acts 1:11
2. Unknown time for Jesus’s return: Matthew 24:36-42; Luke 12:40
3. Jesus spoke of His return: Matthew 24–25; Mark 13; Luke 19:11-27; 21:6-36
4. Judgment: Acts 17:31; Romans 2:16; Revelation 22:12
5. Bring salvation: Hebrews 9:28
6. Vindication: Romans 12:19-21; Revelation 19:1-2; 20:12; 21:3-4
7. Christ's return to judge: John 5:24-30; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Peter 4:5; Revelation 20:11-15
8. Great Commission: Matthew 28:18-20
9. No condemnation: Romans 8:1

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 18, The Gospel of John

Our Refinement and Growth as Christians

The Doctrine of Sanctification

Through faith in Christ, believers are justified, or declared righteous before God, which sets them on a journey to walk with God. However, God’s people do not have to figure out how to live for God on their own. God’s Holy Spirit securely seals believers as God’s children, lives within them, and illuminates Scripture so they can understand God’s truth. Fellow believers are unified because the same Spirit also lives within them. The Holy Spirit embeds a divine desire and power within believers to resist sin, obey God, and increasingly grow to be like Jesus. 

Sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit sets the believer apart to live for God rather than sin and self. This progressive and ongoing growth in holiness offers evidence of the transformative new life God plants within His children.1 The Holy Spirit’s sanctifying power draws a believer to pray, feed on God’s Word, and thrive through fellowship with other believers. Serving God and others becomes not a duty but a delight. Seeking God and His glory permeates every aspect of life.2 

The inevitable ups and downs in a believer’s life seem random without understanding God’s gracious process of sanctification. Without recognizing God’s purposeful commitment to our spiritual growth, suffering appears only painful. The joys of life seem like brief, unplanned moments rather than God’s gracious gifts to express His faithfulness. The Holy Spirit helps believers realize God’s purposefulness to orchestrate their lives and prepare them for heaven. 

The process of sanctification can be painful but is always profitable for the believer. When we recognize God’s tender cultivation for our greater good, we cannot take credit for any blessings or spiritual growth we experience. A growing believer welcomes the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin and empowerment to obey. God not only made a way for His children to enter heaven but sent His own Spirit to transform their hearts as they walk on earth. Sanctification ushers God’s presence and power into believers’ lives to bring hope, help, and holiness.

1. Growing in Christ: Romans 6; 8:1-17; 12:1-2
2. Seeking God’s glory: 1 Corinthians 10:31; Galatians 5:16-26; Ephesians 5:8; Colossians 3:1-17

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 17, The Gospel of John

Dying to Self to Live for God

The Doctrine of the Cross for a Believer 

Jesus does not call His followers to a life of ease and comfort. Throughout Scripture, Jesus emphasized the costliness of following Him. He often employed extreme language to convey His point. Jesus likened following Him to hating one’s father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even one’s own life.1 He warned potential followers to count the cost.2 Jesus referred to discipleship as denying oneself3 and carrying one’s cross.4 

A believer’s cross does not necessarily refer to a specific burden, such as a long-term physical illness, ongoing temptation, or a strained relationship. Political rebels in the first century often received a sentence of death by crucifixion. Executioners forced the condemned individuals to carry their crosses to the execution site. The degrading display of carrying one’s cross symbolized an offender’s complete brokenness in submission to the authority one had transgressed. 

Similarly, the believer’s cross represents total surrender to Christ’s authority. Following Christ wholeheartedly requires deliberate surrender of personal plans and ambitions in complete obedience to Him, no matter the cost. Discipleship involves intentionally disowning “self” as the primary motivation in life. However, denying self does not mean ignoring, neglecting, or disregarding self. God purposefully uses the believer’s cross to restore us in His image and fashion us in the likeness of Christ. As we grow in Christlikeness, we become more fully the people who God created us to be. 

To live without appropriate regard for God and others leaves us wanting. With self as the driver for our dreams and desires, we fail to flourish as the people God created us to be. Inevitably, disappointment follows when our own wants and needs become our primary obsession. Living in a world dominated by self-interest reveals only brokenness and competing agendas. 

Jesus demonstrated a better way. Every word Jesus spoke and every action He took fulfilled His Father’s plan. He always sought the welfare of others. When we live for Jesus and seek to be like Him, our focus dramatically widens beyond the narrow attention centered on our little worlds. Self-denial never comes easy. However, life presents no higher calling than giving up our agendas for the Lord’s. In Christ’s kingdom, to die is to live. Death to self represents spiritual victory. 

1. Hate family and one’s life: Luke 14:26 

2. Count the cost: Luke 14:25-35 

3. Deny self: Mark 8:34 

4. Carry your cross: Luke 9:23; 14:27

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 16, The Gospel of John

Deliverance from Death

The Doctrine of Resurrection 

John records Jesus’s miracles as “signs” that purposefully reveal truth about Him. The miracle of Lazarus’s resurrection is John’s seventh example of Jesus’s power and authority. Jesus’s sign of raising Lazarus foreshadowed His own death-shattering and hell-defeating resurrection. This miracle also points toward the glorious resurrection of all who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Jesus’s death on the cross paid sin’s price in full, redeeming all God’s children. Jesus’s resurrection claimed victory over death for all who trust Him for salvation. Jesus’s resurrection stands as a foundational pillar of the Christian faith.1 Lazarus was raised up only to face death again later, but every believer anticipates a future resurrection to a glorified body with no death on the other side. The raising of Lazarus points to this future reality. 

While we await our resurrection after death, Jesus’s resurrection power works within God’s children today. Redeemed believers, indwelt and sealed by His Holy Spirit, die to their old ways of living—freed from sin’s bondage and reborn to live in joyful obedience to God’s will and ways.2 Jesus Christ brings new resurrection life to dead hearts.3 God calls believers to be salt and light on earth. He commissions His people as witnesses to Jesus Christ and His kingdom.4 Just as Jesus was raised, all believers will be resurrected in glorious bodies prepared for eternity.5 Jesus’s resurrection promises that all who believe in Him will be raised again to life eternal. 

Without understanding Jesus’s victory over death, people live without hope—gripped by the fear of death.6 Death’s shadow looms large for everyone, despite efforts to ignore or postpone the unavoidable approach of mortality. To see Jesus’s resurrection as a myth means forsaking humanity’s only hope for recovering everything that death steals away. 

Job expressed well the hope that upholds every believer: “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.”7 Jesus’s resurrection made Him the firstfruits of those who die and are raised to eternal life.8 God’s resurrected children will enjoy freedom from all darkness, pain, suffering, sin, and death. They will dwell in the eternal presence of God in the new heaven and new earth to come.9 Because of Jesus’s resurrection power, death does not speak the final word. 

1. Resurrection: 1 Corinthians 15 

2. New ways: Ephesians 4:22-24 

3. New life: John 3:3-8; Romans 8:11 

4. Salt and light: Matthew 5:13-16 

5. Future resurrection: Philippians 3:20-21 

6. Fear of death: Hebrews 2:14-15 

7. Redeemer lives: Job 19:25-26 

8. Firstfruits: 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 

9. Eternal joy: Revelation 21:3-5

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 15, The Gospel of John