ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS | SUNDAY 28TH JANUARY 2024

*ADULT TEACHER- JANUARY-JUNE, 2024*

UNIT 1: Redemption

LESSON 4: January 28, 2024.

TOPIC: GOD’S PURPOSES IN REDEMPTION

Memory Verse: Jude 1:25 - To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen (KJV).

Bible Text:

Psalm 107:1-3,8; Ephesians 1:7-12; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31; Colossians 1:14-20; John 3:16-17; 5:24; 6:40.

*Central Truth:*

God redeems us btly Christ for His own good purposes.

INTRODUCING THE LESSON

It is possible to go through life with no aim or goal, but very little of notice would be given such a life. Purpose provides us with intentional living, giving us both the reason and drive to go on. Without it, we are like a boat without a rudder or a traveller without a destination.

God did not randomly set the world in order, and then accidentally set the stage for salvation. A plan of salvation was prepared before the world began. He knew how He was going to provide for redemption from sin.

In this week’s lesson, you will see that God’s purpose for redemption had at least three aims: to bring glory to Himself for His grace, to honour the Son for His sacrifice, and to provide eternal life for all who believe. It is in our lives that His purpose finds fulfilment. It is also through Christ that our lives can find their ultimate purpose.

LESSON OUTLINE

1. TO GLORIFY GOD

A. For Goodness And Mercy – Psalm 107:1-3,8

B. Through Trust In Christ – Ephesians 1:7-12.

2. TO MAGNIFY CHRIST

A. Christ Our Everything – 1 Corinthians 1:30,31

B. Redeemed Through Christ’s Blood – Colossians 1:14-20.

3. TO GIVE EVERLASTING LIFE

A. Through Faith In God’s Son – John 3:16-17

B. By Victory Over Death – John 5:24; 6:40.

*THE HOLY SCRIPTURES*

Psalms 107:1-3,8

[1]O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

[2]Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

[3]And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.

[8]Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

*Ephesians 1:7-12*

[7]In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

[8]Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

[9]Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

[10]That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

[11]In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

[12]That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

*1 Corinthians 1:30-31*

[30]But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

[31]That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

*Colossians 1:14-20*

[14]In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

[15]Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

[16]For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

[17]And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

[18]And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

[19]For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

[20]And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

*John 3:16*

[16]For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

[17]For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

John 5:24

[24]Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 6:40

[40]And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

*Commentary and Application*

*1. To Glorify God*

*A. For Goodness and Mercy–Psalm 107:1-3, 8*

When we begin to list those things, both small and great, that we have to be thankful for, the list can filI page after page. That list can include family and friends, a job, school, a home, even life itself, which is a gift beyond measure. Those who serve the Lord have many spiritual blessings to add to that list, because God is good.

The Psalmist wrote that God’s people are to give thanks to Him for His everlasting mercy (Psalm

107:1). The redeemed – those who have experienced the Lord’s salvation – have much for which to be thankful. The writer of this psalm gave praise to God for His redemption in freeing His people from the control of their enemies and for restoring them to the land of promise (verses 2,3).

To live in thankfulness is not to live unrealistically. Those who are redeemed by the Lord sometimes experience painful situations and struggles. Yet in and through these, they learn to trust in God’s loving arms of protection and peace. We can give thanks for the Lord’s goodness that never fails and for the miracles He works for those who love Him (verse .

*Question for Application*

How can we live lives of

thanksgiving ?

We have been given free will by God to make choices about our dally lives. We can choose to be joyful or disagreeable, hopeful or cynical, loving or unfeeling. Wa can also choose to be thankful. Find those things in your life that are right and good and give God praise for them. If we look for small things to give thanks for daily, soon our hearts will grow to be thankful. Even when times are tough we can find meaningful things – evidences of God’s goodness and mercy – in our lives that make them worthwhile. We glorify God as we give Him praise and thanks for His goodness and mercy to us.

*B. Through Trust in Christ–Ephesians 1:7-12*

Christians also bring glory to God when they put their trust in Christ. We learn this through the writings of the apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus. He wrote: “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ” (Ephesians 1:12). This is true not only of those early believers who

first trusted in Christ, but to all who experience redemption through faith in Him. To understand why, we must go back to verse 7 and work our way forward to verse 12.

It is in Christ that redemption is made available to all people (verses 7-9). Because Christ fulfilled God’s will in offering His life as the perfect sacrifice for sin, we receive forgiveness for our sins “through His Blood” (verse 7). This is the riches of God’s grace lavished on us.

Grace is the motive for “the mystery of His [God’s] will”. God knew there was no way sinful people could be restored into fellowship with Him unless He took the initiative. There is no good work, no personal sacrifice, no “being good enough” that a person can do to be in right standing with God. So God set in motion a plan that was established before the world was created, a plan in which Christ is the central figure (verses 9, 10). It is through Christ that God has chosen to restore His creation to Himself.

A person is restored to God through faith in Christ. In Christ, “we have obtained an inheritance’ (verse 11). This again points to God’s choosing of us to be a part of His plan and purpose. All that is necessary is for Christians to follow His plan and allow God to bring it to completion.

This brings us back to verse 12: the result of God’s blessing on us is that our lives can now reflect the glory of God. This should further result in our lives becoming praise to God simply by being like Him and conforming to His will.

*Question for Application*

Why is it important that believers’ lives bring glory to God?

As believers, our lives may be the only Bible some people will read.

When we reflect the transforming change that God brought about in our lives through Christ, we show

lost humanity that God can do the same for them.

*2. To Magnify Christ*

*A. Christ Our Everything–1 Corinthians 1:30, 31*

*Question for Application*

What opinion do people often have of someone who continually brags about his or her achievements?

Those who are proud and brag continually about their achievements are generally not the easiest people to love. Their lives centre on themselves and their personal accomplishments. Rarely do they think much of others. Worse, they take all the credit for what they have achieved and attained. They fail to see the hand of God at work in their lives. It is even possible to find people in the church who seem to see their gains and blessings as self-attained.

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth that believers owe everything to Christ. Through God’s mercy Christ becomes the believers’ wisdom, so they might make right choices: their righteousness and holiness, so they might stand before God without fault; and their redemption, so they might be saved. (1 Corinthians 1:30). The only boasting believers should do is in the One who saved them (verse 31).

*Question for Application*

What do you have that you would not have if it weren’t for Christ?

All the blessings in our lives are made possible by God. Too often we take this for granted. Salvation is a gift we cannot achieve on our own. Joy and peace cannot be obtained apart from God’s blessing. Our strength, our intellect, and our ability to work come from God’s hand. We also receive forgiveness and mercy in order to find life eternal. Where is the personal boasting in these things? We are to “give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good” (Psalm 107:1). It should be obvious to us that one of God’s purposes in redemption is to magnify Christ through whom all the blessings we enjoy come.

*B. Redeemed Through Christ’s Blood- Colossians:14-20*

Just as we are to magnify Christ for all of the blessings we have because of Him, so we are to glorify Christ because He has redeemed us through His Blood (Colossians 1:14). In writing to the believers at Colosse, Paul gave us a glimpse of who Christ is and what He did to make redemption possible.

First, Christ is the image of the invisible God (verse 15). In Christ, we behold the very image of God, though God is invisible to our mortal eyes.

*Question for Application*

In what ways is Christ “the Image of the Invisible God”?

The word “image” suggests representation. Christ represents God. Although Christ came in the flesh as a man, it is the nature of God, which Christ always possessed, that He represents to us.

As finite beings, we cannot comprehend on the infinite God. We are dependent on Christ as the Divine image of God in order to know Him (see Hebrews 1:1-3; John 14:9).

Second, Christ is over everything in heaven and the Earth, since He brought all things into existence by His power (verse 16). And by His grace and power, He continues to sustain all things (verse 17)

He created all things and is over all things, yet He surrendered Himself to death that we might live. In the natural, this does not seem reasonable. Why would the One who made all things offer Himself to be sacrificed to save seemingly insignificant lives? Only when you experience the love of Christ can you begin to understand His motivation. We who have eternal and abundarnt life through faith in Christ understand and give Him praise from grateful hearts.

Third, Jesus Christ is head of the Church (verse 18) He died on the cross and was raised from the dead, becoming the firstborn from the dead’, Now He has “the preeminence” this means that not only is He the Creator of all things, but because He died and was raised fron the dead, He is the gracious Ruler over those He died to forgive.

Fourth, all of the fulness of the Godhead is in Jesus Christ (verse 19) Everything that God the Father is, Jesus Christ is, And He gave that all up so we could be forgiven through His death on the Cross.

Finally, through His sacrifice, through the Blood He shed on Calvary, He made peace available to us (verse 20) We can have peace with God if we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour. We can be reconciled to God because of what Christ did.

Consider how we can magnify Christ because we have been redeemed. What steps can we take to honour God with our lives? What can we do at work or at home to extend the grace of God to those around us? He did not even spare the life of His Son so we could be redeemed. Surely our lives can become the song of praise He desires and so richly deserves.

*3. To Give Everlasting Life*

*A. Through Faith in God’s Son–John 3:16, 17*

*Question for Application*

What passage in Scripture do you feel best describes the purpose of salvation?

Although many verses may come to mind, the most quoted passage of the Bible may be the best. It is John 3:16. This verse so eloquently defines the full measure of salvation, God’s love motivated Him to save a world lost in sin. Only the Blood of His Son Could save people from death. Anyone who believes in Him receives everlasting life. The message is easy enough for a child to understand, yet has the depth of God’s grace filling every Word.

Verse 17 echoes God’s love found in verse 16. God’s Son was not sent to condemn anyone, Yet Some people seem to enjoy condemning others as they fix their gaze on the undesirables of society. God sent Jesus to save the world through His life, not to condemn it.

We would do well to live by the truth these verses teach. If we follow Christ, then our message to the world by word and deed should not differ from God’s purposes. He gave of Himself because of His love and He continually extends His love to any who come to Him believing. Christ came to save the world, not to condemn it. To those who believe in Him He gives everlasting life.

*B. By Victory over Death–John 5:24; 6:40*

*Question for application*

In John 5:24, did Jesus mean that Christians would never die?

Explain.

Jesus promised everlasting life to those who believe in Him (John

524), When we hear the message of salvation and respond in faith to it. we are declared not guilty in God’s sight. Through believing in Jesus, we pass “from death unto life”.

John 5:24 should not be misunderstood to mean that Christian will not die. Physical death comes to every person, but when a believer in Jesus dies, he enters the presence of God where he will live forever (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). Those believers who are in heaven with Jesus now await the time when their bodies and souls will be reunited in the resurrection.

Jesus spoke of this resurrection in John 6:40. Believers in Jesus will enjoy eternal life because He gives them victory over death. We can live with the blessed assurance that our lives do not end with death. Death is but the doorway by which we enter into eternal life, where we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6).

*Call to Discipleship*

God has graciously provided to us redemption – freedom from sin and new life in His Spirit. We can now freely give Him glory and praise knowing we will be with Him in a life without end. Jesus gave His life so we might share in His righteousness, holiness and redemption.

Knowing God’s purpose for our salvation helps us better understand ourselves. We have each been called by God- adopted into His family

and now we are invited by Him to use our unique gifts and talents to minister in the Kingdom of His Son.

Find time each day to give God thanks for His great love. As our appreciation grows, so will our dedication to His purpose for our lives Salvation is available because of Christ’s sacrifice. In response we can show our gratitude by surrendering our lives to Him.

*Ministry in Action*

No life without purpose in the design of God. Some in your class may not realise that God is calling them to surrender their lives and find new life and direction in Him. Offer to pray with students who want to receive redemption through Jesus Christ.

THIS PUBLICATION IS THE PRODUCT OF GENERAL COUNCIL SUNDAY SCHOOL DEPARTMENT ASSEMBLIES OF GOD NIGERIA