Commissioned

Jesus was really a human being not pretending to be one. He emptied Himself, divested himself of his prestige or any privilege of being divine. In these verses we see that the Jesus who walked among man, lived as a man and lived sinless; an example to us that though temptations will come we need not yield to them. The fact that Jesus was indeed human and not divine give us confidence in that fact that God’s love for the world is shown in His embrace of us as human created in His likeness.

Q1. (2:1-4). To achieve unity in your congregation, why is humility necessary? Can you give an example of how lack of humility caused a division in your church? What are you doing to bring unity in your church?​ To achieve unity in your congregation, humility is necessary to accept others and to allow everyone to be and become what God has ordained that they would become. The lack of humility has caused a division in the church when the new pastor was not accepted by some. To bring unity in the church, stay humble and love as Christ taught us to love.

Q2. (2:6) In your own words, what does it mean that Christ didn't cling to his equality with God? How specifically does this passage teach that Jesus is divine? Jesus did not cling to his equality with God instead He presented Himself, identifying with those around him as a human being. The passage teaches us that Jesus is divine by stating that He who is the very nature God, in other words He is God Himself and therefore divine. ​

Fear can keep us from being a bold witness by our refusing to speak out when the Holy Spirit inspires us; also, when we feel insignificant, inconsequential or unlearned in a conversation that is telling others about the love of God. Fear of people binds our tongue because we lack the confidence that comes through the knowledge of Christ through the reading of His Word. Peter tells us: “…be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory…” (2 Peter 3:17-19). "losing our life" for Christ's sake actually give us an abundant life because Christ is exalted.

From the standpoint of witness to others, we are much more credible when undergoing personal struggles, stress, and problems because those around witnessing what we are going through, also see that our faith is grounded in the Lord our Savior and will encourage them to seek to know Him as we do. Paul's witness was so powerful because his persecution was great and yet his testimony gave hope. The personal struggle that I going through that could enhance my testimony if handled right is that of living celibate as a single Christian woman.

Q4. (1:9-11) Why does Paul ask God to give the Philippian Christians discernment? What will be the result of discernment in their lives? How does selfishness cloud discernment? How is the good the enemy of the best in our lives? Paul ask God to give the Philippian Christians discernment so that they can serve Him through better knowledge of Him. As our knowledge of God grows or matures we can operate in ministry that touches the lives of others, bringing glory to God. Selfishness cloud discernment by not sharing the gift to bring God's grace into the lives of others. The good is the enemy of the best in our lives when we are comfortable with "just good" and do not strive for "best". God's will for us is always "best" not just "good". When we settle for "good" we are robbed of God's best for us; and that is always the plan of the enemy to keep God's best from us. ​

Q3. (1:6) What does Paul expect God to do for the Philippian believers? Why does he expect God to do this? What is the basis of Paul's confidence? On what basis can we expect God to do this for us? Paul expects that God will be with the Philippian believer as he journeys through life. He expects that God will do the same for us too because God has adopted us as His very own sons and daughters and He has called us "saints". We can expect that God will do this for us because he has given us that promise and that can never be rescinded; if we follow Him He will surely bring us to Him as the Bride of Christ.

Q2. (1:6) When we become financial "partners" with a Christian missionary, minister, ministry, or church, what do we receive out of the partnership? What other kinds of support might we offer beyond financial? When we become financial "partners" with a Christian missionary, minister, ministry, or church, out of the partnership we receive spiritual and material blessings as we support their ministry in the kingdom of God. Beyond financial support there are other kinds of support that we can offer, some of them being prayers for their ministry, their health, family members, opening of doors for ministry, material resources, introductions and networking; etc. to name a few.

Q1. (1:1) What is the basic idea of "slave"? What is the root idea of "saint"? In what way are these words saying the same thing about a Christian's relationship to God? The basic idea of a "slave" is one who is subject to another in compulsory service. A "saint" is one who is dedicated or consecrated to the service of God. A Christian is both a "slave" and a "saint" in the service of God as we service Him with complete devotion and obedience to every line upon line as He has called us to serve. Our service is not on our term but solely His. This gives Him honor as we do so with a loving and a cheerful heart.

When people think of spending an eternity in heaven, I think that they will mostly look forward to being with Jesus. Jesus reigning forever and ever means that He alone will be Lord, Ruler, Redeemer, King of the Universe and will never be overthrown or replaced. This is the Lord and King who directs and sustains my life. I bow my knees to the King of Kings!

Jesus purifies and refines his church by the washing with water through the word of God. Jesus purifies and refines us through the baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire. On the Day that fire will test our deeds; I pray that by the grace of God I will not have anything that remains, besides my salvation.

For us to be presented to Christ as a pure virgin bride we must be completely belonging to Him, careful that we are not stained with sin. “He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” (Psalm 24:4) We are faithful to Christ when we are obedient to His commandments and live a righteous and holy life. We veer away from the path that God has for us, living as He desires for us; then we partake with the adulterous and sinful generation that Jesus decried. The marriage relationship say that love, communication, and intimacy with Christ is unbroken if we are to reign with Him for eternity.

Jesus as the Son of God is “Heir of All Things.” We as adopted into the family of God are co-heirs with him. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance and because we are co-heirs we also possess all things.

The titles First and Last, Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End teaches us that Jesus’ is everpresent; from eternity to eternity, He is. Knowing that Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of our faith help build our trust in him because He founded our salvation and is with us to complete it here on earth.

Jesus show the Father’s glory in his ministry by doing the things that His Father sent Him to do. "For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me." (John 6:38). Jesus allowed Peter, James, and John to see his Transfiguration becaus He wanted them to be witnessed to His Sovereignty. Jesus will appear in heaven in a manner that will be like none other. Jesus' appearance will draw all eyes to Him; He will come in his Father's glory with his angels.

To be presented to Christ as a pure virgin bride we must daily live in total obedience to His word. We are only as faithful as we live in His will. When we are outside the will of God we partake in the sinful acts of the world. The analogy of the marriage relationship shows us that love, communication, and intimacy with Christ keeps the relationship intact just as they do to keep a marriage intact. When one is lacking in a marriage there will be faults to find and if it persists there will be a breakdown in the relationship that could be catastrophic.

Christ the center, the focus of my life to the degree that it began and will eternally remain the life He lives through me. To prove to another person that Christ is the center of my life, I must show them that my life is controlled by His will as I obey His commandments. This will be contradicted when I’m not walking in love. A humble life with daily repentance is necessary to keep prioritizing my life for Christ.

Jesus' teachings on the Living Bread and the True Vine teach us that if we eat of this living bread we will have eternal life, living forever. And once we’ve eaten of the living bread we can be sustained by staying attached to the branch that will feed us the true vine. When we rely on ourselves and not on the living bread and the true vine we will find ourselves weak and powerless to withstand the evil of this world and it could lead us to forfeit eternal life. True, it is sometimes hard for us to remain grounded in the place where we fully depend and trust in the Word of God and believe that all of His promises are yea and amen and that they are for us. We need only BELIEVE.

Jesus is the true light because He is the light that brings life and is a light that can never be extinguished. As we follow Christ we can never walk in darkness because He is the true light, inextinguishable. This is the light of the world that gives life. Every man who seeks eternal life can have it as they believe and receive the true light, Christ Jesus. Believers, in Christ, will live in the light of Christ and as they continue the journey the world, will see the light exuding out of them in their everyday life. The world resist Jesus’ light, his truth, his view of the Father and the only way to eternal life because they refuse to accept the life that goes along with accepting the True Light and the call to living a holy life. They prefer to live a lie, that they too have a light, called philosophy; that brings them to the edge of truth and veer off in a distorted darkness where light is forever hid. Until there is radical repentance that person will never enjoy living in the light of Jesus, the light of this world.

In this broken world Jesus is the only answer for healing every kind of brokenness. I am blessed and thankful that whenever I need a healer Jesus has already seen my brokenness and given me physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually healing. Through Him I am made whole. Thank you Jesus!.

In light of the many religions in the world today, we are assured that Jesus is indeed the only way to God, the exclusive door or gateway to eternal life because He alone is the Son of God who came to earth to die on a cruel cross for the forgiveness of the sins of mankind. He is the only only one who died to redeem man back to God. the scripture tells us in John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." The offends the world because they'd like to chose their own path to heaven. Thank God that we need not fear spreading this truth to our generation because the Spirit of God is with us to declare the gospel and He takes it and makes it pliable to the heart of the hearer.

These rock images of Christ are attractive to our world because the world loves the strong and rock depicts strength that is not easily broken. The "rock images" repel people because it calls men into obedience to the commandments of God. They are repelled because they refuse righteousness. In my life Jesus is the firm irremovable strength of the powerful eternal word which has laid a foundation for me to live by and to live upon. He is my choice of Savior, Deliverer,Friend, Master, Lord and God.

The assertion that Jesus is the “head of the body, the church” affects the way we conceive of the church because He is the One that our worship, our entire living should be pleasing. The universal Church, which includes all servants of Chirst, should assert that Jesus alone is their Head. Since we believe that Jesus is the head of the church, we should conduct our life and ministry as the church in obedience to His law as given to us in the Testaments. As the invisible Church we represents the "head" in living out Truth. God's Word is truth and nothing outside of His Word should take priority or cause us to live beyind the scope of His ordained will for our lives. As the body, we follow his leadership by His grace and daily seek to follow His Truth.