Search
Scripture: 1 Cor. 12:3
I. There is a Lord of all things:
А. Everything has its lord.
B. Who is the Lord of this great universe and the things therein?
C. Who is your lord? Neither your parents, your husband, nor your wife is your lord. If you think they are, who will you belong to once they die? You will be a man without a lord.
II. The Creator of all things:
А. The universe and all creation has its Creator.
B. Man also has a Creator.
C. The One who created all is the Lord of all. Since all things were created by Him, all things belong to Him. He is the Lord of all.
III. The Ruler of all things:
А. There is a Ruler in creation.
B. There is a Ruler over man and within man’s heart.
C. This Ruler is the Lord.
IV. The Redeemer of all things:
А. Man needs redemption because he has sinned.
B. The whole creation also needs redemption because it was corrupted through man’s sin. This is clearly seen in the Bible.
C. The Redeemer of all is the Lord of all.
V. Jesus is Lord:
А. Jesus is the Creator and the Lord of all.
B. Jesus is the Ruler of creation; as Ruler, He is the Lord of all.
C. Jesus is the Redeemer of all creation; as the Redeemer, He is the Lord of all.
VI. How to receive Jesus as Lord:
А. Confess that you are created, ruled, and redeemed by Him.
B. Repent, confess your sins, and receive Him as your Savior.
C. Acknowledge that all that you are and have belong to Him and that He is your Lord.
Scripture: 1 Cor. 15:3-4
I. Presumptions of the people regarding Christ’s death:
А. The Jews said that He died because He was sentenced to death by the Roman officials.
B. The Gentiles throughout the ages said that He sacrificed Himself for a cause.
II. Christ’s own explanation:
А. He willingly gave His own life, to die (John 10:11, 18).
B. He died to redeem men from their sins (Matt. 26:28).
III. The Bible’s explanation:
А. God predestined Him to die.
B. He was destined to die for the sins of man.
IV. The witness of the saints:
А. They confessed that Christ died for their sins, thus receiving the peace of being forgiven.
B. This confession resulted in a change in that they no longer lived a life of sin.
C. How to deal with Christ’s death:
D. Develop this point.
Scripture: 1 Cor. 15:55-56
I. The fearfulness of death:
А. The most fearsome word in the dictionary is death.
B. The most frightening sound is the sound of the word death.
C. Death is the most frightful thing in a man’s life. Who is not afraid of death?
II. The power of death:
А. There is no power among men that is greater than the power of death.
B. No one can reject the visitation of death.
C. The fact that no one is spared from death speaks of the powerfulness of death.
III. The sting of death:
А. Death possesses man, not directly but in an indirect way.
B. Death possesses man through sin. Sin is the sting of death. Everyone who fishes knows that one fishes with a hook. Once the fish is hooked, it is caught. Just as man fishes by using a hook, so death possesses man by sin.
C. Sin is the sting because it is poisonous. Once sin poisons man, it possesses him. The result of sin is death. Because sin is poisonous, it deadens.
IV. How to be spared from death:
А. One needs to be freed from sin in order to be spared from death.
B. To be freed from sin one must first believe in the Lord. On one hand, the Lord died and shed His blood so that we might be spared from the punishment of sin. On the other hand, He resurrected so that we might be delivered from the power of sin.
Scripture: 2 Cor. 5:14
I. The One is Jesus:
А. Jesus is God coming to be the Savior of mankind.
B. Since He is God incarnated, He is an unlimited person.
C. In God’s eyes all who believe in Jesus are included in Jesus. So Jesus is not only an unlimited person but One who includes all.
II. All are sinners:
А. All the people in the world are sinners.
B. Every sinner that believes in the Lord Jesus is included in this “all.”
III. One died for all:
А. Apparently, Jesus died as one individual, yet actually, He died for all. That is, He died for those He redeemed, for all those who believe in Him.
B. The reason that the Lord’s death could become effective for all who believe in Him is that He is one with them, and they are joined to Him.
IV. All died:
А. “All” refers to all those who are joined to Christ Jesus. Since He died, all have died in God’s sight. It is best to use the example of a nation destroyed.
B. Since all died because of His death, “all” do not need to die again.
V. How to share in Jesus’ death:
Develop this point.
Scripture: 2 Cor. 5:21
I. The sinless One is Jesus:
А. Jesus, as God incarnated, does not have a sinful nature.
B. Jesus never sinned, even when He was judged. All the examinations of men could not find any sins in Jesus. Even He Himself said, “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” (John 8:46).
II. We are sin:
А. We were born in sin.
B. We grew up in sin.
C. We are living in sin.
D. We live out sin.
E. We both possess a sinful nature and commit sinful acts, so we are sin.
III. The sinless One became sin:
А. God caused Jesus to be our Substitute. He caused the sinless Lord Jesus to replace us, who are sin, by becoming sin for us.
B. God caused the Lord Jesus to become sin in order that He might receive God’s righteous judgment on the cross for us.
C. When God judged the Lord Jesus, He actually judged us. By terminating the body of Jesus, He terminated us.
D. Jesus could become sin for us because He became a man in order to be united with man.
IV. The result of His becoming sin:
А. He became sin for us that we might become righteousness.
B. We are sin, and Jesus is righteousness. When He caused us to be righteousness, He caused us to become Him.
C. His causing us to become Him means that we may be joined to Him. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 in Him refers to this joining.
D. This righteousness of His is not only before man but also before God. Not only does it fulfill the requirement and standard of man but also that of God. Therefore, His righteousness is God’s righteousness. So when He became sin for us, He caused us to be joined with Him and in Him to become righteousness before God.
Scripture: Gal. 2:20
I. The love of Christ:
А. Christ loved us, so He left heaven and the throne to be born in this world as a lowly person.
B. Christ loved us, so He passed through thirty-three years of human sufferings.
C. Christ loved us, so He gave Himself up at the cross; that is, He gave up His life through death.
D. Very few lay down their lives for others, although some might die for a good man, or friends. Yet Christ laid down His life for us, even though we were His enemies. This love is a surpassing love (Rom. 5:7-8, 10).
II. The intention of Christ’s sacrifice:
А. Not only to suffer and die for us but to take away our sins and redeem us.
B. Not only to satisfy our need but to fulfill God’s requirement.
C. Not only to make us complete but to accomplish God’s means of salvation.
D. His sacrifice was that we might partake of God and all that He has.
III. How to receive the love of Christ:
Develop this point.
Scripture: Gal. 3:13
I. The origin of the curse:
А. The curse came from sin.
B. God brought in the curse after Adam sinned. God said, “Cursed is the ground because of you” (Gen. 3:17).
II. The sign of the curse:
А. The sign of the curse is thorns. After Adam sinned, the earth brought forth thorns because of the curse. So thorns are the sign of being cursed.
B. The outstanding feature of thorns is that they prick, causing pain.
III. The execution of the curse:
А. The curse is carried out through the law. The law administers the curse. Once man sinned, God’s law then administered the curse upon man.
B. Therefore, the curse is related to the law of God and is the demand of the righteousness of God upon sinners.
IV. The nullification of the curse:
А. When Christ bore our sins, He also took our curse. Since the problem of sin is resolved, so is the problem of the curse.
B. When Christ bore our sins on the cross, He wore a crown of thorns. Since the thorns are a sign of the curse, this shows that He took our curse on the cross.
C. Since Christ was cursed in our stead on the cross, the demand of the law was fulfilled, and He could redeem us from the curse of the law.
V. How to have the curse removed:
Develop this point.
Scripture: Gal. 5:1
I. Our bondage:
А. We are under the bondage of sin.
B. We are under the bondage of the law.
C. We are under the bondage of Satan.
D. We are under the bondage of death.
II. Christ’s setting free:
А. Christ dealt with sin for us.
B. Christ satisfied the law for us.
C. Christ destroyed Satan for us.
D. Christ eliminated death for us.
III. The purpose of salvation:
А. To forgive our sins and deliver us from sin.
B. To deliver us from the law.
C. To deliver us from Satan’s dominion.
D. To deliver us from the power of death.
IV. How to be released:
Develop this point.
Scripture: Eph. 1:7
I. The result of sin:
А. Sin causes us to be under God’s condemnation.
B. Condemnation creates a distance and a barrier between us and God.
II. The demand of the law:
А. The law represents God’s righteousness, making absolute demands on man.
B. The demand of the law confines the sinner under condemnation.
III. The redemption through the blood:
А. Christ bore our sins to fulfill the demand of the law. Therefore, the blood of Christ is able to redeem us from under the law so that the law could no longer confine us under condemnation.
B. Since the blood of Christ redeems us from the condemnation of the law, it also abolishes the distance between us and God; thus, we are brought back to God. As sin and the law cause us to depart from God and become distant from Him, so the blood of Christ redeems us from under the law that we may return to God without anything between us and Him.
IV. The result of redemption:
А. Our sins are forgiven.
B. We are brought back to God.
V. The accomplishment of redemption is through God’s grace.
VI. How to obtain redemption:
Develop this point.
Scripture: Eph. 2:1
I. The meaning of death:
А. Death means the loss of function; spiritually, this is the inability to do good.
B. Death also means the loss of feeling; spiritually, this is the unconsciousness of sin.
II. The fact of death:
А. The condition of man today is altogether one of death. He is unable to do good and is without the consciousness of sin. Having lost his function and feeling, he is ungodly toward God and unrighteous toward man; he is without the strength to be godly or righteous.
B. Illustrate the facts of death. Show the inability to do good and the lack of consciousness of sin.
III. The source of death:
А. Death comes from sin.
B. All who sin abide in death.
IV. The result of death:
А. The death of the spirit occurs first.
B. The death of the spirit results in the death of the body.
C. It also causes the soul to suffer in Hades.
D. In the end it will cause the whole being to be cast with its body, soul, and spirit into the lake of fire to suffer the second death, that is, eternal suffering.
V. How to be free from death:
Develop this point.
