chapter teaching 022208

Chapter Teaching

22 February 2008

Lifehomes Subd. Chapel

FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Talk 1: The Image of God

Speaker: Kuya Bernie Benedicto

The call to us in SFC is:

· To be holy as God is Holy

· To be Christlike

· To be filled with the Holy Spirit

*More and more, we ought to manifest the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

· Galatians 5:22-23

o “But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience and understanding of others, kindness and fidelity, gentleness and self-control. For such things, there is no law or punishment.”

· As Singles for Christ, we are called to bear fruits.

*God’s original intent was that we be just like Him.

· Genesis 1:26-27

o “God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, to our likeness..’”

The Concept of Sonship

*The term ‘sonship’ is used because it is faithful to the Biblical metaphor, but it refers to a relationship available to both men and women.

· Sonship had a specific meaning in Jesus’ culture that we might miss.

· The son was cared for by the mother until age 5-7.

· Then he went, not to school, but under the direct care of the father, whose job was to raise him up to be a man.

o The father taught the son the law, a trade, basic life skills, Godly character, and found him a wife.

· The son was the father’s heir. Everything the father had was his.

· The son represented the father, succeeded to his position, and carried on his name.

· The son became sort of the ‘replica’ of the father. There was one ‘identity’ between them.

Sonship in Adam

· Luke 3:23-28 [Genealogy of Jesus]

o Verse 38 says: ‘the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God’

· Adam was God’s son. Not of biological descent, but of the total relationship of Sonship.

· God related to Adam as a father related to his son.

o He taught him the law.

§ Genesis 2:16-17

o He established him in an occupation.

§ Genesis 1:26b

o He got him a wife.

§ Genesis 2:22

· Adam’s sonship gives us some clues as to what God had in mind for us.

o “image and likeness’

§ Man shares God’s nature and character.

o “dominion”

§ Man shares God’s role and responsibility

· We should reach out to God. (Refer to Michelangelo’s painting at the Sistine Chapel: God is reaching for us. Let’s make an effort to reach out to Him.)

· Adam: a specific person (Genesis 2:18) or entire human race (Genesis 1:28)

· The story of Adam is not just of an individual, but of the entire human race.

· Thus, God created Adam as His son; God created the human race as His son.

· But man turned away from God and forfeited his sonship.

· God needed a way to bring man back to his original purpose.

· God’s way was Jesus.

Sonship in Jesus

· Jesus is the new Adam.

o Romans 5:14-17

o 1 Corinthians 15:45, 47-49

· God decided to re-create the human race to counter Adam’s fall and achieve His original purpose. He does it the same way through one man [Jesus Christ] who begins a new race.

God’s Purpose for our Lives Now

1. To make us mature sons and daughters.

· We are God’s sons and daughters, but are still babies. We need to grow spiritually.

· Galatians 4:19

o “…until Christ be formed in you”

o A process.

· We need to know God more, to experience Him personally in our lives.

· We are “work in progress.”

· An enduring relationship.

· We confuse ‘son/daughter’ with ‘little child’.

· In Jewish culture, sonship was an identity and a relationship that remained lifelong.

· We represent Christians/SFC in our daily lives.

· How does growth to maturity take place?

o Colossians 3:9-10, 12-13

§ Old self (old nature) vs. new man (new nature) – the creation of a new human race.

§ We trade in our old humanity for the new humanity offered us in Christ.

o An active process.

§ Matthew 5:43-45, 48

· “Do this so that you may be sons.”

· Though in one sense, we already are sons and daughters, we still need to become sons and daughters in another sense by learning to act like our Father and reflect His character.

2. To make us spiritual men and women.

· Concentrate not on the physical but on the spiritual.

· 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

o The Corinthians already had the Holy Spirit but are still not spiritual.

· To be spiritual is not to manifest the gifts of the Spirit, but to manifest the fruit of the Spirit.

· True spiritually consists in living as God’s sons and daughters, reflecting the character of Jesus.

· Matthew 7:21-23

o True spirituality consists not in displays of charismatic activity, but in life of Holiness.

· Galatians 5:19-23

o Paul contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit.

o Refers not to feelings but to characteristics.

· Four Principles of Spiritual Growth

o The New Life Principle

o The Communion with God Principle

§ Stay with God, always be in God’s presence.

§ Try to be closer to God so that slowly, but surely, you’ll be like Him.

o The Imitation of Christ Principle

§ In order to grow spiritually, we need to imitate Christ (but before we can imitate Christ, we must first know Him)

o The Discipline Principle

§ God corrects us so that when we grow up, we would be like Him.

*Go and bear much fruit.*