Man

In this section of the study we will examine the texts that people often think of first, for these passages describe what "happens" to the believer.  Before these passages can be discussed, we will first review the negative, that is, what must be overcome and removed.

Having studied passages that emphasize union and participation with Christ, we begin with the passages that speak about our separation from God.

Section 1

1. How has sin changed the relationship between God and man?  What evidence does Scripture provide (e.g., Genesis 3:22-24; Exodus 3:5; Isaiah 59:2; Romans 3:9-20)?  What modern evidence confirms Scripture's testimony?  Compare Galatians 5:19-21 to contemporary circumstances.

2. How does sin alter your personal fellowship with God?  What is the primary evidence for this?

Having laid that foundation, we move to texts that speak of our liberation from sin and its consequences, both vertical and horizontal.

Section 2

Read Revelation 7:16-17 and 21:4.  What will the believer be freed to do?  From what effects of sin will the believer be liberated?

1. Vertical.  If the effects of sin have been noted above, what will be the consequence of being without sin?  How is this revealed in Exodus 24:1-11, Matthew 8:10-11, and 1 John 3:2?  How do we experience this now?  What hope does this produce?

2. Horizontal.  What down payment is effected in our lives according to Galatians 5:19-23 and 1 Corinthians 12:1-11?

Section 3

Read Romans 7:24, 1 Corinthians 15:56, and 2 Timothy 4:18.

1. What is the power of sin?  How does law hold power over us?

2. How is that usurper's authority broken?  See Revelation 12:7-10, Romans 3:20ff, 8:1-4, and Galatians 3:10-14.

3. Having been freed from the power of law, what are we freed to do?  How does Romans 8:5-17 express this freedom (see also Galatians 5:1ff)?  How does this shape our view of our vocation and every other task of life?

Section 4

Beside man being freed from sin, creation likewise yearns for its release.

1. How has creation become an instrument of man's idolatry (Romans 1)?

2. How is this manifested today?

3. How is that a perversion of God's intent (Genesis 1, Psalm 8, 19)?

4. When it is not idolized and freed from decay brought about by man's sin, what will it resemble?  Refer to Ezekiel 36:8; Isaiah 35; Isaiah 11:6-9; 65:17ff.  How does this impact our view of ecology and environmentalism?

Section 5

One of the more provocative issues is how the resurrected body is pictured in Scripture.

1. Upon what does the hope of our resurrection rest?  Read 1 Corinthians 15:20-22.  How is the resurrected body described in Matthew 13:43 and Philippians 3:20-21?  How is it described in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 53-54 and 2 Peter 1:3?

2. With what is the glorified / spiritual body contrasted in the previous passages?  Consider your thoughts from Sections 2 & 3.

3. What, then, do you think glorified / spiritual means?  How does Matthew 22:23-33 add to your understanding?  How, then, should we regard the body even now?

Section 6

The Church has also taught that in eternal life, while all the saints will be fully conformed to our Lord's likeness, there will be a variety among the people of God.  This has been called degrees of glory.

1. What is promised to whom in Daniel 12:3?

2. What will be given to the disciples according to Matthew 19:28?

3. In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), what is the consequence for a faithful discharge of stewardship in this life?  See also Matthew 6:1-6 and 10:41-42.

4. How is persecution for the faith looked upon in eternal life?  Read Matthew 5:12.

"Just as a gardener may take equal delight in the flowers adorning his garden while relishing the differences between roses, lilies, and carnations, so likewise Almighty God is at liberty to create persons of differing capacity who ill reach different levels of accomplishment in the order of grace (see 1 Corinthians 15:38f.).  All the glorified saints will be equally filled when conformed to the likeness of Christ, just as a thimble and a tumbler can be equally filled with water.  No creature may gainsay the Creator's right to apportion different capacities to the vessels made and restored in His image." (John R. Stephenson, Eschatology, pp. 131-132).

Section 7

Scripture presents life with God from two perspectives:  It is an accomplished fact and it is a future promise.  The phrase "now and not yet" is often used to expresses this tension.1

1. Read John 5:24; Acts 2:17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 9:26; 1 Peter 1:20; and 1 John 2:18.  Which part of "now and not yet" do they express?  What is the essence of your present experience of Heaven?  Since the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us at the present time, is the guarantee of what is yet to come (2 Corinthians 5:5), what is the significance of the Word and Sacrament in His ministry to us, that is, what do Word and Sacrament give to us?

2. What is anticipated in the "not yet" of Matthew 8:11-12 and 1 Corinthians 6:9; 15:50?  What does this "not yet" provide that we do not now experience?  What is the common feature between the "now" and the "not yet"?

3. Christ has told His disciples that this life is filled with sorrow and tribulation due to the cross of faith (Matthew 16:24-25) and the sin in the world (Romans 8:19-22).  Taking this into account and considering the common feature between the now and not yet is, answer this question:  If we only have the "now" and not the "not yet," how are we able to endure and persevere to the "not yet"?  How do the following passages support your answer?  Read Romans 8:18-25; Philippians 1:6; Colossians 3:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 3:4; and 1 Peter 5:10.

4. How does a believer testify to the nowness of Heaven and the hope of the not yet?  Read Colossians 1:10,11 and 1 Thessalonians 3:12,13?