On what basis are God’s people delivered?
(Job 23:1-10; Dan. 12:1-10; Matt. 25:1-12; Eph. 4:7-13) Blog July 17-23, 2022
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: God leads his children into trials and among enemies, not to discourage or defeat them but rather to strengthen them. In our trials, God comfort us and supplies us with the food of his Word, the grace of his Spirit, and the blood of Jesus. Good behavior, bad behavior, and special revelations can all be causes of suffering. Even Jesus learned obedience by the things which he suffered.
God and Us
1. Who has God set forth as our example in suffering? God gave us Jesus as an example in suffering (1 Pet. 2:21).
2. Through what method does God tell us to be changed into Christ’s likeness? It is by beholding Jesus that we are transformed into his image (2 Cor. 3:18).
3. Since Jesus is in heaven, how are we to behold him now? In order to behold Jesus, we must contemplate his life & ministry as recorded in the Bible (John 5:39; 14:9-11).
4. What is God’s goal in the transformation of our characters? God’s goal for his children is that they be transformed into the image of his dear Son (Matt. 5:48; Rom. 8:29).
5. Besides beholding Jesus, what else must Christians do to attain the perfection of Character that God desires for his children? Besides beholding Jesus, a Christian must put forth diligent human effort in order to overcome his sinful nature & perfect a Christ-like character (2 Cor. 7:1; Phil. 3:13-14; Jam. 4:8)
6. What causes us to look to Jesus more, pray more, and strive more diligently to grow in faith? The trials that God allows to confront us cause us to draw closer to Jesus, to pray more, & to work harder at growing in grace (Psa. 102:1-2; 2 Cor. 12:10).
God and Job
7. When God withdrew his hedge of protection from around Job what happened? When God allowed, Satan destroyed all Job’s children & possessions (Job 1:13-19).
8. If Job was already a perfect man why did God allow Satan to test him? Job was perfect in Jesus his Substitute, but prior to glorification every Christian still has hereditary & cultivated defects of character that need to be removed (Rom. 3:10; 8:17; 1 Cor. 15:53; James 3:2).
9. After Satan took away Job’s health, what added burden did he send to Job? After filling Job with boils Satan sent three miserable comforters to him that tried to convince him that God was punishing him for his sins (Job 2:11)
10. How did Job understand his afflictions? Job understood that in the end God would bring him forth purified like gold (Job 23:10).
11. What did Job and his friends not understand? Job & his friends apparently did not understand the great controversy that was taking place between God & Satan (Job 23:8-9).
12. What did Job desire in the midst of his affliction? Job’s desire was to have a chance to speak to God directly in the presence of a mediator (Job 23:3-7; 9:32-33; 16:19-21).
God and the Church
13. What lack did Jesus see would become apparent in his last-day church? In the story of the ten virgins Jesus saw that five of them paid no attention to working with the Spirit in character development & so were unprepared for his coming when the door of probationary time closed (Matt. 25:1-12).
14. What purifying process occurs for God’s church after the close of probation? After probation closes there is a “time of trouble” that continues to purify God’s people (Dan. 12:1-9).
15. How does God depict the character of his people after the close of probation? God’s people are called “wise” for they are filled with God’s Spirit of Wisdom that gives them understanding & completes the perfection of their characters so that they shine as stars forever (Dan. 12:3-4, 10).
16. On what basis are God’s people delivered? God’s people are delivered on the basis of their names being written in the Lamb’s book of life & not on the basis of their character development (Dan. 12:1).
17. What place does character development have in the lives of God’s people? The character of God’s people is what gives glory to God & is their fitness for eternity (Matt. 5:16; 2 Pet. 1:1-11).
18. What gifts has God given to his church so that they might come unto the measure of the stature of a perfect man in Christ? God has given his church pastors, teachers, prophets, evangelists, & apostles for the perfecting of the saints (Eph. 4:7-13).