There seems to be an all out attack on the revealed names and definitions God has declared. As in Romans 1:25, the world around us continues to call truth a lie and lies the truth.
My teaching series, “It’s About Life,” is super important because God has named those without Jesus as dead. Millions of people are the Living Dead. Having believed the names and definitions of the world, they live thinking that they are alive, but are, according to God’s naming and defining, dead.
The following message notes are intended to begin the conversation about God’s naming and defining authority and how we benefit from living with God’s take on it all.
Humans are created, by our Creator, as three part beings: spirit, soul and body. I Thessalonians 5:23
The spirit, soul and body of all living humans are alive.
However, the Bible reveals that, apart from a new birth in Jesus, the spirit, soul and body are dead to God, the Author of Life. Acts 3:15
In this way people are the living dead: alive but dead to the Author of Life.
Possibly the most important truth for the living dead to understand is the extreme power of naming.
In Genesis 2:16, 17 God names the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the consequences of eating or touching the fruit.
In Genesis 2:18, 19 God gives Adam the authority to name the animals.
The serpent, Eve and Adam attempt to re-name and redefine the tree and the consequences of eating its fruit. Genesis 3:1-5
There is one tree with two different “names” or definitions.
- God – Tree of the knowledge of good and evil – don’t eat – shall surely die
- Serpent, Eve and Adam – Tree of the knowledge of good and evil – should eat – become like God
God never gave authority to the Serpent, Eve or Adam to name or define the tree!
- We must learn to use the authority God has given us to name and define!
- We must NOT attempt to replace God’s authority to name and define!
“It’s About Life” because God has named the person without Jesus as dead to God but has provided the way to become fully alive!
In Ephesians 2:1-3 God names humanity’s condition without the life of Jesus.
In Ephesians 2:4-10 God names and defines the Cure for humanity’s condition and the results of receiving the Cure (salvation through faith).
MCA LIFE GROUP HOMEWORK
Listen – My Story
- If you had to change your name today, what name would you pick for yourself? Why?
- Benjamin Franklin said, “Many people die at twenty-five but aren’t buried until they are seventy-five years old.” What causes so many people to be the living dead?
Learn – Digging Deeper
- The battle today is the same as it was for Adam and Eve; do we submit to God’s naming and defining? What did the Serpent attack in Genesis 3:1?
- The First Psalm is an anthem to God’s naming and defining word. Please read this passage and talk about the promised benefits to those who embrace God’s word.
- What does the Psalmist say is the future of wicked? Why does the current worldview say that a loving God would never allow this to happen to anyone? Is our world of today trying to rename and redefine what God has said about life with Jesus?
- God names and defines us as dead in sin until we come to personal faith in Jesus. What two life giving things happen in us according to Colossians 2:13?
- God has given us, because He is rich in mercy, the way to move from death to life. Read Romans 10:9 and talk about the two actions required to move from death to life.
Life – Taking it Home
- What is God saying to you through this lesson?
- What could you do this week to ensure that you are living according to God’s names and definitions?
- What is your next step in response to this teaching?
Lift – Prayer
- Please pray for strength to learn God’s names for everything in your life.
- Please pray for humility to rename things in your life according to God’s names.
- Please pray for the MCA Church #JoyOfGivingTuesday (Tuesday, December 1). We are asking God to help us fully fund MCA Church’s Children’s Ministry for 2016.