THEME FOR BIBLE LESSONS FOR THIRD QUARTER, 2017
The Glorious Gospel
The theme for this quarter has me all excited! In this study, we will find that the message God sent to the world way back in the beginning—through the patriarchs, who, moving through the lands of the heathen sought to convert them to the worship of the true God; through the psalmist, who in poem and prose sang the Jubilee “good news” message to the nations; and through the prophets, who peered far into the future to the time of Christ and the expansion of His kingdom to the far reaches of the earth—is the same message, now in glorious fulfillment, heralded by the apostles and missionaries of the New Testament. We will study how God called the different prophets of the Old Testament and the ministers of the New. We will examine the qualifications of a gospel minister. We will rejoice in the power of the gospel message and seriously reflect upon the sufferings associated with spreading the gospel.
Some of our lessons will have a slightly different format. Instead of verses to read, there will a biographical outline. Each class will need to decide if you have time to read the outline word for word, or just use it as a reference as you continue into the discussion.
As the children’s song says, “He has called us too,” we want our hearts to be challenged to share this glorious gospel until the end of time.
How will you tell it today?
—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck
JULY 2, 2017
THE GOSPEL TO ALL NATIONS PROPHESIED, PART ONE
Genesis 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Psalm 2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Psalm 19:2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4a Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
Psalm 22:27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
Psalm 68:11 The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.
18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.
31 Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
Psalm 86:9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
MEMORY VERSE: Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. —Psalm 96:3
CENTRAL THOUGHT: God’s promise to Abraham was that all nations would be blessed through his seed, which was Christ, and the Psalmist prophesied of the spread of Christ’s word and His kingdom throughout all the heathen nations.
WORD DEFINITIONS AND PROPHECY FULFILLMENT
Genesis 22:17 “Thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies”: a prophecy of Christ being victorious over all the power of satan and sin. See the fulfillment: Matthew 16:18 and Luke 1:70-75.
Genesis 22:18 “In thy seed”: the Lord Jesus Christ, as proven by Galatians 3:8, 16 and 18.
Psalm 2:9 “Thou shalt break them…”: a prophecy of the Word of Christ breaking the kingdom of darkness in heathen nations. The power of the gospel message conquered. See the fulfillment: Revelation 2:26-27.
Psalm 19:2-4 “Their line is gone out”: a prophecy of the gospel message, first preached by creation itself, seen and heard globally. See the fulfillment: Romans 1:19-20 and 10:17-18.
Psalm 68:11 “Those that published it”: literally, “Great was the company of the women that heralded it.” The Hebrew word here is in the feminine gender, chiefly referring to the women, who with songs and music—as Miriam and Deborah and the women who sang the praises of King Saul and David—celebrated the triumph of war, rousing the valiant men and chanting the victory. See the fulfillment: Joel 2:28, Matthew 28:8, Acts 1:14, Acts 2:1-18, Acts 21:9, Romans 16:1 and Philippians 4:3.
Psalm 68:18 “Thou hast ascended up on high…”: a prophecy referring to the ascension of Christ and subsequent sending of the Holy Spirit to indwell the hearts of believers and bestow the various gifts necessary for preaching the gospel. See the fulfillment: I Corinthians 12:1-11 and Ephesians 4:8.
LESSON BACKGROUND
In the Word Definitions we have noted the different prophecies and their scriptural fulfillments. In Genesis, God had already established a covenant with Adam concerning his Seed Who would bruise the head of the serpent; now with Abraham, He again promised victory over the enemy through the Seed, which is proven in the scriptures to be Jesus Christ. This promise was given to Abraham after he had willingly offered his son Isaac upon the altar and God had provided, in Isaac’s stead, a ram for an offering.
The remaining verses from the Psalms reveal a line of inspiration concerning Christ, the publishing of His gospel to the nations, the establishment and spread of His kingdom and dominion, and the work of the Holy Spirit through His church—men and women who would herald the good news throughout the earth.
—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck
DISCUSSION:
- The Gate of His Enemies: Explain how this is fulfilled in the gospel day.
- Ask of Me: Of whom would this prophecy be speaking?
- Rod of Iron: Of what is this speaking, and how would it rule the nations?
- Their Line/Their Words: Explain how the “gospel” is preached in this way.
- Psalm 68:18: Name the three things in this verse that point to what Christ did.
COMMENTS AND APPLICATION
The theme of the verses in this lesson seems to be two-fold: the powerful Word that would go forth to all the world and its effect upon the nations.
When Constantine the emperor saw a vision of the cross in the sky with the words, “By this you shall conquer,” I’m afraid he misunderstood the meaning. I don’t believe at all that it was a message for him to go to war; rather, it spoke to him of the true way Christ would conquer the world. Not by human warfare or force; His rod of iron was His Word—the message of the cross! The gates of enemies that He would possess were the sinful hearts of mankind that had been ruled by satan! As people heard the gospel and the good news of the cross, satan’s strongholds were broken in pieces. His kingdom crumbled. Heathenism and paganism lost their powerful grip on the nations of the world, as people turned to the true God and left their idolatry, immorality and violence behind. Whole governments changed; communities were transformed. The gospel message and the truth of the Bible continued to flourish wherever it was proclaimed, although it was later shrouded in apostasy for many years, pushed underground and outlawed, and its followers persecuted, imprisoned and killed.
These prophecies are illuminating. We can see God’s plan from the very beginning. He chose a man, through him a people, and through them He established His laws and covenant, which pointed forward in shadow to the full substance of the new covenant. In this way, He revealed His character and His dealings to the world: His merciful longsuffering and his righteous judgment, His wisdom and His power, His love and His holiness. Also through this family line came the Savior. He was not only Prophet, Priest and King to the Jews, but to every nation and people as God foreordained.
—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck
REFLECTIONS
This glorious gospel truly is the greatest gift to mankind. Revelation 14:6 says, “I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” The power of the Gospel does the same work in every human being. It is universal. It fills the need of man’s soul. It cleanses and makes new. It is all powerful. I’ve met people in some very poor conditions in Mexico where the gospel was preached and it brought about such a positive change. In Russia’s very desolate places the gospel had the same effect on their lives. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Roman 1:16).
God saw the world’s desperate need and gave us an everlasting gospel to preach to the world. The gospel gets down to the root of our problems. It strikes at the very head to destroy the sin working in our lives. It does not play around. There is a fountain filled with blood that still flows and cleanses every sinner that plunges beneath its flood. It brings man back in harmony where sin had broken the fellowship and peace with God. It brings homes together where husband and wife have been separated. It brings happiness and joy and restores hope, peace and comfort. It is truly a glorious gospel.
–Bro. James Bell
“Oh, glorious love of Christ my Lord divine! That made Him stoop to save a soul like mine.
Through all my days and then in heaven above
My song will silence never; I’ll worship Him forever, And praise Him for His glorious love.”
—By John W. Peterson
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