Commencement in Christ

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PrayerHave mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me (Psalms 51:1-3).

God almighty, as we dedicate our lives to You again this day, hear our prayer; forgive us for our sin, cleanse us, and keep us in Your arms today.  Open doors that have been closed, giving us opportunities this day to serve You in a more open and determined manner.  In Jesus’ holy and precious name, we pray. Amen!

Main Scripture: Reread Philippians 1:6.

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in You will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6, NKJV).

Associated Scriptures:

Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared (Proverbs 3:25-26)

Cast your cares on the Lord, He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall (Psalms 55:22)

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Correlative Quotes:

When Jesus commands us to do something, He knows we can’t do it unless we’re empowered by him. So, through the Holy Spirit, He joins his life with ours; thus: “Christ lives in me.”[1] Rick Warren

Now, let’s go back to Philippians.  The point that Paul is making in verse 6 is this: “I am confident, assured, persuaded, absolutely convinced of this very thing, that God who saved you and started a noble work” – the word good means noble, and it is a noble work, salvation starts the process of sanctification and brings it to glorification.[2] – John MacArthur

God, by his unrivaled, infinite power, will one day remedy everything wrong about you. Now, you are counted perfect through faith in Jesus. Then, you will be presented perfect — no sin, no shame, no guilt, no doubt, no fear — nothing broken about you.[3] – John Piper

Study:

The “good work” that Jesus has done in the believer is salvation (vs. 6).  Salvation is a one-time occurrence that is complete and eternal.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal savior, through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-10), we receive the justification for our sin and the gift of eternal life through Him who is the Redeemer (Romans 8:38-39). 

  1. Salvation:

Although our salvation is complete and eternal, we still must deal with the battle between resisting temptation and eventual sin (Romans 7:18-25, 1 John 1:8).  The solution to this problem of continual disobedience is found in repentance; the turning from sin and walking in another direction.  1 John 2:1-2 (NKJV) explains what happens when we sin and ask for forgiveness.  It says: “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

  1. Redemption:

For believers, Salvation has its conception in redemption.  The action of the obedience of Jesus at His trial and beating, His death on the cross, His burial, and His ultimate resurrection and ascension provided redemption to all those who believe in Him.  Romans 10:9-10 (NASB) makes this clear when it says: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth, he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Salvation is initiated by confession (1 John 1:9).  With repentance and through redemption the price for sin is paid (Acts 3:19).  Our spirits are ignited by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) which is a gift from God and inaugurated by regeneration (new birth in Jesus, John 3:1-6).  Titus 3:5 (NKJV) says: “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.

  1. Regeneration:

Regeneration is the spiritual change brought about in us by the Holy Spirit. It is a change in our moral and spiritual nature.  We become whole again through rebirth.  The Greek word for regeneration means: “the state or the act of spiritual rebirth, spiritual renovation.”[4] – Strong’s Concordance

Regeneration means that something within us was brought back to life from what was dead.  That something was our spirit (John 3:3-5).  We are triune beings with a body, soul, and spirit.  However, before we were reborn, our spirit part was dead.  It died in Adam (1 Corinthians 15:22).  When we accepted Jesus as our savior and Lord, our spirit was brought back to life in Him; regenerated.

In reply, Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"  Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:3-8).

  1. Justification:

Regeneration is the action caused by justification.  Justification is a change in our relationship with God.  When we are regenerated, born again (John 3:5-7), God justifies us (Romans 5:1). 

Therefore, Justification is the result of Regeneration.  To be justified means to be made right or righteous in God’s sight; just as if I’d never sinned.  The actions of salvation, redemption, regeneration, and justification are all taken on our behalf, through faith by grace, by God.  All three actions are of God and all happen at the same time at the point of Salvation.  They are simultaneous and at the same time instantaneous. 

Summary Statement:

We can have confidence in the completed work of Christ in our lives.  Salvation is grace and mercy in one package.  Our salvation opens the door to joy.  Once we understand this gift, we can survive the suffering, overcome pain, conquer loneliness, withstand ridicule, and genuinely enjoy our lives in Christ.  Wow!

Lessons within the Lesson:

What happens to unbelievers because of Romans 10:9-10?

What, within us, came alive because of our salvation?

Explain how justification is different from regeneration.

What is sanctification and how does it impact our daily lives?

[1] Rick Warren, Christ in you gives you Confidence, Daily Hope with Rick Warren, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law, copyright May 21,2014.

[2] John MacArthur, Elements of Joy, Part 2, Philippians 1:6, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law, gty.org/Resources/ Sermons/50-3, April 24, 1988.

[3] John Piper. Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law,© Desiring God Foundation. Source: desiringGod.org.

[4] Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law, Ibid.