theology

Worship IV, Day 2 Even When: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Even When!

The Questions

1) How are these verses connected? 
 
2) What is this “same love”? (verses 1-4)  
 
3) What is the “same attitude”? (verses 5-11) 
 
4) How can we have the same obedience? (verses 12-13)

Philippians 2:1-13

Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus,
6 who, existing in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God
as something to be exploited.
7 Instead he emptied himself
by assuming the form of a servant,
taking on the likeness of humanity.
And when he had come as a man,
8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death—
even to death on a cross.
9 For this reason God highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow—
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth—
11 and every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Original Intent

1) How are these verses connected? 
Paul’s letter to the Philippian church was written while he was in prison, chained for preaching Christ. Yet, he continued ‘preaching’ through his letters. The letter is known most commonly for encouragement and Paul’s deep love for the Philippians is woven throughout, but tucked away here in the second chapter, some of the richest theology found in the entire Bible awaits us. Theologians often dig straight into the meaty description of Christ in verses 5-11, His equality with God, and how He humbly emptied Himself in order to redeem humanity. But taking a wider lens view from verses 1-13, we see how these verses come together in one beautiful 3-fold display of Christ’s love and His design for us as His children through the same love, same attitude, and the same obedience.  
 
2) What is this “same love”? (verses 1-4)  
Paul begins this section not with a description of Christ, but of His Body, His Church. It’s as if the Lord is saying, ‘Look at my beautiful Bride! Look how precious and priceless it is to enjoy the love and comfort and encouragement of my Church!’.  This affectionate fellowship, sweet tenderness, kind gentleness, and genuine caring for one another is God’s original design for us as His followers. His Church is intended to be characterized by these qualities because they have first existed eternally in the heart of God as He has existed in triune form of Father, Son, and Spirit. The model for Church was birthed from the community, the same love, that has eternally existed between Father, Son, and Spirit. Each of these precious, life-giving qualities were first lived out continuously and beautifully among the godhead, so it is only natural for these qualities to be intrinsic to the DNA of the global Church Body made up of every believer.  
 
3) What is the “same attitude”? (verses 5-11) 
Just as the Church is to mimic the same love found in God, so also are we to reflect His same attitude, specifically humility in this example. This goes beyond ‘generic humility’ as in letting others go first in line or smiling instead of snapping at them. This humility, modeled by God, is sacrificial at its core. It’s a humility that says, ‘I am God. I have all authority. But I will not allow my right as God to keep me from coming down in love to you.’ This humility carries a cost. For Jesus, it cost Him His throne, His community, and even His relationship with the Father as He bore our sin upon Himself, forcing the Father to turn away and forsake Him. But this humility was worth it. Jesus wasn’t constantly rolling His eyes annoyed at our humanity, frustrated that He was wrapped in flesh, or secretly exasperated at how dreadful it was to be tired, poor, or hungry. He was sacrificially humble as He gave Himself away for our redemption.  
 
4) How can we have the same obedience? (verses 12-13)  
When we come to a place of total surrender to living a sacrificially humble life because we want nothing more than to fully possess the same love and the same attitude of humility, then we are perfectly positioned walk into the same obedience. All of this, from beginning to end, is a work of the Holy Spirit in us as we submit to Him in ever increasing ways. It’s both Him and us, an intricate duo of our humble submission and His miraculous shaping. Paul passionately holds up Christ and His willingness to love and sacrifice for our good and then implores the church to obey Him because He is worth it! Prove your salvation, Paul says, put on display how Jesus is making you continuously new by having the same obedience Christ Himself displayed. Submit yourselves to Him, be disciplined, be sacrificially humble, and love well. In the same token, know that all of your work is only done because the Spirit of the Living God is alive and at work within you! He is making you new! He is bringing about your obedience as you submit to His lead!

Everyday Application

1) How are these verses connected? 
Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase, ‘oneness does not mean same-ness’, encouraging differentiation between people as they work towards a common goal or in a marriage. Sameness in that sense isn’t what Paul is meaning here, rather he is encouraging all believers to follow after the same pattern for living life. As followers of Jesus, the pattern for living isn’t up for discussion or interpretation. As the Master does, so do we as His followers. The disciple is not above the Master. This is exactly what Paul was writing about and its precisely why studying Scripture is so critical for every Christ-follower. The more we study, the clearer our model becomes.  
 
2) What is this “same love”? (verses 1-4)  
This letter was written to the churches in Philippi and was likely circulated to other surrounding churches as well, but its timeless teachings are for all believers everywhere. When you think of your local church, how are you personally contributing to the overall characteristics described here? Keep in mind the all-inclusive language Paul uses like “everyone” looking out for others and “nothing” done in selfishness or vanity. As you pray through these verses, lean in to how the Spirit is leading you. Are there people you avoid or are more likely to gossip about? How do those actions reflect God’s heart? God’s design for His Church, for us as believers, is to have the same love that God shares among the triune godhead. We as a community are intended to beautifully reflect Himself! 
 
3) What is the “same attitude”? (verses 5-11) 
If I’m being honest (which is kind of a core value of Gracefully Truthful…), then I am much more likely to associate with eye-rolling-annoyed-exasperated ‘generic humility’ than I am likely to see a consistent pattern of sacrificial humility in my everyday life. I have my things to do, my standards by which to do them, this amount of time allotted, and even a casual interruption of that mindset will test my patience, much less my humility. Jesus isn’t calling us to be doormats, quite opposite! He’s calling us to firmly hold on to who we are as redeemed daughters of the King, but not to allow our knowledge of Him or our relationship status to keep us from engaging well by loving others with His same attitude of humility. Love well, Sisters. Practice sacrificial humility as you remember to keep the same attitude of our Lord.   
 
4) How can we have the same obedience? (verses 12-13) 
Doesn’t examining the model of Christ’s love and extreme humility and extravagant sacrifice encourage and embolden your desire to become more like Him? Believing Friend, obey Him! His Spirit is ready to lead and speak to you, taking you deeper as you submit to following Him. Don’t worry about the process or the how or the end result, that’s the work of the Lord, your job is to listen and obey! And to my friends who haven’t crossed the line of faith and asked Jesus to rescue them for eternity from their sin, the call is the same, obey Him! Come, explore, roam free in His unfathomably deep love for you. He has much for you, much to do in you, it all starts with a willingness to surrender and listen to His voice as He’s asking you to trust Him. Obey that voice, it’s worth it! Don’t worry about the process or the how or the end result, just listen and obey!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

Share What You’ve Learned!
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Our Current Study Theme!

This is Worship IV Week One!
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Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Memorize It!

Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Shepherd Day 2 My Shepherd: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days...are a pretty big deal at GT!

We search God's Word together, ask questions as we read, dig around to find the original intentions at the time of writing, and then make some applications to our everyday lives.
Along the way, we hope you'll pick up some new tools to study Scripture and you'll see truth in a new and accessible way!
Dig In!

The Passage

Looking for yesterday’s
Journey Study?
Check out My Shepherd!

John 10:1-17, 30 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

“Truly I tell you, anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus gave them this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

7 Jesus said again, “Truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me[a] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9 I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.12 The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them[b] and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. 13 This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 But I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

……30 I and the Father are one.”

The Questions

1) Why did Jesus use the analogy of sheep and a shepherd in this illustration?

2) In verse 16, who is Jesus referring to when He says He has other sheep that are not from this sheep pen?

3) In verse 30, Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” What does this mean and why is it important?

The Findings for Intention

1) Why did Jesus use the analogy of sheep and a shepherd in this illustration?
Jesus often spoke in parables and analogies to help the people understand the point He was trying to make. The analogy of sheep and a shepherd was easy for the crowd to grasp. In their culture, the occupation of shepherd was one that people knew well, although it was not a highly respected position. They were familiar with the humble role of a shepherd and the way sheep responded to his voice and command. More importantly, those in the crowd were familiar with the Psalms and would make the parallel connection between Jesus’ claim to be a Shepherd and David’s psalm (Psalm 23). Jesus was living out David’s description of God as the Good Shepherd!

2) In verse 16, who is Jesus referring to when He says He has other sheep that are not from this sheep pen?
The “other sheep” Jesus is referring to are the Gentiles, the rest of humanity outside of those with a Jewish heritage. Jesus’ earthly ministry primarily focused on the Jewish people, but after His death, resurrection and ascension, God revealed to Peter that new life in Christ is for everyone, the Jew and the Gentile (Acts 10). The Jews thought that Jesus had come to save the Jewish people and restore Jerusalem, but God’s plan for redemption was greater than the Jews could have ever expected. The early church was made up of both Jewish and Gentile Christians.

3) In verse 30, Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” What does this mean and why is it important?
What Jesus was saying was radical when He claimed here to be the very Son of God, which put him on the same level as God! To the crowd Jesus was speaking to, claiming to be one with God was blasphemy. The next verse says that the Jews picked up rocks to stone Him. They wanted some other explanation for who he was (v. 24), but Jesus had made it clear to them that He was indeed the long-promised Messiah.

The Everyday Application

1) Why did Jesus use the analogy of sheep and a shepherd in this illustration?
Shepherds and sheep aren’t an analogy we are familiar with in our culture. Another great picture of God that is used repeatedly in Scripture is God as our father, our Abba father, which means “daddy” (Galatians 4:6). We are all familiar with what a loving father should look like, even if we haven’t been fortunate enough to experience that relationship for ourselves. Like a shepherd, Father God protects us, provides for us, and leads us in the way we should go.

2) In verse 16, who is Jesus referring to when He says He has other sheep that are not from this sheep pen?
What great news that there are “other sheep”! Gentiles is not a word commonly used today, but if you are not Jewish or of Jewish descent, then you are a Gentile. Jesus’ sacrifice was for both Jews and Gentiles (Romans 1:16). We have unity within the body of Christ – to be of “one flock”. While we may not make distinction between Jew and Gentile today, we draw our own lines of judgement. Race, sexual orientation, alcohol consumption, homeless, where are your lines? Are you willing to extend Christ to all?!

3) In verse 30, Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” What does this mean and why is it important?
Christians from Jesus’ day to our modern times believe in the Trinity as a core doctrine. This means God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are One in community with each other and have been for eternity. Even now, 2,000 years later, people find it hard to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Some people believe Jesus existed historically, but claim that He was just a good teacher or a prophet. The notion that God would send His only Son to die for sinners is hard to believe! But that is what makes the Gospel so wonderful and unique!

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!
Join the friends at the GT Facebook Community!

I Can Do That!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read through it (always more than a verse or two).
3) Write down your questions as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God in your everyday!

The Community!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into
Shepherd Week One!
Don’t miss out on the discussion. 
We’d love to hear your thoughts!

The Tools!

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

The Why!

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
See all past studies in Shepherd!

Passionate Day 10
I Thirst

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Isaiah 55:1-3
John 7:37-39
John 4:13-14
Psalm 69:19-21 

1500 years.
40 different authors.
3 different languages.
One cohesive theme:
The redemption of mankind.

2500 prophecies.
With over 300 fulfilled solely through the lineage, birth, life, and death of Christ.

Consider the mind-blowing comparisons in the reliability of these historic documents:
Julius Caesar has 10 surviving manuscripts to provide evidence of his authorship.
Ancient historian, Herodotus, has 8 surviving manuscripts proving his authorship.
Homer has 643 surviving manuscripts of his Iliad.
Based on these grounds, no one debates or argues that these men didn’t actually author the works that bear their name.

And then there’s the New Testament, which has an astounding 5,366 surviving manuscripts!
The Bible is more historically and archaeologically accurate than any other historical book.

God’s redemptive plan wasn’t an afterthought, wasn’t a #lastminuteidea.
Meticulously orchestrated.
Divinely designed.
Thoroughly reliable.
For our salvation….yours and mine. Today.

Today as we drive our cars, clean up after kids, have arguments with our spouses, shop, drink tea and coffee, post to Instagram, and worry about what our neighbors think, how healthy our lawn is, and what we will make for dinner.
In the middle of our everyday mess, Jesus comes to save.

At the cross, amidst all the other un-foldings of history and the culmination of God’s redemptive plan
to restore the relationship between Himself and us,
Jesus leaves us with a spoken word.
In the presence of hundreds of eyewitnesses, both Gentile and Jew,
Christ again points to the unequivocal truth that He was indeed the promised Messiah.
“I Thirst.”

Two words that simultaneously point to Christ’s divinity and His humanity.

Thirst.
A human need that fulfilled yet another divine prophecy.
“They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.”
Psalm 69:21

A human need displaying that Jesus was truly the “with us” God.
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:14-15

A human need reflecting a God-sized vacuum.
Beyond the initial pointing towards the prophetic fulfillment, the irony lies beneath the surface in Christ’s words.
The Living Water had Himself become thirsty…..

“Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again;
the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14
…because He’d been cut off from the Father.

“I Thirst.”
An emptiness and brokenness gripped these two words.
A separation existed, an impossible yawning chasm, between God the Father and God the Son
caused by Christ bearing the sin of the world.
And Jesus thirsted.

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
Psalm 63:1
These are King David’s words as he wrote about his passionate need for God.

Yes, I have no doubt at all that Christ was thirsty that day as he hung on the cross, that just a cool drink would have been a welcome relief.
But there was more going on than a parched throat and bloody cracked lips, his soul was withering.

Like yours and mine without the same sustenance of Living Water found in Jesus.

This messy, daily life we live?
The crazy schedules that toss us to and fro, the loneliness that seeps in, the emptiness that haunts the corners of our souls, the discord in relationships, the worries that crease our foreheads and hearts….
This is the dry and weary land where there is no water.
That Living Water?
It’s Available In The Middle of our Everyday!

And let the one who is thirsty come;
let the one who desires, take the water of life without price.
Revelation 22:17

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Isaiah 55:1

In Him is life in the middle of our death.
In Him is redemption in the middle of our brokenness.
In Him is hope in the middle of our unsolvable grief.
for He is the very Son of God.

He thirsted, so we would never have to.
He holds out truth; solid, reliable, authentic, time-tested truth.

Are you thirsty?

Ready for more? Dig Deeper!
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Don’t miss today’s Digging Deeper!     And we’d love to hear your thoughts from today’s Journey!    Comment Here!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Passionate Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Passionate!

Passionate Day 4
Father, Forgive Them: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days...are a pretty big deal at GT!

We search God's Word together, ask questions as we read, dig around to find the original intentions at the time of writing, and then make some applications to our everyday lives.
Along the way, we hope you'll pick up some new tools to study Scripture and you'll see truth in a new and accessible way!
Dig In!

The Passage

Looking for yesterday’s
Journey Study?
Check out Father, Forgive Them!

Philippians 2:5-9 English Standard Version (ESV)

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

The Questions

1) Did Jesus consider Himself lesser or weaker than God the Father?

2) What is meant by “emptying Himself”?

3) Who or what was Jesus obedient to?

4) What is Paul’s main point of this passage?

The Findings for Intention

1) Did Jesus consider Himself lesser or weaker than God?
Jesus plainly taught that He Himself was God. In John 10:30, Jesus states that He and the Father are one. It was for this claim that Jesus was crucified and was so hated by the Pharisees. (John 10:33) In John 5:18 it says He was equal with God. Whenever we are studying Scripture, it’s vital that we allow the very clear verses to help us understand less clear ones. When we read that Christ “did not count equality with God as something to be grasped”, it doesn’t mean that Christ saw Himself so lowly, that “God-likeness” was entirely out of reach, but rather that “God” was indeed Himself. It wasn’t a status He was trying to attain, one that was just out of reach, or one He was trying to steal as Satan attempted to do before being cast out of Heaven. Jesus simply was fully God with all the rights and privileges and authority that came with it.

2) What is meant by “emptying Himself”?
Kenosis is the Greek word used here in this passage for “emptying”. In the context of these verses where Paul is pointing the Church towards humility and considering others before themselves, the “emptying” of Christ does not mean a “setting aside” of His glory of God, but rather a humbling of Himself to “put on humanity” with all of its limitations in order to save us. Jesus was still entirely God while He was on the earth, but He chose to limit Himself to a human body. For example, because He was in a human body, He couldn’t be omnipresent (be everywhere at all times). He would also bleed, and laugh, and cry, and get hungry and tired. He was entirely 100% human and 100% God.

3) Who or what was Jesus obedient to?
I love this question because it practically bursts with the fullness of the gospel! Jesus wasn’t obedient to Death. We must read the passage slower. He was obedient. Stop. Even to the point of Death. Stop. Jesus was obedient to The Law. He purposefully put Himself as the righteous God of the Universe, under the Law (Galatians 4:4). He carried out every single obligation of the Law of Moses entirely 100% perfectly. But Jesus went farther and carried out the penalty of the Law, which is Death, though He clearly did not deserve such punishment. He did this to redeem those who were under the law, yet were guilty of breaking it (which is every single person in the human race). “He redeemed us from the curse of the law, by becoming a curse for us.”

4) What is Paul’s main point of this passage?
Despite the elegance and extremely rich theology of these brief verses, Paul’s main point is simply using Christ’s submission within the godhead as the supreme example for the Church. Paul is imploring the Church to walk together in harmony, to honor one another before themselves, to submit to each other in love and honor. Everything we see Jesus exemplifying here is meant to encourage us to do the same because we have been so deeply loved!

The Everyday Application

1) Did Jesus consider Himself lesser or weaker than God?
Theology literally means the study of God. The more that we study and understand God and His character, the steadier the foundation is for our life. When real, everyday problems rock our life, we can lean steadfastly into the unchanging character of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Paul’s explanation here of Jesus being fully God fills us with overwhelming power and security making us want to echo Paul’s victorious shout in Romans, “If God is for us, who can be against us?!”

2) What is meant by “emptying Himself”?
The astounding concept of God wrapping Himself in humanity’s temporal flesh for the purpose of rescuing us from our sin is so utterly delightful! That knowledge alone should comfort our hearts like nothing else. Such vast love that God Himself would literally enter in to all that we are and limit Himself willingly to the flesh, making Himself like one of us, that we might be reconciled to Him. Right now, in this moment and in the next. In your chaos and your quiet. In your tears and your fears. In your brokenness and in your joys, Jesus wades right into the middle of it all. He is not a distant God who doesn’t understand. He has lived within humanity’s restraints in order to love you!

3) Who or what was Jesus obedient to?
How deeply freeing to know that Christ already fulfilled every single requirement of the law perfectly for us!! We have no obligation to be better, or work harder to be “good enough”. We are free because Jesus paid the penalty of our sin for us! Praise You, Jesus for such a glorious gift! Is that gift yours? Are you living in that freedom? If you aren’t sure if you really truly have that gift of freedom, why not send us an email? We’d love to help answer some of your questions!

4) What is Paul’s main point of this passage?
We may claim to value unity, but often our speech or our actions condemn us in very small ways. Gossip slips in to conversations with ease, and small complaints about church or leadership or others within the Body begin growing quickly, gathering momentum as we speak. Paul beseeches us to think carefully about the way we interact with and view people within the Body of believers, which often includes members of our own immediate family.

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!

I Can Do That!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read through it (always more than a verse or two).
3) Write down your questions as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God in your everyday!

The Community!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into
Passionate Week Three!
Don’t miss out on the discussion – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

The Tools!

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

The Why!

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
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Looking for other journeys from this theme?
See all past studies in Passionate!