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!
Today is 2-for-1 Friday!
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The Questions
1) How does a person become a new creation?
2) What is the message of reconciliation?
3) What is the meaning of verse 16?
2 Corinthians 5:16 – 6:1
16 From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf: “Be reconciled to God.” 21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
6 Working together with him, we also appeal to you, “Don’t receive the grace of God in vain.”
Original Intent
1) How does a person become a new creation?
This is a very deep question, and many scholars have had long talks and written many theses on it. Essentially, our holy God cannot abide sin…and every person EVER is and has been and will be a sinner. So, God the Father sent Jesus to live on this earth completely sinlessly and to be the One to take on all of the sins of the world. By doing this, Jesus fulfilled the blood sacrifice that was necessary in order to pay sin’s penalty – a sacrificial system instituted by God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:24-25). He died on the cross, taking our sin (Isaiah 53:4-10) and, when we accept His sacrifice on our behalf, we gain His righteousness (Philippians 3:9). We also gain the Holy Spirit to live within us who changes us by what’s called “regeneration” into a new creation (Titus 3:5) as He gives us the power of the living God to do what was previously impossible, live a life for the glory of God!
2) What is the message of reconciliation?
To be reconciled to God is to have a restored relationship with Him. This happens when a person accepts Jesus’ death on the cross as His gift and experiences salvation. Therefore, the message of reconciliation is the gospel, or “good news,” of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.
3) What is the meaning of verse 16?
Paul the Apostle was formerly known as Saul of Tarsus. He was a Pharisee; he actually persecuted Christians. He was among the crowd when the Christ-follower, Stephen, was stoned for his faith (Acts 7:54-60). During his opposition to Jesus and His followers, he only had information about Him. But then Jesus met Saul on his way to persecute others and changed his heart (Acts 9:1-20)…even changing his name to Paul. After his conversion, Paul became one of the greatest proponents for the Christian faith, frequently traveling far away to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. The relationship with Jesus made all the difference, not his knowledge.
Everyday Application
1) How does a person become a new creation?
After the Holy Spirit makes us a new creation through regeneration, He keeps on changing us by convicting us of actions or attitudes that are sinful. Have you ever felt Him prick your heart? I know I have…blessedly, too many times to count! With every conviction, He is giving another opportunity to become like Him and experience a deeper abundance of life! Praise God He doesn’t leave us where we were before crossing the line of faith! If you’re reading this and haven’t yet accepted Christ’s sacrifice for your sins, now is a good time to do so. God accepts you as you are, but He will help you to gradually become more like Jesus and will free you from the chains of sin, shame, and condemnation in the process!
2) What is the message of reconciliation?
Dear ones, now that you and I have accepted Christ and are living for God, we have been given the task of sharing this message of reconciliation, this “good news,” with other people who are far from God. Jesus didn’t put up a billboard in Jerusalem, nor is there a text message from 1st century Galilee. His method of spreading the news was by talking to people. That proved effective for Jesus, for Paul, and countless others, so it should be good enough for us. You don’t have to hold a master’s degree in theology; simply get to know someone and one day, share your story of transformation. Tell them what Jesus has done in your life!
3) What is the meaning of verse 16?
Christians have their “spiritual eyes” opened because of the Spirit of God. We no longer focus on the temporal, physical, worldly things that we can see with our physical eyes. We don’t regard the Scriptures as a fairy story or a work of fiction because we know that the Hero of the story, Jesus Christ, is a real, living Person…living though He died! We have the proof of hundreds of eyewitness testimonies, plus archaeological evidence, and medical corroboration. Believers don’t just have information about Jesus, they have an active, living relationship with Him that transforms the very fabric of their lives!
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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!
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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!
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