Good morning. We are now
back to the handout sheets. I have been buried, raised, and made alive with
Christ. I died with Christ and I have been raised up with Christ. My life is
now hidden with Christ in God. Christ is now my life. Since this is true, then
we should act like it. The old man is dead and buried. We should not let him
rise up from the dead. We have been made new; and we should act like it. Christ
is our life; so we should act like it. Sadly too many Christians act like their
own personal interest is their life – not Christ. Their thoughts turn to what
is best for them; not what is best for Christ. If it is good for Him, then it
is good for us. I have been given a Spirit of power, love, and self-discipline.
We have all the power we need residing within us. We are not weak but strong in
Him. We all have problems at times with that self-discipline part. I have been
saved and set apart according to God's doing. We are set apart from the world.
And so we should act like it. We are in the world, but not of the world. As the
song says "the world didn't give it to me, and the world can't take it
away". Being set apart is what it means to be sanctified. Because I am
sanctified and I am one with the Sanctifier, He is not ashamed to call me His
brother. A person may be ashamed of his relatives, but Christ is not ashamed to
call us brethren. Father thank You that the reader is raised up with Christ. He/she
is full of power, love, and self-discipline. He/she lives his/her life set
apart to God. When people see that, they want to become Christians too.
Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me
Good morning. Paul then gives a list of a lot of things that he has gone through as an apostle. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. There could be many people that you listen to either in church or through the Internet or other means; but there was only one person (as a general rule it was a person) that lead you to Christ. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. He was saying that just like a child imitates his or her father, they were to imitate him. He says that again seven chapters later. Since it is easy to forget some things about people we have not seen in a while, Paul says that he sent Timothy to them to remind them of his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. I shall find ou...
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