What do you enjoy doing with the people who are closest to you?
How does knowing someone well make a difference in what you do together?
INVOLVE GOD IN EVERY PART OF LIFE
The people we know well are an important part of our lives.
Discuss: What is implied by the image of Jesus coming into our lives in Revelation 3:20?
Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
Reflect: What level of involvement and intimacy does God want to have in your life?
There is a wonderful allegory called My Heart, Christ’s Home about a person who welcomes Jesus into his life. As time passes, he realizes Jesus does not just want to remain by the door but wants to come into every part of the home. In room after room he is urged to allow Jesus to be involved with what goes on in that part of his life. For example, in the “living room” Jesus joins his family and guests; in the “office” Jesus affects what he reads and how he does his work; in the “bedroom” Jesus impacts his personal relationships, and so on.
Share: What areas of your life have been changed by knowing God? How?
Reflect: Have any areas of your life not yet been touched by God’s presence?
This image of God living with us is also conveyed by the Bible’s use of words like “abide” and “dwell.” They give a picture of God settling in and being at home with us. His desire is for us to live life together. This is what Jesus did with His disciples. Mark 3:14 says, “He appointed twelve . . . so that they might be with him.”
Reflect: What do you think was Jesus’ purpose in having them “be with Him”?
DEVELOP A LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
This picture of dwelling together is also in Paul’s prayer for believers found in Ephesians 3:17-19.
Ephesians 3:17-19
. . . so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Discover: What enables us to experience the fullness of God’ presence?
Reflect: How is faith involved in Christ dwelling in our hearts?
Share: How would you describe your comprehension of God’s love?
God loves us and wants us to love Him in return. This is what God considers the most important thing in our lives, as Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-38.
Matthew 22:37-38
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.”
Reflect: We cannot force people to love us, so why do you think God commands us to love Him?
Discuss: What will loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind look like in our everyday lives?
In Revelation 2:4 Jesus praises the church in Ephesus for their service, but He calls them to change because they had “abandoned the love you had at first.”
Discuss: Consider the difference between loving someone, being in love, and falling in love. What does God want our love for Him to be like?
God’s thoughts and actions towards us flow out of love. Likewise, what we do should flow out of our love for Him. This will happen if we cultivate that love relationship.
Share: What are some things that have helped you experience God’s love more fully and grow in your love for Him?
PRIORITIZE KNOWING GOD
In Luke 10:38-42 we read about Martha who welcomed Jesus into her home. She and her sister Mary responded to His presence differently.
Luke 10:38-42
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Discover: What was Martha’s greatest concern? What does Jesus say about it?
Discover: What does Jesus say about Mary ‘s focus?
Reflect: What would Jesus say about your response to Him being in your home (your life)?
Discuss: What does Jesus’ gentle correction of Martha and His words “one thing is necessary” tell us about how God wants us to respond to Him?
We spend time on the things that we value. In Philippians 3 the apostle Paul lists many things that people value and put their confidence in, and he compares them to knowing God. Read Philippians 3:7-8.
Philippians 3:7-8
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ . . .
Discover: What value does Paul put on knowing God?
Reflect: In your life, how does knowing Christ compare to the things you value or that society values?
Share: What changes could you make in your life to prioritize knowing God?
REFLECT GOD
When we are in love with someone and spend time with them, we become like them: we talk like they do,
gesture like they do, and begin to think like they do. This also happens as we get to know God better and better. Read 2 Corinthians 3:18.
2 Corinthians 3:18
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Discover: Into what are we being transformed?
Discover: How does this happen?
[NOTE: The passage contrasts Moses’ experience with ours. His face reflected God’s glory whenever he was in God’s presence, then it gradually faded after they parted. We now have the constant presence of God’s Spirit in our lives, continually transforming us into God’s image.]
Discuss: How will getting to know God better make a difference in how you reflect Him?
1 Peter 1:15-16 and 1 John 2:6 address how we are to live.
1 Peter 1:15-16
. . . but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Discover: What standard and model do we have for our lives?
Discussion: How is studying the Bible essential to discovering who God is and how Jesus lived?
Share: Is there a particular character trait of God or something from Jesus’ life that has impacted how you live? What changes have taken place?
Discover: Based on 2 Corinthians 3:18, how does God cause these changes in our lives to happen?
Reflect: This may be difficult to answer, but if you feel you do not reflect God, what might be hindering that?
SEEK TO PLEASE GOD
Growing in our knowledge of God and love for Him are both critical parts of our becoming more like Him. Read Colossians 1:9-10.
Colossians 1:9-10
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God . . .
Discover: What does knowledge of God and His will equip us to do?
Reflect: How have we already been made acceptable to God?
Ephesians 2:8-9 assures us that our acceptance by God is based on His grace, not our works. (We will explore acceptance more fully in our next topic, our identity in Christ.) But Ephesians 2:10 states that good works are to be a part of our lives.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Share: What are some of the ways God has equipped you for good works?
When we love someone, we want to please them. In John 14:23, Jesus says, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.” John reminds us of this in 1 John 2:3-4.
John 14:23
Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
1 John 2:3-4
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him . . .
Discover: When we know God, what result will there be in our lives?
Discuss: Truly knowing God implies that we keep His commandments. If we are not keeping them, what does it say about our lives? What could we do about it?
As we get to know God, our love for Him will grow and motivate us to please Him by doing what He says.
As we read His Word and discover His desires and commands, we should ask the question, “Is God pointing out anything He wants me to do, or any change He wants to make in my life?”
GOING FORWARD
Clarify: What thoughts or questions do you have?
Summarize: How does knowing God change how you live?
Apply: From our discussion today, is God pointing out anything He wants you to do, or any change He wants in your life? Is there something you want to ask Him to help you apply?
Pass it on: With whom could you share how much God means to you?
Reinforce:
As you read these passages, reflect on how knowing God will deepen your love for Him and affect your life.
• Ephesians 3:14-21
• Colossians 1:9-12
• Psalm 116:1-19
• Proverbs 3:5-6
• Ephesians 5:1-21
• Jeremiah 9:23-24
Ephesians 3:14-21
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Colossians 1:9-12
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
Psalm 116:1-19
I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
I believed, even when I spoke:
“I am greatly afflicted”;
I said in my alarm,
“All mankind are liars.”
What shall I render to the Lord
for all his benefits to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints.
O Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
You have loosed my bonds.
I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Ephesians 5:1-21
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
