“United to Christ”

Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope
December 20, 2008

Larry R Evans

Introductory Reflections
{bilding me a fewchr}

“Dear Teachr,
Today, Mommy cryed. Mommy asked me, Jody, do you really kno why you are going to school. i said i don’t kno why? She said it is caus we are going to be bilding me a fewchr. i said what is a fewchr. Wats one look like? Mommy said i don’t kno Jody, no one can really see all your fewchr jest you. don’t wory caus you’l see. you’l see. Tats when she cryed and sed oh Jody i love you so.
Mommy says every one need to work realy hard for us kids to make our fewchrz the nicest ones the world can ofer.
Teacher can we start today to bild me a fewcher? Can you try espeshly hard to make it a nice prity one just for Mommy and for me?
I love you teacher.
Love Jody
XXOOXX (Authored by FrankTrujillo in Chicken Soup for the Soul, p.123)

This week’s Sabbath School lesson is all about the future Heaven has in store for us. The good news is that the building has already begun! It begins right here, however, and it is the nicest one that could ever be imagined. It all begins when we allow our lives to be “United to Christ.” This is a dramatic event. Perhaps the most noticeable change is with our “worldview.” A worldview is defined as:
1. The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world.
2. A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.
What does that mean? How does a worldview impact the kind of future in store for us? The way we begin the journey is so important. It often tells how we will end up. We must begin by following Jesus and He helps us set the worldview that will get us through the days ahead. Since He knows how all things will turn out, perhaps we ought to let Him speak to us before we insert our own philosophy as how to approach life and its many dilemmas. Doing so insures that we will be “bilding a prity fewcher” – one that kids and adults will all enjoy together. That’s what this lesson is all about! There are a lot of detours that could be taken along the way. They can make the journey bumpy and rough. That is why this study is so important. Even then, if we follow Jesus, we can still make it through the most troublous times. I’d say this lesson couldn’t come at a more important time than right now. Most of us are deeply concerned about the financial crisis facing not only our nation but the world. My guess is that there will be other crises outside the realm of finances. So let’s get into our study for the week which obviously will have to be just an overview. Most importantly we must let God speak. I’ve had to eliminate some questions from the ones I sent out earlier simply because we don’t have time to cover them all.

Reflective Discovery Questions

1. Christ was the reincarnation of Adam. True or False? [Rom 5:18-21; 2 Cor 5:17]
2. God’s grace becomes active once we understand and accept Christ as our Saviour. True or False? [Rom 5:6,8]
3. There are no orphans among those baptized into Christ. True or False? [Rom 6:3-6; Eph. 2:19-22]
4. Sunday and Easter are God’s appointed memorials of the cross and the resurrection of Christ. True or False? [Rom 6:1-11]
5. To know God as we should, we must first “Know Thyself”. True or False? [Ps 46:10; Jn 17:3, 25-26]

Reflective and Discovery Study

1. Christ was the reincarnation of Adam. False [Rom 5:18-21; 2 Cor 5:17]

This may seem like a strange question to begin our study especially after the introductory thoughts. However, that is precisely why I have begun here. When the Bible speaks about the two Adams is it speaking about a reincarnation? Is there a timeless truth that divisive theological controversies mask? Let’s see how the Message put it:

Rom 5:18 Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life!
Rom 5:19 One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right.
Rom 5:20 All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn't, and doesn't, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin versus grace, grace wins hands down.
Rom 5:21 All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that's the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life--a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.

When Adam and Eve sinned something very significant happened—their worldview changed! Before, their focus was upon God—life revolved around Him. He was their center. He was their Provider and Sustainer and their personal Peace. Satan, the Adversary disguised as a serpent, cunningly designed a temptation which he knew would change the course of history if followed. The temptation was not about fruit. It was about moving God out of the center. The paradigm shift put the created rather than the Creator in the middle and when this happened a whole new set of questions . . . and answers evolved. It was now “What makes me happy? What I want and when I want it.” Ultimately when apart from God the created would conclude—“I’m ok and so are you.” Since then, greed has dominated the scene – the family unit has been racked with bitterness, fighting and divorces. Conflicts have arisen as personal interests take precedence over the good of others and then wars erupt. The scenario continues with more devastating results played out all the time. The acquired “keeper” instinct rules while “brotherhood” is sacrificed. at the altar of selfishness. (See this thought developed more in “Two Questions the Church Must Ask” by Larry R Evans in the Adventist Review, December 18, 2009 – or ask that it be emailed to you.)

Our Bible passage says it well, Rom 5:18 Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! (Message)

Being united in Christ is a change back to the worldview which we were given by God in Eden. Our joys, our very being is consumed in being with Him. At the outset, we want to emphasize that the point of this lesson is putting God and His values and priorities back in the center. It doesn’t begin with reciting a new “To Do List.” It begins as it did in Eden – walking with God and spending time with Him. There is no forced relationship if God is in the center – if He is the basis of our worldview. That’s why Paul could say,

2Co 5:17 Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!
2Co 5:18 All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.
2Co 5:19 God put the world square with himself through he
Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering
forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling
everyone what he is doing. (Message)

2. God’s grace becomes active once we understand and accept Christ as our Saviour. False [Rom 5:6,8]

The fact is, in order to understand God and His plan for us we must recognize that this is not something we can generate. The good news is that He knows this and has provided the very thing we need. The whole possibility is a reality because God initiated it. God’s grace is proactive.

Rom 5:5 In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary--we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
Rom 5:6 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. (Message)

“Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human effort, all have their proper sphere, but here they are powerless. They may produce an outward correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the heart; they cannot purify the springs of life. There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before men can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.” (Ellen G White in Steps to Christ, p.18)

3. There are no orphans among those baptized into Christ. True [Rom 6:3-6; Eph. 2:19-22]

Occasionally we hear statements like, “We are baptized into Christ and not the Church.” While this is true in once sense, it can leave the wrong impression. Being “united in Christ” does not create orphans. Christ does have a body as the Bible says. Consider the following:

Rom 6:2-4
3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (NIV)

And . . .

Eph 2:19-22
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (NIV)

4. Sunday and Easter are God’s appointed memorials of the cross and the resurrection of Christ. False [Rom 6:1-11]

We must keep in mind that God is attempting to change our worldview by restoring us to the worldview of Adam before his fall when God and Adam had an especially close and developing relationship. Unfortunately our present worldview dominates and it is only by God’s grace that such a perspective can change. With this in mind consider the following:

Rom 6:1 So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving?
Rom 6:2 I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there?
Rom 6:3 Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace--a new life in a new land! That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means.
Rom 6:4 When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus.
Rom 6:5 Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country. (Message)

5. To know God as we should, we must first “Know Thyself”. False [Ps 46:10; Jn 17:3, 25-26]

Many are unaware of the ever encroaching worldviews which wish to supplant the basic premise of being “united in Christ.” Many sound psychologically sound and often even have a spiritual ring to them. Consider the following taken from a website on the Internet:

“[To] know thyself [is] to know about every thing. The main purpose of your coming into this world is to know thyself and to avoid the further cycle of birth and death as per the eternal eastern philosophy. That’s why know thyself is the supreme command in to spiritual practices.”

Or consider the following from the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius,

“Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look there.” -- Marcus Aurelius ...

Or consider the following appeal using Jesus as the rationale for Knowing Thyself:

“Socrates' guiding rule was, "Know Thyself." These words are of eternal significance. No better advice has ever been give to man or woman. When one begins to explore this dictate it leads to profound understandings about all of creation. It makes unhappiness, fear, sadness, doubt, and all the negative emotions meaningless.
- In the scripture Jesus said, "Love God first and your neighbor as your self." In doing this we have to come to the conclusion that we are made in the image and likeness of the Divine, therefore we are all sacred beings. If this premise is true then there is no room for those negative emotions. Ah, however we feel them strongly, why is that?
- Could it be that we are not recognizing the goodness, the god-within all of creation? When we do not recognize this goodness the dark side of our nature begins to find excuses for what is happening in our life. It is then that we begin to feel 'other than happiness' feelings. Happiness of course is our birthright.”

It is the worldview here that is so deceptive. Self is put back in the center. The adage should be “First know thy God and then you will know thyself.” Consider the following:

Ps 46:10
10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
(NIV)
John 17:3
3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (NIV)

John 17:25-26
25 "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
(NIV)

Reflective Review

God was “bilding a fewchr” for us in Eden. Unfortunately Adam and Even listened to another counselor who advised them not to let God remain in the heart of their worldview. Rather, He was positioned outside. This counselor did not advise that they forget about God, but rather they simply were to change the way they lived with God. They were to do what was “best” for themselves first and then fit God in afterwards. Chaos resulted. Estrangement from one another developed with themselves and with God. Death was inevitable and it spread to all. The good news is that the story doesn’t end there! Grace intervened and atonement was made possible through Christ. The separation was avoidable but only through union with Christ and this was offered to all. Accepting this offer meant being “united with Christ” and in so doing a new life emerges. It resulted in a drastic change in the way we see ourselves and others. The promised “new heaven and new earth” is possible because the beginning has been restored – “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” (Rev. 21:3). So as the journey began so it will end--we all will be “United in Christ.”