Study Focus: 1 John 5:1-3, Ephesians 2:1-8, Mark 5:15-19, Hebrews 10:19-22.
Part I: Overview
The power of New Testament witnessing is the power of personal testimony. The first-century believers shared a Christ they knew from experience. Make-believe Christians, if there is such a term, will never change the world. When Christ dwells in our hearts through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, our lives are changed.
Witnessing is a laborious task if it is merely a duty or religious obligation. It is a delight if it comes from a heart overflowing with love for the Christ who has redeemed us. When we are in love, we enjoy talking about the one we love. What holds true for human love certainly holds true for divine love, as well. The power of New Testament witnessing was precisely this—believers spontaneously shared a Christ they loved. Witnessing was not a legalistic requirement; it was the heart’s response to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
In this week’s lesson, we will rediscover how powerful our personal testimonies are in influencing others for Christ. The transformative power of our personal testimony is not how bad we once were or how good we now are. It is about the Christ who came to this sin-cursed world on a redemptive mission of love to redeem us. We can testify with assurance, not because of who we are, but because of who He is.
Part II: Commentary
In Ephesians 2, the apostle Paul describes the change that takes place when an individual accepts Christ. He declares that we “once walked according to the course of this world” (Eph. 2:2, NKJV). We “conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3, NKJV). The expression “children of wrath” simply means that we are by our very nature, sinners and worthy of God’s judgment or wrath. The prophet Jeremiah states that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9). Isaiah adds that even our so-called righteousness is as “filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). The reason our righteousness is described as filthy rags is because it comes from a sin-polluted heart. Without Christ, we are hopelessly lost, in bondage to our sinful natures.
Paul continues his discussion of the plan of salvation by declaring that “God, who is rich in mercy” has “made us alive together with Christ” and “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places” (Eph. 2:4-6, NKJV). He has saved us by His grace not because of our righteous deeds (Eph. 2:8). It is all of grace. By His grace, He pardons us from the guilt of sin and delivers us from the grip of sin. By His grace, He saves us from sin’s penalty and delivers us from sin’s power. Salvation by grace releases us from the condemnation of sin and the bondage or domination of sin. We who were once dead in trespasses and sins are now alive in Christ. The expression used in Ephesians 2:5 for “made alive” or “quickened” in the King James Version means a rebirth. In Christ, it is like we are born all over again, starting anew with a new identity in Christ, a new start in Christ, and new power in Christ. With this new walk in Christ, we are “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10, NKJV). The Greek word for “workmanship” is poiema. We get our English word “poem” from it. When Christ recreates us for the glory of His name, He writes a poem of our life through the good works that His Spirit empowers us to do before the entire universe.
Grace for All
Here is some incredibly good news. God’s grace is not only available to a select few. The apostle Paul makes it plain that it is freely given to all. He states, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation” (Eph. 2:13, 14, NKJV). The expression, “the middle wall of separation” is a remarkable one. The Jews would allow no non-Jew to enter the Jewish temple. There was a stone barrier four and a half feet high with thirteen large stone slabs written in both Greek and Latin, warning Gentiles or foreigners that if they proceeded beyond this outer temple enclosure, they would do so at the risk of their lives.
The Jewish historian Josephus states this warning clearly. “There was a partition made of stone. . . . Its construction was very elegant; upon it stood pillars, at equal distances from one another, declaring the law of purity, some in Greek and some in Roman letters that ‘no foreigner should go within that sanctuary.’ ”—Archeological Bible (Grand rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishers, 2005), p. 1917, as quoted from Josephus (Wars 5.5.2). Gentiles had no access to the presence of God in the Jewish sanctuary. Christ changed all of that. His grace provides direct access to the Father. All who by faith receive the salvation that He so freely offers will have entrance into His eternal kingdom.
The gospel is for all. Salvation is for all. Forgiveness, mercy, pardon, and grace are for all. The New Testament believers grasped the marvel of His grace, and they could not be silent. They understood the assurance of eternal life in Christ. They lived to tell the story of His abounding grace. As we grasp the significance of His grace, we too will live to tell His story.
Grace Changes Us
Grace changes us. James and John, sometimes known as the “sons of thunder” were transformed by grace. You do not call someone a “son of thunder” because he or she has a mild, passive, laid-back disposition. James and John were dynamos who could easily become quick tempered or impatient. They were highly competitive and sought positions in Christ’s new kingdom. Christ’s sacrificial love changed them at the very core of their being. James was eventually martyred, and John, who lived well into His 90’s, never tired of telling the story of the love that changed His life. One writer said, “John wrote with his pen dipped in love.” John was changed by love and had to tell the story. The apostle Paul adds, “The love of Christ compels us” (2 Cor. 5:14, NKJV). In other words, Christ’s love prompts us, motivates us, and compels us to tell the story of salvation.
Ellen G. White states it this way: “Love is a heavenly attribute. The natural heart cannot originate it. This heavenly plant only flourishes where Christ reigns supreme. Where love exists, there is power and truth in the life. Love does good, and nothing but good. Those who have love bear fruit unto holiness, and in the end everlasting life.” —The Youth’s Instructor, January 13, 1898.
Telling the story of Jesus is telling the story of how His grace has worked in our lives. Witnessing is not a spiritual gift given to only a very few people. It is the role of every Christian. Simply tell what Christ has done for you. Share with others the peace you have found in Jesus. Tell them how Christ gave you purpose in your life. Pray for opportunities to tell those around you the joy you have in following Jesus. Tell them how you grasped His promises by faith and found them to be true. Share answers to your prayers or Bible promises that are meaningful to you. You will be surprised at how others will respond to a faith that is genuine.
In an earlier lesson, we mentioned the demoniacs. Just imagine the power of their witness as they shared what Christ had done for them. Who could possibly argue against a testimony that was so real! Changed lives are the most powerful testimony possible. There are those who will argue against what you believe. They will debate your theology, but few people will argue against the testimony of a changed life. As Ellen G. White so beautifully states, “The strongest argument in favor of the gospel is a loving and lovable Christian.”—The Ministry of Healing, p. 470. The critics were silent in the face of the amazing changes in the demoniacs’ lives. As Christ’s love flows through your life, others will be moved to seek the Christ who has changed you and given you such peace and joy.
Christian Assurance
If someone asked you the question, “Do you have eternal life?” how would you respond? Would your answer be vague or certain? Would you say, “I sure hope so,” or “I wish I knew,” or “I am not certain”? Jesus wants you to have the certainty of eternal life. The apostle John declares that, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (1 John 5:11, NKJV). He then adds words too clear to be misunderstood: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13, NKJV). As long as we have Jesus Christ living in our lives, the gift of eternal life is ours. He is life, and in Him we have life. It is this assurance that gives power to our witness. Our assurance is not based on our good works or our superior righteousness. It is based on Christ alone who lives in our lives by the Holy Spirit producing good works through us.
Part III: Life Application
Is it possible to be an effective witness for Christ without the assurance of salvation in your own life? Some Adventist Christians are concerned about accepting the biblical teaching of the assurance of salvation because of Ellen G. White’s statement that indicates we should never say that we are saved. (See Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 155.) A careful analysis of this statement reveals that she was speaking in the context of “once saved always saved.” She was speaking of the false assurance of self-confidence, of the erroneous idea that when I come to Christ, I can never fall away and be lost. This doctrine easily can lead to complacency in our Christian lives and the justification for our own sinful behavior. The grace of God is not “cheap.” It changes our lives. Regarding the assurance of salvation in Jesus, Ellen G. White was clear. She stated, “Each one of you may know for yourself that you have a living Saviour, that he is your helper and your God. You need not stand where you say, ‘I do not know whether I am saved.’ Do you believe in Christ as your personal Saviour? If you do, then rejoice.”—General Conference Bulletin, April 10, 1901.
Encourage your class to share why they believe the assurance of salvation is the basis of all effective witnessing. Have a class member read 1 John 5:11-13 and discuss these verses in class. Where is the assurance of eternal life found?
Read and discuss the following statement:
“When once the gaze is fixed upon Him, the life finds its center. . . . Duty becomes a delight and sacrifice a pleasure. To honor Christ, to become like Him, to work for Him, is the life’s highest ambition and its greatest joy.”—Ellen G White, Education, p. 297.
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Key Text: 1 John 5:11-13
Study Focus: 1 John 5:1-3, Ephesians 2:1-8, Mark 5:15-19, Hebrews 10:19-22.
Part I: Overview
The power of New Testament witnessing is the power of personal testimony. The first-century believers shared a Christ they knew from experience. Make-believe Christians, if there is such a term, will never change the world. When Christ dwells in our hearts through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, our lives are changed.
Witnessing is a laborious task if it is merely a duty or religious obligation. It is a delight if it comes from a heart overflowing with love for the Christ who has redeemed us. When we are in love, we enjoy talking about the one we love. What holds true for human love certainly holds true for divine love, as well. The power of New Testament witnessing was precisely this—believers spontaneously shared a Christ they loved. Witnessing was not a legalistic requirement; it was the heart’s response to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
In this week’s lesson, we will rediscover how powerful our personal testimonies are in influencing others for Christ. The transformative power of our personal testimony is not how bad we once were or how good we now are. It is about the Christ who came to this sin-cursed world on a redemptive mission of love to redeem us. We can testify with assurance, not because of who we are, but because of who He is.
Part II: Commentary
In Ephesians 2, the apostle Paul describes the change that takes place when an individual accepts Christ. He declares that we “once walked according to the course of this world” (Eph. 2:2, NKJV). We “conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3, NKJV). The expression “children of wrath” simply means that we are by our very nature, sinners and worthy of God’s judgment or wrath. The prophet Jeremiah states that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9). Isaiah adds that even our so-called righteousness is as “filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). The reason our righteousness is described as filthy rags is because it comes from a sin-polluted heart. Without Christ, we are hopelessly lost, in bondage to our sinful natures.
Paul continues his discussion of the plan of salvation by declaring that “God, who is rich in mercy” has “made us alive together with Christ” and “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places” (Eph. 2:4-6, NKJV). He has saved us by His grace not because of our righteous deeds (Eph. 2:8). It is all of grace. By His grace, He pardons us from the guilt of sin and delivers us from the grip of sin. By His grace, He saves us from sin’s penalty and delivers us from sin’s power. Salvation by grace releases us from the condemnation of sin and the bondage or domination of sin. We who were once dead in trespasses and sins are now alive in Christ. The expression used in Ephesians 2:5 for “made alive” or “quickened” in the King James Version means a rebirth. In Christ, it is like we are born all over again, starting anew with a new identity in Christ, a new start in Christ, and new power in Christ. With this new walk in Christ, we are “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10, NKJV). The Greek word for “workmanship” is poiema. We get our English word “poem” from it. When Christ recreates us for the glory of His name, He writes a poem of our life through the good works that His Spirit empowers us to do before the entire universe.
Grace for All
Here is some incredibly good news. God’s grace is not only available to a select few. The apostle Paul makes it plain that it is freely given to all. He states, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation” (Eph. 2:13, 14, NKJV). The expression, “the middle wall of separation” is a remarkable one. The Jews would allow no non-Jew to enter the Jewish temple. There was a stone barrier four and a half feet high with thirteen large stone slabs written in both Greek and Latin, warning Gentiles or foreigners that if they proceeded beyond this outer temple enclosure, they would do so at the risk of their lives.
The Jewish historian Josephus states this warning clearly. “There was a partition made of stone. . . . Its construction was very elegant; upon it stood pillars, at equal distances from one another, declaring the law of purity, some in Greek and some in Roman letters that ‘no foreigner should go within that sanctuary.’ ”—Archeological Bible (Grand rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishers, 2005), p. 1917, as quoted from Josephus (Wars 5.5.2). Gentiles had no access to the presence of God in the Jewish sanctuary. Christ changed all of that. His grace provides direct access to the Father. All who by faith receive the salvation that He so freely offers will have entrance into His eternal kingdom.
The gospel is for all. Salvation is for all. Forgiveness, mercy, pardon, and grace are for all. The New Testament believers grasped the marvel of His grace, and they could not be silent. They understood the assurance of eternal life in Christ. They lived to tell the story of His abounding grace. As we grasp the significance of His grace, we too will live to tell His story.
Grace Changes Us
Grace changes us. James and John, sometimes known as the “sons of thunder” were transformed by grace. You do not call someone a “son of thunder” because he or she has a mild, passive, laid-back disposition. James and John were dynamos who could easily become quick tempered or impatient. They were highly competitive and sought positions in Christ’s new kingdom. Christ’s sacrificial love changed them at the very core of their being. James was eventually martyred, and John, who lived well into His 90’s, never tired of telling the story of the love that changed His life. One writer said, “John wrote with his pen dipped in love.” John was changed by love and had to tell the story. The apostle Paul adds, “The love of Christ compels us” (2 Cor. 5:14, NKJV). In other words, Christ’s love prompts us, motivates us, and compels us to tell the story of salvation.
Ellen G. White states it this way: “Love is a heavenly attribute. The natural heart cannot originate it. This heavenly plant only flourishes where Christ reigns supreme. Where love exists, there is power and truth in the life. Love does good, and nothing but good. Those who have love bear fruit unto holiness, and in the end everlasting life.” —The Youth’s Instructor, January 13, 1898.
Telling the story of Jesus is telling the story of how His grace has worked in our lives. Witnessing is not a spiritual gift given to only a very few people. It is the role of every Christian. Simply tell what Christ has done for you. Share with others the peace you have found in Jesus. Tell them how Christ gave you purpose in your life. Pray for opportunities to tell those around you the joy you have in following Jesus. Tell them how you grasped His promises by faith and found them to be true. Share answers to your prayers or Bible promises that are meaningful to you. You will be surprised at how others will respond to a faith that is genuine.
In an earlier lesson, we mentioned the demoniacs. Just imagine the power of their witness as they shared what Christ had done for them. Who could possibly argue against a testimony that was so real! Changed lives are the most powerful testimony possible. There are those who will argue against what you believe. They will debate your theology, but few people will argue against the testimony of a changed life. As Ellen G. White so beautifully states, “The strongest argument in favor of the gospel is a loving and lovable Christian.”—The Ministry of Healing, p. 470. The critics were silent in the face of the amazing changes in the demoniacs’ lives. As Christ’s love flows through your life, others will be moved to seek the Christ who has changed you and given you such peace and joy.
Christian Assurance
If someone asked you the question, “Do you have eternal life?” how would you respond? Would your answer be vague or certain? Would you say, “I sure hope so,” or “I wish I knew,” or “I am not certain”? Jesus wants you to have the certainty of eternal life. The apostle John declares that, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (1 John 5:11, NKJV). He then adds words too clear to be misunderstood: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13, NKJV). As long as we have Jesus Christ living in our lives, the gift of eternal life is ours. He is life, and in Him we have life. It is this assurance that gives power to our witness. Our assurance is not based on our good works or our superior righteousness. It is based on Christ alone who lives in our lives by the Holy Spirit producing good works through us.
Part III: Life Application
Is it possible to be an effective witness for Christ without the assurance of salvation in your own life? Some Adventist Christians are concerned about accepting the biblical teaching of the assurance of salvation because of Ellen G. White’s statement that indicates we should never say that we are saved. (See Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 155.) A careful analysis of this statement reveals that she was speaking in the context of “once saved always saved.” She was speaking of the false assurance of self-confidence, of the erroneous idea that when I come to Christ, I can never fall away and be lost. This doctrine easily can lead to complacency in our Christian lives and the justification for our own sinful behavior. The grace of God is not “cheap.” It changes our lives. Regarding the assurance of salvation in Jesus, Ellen G. White was clear. She stated, “Each one of you may know for yourself that you have a living Saviour, that he is your helper and your God. You need not stand where you say, ‘I do not know whether I am saved.’ Do you believe in Christ as your personal Saviour? If you do, then rejoice.”—General Conference Bulletin, April 10, 1901.
Encourage your class to share why they believe the assurance of salvation is the basis of all effective witnessing. Have a class member read 1 John 5:11-13 and discuss these verses in class. Where is the assurance of eternal life found?
Read and discuss the following statement:
“When once the gaze is fixed upon Him, the life finds its center. . . . Duty becomes a delight and sacrifice a pleasure. To honor Christ, to become like Him, to work for Him, is the life’s highest ambition and its greatest joy.”—Ellen G White, Education, p. 297.