God the Father, Mentor's Guide, MG06

/ 2 6 7

G O D T H E F A T H E R

All of the contacts for this lesson hone in on the notion that God is challenged in every place. He is denied as the Lord who is the first and foremost being in the universe, challenged by idols whose worshipers deny the glory of the God and Father of the Lord Jesus. Even more so, his very justice and righteousness is called into question by those who are prone to blame him for all the things that take place in this fallen world. Perhaps the greatest ministry for those called by the Lord is their need to make plain to modern people precisely what the Scriptures declare about God, who he is, what he is doing in the world, what his intentions are, how he works, and what his ultimate intention is for his creation. The title of this lesson and segment, “The Doctrine of God and the Advance of the Kingdom” is explicitly seeking to connect the relationship between God as one who is revealing his rule and glory in the world and his person. In other words, seek to make the connection that the Kingdom of God (God’s righteous rulership over the universe) is directly tied both to his person, and to what he reveals to us regarding his will. Without him revealing himself to humankind we would not know any of his will, and would not therefore be able to respond to his will. Being ignorant of his purposes and motives, we would simply generate, as the world does today, false foundations upon which to build life and pursue “success.” In one sense, this is a wonderful way to understand the world, as one big false worldview factory that is cranking out little, unimportant, unbiblical alternative styles of life other than the one designed for us by the Lord. 1 John 2.15-17 - Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. [16] For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. [17] And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

5 Page 15 Contact

6 Page 16 Summary of Segment 1

In helping your students understand the relationship of studying the person of God and the intellectual life, you might want to use these quotes from two of the early

7 Page 18 Outline Point I-B