God the Son, Mentor's Guide, MG10

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G O D T H E S O N

* How can the doctrine of Jesus’ resurrection give us comfort and assurance during seasons of ministry which are less than effective, even unfruitful and difficult? * How might our worship of Christ be enhanced if we were to rediscover the doctrine of the ascension in our worship, lectionary, and Church calendar? * How often is the glorious return of Christ mentioned or referred to in your own devotional reading and prayer, Bible study and teaching, and your preaching and exposition? When is the last time you studied this material in depth for your edification’s sake? * How should the prospect of Christ’s future judgment of your service influence both your motive and your methods of ministry today? What is likely to happen if you ignore this important truth as you minister in Christ’s name? * In what ways might you integrate the teaching about Christ’s eternal Kingdom into your daily life and faith? What kinds of activities and practices might you adopt to help those whom you lead and teach to be more aware of the Second Coming of Christ, and the implications of that event for their lives?

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His Body Did Not Rise

Using 1 Corinthians 15.45 as a pretext, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe that the body of Jesus physically rose from the dead. The verse reads, “Thus it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” Asserting that this text reveals that Jesus was raised a spirit, the Witnesses affirm that the body of Jesus is gone; they make no theological assertion as to where it may be today, i.e., where it was buried for good, but their own theology does not require that Jesus rose visibly, nor that he return in a body, visibly, in immortal glory. How would you refute this long-standing doctrine of the Witnesses?

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More than One Second Coming?

According to one popular view of the Second Coming, there will be a series of appearances where Christ will come first for his own at the Rapture of the Church (1 Thess. 4.13-17), followed by a period of great tribulation of seven years, and then,