Master the Bible: How to Get and Keep the Big Picture of the Bible's Story

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Mas ter the B i b l e : How to Get and Keep the B i g P i c ture of the B i b l e ’ s Stor y

A. Let us make conformity to Christ the heart of our spiritual formation.

As disciples of Jesus, we are united to Christ by virtue of our faith in him. God’s explicit desire is to conform every member of his Church to the beauty and glory of Christ (Rom. 8.28; 1 John 2.6, 3.2; 2 Cor. 3.18; Phil. 3.4-13). As those united to Christ in all dimensions of his life and ministry, we must strive to make Christ visible in every dimension of our lives, for we are joined to him by faith!

1. We are “in Christ”: The risen Christ above is our very life, Col. 3.1-4.

2. We died with Christ in baptism, Rom. 6.3 – Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

3. We were buried with him by faith, Rom. 6.4 – We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

4. We have been raised from the dead in Christ to walk in newness of life, Rom. 6.4-13.

5. We ascended with him, and sit in the heavenly places in him, Eph. 2.4-7 – But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – [6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.