Church of God Mission International – CGMI ADULTS SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL 18 August 2024 | Topic: WALKING IN THE SPIRIT.
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CGMI ADULTS SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL
CENTRAL THOUGHT:
Life in the Spirit is a foretaste of eternal life.
DATE: 18TH AUGUST, 2024
HYMN: S. S& S. 616. Take my life and let it be
LESSON: WALKING IN THE SPIRIT.
TEXT: Gal.5:1-5, 13-26.
INTRODUCTION:
Salvation by faith and grace in Christ does not confer on the believer any measure of liberty without limits. The balance of liberty and grace, a divine
contrast of spirituality and carnality and the concept of practical godliness are chief themes in the apostolic letters of Paul to various Churches.
The believer in Christ is delivered from the captivity of sin and the lawful sentence associated with any
disobedience. He is then ushered into a divine era of liberty, faith and grace. When put in proper perspective, liberty in Christ will entrust upon us a magnitude of responsibility, more than the law could ever do. The full measure of God’s grace in us will suppress the inherent nature of sin ruling us before now. Our choices are
made simple and straight by the
presence of the Holy Spirit in us. He functions as our counselor, Helper, Guide and Teacher in our daily walk with God. Moreover, we are imputed with the righteousness of Christ, and we are empowered with the desire for His will to be done in us. This is life in the Spirit.
The liberty associated with the grace of God can never be seen as a license to carnal impunity or an open invitation to dwell in sin. Rather, it is an enthronement of the Spirit of God in us so that we are placed on a higher pedestal to exhibit responsible lifestyle in practical godliness.
This study will help us to understand how to walk in the Spirit and the characters we manifest when we are truly doing so.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
- Know what it means to walk in the Spirit:
- Explain the role of the believer and the Holy Spirit in our
daily walk; - Explain what it means to stand firm in liberty:
- Discus the conflict that goes on between the Spirit and the
flesh; - Identify the manifestation of the flesh and
- Know and promote the fruit of the Spirit.
BIBLE TRUTH:
QUESTION 1A.
WHAT DOES IT MEANS TO WALK IN THE SPIRIT? Gal 5:5-6, 25
To walk in the Spirit is to advance our faith beyond the level of “dos and don’ts to a higher level when godliness is built into us as a matter of nature.
It is to allow the will of God as revealed in His word to dominate and have precedence over our will. It is to walk in the fullness of endowment of the Holy Spirit so that our lifestyle will glorify God and will continue to contribute to actualizing the mission of Christ on earth.
QUESTION 1B.
WHAT ARE THE ROLES OF THE BELIEVER, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT IN
THE PROCESSOFLIVING A
RIGHTEOUS LIFE? Gal 5:16,
Phil. 2: 12-13
On the part of the believer., it is his duty to exercise faith on the finished Work of Christ on the cross. He must yield or surrender his life in repentane
to God. He must subscribe to the
obedience of the scriptures and should undertake actions that connote practical godliness.
On His part, the Holy Spirit provides the foundational basis by creating in the believer the desire to please God. The Holy Spirit also imputes the
believer with the righteousness of Christ, and enables him to live a life that is pleasing unto God.
QUESTION 2.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO STAND FIRM IN LIBERTY? Gal.5:1; Eph.4:14.
This is liberty arising from justification by faith in Jesus Christ and the subsequent deliverance from bondage of sin and the law. To stand firm in liberty is a call to responsible
lifestyle that is motivated by an
endowment of grace and resulting from the believer’s willing surrender to the love of God. It is to abhor lawlessness, idleness and lewdness in the race of life. It means to be
convinced, stable and settled about the love of God as manifested in Jesus Christ, and to strongly resist any concoction that seeks to void the grace of God. It is not the licentious
liberty, but one in which we must hold firmly to our Christian convictions.
QUESTION 3.
DISCUSS THE CONFLICT THAT GOES
ON BETWEEN THE SPIRIT AND FLESH. Gal.5:16-19: Rom.7:14-25.
The spirit here refers to the regenerated nature of man under the influence of the Holy Spirit, while the flesh refers to the advance nature inherent and manifested in the carnality of man. There is a constant
struggle in every believer between these two natures. The spirit represents the nature of God in man. It is desirous to please God and focuses on values that bring eternal
rewards. It is gentle, peaceful, patient and persuasive. The flesh refers to the satan-induced, depraved state of man that is bent on personal gratification and self-indulgence. It is rash, riotous, impatient, and sensually
enticing. Its focus is on earthly benefits and succumbs to any means that provides temporary satisfaction. It is bound for eternal damnation. The best anti-dote against the poisoning
influence of the flesh is to walk in the Spirit. It is the believer who determines which of these two should have overriding influence over the other, in his/her life.
QUESTION 4.
WHAT ARE THE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE FLESH AND HOW CAN THEY BE CHECKED? Gal.5:17-2 1: Ps.1 19:9-11.
Everything about the flesh ends up in rebellion, disorderly lifestyle and immoral conduct. They manifest in sins against God, which include.
adultery, fornication, uncleanness and lasciviousness. Others are ldolatry, witchcraft, Hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, drunkenness and
raveling’s.
Flesh (i.e the Godless human nature) is the motivator of all. They all have the capacity to shut people out of heaven.
We can mortify the flesh and the lusts associated when we are genuinely saved, with a proper foundation laid on faith in Jesus Christ. We are to build up our faith by delighting ourselves in the study of the word of God, regular fellowship with believers
and developing a lifestyle that is
spiritually sensitive and prayerful.
QUESTION 5.
WHAT ARE THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT, AND HOW CAN THEY BE
PROMOTED? Gal.5:22-23.
The fruit of the Spirit (i.e. the work which His presence within accomplishes) is presented in nine dimensions.They are not alternatives but operate together. The nine
expressions of that single package are Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness,Goodness, Faith, Meekness and Temperance.
Together they work to produce a life that has great delight in God and His people, has peace with God and is
peaceable towards others, has a
sweetness of temper that is easy to be entreated, ready to do good with every opportunity, has faith in what we profess, not easily provoked but casy to pacify when provoked. When we bear the fruit of the Spirit, God
glorified in us, the flesh is mortified and the church is better off with genuine salvation of souls.
We can see the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit when we are truly
baptized in the Holy Spirit and there runs in us a genuine desire to please God in all circumstances of life.
DAILY LIVING APPLICATION:
The ideal purpose and desire of every should believer he to walk in the pirit, mortik the flesh and manifest fruit of the Holy Spirit. Our faith obligates us not only to oppose the works of the flesh, but to walk in the Spirit. Having the Spiritt of Christ is privilege of great honour bestowed upon us, to which we must reciprocate, and justify by a responsible and worthy conduct life in the Spirit is a foretaste of eternal life, while life in the flesh is a wide road to eternal damnation.
MEMORY VERSE:
Gal.5:16.
“This I say then, walk in the
Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the
lust of the flesh.”
DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE:
MON: The truth shall set you free. (John. 8:32).
TUE: They that are in the flesh cannot please God. (Rom.8:8)
WED: Free from sin, but servants of righteousness.(Rom.6:18)
THU: The carnal mind is enmity
against God. (Rom.8:7)
FRI: Have no fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness.(Eph.5:11)
SAT: No condemnation to them who walk in the Spirit.(Rom.8:1)
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