Topic: TOPIC: CHRIST OUR EXAMPLE TO FULFIL PURPOSE [Church of God Mission International] ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL 19 September 2021
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ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL
DATE SUNDAY SEPT 19, 2021.
TOPIC: CHRIST OUR EXAMPLE TO FULFIL PURPOSE.
TEXT 1 Pet 2:21-25, 3:18-22, Phil 2:1-8, Hen 12:1-3
HYMN S, S & S 902 “My hope is built on nothing less”
CENTRAL THOUGHT: The believer’s perfect example is the Lord Jesus Christ.
INTRODUCTION:
When man sinned in the garden of Eden, immediately, God set in motion the plan to
redeem him back to Himself. The Almighty God sent the Lord Jesus into the world as a man. When He was born, He lived the God kind of life successfully on Earth without committing sin. While He was on earth he was so full of compassion for the sinner and the afflicted that he always sympathized with them in their conditions, anywhere he found them. Also, he experienced all kinds of deprivation, humiliation and rejection, just to make sure that he succeeded in his work of redemption. Furthermore, He was accused, mocked, beaten with stripes and cruelly put to
death on the Cross of Calvary as if He was a criminal. Despite all these sufferings, He did not avenge Himself neither did He
quit. He successfully accomplished the work of redemption. Before His death, He told His disciples and indeed all believers that: “For I have given you an example, that ye should do
as I have done to you (John 13:15). It therefore, behoves the believer to live an exemplary life patterned after the life of Christ if he is to impact his world positively and make it to heaven.
LESSON OBJECTIVES:
The lesson objectives are to:
1.Understand the meaning of the phrase “Chris our example”
- Know why Christ is our perfect example;
- examine the lessons we can learn from Christ being our perfect example;
- discuss the consequences of not following Christ’s example:
and
5.appreciate the benefits of following Christ’s example.
BIBLE TRUTH:
Q.1. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE PHRASE “CHRIST OUR EXAMPLE”?
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, to be an example means to behave in a sensible, good and
acceptable way for others to emulate. And to follow somebody’s example means to
copy someone’s behaviour that is sensible and good. Therefore, the phrase “Christ our example” means that Christ is the One
believer should follow, copy and emulate in everything. The Lord Jesus lived righteously
on earth and related to people as God would have us do. He succeeded in living the life of God on earth without commiting sin.
Indeed, He is our perfect example.
This implies that the believer’s
perfect example is not any individual Christian leader, no matter how old he or she is in the faith and no matter the position he
or she occupies.
Q.2. WHY IS CHRIST OUR PERFECT EXAMPLE?
When Christ was manifested in the
flesh in His due season to direct us to God, He lived an exemplary life on earth. This distinguished Him as One who came from heaven. He was extremely compassionate in His dealings with sinners and the afflicted. He took away their burden of sin and affliction. He suffered all kinds of deprivation,
humiliation and rejection; yet these were not enough to make him abandon His work of redemption. He persevered in the midst of these sufferings, went to the cross and
shed His blood for us.
No man who has ever lived on the face of the earth, suffered the things the Lord Jesus Christ suffered: yet, He bore all these without sinning against God. He satisfied God’s requirement for the perfect sacrifice and paid the ultimate price for man’s redemption.
- WHAT LESSONS CAN WE LEARN FROM CHRIST BEING OUR PERFECT EXAMPLE?
There are numerous lessons we can learn from the life lived on earth by the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of these are outlined and
briefly discussed as follows:
1.SUFFERING (Luke 18:32-33: Mark 15:15-20; Matt. 27:27-31)
The Lord Jesus Christ told his disciples ahead of time, the kind of suffering He was going to pass through before His death. Just as the Lord predicted, He was falsely accused, mocked, blindfolded, spat on, beaten and finally, He Was cruelly crucified on the cross as though he was a criminal. In all
these, He neither blamed God nor His decision to redeem man. He did not give up the work of redemption but patiently bore the
agonies of His sufferings and accomplished the work of redeeming man. Believers should learn from the Lord Jesus perseverance in times of suffering and His determination
to accomplish the redemptive work: and apply it to their Christian race if they want to
succeed.
- HIS LOVE (John 13:1; 10:17-18:15:12)
The Lord Jesus loved and cared for
His disciples to the end just as He loves and cares for the believers today. This love, made the Lord to always have compassion on the
sinner and the afflicted as to take away their burden of sin and affliction. Because of the love He has for His own, He laid down His
life for them. The believer is therefore
encouraged to love the sinner and hate his sin in order to deliver him from destruction by preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to him. He should also be compassionate enough to pray for the deliverance of the afflicted. - HIS OBEDIENCE
The Lord Jesus was totally obedient in fulfilling the commandment and will of God
(John 4:34; 15:10). Through Christ’s obedience to God’s command and will, believers were made righteous (Rom.5:19). Though He was the Son of God, the Lord Jesus learnt from experience what it was like to obey, even when obeying meant suffering (Heb. 5:8).
The believer is therefore enjoined to live in obedience to God and His Word no matter the cost. - HIS HUMILITY
The Lord Jesus demonstrated humility when He washed the feet of His disciples and dried them with the towel that was wrapped
around Him (John 13:5).
In addition, the Lord Jesus humbled Himself to be baptized by John the Baptist, though John was His forerunner.
The believer’s attitude should be the kind that
was shown us by the Lord Jesus, who, though He was God, did not demand and cling to His right as God, but laid aside His mighty
power and glory, taking the position of a servant and bearing it as man (Phil. 2:5-7). He humbled Himself even further, by dying the
death of a criminal on the Cross of Calvary (Phil. 2:8).
The believer therefore, is encouraged to emulate the spirit of humility exemplified by Christ. - The class should mention others.
- WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT FOLLOWING CHRIST’s EXAMPLE?
There are a number of consequences that are associated with not following Christ’s
example. The first major consequences is that such a life poses a hindrance to the salvation of others. When we cannot live the
Christ-like life that shows to other people that there is something admirable as to attract them to that lifestyle or make them desire to know the secret of such lifestyle then, that believer has missed the mark and therefore become the salt that has lost its savour which
good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under the foot of me (Matt. 5:13).
Another consequence is that such a believer stands the risk of missing heaven. Christ did not mince words when He said that except our righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees we shall not enter into the kingdom of God (Matt. 5:20). Judas Iscariot was one of the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ for a period of about three and half
years. But he missed heaven because of the contrary life he lived (John 17:12).
Q.5. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF FOLLOWING CHRIST’S EXAMPLE?
The believer who is daily following Christ’s example bring glory to God, as men see his
exemplary character (Matt. 5:16). Furthermore, the believer who is living the Christ-like life attracts God’s abundant blessings, honour, enjoys peace, divine health (Rom. 8:6; Ps. 119:165; Ex. 15:26; Dec.7:15), experiences deliverance from evil (Ps. 34:19), enjoys Victory over sin and the devil, and
ultimately makes heaven. List other benefits.
DAILY LIVING APPLICATION
Believers have a greater example to encourage them in the race that is set before them than any or all known Bible characters, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. We should
emulate His perseverance and obedience in suffering, His humility in serving His disciples; His love and care for His own; and
His obedience to the Father.
MEMORY VERSE: 1 Pet. 2:21
“For even here unto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an
example, that ye should follow His steps”