Nov 03 2008
Bible Study Week 27 - Developing the Mind of Christ - The Readiness Principle
Purpose of This Bible Study Lesson
Today’s lesson which is known as The Readiness Principle will prepare us for the “Qualified Stage” where we will learn how to prepare our minds for action by girding (tightening) it up. If your will is set, and your mind has grown through constant renewal, you will be qualified for any test God allows to come your way. Be ready and alert!
Learning Goals
This lesson will guide the participants to:-
- Learn how to gird up their minds for action
- Learn how to demonstrate a mental readiness at all times
- Discover how mental readiness qualifies you to serve in ministry
Introduction
In the Qualified Stage, you prepare your mind for action by girding it up. Jesus was alert, or ready, as various groups attempted to trap Him with trick questions in Luke 20:20-40Luke 20:20-40
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
20 And they watched him, and sent forth spies, who feigned themselves to be righteous, that they might take hold of his speech, so as to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor.
21 And they asked him, saying, Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, and acceptest not the person [of any], but of a truth teachest the way of God:
22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them,
24 Show me a denarius. Whose image and superscription hath it? And they said, Caesar's.
25 And he said unto them, Then render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.
26 And they were not able to take hold of the saying before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.
27 And there came to him certain of the Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection;
28 and they asked him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, that if a man's brother die, having a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
29 There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died childless;
30 and the second:
31 and the third took her; and likewise the seven also left no children, and died.
32 Afterward the woman also died.
33 In the resurrection therefore whose wife of them shall she be? for the seven had her to wife.
34 And Jesus said unto them, The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
35 but they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
36 for neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in [the place concerning] the Bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
38 Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
39 And certain of the scribes answering said, Teacher, thou hast well said.
40 For they durst not any more ask him any question.
. He was qualified because he spent many hours with His Father in prayer and in the Word. This is the same way we should live as Christians who have the mind of Christ; imagine an athlete who appears for the Olympic Games without ever having practiced for the games! He would find that his muscles are not flexible enough to do the games that he is competing in. just because he has won that particular game before does not qualify him to win again and again unless he spends his time preparing himself. This is also true for Christians who think that they can have the mind of Christ without any effort; they are fooling themselves, because they will be disqualified by the Judge (Jesus Christ) when the race begins!
Begin Today’s Lesson by Reading: Matt 25:1-12Matt 25:1-12
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
25
1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
3 For the foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them:
4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you: go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
and Luke 20: 20-40Luke 20: 20-40
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
20 And they watched him, and sent forth spies, who feigned themselves to be righteous, that they might take hold of his speech, so as to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor.
21 And they asked him, saying, Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, and acceptest not the person [of any], but of a truth teachest the way of God:
22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them,
24 Show me a denarius. Whose image and superscription hath it? And they said, Caesar's.
25 And he said unto them, Then render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.
26 And they were not able to take hold of the saying before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.
27 And there came to him certain of the Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection;
28 and they asked him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, that if a man's brother die, having a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
29 There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died childless;
30 and the second:
31 and the third took her; and likewise the seven also left no children, and died.
32 Afterward the woman also died.
33 In the resurrection therefore whose wife of them shall she be? for the seven had her to wife.
34 And Jesus said unto them, The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
35 but they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
36 for neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in [the place concerning] the Bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
38 Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
39 And certain of the scribes answering said, Teacher, thou hast well said.
40 For they durst not any more ask him any question.
.
The Readiness Principle
Jesus understood the Readiness Principle very well because he prepared his disciples to continue with his work after he had left earth. Jesus spent time with his disciples and even told them “Truly, truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater works than these because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12John 14:12
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father.
). Jesus qualified the disciples to do greater works than those that he himself had done, and this is also God’s will for us today as we also seek to have the mind of Christ.
Just like Caleb and Joshua were qualified because they refused to see themselves as grasshoppers (Num 13:30-33Num 13:30-33
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
31 But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature.
33 And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
), we also will only be qualified if we refuse to see ourselves as defeated. Many Christians have already disqualified themselves from ministry because they look inwardly unto themselves instead of looking upwardly to the One who has already been qualified by God, Jesus Christ His beloved son. God qualified Jesus when He spoke during the Transfiguration on the mountain and said “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him”. (Matt 17:5Matt 17:5
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
5 While he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
).
In the parables of the five wise virgins and the five foolish virgins, Jesus demonstrated the Readiness Principle very well, because the five foolish virgins were not ready with their lamps when the bridegroom finally arrived and therefore they were disqualified from entering into the marriage ceremony. Christian who have the mind of Christ are alert and qualified for service just like the five wise virgins were ready.
In summary therefore, let us remember the three principles which are: The Will Principle (Beginning Stage), The River Principle (Growing Stage) and lastly the Readiness Principle (The Qualified Stage), whereby we are qualified for service by God.
Bible Study Questions For Discussion - Week 27
- Who do you think is meant by the phrase “gird up the loins of your minds” in 1 Peter 1:131 Peter 1:13
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
13 Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ? Please explain
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - What is the purpose of being sober and hopeful as a Christian today according to 1 Peter 1:131 Peter 1:13
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
13 Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ? Please explain
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - How do you think Jesus was able to demonstrate mental readiness and wisdom? And how can we today demonstrate mental readiness? Please use Luke 20:20-40Luke 20:20-40
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
20 And they watched him, and sent forth spies, who feigned themselves to be righteous, that they might take hold of his speech, so as to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor. 21 And they asked him, saying, Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, and acceptest not the person [of any], but of a truth teachest the way of God: 22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? 23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, 24 Show me a denarius. Whose image and superscription hath it? And they said, Caesar's. 25 And he said unto them, Then render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. 26 And they were not able to take hold of the saying before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace. 27 And there came to him certain of the Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection; 28 and they asked him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, that if a man's brother die, having a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 29 There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died childless; 30 and the second: 31 and the third took her; and likewise the seven also left no children, and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection therefore whose wife of them shall she be? for the seven had her to wife. 34 And Jesus said unto them, The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage: 35 but they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: 36 for neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in [the place concerning] the Bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. 39 And certain of the scribes answering said, Teacher, thou hast well said. 40 For they durst not any more ask him any question. to explain.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - Why do we need to be ready as Christians according to the parable of the virgins in Matt. 25:1-12? Please explain
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - How were the five virgins qualified in Matt 25:1-12Matt 25:1-12
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
25 1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For the foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them: 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you: go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. ? Please explain
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - What happens to those who will not be ready according to Matt 25:1-12Matt 25:1-12
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
25 1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For the foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them: 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you: go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. ? Please explain
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - Why do you think Jesus prepared his disciples for ministry?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - How can we prepare ourselves today for ministry? Please explain
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. - In your own words please explain briefly what you have learnt about the “Readiness Principle” today and how you will apply it in your Christian life.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Memorize 1 Peter 1:131 Peter 1:13
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
13 Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
“Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ”
Tags: Bible lessons, Bible study, mind of Christ
