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Last week, we learned that God delights in his people who follow and obey him. He delights in their worthy sacrifices, and he is delighted when his people reflect his character. He also is delighted when his people go out and do his work on the earth.

When God delights in people, he doesn’t just revel in his delight. He responds. He acts on behalf of those who delight him. This week, we’ll learn how exactly God responds and what he does for those who bring him delight.

Salvation/Eternal Life

One of the greatest gifts that God gives when he delights in his people is salvation.

Isaiah 61:10: I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Psalm 145:19: He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.

1 Corinthians 1:21: For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

When we receive salvation, that leads to eternal life.

1 John 2:17: The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

John 5:21: For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.

His Presence/Knowledge of Him

Another great blessing that we receive when we please God is that we grow in our knowledge of him and we encounter his presence in our lives.

Jeremiah 9:23-24: ²³ This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
²⁴ but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.

In the Old Testament, God was pleased when they built the temple for him, and he filled it with his presence.

Haggai 1:8: “Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord.

Haggai 2:7: ‘I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty.

In the New Testament, God gave his presence through the Holy Spirit and through Jesus Christ.

Matthew 12:18: “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.”

Ephesians 1:7-10: ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

In the end, those who please God will inherit his kingdom, which is filled with his presence.

Luke 12:32: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”

Favor

When God is pleased with his people, he not only provides spiritual benefits, he provides material benefits. He protects and provides for his people and grants them success.

Psalm 35:27: May those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, “The Lord be exalted,
who delights in the well-being of his servant.”

Psalm 37:4: Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Victory Over Enemies

Especially in the Old Testament, one way that God showed his favor to his people was by giving them victory over their enemies.

Isaiah 58:13-14: ¹³ “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
¹⁴ then you will find your joy in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Psalm 149:4: For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.

Psalm 41:11: I know that you are pleased with me,
for my enemy does not triumph over me.

2 Samuel 22:20: He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Proverbs 16:7: When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way,
he causes their enemies to make peace with them.

Provision and Abundance

Another way that God shows his favor is by providing for his people. When his people him, he makes them prosperous and gives them an abundance.

Deuteronomy 30:9-10: ⁹ Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, ¹⁰ if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Psalm 36:8: They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.

Psalm 145:16: You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

God provided for the Israelites by giving them a land to call their own and a holy city in Jerusalem.

Malachi 3:12: “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

Psalm 51:18: May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.

Notice, though, that God’s provision requires that we turn to God with all our heart and soul. God can see through any false motives we have, and those motives will not please him. We must truly seek God first.

Success

When we bring God delight, he will grant us success in the work we are doing for him. We see this in the characters of the Old Testament.

God granted success to David and Solomon when they were king over Israel.

1 Chronicles 28:4: “Yet the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me [David] from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and from the tribe of Judah he chose my family, and from my father’s sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel.”

1 Kings 10:9: “Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you [Solomon] and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.”

God also granted success to Nehemiah when he requested to rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 1:11: “Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

I was cupbearer to the king.

More generally, God grants success to those he delights in by upholding them and making their steps firm.

Psalm 37:23-24: ²³ The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
²⁴ though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

Compassion/Mercy

Even from early in the Bible, God was quick to show compassion or mercy on his people when they pleased him.

After the flood, after God destroyed the whole earth because of the overwhelming sin in the world, God found Noah’s sacrifice to be pleasing and responded by promising to never destroy the earth again.

Genesis 8:21: The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.”

Even after we have sinned, God yearns to have a relationship with us. He is ready to show mercy and to turn his rebuke into rejoicing.

Jeremiah 31:20: Is not Ephraim my dear son,
the child in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
I still remember him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
I have great compassion for him,”
declares the Lord.

Micah 7:18: Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.

Isaiah 65:19: I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.

Zephaniah 3:17: “The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Discipline

When we sin, God delights to show us mercy, but we may also have to live with the consequences of our decisions. This is one way God disciplines those he loves.

Proverbs 3:11-12: ¹¹ My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline,
and do not resent his rebuke,
¹² because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.

Wisdom

As we walk the path of learning to please God, sometimes requiring discipline and mercy, God uses those situations to grow us in wisdom. He uses them to bring us back to him and to help us be satisfied in him.

Ecclesiastes 2:26: To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Uses Us for His Work

When we continue to follow God and allow him to increase our wisdom and knowledge of him, he uses us to do his work in this world to bring the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:21: For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

Hebrews 13:20-21: ²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹ equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Romans 14:17-18: ¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, ¹⁸ because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

Conclusion

If you are following God with all your heart and soul, if you are obedient to him not for the rewards but because of your delight in him and his word, you should be able to look at your life and identify where God has blessed you. You can be sure of your salvation and of his presence in your life through the Holy Spirit. You may be able to see times when God has saved you from a struggle with sin or he’s gotten you through a difficult season. Maybe you see God’s provision and abundance in your life. Perhaps you have a time in your life when you know God was disciplining you so that you would return to him. In this Christmas season, take some time to reflect on the favor God has showed you because of your faithfulness to him.

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Do you ever struggle with figuring out what to buy as a gift for the person who has everything? They have all the latest toys and gadgets, the nice house and cars, the steady job. When they want something, they buy it. And when you want to buy them a gift, it seems there’s nothing left on the list that would bring them delight.

In the same way, what do you bring as a gift for the God who has everything? He created the world. He owns everything in it. He has the ultimate power to do anything he desires. As a lowly human, finite and faulty, what do we have that would bring God delight? Our lesson this week will give us that answer.

God Delights When His People Follow Him

God delights in the people he has chosen to be his. This often refers to Israel, but it can also refer to anyone who chooses to follow him.

Psalm 16:3: I say of the holy people who are in the land,
“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”

Zephaniah 3:17: The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”

God especially delights in those who fear him and put their hope in him.

Psalm 147:10-11: ¹⁰ His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
¹¹ the Lord delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.

In order to follow God wholeheartedly, we must turn from our sin. This repentance brings God great delight.

Ezekiel 33:11: Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

Once we decide to follow God, part of our act of following is worshiping him. Our worship brings him delight.

Psalm 19:14: May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 69:30-31: ³⁰ I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
³¹ This will please the Lord more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hooves.

If we want to please God, we must turn from our sins, fear him and put our hope in him, and worship him.

God Delights in His People’s Worthy Sacrifices

One way that people can worship God is to bring him sacrifices. These sacrifices have looked different at different times in history.

In the Old Testament, especially in the books of the Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), sacrifices that pleased God were typically animal sacrifices of some kind. Over and over in these books, you will read “a pleasing aroma” in reference to sacrifices offered by his people, the Israelites.

Genesis 8:21: The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.”

Exodus 29:18: Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord.

Leviticus 2:1-2: 2 “‘When anyone brings a grain offering to the Lord, their offering is to be of the finest flour. They are to pour olive oil on it, put incense on it ² and take it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the incense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.”

Psalm 51:19: Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Later in the Old Testament, the people who followed God with their whole heart learned that just the act of sacrificing an offering isn’t what God really wants. Instead, he is more pleased with obedience, mercy, and the prayers of the upright.

1 Samuel 15:22: But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

Hosea 6:6: For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

Proverbs 15:8: The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked,
but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

In the New Testament, we find that we should view ourselves as living sacrifices that are pleasing to God.

Romans 12:1: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Part of this sacrifice can include providing support to people who are doing God’s work.

Philippians 4:18: I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

If you truly want to bring God delight, you will offer yourself as a living sacrifice—you will be someone who obeys God, who gives mercy to others to reflect God’s mercy to you, who spends time taking to God through prayer, and who gives gifts to support God’s work in the world.

God Delights When His People Reflect His Character

As we are obedient to God, offering ourselves as a living sacrifice to him, we will begin to live lives that reflect God’s character. This brings God delight.

We can reflect God’s integrity.

1 Chronicles 29:17: I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.

Proverbs 11:1: The Lord detests dishonest scales,
but accurate weights find favor with him.

Proverbs 12:22: The Lord detests lying lips,
but he delights in people who are trustworthy.

We can reflect God’s faithfulness.

Psalm 51:6: Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

And we can become blameless before God.

Proverbs 11:20: The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse,
but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.

The more we reflect God’s character, the more we bring him delight.

God Delights When His People Do His Work

Last week, we saw that God finds delight in the work that he does on this earth. That work is often accomplished through people. When people on this earth choose to participate in God’s work, this brings him delight.

In the Old Testament, kings and others in authority were often the ones instructed to do God’s work. God used them as tools to accomplish his purposes, such as building or rebuilding the temple.

Deuteronomy 33:11: Bless all his skills, Lord,
and be pleased with the work of his hands.
Strike down those who rise against him,
his foes till they rise no more.”

Isaiah 44:28: who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd
and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’

Proverbs 21:1: In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water
that he channels toward all who please him.

Haggai 1:8: Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord.

In the New Testament, and in our world today, those who believe in Christ are instructed to do God’s work. The primary work he has given us is to preach the good news of Jesus so that people who believe this message can be saved.

1 Corinthians 1:21: For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

Romans 14:17-18: ¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, ¹⁸ because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

Whether we are building a place of worship or preaching the gospel or serving Christ in some other way, if we participate in God’s work here on earth, we bring him delight.

Conclusion

If you want to bring delight to the God who has everything, consider bringing yourself as a living sacrifice. Choose to follow and obey him, to reflect his character, and to participate in his work on this earth. He gave his one and only Son to be a sacrifice for you and me, and it brings him great delight to see his chosen people serving and worshiping him.

Go to Lesson 6

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Have you ever stopped to consider what brings delight to the God of the universe, the one who controls everything? The things that bring us delight might seem mundane to the God who resides in heaven in the greatest of beauty. But God finds so many things to delight in that I actually ended up splitting this lesson into two weeks because the Bible contains so many verses about what brings God delight. Let’s take a look.

God Delights in Himself

As the most supreme being that exists, God finds delight in the one thing that is perfect—himself. He delights in his Son, in his law, in his words, and in his works.

God Delights in His Son

When the Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah, it says that even though there’s nothing about his appearance that we as humans should desire him, God delights in him because he is the chosen one who has his Spirit.

Isaiah 53:2: He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

Isaiah 42:1: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.”

Once Jesus was on earth, God made it clear that he was pleased with his Son. We see this both at Jesus’ baptism and his transfiguration.

Luke 3:21-22: ²¹ When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened ²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Matthew 17:5: While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

Why was God pleased with Jesus? Because all of God’s fullness dwells in him, and it is through Jesus that all things, including all humanity, will be reconciled again to God.

Colossians 1:19-20: ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [Jesus], ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

God Delights in His Law and in His Word

To connect with people and to show us how he wants us to live, he gave us his law and his word through the Bible.

Isaiah 42:21: It pleased the Lord
for the sake of his righteousness
to make his law great and glorious.

God is righteous, so he found pleasure in making his law great and glorious to reflect his character. And when his word goes out into the world, it accomplishes God’s purpose.

Isaiah 55:10-11: ¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

God Delights in His Works

God is the ruler of the universe, so he can do whatever he wants. The Bible phrases this as God “does whatever pleases him.”

Isaiah 46:10: I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’

Psalm 135:6: The Lord does whatever pleases him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.

When humans do whatever pleases them, we often get into trouble. We are selfish and tend to stray into wickedness and sin when we do whatever we want. But with God, we can trust him fully when he does what pleases him. Why? Because God’s works are aligned with his character. These verses tell us what pleases God:

Jeremiah 9:23-24: ²³ This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
²⁴ but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.

Micah 7:18: Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.

God’s works reflect kindness, justice, righteousness, and mercy because these are what bring him delight.

God uses his works to accomplish his will in us and in the world. What does the Bible say is in God’s will?

1. God’s will is to adopt us as sons through Jesus by redeeming us and forgiving our sins.

   Ephesians 1:4-10: ⁴ For he [God] chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

2. God’s will is to give people life.

   John 5:21: For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.

3. God’s will is to reveal his plan to those who will listen.

   Matthew 11:25-26: ²⁵ At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.”

   Also see Ephesians 1:9 above.

4. God’s will is to equip his people to do his work.

   Hebrews 13:20-21: ²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹ equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

5. God’s will is to give his kingdom to those who follow him.

   Luke 12:32: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”

When the Bible tells us to not be afraid, this is why. God is in control, and the thing that delights him most is to redeem us and bring us into his kingdom that reflects his character of kindness, justice, righteousness, and mercy.

God Delights in His Creation

One of God’s greatest works is the creation of the world. When God saw his creation in Genesis 1, he said that it was good. God in his wisdom delights in his greatest creation—mankind.

Proverbs 8:30-31: ³⁰ Then I [wisdom] was constantly at his [the LORD’s] side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
³¹ rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.

God Delights in Israel

Although God delights in all mankind, he holds a special place in his heart for the nation of Israel.

Deuteronomy 30:9-10: ⁹ Then the Lord your God will make you [the Israelites] most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, ¹⁰ if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Even though the Israelites often disappointed God by following after other gods, God still yearned for a relationship with them and was delighted when they turned to him.

Isaiah 5:7: The vineyard of the Lord Almighty
is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Jeremiah 31:20: “Is not Ephraim my dear son,
the child in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
I still remember him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
I have great compassion for him,”
declares the Lord.

Isaiah 56:4: ⁴ For this is what the Lord says:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose what pleases me
and hold fast to my covenant—
⁵ to them I will give within my temple and its walls
a memorial and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that will endure forever.”

God Delights in Jerusalem

Throughout the Bible, Jerusalem is the Holy City and God’s most favored place on earth. Jerusalem was where the temple was located where God’s people gathered to worship him. Jerusalem was the center of Jesus’ ministry while he was on earth. God takes delight in Jerusalem and desires to build it up.

Psalm 51:18: May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.

Isaiah 65:18-19: ¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.
¹⁹ I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.

When God sees the combination of Jerusalem and his people together, he finds great delight in them.

Conclusion

God delights in his works on this earth, especially his act to send his Son to redeem his people. He takes great delight in his people and in his holy city. But what we saw this week in his delight for his people is just scratching the surface. Come back next week as we dive into more detail about what exactly brings him delight when he looks at mankind.

Go to Lesson 5b

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What are you thankful for?

It’s the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and this is the question that everyone will ask this week (at least in the U.S.). We often say things like family, a good job, friends, a house to live in. Maybe a special talent or skill or activity that we enjoy.

But do you ever find delight in seeing a fellow believer share their faith in Christ? Or a new believer joining God’s family? Are you thankful for wisdom and rest? What about hardship and struggles?

In this week’s lesson, we find that people who follow Christ delight in all these things.

Delighting in Other Believers

In the New Testament, a frequent delight of Christians was seeing other believers live out their faith and desire to share their faith with others.

Christians delight in sharing their lives with other Christians.

1 Thessalonians 2:8: so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.

2 Corinthians 7:13: By all this we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.

Christians delight in seeing people be strong in their faith and share their faith with others.

Colossians 2:5: For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

Romans 10:1: Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.

Christians delight in seeing people share their possessions cheerfully.

Romans 15:26: For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem.

2 Corinthians 8:10-11: ¹⁰ And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. ¹¹ Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.

As Christians, when we see others live out their faith well, it brings us joy.

Delighting in Worship and Service

Christians also delight in worship and service, two acts of faith that we often associate with the church.

Isaiah prophesied about Jesus, saying that he would delight in the fear of the Lord. Fearing the Lord is not about being afraid of him. It’s about revering who God is and worshiping him with our lives.

Isaiah 11:1-3a: 11 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

Isaiah also called us to delight in the Sabbath, the day we set aside for rest and to worship God. Delighting in the Sabbath brings us joy and triumph in the Lord.

Isaiah 58:13: ¹³ “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
¹⁴ then you will find your joy in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

In addition, Christians delight in seeing people serve the Lord faithfully.

Nehemiah 12:44: At that time men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, firstfruits and tithes. From the fields around the towns they were to bring into the storerooms the portions required by the Law for the priests and the Levites, for Judah was pleased with the ministering priests and Levites.

1 Timothy 3:1: Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.

Worship and service are two primary acts that help us live out our faith, and if we do them with the right heart, they will bring us delight.

Delighting in God’s Gifts

As we will see in more depth next week, God delights in giving his people good gifts. Two key gifts that he gives all believers are wisdom and truth, which bring us delight.

Proverbs 10:23: A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes,
but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.

Proverbs 8:10-11: ¹⁰ Choose my instruction instead of silver,
knowledge rather than choice gold,
¹¹ for wisdom is more precious than rubies,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.

1 Corinthians 13:6: Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

Family is another good gift that brings us delight.

Proverbs 23:24: The father of a righteous child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.

Proverbs 29:17: Discipline your children, and they will give you peace;
they will bring you the delights you desire.

The eternal inheritance we receive from God is another reason to find delight.

Psalm 16:5-6: ⁵ Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

Delighting in Hardships

It’s easy to find delight in Christians living out their faith, worship and service to God, and God’s good gifts. It’s not so easy to find delight in the hard places in life—weaknesses and hardships. But that’s exactly what Paul calls us to do.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10: ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

We should also see God’s discipline as favorable because it shows his love toward us.

Proverbs 3:11-12: ¹¹ My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline,
and do not resent his rebuke,
¹² because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.

One hardship that we will often face is fighting against the desires of the flesh. This is one desire that we are told not to pursue. Instead, we focus on Christ and doing God’s will.

Galatians 5:24: Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Romans 13:14: Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

1 Peter 4:2: As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

2 Peter 1:3-4: ³ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

The Bible tells us that if we pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace instead of our evil desires, we will live such good lives that others will see that we are different and give glory to God.

2 Timothy 2:22: Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

1 Peter 2:11-12: ¹¹ Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. ¹² Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Conclusion

Of these delights we listed, which one brings you the most delight? Which one are you most thankful for? For the hardships in your life, do you delight in those too, knowing that God can use those things to grow your faith? Consider doing some “out of the box” thinking this week to find the things you are thankful for that you might not otherwise notice.

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Last week, we looked at what we desire before we come to Christ—what we desire when we are focused on the “old self” or the “flesh” or the “world.” It’s not really a pretty picture. We delight in wickedness, evil, and sin. We reject God, taking no pleasure in him at all. We even go so far as to ridicule those who follow God.

But something miraculous happens when we encounter Christ and begin to follow him with our lives. These verses sum it up perfectly:

Galatians 5:16-17: ¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

When we choose to follow Christ, our lives and attitudes and desires are transformed. We are a new creation, in tune with the desires of the Spirit and rejecting the desires of the flesh. We find a whole new set of things that bring us delight.

This week, we are going to focus on the most fundamental delight of those who follow Christ: God himself. We delight in God, in his name, in his word, and in his works. Let’s look at each of these briefly.

We Delight in God Himself and in His Name

When we follow Christ, our greatest delight is in God himself. When we delight in someone, we think about them constantly and want to spend time with them. The same happens when we delight in God. Our desire to spend time with him increases. Our delight results in rejoicing and praise for the one in whom we delight.

Isaiah 61:10: I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Psalm 43:4: Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.

When we delight in God, we find that he gives us strength to endure and he gives us the desires of our heart—not because he just gives us whatever we want, but because our desires start to align with his.

Psalm 73:25-26: ²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Psalm 37:4: Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Not only do we delight in God, but we delight in God’s name. This is a characteristic of God that I plan to explore in depth someday. As we delight in God’s name, we also delight when we see others revering God’s name.

Nehemiah 1:11: “Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

We Delight in God’s Word

Not only do we delight in God himself, but we delight in God’s word. The Bible might refer to this as God’s law, commands, decrees, statutes, or a variety of other words. But they all refer to the same thing: the instructions that God has given us to help guide us in how to live our lives in a way that honors him.

Jeremiah was so delighted with God’s word that he ate them!

Jeremiah 15:16: When your words came, I ate them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
Lord God Almighty.

Are you ever so delighted that you just want to consume God’s word as much as possible? I know I still have a lot to learn about delighting in God’s word this much.

We Delight in His Law

When we delight specifically in God’s law, or his commands, we spend time meditating on his words. We don’t neglect to spend time with God’s word.

Psalm 1:1-2: ¹ Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.

Psalm 119:16: I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.

Psalm 112:1: Praise the Lord.

Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
who find great delight in his commands.

Romans 7:22: For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;

When we delight in God’s law, it directs us down the path that leads to life.

Psalm 119:35: Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.

Psalm 119:77: Let your compassion come to me that I may live,
for your law is my delight.

If you ever want to read more about delighting in God’s law, read through Psalm 119, noticing each time the author refers to God’s law, commands, and decrees. It’s in almost every verse!

We Delight in His Teaching

Although we may not have the pleasure of being physically with Jesus on this earth, the crowds who followed Jesus delighted in his teaching, often marveling at his wisdom and knowledge of the Scriptures.

Mark 12:35-37: ³⁵ While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’

³⁷ David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The large crowd listened to him with delight.

We are fortunate enough that most of us have multiple copies of Christ’s teaching in our homes that we can delight in any time we want.

We Delight in God’s Works

God isn’t just a God who sits up in heaven and gives us commands to follow. He works in our lives to bring us salvation and deliverance. Those who follow God can recognize God’s work in their lives and rejoice in those works.

Psalm 111:2: Great are the works of the Lord;
they are pondered by all who delight in them.

When Jesus walked this earth, the people delighted in his works—the miracles and signs he performed.

Luke 13:17: When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

We Delight in Salvation

The greatest work of God is that he brought us salvation through Jesus’ death on the cross.

Psalm 35:9: Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord
and delight in his salvation.

David might not have known exactly how everything would play out for the salvation God would provide, but he knew that God would bring the salvation he promised.

We Delight in Deliverance

We see throughout the Bible that God acts to deliver his people. He delivered the Israelites from slavery to the Egyptians.

Exodus 18:9: Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians.

He delivered Hannah from a barren womb and blessed her with a child.

1 Samuel 2:1: Then Hannah prayed and said:

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.”

God even delivers us from our sins, as we see in the next section. Do you delight in this work of God in your life?

We Delight in Vindication

What is vindication? Vindication is the act of clearing someone’s name of guilt. We are all guilty of sin. But when we make Jesus our Lord and Master, he exchanges our sin for his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our name is cleared. We can stand before God forgiven and clean. This is one of his greatest works, and one that is great cause for delight.

Psalm 35:27: May those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, “The Lord be exalted,
who delights in the well-being of his servant.”

Conclusion

When you think about God, what do you find delight in? Does this affect the way you live your life, or how you spend your time? Do you find your delight draws you to God’s word and away from your worldly desires?

Feel free to leave a comment on your greatest delight in God, whether that’s God himself, God’s word, or God’s work in your life. I’d love to hear from you!

God himself, his word, and his works aren’t the only reasons that Christians find to be delighted. Come back next week to learn more about what we delight in.

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The criminal. The addict. The power-hungry. The liar. The cheater. The adulterer. The selfish person.

Maybe you identify with one of these—the person you were before you met Jesus. All these and more describe who people can become without Christ.

The Bible gives a stark contrast between the “old self”—who we are before we know Christ—and the “new self”—who we are once we place our faith in Christ.

In our search for what the Bible says about delight, we see some major differences in what people delight in when they are focused on the world or the flesh and what they delight in when they are focused on God.

This week, we’ll look at what the “old self” delights in—the things of the flesh or the things of this world. We see three common themes: delighting in wickedness, delighting in pleasure, and delighting in self. Throughout, we will also see that the things that the old self delights in are mirrored by what God does not delight in.

Delighting in Wickedness

Wickedness, Evil, and Sin

The person who is still entrenched in the old self delights in wickedness, evil, and sin.

Hosea 7:1-3: ¹ Whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
and the crimes of Samaria revealed.
They practice deceit,
thieves break into houses,
bandits rob in the streets;
² but they do not realize
that I remember all their evil deeds.
Their sins engulf them;
they are always before me.

³ “They delight the king with their wickedness,
the princes with their lies.”

Proverbs 10:23: A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes,
but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12: ⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, ¹⁰ and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie ¹² and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

People who delight in wickedness are contrasted with God, who is not pleased with wickedness.

Psalm 5:4-6: ⁴ For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
with you, evil people are not welcome.
⁵ The arrogant cannot stand
in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong;
⁶ you destroy those who tell lies.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
you, Lord, detest.

Proverbs 11:20: The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse,
but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.

For further study: Proverbs 2:12-15, Proverbs 12:12, 2 Timothy 3:1-7, Proverbs 20:23, Proverbs 11:1, Proverbs 12:22

Rejecting God

People who live with the old self delight in worshiping other gods, or they worship God in a way that is not pleasing to him. In fact, they often take no pleasure in God at all.

Jeremiah 6:10: To whom can I speak and give warning?
Who will listen to me?
Their ears are closed
so they cannot hear.
The word of the Lord is offensive to them;
they find no pleasure in it.

Isaiah 1:29: “You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens
that you have chosen.”

Job 21:14: Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
We have no desire to know your ways.

Isaiah 66:3-4: ³ But whoever sacrifices a bull
is like one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb
is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
is like one who presents pig’s blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense
is like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,
and they delight in their abominations;
⁴ so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and will bring on them what they dread.
For when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me.”

The Bible frequently tells us that God does not delight in sacrifices, especially sacrifices that are done with wrong motives.

Isaiah 1:11-14: ¹¹ “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
¹² When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
¹³ Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
¹⁴ Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.”

For further study: 1 Samuel 15:22-23, Hosea 8:13, Malachi 1:6-8, Hebrews 10:5-8, Romans 1:21-25

Ridiculing Those Who Follow God

People who still follow their own ways will continually make fun of those who follow God.

2 Peter 3:3: Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.

Proverbs 1:22: “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?”

Delighting in Pleasure

People who are focused on themselves rather than God delight in things that bring pleasure in this world—money, power, sex, food, wine. They don’t think about the consequences of taking pleasure in these things.

Ecclesiastes 2:8-11: ⁸ I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. ⁹ I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 7:4: The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

Proverbs 21:17: Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.

1 Timothy 6:9-10: ⁹ Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Ephesians 2:3: All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

For further study: 1 Kings 10:13, 2 Peter 2:13-19, James 4:1-3, Mark 4:18-19, Titus 3:3

Delighting in Self

Those who don’t delight in God instead delight in self, often trying to exalt themselves above God. They are filled with pride and do whatever pleases them.

Daniel 11:36: “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.”

Proverbs 18:2: Fools find no pleasure in understanding
but delight in airing their own opinions.

2 Timothy 4:3: For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

Jude 1:16: These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

For further study: Colossians 2:18, Nehemiah 9:37, Isaiah 58:3-4

Conclusion

For the people who delight in wickedness, pleasure, and self, the Bible tells us they are deserving of God’s wrath. The good news is that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Instead, he calls us to repent.

Ezekiel 18:30-32: ³⁰ “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. ³¹ Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? ³² For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!”

When we do repent, we are transformed from the old self to the new self, and our desires and delights change. Come back next week to see how they change.

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A baby’s belly laugh. A bunch of monarch butterflies in a tree. A favorite meal. Visiting with a life-long friend. Sunrises and sunsets. The sound of waves crashing on the beach. The first flowers of spring. The first snowfall.

What do all these things have in common? They are things that bring delight.

So often in life, we focus on the hard things or the things that frustrate us. How often do we intentionally notice the things that delight us? Probably not as often as we should, at least for me.

While reading my devotions, I came across this verse:

Psalm 36:8: They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.

The idea of drinking from God’s river of delights intrigued me. What types of delight might we find in this river? That’s what sparked the idea for doing this word study on “delight.”

This study will be divided into 6 lessons:

1. Overview and Hebrew/Greek Background

2. The Old Self: Delighting in the Flesh

3. The New Self: Delighting in God

4. The New Self: Delighting in God’s Gifts

5. What God Delights In: Part 1 / Part 2

6. What God Does for Those He Delights In

This study will be spread out in November and December, with weeks off for the holidays.

Hebrew/Greek Words for Delight

To start our word study on delight, I wanted to look briefly at the Hebrew and Greek words that are translated into “delight” in English. There are way more than I expected! The exhaustive concordance that I use listed 28 different Hebrew words translated into delight in English and 6 more in Greek.

I then cross-referenced the Hebrew and Greek words translated as “delight” and looked up those same words under “pleasure” and “desire” (and their various forms) to get a more comprehensive view of how these words are used in the Bible. I did add a couple additional words that seemed to fit the “delight” theme, but I was selective if the verses used words that were not translated into delight elsewhere.

I’m neither a Hebrew nor Greek scholar, but I’ll do my best to at least give a brief overview of the words. I’m sure I could have taken this a lot further, but I feel like this gives us a good overview of how the Bible talks about delight.

Hebrew

Positive and Negative Uses

Many of the Hebrew words for delight can be used for both “positive” delight (aligned with the new self or God) and “negative” delight (aligned with the old self or the flesh), or to specify things that the person (or God) does not delight in.

The most common word translated “delight” in the Old Testament is hapes(1). Similar words are hapes(3) and hepes. Some representative verses include:

Jeremiah 9:23-24: ²³ This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
²⁴ but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.

Psalm 119:35: Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.

Psalm 18:19: He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Ezekiel 33:11: Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

Proverbs 18:2: Fools find no pleasure in understanding
but delight in airing their own opinions.

Another word used in both positive and negative ways is hamad. Some representative verses are:

Genesis 2:9: The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Proverbs 1:22: “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?”

Isaiah 1:29: “You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens
that you have chosen.”

The last word we’ll look at that has both positive and negative uses is samah. Representative verses include:

1 Samuel 2:1: Then Hannah prayed and said:

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.”

Isaiah 9:17: Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,
nor will he pity the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodly and wicked,
every mouth speaks folly.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.

God’s Pleasure or Delight

Some Hebrew words are primarily used when referring to God’s pleasure or delight. One example is rasa(1):

1 Chronicles 29:17: I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.

Haggai 1:8: Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord.

Psalm 147:10-11: ¹⁰ His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
¹¹ the Lord delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Sus is often used for either God delighting in people or people delighting in God.

Deuteronomy 30:9-10: ⁹ Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, ¹⁰ if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Isaiah 61:10: I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Nihoah is used repeatedly in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) to refer to sacrifices being a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Exodus 29:18: Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord.

Leviticus 2:1-2: “‘When anyone brings a grain offering to the Lord, their offering is to be of the finest flour. They are to pour olive oil on it, put incense on it ² and take it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the incense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.”

People’s Pleasure or Delight

When it comes to people’s delight, we can delight in the things of God or the things of this world. For example, sasuim is most frequently used in Psalm 119 to speak about delighting in God’s law:

Psalm 119:174: I long for your salvation, Lord,
and your law gives me delight.

In contrast, simha most often refers to taking pleasure in worldly things.

Ecclesiastes 2:10: I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.

Proverbs 21:17: Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.

Rason is similar in use to rasa(1), which we talked about above, but is also is used to refer to people doing as they please.

Daniel 11:3: Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases.

Nehemiah 9:37: Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.

Sometimes, words are used to speak of one person pleasing another, such as tob(1), which is often in the phrase “if it pleases the king.”

Esther 5:4: “If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.”

Nehemiah 2:4-5: ⁴ The king said to me, “What is it you want?”

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, ⁵ and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

Tob(2) is used similarly to tob(1) but also to refer to a person pleasing God. Both words have the connotation of a person with lower status pleasing a person with higher authority.

Ecclesiastes 2:26: To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

As you can see, the word delight or pleasure has a wide variety of uses. Some words are fairly generic and can be used in many ways, whereas others have a more specific use. This also holds true for Greek words related to delight or pleasure.

Greek

The New Testament talks about pleasure or delight much less frequently than the Old Testament, with less than half the total number of references. However, the themes are much the same.

God’s Pleasure or Delight

The word eudokeo (ευδοκεω) is frequently used to refer to things that God is pleased or not pleased with, most commonly being used to refer to God being pleased with Jesus.

Matthew 3:16-17: ¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

2 Corinthians 12:10: That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Interestingly, one thing that God does not desire is sacrifice, as is emphasized by the word thelo (θέλω).

Hebrews 10:5-8: ⁵ Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
⁶ with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, my God.’”

⁸ First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law.

Matthew 9:13: But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

We also learn that God’s actions are based on what pleases or delights him, as we see with the word eudokia (ευδοκία).

Luke 10:21: At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.”

Ephesians 1:5-10: In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

People’s Desire for the World

Reading through the New Testament verses, I was struck by how often it refers to the pleasures or desires of the world. This is related to our flesh, or our old self. For example, epithymia (επιθυμία) is almost exclusively used to refer to desires of the flesh.

Colossians 3:5: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

1 Peter 1:14: As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

Similarly, hedone (ηδονή) is also often used to refer to the pleasures of the world.

Luke 8:14: The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.

Titus 3:3: At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

A related term is chairo (χαίρω), which often—but not always—refers to a selfish type of delight.

Mark 14:10-11: ¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. ¹¹ They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

Luke 23:8: When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort.

People’s Desire to Please God

Another way we see the delight or pleasure terms used is to encourage Christians to do what is pleasing to God, as we see with euarestos (ευάρεστος).

Romans 12:1-2: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Conclusion

We’ll work through all of these themes and more as we explore what the Bible has to say about delight in the coming weeks. I hope you’ll join me!

Go to Lesson 2

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Many of the consequences of not remaining in Christ are the opposite of the rewards and blessings we see for remaining in Christ.

1. Instead of being pruned so we bear more fruit, we will be cut off and thrown away or burned.

2. Instead of being equipped to do God’s work, we will be able to do nothing.

3. Instead of God’s word remaining in us, we will not hear God’s voice or have his word dwell in us.

4. Instead of remaining in God’s love, God’s wrath will remain on us.

5. Instead of receiving Christ’s kingdom, the kingdom of God will be taken away.

6. Instead of receiving eternal life, we will receive disaster and death. 

We will be cut off and thrown away or burned.

Using the example of the vine and branches, we’ve learned that remaining in Christ is like the branches (us) being connected to the vine (Christ). God (the gardener) prunes the healthy branches so that they will bear more fruit. But if the branch doesn’t bear fruit, which is a sign that it is not remaining in the vine, then God will cut off that branch and throw it away to be burned.

John 15:1-2: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

John 15:6: “If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” 

Matthew 3:8-10: ^8 “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

The best thing to do with branches and trees that are dead is to cut them out and destroy them. And that is exactly what God promises to do to those who choose not to remain in him.

We will be able to do nothing.

One of the key tasks of remaining in Christ is doing the work of the Father. If we remain in Christ, we are equipped and supported by God to go and do his work. But if we don’t remain in Christ, the Bible tells us that we will be able to do nothing.

John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” 

Without Christ, without his teachings, and without the Holy Spirit, any work we try to do on behalf of his kingdom will end up with nothing. In fact, we have a lot of people in our world today who claim to be speaking for Christ but have a message that deviates from the essence of Christ’s teachings as found in Scripture. Those people are doing more harm than good for the kingdom of God. The Bible warns us that we need to be on guard so we don’t get fooled by these people.

We will not hear God’s voice or have his word dwell in us.

God has given us many tools to remain in Christ, including Christ’s teachings as contained in Scripture. If God’s word dwells in us, if we meditate on his word and allow it to speak to us and guide how we live our lives, then we will remain in Christ. But if we do not believe in Christ and do not pay attention to his words, then we will not hear the message he has sent.

John 5:37-38: ³⁷ And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, ³⁸ nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 

The most fundamental requirement for remaining in Christ is to believe in him. That’s one of the key commands God gave to us, and it is the one requirement for entrance into God’s kingdom. If we don’t believe in him, if we can’t be obedient to this one fundamental command for remaining in Christ, then we will not be able to hear God’s voice or hold on to his teachings.

God’s wrath will remain on us.

If we remain in Christ, we will also remain in his love. Love is the force that holds us together—the love between Father and Son and the love between the Father and Son and us. God has a special love for those who believe in his Son. He sees us as his children, and because our sins are covered by the blood of Christ, he sees us as holy and righteous. All of these benefits are wiped away if we do not believe in Jesus, and instead, God’s wrath remains on us because he still sees all our sins.

John 3:36: Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Keep this in mind later as we talk about death. The absence of life is death, and God’s wrath and eternal death are tied closely together.

The kingdom of God will be taken away.

In Matthew 21, Jesus told another parable related to a vineyard. A landowner planted a vineyard, then hired some farmers to take care of it. When it was time for the harvest, he sent his servants to collect some of the fruit. The farmers beat, killed, and stoned the servants. He even sent his son, and the farmers killed the son too. Jesus ends the parable this way:

Matthew 21:43: “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”

If we aren’t producing fruit in keeping with God’s work in this world, it is a sign that we have not remained in him. In fact, we are working against him. God will not give his kingdom to those who are not doing the work that produces good fruit. 

We will receive disaster and death.

The key outcomes of remaining in Christ are that we will bear fruit and receive eternal life. If we do not remain in Christ, we still bear fruit, but it is a different kind of fruit.

Jeremiah 6:19: Hear, you earth:
    I am bringing disaster on this people,
    the fruit of their schemes,
because they have not listened to my words
    and have rejected my law.

If we do not listen to God, if we reject his teachings and his Son, then we will receive the fruit of our actions—disaster. Similarly, if we refuse to follow his command to love each other, instead of receiving eternal life, we will receive death.

1 John 3:14-15: ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

This is not referring to physical death. All of us, believers and unbelievers alike, will have to face physical death. This is talking about spiritual death, the opposite of eternal life. If we are dead spiritually, then we receive the ultimate penalty of eternal separation from Christ, and we will face the most devastating fire of all—hell.

Conclusion

The contrast between those who remain in Christ and those who don’t is clear. Those who remain in Christ, who follow his commands and do his work, will bear fruit that will last and will receive eternal life. In contrast, those who do not remain in Christ will be cut off from God and will receive his wrath, ending in eternal death and separation from God. I know which side I am on. On which side are you?

What does it mean to bear fruit?

If one of the outcomes of remaining in Christ is that we will bear fruit, how are we to recognize this fruit? How will we know that we are successful at bearing fruit? How will we recognize this fruit in others? How will others recognize this fruit in us?

To answer this question, I deviated a bit from the strict theme of “remaining in Christ” to look at the idea of bearing fruit. In Scripture, the vast majority of passages that talk about fruit in this context refer to personal characteristics. If we remain in Christ, we will develop personal characteristics that make us look and act more like Christ. I’ll list some of these characteristics, grouping them based on how verses group them. I’ll also bold the fruit that we can bear as we remain in Christ.

Galatians 5:22-23

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

This is a fairly well-known passage on fruit, so I wanted to start with it. Notice that the fruit of the Spirit starts with the key command Jesus gave us to follow: love. All of these characteristics help us act in ways that will be pleasing to God.

Isaiah 32:16-17

¹⁶ The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert,
    his righteousness live in the fertile field.
¹⁷ The fruit of that righteousness will be peace;
    its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.

If we remain in Christ, if we dwell with him, we will bear out the fruit that comes from living in righteousness, which is peace, quietness, and confidence. This reminds me of 1 John 2:28, which we looked at last week, that said that if we remain in Christ, we will be able to stand confident and unashamed when Christ returns.

Ephesians 5:8-10

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. 

As we walk in the light that comes from remaining in Christ, we will bear the fruit of goodness, righteousness, and truth. Through these we will discover what pleases God.

Colossians 1:9-12

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, ¹⁰ so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, ¹² and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 

This passage lists several different types of fruit that we will bear if we remain in Christ. We will be filled with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding from the Holy Spirit. This will help us live a life that pleases God. The Holy Spirit also gives us power to have endurance and patience (two of the hardest fruits to bear!!). Not only that, but we will develop a spirit of thankfulness as we remain in Christ.

Hebrews 13:15-16

¹⁵ Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. ¹⁶ And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

If we believe in Christ, which is one of the key components of remaining in Christ, then the natural fruit of that will be living a life that pleases God. How can we please God? Just as Jesus sacrificed his life for us, we can please God by praising him and treating those around us with kindness and generosity. This is our sacrifice.

Philippians 1:9-11

⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Many of the fruits listed in this passage we’ve seen before, but some new fruits listed in these verses are insight and discernment. As we remain in Christ, we will bear fruit that helps us make good decisions so that we will be pure, blameless, and righteous in Christ.

Did you notice a theme in all these verses? If we remain in Christ and bear good fruit, we will be people who please God. That is one end goal of the Christian life. I want to stand before God at the end of my life and hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23). I can do that by bearing fruit that will make me become more like Christ, which is pleasing to God.

Colossians 1:3-6

³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— ⁵ the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel ⁶ that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 

In addition to fruit related to characteristics we should develop to become more like Christ and please God, another fruit that we should bear as Christians is growing the gospel throughout the world. This goes back to the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 that we’ve discussed in earlier lessons. We are to go and make disciples, and if we remain in Christ, our efforts will bear fruit to spread the gospel and bring others to Christ.

Why do we need to bear fruit?

Through the list of verses we read above, we found the first reason that we need to bear fruit: because it pleases God. Not only does bearing good fruit please God, it also helps us glorify God.

John 15:8: ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

We also see in this verse that bearing fruit helps others around us recognize that we are followers of Christ. The fruit that we bear differentiates those who follow Christ and those who don’t.

Luke 6:43-45: ⁴³ “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. ⁴⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

If we remain in Christ, we will bear good fruit, and people will recognize us by that fruit. If we display characteristics of love, righteousness, generosity, wisdom, discernment, and all the other characteristics we mentioned earlier, that will be a sign that we have remained in Christ.

Another reason that we need to bear fruit is so that we will receive our inheritance—the kingdom of God.

Matthew 21:43: “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you [those who reject Christ] and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”

 If we reject Christ, we will not be a part of God’s kingdom, but if we remain in Christ and bear fruit that pleases him, then we will be invited into his kingdom.

Conclusion

The fruit that we bear is a direct reflection of whether we have remained in Christ. If we bear good fruit, we will be recognized as someone who remains in Christ, and we will please God and receive our rewards accordingly. If we do not bear fruit, or if we bear bad fruit, we will be recognized as someone who does not remain in Christ, and we will have to bear the consequences of our actions. We’ll talk more about the consequences of not remaining in Christ next week.

For now, think on these questions: Which fruits are obvious in my life? Which ones need a little more work?

1. We will be chosen be God to do his work.

2. We will be equipped to do God’s work.

3. We will bear fruit.

4. We will receive what we ask for.

5. We will have joy.

6. We will be confident and unashamed at his coming.

7. We will receive eternal life.

Chosen to Do God’s Work

In lesson 2 of this series, we learned that one of the steps to remaining in Christ is to do the work of the Father. In Jesus’ message to his disciples where he exhorts them to remain in him, he tells them that he chose them so that they might go and bear fruit—he was sending them out to go do God’s work.

John 15:16: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 

Jesus used this same language in the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). Have you ever heard the phase “The only thing you can take with you to heaven is other people”? We have been chosen by God to go and bear fruit—to go and make disciples—which is the fruit that will last.

Equipped to Do God’s Work

When God chooses us to be his disciples and to do his work, he doesn’t just send us out and hope for the best. No, he equips us to do his work.

2 Timothy 3:14-17: ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵ and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

If we remain in Christ by continuing to practice what we have learned through his teachings, through the Scripture, then we will be equipped for every good work that he has called us to complete.

Bear Fruit

As we do God’s work, God promises that we will bear fruit that will last. We saw that earlier in John 15:16. Bearing fruit is a key outcome of remaining in Christ.

John 15:4-5: ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 

Bearing fruit is discussed in many places in the New Testament—so many, in fact, that I’m going to have a separate lesson on this point next week. Although part of bearing fruit is spreading the gospel and making disciples, bearing fruit has a much wider scope than that. I’m excited to discover all the possible ways we can bear fruit as we remain in Christ.

Receive What We Ask For

As we remain in Christ and bear fruit, Jesus promised that we will receive whatever we ask for:

John 15:7: If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 15:16: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 

Notice, though, that in order to receive whatever we ask for, we must be in relationship with Christ—we must remain in him. As we’ve learned in previous lessons, this means that we must know Christ’s teachings, follow God’s commands, and do God’s work. We also have the Holy Spirit guiding us. If all of these things are true of us, then what we ask for is very likely to be aligned with the work Christ is doing in us and in the world. And if what we ask for is aligned with his work, then he is delighted to fulfill those requests.

Another factor in receiving what we ask for is that we have to be in communication with God, which we typically think of as prayer. If we aren’t in communication with God, we won’t be able to ask him for anything. And if the only time we ever go to him in prayer is to get what we want, then we likely aren’t remaining in him in the rest of our lives. As we remain in Christ and communicate with him through prayer, he will go to the Father on our behalf when we ask for something.

Romans 8:34b: Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Joy

Another key outcome of remaining in Christ is that we will have joy—and not just a little bit of joy. Our joy will be complete in Christ.

John 15:9-11: ⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

 That complete joy overflows into every area of life, in our actions and attitudes in good times and bad.

Confident and Unashamed at His Coming

As Christians, we all long for the second coming of Christ. What will your reaction be when you finally stand before Christ, either when he returns for his people or when you stand before him in heaven? According to John, if we remain in Christ, we can be confident and unashamed.

1 John 2:28: And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

If we remain in Christ, we will do our best to live a life that is pleasing to him. That means that when he returns, we will have no reason to cower in fear. Instead, we will be confident and unashamed because we know that we have been washed by the blood of Christ.

Eternal Life

Finally, and most importantly, the reward for remaining in Christ is eternal life.

1 John 2:24-25: ²⁴ As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is what he promised us—eternal life.

If we remain in Christ, he has promised that we will have eternal life. We will live in heaven in his presence forever. This is the greatest gift we have ever been given! But in order to receive eternal life, we must remain in him. In particular, we must obey God’s command to believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins.

Conclusion

The rewards we receive from remaining in Christ follow closely from the tasks of remaining in Christ. To remain in Christ, we must follow God’s commands and do the work of the Father. When we do these things, he will equip us to do his work, he will make our work fruitful, and he will give us what we ask for when we need it. He will also fill us with joy and confidence, knowing that we have lived a life that is pleasing to him. In the end, we will receive the greatest gift of all—eternal life.

All of that sounds good, but why should we care to do any of this? Why is it important that we remain in Christ? That’s the question we want to answer in this lesson. We’ll look at five reasons the Bible gives that we should remain in Christ:

1. Because Christ remains in us

2. So that Christ’s teachings will remain in us

3. So that we will be taught by the Holy Spirit

4. So that we do not continue to sin

5. So that when we are tested, we will survive and receive a reward

Because Christ Remains in Us

When you are in a relationship, it’s not a good relationship if it’s one-sided, if only one person is doing the work to maintain the relationship. When we remain in Christ, we don’t have to worry about the relationship being one-sided. We can be encouraged to remain in Christ because we know that he also remains in us.

John 15:4-5: ⁴ “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

If we remain in Christ and Christ remains in us, then we will bear fruit. If we don’t remain in Christ, then we will not be able to do the work that God has commanded us to do. Any success we have in doing God’s work is not from our own power. It’s from Christ. The only way we can tap into this power is to remain in Christ, having confidence that he will also remain in us.

So That Christ’s Teachings Will Remain in Us

As we mentioned last week, one of the key tools that we have to remain in Christ is Christ’s teachings. We need to continually remind ourselves of Christ’s teachings contained in Scripture in order to remain in him.

1 John 2:24: As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 

2 Timothy 3:14-17: ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵ and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 John 1:9: Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

Our ability to remain in Christ depends on us remembering Christ’s teachings and applying those teachings to our lives. If you ever feel disconnected from God, if you feel like you are losing your sense of remaining in him, spend some time in the Scripture to rekindle that connection. As you read Scripture, you will be better equipped to remain in Christ, and as you remain in Christ, you will be encouraged to spend more time in Scripture.

So That We Will Be Taught by the Holy Spirit

We also learned last week that if we remain in Christ, we will receive the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit helps us remain in Christ. One way the Holy Spirit helps us remain in Christ is that he teaches us anything we need to know to remain in Christ and do his work.

1 John 2:27: As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

The anointing that it mentions in 1 John 2:27 is receiving the Holy Spirit. Just like Christ remains in us, the Holy Spirit remains in us. Through the Holy Spirit, we can understand Christ’s teachings and recognize false teachings. If there’s anything we need to learn to live a life that remains in Christ, the Holy Spirit can guide us to the right Scripture or the right person or even speak to us directly to make sure we receive and understand that message.

So That We Do Not Continue to Sin

The primary reason that Christ came to earth was to die on the cross and pay the penalty for sin once for all. All the time he spent on earth was leading up to that one moment. Even in his teaching to the crowds and the religious leaders, he encouraged people to believe in him and leave their life of sin. The Bible is clear that we cannot deliberately choose sin and still remain in Christ. In contrast, if we remain in Christ, we will not choose sin.

1 John 3:6: No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

1 John 3:9: No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 

If we have chosen to follow Christ, if we remain in him, then we will not continue to sin. Sin no longer has power over us. If we are tempted, he provides a way to endure in the midst of that temptation.

1 Corinthians 10:13: No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

So That When We Are Tested, We Will Survive and Receive a Reward

There will come a time when we will all be judged. The work that we’ve done here on earth will be tested. Scripture compares this to a builder. If we have Jesus Christ as our foundation, and if we build on that foundation using quality materials, then when we are tested, what we’ve built will survive.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15: ¹⁰ By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

We learned in previous lessons that part of remaining in Christ is doing the work of the Father. What kind of work are you doing? If Christ is your foundation, what materials are you using to build on this foundation? Are they materials that will stand the test of fire—gold, silver, costly stones? Or are they materials that will be burned—wood, hay, straw? 1 Corinthians 3 tells us that our work will be shown for what it is. If we are doing work that will survive the test, then we will receive a reward. If our work doesn’t survive the test, we will still be saved if we have Christ as our foundation, but we won’t receive that reward. By remaining in Christ and doing the work he has called us to do, we will be choosing to build using materials that will survive the final test.

Conclusion

Those are some pretty good reasons to remain in Christ. First, we remain in Christ because we are confident that he will also remain in us. Then, we remain in Christ in order to continue to learn and grow through Scripture and the Holy Spirit. Next, we remain in Christ so that he will help us resist the temptation to sin. Finally, we remain in Christ so that when our work here on earth is judged, we will stand the test and receive a reward. Which reason is most motivating to you?

All of this sounds really easy on the surface, but in real life, it can be hard to love other people and share our faith with them. What gives us the strength we need to remain in Christ? In this lesson, we’ll look at three tools that God gives us to help us remain in him: Christ’s teachings, the Holy Spirit, and Communion.

Christ’s teachings

One of the most fundamental tools we have to remain in Christ is to know and understand his teachings.

John 8:31-32: ³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

1 John 2:24: ²⁴ As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 

In 1 John 2:24, what they had “heard from the beginning” were the teachings of Christ. If we hold on to Christ’s teachings—if we know them and apply them to our lives—then we remain in him.

There are two ways that we can know Christ’s teachings today: by reading Scripture and by having fellowship with other believers.

2 Timothy 3:14-17: ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵ and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Scripture is an essential tool to help us remain in Christ, because this is the most fundamental way we can know Christ and understand his commands. Scripture teaches us and trains us to be more like Christ. If we remain in God’s word, then his word will remain in us:

1 John 2:14b: I write to you, young men,
    because you are strong,
    and the word of God lives in you,
    and you have overcome the evil one.

As we learned last week, Christ’s teachings command us to love one another and do the work of the Father. One key way we can encourage each other to do this is by meeting together in fellowship with other believers:

Hebrews 10:24-25: ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Being in fellowship with other believers is essential for us to be encouraged to remain in Christ, even when circumstances are hard and we might be tempted to go our own way.

Holy Spirit

Another tool that we have to remain in Christ is the Holy Spirit. When Jesus began his ministry, he was baptized by John the Baptist. His baptism is recorded in all four gospels (Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3, John 1), but John specifically uses the word we are interested in, meno, to describe the Holy Spirit coming to rest on Jesus:

John 1:32-34: ³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him [Jesus]. ³³ And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

Jesus promised his disciples that if they keep his commands, one of the essential components of remaining in Christ, then he would also give them the Holy Spirit.

John 14:15-17: ¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 

Just like the Holy Spirit remained on Jesus after his baptism, the Holy Spirit remains on those who believe in him. Not only Jesus’ disciples but all Christians are promised the gift of the Holy Spirit:

Acts 2:38: Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” 

One of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to teach us how to remain in Christ:

1 John 2:27: As for you, the anointing you received from him [the Holy Spirit] remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

If we believe in Christ, he will give us the Holy Spirit, who will teach us how to remain in Christ.

Communion

The third tool that we have to remain in Christ is communion, or the Lord’s Supper. In a passage that really threw the Jewish leaders for a loop, Jesus talked about eating his flesh and drinking his blood:

John 6:53-58: ⁵³ Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 

Did Jesus mean we were supposed to become cannibals and actually eat his human flesh and drink his human blood? No. But just a few verses earlier, he talked about being the bread of life:

John 6:35-40: ³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Jesus is the bread of life. In order to receive eternal life, we must partake of the gift he has given—his body, crucified on the cross; his blood, spilled to pay the penalty for our sin. We do this by believing in him—another key component of remaining in Christ—and we are reminded of this gift regularly when we celebrate communion together with other believers.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26: ²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

As we take communion, we remember the sacrifice Christ made on our behalf, which keeps us connected to him and grateful to him for this amazing gift. It helps us remember to remain in him in our daily lives.

Conclusion

God has given us three key tools to remain in him—Christ’s teachings, contained in Scripture; the Holy Spirit, which we receive when we believe in Christ; and communion, our reminder of the sacrifice he made on the cross for our sins. These are the things that will help us remain in God’s love, obey his commands, and love other people.

Christ as Our Model

The Bible gives us a great model for what it means to remain in Christ—Christ himself. Specifically, we can look at the relationship between God the Son and God the Father to understand what it means to remain in Christ. We’re given this instruction by John, one of Jesus’ disciples:

1 John 2:6: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

How did Jesus live? Jesus was clear that he made it a priority to remain in the Father, and we are to follow his example and remain in him.

John 14:10-11: ¹⁰ “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.” 

John 15:9-10: ⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” 

What did remaining in the Father look like in Jesus’ life? We can see from these verses that it means remaining in God’s love, following God’s commands, and doing the work of the Father. We’ll look at each of these in more depth.

Remaining in God’s Love

In John 15:10, Jesus gave us some guidance to remaining in him. The first thing we must do is remain in God’s love. John 14:21 gives us more insight into what it means to remain in God’s love:

John 14:21: “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

To remain in God’s love, we must love Christ. And if we love Christ, we will demonstrate that love in our lives by keeping the commands that he has given us. In other words, our lives provide evidence that we know God and love God by how we keep his commands.

1 John 2:3-5a: ³ We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. ⁴ Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. ⁵ But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. 

The ideas of remaining in God’s love and following God’s commands, or obeying his word, are tightly linked. It is through our obedience that our love for God is made complete. So let’s look at what it means to follow God’s commands.

Following God’s Commands

If we can show that we love God and remain in him by following God’s commands, how do we know what his commands are? This is spelled out very simply in 1 John 3:23:

And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 

This reminds me of the passage in Matthew 22 where the Pharisees, Jewish religious leaders, asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. How did Jesus respond?

Matthew 22:37-40: ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The passage in 1 John 3 and Jesus’ response in Matthew 22 both show the same pattern. First, we must love God and believe in his Son. This is step one of following his commands, but it is also key to remaining in God’s love. Then, we must love our fellow human beings. This is the second step to following his commands.

The command to love one another is given multiple times in the Bible:

John 15:12: My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 

John 15:17: This is my command: Love each other.

Hebrews 13:1: Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 

Looking ahead: Our next study will be looking at the “one another” commands we are given throughout the Bible. “Love one another” is one of the key points we will discover!

Just like Jesus is our model when it comes to remaining in God, he is also our model of what it looks like to love one another.

John 15:13: Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 

Jesus showed his love by dying for our sins while we were still sinners:

Romans 5:8: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

This act of love was tied in to his obedience to God’s will:

Philippians 2:8: And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

Because Jesus remained in God the Father, he was committed to obeying God’s commands, even to the extent of dying on the cross. This is how much he loved God, and this is how much he loved us. As Christians, we should model this same love to others to the extent that others can clearly discern that we are Christ-followers:

John 13:34-35: ³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

This is the mark of someone who remains in Christ: We will be known by our love.

Doing the Work of the Father

The third way that we remain in Christ is by doing the work of the Father. If we remain in Christ, we will love him, and that love will cause us to follow his commands. As we follow his commands, we are doing his work.

In John 6:27, Jesus tells us:

“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

When the crowd asked Jesus what work God required, he gave this response:

John 6:29: Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

This ties so clearly into God’s command that we must follow to remain in him—we must believe in Jesus.

Later in that same passage, Jesus identified himself as the bread of life (John 6:35). Jesus himself is the food that endures to eternal life, and if we remain in him, we will also have eternal life.

John 6:40: “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Not only should we partake of this food for ourselves, but we should share that food with those around us. One of the last commands that Jesus gave us was the Great Commission:

Matthew 28:18-20: ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

If we love God and love other people, we will obey his commands and do his work by sharing Christ with others. As we obey his commands and do his work, we will remain in him, and he will remain in us.

Conclusion

The actions of remaining in Christ are tightly interwoven. If we love God, we will follow his commands. His commands are to believe in him and to love each other. If we believe in him and love other people, then we will be motivated to share Christ with others, doing the work of the Father by fulfilling the Great Commission. Then those new believers step into this same circle, continuing to love God, love people, and spread the gospel. This is the work that endures for eternal life.

This is particularly evident in John 15:4-10:

⁴ “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” 

Over the next several weeks, I want to look at what it means to remain in Christ. We’ll answer several questions:

• Lesson 1: What is the Greek background of the word “remain”?

• Lesson 2: What does it mean to remain in Christ?

• Lesson 3: How do we remain in Christ?

• Lesson 4: Why should we remain in Christ?

• Lesson 5: What are the rewards of remaining in Christ?

• Lesson 6: What does it mean to bear fruit?

• Lesson 7: What are the consequences if we don’t remain in Christ?

Greek Background of Remaining in Christ

In this first lesson, I want to look specifically at the Greek word “meno”, which is the word typically used whenever Scripture refers to remaining in Christ.

This word is translated multiple ways, and we’ll look at these different translations to get a broader understanding of the word.

Throughout this study, any word translated from the Greek word meno will be bolded. Words that could easily be confused with meno due to translation differences will be italicized. All verses are in NIV unless specified.

“Meno” in Remain in Christ

The Greek word meno is translated in many ways, but they all carry a similar meaning when used in the context of remaining in Christ. Sometimes the phrasing isn’t exactly “remain in Christ” or a version of that; in those cases, it is linked to ways we can remain in Christ or the outcome of remaining (or not remaining) in Christ.

Remain

John 15:4: Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

Abide

John 15:4 (ESV): Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Continue

1 John 2:28: And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

Live

1 John 2:6: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

In the uses of meno above, we get the idea that we must stay connected to Christ. This isn’t just a short-term situation, where we say we believe in Christ but then we go back to our regularly scheduled lives. This is about clinging to Christ long-term, staying connected to him throughout our lives, and allowing him to nourish us and direct our lives.

Other uses of meno are about what we need to do to remain in Christ. You can see some examples in the verses below.

Hold

John 8:31-32: ³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Keep on

Hebrews 13:1: Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 

These verses give us two ways that we can remain in Christ—hold on to Christ’s teachings and keep on loving each other. We’ll look at these more in-depth in the coming lessons.

Other uses of meno are more about the outcome of remaining in Christ, such as in the verses below.

Survive

1 Corinthians 3:10-15: ¹⁰ By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

Endure

John 6:26-27: ²⁶ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. ²⁷ Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

Last

John 15:16: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 

What are the outcomes of remaining in Christ? If we remain in Christ, the life that we build will survive and bear fruit for eternity. We’ll look at this concept in lessons 5 and 6 of this study.

If you see any of the above English words used in Scripture, especially in the context of remaining in Christ, you may be looking at a translation of the word meno. However, you also might be looking at a totally different Greek word, or you might come across the word meno in a different context unrelated to remaining in Christ. We’ll look at a few of those instances next.

Word Uses Not Related to Remaining in Christ

In some instances, the Greek word meno is not used in the context of remaining in Christ, and often, words that are translated to one of the English words discussed above do not come from the Greek word meno. This section will look at a few of those key differences in use or translation.

Other Translations of Meno

One common way that the word meno is used in Scripture is “stay”—as in, staying overnight at someone’s house, or staying in town. In these cases, what you are remaining “in” is something other than Christ.

Mark 6:7-11: ⁷ Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. ⁸ These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹ Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. ¹⁰ Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

Luke 19:5: When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

Similar English Translations

Just as the Greek word meno can have many translations into English, and it can be used in different contexts, the same English word can come from translating many different Greek words. In the context of this study, the words “live” and “continue” often come from Greek words that are not meno—sometimes even within the same passage.

For example, 1 John 2:6 says,

Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

The first word “live” (bolded) is meno. However, the second word “live” (italicized) is more commonly translated “walk” and is a different Greek word.

Frequently, if you see the word “live” in the context of a life or being alive, it is usually from a different Greek word. For example, the word “lives” in 1 John 2:16 is not from the Greek word meno even though meno is translated “live” in many other places in 1 John.

1 John 2:16: This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Similarly, John’s use of the word meno in 1 John is translated to “continue” in verses like 1 John 2:28:

“And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.”

However, just a few verses later, we see the English word “continue,” but it comes from a different Greek word:

1 John 3:6: No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

Conclusion

More and more, I’m understanding the importance of going back to the original language of Scripture to help understand Scripture. Some verses or concepts that we may not link together because of differences in translations are linked together in the original language, and some verses or concepts that we may link together because of the English translation may not be linked together in the original language. My goal in this study is to focus specifically on instances of the Greek word meno to help us understand what it means to remain in Christ.

This week, we’ll take a look at one more reason that we should fix our eyes on Jesus to remain motivated. Fixing our eyes on Jesus helps us be more concerned about the most important things—the eternal things—rather than the things of this world.

To help you process your thoughts as you go throughout this lesson, a reflection journal sheet is available. You can access it by clicking here.

Reason 3: God Gives Us an Eternal Perspective

When it comes to self-control, many times we make choices that feel good in the here and now while forgetting to look at the long-term impact of the choices we make. The choices we make often have positive results now but negative results later if we make that same choice consistently. For example, one area I struggle with is with food. My choice to grab fast food for dinner has positive results now of tasting good, being less work, and being faster than making something myself. But if I make this choice consistently, eventually that will end in weight gain and a decrease in health. In addition, I often feel that I’ve made food an idol in my life, which hurts my spiritual life as well.

To reverse this trend, we need to focus on the long-term—the eternal. By fixing our eyes on God, we can be more concerned about following God and reaping eternal rewards than we are concerned about pleasing ourselves, which leads to destruction. This is clear in the following verses:

Galatians 6:7-9 – Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

These verses remind us that as humans, it’s natural to pick the easy way out, to do what pleases the flesh. It’s easy to become weary of always trying to do the right thing. Physically, it can feel like our energy is draining away. But these verses also remind us that if we fix our eyes on Jesus, we will be renewed each day. If we focus on pleasing God, he will give us the strength follow him, and we will reap an eternal reward. That’s way more important than any earthly reward or temporary pleasure.

To do this, we need to phrase our goals in a way that focuses on God first. For example, my goals for food shouldn’t be to eat less, or eat healthy foods, or lose weight. It’s not even about banning fast food or sugar in my life. It’s about having my mind fixed on God rather than on food. It’s about using food in a way that is honoring to God rather than serving myself, just like Daniel and his friends did in Daniel 1. Then, when I feel like I don’t have the strength to make the best choice, I know that I don’t have to rely on my own strength. I can depend on God to give me his strength, because I know that I am pursuing him first.

What are some ways that we can keep this eternal perspective in mind? We’ll look at two of them.

Remember That We Work for God

We are often driven by our own expectations or the expectations of others. We work to please others (think: work, spouse, kids, parents, friends), and the weight of those expectations often drags us down. They are a source of weariness. The Bible tells us that what we should be doing instead is remembering that ultimately, all the work we do is for God. This gives us the eternal perspective we need to keep working, as we see in these verses:

Colossians 3:23-24 – Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

1 Corinthians 15:58 – Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

What is the “labor in the Lord” that God has called you to right now? For some, it may be parenting your children in a way that is pleasing to God. For others, it might be working faithfully at your job to provide for your family. Still others may be called to ministry either locally or globally. For me, part of my labor for God is writing Grounded in the Bible. This labor may look different for different people, and the work often has multiple components. For example, you may have a job to provide for your family, kids to raise, a house to manage, and volunteer work to give back. Each one of these may have a component of working for the Lord in different ways. You can approach each one with an eternal perspective.

Remember That God Is Working to Perfect Your Faith

So now we’ve come to a place where we know that we need to have our eyes fixed on God. We need to focus on the eternal perspective so we depend on God to give us hope and strength rather than depending on ourselves. Yet in the moment, we still feel the struggle. We still feel we are being tested. We feel the strain of having to persevere when times are tough. We believe that Satan is attacking us to keep us from pursuing God wholeheartedly.

The Bible tells us to embrace those times, because that is how God works to perfect our faith. Last week, we read Hebrews 12:1-2. Let’s read that one again:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

One of the reasons we fix our eyes on Jesus is because he is the only one who can perfect our faith. Often, that process is painful, as we learn a few verses later in Hebrews 12:11:

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

This training or testing may be painful, but if we focus on the eternal perspective, we know that the trials bring the greatest reward—maturity in our faith and the crown of life—eternal life. This is evident in James:

James 1:2-4, 12 – Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

When we struggle in life, whether that is with self-control or something else, it’s important to remember that the struggle to become continually more like Christ is always worth it. We don’t have to face that struggle alone. God is there to give us hope and strength.

Application

Think back through this entire series on self-control. What area have you identified that you need to change? Where do you need to have more self-control in your life? Or self-denial? Or self-discipline? When are you most likely to slip back into old habits? When do you feel the least motivated to make the needed changes in your life? How can you use an eternal perspective to make the right choice in the hardest moments?

As you go through this process, remember that you are not alone. Every single person has areas of struggle. None of us are perfect. As for me, even though I know that I need to focus on the eternal perspective, I still struggle to make the best choices even in the easiest moments, much less the hardest moments. Throughout this study, you’ve heard some of my story and struggles. I’d love to hear your story so we can support each other as a community of believers. Feel free to comment below, or if you want a more private setting, head over to our private Facebook group. I’d love to connect with you.

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Two BONUS sheets are also available! You can download these resources by clicking the blue links below.

• The reflection journal sheet allows you to reflect on the series as a whole and how you can apply it to your life.

• The verse cards provide verses from the two Motivation studies. You can carry these cards with you in your purse or wallet to encourage you when you are struggling.

How do we stay motivated to persevere in our pursuit of self-control?

It’s one thing to know what we should do. It’s something entirely different to remain motivated over the long term to continue to implement those positive changes in our lives. As humans, we often just get tired of trying so hard to do what is right all the time. It’s even harder when it’s something we don’t really want to be doing or that goes against our natural instinct. We become weary, and when we are weary, it’s so much easier to give in to temptation. When it comes to self-control (and many other Christ-like habits), what mindset must we have to remain motivated, even in the hard times?

The Bible gives a simple answer to this—simple in concept, but not so simple to follow. What is that answer? We must fix our eyes on Jesus. All. The. Time. Several Bible verses support this answer:

Hebrews 12:1-2 – Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Matthew 6:33 – But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things [the needs we worry about] will be given to you as well. 

1 Chronicles 16:11 – Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

These verses tell us that in order to persevere, we must fix our eyes on Jesus. We must continually seek God and his kingdom. If we focus on ourselves, we are likely to stumble and fall. But if we fix our eyes on Jesus, we can “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” So the next question we want to ask is:

Why is focusing on God consistently the answer to motivation?

We’ll look at three key reasons for why focusing on God helps us stay motivated. We’ll discuss the first two in this lesson and the last one next week. I had originally planned one lesson for this, but that would have been really long, and the verses were just too good to not mention them.

To help you process your thoughts as you go throughout this lesson, a reflection journal sheet is available. You can access it by clicking here.

Reason 1: God is the Source of Hope

When we struggle with something, it’s easy to lose hope. We think about how much work it will be to get from where we are to where we want to be. We get discouraged when we think about all the times we’ve failed, especially when we’ve failed yet again. We think about how tired we are; we feel like we just don’t have the strength or energy to keep trying. We feel a weight in our chest that says “I can’t do it anymore.”

Those are all signs that we’ve started to fix our eyes on us and our own situations rather than on God. If we look to ourselves, we lose hope. If we fix our eyes on God, we are reminded that God is a God of hope, as we learned in the Characteristics of God study. Romans 15:13 says:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

When you focus on a God of hope who fills you will joy, peace, and power, doesn’t that make the weight on your chest just a little bit lighter? And the more you focus on God, the lighter that weight will be. Matthew 11:28 says:

[Jesus said,] “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Not only does the Bible tell us that God is a God of hope, it tells us why we should have hope. John 16:33 says:

[Jesus said,] “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

The reason we can have hope in this world is that we know that this world isn’t the end. Jesus has ultimately conquered sin and death through his death on the cross. If we continually fix our eyes on Jesus and his victory, we know that we will have victory eventually too, even if we have trouble or struggles now on this earth.

Reason 2: God is the Source of Strength and Power

Having hope that comes from fixing our eyes on God is essential to developing a mindset of self-control and perseverance. But hope is an attitude, not an action. To change our habits, that mindset of hope must be followed by a change in behavior. I don’t know about you, but as soon as I think about actually changing my behavior, that weight is back. I start to focus on me again. I feel weary and burdened again by all my past failures and by the energy it takes to keep moving forward.

That’s why we must focus on not only God’s hope but also God’s strength as we try to make positive changes in our lives. If we focus on Christ, we can begin to embrace our weaknesses because that is all we have to offer. That brings us to a place where we know that our only strength is from God. Paul says this eloquently in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

God knows that we are weak. He knows that we will mess up. He knows that we will fail, again and again. But if we have our eyes fixed on him, he will not let us fall. Psalm 37:23-24 says:

The Lord makes firm the steps
    of the one who delights in him;
though he may stumble, he will not fall,
    for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

The key to these verses is that in order to not fall, we must delight in God. God doesn’t promise that if we claim to believe in him, we can do whatever we want, and he will make our life easy and perfect. In fact, many of the verses we’ve looked at in this lesson make it clear that we will have struggles in this world. But the Bible is also clear that God does not grow weary like we do. And if we focus on God—if we put our hope in God—then he will give us his strength. Isaiah 40:28-31 gives evidence of this:

Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

God is the only one who can renew our strength day-by-day and moment-by-moment to give us the motivation to keep striving for self-control and to keep building other habits that draw us closer to him. If we focus on God as our source of hope and source of strength, we will find that eventually, we will soar like an eagle. 

Application

Where are you trying to make improvements or positive changes in your life? For many people, self-control and self-discipline play a big role in these changes. For others, maybe the concept of self-control or self-discipline doesn’t connect as much. Either way, sticking to your goals requires motivation. And that motivation comes from fixing our eyes on what really matters—a relationship with God. What can you do today to begin fixing your eyes on Jesus?

Next week, we’ll look at the final piece of motivation—focusing on the eternal rather than the temporal. Making positive changes that require self-control and self-discipline is a long-term commitment. To make these changes, we have to have long-term thinking. We have to focus on what is important for eternity, not just what is important for the here and now. Come back next week as we finish up this study.

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As we’ve learned in this study, self-control is a way to keep yourself from doing things you shouldn’t. In contrast, self-discipline is when you intentionally practice doing things you should. These are two sides to the same coin. Often, when you are trying to implement self-control or self-denial in a certain area of life, you can use self-discipline to substitute something “good” for the “bad” thing you are trying to avoid.

For example, in my struggle with food, a self-discipline substitute might be drinking more water whenever I feel like I want a snack (especially when I’m not really hungry). For someone who likes to gossip, self-discipline might include asking yourself, “Would I want someone to share this about me?” If the answer is “No,” then don’t spread the latest news. For someone with anger issues, self-discipline might be counting to 10 or doing deep breathing exercises before responding to a trigger. For someone who likes to drink alcohol, self-discipline might be drinking a nonalcoholic drink between each alcoholic drink.

To help you process your thoughts as you go throughout this lesson, a reflection journal sheet is available. You can access it by clicking here.

The Bible has a lot to say about discipline in general, but this is often external discipline, for example, discipline that comes from a parent or from God. An example of this is given in Proverbs 3:11-12:

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

Although external discipline is vital to our growth, in this lesson, we want to focus on self-discipline—the discipline that comes from inside as we develop the wisdom and fortitude to correct our own behavior. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about self-discipline.

The Power for Self-Discipline Comes From God

The Bible doesn’t use the term “self-discipline” very often, but it does have several passages that get at this same idea. The one verse that does use the term self-discipline tells us clearly that the power we need for self-discipline comes from God (more specifically, the Holy Spirit):

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)

Interestingly, the Greek word used here for self-discipline is sōphronismos. Recognize any part of that word? It has the same root of sōphron that many of our self-control words had back in Lessons 3 and 4. This word has the implication that self-discipline demonstrates prudence and wisdom. We learned in our Characteristics of God study that God is the source of all wisdom:

For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:6)

Just like with self-control, if you are struggling with self-discipline, your first task is to ask for wisdom from the Lord and for the power of the Holy Spirit.

Self-Discipline Requires Training

For those of you who don’t know this about me, I’m a runner. To be a runner as an adult, you have to have self-discipline. It’s up to you to get out there each day and do the thing that you know is good for your body even if it might make you uncomfortable for a while. That’s why I always appreciate verses like 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

The Greek word for training here is enkrateuomai, the same word we saw in Lesson 5 when we were talking about the unmarried having self-control to not have sex. It has the connotation of practicing abstinence from the things you know are harmful, replacing that with the practice of things that are beneficial.

In this case, training goes beyond simple instruction or teaching. Training is hands-on. You have to practice whatever that good thing is that you want to learn or get better at. This parallels what we saw in Lesson 7 with self-control. There, we saw that self-control requires the Holy Spirit, it requires someone to teach us, and it is a process that develops over time. With self-discipline, the same holds true, but we are both the teacher and the student. We must do the work ourselves in order to get the benefit.

The Bible gives us a couple examples of why training is important in our spiritual lives. First, Hebrews 5:13-14 talks about the importance of learning God’s word to be able to distinguish between good and evil:

Anyone who lives on milk [the elementary truths of God’s word], being still an infant [in their faith], is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Note that the training mentioned here isn’t a “once in a while, whenever I feel like it” kind of thing. Hebrews 5:14 uses the words “constant use.” Self-discipline is something we must do consistently in order to be good at whatever it is we are training for. In this instance, as we constantly grow in our faith to distinguish good and evil, we can train ourselves to be godly, as we find in 1 Timothy 4:7-8:

Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 

The Greek words used for “train” and “training” here are gymnazō and gymnasia, respectively. Look familiar? These words are related to our words gym or gymnasium, where we go to get physical exercise. These words can also be extended to mean getting exercise in anything. In these verses, we use self-discipline to exercise being godly, which should be our ultimate goal.

Self-Discipline is the Mark of a Leader

In another parallel to self-control, self-discipline is the mark of a leader. In Titus 1 when Paul is teaching about the characteristics of an elder, in the same verse that talks about self-control, Paul mentions that the elder must be disciplined.

Rather, he [the elder] must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. (Titus 1:8)

Similar to the word ktaomai that we saw in Lesson 5 that talks about having mastery over something, the word for discipline here is enkratēs, which refers to the mastery of self. So in this verse, elders must be both self-controlled (sōphrōn, of a sound mind) and self-disciplined (enkratēs, have mastery over self). When we choose leaders for our churches, we should choose someone who has constantly spent time in the Scriptures in order to distinguish good and evil and to become more like Christ.

Application

The practice of self-discipline for things such as exercise and eating right is important. We see in 1 Timothy 4 that this physical training does have value. However, the more important value for self-discipline is that it can help us become more like Christ. We can use the same strategies that we use to make improvements to our physical self to help us make improvements to our spiritual self. Just as we can be intentional about making it to the gym every day, we can be intentional about practicing love, joy, peace, patience, self-control, and other fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). What fruit do you need to start practicing more today?

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What is self-denial? The verse that comes to my mind is when Jesus is talking to his disciples and he says: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23). What does it really mean to deny yourself? In this lesson, we’ll look at three ways the Bible talks about self-denial:

1. Fasting

2. Removing barriers to following Christ

3. Crucifying your old self

To help you process your thoughts as you go throughout this lesson, a reflection journal sheet is available. Paid subscribers can access it by clicking here.

Fasting

In the Old Testament, the phrase “deny yourself” is primarily found in the context of the instructions for the Day of Atonement in Leviticus and Numbers. Leviticus 16:29-31 says:

“This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work—whether native-born or a foreigner residing among you—because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins. It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance.” 

In this passage and in similar passages in Leviticus 23:26-32 and Numbers 29:7, footnotes indicate that “deny yourselves” refers to fasting—not eating food (and sometimes even not drinking water) for a specific length of time. While this lesson is not intended to discover all the Bible has to say about the practice of fasting, in general, the Old Testament uses fasting as a practice that involves confession of sin and returning to the Lord. People also fasted when they wanted to petition God for something.  

The Hebrew word for “deny yourselves” in these verses about the Day of Atonement is ‘ānâ. According to Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary, this word means “to be afflicted, to stoop down, to humble oneself.” In other words, we can use self-denial as a way to humble ourselves before God by denying ourselves something that is essential to life—food and water—and depending on God for physical life. When this concept is applied to things other than food and water, this spirit of humility and total dependence on God that comes from fasting can help us give up the things that are standing between us and God so that we can rely on God for wholeness in our spiritual life.

Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are a prime example of this humility in action. In Daniel 1, Daniel and his friends were captured by Babylon. They were chosen for the king’s service, and they were given choice food and wine. But Daniel 1:8 says, “Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine.” Daniel felt that eating this food and wine from the king’s table would be a barrier in his relationship with God. When Daniel and his friends were faithful to God in this small way, God blessed them physically, mentally, and spiritually, as we see throughout the rest of the book of Daniel.

Removing Barriers to Following Christ

In the Old Testament, much of the discussion about self-denial revolves around fasting—denying yourself food and water. In the New Testament, Jesus gives a new twist to self-denial. Three of the gospels report this story. We’ll look at Mark 8, but a parallel passage can be found in Matthew 16:24-27 and Luke 9:23-26. Mark 8:34-38 says:

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

This sounds a lot more extreme than just giving up food and water for awhile. What did Jesus mean that anyone who wants to be a disciple must “deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”? The Greek word here for “deny themselves” is aparneomai, which Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary defines as “to deny, disown, renounce, reject.” This word is used in the Matthew and Mark passages. The Luke passage uses a similar word, arneomai, which has a similar definition of denying, disowning, and renouncing.

In this verse, Jesus is essentially saying that you must push away or reject anything that might stand as a barrier to total devotion to Christ. Nothing in this world should be as important as obedience to Christ. This makes me think about the rich man that Jesus encountered in Mark 10:17-22:

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.  You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”

 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

For the rich man, the thing that stood as a barrier between him and a relationship with God was his wealth. When Jesus asked him to deny himself by giving up his wealth, the rich man chose self-indulgence instead, even though he had been obedient to the law in every other way. Does this passage mean that God is calling all of us to give up all our material possessions? No. But he may be calling you to give up something else that you hold close. After this encounter, Jesus tells the disciples that they may be called to give up family, career, or possessions to follow him. Whatever that thing is that you are clinging to that gets between you and truly following God, that’s the thing you need to give up.

For additional reading on the rich man, read Matthew 19:16-20, Mark 10:17-31, and Luke 18:18-30.

Crucifying Your Old Self

The concept of denying yourself and taking up your cross to follow Christ reminds me of several passages that talk about crucifying our old self—our sin nature—like these verses in Romans 6:5-7:

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

The Greek word here for crucified is systauroō, which has the connotation of being crucified with another, especially in a spiritual resemblance. For us, this spiritual resemblance refers to giving up our old way of life before Christ—our lives that were filled with sin. And who do we crucify that sin nature with? Jesus, of course. Just like Jesus was nailed to the cross, we need to nail our sins to the cross. Jesus paid the penalty for those sins, so as a new creation in Christ, those sins are paid for and gone forever.

In the story of the rich man, Jesus called people to give up the one particular thing that stands between them and a relationship with Jesus. That’s before we accept Christ as Savior. After we accept Christ, we are called to give up all our sins. The Bible tells us in John 8:34-36:

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 

Don’t you want that freedom? If you want that freedom, then you have to be willing to give up those sins that you cling to. Jesus promises freedom if we crucify those sins on the cross with him. This is more than just self-control, or moderation in our actions. This is a complete self-denial of those things that cause us to sin against God.

For further study on this topic, read Galatians 2:19-21 and Galatians 5:22-26.

Application

Throughout the Bible, the concept of self-denial tells us that we must give up our old way of life—our sin nature. We reject anything that stands as a barrier between us and God. What is that barrier in your life? Like the rich man, is that wealth, status, or power? Like Daniel, are you being called to give up certain types of food? Maybe your barrier is sexual immorality or alcohol, as we discussed in Lessons 5 and 6. Or perhaps your barrier is something we haven’t even touched on yet—gossip, laziness, anger, or something else. Only you, with God’s help, can identify what stands between you and following Christ wholeheartedly. And when you identify what that is in your life, I encourage you to pursue self-denial in that area.

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Even with all that knowledge, we haven’t discussed HOW to develop self-control. And if we don’t know how to develop self-control, then where does that leave us? In this lesson, we’ll cover three important ways that you can begin to develop self-control.

To help you process your thoughts as you go throughout this lesson, a reflection journal sheet is available. You can access it by clicking here.

Self-Control Requires the Holy Spirit

The first and most important step of developing self-control is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In a verse most of us are familiar with, Galatians 5:22-23 says:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

The word used for self-control here is a new one for us: enkrateia. Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary defines this as “self-control, continence, temperance.” I looked up these terms in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. Surprise, surprise, look what I found:

Continence = self-restraint, especially refraining from sexual intercourse

Temperance = habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions; moderation in or abstinence from the use of alcoholic beverages

We’ve already seen that self-control is necessary to help us control our passions. Galatians 5:22-23 adds that this self-control requires the work of the Holy Spirit. So how do we get the Holy Spirit? In one of the most famous sermons in the Bible, Peter answers this question in Acts 2:38:

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

The Bible promises that when we believe in Jesus and turn from our old ways of sin, we will receive the Holy Spirit. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive power as well. Acts 1:8 says:

[Jesus said,] “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The power we receive from the Holy Spirit helps us witness to those around us, both in words and in actions. One way the Holy Spirit gives us power to witness is by having self-control to be obedient to Christ.

Self-Control Must Be Taught or Modeled

The second way that we can develop self-control is look to others who are successful in this area to teach us and to be a model for us. The verses we’ve read in Titus 2:1-8, 11-12 remind us of this:

You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. ...

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.

These teachers can be pastors or other leaders, mentors who are older and have more life experience, or other Christians who provide encouragement and accountability. But most of all, we can be taught self-control through the grace of God, which goes back to the power we receive from the Holy Spirit to have self-control.

Self-Control is a Process

Finally, as we work to develop self-control, we need to remember that developing self-control is a process. It’s not something that you decide to do and then it happens automatically. It’s something that you make a choice to do every day, and on the days when you fail, you pick yourself up again and keep at it—you “make every effort” to develop self-control. This process is shown in 2 Peter 1:5-7:

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 

The word for self-control here is enkrateia, the same word we saw earlier in this lesson. The process of developing self-control starts with faith. Not coincidentally, this is the same thing that allows us to receive the Holy Spirit.

But what is really interesting to me is what comes on either side of self-control. Before we have self-control, we must have knowledge. Whatever that thing is that you struggle with, you first have to have knowledge about what is right and what the harmful effects are. In the area of sexual desires, you have to have knowledge about what God’s design for sex is. In the area of alcohol consumption, you have to have knowledge about the harmful effects of drunkenness. For me, I struggle with eating healthy. I need to develop knowledge about what and when and how much I should be eating. Having access to the truth about your area of struggle will help you be convinced that you need to develop self-control and about what that self-control should look like.

After knowledge comes self-control. Self-control is what you use in the moment to make the best decision when you are faced with temptation in your area of struggle. You keep your mind clear, think through the choices and the consequences, and make the choice that is pleasing to God. And that’s easy to do as a one-time event. Anyone can make a good choice one time. It’s making that same good choice time after time after time that becomes difficult.

That’s where the next step comes in—perseverance. Whereas self-control is making the best choice in the moment, perseverance is what you use to continue to make that best choice time after time until that best choice starts to become more natural. The more frequently you make that right choice, the easier it will become over time. That’s when your life begins to reflect godliness.

Application

Where are you in this process? Do you need to start at the very beginning, by having faith in Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit? Or maybe you are already a Christian, but you need to find someone who displays self-control in your area of struggle to be a teacher, model, and encouragement for you. Maybe you need discipleship or counseling. It’s also possible that you ARE the person who can be a teacher, model, and encouragement for someone else. Is there someone in your life who you can help mentor?

You can also assess where you are in the process described in 2 Peter 1. Do you need to start researching to develop some knowledge about what self-control should look like for your area of struggle? Do you need to practice having self-control in the moment? Or do you need to work on developing perseverance, having self-control consistently over time? We are all in different stages of the process, and knowing where you are in your process can help you figure out what step to take next.

Over the next couple weeks, we’ll discuss two ideas for how to implement self-control: self-denial and self-discipline. I hope you’ll join me!

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Ephesians 5:18 – Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

Note that this is not a warning to not enjoy alcohol at all. Even Jesus drank wine (Luke 7:33-34), and his first miracle was to turn water into wine at a wedding (John 2:1-11). The point is to have self-control when it comes to drinking alcohol so that you still have full control of your body and mind rather than alcohol taking control. If you cannot have self-control in this area, then perhaps self-denial is a better option. We’ll talk about this in Lesson 8.

If the Bible clearly warns against getting drunk, why do so many people excessively drink alcohol? This is another area where Satan can easily gain control because it feels good or it helps you forget something awful, and in some instances it can make you more popular or help you fit in, especially for youth. Then once you get started, it can become an addiction. It also is often hard to draw the line between “enough” and “too much,” so it’s easy for Satan to push you to have one more until you are no longer in control of yourself.

To help you process your thoughts as you go throughout this lesson, a reflection journal sheet is available. You can access it by clicking here.

Let’s look at what the Bible has to say specifically in relation to alcohol and self-control.

The Importance of Being Sober

Many of the connections in this section I likely wouldn’t have made at all except for the difference in translation between self-control and sober in the 1984 and 2011 NIV versions. From what I can tell from Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary, the translation to sober rather than self-control is more accurate. But that connotation of self-control is still there, and this connection is intriguing to me, so we’ll explore it.

The clearest connection between self-control and alcohol intake is through the Greek word nēphō, which we discussed in Lesson 2. In that lesson, we saw that the 1984 version of NIV translated this word as “self-controlled” most of the time. However, in the 2011 version of NIV, this word is instead translated to “sober” or to be of “sober mind.” According to Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary, the literal translation of nēphō is to be “sober, not intoxicated.” Let’s look at the different instances of the word nēphō in the New Testament. The word translated nēphō is bolded. Consider reading this word as both sober (2011 version) and self-controlled (1984 version).

1 Thessalonians 5:6-9:

So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

In this passage, there is a clear contrast between those who are awake vs. asleep and those who are sober (self-controlled) vs. drunk. Making the choice to pursue faith, love, and salvation takes a clear mind, because these are not natural choices for those who are born with a sin nature. In order to make this choice, we need to have a mind that is not muddled by alcohol.

1 Peter:

1 Peter 1:13: Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 

1 Peter 4:7: The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 

1 Peter 5:8: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 

In the three verses in 1 Peter, we are warned to have a sober mind (or self-control) so that we can be alert for the devil’s schemes and for Jesus’ return, as we discussed in Lesson 2. Think about those who are in the military or are first responders—police, firefighters, EMTs. One of the most important aspects of the job is to go into any situation with a mind that is clear and alert so you can be aware of potential danger. In our spiritual lives, it’s the same way. We have to have a clear mind (or self-control) so that we can be successful at obeying God rather than falling for Satan’s schemes. Then we will be ready for Christ’s return.

1 Timothy 4:5:

But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

I think my favorite phrasing is in 1 Timothy 4:5—keep your head! When you drink too much alcohol, one of the first things you lose is the ability to think clearly and make good decisions. Even when you don’t feel impaired at all, you can have a delayed cognitive response. If you want to have self-control at all times, you need to be able to keep your head clear in all situations.

Being Sober Means Having a Clear Mind

The word nēphō is not the only word that is sometimes translated as a sober mind. As we saw in Lesson 4, sōphroneō is also translated with a connotation for having a sober mind, as we saw in Titus 2:6:

Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 

In Romans 12:3, this same word is translated as sober judgment, where it gives the impression of having self-control in how you think about yourself.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

How common is it when you are drunk to feel like you can do the impossible? You can drive home without endangering anyone. You can leap off tall buildings without getting hurt. You can swim across a lake. All of these are instances of too much alcohol causing you to not use sober judgment when you think about yourself and your abilities. Too much alcohol can also cause you to act in ways that are contrary to your faith. That’s the part that is most concerning.

Having a clear mind and sober judgment is an important part of a Christian’s life. Sometimes, the Bible uses both sōphroneō and nēphō to emphasize the importance of a clear mind, such as in 1 Peter 4:7, where sōphroneō is translated as alert and nēphō is translated as sober mind.

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.

So here’s three versions of 1 Peter 4:7:

With Greek: Therefore be sōphroneō and nēphō so that you may pray.

1984 NIV: Be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.

2011 NIV: Be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.

Somehow it gives a pretty clear connection between being sober, being self-controlled, and having a clear mind.

Application

This connection between being sober, having a clear mind, and having self-control is intriguing to me. When it comes to alcohol specifically, this is a cycle. If you have poor self-control, you drink too much. Then you start to have a mind that is not clear, which leads to less self-control, and the cycle starts over again. If you use self-control to resist drinking too much, then you can keep a clear mind, which helps you use more self-control to not drink more.

What action or sin in your life do you need to apply this to? Not everyone has trouble with alcohol, but we all struggle with something that perpetuates this same cycle. Pray that God would give you the strength and wisdom to use self-control next time that temptation comes your way.

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To help you process your thoughts as you go throughout this lesson, a reflection journal sheet is available. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically.

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