The World's Greatest Love Story

By Reverend J.A. Jefferson

The components of this book will enhance the readers spiritual growth in the biblical ethics by placing these principles at the fingertips of the readers wealth of related information from which to draw.
Reading and studying this bible study guide will enhance your Christian walk as well as your growth in faith. It will give the biblical way of living based on its ethical principles and presents Gods plan for salvation and daily Christian living. I pray that the annotating study of this Bible Study Guide will bless your spiritual life and growth for years to come.
These notes provide a system for studying the doctrines of the Bible and for teaching them through the Scripture. By reading the notes within one topic area, you will complete a total survey of that particular Bible teaching with its explanations, illustrations, and practical applications for daily living. The comprehensive introductions, outlines, and reflection worksheets will give you an opportunity to strengthen your understanding of each topic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781496936639

Reverend J.A. Jefferson

The author has studied the Bible from the time he was solemnly and publicly set apart in 1985 and ordained to the work of the gospel ministry by the authority and order of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church under Reverend Curtis Kyle. He was publicly ordained in 1990 to the work of the Gospel Ministry to the views of the Holy Bible and the Christian Faith of the Pentecostal Church. The author received instruction in Part I and II of the Old and New Testament at Howard University in 1977. He was a member of the 1988 Ministry Class at the Jericho Christian Training Center, Washington, DC; attended Chaplain Moral Leadership Staff College at Dover College, Dover, Delaware in 1988; then completed further studies in Moral Leadership at the Middle East Region Chaplain’s Staff College at Dover Air Force Base, Dover, Maryland in 2000. That same year he received the Chaplain of the Year Award. After serving as chaplain for the District of Columbia Jail, the author became chaplain for the District of Columbia Department of Corrections under the federal government from 1997 until 2004. He joined the Chaplain Department at the District of Columbia General Hospital in 1985 and served diligently until his retirement in 2004. He also served as police Clergy with the Philadelphia Police Department and for 9 years volunteered as a Big Brother in the District of Columbia.

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© 2015 Reverend J.A. Jefferson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/07/2015

ISBN: 978-1-4969-3664-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-3663-9 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

THE WORLD’S GREATEST LOVE STORY

PERTAINING TO THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT

Translation of the original tongue and with the former referenced translations diligently compared and reviewed. Quotations are from the Authorized or the King James Version of the Bible.

Reverend J. A. Jefferson

E-mail: [e-mail]

WEBSITE www.chaplainjefferson.com

1-864-338-8552

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1. LOVE

1. YOU ARE MY WTINESSES (ISAIAH 43:10)

2. GOD’S EXPECTATION OF US (ISAIAH 43:26)

3. FREEDOM FROM BURDENS (MATTHEW 11:28-30)

4. UNITY OF THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST (EPHESIANS 4)

5. IN THE BOND OF PEACE (EPHESIANS 4)

6. MAKING INCREASE OF THE BODY

7. BELIEVERS ARE ONE IN UNITY

8. UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

9. THE MOST REMARKABLE BOOK OF LOVE IN THE WORLD

10. CHILDREN OF HEIRS (ROMANS 8:17)

11. PERSONIFICATION OF PERFECT LOVE

12. CHRIST IS SUPREME

13. SACRIFICIAL LOVE (JOHN 3:16)

14. LOVE TOWARD OTHERS (JOHN 3:16)

15. RESPONSIBILITIES FOR FOLLOWING CHRIST (JOHN 14:21)

16. PETER TRIED TO PROTECT HIMSELF

(JOHN 18:25-27)

17. FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT

18. LOVE IS LIKE OIL TO THE WHEELS (PSALM 119:32)

19. GOD GIVES WISDOM

20. ETERNAL PURPOSE

CHAPTER 2. AN’S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

1. PHYSICAL LIFE (GENESIS 2:7)

2. RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD (JOHN 17:3)

3. ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH FAITH

4. REGENERATION (MATTHEW 19:28)

5. THE WORK OF SALVATION (TITUS 3:4-6)

6. REGENERATION MEANS BORN AGAIN

(JOHN 3:1-12)

7. THE NEED FOR SALVATION

8. THE EARTH WAS CORRUPT (GENESIS 6:11-13)

9. DELIVERENCE AND SALVATION

10. OLD TESTAMENT SALVATION

11. DOCTRINE OF SALVATION

12. THE POWER OF CHRIST

CHAPTER 3. THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST

1. AGAPE LOVE

2. BIRTH AND UPBRINGING OF JESUS

3. THE CALL OF PHILIP (JOHN 1:45)

4. JESUS WAS FIRSTBORN

5. LEARNING WHO JESUS IS (LUKE 2:41-52)

6. POLITICAL UNREST IN ISRAEL

7. BEGINNINGS OF JESUS’ MINISTRY

8. THE HOLY SPIRIT

9. LUKE RECORDED THE BAPTISM OF JESUS (LUKE 3:21-22)

10. THE COMING OF CHRIST (EXODUS 29:38-43)

11. THE MESSIAH: GOD’S SERVANT

CHAPTER 4. THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN PROPHECY

1. THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

2. SIGNS OF CHRIST’S RETURN (MARK 13:5-6)

3. OLIVET DISCOURSE

4. THE DESECRATION OF THE TEMPLE

5. OLD TESTAMENT PREDICTIONS OF END TIMES

6. THE DOOM OF BABYLON (ISAIAH 13:6-10)

7. DESTRUCTION OF EGYPT

8. THE DIVINE KING

9. THE KEY TO THE KINGDOM

10. CHURCH LEADERSHIP

11. THE GOOD NEWS MESSAGE FROM JESUS

CHAPTER 5. OBEYING THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS

1. MESSIAH A RELIGIOUS TITLE

2. DEATH AND BURIAL OF JESUS

3. SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS

4. COMMITMENT TO GOD

5. PROCLAMATION OF THE GOOD NEWS

6. THE NEW KINGDOM OF JESUS WILL COME WITH POWER

7. THE MESSAGE AND LAW JESUS TAUGHT

8. PRACTICE OBEDIENCE

9. JESUS SETTLED THE QUESTION OF DIVORCE

10. GENEROUSITY IN GIVING (LUKE 6:29-30)

11. BLESSINGS AND GOODWILL

12. PRINCIPALS TO NONVIOLENCE

13. JESUS TEACHES THE SUPREME EXAMPLE

14. JESUS WAS GOD’S EXAMPLE

15. HONORING A KING

16. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JESUS

17. PAUL’S MESSAGE WAS TO IMITATE JESUS

CHAPTER 6. THE TITLES OF CHRIST

1. SON OF MAN

2. THE SON OF GOD

3. OUR FATHER

4. MY SON, MY FIRST BORN

5. THE PROMISED MESSIAH

6. THE WORD OF GOD

7. THE COMMON VIEW OF JESUS

8. JESUS IS LORD

9. A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

10. A NAME ABOVE EVERY NAME

11. MY LORD AND MY GOD

12. THE SON OF GOD

CHAPTER 7. THE WORK OF CHIRST

1. THE LORD’S SUPPER

2. THE FIRST WITNESSES

3. THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST

4. HOW GOD VIEWS SIN

5. THE COLOSSSIAN HERESY

6. THE DEATH OF CHRIST REDEEMED US

7. UNITED BY FAITH

8. THE PENALTY FOR SIN DIED WITH CHRIST ON THE CROSS

9. HOSTILE FORCES IN THE WORLD

10. ALIENATED FROM GOD

11. THE FIRST WORK OF CHRIST

12. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

13. REMOVING THE CLOUD (John 21-17)

CHAPTER 8. DAVID, A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART

1. DAVID, A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART

2. SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES TO DAVID

3. ANOINTED BY SAMUEL

4. DAVID COMMITS ADULTERY

5. DAVID PLANS MURDER

6. DAVID TAKES BATHSHEBA AS A WIFE

7. NATHAN THE PROPHET REBUKES DAVID

8. GOD’S PUNISHMENT FOR DAVID AND ISRAEL

9. DEATH OF DAVID

10. INSTRUCTIONS TO SOLOMON: LAST WORDS OF DAVID

11. SEPULCHER OF AGE AT DEATH

12. DAVID REIGNS AS KING

13. DAVID AS MUSICIAN

14. PSALMS OF DAVID

15. TYPE OF CHRIST

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The author has studied the Bible from the time he was solemnly and publicly set apart in 1985 and ordained to the work of the gospel ministry by the authority and order of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church under Reverend Curtis Kyle. He was publicly ordained in 1990 to the work of the Gospel Ministry to the views of the Holy Bible and the Christian Faith of the Pentecostal Church.

The author received instruction in Part I and II of the Old and New Testament at Howard University in 1977. He was a member of the 1988 Ministry Class at the Jericho Christian Training Center, Washington, DC; attended Chaplain Moral Leadership Staff College at Dover College, Dover, Delaware in 1988; then completed further studies in Moral Leadership at the Middle East Region Chaplain’s Staff College at Dover Air Force Base, Dover, Maryland in 2000. That same year he received the Chaplain of the Year Award.

author.jpg

After serving as chaplain for the District of Columbia Jail, the author became chaplain for the District of Columbia Department of Corrections under the federal government from 1997 until 2004. He joined the Chaplain Department at the District of Columbia General Hospital in 1985 and served diligently until his retirement in 2004. He also served as police Clergy with the Philadelphia Police Department and for 9 years volunteered as a Big Brother in the District of Columbia.

Chaplain John A. Jefferson

E-MAIL: [e-mail]

WEBSITE www.chaplainjefferson.com

PREFACE

OVERVIEW

The components of this book will enhance the reader’s spiritual growth in the biblical ethics by placing these principles at the fingertips of the reader’s wealth of related information from which to draw.

Reading and studying this bible study guide will enhance your Christian walk as well as your growth in faith. It will give the biblical way of living based on its ethical principles and presents God’s plan for salvation and daily Christian living. I pray that the annotating study of this Bible Study Guide will bless your spiritual life and growth for years to come.

DOCTRINAL FOOTNOTES

These notes provide a system for studying the doctrines of the Bible and for teaching them through the Scripture. By reading the notes within one topic area, you will complete a total survey of that particular Bible teaching with its explanations, illustrations, and practical applications for daily living. The comprehensive introductions, outlines, and reflection worksheets will give you an opportunity to strengthen your understanding of each topic.

REFLECTION

Purpose. This book is a very good teaching tool which emphasizes the biblical ethics and the principles of Bible Teaching. This purpose of this book is to provide a better understanding of the one God, his love for us, and why He calls to each of us. This Bible study guide explains God’s purpose and his charter to His people who He loved so much that He gave his only begotten Son. He called and created us for His glory, and only through Him do we have salvation and eternal life. This book is also intended to show how God provides spiritual strength to His followers and increases that strength so we will not become faint and weary. They shall mount up with the wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

The world’s greatest love story is the exciting and dramatic story of the life of Jesus and his message to each of us. The twofold designation Jesus Christ combines the personal name Jesus and the title Christ that mean Anointed or Messiah. His birth and early years in Bethlehem and Nazareth are followed by the story of his baptism, ministry, and message to us.

Willingness to Serve (John 21:15-17). Jesus asked, Do you love me more than these? The answer, Yes, expressed the strong inspirational love of Simon Peter for Jesus. Yes Lord; you know that I love you. Then Jesus said unto him, feed by lambs (John 21:15). Jesus is asking you, Do you love me? When you have the right attitude of the ethical teaching of Jesus Christ you will display the right attitude of love and not the emotional kind of love that does not always last. Jesus wants your lasting love (phileo love) signifies affection and also results in emotional love. I like to believe this was the reason Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Jesus, because He wanted Peter to be sure. Jesus knew how much Peter loved him but wanted Peter to know the depth of his love for Jesus. Was he willing to die for Jesus just as Jesus loved us enough to die for us (sacrificial love).

Jesus has a way of getting to the heart of any matter. We will discover in John 21:15-17 how Peter faced his true feelings. Today we don’t have the physical Jesus next to us who loves us but we serve God through Jesus Christ by faith and the example Jesus gave us for loving and treating others.

It is God’s nature to love. God sent His only Son into the world to die for it (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). When you read this book you will have a better understanding about love. I have taken the time by the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ to read and study His Word then share the understanding God has given me through the Holy Spirit. It has been a blessing to me to have been able to do this so that you may also have a better understanding of God’s holy word. May God bless and keep you. Amen

INTRODUCTION

THE WORLD’S GREATEST LOVE STORY

This story is about a loving God who gave His only begotten Son to show how much He loved His people. He sent His Son into a sick and dying world to save them from their sin which justified them for death eternal.

The focus is on the love the Son had for His Father. The Son proved His love and was continually obedient to the Father’s will. This kind of love is not self-centered. It reaches out into the world and draws others into the loving household of His Father.

The pattern of love between Father and Son and their love for others set the basis for all love relationships. Is your love relationship for others based on this kind of selfless love? Are you willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice for others?

This is what we do when we love our heavenly Father. If you claim the heavenly Father as your Father, are you being obedient to Him just as His Son was? Are you willing to give your life to glorify the Father and the Son?

So much that He was willing to give His life to please His Father even to the point of His being glorified in the Son. The Father paid dearly with the gift of His Son’s life, the highest price He could pay to show how much He loved us. What are you willing to do to show how much you love your heavenly Father? Is it enough to show others who hate you and don’t have anything to do with you? Do you show them that you love them anyway?

THE BOOK OF JOHN CONCERNING THE SON OF GOD

• Purpose: To prove conclusively that Jesus is the Son of God and that all who believe in him will have eternal life.

• Author: John the apostle, son of Zebedee, brother of James, called a Son of Thunder.

• To Whom Written: New Christians and searching non-Christians.

• Date Written: Probably A.D. 85-90.

• Setting: Written after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and before John’s exile to the island of Pathos.

• Key Verse: Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:30-31).

• Key People: Jesus, John the Baptist, the disciples, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Jesus’ mother, Pilate, Mary Magdalene.

• Key Place: Judean countryside, Samaria, Galilee, Bethany, Jerusalem.

• Special Features: Of the eight miracles recorded, six are unique among the Gospels to John, as is the Upper Room Discourse (John 14:14). Over 90 percent of John is unique to his Gospel. According to the study John does not contain a genealogy or any record of Jesus’ birth, childhood, temptation, transfiguration, appointment of the disciples, nor any account of Jesus’ parables, ascension, or Great Commission. This is a study of the life and teachings of Jesus, not much is found on his childhood life.

COMPARISON OF THE FOUR GOSPELS

All four gospels present the life and teachings of Jesus. Each book focuses on a unique facet of Jesus and his character.

CHAPTER 1. LOVE

1. YOU ARE MY WTINESSES (ISAIAH 43:10)

Difficulties of Life. Going through difficulties in life will either cause you to drown or force you to grow stronger. If you go on your own strength, you are more likely to drown. If you invite the Lord to go with you, He will protect you.

But now thus said the Lord that created you, O Jacob, and He that formed you, O Israel, fear not: for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine (Isaiah 32:1).

Strength in the Lord. Israel’s task was to be a witness (Isaiah 44:8), telling the world who God is and what He has done. Believers today share the responsibility of being God’s witnesses. Do people know what God is like through your words and example? They cannot see God directly, but they can see Him reflected in you.

You are my witnesses, said the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that I am he: Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me (Isaiah 43:10).

Important Decisions. When we have an important decision we sometimes think we can’t trust anyone not even God. But God knows what is best for us. He is a better judge of what we need rather than want we want. We must trust Him completely in every choice we make. We should not omit careful thinking or belittle our God-given ability to reason; but we should not trust our own ideas to the exclusion of all others.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

2. GOD’S EXPECTATION OF US (ISAIAH 43:26)

God’s Expectations are Clear. God has told us many different times and has shown us what favors He had bestowed upon us just as He did for Isaiah. He formed them for Himself just as He did us, intending that we should show forth His praise. But they had not done so; they had frustrated God’s expectations from Him, and made every ill returned to Him for His favors.

This is what God said they had done. They had cast off prayer: they have not called upon me, O Jacob! Jacob was a man famous for prayer (Hosea 12:4).

Allow God to Guide Us. Receiving God’s guidance, we must acknowledge God in all our ways. This means turning every area of life over to Him. About a thousand years later, Jesus emphasized this same truth (Matthew 6:33).

But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).

Look at Our Values and Priorities. What is important to you? In what areas of your life have you already acknowledge God? The areas where you attempt to restrict or ignore His influence will cause you grief.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and He shall direct your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil (Proverbs 3:7).

Delight in the Lord. David calls us to take delight in the Lord and to commit everything we have and do to Him. The question is: Do we do this? To delight in someone means to experience great pleasure and joy in his or her presence. This happens only when you know that person well. To delight in the Lord, we must know Him better.

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He shall give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4)

3. FREEDOM FROM BURDENS (MATTHEW 11:28-30)

Heavy Burdens. A yoke is a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of an ox or oxen. It is attached to a piece of equipment the oxen are to pull. A person may be carrying heavy burdens of

• sin

• excessive demands of religious leaders (Matthew 23:4; Acts 15:10)

• oppression and persecution

• weariness in the search of God

Jesus Frees Us from All Burdens. The rest that Jesus promises is love, healing, and peace with God, not the end of all labor. A relationship with God changes meaningless, wearisome toil into spiritual productivity and purpose.

[28] Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon