LESSON 1
Introduction:
How do you think most Christians today would answer the following questions:
It is sad that most Christians rarely sense God's presence in a strong way. And most Christians would not dear to say they hear from God. (if you do not believe this go to a church and tell them what you have Heard from God. They will look at you like you are crazy. Why? While hearing from God should be normal most are not taught that it is possible!)
In these Lessons, we are going to look at what type of fellowship Jesus came to bring to us and how each of us can learn his voice.
I. Mankind before and after the fall.
A. Made in the image of God - Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7
All other life on the earth God called into existence. But when God came to man,
special attention was given. God created man in his image, he wanted more than a
mere animal, when he created us. He wanted more than a servant. He had servants
in the angels whom he created to serve and obey the voice of God. ( It should also
be noted that no where in the word does it say that God created the angels in his
image. He created Man in his image and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
He created man to be a family unto himself. The father-Heart of God longed for spiritual
children to have fellowship with.
The amplified Bible says, "...and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life,
and man became a living being."
B. God came to fellowship - Genesis 3:8
God came to in the evening to fellowship with his creation. Many commentators believe that
this was a daily occurrence between God and his creation. He came daily to fellowship
with his earthly family.
C. The Saddest Words Uttered by God - Genesis 3:9
When God called for man "Where are you?" because of sin, man did not come to meet his
creator like every other day. Charles H. Spurgeon had some thoughts on this let look at
them.
" And now hear the voice of God as he cries, 'Adam where are thou?' Oh! there were two
truths in the short sentence. It shows that Adam was lost, or God would not have needed
to ask him where he was. Until we have lost a thing, we need not inquire where about it; but
when God said, 'Adam where art thou?' it was the voice of a shepherd for his lost sheep; or better
still, the cry of a loving parent asking for his child the has ran away from him. 'Where
art thou?' There are but three words, but they contain the dread doctrine of our lost estate
When God asks, 'Where art thou?' man must be lost. When God Himself inquires where man is
he must be lost in a more awful sense that you and I have as yet fully known. But then
there was also mercy upon man, or else he would have let him remain lost and would not have
said, 'where art thou?' Men do not inquire for what they do not value. There was
a gospel sermon, I think, in those three divine words as they penetrated the dense parts of the
thickets, and reached the tingling ears of the fugitives - 'where are thou?' Thy God is not willing
to loose thee; He is come forth to seek thee, just as by and bye He means to come forth
in the person of His Son, not only to seek but to save that which now is Lost".1
D. God lost His Family to the Devil.
Satan, through the serpent, tempted Adam and Eve to rebel against God. Through this,
Satan stole Gods family and became the evil "stepfather" to man kind. This can be seen when
Jesus rebuked the religious people of his time stating: " You are of [your] father the
devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murdered from the beginning, and
[does] [not] stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own
[resources], for he is a liar and the father of it." John 8:44 NKJV
II Jesus, The Way Back to God.
A. He came to Save that which Was Lost - Matthew 18:10-14
Jesus came to see and to save mankind that had been stolen from God.
B. Paying Ransom. Isaiah 53:4-6
The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all....
C. Gods Wrath Passed - Isaiah 54:5-8
Because of Jesus, we have gone from wrath to mercy.
D. Redeemed
There are several words the Apostle Paul uses in the New testament writings to
explain our redemption. They are "agoridzo", "exagoridza", and "lutroo." these words
that were used to describe someone that was sold as a slave in the horrible slave
markets of Rome. Man was reduced to a mere piece of meat. By Paul using these words, he
tells us that Jesus came into the satanic slave market of man kind and gave Himself
as the ransom price to not only deliver us from the slave market but to restore us to the
place we were before we were slaves.
E. My Father and Your Father - John 20:17
After paying the price on Calvary, He now stats that God is not only His Father, But our
Father. Not only His God, but our God. The Family has been brought back to God.
III Your Assignment
1. Describe in your own words, the creation of man.
2. In your own words, describe what "intimate fellowship" is.
3. With the definition that you gave above, do you have this relationship with God? If not, why?
Next Weeks Lesson : Elements of Friendship with God
Mark and Patti Virkler have granted permission to draw this information from
their book, “Communion With God Study Guide”.
You can get more information at their website www.cwgministries.org