The 3:16 connection
Who is Jesus?
Matthew 3:16,17
After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy
He is God’s son and he is one with the Father and Holy Spirit as we see in this scripture
Luke 3:16
John answered their questions by saying, “I baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
He will pour out a purifying fire and be the baptizer in the Holy Spirit. He makes it possible for us to have the power we need to overcome and be salt and light in the world.
John 3:16,17
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him
He came to take on all of our sin, he is once again, the SON of God and he came not by way of judgment but love. He shows us that god will spare nothing to show us His great love
Acts 3:16
“Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes
Through faith in Jesus all manner of miracles can occur, he is our healer and all that we need.
1 Timothy 3:16
16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory
He is the anointed of God (Christ), the son as we mentioned before who came in human form which means he is more than human. Angels worship him and obey Him. He is still alive (even though He was crucified) and is reigning from heaven
Review who is Christ according to the 3:16 connection
- He is God…one with the Father and Holy Spirit
- He is the purifier and the releaser of the Holy Spirit
- He is the Son of God, took on all of our sin not for judgment but for love, showing us God would spare nothing for His love for us
- He is our healer and all we need
- He is the anointed one, came in flesh, angels worship Him, He still lives
Who are we in Christ?
1 Corinthians 3:16
Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you.
God at one time commanded a temple to be built to house His presence while on earth but because of Christ he no longer lives in buildings built but human hands but temples built by God, all of those who have laid down their lives, wills to Him. We are His dwelling place
2 Corinthians 3:16,17
But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom
We are free…from the power of the enemy, the bondage of sin, and the control of our flesh…we are not called to bondage but if we are the temple of the indwelling God then we are free in Him
Galatians 3:16,17
God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ. 17 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise
We are the recipients of the promise through Christ, all of His promises so we don’t need to live as though we have no promise.
Review Who are we in Christ according to the 3:16 connection?
- the dwelling place of God’s spirit
- We are free of every bondage
- Recipients of all the promises of God
How should we act as Christians?
Ephesians 3:16,17
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong
We should be people of intense love not because of what we see, feel or otherwise experience but because we trust in Him
Colossians 3:16
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts
We should have in our hearts the message of Christ so full that we easily teach it based on the wisdom He gives us. Living lives full of music and gratitude
2 Thessalonians 3:16
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all
WE should be at peace in every situation
James 3:16,17
For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere
We should be people full of wisdom and the fruit of that wisdom is peace, gentleness, yielding to others, full of mercy and showing this wisdom through our everyday actions
1 Peter 3:16
But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to ChristWe need to be people of clear conscience, not sinning but walking from of sin so no one can accuse us of anything, which shows we truly belong to Christ
1 John 3:16
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters
We are people driven by love willing as Christ has laid down His life for us being willing to lay down our lives for one another
Philippians 3:16
But we must hold on to the progress we have already made!
We are a people who are always moving forward
Review How should we act as true followers of Christ according to the 3:16 connection?
- We act out of love and trust in Him
- We should have hearts full of gratitude able to teach with wisdom
- We should be at peace
- WE should be full of wisdom bearing the fruit of this through mercy, peace and gentleness and our actions reflecting this
- We should live with a clear conscience
- We are people of love laying down our lives for Christ and others
- We are always to move forward
How do we live this way?
2 Timothy 3;16
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right
The only way we can live this way is by having the living word in us. Even the Holy Spirit is limited by our submitting to the Lord and letting His Word live in us. We can not be taught, guided, know what is right apart from His word being alive in us
What should we look out for?
Revelation 3:16
But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth
Be aware of becoming lukewarm not hot and on fire nor cool and refreshing
The 3;16 connection mostly works with the exception of Mark, Romans, 1Thessalonians, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, 2 Peter, 2&3 John, Jude
This is a quick and easy way to tell the Jesus story for our world and our lives.