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God's glory is the core attribute from which all other divine characteristics emanate. We see in 1 Chronicles 16 that God's glory is not only intrinsic but also displayed and depicted in creation, in Scripture, and ultimately through Jesus Christ. Understanding God‘s glory helps us to recognise and declare his glory as a central purpose of existence. We consider three things relating to divine glory: 1. The description of God's glory 2. The display of God's glory 3. the depiction of God's glory

As Christians, we struggle with our spiritual vision. Though we aspire to holy living, we are sometimes blinded to the glories of Christ. Is this abnormal? Do other disciples of Jesus struggle with the same thing? Mark 8 answers such questions while providing hope of doing better. It puts flesh and bones on the teaching about sanctification in Romans 8. Some observations and applications from this account will help us in our quest to follow Jesus as we commit ourselves to putting to death the deeds of the body.

Does God really know everything? And what difference does that make to your daily life? Isaiah 40:28 highlights God’s omniscience: the biblical truth that his understanding is unsearchable. Set in Isaiah’s words of comfort to God’s people, we consider the most important thing God knows: who he will save, and how. From there, we see the breadth of his knowledge, from history, our deeds, our words, and our thoughts to every truth in creation. The truth shapes daily Christian living in at least three ways: 1. Our pursuit of knowledge should produce humility and praise. All truth is God’s truth, so every discovery is his work. 2. Our regrets and anxieties belong in the hands of the God who knows. We can’t know how life might have gone, but he does. 3. God’s knowledge of us in Christ brings comfort in loneliness. Loneliness is not just being alone, but feeling unknown. Yet we are fully known and fully loved.

In Romans 8:5–13, Paul argues that there are only two ways to live: according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. There is no middle ground. How one lives is also how one will die, for how we live reveals whether we have been justified before God and united to Christ (v. 4). Having seen that those united to Jesus Christ are characterised by the Spirit’s purposeful orientation (vv. 5–8), we now see that they also experience: 1. The Spirit’s personal habitation (vv. 9–10) 2. The Spirit’s powerful resurrection (v. 11) 3. The Spirit’s progressive glorification (vv. 12–13)

When the rich young ruler called Jesus “good teacher,” Jesus stopped him in his tracks: “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” What does it mean that God alone is good? While we tend to define goodness on our own terms, God’s law reveals that none of us measures up—and this makes the goodness of God ultimately good news for sinners. We consider three big truths from this text: 1. We naturally presume we know what is good—and we’re wrong. 2. God’s law defines true goodness, and by that standard, we fall short. 3. God is good, and that goodness is good for us.

The Spirit of God, having united the believer to Jesus Christ (who perfectly kept God’s law), consequently shapes the believer to live lawfully, like Jesus Christ. Paul refers to this as “walking according to the Spirit.” The only other option is to walk according to the flesh. Hence there are two ways to live. And how we live will determine how we die. Paul unpacks this sobering and yet gospel-packed truth in this passage.

What we believe about God is the most revealing thing about us. It shows whether we’re true worshippers or idolators of our own imagination. Even those who believe in the true God can hold mistaken views of his character, and belief always shapes behaviour. Knowing about God isn’t the same as knowing God relationally—a knowledge secured only through Christ (John 17:3).

When a person believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, they are no longer a child of the devil—a truly wretched condition. Instead, they are a child of God, chosen by him, adopted by him, eternally loved and secured by him. This is the theme of Romans 8. In the opening four verses, Paul makes clear that a Christian is a wretch no longer. He does so by pointing out that Christians are: 1. no longer condemned (v. 1) 2. no longer enslaved (v. 2) 3. no longer powerless (vv. 3–4)

Acts 13 records Paul and Barnabas at Pisidian Antioch, where they preached the gospel in the local synagogue about Jesus Christ as the Saviour that death could not destroy. The sermon can be divided into four broad sections: 1. God Prepared Them for Him (vv. 16–25) 2. They Rejected Him (vv. 26–29) 3. God Resurrected Him (vv. 30–37) 4. We Are Freed in Him (vv. 38–41)

Who is the “wretched man” of Romans 7? Some say it is a Christian, while others say it describes an unbeliever. The latter makes the best sense. This passage describes the “religious” unbeliever. It reveals the wretched condition of all, even the religious person, apart from the power of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will study the text under four headings: 1. The Definition of “I” 2. The Death of “I” (v. 13) 3. The Divided “I” (vv. 14–20) 4. The Desperate “I” (vv. 21–25)

In Roman 7:7–12 Paul provides a defence of God’s Law against the charge that, because it provokes sin in sinners, it is therefore sinful. Paul defends the Law against this outrageous charge by presenting three evidences. He argues that the Law of God (1) exposes/explains sin (v. 7); (2) excites sinfulness (vv. 8–9); and (3) executes sinners (vv. 10–11). The result is that the Law of God is exonerated from slander (v. 12).

The account in Acts 8:26–40 portrays shows a unique man, confronted with a unique message, and converted in a unique way. We consider the text under those three headings: 1. Philip Sent to a Unique Man (vv. 26–30) 2. ⁠Philip Engaging With a Unique Message (vv. 30–38) 3. ⁠The Spirit Working in a Unique Way (vv. 39–40)

What is the Christian’s relationship to God’s law now that we’re under grace? Using the illustration of marriage and death, Paul shows that believers have died to the law’s condemning authority through the death of Christ and have been married to him. This text steers a careful course between legalism (thinking we can earn God’s favour) and antinomianism (treating grace as license). We consider this important principle by navigating the text through a threefold movement: 1. The Principle Articulated (v. 1) 2. An Illustration Provided (vv. 2–3) 3. The Illustration Applied (vv. 4–6)

It is common to view doctrine and doxology as two separate worlds in the Christian life. In some extreme cases, we may characterise ourselves as being either theologically-minded or worship-focused. But neither of these extremes represent the biblical model of a healthy relationship with God. In Paul’s doxology, he paints the most integrated view of Christian reality possible: all of time and space in Christ. This text challenges us to see that doctrine and doxology are not two separate worlds that we need to hop between, but are two necessary aspects of how we grow in our knowledge of God. We consider three elements of this text: 1. To the praise of his glory 2. Doctrine and doxology 3. Knowing God

Paul’s concern in this entire chapter is for Christians to take seriously who they are in Christ. In a familiar phrase, he desires that Christians “be what they are.” In vv. 15–23, Paul shows that the gospel frees the believer from bondage to sin to become holy servants to God and to his righteous way of living. In short, Christians need to be what they are becoming. This requires that Christians: 1. Know Our Profound Liberation (vv. 15–18) 2. Choose to Pursue Sanctification (v. 19) 3. Anticipate Our Promised Glorification (vv. 20–23)