INTRODUCTION This is The Living Word Bible study for for Sunday, February 21, first Sunday in Lent (TLW07B). The theme is drawn from the Revised Common Lectionary readings following the natural progression of the Bible itself in the three perspectives of Old Testament, New Testament pre-resurrection and NT post-resurrection with the Early Church experiencing the life of the Spirit. Prepare for hearing these read and preached on Sunday in your livestream or broadcast service — read the passages as they stand first and let them speak to you, then study a little deeper with the help of the commentary and reflection notes. There is a linked article, and also a printed version of this Bible study with permission to print for your own use, or your church home group or bulletin (at the end).
Genesis 9:8-17 — God asserts His covenant promise to Noah
Mark 1:9-15 — The Father’s voice was heard in the Son’s baptism
1 Peter 3:18-22 — Christ proclaims His victory to the demons
And also: Psalm 25:1-10 — “Show me Your ways”
Theme: We have confidence in what God has proclaimed
• This week’s article on the theme: ‘What God Speaks, Endures‘
Genesis 9:8-17 — God asserts His covenant promise to Noah
The giant vessel having served its purpose, God’s promise creates the first covenant
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him:
“Then God said” — leads into agreeing a covenant with Noah, his family, descendants and every living creature following the flood. The importance of the concept of covenant committing God to man and man to God cannot be overestimated.
9-10 “I now establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you — the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you— every living creature on earth.
“I now establish My covenant” — the first covenant in the Bible (already promised in Genesis 6:18). A covenant formally binds two parties together in a relationship of mutual commitment, but this first covenant is a one-sided promise by God.
11 “I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
“I establish My covenant with you” — the language is that of a royal grant or unconditional promise.
“Never again” — this covenant is eternal.
12-15 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.
“You and every living creature” — “all life” is part of God’s creation and important to Him. We can seek His blessing for ourselves, our livestock, crops — and pets.
16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
“The rainbow… remember the everlasting covenant” — covenants in the Bible usually have an accompanying sign or symbol like circumcision, Sabbath observance, or the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper. The rainbow is the sign of God remembering His covenant with man and all living creatures.
17 So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”
Reflection
SUMMARY In the instructions God gave Noah for building the ark, and the animals he should expect to come to Him to be kept alive, He made the first of a number of significant proclamations in this story: “I will establish My covenant with you…”, Genesis 6:18. Now after the flood has receded and the various occupants of the ark have made their way onto the draining land, God asserts His promise again, half a dozen times. Almost every covenant has a sign, and the sign of the rainbow is instituted as the reminder.
APPLICATION This is a very important principle which we will meet again with Abraham, and with Moses, and with David. Then, for us there is the New Covenant established in Jesus’ death and resurrection. It tells us a lot about how God works and how He relates to us. It represents a confident expectation of how God will act, and the shorthand Bible word for this is hope.
QUESTION Why are covenants in the Bible such important signposts for us?
Mark 1:9-15 — The Father’s voice was heard in the Son’s baptism
Soon after Jesus began to proclaim the kingdom of God in Galilee
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan.
“Baptised by John in the Jordan” — Matthew explains in his gospel that Jesus, with no sins to renounce, did this “to fulfil all righteousness”. God required Him to identify with sinners, for whom baptism was a sign of repentance. Going down into the water and rising up out of it is a symbol of dying, then resurrection — which Jesus would do for all of us who are sinners.
10-11 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, He saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are My Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased.”
“The Spirit descending on Him” — in contemporary traditions, that commonly practise believer’s baptism, the congregation often hear the brief story of how they came to know Jesus, then after baptism they pray with the candidate in the water, to receive the fullness of the Spirit.
“A voice … from heaven; ‘You are My Son'” — perhaps the best way to understand this is that Jesus, who was God’s Son but born as man, entered ministry as a man with an extraordinary anointing of the Holy Spirit.
• For further study, read Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 42:1-9
12-13 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and He was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
“The wilderness for forty days” — a place with an evil aura, inhabited by wolves, jackals and leopards. Forty days recalls Israel’s 40 years of testing and failure. Jesus was tested but did not sin.
• For further study, read and compare Hebrews 2:18, 4:15; and James 1:3, 12; 1 Peter 1:7; Revelation 2:10
14-15 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” He said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
“Repent and believe” — as in the first Exodus where God revealed Himself to the people, called them to Himself, and taught them His ways, so too Jesus calls people out of their confusion, to follow Him and His teaching.
• For further study read Exodus 3:12-15, 6:7, 33:19; Deut. 4:1,14, 8:3.
Reflection
SUMMARY In this passage Jesus, who uniquely has no sin to turn from and renounce, lines up with those who do, and receives John’s baptism. As He goes into the water, the Father’s audible voice is heard, affirming His pleasure in Jesus, the Son He loves so much. Jesus receives an impartation of the Holy Spirit which equips Him for ministry, and first for His wilderness trial where he experiences, and overcomes, the full extent of the devil’s deception. Then He has an anointing for ministry and His own proclamation that in Him, the kingdom of God has come near to people — their opportunity to turn and see what God was doing and believe it.
APPLICATION Every born-again Christian has a call to ministry, although this doesn’t make everyone a church pastor. The Holy Spirit has many ways, through many gifts, to make us fruitful. The key fact is that it is a work of the Holy Spirit top discern and to extend the kingdom of God. Our own efforts, apart from the Spirit, will keep us busy building lesser, more institutional things. If Jesus needed an impartation of the Spirit, and to submit to baptism to receive it, how much more do we.
QUESTION How do are we doing in proclaiming the Good News of God and His kingdom?
1 Peter 3:18-22 — Christ proclaims His victory to the demons
He who was put to death, was raised to life and appointed to rule over all powers
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
“The righteous for the unrighteous” — clear statement of what is called the substitutionary atonement of Christ. He who was righteous suffered and died in the place of the unrighteous (us), to bring us to God.
“Put to death in the body… made alive in the Spirit” — He was put to death conclusively in a physical sense, but raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit.
19-20 After being made alive, He went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits – to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water…
“Proclamation to the imprisoned spirits” — these are much debated verses but perhaps the way that fits best with the rest of Scripture is that Christ, risen from the dead, proclaimed His victory to the demonic spirits, who were under confinement and awaiting God’s final judgment since those early times of wickedness Noah experienced.
21 ... and this water symbolises baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience towards God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ…
“Baptism… the pledge of a clear conscience towards God” — Protestants have generally agreed that water baptism is an outward sign of the Holy Spirit’s work of inner regeneration, received by a person’s faith and God’s grace alone. In many traditions baptism is part of a declaration by believers that they have trusted Christ for salvation, and consider themselves putting the old life to death. Where the church custom is to dedicate infants in a naming ceremony, they can choose to be baptised later and tell the story of their own journey to faith in Jesus.
22 ...who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand – with angels, authorities and powers in submission to Him.
“Authorities and powers in submission to Him” — an encouraging reminder to Christians that Jesus has won His victory and ascended to take authority over all powers. We can rejoice in the face of suffering in the secure knowledge that Christ has triumphed.
Reflection
SUMMARY What exactly happened between Jesus’ death and His revealing Himself having risen to life on the third day? This passage reflects back to the ancient times and the long lifetime of Noah. That was a era when such wickedness was over all the earth, that God resolved to make a new start, through a flood, choosing righteous Noah and his family to survive. This was a symbolic foreshadowing of what we know as baptism, which is not an instrument of salvation, but a proclamation to the world and spiritual world that we have embraced new life in Christ and we are His.
The fourth proclamation in this story is the one made by Jesus to the demonic spirits behind that wickedness of Noah’s time, awaiting the final judgment of God. What did He proclaim? Nothing less than His victory on the Cross, as a uniquely sinless person taking on Himself the world’s injustice, in a totally unjust death. His sacrificial action broke the power of sin and evil for ever, and those evil demonic spirits, hoping for an appeal, needed to hear that.
APPLICATION The good news here is that living for Jesus in the new life that He gives, joins us to His victory. This is how we overcome. It also may draw the unwelcome attention of those dark spiritual beings that loathe that victory, but as we find the confidence to remind them of what Jesus has done, He is with us, echoing that reminder, and referencing His speech to the dark world just before His Resurrection Day.
QUESTION Why is it good for those who have come into a personal faith through trusting Jesus as Saviour and Lord, to be publicly baptised?
PRAYER We thank You, Father God, that what You say and what Your Son Jesus says, are not arguable or negotiable or contestable. We can have complete confidence in Your undeviating faithfulness to those things You have decreed. We know where we are with You.
We thank You too for the reminder of Jesus’ baptism and anointing for ministry. The same Holy Spirit in Jesus who changed lives for many in extraordinary ways, is the Holy Spirit who enables us to love others, bring peace to the anxious and share about You.
May we grow in Christ-like confidence and reliance on You as we seek to join You in your mission. Amen.
Psalm 25:1-10
1 In You, Lord my God, I put my trust.
2 I trust in You; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in You will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.
4 Show me Your ways, Lord, teach me Your paths.
5 Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God My Saviour, and My hope is in You all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, Your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to Your love remember me, for You, Lord, are good.
8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in His ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of His covenant.
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PRINT EDITION Here you can download a PDF to print on A4 paper and create a four-page Bible-size booklet. Permission granted to copy for your own use, your house group or church bulletin.
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