Communication Between God and Man
—Chart lesson
This chart will help you to study, understand, and marvel, at the two paths of communication between you and God:
- (1) Searching the scriptures —the path by which God speaks to you, and
- (2) Prayer —the path by which you speak to God.
The chart could be used to support a number of lessons. Here is one sermon that I like to preach using this chart. There are no scripture references in this brief outline, because the relevant scriptures are shown on the chart above.
1 Christ is the Author and Finisher of our Faith
I am not the author of my faith, Christ is. He is the way the truth and the life. He is the mediator of the new covenant. He is the ransom for my soul. He is my intercessor with God.
Neither I, nor any other, could do these things for me. My faith is not something I feel or know from within myself. It is the word of Christ based on his works. I do the believing in response to his word, and the praising and obeying.
On the other hand, Jesus Christ, through the word which his Holy Spirit has revealed, tells me what to believe. He gave me the gospel or new covenant, and that's where my faith comes from. It does not come from me.
2 Christ is our Intercessor.
I cannot speak to God on my own authority. I need intercessors between me and God. I can speak to God only because Christ the great high priest makes a way to the throne of grace so that I can draw near to God and offer my prayers to him.
The Holy Spirit is my helper in prayer, and he intercedes for me also, helping my prayer to be acceptable to Christ and to the Father.
3 Words Go With Works
In order that God may communicate with me (through the scriptures) and I with God (through prayer), God has put a system in place between me and him. There are words with works.
Firstly, Christ mediated God’s word to us and we respond with works.We praise God, we believe God, we obey God. These are our works according to God’s word, or to put it another way we are working the works of God when we do what his word says.
Secondly, when our words go to God in prayers, through Christ who intercedes for us, then God responds to our words with works. He forgives, he protects, and his providence causes all things to work together for our good. What a wondrous system this is!