Gospel 1-3. Film Screening / Synopsis ( Chinese / Cantonese)

Film screening (Chinese version)

Film screening (Cantonese version)

Participants are invited to watch the film for a refresher on the topics before watching the film for this lesson, so that they can watch the film and pay attention to the key points of the content.

Outline

I. The centre of the Bible

1. The Bible is the inspired word of God

(1) Revelation of God's presence with man (Ex. xxix. 45; Mt. xxviii. 20)

(2) Direction of one's life (Num. 15:40-41)

2. Pathways to revelation

(1) Physical education materials: Temple, sacrifices, feasts ...... etc.

(2) Teachings and Examples of Prophets and Priests

(3) Revealing the sinfulness of the world (Gen. 9:20-21; Eph. 9:14; 2 Sam. 11:26-27; Rom. 3:9)

(4) The personal coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (Heb. 1-; 1 Pet. 1:20-21)

3. The sum total of the truth is the Lord Jesus Christ

(1) Saving the people: Jesus = Joshua (Mt. 1:21)

(2) Divine-Human Mediator: Christ = Anointed One (I John 41)

(3) Precedence: fulfilment of God's promises (Gen. 12:2; 2 Sam. 7:26; Mt. 1:1)

4. Getting to know the Blessed Sacrament

(1) The Gospel is the Good News

(2) Efficacy: People's lives are changed by knowing the Lord Jesus.

(3) Content: the words, deeds and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ

5. Salvation changes lives

(1) Corruption into holiness; (2) Selfishness into benevolence; (3) Centred on the Lord Jesus Christ.

II. Format of the Gospels

1. Failure to record the life of the Lord Jesus in a rigorous chronological order

2. The sequence of events indicates the theological purpose of the different gospels (Jn. 20:31)

3. Categorisation of written materials: e.g. sermons, miracles, etc.

4. Adoption of the biographical style common to first-century Greece and Rome

5. The true record of the eyewitnesses of the early church (Lk 1:2; Acts 10:37-39)

III. Formation of the Gospels

1. The process of formation

(1) The Discourses of the Lord Jesus Christ (Mt. 5:3-12; Mk. 2:17, 21-22)

(2) Oral information from believers (Acts 20:35; 1 Cor. 11:23)

(3) Transcription of oral information

• Facilitating Uniformity in Teaching First Believers (Lk. 1:4)

• Facilitating record-keeping: martyrdom or advanced age of witnesses

• Convenient comparison with Old Testament prophecy (Lk. 24:44)

2. Authority of the Gospels

(1) Non-first-hand accounts are not accepted as gospels

(2) The Witness of the Disciples: Matthew and John (Mt 9, 10 2-3)

(3) Information from those who "saw it from the beginning": Mark and Luke (1 Pet. 5:13; Lk. 1:2-3)

(4) Selection of Leaders of the Early Church by the Holy Spirit

IV. The relationship between the Gospels

1. Different perspectives on the Lord Jesus: carving out a complete portrait

(1) The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke: Symbolic or Synoptic Gospels

(2) John's Gospel: Deliberate use of material not mentioned in the other Gospels

2. Differences in understanding (see reference three for this lesson)

(1) Different sources of material, more comprehensive

(2) Different object purpose, more relevant

(3) Different focus, more in-depth and three-dimensional

V. The Place of the Gospels in the New Testament

1. The foundation and core of the New Testament (Mt. 28:20)

2. Testimony of shared experience and abundant life (Jn. 10; Mk. 16:20)

3. Motivation to keep the faith and face persecution (Lk 24:49)

4. Instrument for resisting heresy and transmitting the truth (Jn. 3:16, 20:30-31)

5. The foundation for building up the church and nurturing believers (Mt. 28:20)