Yellow: Direct Response
Light Yellow: Additional Response
Celeste: Additional Points
“Since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mental attitude” (1 PET. 4:1).
1, 2. a) What does loving Jehovah include? b) How did Jesus demonstrate that he loved Jehovah with all his mind?
JESUS made clear what the most important commandment of the Law of Moses was when he said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). So we must love Jehovah with all our being, with everything we have. And that includes our desires, emotions and energies. Furthermore, it includes how we use our mind, that is, our way of thinking. Our love for Jehovah motivates us to imitate the way he thinks. Of course, we can never fully understand their way of thinking. But something that can help us is to study “the mind of Christ,” because he perfectly imitated his Father's way of thinking (1 Cor. 2:16 and the study note “we do have the mind of Christ”).
2 Jesus loved Jehovah with all his mind. He knew what God's will was for him and he was determined to fulfill it even though he knew that would mean suffering. Since he was focused on pleasing his Father, he didn't let anything distract him.
3. What did the apostle Peter learn from Jesus, and what did he encourage Christians to do? (1 Peter 4:1).
3 Peter and the other apostles had the privilege of spending time with Jesus and learning firsthand how he thought. When Peter wrote his first inspired letter, he encouraged Christians to arm themselves with the same mental attitude that Christ had. (it’s 1 Peter 4:1). As we see, when Peter wrote “Arm yourselves,” he used a military expression. Thus he made it clear that imitating Jesus' way of thinking is a powerful weapon that Christians have to fight against our evil desires and the world dominated by Satan. (2 Cor. 10:3-5; Eph. 6:12).
4. What will we analyze in this article?
4 In this article, we will look at Jesus' way of thinking and how to imitate him. We will see how we can 1) learn to think like Jehovah, 2) be humble, and 3) have good judgment.
LET'S LEARN TO THINK LIKE JEHOVAH
5. Name a time when Peter did not reflect Jehovah's way of thinking.
5 Let's look at a time when Peter demonstrated that his way of thinking was very different from Jehovah's way of thinking. Jesus told his apostles that he would have to go to Jerusalem, where religious leaders would arrest him, and then he would be tortured and executed (Matt. 16:21). Peter knew that Jesus was the promised Messiah who would save God's people, so perhaps he had a hard time accepting that Jehovah would allow Jesus to be executed. (Mat. 16:16). That's why Peter took him aside and said, "Lord, don't be so hard on yourself! That will never happen to you." (Mat. 16:22). Because Peter did not reflect Jehovah's thinking in this matter, his thinking and Jesus' thinking did not agree.
6. How did Jesus demonstrate that he thought like Jehovah?
6 Jesus thought just like his heavenly Father. He said to Peter: "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance in my way, because you are not thinking as God thinks, but as man thinks." (Mat. 16:23). Jesus knew that to fulfill Jehovah's will he would not lead an easy life, but would have to suffer and die. That is why he rejected Peter's advice, which he had surely given him with good intentions. In this way, the apostle understood that he had to learn to think like Jehovah. What a good lesson for us too!
7. How did Peter demonstrate that he was trying to think like Jehovah? (See image).
7 Later, Peter demonstrated that he was trying to think as Jehovah thinks. God had decided that it was time to accept the people of the nations into his people. And he told Peter to go preach to Cornelius, who would become one of the first Christians of non-Jewish origin. Of course, the Jews tended to avoid any contact with the people of the nations, so it was to be expected that Peter would have a hard time accepting this mission. But as soon as he understood what Jehovah's will was, his outlook changed. When Cornelius told Peter to visit him, it was “without objection.” (Num. 10:28, 29). He preached to Cornelius and his household, and they were baptized. (Num. 10:21-23, 34, 35, 44-48).
ILLUSTRATION
Cornelio takes Pedro and his companions upstairs to his house.
Pedro enters Cornelius' house. (See paragraph 7).
8. How do we show that we think like Jehovah? (1 Peter 3:8 and note).
8 Years later, Peter gave this advice to Christians: “Let everyone have the same way of thinking.” (read 1 Peter 3:8 and the note). For all of Jehovah's Witnesses to have the same way of thinking, we must imitate Jehovah's way of thinking, which is found in his Word. For example, Jesus encouraged his followers to put the Kingdom first. (Matt. 6:33). With that in mind, suppose a brother in the congregation decides to begin full-time service. Will we tell him something similar to what Peter told Jesus? No. We will congratulate you for that beautiful decision and we will offer you our support.
LET'S BE HUMBLE
9, 10. What lesson in humility did Jesus teach?
9 The night before he was executed, Jesus taught Peter and the other apostles an important lesson in humility. Jesus had told Peter and John to prepare to eat with his disciples one last time before he died. They probably made sure there was a basin and towels so guests could wash their feet for the meal. But who would be in charge of this humble task?
10 Normally a slave would do it. But on this occasion it was Jesus who, without thinking twice, washed their feet. What a surprise the apostles had when they saw him take off his cloak, tie a towel around his waist, pour water into the basin and begin to wash their feet! (John 13:4, 5). Can you imagine how long it took Jesus to do this? He washed the feet of the 12 apostles, including Judas, who would later betray him. How humble Jesus was! Then he patiently explained to them: “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and you are right, because I am. Therefore, if I, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also must wash one another's feet." (Juan 13:12-14).
11. How did Peter show that he had learned humility? (1 Peter 5:5; see also image).
11 Peter learned from Jesus' humility. After Jesus returned to heaven, Peter miraculously healed a man who was lame from birth (Acts 1:8, 9; 3:2, 6-8). Not surprisingly, this astonishing act attracted the attention of many people (Acts 3:11). What would Peter do? Let us remember that in their culture it was very important to stand out. Would you then want to take all the glory? No, but he was humble and gave all the credit to Jehovah and Jesus. Referring to Jesus, he said: “Through his name and through our faith in his name this man whom you see and know has been strengthened.” (Num. 3:12-16). Some time later, Peter wrote to Christians about the importance of being humble. The words he used may remind us of when Jesus tied a towel around his waist and washed the apostles' feet (read 1 Peter 5:5 and the second note).
ILLUSTRATION
Peter and John in the temple. Peter points to the heavens, and next to him is a man who was lame from birth and has been healed.
Peter was humble and gave credit to Jehovah and Jesus for a miracle he performed. We too can demonstrate humility by doing things for others without expecting recognition or praise. (See paragraphs 11 and 12).
12. Like Peter, how can we cultivate humility?
12 Like Peter, we can cultivate humility. Something that will help us do this is to remember that true humility goes beyond what we say, it is born from our deepest thoughts. This is precisely the idea highlighted by the original expression translated “humility” in 1 Peter 5:5. We do things for others out of love for Jehovah and love for our neighbor, not because we want to be praised. If we serve Jehovah and our brothers with joy without being aware of others seeing us, we will be showing that we are humble (Matt. 6:1-4).
LET'S HAVE “GOOD JUDGMENT”
13. What does “good judgment” mean?
13 What does “good judgment” mean? (1 Pet. 4:7). It involves making decisions that reflect Jehovah's way of thinking. It also means keeping in mind that there is nothing more important than our friendship with Jehovah. If we have good judgment, we will have a balanced view of ourselves and will not think that we know everything. Furthermore, we will lean on Jehovah by praying often to humbly ask him to guide us.
14. Name a time when Peter did not rely on Jehovah.
14 The night before he died, Jesus told his disciples: “Tonight, you are all going to fail because of me.” Very sure of himself, Peter responded: “Even if everyone else fails because of you, I will never fail!” That night, Jesus gave this advice to some of his disciples: “Stay awake and pray constantly.” (Matt. 26:31, 33, 41). If Peter had followed that advice, perhaps he would have had the courage to say that he was a disciple of Jesus. But, since he did not follow him, he ended up denying his Master... and how he regretted it! (Matt. 26:69-75).
15. What helped Jesus to have good judgment the night before he died?
15 Jesus relied completely on Jehovah. Although he was perfect, he prayed to him again and again the night before he died. Thus he had the courage to do his Father's will (Matt. 26:39, 42, 44; John 18:4, 5). Peter saw Jesus cling to prayer, and that surely left a mark on him that he would never forget.
16. How did Peter demonstrate that he had developed good judgment? (1 Peter 4:7).
16 Over time, Peter learned to rely on Jehovah through prayer. After Jesus was resurrected, he told Peter and the other apostles that they would receive holy spirit so they could preach. But he told them to wait in Jerusalem in the meantime (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 5). What did Pedro do while waiting? The Bible says that he and other Christians “persevered in prayer.” (Num. 1:13, 14). Later, in his first letter, he encouraged Christians to exercise good judgment and rely on Jehovah through prayer. (it’s 1 Peter 4:7). Peter learned to lean on Jehovah and became a pillar of the congregation (Gal. 2:9).
17. What do we always have to do, regardless of the skills we have? (See also the image).
17 To have good judgment you have to pray a lot to Jehovah. We know that we always have to ask for His guidance, even to do things that are naturally easy for us. We especially ask for his help when we have to make important decisions because we are sure that he knows what is best for us.
ILLUSTRATION
Peter learned to lean on Jehovah through prayer. We too can use good judgment by asking Jehovah for help, especially when we have to make important decisions. (See paragraph 17).
18. Like Peter, what can we do?
18 We are very grateful that Jehovah made us with the ability to reflect his qualities (Gen. 1:26). We know that we cannot imitate him perfectly (Is. 55:9). But, like Peter, we can learn to think like Jehovah, be humble, and have good judgment.
WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?
How can we learn to think like Jehovah?
To learn to think like Jehovah, we must imitate his way of thinking, which is found in his Word.
How can we be humble?
Something that will help us do this is to remember that true humility goes beyond what we say; It is born from our deepest thoughts. If we serve Jehovah and our brothers with joy, without worrying about others seeing us, we will be showing that we are humble.
How can we have good judgment?
To have good judgment, you must pray a lot to Jehovah. We especially ask for His help when we have to make important decisions, because we are sure that He knows what is best for us. We have to ask for His guidance, even to do things that come naturally easy to us.
Comments
Post a Comment