One of the questions that believers ask is, "how can I develop and grow spiritually?" Naturally, spending time in God's Word is by far the best way. But it goes beyond simply reading the Bible. When Moses died and Joshua was commissioned to lead Israel into the Promised Land, the Lord spoke to him these words, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do
according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way
prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8) Notice the first thing that God commanded Joshua to do, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth..." In other words, Joshua was to be prepared every moment of every day to speak God's Word. Jesus said it this way, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63) God's Word is spirit and life.
Solomon says it this way, "My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh." (Proverbs 4:20-22) The next thing that the Lord tells Joshua is, "...you shall meditate in it day and night..." This is the best way to get God's Word in our heart which, in turn, will flow in a natural way from our mouth. Next, the Lord tells Joshua, "...observe to do
according to all that is written..." Believers will never grow in grace, faith and the knowledge of our Lord unless we act on God's Word. In open combat with the devil, Jesus reveals a very important thing that all believers should embrace and apply daily, "...Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) Now that we see the great premium that God puts on His Word and how believers should do the same, there is one more thing that I believe will undoubtedly help believers grow spiritually.
It is in the last verse of first Corinthians chapter twelve and in the thirteenth chapter of first Corinthians that we find the answer. We begin with, "But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way." (1 Corinthians 12:31) From here we will see the love that Jesus brought to earth, which is the very love that has been pour out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, (Romans 5:5), which is also the first thing mentioned concerning the "fruit of the spirit." (Galatians 5:22-23) "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul is showing us how empty spiritual gifts, faith, human knowledge and the highest development of the natural man are absolutely worthless and meaningless in comparison to agape, love, that is, the God kind of love. Next, we see the God kind of love revealed, "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails..." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a) Now we can understand what Paul meant when he said, "And yet I show you a more excellent way." The other way that we develop our spirit man is by walking in love. Now we can understand this fact, that to develop our recreated spirit, it is necessary that we walk by faith and love.
If we could learn to walk in love and make it the business of our lives, we would solve many of the problems that we face in our relating to one another. Looking at the life of Jesus as our example, we find that He lived in the realm of love. His words were love filled. His acts and deeds grew out of love. Healing the sick, feeding the multitudes, never condemning was the love of God in word and deed, in Christ. If we could have our spirits developed in love like that, then we would be the most wonderful reflection of our Savior to a lost world. Jesus told His disciples, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
The Apostle Paul tells us, "to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:19) You see, it is possible to build the very life of Jesus into us through God's Word,
because Paul tells us that we can know the love of Christ which passes human understanding and also be filled with all the fullness of God. However, we will never be like Jesus until the Word becomes a part of us and
we act on it. Paul also tells us,"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." (Galatians 5:6) Again, we see the Christian life is one of being filled with the Word which builds our faith, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) And the God kind of love, "Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal,
you shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 10:8-10)
So, let us develop our recreated spirits in faith and the God kind of love so the world will know that we belong to Jesus. Grace and peace be unto you...
Showing posts with label The God kind of Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The God kind of Love. Show all posts
Monday, November 5, 2018
Monday, January 15, 2018
New Life
Man is a spirit, with a soul, which dwell in a physical body. (1 Thessalonians 5:23) His spirit enables him to contact spiritual things. His soul is composed of his reasoning faculties in which he contacts mental things. His body enables him to contact physical or material things. Before one is born again, a new creation, due to the fall, his spirit is dominated by spiritual death which has opened the door to his soul, that is, his mind, will, emotions and intellect to have dominion. This makes it impossible for him to understand the Bible, that is, revelation of Truth. The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul tells us, "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14)
However, one of the wonderful Old Testament prophecies spoken to Ezekiel by the Holy Spirit says, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." (Ezekiel 36:26-27) He is speaking of the new creation. He will give them a new heart and put a new spirit in them. Not only will their spirit be recreated but this suggests that He is going to take away selfishness from their heart and replace it with a new kind of love that will make them one as a body of people. Jesus reveals this during His final instructions to His disciples, "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” and "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." (John 13:35, 17:21)
The old human spirit, the real man, the real person, is to be recreated with the nature and life of God. Again he says, 'I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." This is speaking of the New Covenant person by new birth not the Old Covenant person by circumcision. The Apostle Paul tells us, "In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ." (Colossians 2:11) The Old Covenant made them servants, whereas the New Covenant makes us sons and daughters. "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1) As we can see, our circumcision is not physical but spiritual. It is God taking away not a portion of the physical body, but putting off the body of the senses or the flesh.
This means He is taking away the dominion of the physical body over the human spirit which gained control when man sinned. He says he is "putting off the body of the sins of the flesh." That is, "knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." (Romans 6:6) Here the Holy Spirit is trying to make clear the same truth. When a man is recreated, the physical body loses its dominion. The reason why men could not love God and love one another under the first covenant was because the heart was selfish, dominated by spiritual death. The only love that he had was "phileo" which is based upon selfishness. Now we can understand what Jesus meant when He said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (John 13:34)
The natural man, due to his fallen nature, cannot do this, only those who have become new creation have the ability to love as God loves. Can you see how absurd it would be to tell the people of the world that they must love? They cannot do so until they receive the nature of love, the one who is love (1 John 4:7-8) in the new birth. Jesus, again in His final instruction to the disciples, tells them, "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love." (John 15:9-10) The word abide comes from the Greek word that means "to settle down," "to remain." This can be worded this way, "I want you to settle down in my love just as I have settled down in my Father's love. I have remained in my Father's love. I want you to remain in my love."
Love, the God kind of love, becomes beautiful and very attractive as we continue to abide in love and let love abide in us. The Holy Spirit through the Apostle John helps us to understand this, "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16) In the natural, people are valued according to their financial or political standing in a community. However, in the final analysis, the people who love as God loves, are the people who truly help the community, because the former is birthed from selfishness whereas the latter is born of the spirit and yet, to operate in the God kind of love, is a choice to give up the old things and live in the newness of life that comes by-way-of life in the Spirit.
We can train ourselves to operate in the God kind of love by declaring from the moment we rise in the morning and throughout the day, "I have God, the love God, the God of love inside of me today. It is going to be easy to do my work because the Greater One is going to move through me, act through me, love through me and speak through me today. I will not be left alone to meet any crisis. He
will be there to make me a success." We say this not as a mantra, but knowing that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. We simply open our hearts and minds to this truth and let the vine feed us, pour Himself into us, keeping in mind, love is God in action. There is no love without action, "For God so loved the world that He gave..." (John 3:16) "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
Every day will be a great day in our lives as we let the God kind of love loose in us, to flow out of us. In doing so, His grace would be without limitation. If we think about it from this perspective, grace is love manifested. So, every morning when we awaken, let us say, "Today, I am walking in love because I have God's ability and God's nature at work in me." Amen...
However, one of the wonderful Old Testament prophecies spoken to Ezekiel by the Holy Spirit says, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." (Ezekiel 36:26-27) He is speaking of the new creation. He will give them a new heart and put a new spirit in them. Not only will their spirit be recreated but this suggests that He is going to take away selfishness from their heart and replace it with a new kind of love that will make them one as a body of people. Jesus reveals this during His final instructions to His disciples, "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” and "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." (John 13:35, 17:21)
The old human spirit, the real man, the real person, is to be recreated with the nature and life of God. Again he says, 'I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." This is speaking of the New Covenant person by new birth not the Old Covenant person by circumcision. The Apostle Paul tells us, "In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ." (Colossians 2:11) The Old Covenant made them servants, whereas the New Covenant makes us sons and daughters. "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1) As we can see, our circumcision is not physical but spiritual. It is God taking away not a portion of the physical body, but putting off the body of the senses or the flesh.
This means He is taking away the dominion of the physical body over the human spirit which gained control when man sinned. He says he is "putting off the body of the sins of the flesh." That is, "knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." (Romans 6:6) Here the Holy Spirit is trying to make clear the same truth. When a man is recreated, the physical body loses its dominion. The reason why men could not love God and love one another under the first covenant was because the heart was selfish, dominated by spiritual death. The only love that he had was "phileo" which is based upon selfishness. Now we can understand what Jesus meant when He said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (John 13:34)
The natural man, due to his fallen nature, cannot do this, only those who have become new creation have the ability to love as God loves. Can you see how absurd it would be to tell the people of the world that they must love? They cannot do so until they receive the nature of love, the one who is love (1 John 4:7-8) in the new birth. Jesus, again in His final instruction to the disciples, tells them, "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love." (John 15:9-10) The word abide comes from the Greek word that means "to settle down," "to remain." This can be worded this way, "I want you to settle down in my love just as I have settled down in my Father's love. I have remained in my Father's love. I want you to remain in my love."
Love, the God kind of love, becomes beautiful and very attractive as we continue to abide in love and let love abide in us. The Holy Spirit through the Apostle John helps us to understand this, "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16) In the natural, people are valued according to their financial or political standing in a community. However, in the final analysis, the people who love as God loves, are the people who truly help the community, because the former is birthed from selfishness whereas the latter is born of the spirit and yet, to operate in the God kind of love, is a choice to give up the old things and live in the newness of life that comes by-way-of life in the Spirit.
We can train ourselves to operate in the God kind of love by declaring from the moment we rise in the morning and throughout the day, "I have God, the love God, the God of love inside of me today. It is going to be easy to do my work because the Greater One is going to move through me, act through me, love through me and speak through me today. I will not be left alone to meet any crisis. He
will be there to make me a success." We say this not as a mantra, but knowing that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. We simply open our hearts and minds to this truth and let the vine feed us, pour Himself into us, keeping in mind, love is God in action. There is no love without action, "For God so loved the world that He gave..." (John 3:16) "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
Every day will be a great day in our lives as we let the God kind of love loose in us, to flow out of us. In doing so, His grace would be without limitation. If we think about it from this perspective, grace is love manifested. So, every morning when we awaken, let us say, "Today, I am walking in love because I have God's ability and God's nature at work in me." Amen...
Monday, November 14, 2016
Who Do You Love
The gospels record numerous times how the Pharisees, Sadducees and their disciples "plotted how they might entangle Jesus' in His talk." (Matthew 22:15-33) However, the wonderful wisdom of God in Christ always corrected their hypocrisy with Truth. On one particular incident, a lawyer of the Pharisees "asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:34-40)
The Apostle Paul tells us, "Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, You shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:8-10) So, who do you love? Who is your neighbor? For many believers, we can love those who fellowship with us; those who believe as we do; and even the unsaved, but, and unfortunately, for many believers, their love for their neighbor stops and oft times turns to criticism, judgment and even hatred for those who do not fellowship with us or believe as we do. Neither Jesus nor Paul ever said there are exceptions to the law of love. In fact look what Jesus says, “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same." (Luke 6:32-33)
I believe the main reason for the lack of loving as God does, is due to believers not breaking free of natural love and exercising the God kind of love. Every person has within them the natural kind of love. However, natural love is based on selfishness. One moment it says, "I love you" and the next moment selfishness rises up releasing anger, jealousy, hatred and even murder. If all believers would exercise the God kind of love, the entire world would be changed. If you are born again, then know that the God kind of love, "has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:5) Notice, that the God kind of love is in each and every believer. Paul also reveals this, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatians 5:22) Notice, love is first. Paul also tells us, "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)
To exercise the God kind of love simply comes down to choice. Am I going to yield to the God kind of love and let it prevail or let natural love and selfishness reign. Look at the wonderful biblical definition of the God kind of love, "Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening]. Love never fails [it never fades nor ends]..." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 AMP)
The natural kind of love manifests in the complete opposite of the God kind of love shown above. Let's face it, for many, we have followed after money, after pleasure, after the things that please our senses rather than following hard and relentless after God, who is love. (1 John 4:8) But if we are truly willing to follow hard after God, we will find ourselves going where love leads and doing what love suggests. That is the way Jesus lived. He followed after love. Jesus' path led Him to Calvary where the greatest expression and show of love took place, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
The God kind of love can stand the test of modem life. It is only His love that will enable us to love the unlovely, the disagreeable and the hateful. God's love will lift us up into God's class where we
love the ungodly, the unworthy, just like Jesus did. It is only the God kind of love that will enable us to love them when they are doing all they can to injure us. It is only the God kind of love that will have us say as Jesus, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34) Yes, the God kind of love works. It makes hard, bitter people, gentle as Jesus. It will take a man like Saul of Tarsus and make him like Paul a love slave of Jesus Christ. It will take men out of the lowest depths of the slums and even prisons leading them into the pulpits where they will lead multitudes to Christ. It is the miracle of modern days. Why?
"Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening]. Love never fails [it never fades nor ends]..." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 AMP)
The Apostle Paul tells us, "Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, You shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:8-10) So, who do you love? Who is your neighbor? For many believers, we can love those who fellowship with us; those who believe as we do; and even the unsaved, but, and unfortunately, for many believers, their love for their neighbor stops and oft times turns to criticism, judgment and even hatred for those who do not fellowship with us or believe as we do. Neither Jesus nor Paul ever said there are exceptions to the law of love. In fact look what Jesus says, “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same." (Luke 6:32-33)
I believe the main reason for the lack of loving as God does, is due to believers not breaking free of natural love and exercising the God kind of love. Every person has within them the natural kind of love. However, natural love is based on selfishness. One moment it says, "I love you" and the next moment selfishness rises up releasing anger, jealousy, hatred and even murder. If all believers would exercise the God kind of love, the entire world would be changed. If you are born again, then know that the God kind of love, "has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:5) Notice, that the God kind of love is in each and every believer. Paul also reveals this, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatians 5:22) Notice, love is first. Paul also tells us, "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)
To exercise the God kind of love simply comes down to choice. Am I going to yield to the God kind of love and let it prevail or let natural love and selfishness reign. Look at the wonderful biblical definition of the God kind of love, "Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening]. Love never fails [it never fades nor ends]..." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 AMP)
The natural kind of love manifests in the complete opposite of the God kind of love shown above. Let's face it, for many, we have followed after money, after pleasure, after the things that please our senses rather than following hard and relentless after God, who is love. (1 John 4:8) But if we are truly willing to follow hard after God, we will find ourselves going where love leads and doing what love suggests. That is the way Jesus lived. He followed after love. Jesus' path led Him to Calvary where the greatest expression and show of love took place, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
The God kind of love can stand the test of modem life. It is only His love that will enable us to love the unlovely, the disagreeable and the hateful. God's love will lift us up into God's class where we
love the ungodly, the unworthy, just like Jesus did. It is only the God kind of love that will enable us to love them when they are doing all they can to injure us. It is only the God kind of love that will have us say as Jesus, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34) Yes, the God kind of love works. It makes hard, bitter people, gentle as Jesus. It will take a man like Saul of Tarsus and make him like Paul a love slave of Jesus Christ. It will take men out of the lowest depths of the slums and even prisons leading them into the pulpits where they will lead multitudes to Christ. It is the miracle of modern days. Why?
"Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening]. Love never fails [it never fades nor ends]..." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 AMP)
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