Who We Are In Christ
How You Are Loved By God ~ Chapter 13
Questions Answered
The love of Jesus is EVERYTHING to us!
Shouldn't we truly understand what it has provided us?
Oh my treasured family in Christ ~ my Brothers and my Sisters All ~ I have thought long and hard about how I could possibly convey to you what this "love of Christ" is. I thank God that HE has given us the information we need as born again believers in Christ filled by His Holy Spirit, right there in your Bible. Through the power of the Holy Spirit given us to teach us and to enable us to understand spiritual things of God we would in no other way understand, I have two goals to accomplish in this chapter having to do with how you are loved by God:
- The first goal I have is to simply identify the love of God in exactly what "It" is, according to the Bible. Where I am left speechless, God has not remained silent. He tells us much concerning His love for us. Simply put, it will be my goal to communicate to you what it is to be loved by God, by simply walking through the Word of God with you, occasionally pointing this way and that... much the way a tour guide might take you through the Holy Land of Israel, stopping occasionally to point here and there with an accompanying embellishment aimed to accomplish a better understanding of certain aspects of interest.
- The second goal I have is to communicate to you "why" a deeper understanding of this Love of God for us all is so important to us, personally. You see, The Word of God is certainly for every born again believer in Christ. But it is also of the utmost importance that The Word of God become "intimately personal". Along with the corporate instruction of the Word, God also desires a "one on one" relationship with each and every one of us. He wants us to know we are now on a first name basis with Him. We must "KNOW" of the Love of God for us all, understand it within our minds, which will in turn make it possible for us to "be filled to the measure of ALL the fullness of God"! My family? Without understanding God's love for us, it is impossible to experience the "fullness of life" that is available to us right here, right now, right where you sit at this moment, at this very second and continuing on into eternity!
Please pray that the Holy Spirit be present with us all
as we stroll through God's Garden of Love. May The Spirit open our eyes to see, our noses to smell the sweet fragrances, our ears to hear, our minds to understand, and our hearts to fully receive, the absolute TRUTH of God's Love and what It means to us personally! Our fullness of life on this earth depends on it. Together? You and I will go places with God you may have never gone before.
When the following Truths become manifest in your life? You will be changed forever, and forever affected by the sheer POWER of It all. All through your entire life here on this earth, you will continually learn things about God that will have foundation right here in God's Love. EVERYTHING is built upon the foundation of the Love of God for us all... EVERYTHING! If God did not love us, there would be nothing to talk about... ever... But because God loves us all, there is cause to learn and talk about... EVERYTHING! I am excited about what we're about to read in God's Word, the Holy Bible. God bless us all as we persevere in learning more about Him!
God? Lay this foundation of rightly understanding Your Love within us all as we study Your Word together. Let this be more than just a "study". Let this become a part of us. Enable it to change us. Let us understand. We stand at Your door and knock. Please open the door to our understanding Your great love for us. In whatever You have to say my Lord Jesus, enable us to believe in faith. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for all You've done and all You continue to do... Bless Your Name. You truly are our Everything. In Jesus' Name, Amen...
Our identity in Christ is based solely upon the love of God. Everything we have learned thus far about who we are in Christ is the direct result of God's love, isn't it? It was love that motivated God to make us His children and to give us this incredible inheritance. Anytime we have doubts concerning our identity, whether it is questioning our forgiveness, wondering about our righteous standing before God, or fearing we have lost our salvation ~ what we are really questioning is God's love for us: "Does He totally love me and accept me in this situation?" We have ALL asked this question at times, and may even be asking it right now. If not now? Maybe sometime in the future. To ask and wonder about such things as these is a very normal "human" thing to do. That is why it is so important to realize that as children of God we are totally loved by God. Once and for all it has been settled. Once God gives you the Gift of His love, He NEVER takes it back. HE is 'faithful always', even when we are 'unfaithful'. THAT'S how big our God is, and THAT'S the power of the Blood of Jesus. The Blood, and equally important, His Resurrection proving that WE can now LIVE, makes way for ALL of this to be possible!
Let's begin looking at some scripture pointing out some wonderful Truth about God's love for us:
"As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love." ~ John 15:9
Right here, Jesus "equates" His love for us with the love His Father (God) has for HIM (Jesus)! Now how much love do you think God the Father has for His Son, Jesus Christ? Hard to answer isn't it? Kinda goes off the scale doesn't it? Whatever answer you come up with, Jesus has made it clear that HE loves US (
you and I) with that very same love! Isn't that amazing? Doesn't that make you just love Him all the more?
Please listen closely... Now, because of this great love Jesus has for us ALL as born again believers in Christ, Jesus encourages us to
"remain in His love". Jesus never wasted a word, when it comes to scripture's account of what He said. So what is He saying here? To "
remain in His love"... what does that really mean? My family? Love will have an atomic impact on your entire life. Of this there is no doubt. But the thing Jesus is trying to tell us all here? It is,
"Don't ever let there be one second in your life when you think I do not love you. This is the boundless love I have for you. NEVER forget it. It shall never end. My Blood and my eternal life examplified in My Resurrection has made this possible. From here forward, let your minds and your hearts know that they (your heart and mind in understanding) can, by faith in MY Word, 'Remain' in My love forever." Please forgive me if you think I may have overstepped any bounds in assuming any words of Christ... This is simply what The Holy Spirit has laid on "my" heart. You of course, will need to pray about this yourself for it to be a personal thing for you, also.
"Don't ever let there be one second in your life when you think I do not love you. This is the boundless love I have for you. NEVER forget it. It shall never end. My Blood and My eternal Life examplified in My Resurrection has made this possible. From here forward, let your minds and your hearts know that you can, by faith in My Word, 'Remain' in My love forever."
Do you KNOW that Jesus will ALWAYS love you?
No matter what? No matter the cost to Him?
Family? Jesus is telling us something very important here, and there is a good reason for it! Jesus is trying to tell us all that there is NOTHING we could possibly do that has not already been dealt with on His cross of Sacrifice. To think you are "not in His love", is to think you have done something BEYOND the power of His Blood! You see, if you can all of a sudden "be out of His love", then in reality, deep down inside yourself, is unbelief. It is unbelief because you think you can undo what Jesus has done. You think you have done something BEYOND the Power of The Cross ~ His Blood Sacrifice.
But thank God, the Truth of it all is, EVERYTHING was paid for at the Cross. The penalty for EVERY sin was paid by Jesus.
Jesus took God's wrath for EVERY sin there was, or ever will be, once and for all ( Romans 5:7-9 ; Romans 6:10 )! Because of this wonderful Truth Jesus has given us even before His own cross, now, you don't have to visit your booths weekly as do many in the largest organized religion in the world and countless other religions and denominations to "
get your sins forgiven/absolved".
No longer do you have to "continually, without end", seek God's forgiveness for ANYTHING! The moment you accepted Christ into your heart? You received His "LIFE", where you once was dead! Sin was already paid for at the cross, even before you were born again (were saved)!
Now, instead of continually chasing your own tail in begging for forgiveness, you can spend your time THANKING Jesus for what He did for you, and spend more time loving, adoring and serving Him, which are all healthy aspects of a changed heart by The Holy Spirit. No longer do you have to worry of being damned in your sin before you have a chance to once again beg for something you already have... which is God's forgiveness.
And all Jesus is saying here? He just wants you to know it's ok to let your mind "know it". It's all Jesus, my family.
It's all Jesus. Let your minds understand you are forgiven. Let your minds know that "remaining" in His love is a simple thing... because it's all HIM (Jesus).
Remain in His love (which is boundless).<span>
Accept it by faith</span>. He loves you now, and always will. Remain in that knowledge of His perfect love, even when our love for Him is not so perfect in this flesh
(Hebrews 8:12).
Being unsure of God's love for you WILL create within you a
multitude of emotions born of erroneous teachings and understanding.
Some of you I'm sure feel the same way I used to; that every time I sinned, my relationship with God has changed... Therefore I had to ask His forgiveness to restore our relationship. Now with this knowledge and the knowledge to come, I hope you'll endeavor to understand that God's work toward our own salvation is not so easily shaken. It is of the utmost importance that we realize we really can "remain in God's love". I think you will find that one fact staggering, as it transforms your life here on this earth into something you never before thought possible! My hope and prayer for all of you is that you come to understand this Truth in your heart by The Spirit.
"Now I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with ALL the Saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of ALL the FULLNESS of GOD." ~ Ephesians 3:17-19
My family? Within this scripture lay Paul's goal for us all and why he has such a goal: That we may "have the power, together with all our Brothers and Sisters in Christ to fully understand this love Christ has for us." He wants us to "be filled to the measure of ALL the fullness of God"!
Family? The only way we can be filled to the fullness of God is to understand God's love. Now a good question to ask here is, "How can we do that when we are told in the same breath that this "surpasses" knowledge?" That's a good question. The answer is, the "knowledge" which is referenced here speaks of normal, every day "human knowledge". Folks? The worlds best lawyer will never be able to read this Bible and understand everything in it by simply analyzing the words (
1Corinthians 2:14). It takes the indwelling of The Holy Spirit of God, and Him imparting the ability to understand these things "by His Spirit". Now that's easy enough said, I know. But not so easily done, sometimes. Sometimes, our head (
the flesh) will wrestle with the Spirit in the head's lonely attempt to understand.
The only thing I know to say here that you might understand, is to look at scripture very carefully and let your determination hinge on EVERY word... Let NO WORD go unnoticed. Then ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you, and enable you to believe, IN FAITH, EXACTLY what you're told. The power of God is truly the only thing that will open your HEART and your head to understanding things Godly. At all times, seek God for inward enablement to understand the Scripture as a whole, that you may become firmly rooted in your God given identity in Christ. Your identity in Christ and your relationship with God in God's love go hand in hand. You couldn't separate the two if you tried
(and some people do - try, that is).
As children of God, Paul himself prays that you and I be "rooted and established" in God's love. To be established in something means to be firmly set in place. Paul also prays that you and I have the power to realize the scope of God's love in all it's vastness! My brothers and sisters? We can't "live" in what we do not understand. God knows this and Paul knew it. So Paul is trying to tell us something very important here. He's trying to explain an aspect of God's Truth that can change our lives, if we so let it and have the courage to believe it, no if's, and's or but's.
In the above passages of
Ephesians 3:17-19, Paul prays for our own, personal, "power". For what? To grasp (
understand and possess) the immeasurable dimensions of God's love. Family? I know plenty of people that think this impossible. And maybe? Just maybe going into infinity with God may be an impossibility at this time. But I propose to you, scripture tells us we can go much further in our knowledge and possession of God's love than many of us think possible. But we'll never get there apart from the "power of God" to do so. Every time we reach a new plateau in our understanding? Our lives will again reflect a change that endures forever. So, can you begin to realize how important this "power" to understand God's love is to us?
In our own lives, Our understanding of God's love may "surpass our knowledge" to understand when we sin. It is a "natural-fleshly" thing to think God's love for us will change for us when we sin. After all, everything we've ever been taught in this world teaches us that people's feelings change about us when we wrong them in some manner. Therefore, it's only "natural" to think God is the same way.
We may even be further confused by God's reactions to sin in the Old Covenant accounts of history. God definitely established (there's that word again) Himself as a God that HATES sin and that He will severely punish EVERY sin! So, for those of us living in the Old Covenant understanding, or even bringing very small amounts of that Covenant with us in our New Covenant understanding, will most certainly find it impossible to understand what this New Covenant scripture is telling us about God's love toward us.
But thank God, that right here and right now, through the study of His Word, we WILL come to understand that the love of God that surpasses any normal understanding and that same understanding will enable us to let it become a vital part of our day-to-day experience of "
walking in the Spirit".
The results of knowing and experiencing God's love will give us so many things: Peace that surpasses all understanding; the ability to deal with ANYTHING that comes our way in this hurting, lonely, perverse and dying world in a Godly manner; and MOST IMPORTANTLY, the ability to pass this love of God on to others! If you'll remember, I stated that it's impossible for you to give what you do not know you have. Think of it my family? Next to your own personal benefit, what is the most important thing to this dying world we live in? Is it not to come to know the Love of God, Jesus Christ, Himself?
Family? Where the world almost never listens to what we say, they will almost always recognize what we do. NOTHING projects Itself on the heart of another person like the love of God if it is shown in Truth and full understanding, empowered by The Holy Spirit. That is the "light" within you that the Bible speaks of so much. Wouldn't you like to understand It enough to "show" it to others? Wouldn't you really like to understand how to let that Light of God's Love within you shine forth like a lighthouse in the middle of the storm? Amen. I know you do... I very much know you do. However, your answers won't lay in reading book after book telling you how to "act". Your success in all this will come strictly from knowing in your head and your heart how God feels about YOU, and what HE has "established" in you! From that very knowledge alone, will come your ability to love yourself and others like you never before thought possible! And the best part about it? You wouldn't be able to hide it from the world if you tried. Your heart will be changed that much!
Christ tells us to remain in His love. However, we cannot understand how high and wide and deep and long Christ's love for us truly is through our finite minds. How can the finite understand the infinite?
As 1Corinthians 2:9-10 states, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him."
~~~...
but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit! God has given us the power to understand and experience His love for us through His Holy Spirit. But what exactly is the love of God? Let's take a look at the definition of love in the Bible and see exactly how God loves us! Ya want to? Alrighty then! Amen!
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the Truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres..." - 1Corinthians 13:4-7
Many of us here in the United States have heard this verse many times. I think I've heard it read by every preacher in every marriage ceremony I've ever attended. Some of us have had it in our Sunday school lessons while we struggle to keep from yawning in the middle of the class on a morning we had to get up way too early!
But what I pray for right here and right now? Is that we all, as we endeavor to understand this love of God for US, is that the true POWER of what's been said here FINALLY come to rest in our hearts and minds, that our life in Christ can truly go to the next level! May we ALL set our past encounters with this scripture aside, and look for that "something special" that is going to just blow you away, right here and right now!
There are also many of you on the other side of this world that have NEVER encountered this scripture and what I'm about to tell you concerning God's love for you... Yes... YOU! This is half of what we'll be talking about here... YOU! This is how God feels about YOU, no matter what you've done in your past, or how long you did it! It doesn't matter how long you cursed God in the presence of others! It doesn't matter how long you've ignored Him! It doesn't matter how long you lived for evil in evil ways! None of it matters! What matters now, is that you love God and you're wanting to learn more about HIM! Well God bless you my Brothers and my Sisters! Hold on! You're about to go someplace incredible with God, and no other imagination in this world that has ever called themselves god could have ever had such a thing for you!
Ok... Now. Concerning the scripture above in
1Corinthians 13:4-7 ;
The most common application of these verses centers on how we should love each other. First and foremost, however, 1Corinthians 13 describes how "GOD LOVES US"! Oh my Lord Jesus! Folks? Stop what you're doing if you have anything distracting you from this message and listen to what I just said to you! This scripture tells US how God loves US! Now be thinking on something: According to this scripture, how exactly does God love YOU? Stop and ponder that, and then let us move on.
The Bible tells us that God is love (
1John 4:7-9). To help you gain a deeper understanding of God's love, re-read these verses, but this time substitute "God" for the word "love"! Now, let's chronicle together each characteristic of God's love, placing the words "with me" at the end. Don't worry. It's ok if while doing so, you might get a little something in your eye? Or you might just flat out cry like a new born baby. It's ok. Real people cry when overwhelmed... Being overwhelmed in the love of God is one of the most fantastic things that will ever happen to us as human beings. So? Yeah. It's ok. Go ahead and have a good cry through all this if you feel the need, and may God anoint your tears of faith as they baptize you in a Spirit filled life changed forever as you walk in the Spirit! Amen!
- God is patient 'with me'.
- God is kind 'to me'.
- God does not envy 'me'.
- God is not proud 'with me'.
- God is not rude 'to me'.
- God is not self-seeking 'with me'.
- God is not easily angered 'with me'.
- God keeps no record of wrongs 'concerning me'!
- God does not delight in evil, but rejoices because of the Truth 'in me'!
- God always protects 'me'!
- God ALWAYS trusts 'ME'!
- God always HOPES 'for me'!
- God ALWAYS PERSEVERES 'with me'!
Oh my precious Lord Jesus Christ! Folks?
Will you take a while to meditate on these 13 powerful things concerning God's love? Do you have the faith to believe the miraculous POWER of God's TRUTH He has just told you here? Do you have the faith to believe the Truth of God's Word when He actually says that He no longer keeps any record of wrongs concerning you? Do you? If so, you MUST realize there is nothing left that could possibly ever condemn you before God! And you know what? It's not about you at all, is it? It's about God! It's about Jesus! It's about the POWER in what Jesus did! It's all about CHRIST! Not you! You couldn't undo any of this if you tried! Even if you never come to understand the powerful Truths in the scripture above, you'll never change the TRUTH of it all! The Truth is the Truth, and the Truth is, everything about your relationship with God is eternal, never to be undone, AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF JESUS! IT'S ALL JESUS!
Some of you will accept these beautiful Truths of God's love instantly! In a large way, I know who'll you'll be and where you are. Even though life may be a continual struggle to keep your physical life safe because of the change that has happened and is happening in your hearts, you will clutch these Truths closest to your heart and you will guard them, even if it means you must die.
Some of you will hide this within your heart until such time as others around you will come to understand and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior because to reveal your heart for Christ would mean certain death for you, and that is PERFECTLY understandable to me, and to God, despite what anyone else may tell you or how you feel!
For all of you, please know my prayers and the prayers of many other anointed ones around this globe will be going up to GOD on YOUR behalf for your protections mentally, physically and spiritually! For you, my Brothers and Sisters, your victory is sure! God will never forsake you, nor will we!
For those that choose religion over relationship and
the TRUTH of God's Word, bondage will be your due.
,
that will struggle with this for quite some time. For many of you, it will be a hard thing to realize that God's love and acceptance of you has already been settled. For many of you, the way you perform, you "think", will transversely affect the relationship between you and God. For you, I and the ones mentioned above will pray that the Holy Spirit will lead your mind and heart on a journey where the "knowledge of the Truth will set you FREE" in your spirit, in THIS earthly life! Your spiritual life in eternity has already been settled, whether you'll realize it on this earth or not. In THAT, we will rejoice, but we will continue to pray for your "
freedom" in your here-and-now understanding.
There is a very dear Sister of mine that currently lives in the Dominican Republic. She recently wrote to me with one of the most surprising attitudes. I say it was surprising to me because she is the first one I've literally encountered that shared this thing I'm about to explain with me... "Shared"... past tense... We used to have this thing in common, but thank God, no more. As of today, we have both been set free, but allow me to explain.
This dear sister wrote to me saying a great many things. Among them was the facts of how much she loved Jesus. For me to explain the circumstance of this dear Sis, would be beyond many's ability to believe. But suffice it to say, this girl and certain members of her family have paid dearly for the passion of Christ within them. But they have done so with smiles on their faces. If they had it to do over? They would do it all again, and again and again.
But I could tell this Sister loved the Lord with a passion I've found rare. She loves Him with all her being,
but she didn't know it was possible that Jesus would forgive her lifetime with allah. She didn't think it was possible that Jesus would actually forgive her for speaking against Christ for so many years. But somehow, the Holy Spirit had led her heart into an eternal love for Christ.
She actually told me that when she passed from this world into Hell, she would spend her eternity in her misery, singing songs of praise and adoration to Christ Jesus! Folks? Say what you will. This kind of passion that simply loves Christ for Who He is and not what He will give you is highly uncommon in my experience. I mean, it does exist within the hearts of certain people, but this kind of passion isn't found in everyone, by a long shot.
So what did I have in common with her? Great question.
In my own previous understanding, I was born again. When first I was saved, I somehow knew Christ was going to take care of me and my family spiritually, and grant me everything He wished so I could be what He wanted. Among saving my soul and my wife's soul, He was going to set our crooked paths straight... Somehow.
As my unquenchable thirst for learning God's Word flamed within me, I began studying with full time fervor... But the more I learned, the more I was taught that certain things hinged on how "I" did... how I "performed"... I learned more and more that I had a certain amount I HAD to live up to to keep my salvation. And when I sinned? I was taught I had to get on my knees and beg God's forgiveness, which of course He was more than willing to give, but I had to ask for it to happen.
Well? I could never make that intersect with the fact that I had "eternal life" for sure. I mean, I thought I now had a "better" chance at being saved because I had accepted Christ and loved Him...
but I increasingly knew I was incapable of holding up "my end" of the deal. At any given time, Christ could split the eastern sky and catch me in a sin I had not yet asked to be forgiven of...
Therefore, I too had the attitude that, if I made it to Heaven, that would be wonderful. But if something happens that I do not, I'll do what I can for Jesus while I'm on this earth anyways, and I'll praise Him in eternity, even if it was in Hell. So... You see. This beautiful Sister and I had alot in common.
Neither of us "knew" we were going to Heaven to spend eternity.
Now I try to be as careful as I can to let scripture interpret life. I am diligent never to let life interpret scripture. In this case, I didn't come to all the understanding I have in this book just to accommodate continual sin in my life. Neither should you EVER concoct a doctrine to accommodate a sinful lifestyle! NEVER!
But there is nothing wrong in the Truth of God's Word. And the Truth here is? GOD alone settles our eternity's
"once and for all"! HE has settled the score with sin! JESUS justified the books and paid all the penalties! THEN, He rose from the death of His perfect sacrifice to
LIVE FOREVER, and He has given us ALL that very same LIFE!
ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST! Glory to God for the power in the TRUTH of it all!
So? I and my sister now understand our passions are not going to be wasted. Our passions will forever - eternally be audible as we spend our eternity's in Heaven with Christ Jesus! And you know what? If you're born again? You will too, whether or not you know or understand it! Now THAT'S what I call a God! No one else ever calling themselves god could ever even dream such a thing! That's Grace and Mercy beyond any evil understanding!
I, and my sister if I may speak for her, hope that you, at this very moment right where you are, are by the power of the Holy Spirit, beginning to realize what the real definition of love in 1Corinthians 13 is really all about and that you are beginning to understand how wide, deep, long and high It really is! Knowing in your heart and your head that God no longer keeps a record of your wrongs will totally change the way you will respond to God when you sin, and you will love Him all the more in it all. Knowing within your heart, mind and Spirit that God is patient with you will assure you that God will never give up on you or waver in His Promise of eternal life to you even though you will continue to sin EVERY day!
Now. Do you think it would ever be possible for you to pass the love of 1 Corinthians 13 to others without first receiving this love yourself from God? My family? It's an impossibility. So you see, knowing the Truth of God's love for us isn't just beneficial to you. It's beneficial to the world. When you look around and see such a lack of love one for another, even among Christians that have been on the pews all of their life, have you ever wondered why that is? Of course you have. The answer is easy. It's because they've never had it to give, "as far as they knew".
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord..." ~ Romans 8:35-39
Like me, Paul did alot of talking to himself. He started the above scripture off with a question, which he decidedly answered himself. "Who shall separate us from the LOVE of CHRIST?", he asked. As he explored the possibilities, the ultimate result is breath-taking. Just take a look at all the possibilities of things that "might" be able to separate us from the love of God! Did Paul leave anything out? What about his conclusions? Were any of these things able to separate us from the love of God? Remember, it's not me saying any of this. It is the Apostle Paul, himself.
Paul suffered trouble, hardship (that's an understatement), persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword and ultimately, even death for his passion for Christ and the lost of this world. As time goes on, you'll no doubt become more familiar with what all Paul endured from his conversion with Christ, onward. It's a pretty incredible story. But in all of that, in all of his hardship, trials and suffering, was a Joy in him that could not be quenched... and that was purely because he PERFECTLY understood where he stood... with God. Paul didn't simply believe God loved him through it all. To Paul, God's love is an unchangeable "reality". Paul never even thought of doubting his relationship with God. He never doubted God's relationship with him, even though he told us in many scriptures of his ongoing imperfections. My family? That same confidence Paul had is available to you, right here, right now, through nothing but your own pure faith in God, void of any doubt. It is my prayer every reader come to understand what I just said here.
Does trouble of various kinds, hardships and/or persecution shake your faith in how God feels about you? Really think about that. These preachers out here preaching the "prosperity gospel"... what happens when they encounter famine or nakedness? God Forbid! SOMEbody must be lacking a little faith here, or if not that, then surely God must be punishing you for something you've done wrong! Poppy-Cock!
Danger... the sword... Folks? The sword has been, and continues to be used today to behead Christians in many parts of this world. Who among us have been tried in that fire? Believe it or not, there are people of extraordinary faith accepting Jesus into their hearts every day in hostile environments exactly like this. There are people that are still losing their physical lives because they have Christ in their hearts! Yet? The Apostle Paul says in all this, we are MORE than conquerors!
If you have not encountered such persecution? Count yourself among those that have been "guarded" against the evil in this world, but by all means, never forget to pray for the multitudes that stand to lose their life every day because of Christ. What an extraordinary passion for the Christ! God bless and protect them all spiritually, mentally and physically! And as I mentioned, if you have not encountered these things, you are guarded. Pray also for those that "guard" you against these evils. You have no idea what's at work, and who is making the sacrifices so we may remain safe!
Paul says that neither death nor life can separate us from the love of God. Are you alive today folks? For the remainder of whatever life you have left, that life will not separate you from God. Isn't that what Paul just said? Is it becoming clearer that keeping your eternal life in tact is about the One doing the keeping? It isn't me. It isn't you. It's God Almighty.
Neither Angels nor demons will snatch us away from the clutches of God. How many of us are running around thinking the demons (fallen angels) are messing up our relationship with God? Oh sure. They're going to have their influence on this world. They may even rule it more and more as the Holy Spirit withdraws His restraining power on it all... But those demons will never be able to touch you as a child of God, my friend. Darkness cannot live in the Light. Don't be deceived. As far as demons go, you have a sign around your neck that says, "Can't touch this!", signed by God, Himself (
Acts 26:18).
Now, neither "present" nor the "future" can separate us from God! Did you notice that the "past" didn't even get an honorable mention here? I think it must have been fairly clear to the masses back then, as it is to the masses now, that our "past" can be dealt with easy enough through Jesus' work toward us. But there must have been, as well as it continues today, a question as to how our present-day sins and our sins of the future, how they may affect our standing with God. Is there any way we can know with certainty that the way we live today will not change our eternal life in Heaven? And better yet, can we have any certainty that our future will not hold anything in it that will trump the saving Grace of God, thus our eternal life? Can/will our eternal life be threatened by what we do in the future?
My friends, this is a place where we must endeavor to let scripture interpret life, instead of letting life interpret scripture.
In our natural selves, the flesh, it can be very easy to convince ourselves that we must "work/perform", at least in a very small way, to maintain or continually retain our salvation. It is easy to convince ourselves that at least a microscopic amount of eternity in Heaven and everlasting Life in Christ somehow depends on our free will choice to follow and/or love Christ. But please, PLEASE have the fortitude to identify the Truth within the bible and the faith to believe it when it says that our salvation is a "GIFT" of God (Ephesians 2:7-9), and that GIFT is "IRREVOCABLE" (Romans 11:28-31) !!! THIS is how you let scripture interpret LIFE!
So, by the Bibles own account, there is CLEARLY no way our present life, nor our future life will EVER endanger that which God holds in the palm of His Hand (John 10:27-30) and sealed by His Holy Spirit (2Corinthians 1:22 ; Ephesians 1:13 ; Ephesians 4:30), our ETERNAL LIFE! And not only is our eternal life secure in the palm of God's hand, but also every other spiritual gift imaginable (Ephesians 1:3)! You'll spend all of your life realizing all the Gifts from God that was given you upon your spiritual birth! NOTHING can be taken from us because of our present life nor our future on this earth! How is this possible? Remember folks. It's all about Christ, realizing WHAT He did for us, and having the FAITH to believe it (If needed, review this entire book up to this point, please)!
Ok... Now, just in case Paul had missed anything, he also told us in the power of The Holy Spirit, that not any power, nothing of any dimensions, nor ANYTHING else in ALL of CREATION could separate us from God, Himself! Oh my brothers and sisters! Paul is going out of his way to do his absolute best with every ounce of Spirit and formal education he has to communicate to EVERY born again believer that there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that could POSSIBLY CHANGE anything concerning our relationship with God or our future "IN" Christ!
Right here, right now, you’re going to have to make a decision: Are you going to have the faith and the guts to stand on the plain Truth of the Bible? Or will you cower away in your desertion of the Word of God? It's hard for me to sum this up in harsh terms like this, but the way I see it, I have no other choice if I want to communicate to you how important your decision right here, right now is, to your Joy and your understanding of your Freedom in Christ. If you drive your stake on the side of the line of faith? Your life will change and so will your ability to communicate Truth to others. Your Light within you will blaze to the point it cannot be ignored. Drive your stake on the side of the line that accommodates false teaching and tradition? Then saTan will certain lead you astray in error in almost every area of your life, being full of ups and downs you'll never understand. You'll be blown about by the wind until Christ comes to scoop you up to the Marriage Supper of The Lamb and lines you out.
Right here... Right now... I pray for you to understand via The Holy Spirit the dimensions of infinity as you come to understand the Love God has for you. Properly understanding this will most definitely make all the difference to you in "this world". Amen.
Have you become convinced in your own heart that NOTHING can separate you from the love of God?
"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died..." ~ 2Corinthians 5:14
What was it that "compelled" (
definition: to drive or urge forcefully or irresistibly)
Paul? Simply, it is "Christ's love". So what would you say is to compel us in our own, personal, daily lives? Yep. You guessed it: Christ's love. It is so easy in this flesh to get discouraged in this world because of all the trials and tribulations, even to the point of wanting to give up. Do you think this author has never been there? Think again. But it was before I fully understood the love Christ has for me... My God, what an incredible thing to know! It is only the love Christ has for me and you that gets us through these trials and enables us, as Paul wrote in Romans 8, to become even more than CONQUERORS! Folks? Please listen. Sometimes the Truth of one paragraph can change your whole life if you realize the power of the Truth that is within it! And THIS, is one of those paragraphs! Amen!
Even in the absolute worst of circumstances, we can count on the love of God to be "patient" with us ~ to be "kind" to us! We can count on God to NEVER KEEP RECORDS OF OUR WRONGS! Were it any other way dear friends, we wouldn't stand a chance in this humanity that vexes us every day in the flesh, concerning any security we're to have at all in our eternal future. Thank God that our Spirit's are sealed by the Holy Spirit!
When times are bad, or even when times are good, the only constant we can depend on is God's love for us. Through this study of the love of God, can you see why it is so important to realize that part of your identity in Christ is that you are totally loved by Him? I certainly hope so. I pray it to be so... Not because I have written any of this, but because it is the most important thing God will ever want you to know! Everything about you from here out will hinge on your ability and willingness to accept these Truths by faith as your own, in that all of this is a tremendous love letter to you from Christ, Himself. He loves you my family. Jesus loves you. This I know. For the Bible tells me so. I pray you come to understand it. Oh God how I pray your mind and heart be opened to the most powerful thing in all of creation: God's love for you!
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you..." ~ John 15:12
Oh wow. Oh brother and sister. Remember the choices above in where we will drive our stakes? Maybe this portion of scripture can further serve to help you make up your minds about where you will drive your stake.
A COMMANDMENT OF CHRIST, just so happens to be one of "love". Isn't that just incredible? Of all the things He could've said, Christ wants us all to love... but not just love in "normal" human terms. Christ commands us to love each other in the exact same way He loves us. Wow...
Is this an impossibility? Well? Maybe. If you don't understand the love God Christ has for you? Then yes, it will remain a mystery to you and it will remain impossible for you to love ANYONE with "The Love of Christ"! Now how many times have you said, "I don't really care for him/her, but I love them 'in the Lord'." ??? Hmmm? Well? Do you really? Hopefully this has shed enough Light on the subject for you to know that if you find yourself in a place where you cannot totally love someone, then most likely, you don't "know" the Love Christ has for you. You're just wishing you did. But after reading all of this my friend, you don't have to "wish" anymore. Christ has just answered one of you ongoing prayers. He has just enabled you to finally understand His love for you, that you may now know how to really love another. From this moment on, you have the resource to learn what it is to be able to really love EVERYONE in the TRUTH of The Spirit! Isn't that incredible? Most important to you though, is the fact that you can now understand how God loves you... It's amazing.
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And THAT is WHAT we are!" ~ 1John 3:1
My, oh my, oh my, oh my! How does God "lavish" His love on us? By calling us His Children! We are bonafide children of God and we have the right to proclaim it to the world! Do we really understand what a precious honor this is for us? Never could we deserve such a thing! Yet He gives us EVERYTHING! Now does God love us, or what?
Oh my brothers and sisters "IN" Christ...
We have such an incredible identity in Christ. To be a child of God is an identity given to us by His Grace (Jesus Christ/Titus 2:11-14), and it is more wonderful than we could ever imagine. Thank God He did not leave this mystery of His love up to our imaginations! Amen? Knowing who you are in Christ enables you to know you are totally loved and accepted by God. Please, do not settle for anything less in your understanding and faith! Don't allow saTan and the world to tell you that you are something other than a child of God! It is an identity based on God's Absolute Truth, and you can rest assured that it will NEVER change!
Glory to God in the highest! Worthy is The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, Who is all things, to all men and women! It's all about Jesus my family! When I say, "It's ALL Jesus!", the contents of this book is what I mean!
Truly when Jesus uttered His last words of prophesy on the cross that encompassed even His resurrection, He was not talking about His earthly life! He was talking about His mission, which was to save man kind! Truly, His words will forever LIVE in eternity! And what were those powerful words?
"IT IS FINISHED!"
~Amen & Amen!~
The work Christ did on our behalf is complete... and FINISHED!
