The Word is Love

The Word is Love

The Apostle John gives us a powerful and beautiful insight into the word “love”. Kenneth Taylor in his New Living Translation states is so well.

1 John 4:7-10 (NLT) 7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Love stems from a regenerate nature and also from fellowship with God which issues in knowing Him. The absence of love is evidence that a person does not know God. Since God is love, intimate acquaintance with Him will produce love. Like light, love is intrinsic to the character and nature of God, and one who is intimately acquainted with God walks in His light. (See 1 John 1: f regarding “light”).

If one wishes to know how God has demonstrated His love, he need only look at the fact that God sent His One and only Son into the world that we might obtain eternal life thereby (“One and only” translates  “only born one,” which also is used in John 1:14, 18; 3:16). Moreover, this love was not a response to man’s love, but an initiative on God’s part (1 John 4:10). By it the Son became an atoning Sacrifice, “propitiation”. Nothing less than God’s love in Christ is the model for the love Christians should have toward one another. [1]

---

[1] The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.

The Man Gideon

The Lord said to me…”I will test my people with a Plumbline, Amos 7:8 (TLB
The Plumbline is a blog to bring hope and encourage to the Body of Christ.

The Man Gideon

Gideon is called the mighty warrior by an angel of the Lord. Once more God’s people reverted to a syncretistic religion that conformed the ways of the Canaanites. As a result for seven years God permitted the Midianites, assisted by the Amalekites and tribes from the east to invade and oppress Israel (6:30. They were forced to hide in caves and conceal their produce (vv. 2-5). When the situation became unbearable, they call on God for help (vs. 6).

GIDEON: Personal name meaning “one who cuts to pieces.” He was the fifth major judge of 12th century Israel. He was also called Jerubbaal and was the son of Joash of the tribe of Manasseh. He judged for 40 years (Judg. 6:11–8:35).^[1]

Check out Judges 6:12–16 (NCV) ¹² The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!” ¹³ Then Gideon said, “Sir, if the Lord is with us, why are we having so much trouble? Where are the miracles our ancestors told us he did when the Lord brought them out of Egypt? But now he has left us and has handed us over to the Midianites.” ¹⁴ The Lord turned to Gideon and said, “Go with your strength and save Israel from the Midianites. I am the one who is sending you.” ¹⁵ But Gideon answered, “Lord, how can I save Israel? My family group is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least important member of my family.” ¹⁶ The Lord answered him, “I will be with you. It will seem as if the Midianites you are fighting are only one man.”

In the sixth chapter verse 34 “The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon.” The verb “came upon” literally means, “to put on, clothe.” The Holy Spirit filled Gideon, so that Gideon was the clothes, and the Spirit within him moved him so as to equip him to serve God’s people. This expedience of having the Spirit come upon and live in a person is promised to all who believe in Jesus Christ. Gideon was an instrument in God’s hands that did great and wonderful things  in Israel.

Check out what Luke tells us in Acts 2:4, 38-39.  Acts 2:4, 38-39 (NCV) ⁴ They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak different languages by the power the Holy Spirit was giving them. ³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

---

^[1] Gautsch, D. R. (2003). Gideon. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

The Man Thomas

The Lord said to me…”I will test my people with a Plumbline, Amos 7:8 (TLB)

The Plumbline is a blog to bring hope and encourage to the Body of Christ.

The Man Thomas

THOMAS was one of the twelve apostles. In the lists of the Twelve, which are arranged in three groups of four each, Thomas occurs in the second group (Mt. 10:2–4; Mk. 3:16–19; Lk. 6:14–16; Acts 1:13). He is linked with Matthew in Mt. 10:3 and with Philip in Acts 1:13. The name comes from Aram, meaning ‘twin’; John three times uses the Greek. version of it, ‘Didymus’ (11:16; 20:24; 21:2). The question whose twin he was cannot be answered with certainty. “Apostle” comes from the root world, which means to send out with purpose, a mission or a commission with the authority of the sender.

It is only in the Fourth Gospel that there are any personal references to Thomas. He was prepared to go with Jesus to the tomb of Lazarus and to possible death at the hands of the Jews (Jn. 11:16). He confessed himself unable to understand where Jesus was going when he warned the Twelve of his impending departure (Jn. 14:5). The chief incident for which he has always been remembered, and for which he has been called ‘Doubting Thomas’, is his disbelief in the resurrection. He missed the appearance of Christ to the other apostles (Jn. 20:24) and said that he needed visual and tactual proof of the resurrection (20:25). A week later Christ appeared again to the Eleven and he offered Thomas the opportunity to test the reality of his body.

Jesus sets up a great insight for us. Look at what John 20:21-22 reports. “Peace be with you! As the Father sent me, so send I you”. Jesus then breathed on the Apostles and said “Receive the Holy Spirit…” This act by Jesus possibly changed the course of the Apostles.

Thomas’ confession of faith, ‘My Lord and my God’ (20:28), marks the climax of the Fourth Gospel;The Scriptures declare that Jesus is God. This is the foundation of the Christian faith and is utmost importance for our salvation. Thank you Lord Jesus for your commitment to the Father’s Will making atonement for the sins of the world. Mark 1:11 (NKJV) Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”