Wilbur Chapman's Rule for Christian Living

Dr. Wilbur Chapman was a man greatly used by God. There was a reason for that. He learned to avoid impediments to His walk with the Lord. "My rule for Christian Living" is a short statment we will find helpful in maneuvering through the spiritual minefield of life. God bless and guide you all.

““My rule for Christian living.” - The rule that governs my life is this: anything that dims my vision of Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps my prayer life, or makes Christian work difficult is wrong for me, and I must, as a Christian, turn away from it.” This simple rule may help you find a safe road for your feet along life’s road.

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George Muller on the Will of God

George Muller was born in Prussia on September 27^th, 1805. He accepted Christ as his Savior when he was twenty years old. In 1826 he moved to England where he would spend his life in ministry. From the start Muller was moved by the Spirit to be a man of prayer and the study of God’s word. Throughout his ministry he chose to receive no regular salary but to prayerfully trust in God to provide for his every need, including the needs of the ministry he was in. such as The Scriptural Knowledge Institution For Home and Abroad. The purpose of this institution was to help Sunday schools, circulate the Scriptures and aid missionary efforts. Muller’s primary ministry work however was ministering to orphans. It was his ministry to orphans in England that Muller is most noted for. Throughout that ministry he never begged or manipulated people into contributing to the work, he prayed in the resources for the needs of all the thousands of children he ministered to in his lifetime.

But how did Muller know what the will of God was for his life? This praying man, this man of the Word had a very definite practice of discerning the will of God. His way of discovering the will of God involved six parts, which were as follows:

“1. I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord’s will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is.

“2. Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impressions. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions.

“3. I seek the will of the Spirit of God through or in connection with the word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also.” [1]

In this last regard, toward the end of his life in 1897, Muller was invited to preach at a Bible Society but was unable to attend. IN his apology for not being able to attend he wrote, “Will you have the kindness to read to the meeting that I have been for 68 years and 3 months, viz., since July, 1829, a love of the Word of God, and that uninterruptedly. During that time I have read considerably more than 100 times through the whole of the Old and New Testaments, with prayer and meditation, four times every year.” “It is estimated that he read the Bible through more than two hundred times, one hundred of these times being, as he here suggests, on his knees.” [!][2]

“4. Next I take into account providential circumstances. These plainly indicate God’s will in connection with His Word and Spirit.

“5. I ask God in prayer to reveal His will to me aright.

“6. Thus through prayer to God, the study of the Word and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly. In Trivial matters and in transactions involving most important issues, I have found this method always effective.”

Muller went on to testify, “I never remember,’ he wrote three years before his death, ‘ in all my Christian course, a period now (March, 1895) of sixty-nine years and four months, that I ever SINCERELY AND PATIENTLY sought to know the will of God by the teaching of the Holy ghost, through the instrumentality of the Word of God, but I have ALWAYS directed rightly. But if honesty of heart and uprightness before God were lacking, or if I did not patiently wait upon God for instruction, or if I preferred the counsel of my fellow men to the declarations of the Word of the living God, I made great mistakes. (Italics his.)” [3]

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[1] Basil Miller, George Muller, Man of Faith and Miracles, (Minneapolis, MN: Dimension Books, Bethany Fellowship, Inc.) p. 50

[2] Ibid. p. 142-142

[3] Ibid. p. 50-51

Sharing Jesus in Every Situation

Below is a link to a video of a robbery attempt that took place recently. It shows how the store clerk boldly and compassionately shared Jesus with the robber. Paul was inspired to write:

“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” - Colossians 4:2-6

Watch how God used this Christian sister in this situation and pray that we too will share Jesus in every situation. God bless you all.

http://www.godtube.com/featured/video/store-manager-witnesses-robber/all&utm_source=newsletter080410&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weeklytopvideos

God's Model for Marriage and Family

“But if anyone does not provide for . . . those of his own household, he has denied the faith”

God created the family unit. Family is very important to God. He wants us to consistently care for the family unit. But the family unit of today is falling apart. Just as sin brought pain to the human race, it has brought pain to the family. Over the years family has been redefined by those who think they know better than God. God has been cut out of the family equation. The result is ever-increasing disruption, divorce, abuse, and more fractured families. We need to get back to the fundamentals of family. To build a firm foundation for a family we have to go back to the Source and Author of the family, God.

The place where we can find a model or blueprint for family is in the word of God. Without God and His word, our labor to build a family is vain. God in His word states:

· Psalm 127:1 - Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.

There are all kinds of theories about what a family should be, but if you want a family that is all it should be and was meant to be, you have to consistently follow God’s model for family.

God’s Model for Marriage and the Family

Marriage is where family is meant to begin. In our day there are families made up of those who are not married. There are single parent families and blended families and all different kinds of families. God can and does bless such family situations if its members turn to Him for salvation and help. But marriage is where God ordained a family should begin.

Marriage is under attack today. Marriage is a much maligned and misunderstood God ordained institution. Marriage is not merely a means for people to properly satisfy their sexual desires. Marriage is so much more than that. As we scan the pages of the Bible we find some foundational truths revealed by God for us to follow in constructing the family unit. Let’s look at some of these foundational truths of God’s model for marriage and family.

First, God created human beings with a sexual attraction for one another. It is not wrong or sinful to be attracted to the opposite sex. If it weren’t for physical attraction to the opposite sex, the human race would become extinct. Adam expressed his affection and desire for Eve when God created Eve from his is own flesh:

· Genesis 2:20-23 - ²⁰ So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. ²¹ And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. ²² Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. ²³ And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”

God revealed Adam’s attraction to the human opposite sex by parading other created creatures before him. God knew Adam wouldn’t be satisfied by animals. So God created Eve and that certainly got Adam’s attention. When God presented Eve to Adam, there was an almost instant attraction, an instant connection. There was a yearning, a desire to become one. God’s intended natural inherent desire was for people of the opposite sex to be attracted to one another. Sin has marred this and the philosophy of the world is more and more trying to discount God’s intended natural attraction between the opposite sexes. But true God ordained sexual fulfillment comes within the boundaries of a God ordained marriage; not before marriage and not outside of marriage; but in God ordained marriage.

Second, marriage is God’s creation. Marriage is not merely something thought up or evolved by societies, governments or the people in them. Marriage was created by God. Once God had created Adam and presented him with Eve and the attraction of the two was obvious, God ordained the proper relationship in which to fulfill their love and desire for one another, marriage. In Genesis this marriage relationship is described as:

· Genesis 2:24-25 - ²⁴ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. ²⁵ And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

God created marriage. Marriage is a wonderful gift of God. God’s marriage model is between two people of the opposite sex. God’s plan is not for two people of the same sex. It is not for a group of people or one man and multiple wives or one woman and multiple husbands. God’s marriage model involves one man and one woman; that’s it.

Third, marriage is the only proper God ordained arrangement in which sexual interaction takes place. Marriage is the proper environment for two people of the opposite sex to grow in an intimate relationship. The words, “they shall become one flesh. ²⁵ And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” refer to sexual interaction, (i.e. sexual intercourse - Genesis 2:24-25)

Marriage is the place where two people can be naked and unashamed. There should be no guilt connected with sex between two married people (as long as they are interacting with who they are married to). In the New Testament this is expressed in the following words:

· Hebrews 13:4 - ⁴ Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Sex is also a gift of God and for sexual fulfillment to occur, it needs to be experienced in the way prescribed by the Creator.

Fourth, marriage is made by God for a man and a woman. God ordained the marriage relationship for Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve or Eve and Evelyn. There is no Biblical precedent or alternative to a male and a female being married. That didn’t always have to be stated, but in our present day with the movement to approve same-sex marriages it needs to be stated that not only is homosexuality and lesbianism not ordained by God, but same-sex marriages are not ordained by God either (see Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). Nowhere in scripture does God approve same-sex marriages. There are other guidelines for marriage.

Polygamy is prohibited by God (Deuteronomy 17:17; Leviticus 18:18). Just because we see kings and others enter into polygamous marriages in the Bible does not mean God ordains or approves of them. His original plan and model was for one man to marry one woman. Anything other than that is outside God’s ordained plans.

Marriage to close relatives is prohibited by God (Leviticus 18:6-18). Incest is prohibited by God as a perversion. This included a prohibition for people to marry: their mother; their stepmother, (e.g. Reuben with Bilhah - Genesis 35:22; Absalom with David’s wives - 2 Samuel 16:21, 22); their sister; granddaughter; half sister on the father’s side; paternal aunt; maternal aunt; paternal uncle’s wife; daughter-in-law; brother’s wife; stepdaughter or step-granddaughter; or a wife’s sister.^[1]

Fifth, marriage is the starting point for the creation of family. Earlier in Genesis it states:

· Genesis 1:27-28 - ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Marriage is God’s ordained relationship in which to fulfill His command to be fruitful and multiply. God did not ordain the procreation of offspring to just anyone. He ordained that people of the opposite sex in a loyal-for-life relationship made in the sight of God are those best suited and acceptable to God to have children. God is able to bless single parent families, but His ideal is for a family unit to consist of one mother and one father. Death and divorce creates single parent families. A single parent can be used by God to adopt a child in certain circumstances. Such family units, by God’s grace, can be strong nurturing and loving environments for its members. But God’s ideal is a mother and father and children.

It is not God’s plan for parents to merely produce children. God’s plan is for a married couple to produce godly children. This is spelled out in the last book of the Old Testament where it states:

· Malachi 2:14-15 - Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant.¹⁵ But did He not make them one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.”¹⁶

Family is meant by God to be the place where discipleship training is to take place (see also Deuteronomy 6). The family unit is a place where children can be taught to follow the Lord. It is where children can be trained in God’s word (see 2 Timothy 3:15-17). The training children receive is not only to be secular, but it needs to be spiritual too. The family unit is the first place where the Great Commission of Jesus is to be fulfilled (Matthew 28:18-20). It’s tragic when ministers spend all their time seeking to make disciples in the world and forget to make disciples in their own families. The family is the best place to make disciples. No other setting has the contact and intimacy and closeness to mold disciples.

Sixth, married couples who cannot have children can still be righteous before God. There are many couples who desire to have children, but who cannot. We live in a fallen world and our bodies are frequently affected by the planetary effects of sin in nature. To be barren does not necessarily mean one is cursed by God. When we look in the New Testament, the parents of John the Baptist were originally childless. But the Bible still describes them as righteous. Zacharias and Elizabeth are described as follows by Luke:

· Luke 1:5-7 - ⁵ There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

Zacharias and Elizabeth are described as “righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” They eventually did have a child, John the Baptist, but the important thing to note here is that they were righteous, walking in God’s commandments and blameless, before they had a child. Having children or not having children does not make people more or less righteous before God. The Christian’s righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). God has a reason for everything and those who are unable to physically have children should perhaps look to adopt a child who is in need. Adoptive families can be mightily used by God.

Seventh, marriage is God’s means to illustrate the relationship between Christ and the Church. In the New Testament we see that marriage is not only a God ordained relationship for two people to enter into an intimate relationship and to create a family, but marriage is a life illustration of the close relationship between Jesus and His Bride, the Church

· Ephesians 5:22-32 ²² Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. ²⁴ Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, ²⁶ that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. ³⁰ For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. ³¹ “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” ³² This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

God chose the closest of human relationships, marriage; to portray the loving relationship His only Son has for His Bride the Church. It should be mentioned that God used marriage in the Old Testament to illustrate His relationship with Israel (Isaiah 54:5).

When we look at marriage as an illustration of Christ and the church we realize that there are roles in the marriage and family unit. These roles of husband and wife are meant to illustrate the love of Jesus to His bride the church and His bride’s submission to Him. There is a movement both outside and inside the church to eliminate roles in the family unit. But if roles ordained by God are removed from the family unit, then His intended illustration of the relationship between Christ and the church is degraded and lost. In the Old Testament Moses was barred from the Promised Land because he misrepresented God and in so doing desecrated a typology of the Lord (i.e. the rock as Christ, being struck more than once; Numbers 20; 1 Corinthians 10). If people misrepresent God’s intended illustration in marriage by removing His ordained roles they may experience a similar fate to that of Moses.

Marriage is God’s ordained and approved means for two people of the opposite sex to grow close in love (which includes sexual activity). Marriage is God’s ordained and approved means to start a family. And marriage is God’s ordained and approved means to illustrate the love of Jesus for those in His Church. Marriage God’s way leads to our happiness (Genesis 2:18), and complete satisfaction (Proverbs 5:19; 1 Timothy 5:14).

God’s Priority of the Family

Ministry is important, but ministry begins in the marriage and family first, and then moves outside the home. Paul instructed Timothy to this end when he was inspired to write:

1 Timothy 5:8 - ⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

The context of this verse is Paul’s discussion of the responsibility families have to care for their members, especially the elderly and widowed. It is a gross inconsistency for those in ministry or who call themselves Christian to serve in any way that is neglectful of the marriage or family God has given them and in His sovereign grace has placed them.

The first priority of every Christian is their own personal relationship with God. This relationship alone takes priority over even family (cf. Matthew 10:37-39). There is a good reason for this. The person who neglects their relationship with the Lord will be less of what they could be in all other aspects of life. But the person who has a solid strong and vital personal saving relationship with God will, for instance, be a better father, husband, or wife, mother, or daughter or son. And such a person will be better in all other roles of life.

But ministry or Christian service should never be an excuse to neglect the family. Ministry begins in the home. This is one good reason to have a family devotional time in the home. This time of gathering the family together can be a real blessing. The danger is that the one leading the devotional become a tyrant or stern discerner of the efforts of other family members. It takes prayer and skill to have successful and edifying family devotions and unfortunately there are too many who have thrown in the towel and given up because it is just too much work. Someone has said, blessed are the flexible for they will not be broken. Devotionals need to change with the stages and ages of those in the family. Don’t shoot too high or settle for something too low; but prayerfully seek to be on target so that the needs of those in the family are met. Starting out when the children are really is helpful because it gets them into a pattern. Spouses should read or discuss the word of God together and partner in ministry to the family. But this doesn’t mean fathers should just throw the responsibility for the spiritual nurture of the children into the lap of the mother under the idea of delegation. The father is the primary spiritual leader and priest of the household. He is the one who is the primary overseer of the spiritual lives of those in the family. It’s easy to go out and work and be a bread winner. It takes more effort to dig into God’s word and prepare a meal that consists of the Bread of Life Jesus. The first has temporal rewards, the latter has eternal rewards. You tell me which is more important.

Now there are those who abuse such a truth. There are those who are actually jealous of the close saving relationship their fellow family member has with God. They seek to be the center of the solid Christians’ attention and compete with God. Such an attitude is like cutting one’s nose off to spite your face. The spouse, parent or child that discourages the close abiding relationship of another family member with God is only guaranteeing they will have less of what they are truly seeking. The solid consistent Christian makes for a much better companion and family member than the one who is shallow and inconsistent in their walk with the Lord.

How A Family Falters and How to Fix It

The Bible gives us a perfect picture of problems and inconsistencies that lead to division in the family unit. A family doesn’t “fall” apart, but breaks apart due to some common problems. An early church father made the insightful remark, “You have to know the poison before you can prescribe the antidote.” Therefore, if we can examine how a family comes apart, we can prescribe an antidote to fix it too.

In Genesis 27 we are given the picture of Isaac’s family. Isaac was one of the three foundational patriarchs of the Old Testament (along with Abraham and Jacob). But Isaac’s family faltered and had some serious problems. Isaac was a deficient family leader. When we look at him we see the first thing that led to this faltering family was that Isaac, the head of the household, contradicted God’s will (Genesis 27:1-4, 26-29). When Isaac’s sons Jacob and Esau were in the womb of his wife Rebekah, they struggled within her so much that Rebekah went to the Lord and asked why this was so. God told her that two nations were in her and that the older Esau would serve the younger Jacob (Genesis 25:19-26). This was a word of prophecy from the Lord that Rebekah must have shared with Isaac. And yet when Isaac was old and it came time to bless his sons, he meant to bless Esau over Jacob neglecting the prophetic word of the Lord (Genesis 27:1-4; 26-29). Isaac was therefore delinquent in his attentiveness to the Lord’s will as well as not passing on to his offspring what the will of the Lord was. This caused great division in the family later on.

What does the Bible say about Fathers being the head of the household? What is their duty, responsibility and privilege in that position? Fathers should train and disciple the family in God’s word and ways (Deuteronomy 6; Ephesians 6:4). Fathers need to provide for the material needs of the family (Matthew 7:8-11; 1 Timothy 5:8). But their responsibility does not at all stop at providing for mere material needs.

Husbands and or fathers are instructed to love their wives and the mothers of their children (Ephesians 5:21-33). Whatever instruction is given is always to be in love (Ephesians 4:15). Fathers should not be harsh with family members (Ephesians 6:4). The instruction given in the household should be given in understanding of their wives and or mothers of their children (1 Peter 3:7) guiding and warning family members from God’s word (1 Thessalonians 2:11) and correcting family members when and if necessary (1 Samuel 3:11-14). It is Fathers who should teach and require respect from children (Ephesians 6:1-3). Father’s should take primary responsibility for training in the family (Ephesians 6:4).

The second problem that led to this faltering family was that, the parents worked against each other (Genesis 27:5a). Rebekah eaves dropped on Isaac’s conversation with Esau and connived to get Isaac’s blessing for her favorite son Jacob instead of Esau. Jesus said a house divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25). The Biblical model for family involves parents working consistently in tandem and cooperation with one another (Genesis 2:23; Ephesians 5:21-29). When parents are at odds with one another division and problems result. Parents need to come together before God in prayer and seeking His will to be done, not their will to be done (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Mathew 26:36-46). The eventual divisions and discord in Isaac’s family could have been avoided if Isaac and Rebekah were working together.

The third problem that led to this faltering family was that god was not the Lord of this family (Genesis 27:7, 20). When a son and his mother are able to lie to the father of the house and use the Lord’s name in the process, the LORD is not the Lord of that family. When we look at this family we see that Isaac sought to bend God to his will, he sought “My will be done,” rather than “Thy will be done” (27:7, 27-29; Matthew 6:10; 26:39). Rebekah relied on carnal means rather than prayerfully depending on God. “. . . obey my voice according to what I command you.” (27:8). Jacob used “God” as a means of manipulation to see his selfish will done (27:20). And

Esau was grieved over his material loss not his spiritual loss (27:34; Hebrews 12:15-17). This was a family sorely in need of spiritual life! And yet God did work through them. There is always hope in the Lord. If your family is a spiritual wasteland, there’s no better time than the present to repent, get down on your knees and seek the Lord’s help. Nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).

The Fourth problem this faltering family had was that, they functioned in their flesh, their own strength and not the strength of the Lord. Look at what they did to one another. They deceived one another (27:9-12). They lied to one another (27:24). They preyed on each other’s weaknesses (27:1, 15-16). They focused on blessing rather than birthright of God. i.e. material rather than spiritual things (25:29-34; 27:34; Hebrews 12:151-7). They hated one another (27:41). They feared one another (41-45; 32:7). And they were divided from one another – 27:41-45. This is a family that was carnal to the core. But the Bible tells us there is an alternative.

For a family to function effectively and survive; for a family to be fixed and prevented from falling apart, they need to consistently:

• Be Christ-centered – 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17
• Be in the Spirit – Galatians 5
• Be loving to each other – 1 Corinthians 13
• Be speaking the truth in love to each other – Ephesians 4:17
• Be encouraging to each other – Ephesians 4:29
• Be gracious to each other – Ephesians 4:29
• Be kind and forgiving in Christ to each other – Ephesians 4:32
• Be richly in the word and worship – Colossians 3:16
• Be in church together – Ezra 10:1
• Be true to each other – Ezra 10:2ff.

Make these things a goal for your family on a consistent basis and even the worst of family situations can be transformed by the Lord. If God can use Isaac’s family despite all its faltering, He can still use yours, if you turn to Him.

How to Bring Your Family to Christ

Okay, let’s say the Lord has really dealt with you and put a burden on your heart to see your family come to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. What can you do to see this happen? What’s the bottom line? The first thing that needs to be sought is that you have to begin setting a Christlike example. The Bible states:

o 1 Peter 2:21 - For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

o 1 John 2:6 - He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

If you consistently walk as Jesus walked and seek His help to do so, His work in you will rub off on other family members. Do this prayerfully and you will experience a revival in your home.

Once you’ve made a commitment to consistently walk as Jesus walked, you need to establish a family altar or have family devotions (Deuteronomy 6). Some practical suggestions in this regard are:

· Set a regular time for Family devotions

· Be consistent in having the devotions

· Don’t be too long

· Begin and close in prayer

· Be creative in how Family devotions are done:

o Read through the Bible

o Memorize scripture

o Act out Bible stories

o Use anecdotes

o Use humor

Lastly, begin to saturate your home with the word of God. Encourage the taking in of God’s word by reading it, studying it or listening to is. Model scripture memorization and do it together as family. When my children were younger I would get them together and put verses to music and make a scripture song. For instance, when my kids were fighting (yes, even my kids fought at times), I brought them together and we made up a song with Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind and tenderhearted, forgiving one another just as God in Christ has forgiven you, Ephesians four thirty-two; Ephesians four thirty-two.” You’d be amazed at how doing this changes the entire environment in your home. Other verses we did were 1 Peter 4:8, “Above all else, have a fervent love, for one another, because love covers a multitude of sin, First Peter four eight, HAH!” When one of my children had a hard time controlling themselves we made a song for Proverbs 25:28, “The man who can’t control his own spirit is like a city fallen down; fallen down; fallen down; fallen down; without walls.” Make it fun and your kids will remember God’s word for the rest of their lives. My kids still remember those songs and their teenagers.

Teach your kids the Law of God too because it is the Law of God that brings conviction for sin. Without conviction for sin, there is no reason to repent (Romans 7:7; Galatians 3:10-13, 24). There are a lot of things you can do to minister God’s word to your family and create a positive discipleship environment. Each home is different, but God is the same. If you seek Him in prayer He will help you be creative and He will help you be consistent in the home.

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^[1]King James Version study Bible. 1997, c1988 (electronic ed.). Thomas Nelson: Nashville

True Confessions

A popular tabloid magazine carries the title True Confessions. This magazine contains titillating supposed “true confessions” of people that are nothing more than an excuse to fuel sexual fantasies and inflame the sinful nature. Secular confession such as is found in magazines, newspapers, books, internet blogs, websites, and television programs present “confessions” in a way that is a corruption of the holy means prescribed by God to deal with the burden of sin. True Confessions like these actually serve to compound sin rather than cleanse it away.

There is another false form of confession that undermines God’s intended purpose. Sanctimonious confession is confession in a religious setting with the heart cut out of it. An example of this is found in Luke 18:9-14 where Jesus shares a parable about two people who came to pray in the Temple. The first was a proud self righteous Pharisee who prayed “with himself” and relied on his perceived self righteousness and good works. This man was sanctimonious in that he came and confessed with no heartfelt remorse and repentance. The second man, a hated tax collector, came humbly beating his chest in sorrow over his sin begging God to forgive him. He had a repentant attitude that sought forgiveness and cleansing from his sin through sanctified confession to God. Jesus said the tax collector, not the Pharisee was justified.

Sanctified confession is scriptural. Sanctified confession is confession that is separate from common secular or sanctimonious confession. It’s different because it is genuine, authentic, God ordained true confession. It is rooted in and guided by God’s holy word and because of that it fulfills God’s intended purpose of being a vital part of dealing with the burden of sin. What does sanctified confession entail? Psalm 32 gives us a picture of the true confession that is effective and acceptable to God.

First, sanctified confession starts with an appreciation for God’s forgiveness (Psalm 32:1-2). The first two verses of psalm 32 state:

Psalm 32:1-2 – “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. ²Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

True sanctified confession begins with an appreciation and understanding that all sin is ultimately against “the LORD” (cf. Ps. 51:4). God is holy and of purer eyes than to look on evil or wickedness (Hab. 1:13). Sin separates us from God (Is. 59:2). The person who desires to have a healthy relationship with God will deal with their sin. “Blessed” means Oh how happy. Happiness comes when our transgressions, our willful sins are forgiven and our inherent sins are covered. True confession begins when we honestly (“in whose spirit there is no deceit”) come to God with our sin issues.

Second, silence or lack of sanctified confession leads to a burden of guilt and lack of blessing (Psalm 32:3-4). David writes:

Psalm 32:3-4 – “When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. ⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah”

Holding sin inside and refusing to confess it to the LORD can lead to actual physical pain. Ulcers, headaches, and other diseases have been linked to the stress and anxiety of unconfessed sin. When we hold sin inside we end up groaning all day; it brings our entire perspective on life down. David spoke of the heavy burden he felt and that his “vitality’ or energy was dried up like a drought because of a lack of sanctified confession. Depression is often characterized by isolation and is directly connected to not dealing properly with sin issues in life. God’s hand is “heavy” upon us until we confess our sin because He wants to help us. He disciplines us to deal with our sin. He wants sin removed so we can either enter a saving relationship with Him for the first time or remove the hindrances to our existing relationship with Him.

When David inserts the word “Selah” he is telling us that this is truth from the LORD that we need to pause and meditate on. Ask the LORD is this something that’s true of me, do I understand this and am I willing to accept it and have God apply it to my life?

Third, sanctified confession acknowledges sin to God (Psalm 32:5). Verse five states:

Psalm 32:5 – “I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah”

Notice it states sin is to be acknowledged “to You, . . . to the LORD.” This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t confess our sins to one another in the process of seeking godly counsel such as is mentioned by James (James 5;16). But we don’t have to go to a church confessional to practice sanctified confession. The Person we need to go to first and foremost is Jesus. We have God’s Word to help us discern the thoughts and intents of our heart. Jesus is our “great High Priest.” Jesus is the One who can sympathize with us. Jesus is the One who is the basis for us coming directly, confidently, into the presence of Holy God to confess our sins (Heb. 4:12-16). Jesus is the only One who is “able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25). Come to Jesus with your sanctified confessions!

When we come clean before God through sanctified confession, God is faithful to forgive us. His promise, according to the apostle John is, “But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin . . . . If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7, 9). Old Testament sins were forgiven and covered by God until Jesus actually paid the penalty for those sins on the cross (Rom. 3:21-26). Jesus established the just basis for God to cleanse away confessed sin by His death and shed blood on the cross (1 Peter 1:18-19). We confess our sins to God because He is the One who has established the basis for His just forgiveness of sin (2 Cor. 5:19, 21). This is the “light” we must receive and walk in and this is the “faithful and just” provision of God for the forgiveness of sins the apostle John refers to. Once sin is removed through sanctified confession, we enter into sweet blessed fellowship with God through faith in Christ.

Fourth, sanctified confession leads to the restoration of relationship with God in prayer (32:6-7). This inspired Psalm continues:

Psalm 32:6-7 – “For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not come near him. ⁷ You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah”

Godliness is restored through sanctified confession. Godliness refers to the interaction and relationship a person has with God. Prayer is a prime means for us to relate to God. Prayer is a declaration of dependence upon God; it’s a way of hiding in God during times of trouble when deliverance is needed. In prayer we should pause and meditate on the forgiveness God provides, on our relationship with Him, and how He delivers us in life.

Fifth, sanctified confession involves repentance (Psalm 32:8-10). Verses 8-10 read:

Psalm 32:8-10 – “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. ⁹ Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. ¹⁰ Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.”

Sanctified confession leads to sanctified living. When we confess our sins to God we do so in full surrender to His Lordship. One of the things we need to apply sanctified confession to is our stubbornness to try and deal with our sins on our own, or seeking mere secular answers for the spiritual problems of sin. This only leads to more sin and greater sorrow. We need to turn to God and His word for direction. It is in God’s word that He says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. . .” When it says, “I will guide you with My eye” it means we need to be attentive to the Lord’s leading as a servant serving pays attention to their master who directs them with a glance here and a look there to show them where he wants them to serve. Remember, “he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.”

The nature of your confession makes all the difference in the world in terms of whether or not it leads to the desired objective of forgiveness of sins. David confessed he was conceived in sin (Ps. 51:5). Isaiah in the presence of Holy God confessed “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips . . . .” (Is. 6:5). The Prodigal confessed, “I have sinned” (Luke 15:18). But Pharaoh also said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God” (Exodus 10:16). King Saul also said “I have sinned” (1 Sam. 15:24). And Judas also said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Mat. 27:4). The first three are examples of sanctified confession, the last three are not. What’s the difference? Repentance is the difference. David, Isaiah and the Prodigal were repentant; they had a heartfelt deep remorse and desire to not repeat their sin. Pharaoh was sorry for himself and the judgment of God on his nation and soon repeated his sinful ways. King Saul continued in his sin by continuing in his self willed godless decisions, jealously tried to murder David, murdered God’s priests and sought counsel from a witch. Judas felt sorry for himself and ultimately trashed his God-given gift of life. No repentance in those three. Sanctified confession is accompanied by heartfelt repentance.

Sixth, sanctified confession results in a restoration of joy (Psalm 32:11). The last verse of this psalm states:

Psalm 32:11 – “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”

What a relief, what a blessing it is to experience the lifting of the burden of sin through sanctified confession and the forgiveness of God. When we come to the cross of Christ through sanctified confession our burdens of guilt and sin fall from us, our spirit is lifted and we shout for joy! That’s the result of sanctified true True Confessions. Got a burden? Hiding a sin? Tired of sanctimonious vain rituals that just don’t deal with sin? Come to Jesus in sanctified confession and experience liberty from your sin and the joy of the Lord.

The More Excellent Way of Love - Part 2

Now we continue with our study of The More Excellent Way of Love. Whenever I consider the love of God (which is moment by moment) I never cease to be amazed and thankful for it. There is a reason for that; you just can’t beat God’s love! That truth is where we will take up in our further study of 1 Corinthians 13 love.

The More Empowering and Enduring Way of Love

1 Corinthians 13:8 - ⁸ Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

If you want what you do for the Lord to be empowered and overcoming, do it in love. If you want what you do for the Lord to endure, do it in love. Love never fails. Think about that. Prophecies fail, tongues will stop and knowledge will disappear, but love and that which is done in love, will endure powerfully. Love overcomes the hard heart that loveless prophecies alone failed to move. Love reaches the throne of God in prayer where loveless tongues failed to break through the clouds of heaven. Love has staying power on the listener where loveless regurgitation of knowledge goes in one ear and out the other vanishing away.

The More Enlightened Way of Love

1 Corinthians 13:9-12 ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part. ¹⁰ But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. ¹² For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

Paul points out that humanity is limited in knowledge and prophetic understanding (13:9). The meaning of these verses must come from the context of Paul’s discussion. He is speaking and teaching about the necessity of love, the value and benefit of love. The point therefore that he makes is that all too often we limit our efforts and works, our thoughts, dreams, our walk with the Lord, because we do it without love. If we really want to know what God and His plans and purposes are all about, we need to look at His love.

Christian Perfection

The Corinthians thought they knew a lot, but their lovelessness exposed them as children in their spiritual maturity (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). If they wanted to be a “man” or mature spiritually, they would have to take the words of love from this chapter of Paul and apply them to their lives. This thought is the key to understanding what Paul meant when he said in verse ten, “But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.” Some have asserted that the phrase “when that which is perfect has come” refers to the canon of inspired scripture; others have interpreted this phrase as referring to the coming of Christ. Both of these interpretations seem to stretch beyond the evidence given in the context of the passage.

What does verse ten and the phrase, “when that which is perfect has come” mean from the context? Paul had already described the carnal Corinthians as children in their faith (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). In verse eleven Paul makes mention of children again stating, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” In verse eleven Paul is speaking of spiritual development, a transition from childhood to manhood or adulthood spiritually. The Bible speaks elsewhere of spiritual maturity by using the child and adulthood illustration (1 Corinthians 14:20; 2 Corinthians 6:11-14; Galatians 4:1-10; Ephesians 4:14; Peter in 1 Peter 13-15; and by John in 1 John 2:12-14, though John also uses “children” as a term of affection in 1 John 3:1, 2, 7, 10, 18; 4:4; 5:21 and elsewhere). The immediate contextual evidence therefore points to Paul speaking of spiritual maturity or growth.

Additional evidence that Paul is speaking of spiritual maturity is found by examining the word “perfect.” The word “perfect” in verse ten is an important one. “Perfect” is translated from the Greek term telios (τέλειος tĕlĕiŏs, tel´-i-os) which means, “complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and mor.alcharacter, etc.); completeness; of full age, perfect.” This is not a commonly used word in the New Testament but when it is used the context of the passages show that it is used to refer to: the completion of days in the arriving at a set destination (Luke 2:43; 13:32); accomplishing or finishing a mission goal (John 4:34; 5:36; 17:4; Acts 20:24); perfected in unity (John 17:23); fulfill scripture (John 19:28); not reaching a goal or state of being (Philippians 3:12); being made complete by an experience or accomplished mission (Philippians 3:15; Hebrews 2:10; 5:9; 7:19, 28; 9:9; 10:1, 14; 11:40; 12:23; James 2:22; 1 John 2:5; 4:12, 17); and something that is complete (1 John 4:18).

The Bible also uses the word “perfect” to refer to something that is completeable or something that comes to full maturity, especially in regard to spiritual maturity. Jesus challenged His disciples to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Paul spoke of discovering the “perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2). Paul also used this word to refer to those who had arrived at a place of spiritual maturity and are spiritually mature (1 Corinthians 2:6; 13:10; 14:20; Ephesians 4:13; Philippians 3:15; Colossians 1:28; 4:12; see also Hebrews 5:14). The New Testament speaks of a “more perfect” thing, i.e. the “more perfect” tabernacle of Christ’s body (Hebrews 9:11). James uses the term to refer to the maturity of spiritual character (James 1:4; 3:2). James uses the word “perfect” to refer to the good gifts that come from God and are just right (James 1:17). He uses “perfect” to refer to the law of God (James 1:25). And John uses the word “perfect” to refer to a certain kind of love, “perfect love” (1 John 4:18).

There is a sense in which a Christian is not perfected or complete and has more work to do, or further road to travel (Philippians 3:12). But there is a state of perfection, of spiritual maturity and completeness that the Christian can arrive at (1 Corinthians 2:6; 13:10; 14:20; Philippians 3:15). A Christian will never reach a place where they are absolutely perfect in the sense that they have no more spiritual growing to do in this life. We will continue to grow spiritually right up until we pass from this life to the next. There will always be nooks and crannies of our being that the Lord will point out to us and bring to our attention where we need to surrender to His hand and seek His work of transformation to Christlikeness to be done. But there is an attitude or place of total heart surrender and commitment to the lordship and love of Jesus that the believer can attain to. This is the heart attitude of full surrender to obey the Lord fully on life’s journey. This is the place where your will is relinquished to the Lord’s will and His joy in you remains full and complete regardless of circumstance encountered in life. This is the person who fully loves Jesus so much that nothing shakes him or her from that love.

What can we conclude then about the meaning of the phrase, “when that which is perfect has come”? There is no mention of the canon of scripture or coming of Christ in association with the word “perfect” in the immediate context of the passage. What then can it refer to? In light of the use of the child-adult relationship and the word “perfect” to refer to the various aspects of spiritual maturity, I believe Paul is telling the Corinthians to stop being childish loveless carnal Christians and grow up to a mature LOVING spiritual walk with God.

John Wesley taught of a spiritual state of maturity for the Christian that he called “Christian Perfection.” When we hear the word “perfection” we think, “no mistakes; without flaw; absolutely perfect.” But as we have seen that is not in line with the meaning of the biblical term. Rather “Christian Perfection” is a state of spiritual maturity whereby God works in the believer so that they love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength and their neighbor as themselves (Matthew 22:37-40).

In his sermon On Perfection John Wesley wrote this:

What is then the perfection of which man is capable while he dwells in a corruptible body? It is the complying with that kind command, “My son, give me thy heart.” It is the “loving the Lord his God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his mind.” This is the sum of Christian perfection: It is all comprised in that one word, Love. The first branch of it is the love of God: And as he that loves God loves his brother also, it is inseparably connected with the second: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself:” Thou shalt love every man as thy own soul, as Christ loved us. “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets:” These contain the whole of Christian perfection.^[1]

That should be our life ambition and purpose, to love God supremely and love those around us as we love ourselves. Oh that we would have ears to hear this message of love from the Spirit! Oh that our hearts would bow to God in full surrender to have that love put there by Him!

How Can We Know Such Love?

How can we know such love? We come to know such love at the cross of Christ. The apostle John is often referred to as the apostle of love. When we look at his first epistle we see one of the reasons why he has come to be known in this way. Read his inspired words about God, love and knowing God:

· 1 John 4:7-12 - ⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸ He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

How can we know such love? We know such love first because God took the initiative to show His love to us through His only Son Jesus at the cross (1 John 4:9-10). The presence of God is manifested in the body of Christ by the love of believers toward Him and other believers (1 John 4:11-12). Such love can only be learned from God (1 Thessalonians 4:9). The greatest lesson of love is God’s giving His only Son Jesus (John 3:16; 1 John 4:19). Jesus teaches us what love is (John 13:34-35). The only way we can hope to experience such love is to be born again spiritually by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).

Intertwined and inseparable to knowing God’s love is the cross of Christ. These words dovetail well with what Paul is saying to the Corinthians. Love is known through the cross of Christ and this love is the measure of spiritual maturity and ultimately knowing God. We know God to the extent we know His love at the cross of Christ and love others with this crucifixion love. What Paul is speaking about is perfect love.

Perfect Love?

What is “perfect love”? Later in John’s first epistle he speaks of a perfect love or spiritually maturing love in the following way:

· 1 John 4:17-19 - ¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ¹⁹ We love Him because He first loved us.

The mark of a Christians maturing in love, “perfect love” is found in John’s inspired words here.

First, perfect love has “boldness in the day of judgment” before God. This is confidence not irreverence. Why and how can someone not fear God’s judgment? It isn’t because they are presumptuous. It is because they have come to know the love of God in the atoning work of the cross of Christ. God in love has dealt with the penalty of sin at the cross through Christ’s atoning substitutionary death. The one perfected in love has accepted and come to own this truth through faith in God. We are confident before God and not frightened of judgment because we know Him in His love at the cross. Perfect love is knowing God loves us, loving Him back and no longer relating to God in a fearful way (though we are still reverent toward Him as a Holy Loving God).

Secondly, the mark of a mature “perfect love” is described by the words, “because as He is, so are we in this world.” In other words, we are loving in this world the way Jesus loved. We are becoming like Jesus according to God’s purpose and plan (Romans 8:29). The one with perfect love loves with a sacrificial Christlike love like the love Jesus demonstrated at the cross (Ephesians 4:32).

How Can We Experience Such Love?

How can we experience such love? The phrase, “But when that which is perfect has come” (13:10a) implies an event in time where it is possible for us to experience “that which is perfect” (i.e. perfect love; God’s mature, of full age love). [2] We also need to look at the phrase “I put away childish things” (13:11b) as it points to an action done at a point in the past, once and for all, that has lasting effects.[3] This action involves a willful faith decision and trust in God. There are two things or two steps we need to follow to have this experience come to pass in our lives.

Step #1 – Realize this is a work of God in us. This kind of love is not something that we can get on our own. It is not sentimental but also not void of affection. It is the perfect balance of affection and action. This love is powerful and otherworldly; it comes from God.

You may be thinking that such a love working in you is too great a thought or too great a work to be done. You may be thinking you are just too sinful for such a thing to be possible. Well, nothing is impossible with God. The Bible says God has such great things on His heart for us that we can’t even conceive them (1 Corinthians 2:9). Whatever we are as a Christian; whatever experience we have, it is all by God’s grace (1 Corinthians 15:10; 1 Timothy 1:14). And it is the perfect “love of Christ” in us that should be the driving compelling force in all that we do (2 Corinthians 5:14-16). God is a “God of love” (2 Corinthians 13:11, 14). God’s love is impregnable and overcoming; nothing can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38-39). God’s desire is to work His love in us (Philippians 2:13). He wants to make us increase and abound in His love (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13; 2 Timothy 1:7, 13). He wants to teach us about His perfect love (1 Thessalonians 4:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:5; 1 Peter 1:22-24). He teaches us His love through His Holy Word (1 John 2:5). Therefore, if we stay in His Word we keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 20-21).

God promises to fill us with His love if we let Him. We simply have to ask Him and receive it by faith. The Bible says:

• Romans 5:5 – “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit working in a person and the Holy Spirit indwells a person at conversion (Galatians 5:22-25).

Step #2 – Realize the work of God is done in us BY FAITH. In 1 Corinthians 14:1 Paul exhorts the Corinthians to “pursue love.” How do we pursue such Love? By faith! Faith or trust is the means by which God works in the believer’s life (see the examples of Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith). We are saved from sin by faith (Romans 3:28, 30; Galatians 2:16-21; 3:8, 11, 22, 24; Ephesians 2:8-9). We are sanctified or cleansed in heart and empowered for service by faith (Acts 15:9; 26:18). We continue in our walk with God in life by faith “from faith to faith” (Romans 1:17; 11:20; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Philippians 3:7-11; Hebrews 10:38). By faith we put off the old man nature and by faith we put on the new nature (Colossians 3:5-14). By faith we look forward to the culmination of our faith in Christ (Galatians 5:5).

The context of Romans 5:5 shows us that such love comes as we put our faith in Jesus as Savior:

• Romans 5:1-4 – “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

No one ever said it would be easy. There will be “tribulations” that require “perseverance” but in Christ there is “hope” and the hope comes from God’s love that is poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit when we come to God by faith in Christ.

If “childish things” refers to carnal, fleshly, selfish, unloving things, then what Paul is saying here is that by faith and trust in God we can put away unloving things in our lives. Conversely by implication we can by faith and trust in God put on loving things in our lives. We can experience God’s perfect love in us and in our life actions by simply surrendering to God by faith and seeking that He does this work of love, perfect love in us.

Look in the Mirror

Paul challenges the Corinthians to take a look in the mirror. When we look in a mirror and see a loveless person, the light of God in us is dim. But when we look in that mirror and see the love of God in and through us, we see “face to face” clearly, as we should be (13:12). When we are loveless we “know in part” or we only have understood and grasped a small portion of what being a Christian is all about. But when we love, we “shall know just as I also am known,” or we come to know God better because we see how He has known and treated us in love.

In faith we need to examine our hearts and life to see if such “perfect love” is present. If by faith we can know and experience such perfect love of God, then what keeps us from trusting in God for it now! In His sovereignty God is able to work in us as He pleases. With some He may work instantaneously, in others His work is more gradual. Overall this work begins at a point of faith decision which begins the ongoing work of God to perfect us in His love throughout our lives.

The Greatest Way of Love

1 Corinthians 13:13 - ¹³ And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

We are saved by faith in Jesus. We continue to the end because of the hope we have in Jesus and His promises. But it is love that adds true meaning and purpose to our existence as Christians and helps us to understand what God is all about. That’s why love is the greatest. Love stands the test of time and brings rich color and meaning to an otherwise drab existence. God is eternal and God is love (1 John 4:7, 16). Therefore love, as an attribute of God, is eternal. That is the meaning of the word “greatest” here, to stand the test of time (“greatest” –μείζων mĕizōn, mide´-zone). Faith brings us into a relationship with God in Christ. Hope sustains us to the end. But it is love, over time and eternity that brings fullness to the things of God.

Why Would I Want This Kind of Love? Because This Love is of God

Why would anyone want this kind of love, a love that often leads us in and through trials? In the last chapter of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he exhorts them to do everything they do in love (16:14). But there is an even greater more important reason to pursue and desire perfect love. We should pursue and want this perfect love of God because it is “of God.”

To many God is a great mystery. But that mystery is solved through His perfect love. The love of 1 Corinthians 13 is not a worldly love or a humanly defined love, it is a God authored love and a God provided love. John was inspired to write in this regard:

· 1 John 4:7 - ⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

If we want to love with the love of 1 Corinthians 13; if we want to know God in this incredible loving way; we have to come to Him and ask Him for that love and to know Him in this loving way. When we use spiritual gifts or do anything else devoid of love, we do it separate from God. God is not in anything that we do that is done without 1 Corinthians 13 love. And God is in everything we do with 1 Corinthians 13 love. Without God there is no hope (Ephesians 2:12). With God there is always hope (Romans 15:4, 13). Without God we can do nothing (John 15:4, 5); with God we can do all things (Philippians 4:13). That is why we should always do what we do in the love of God.

Pray to Know God’s Love

If we want to know God and His love and experience it, we need only pray for it. This is what the apostle Paul prayed on behalf of the people in the church of Ephesus when he was inspired to write to them. Read his prayer prayerfully:

· Ephesians 3:14-21 - ¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ²⁰ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ²¹ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

I suggest you make that prayer your prayer and I further suggest that you begin praying that prayer for others. Even though we may not fully comprehend the love of God and will spend an eternity deepening our knowledge and experience of it, we need only remember that the God of love, “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, . . .” To that I say along with Paul, “to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” That is my prayer for you; that is my prayer for me; that we know and experience the God of love and His love. May God bring it to pass. God bless you with His love.

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^[1]Wesley, J. (1999). Sermons, on several occasions. Sermon #76 - Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[2] The grammatical form of the “phrase “has come” (2^nd Aorist/Active/Subjunctive of the Greek term ERCHOMAI “to come; to go” – Strong’s #2064) points to punctiliar action or something occurring or existing.

[3] The Perfect/Active/Indicative form of the Greek term KATARGEO - Strong’s #2673 – which means “destroy; do away; abolish; to cause to cease; to do way with; to put to an end.”