NEWS Christ is Love
As I was driving to the office this morning, I felt the Spirit moving strongly in my heart. The words of 1 Corinthians 13 appeared in my mind. I saw Christ everywhere!
Christ is patient. Christ is kind. Christ does not envy. Christ is not jealous. Christ does not boast. Christ is not proud. Christ is not rude. Christ is not self-seeking. Christ is not easily angered. Christ keeps no record of wrongs. Christ rejoices with the truth. Christ always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres... Christ never fails.
All I could see when I thought of 1 Corinthians 13 was Christ. Talk about intense light! And then I came to the end of the Scripture:
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor. 13:13)
The greatest of these is Christ.
Of course! What or who could possibly be greater than Christ in the universe? No thing or no body. Christ is the greatest!
What the Spirit revealed to me today is that where ever you see the word "Love" in the Scriptures, you can substitute the word "Christ." "Love" and "Christ" are One and the Same. Hallelujah!
In chapter 13 of his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul was describing Christ. And what a glorious description that was! Light was pouring out of Paul's heart.
As I continued to drive, another thought came into view. Romans 13:10 flash before me:
"Love is the fulfillment of the law."
In this Scripture, I saw:
Christ is the fulfilment of the law.
That's it! That's the New Covenant in one sentence. He is the fulfillment of the law! We put our faith in Christ, not in the law. That is precisely what Paul told the Galatians.
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:6)
Paul didn't say that the only thing that counts is faith in the law. As a former Pharisee and killer of those who followed Christ, he knew far better than to say something so foolish.
As I continued driving, Matthew 22:34-40 flashed before me:
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Jesus said all the Law and the Prophets hang on one thing: love. Everything hangs on LOVE. Our love for God and our love for others.
The law could not make a human heart love. Christ knew this. He has always known this. This is why He came. Only Christ (through the Holy Spirit) has the power to change our hearts in a way that fills us with His never-failing love. When we see Christ and are blessed with His Spirit, our hearts change in a profound way. We become new creations. We are born again.
When we see love, we see Christ. When we see Christ, we see love. 1 John 4:8 flashed in my mind: "God is love."
Christ is love.
Yes!!!
Coming to the end of my drive, I saw more Scripture from 1 John:
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out all fear. (1 John 4:18)
There is no fear in Christ, but Christ casts out all fear.
"The Spirit is the truth." (1 John 5:6)
Christ is the truth.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says:
"If I have not love, I am nothing."
If we substitute Christ for love, we have:
If I have not Christ (in my heart), I am nothing.
There, in a single line from Scripture, we can see the preeminence of Christ - Christ as all in all. We can see God's plan in full view. Christ as Life. Christ as the Alpha and the Omega - the beginning and the end.
Why do we continually go to the Cross? After all, you cannot travel the narrow path and follow the Lord without the Cross. It's impossible. The Cross is not something that is optional in our love walk. It's required.
We go to the Cross and endure the pain because that is how our hearts become ever-filled with His never-failing love. The Cross is the place where our hearts become filled with His love - a love that has no rival in the universe. The most powerful force in the universe.
It is His love that gives us ability to love our neighbors and our enemies. It is not something we do - it is something He does through us - through our hearts.
Put simply, the Cross is the place where He increases and we decrease.
And we know this:
He must increase, but we must decrease. (John 3:30)
In the end, there will be Love and only Love.
May you see Christ as Love.
Agape,
Steve
Christ is patient. Christ is kind. Christ does not envy. Christ is not jealous. Christ does not boast. Christ is not proud. Christ is not rude. Christ is not self-seeking. Christ is not easily angered. Christ keeps no record of wrongs. Christ rejoices with the truth. Christ always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres... Christ never fails.
All I could see when I thought of 1 Corinthians 13 was Christ. Talk about intense light! And then I came to the end of the Scripture:
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor. 13:13)
The greatest of these is Christ.
Of course! What or who could possibly be greater than Christ in the universe? No thing or no body. Christ is the greatest!
What the Spirit revealed to me today is that where ever you see the word "Love" in the Scriptures, you can substitute the word "Christ." "Love" and "Christ" are One and the Same. Hallelujah!
In chapter 13 of his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul was describing Christ. And what a glorious description that was! Light was pouring out of Paul's heart.
As I continued to drive, another thought came into view. Romans 13:10 flash before me:
"Love is the fulfillment of the law."
In this Scripture, I saw:
Christ is the fulfilment of the law.
That's it! That's the New Covenant in one sentence. He is the fulfillment of the law! We put our faith in Christ, not in the law. That is precisely what Paul told the Galatians.
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:6)
Paul didn't say that the only thing that counts is faith in the law. As a former Pharisee and killer of those who followed Christ, he knew far better than to say something so foolish.
As I continued driving, Matthew 22:34-40 flashed before me:
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Jesus said all the Law and the Prophets hang on one thing: love. Everything hangs on LOVE. Our love for God and our love for others.
The law could not make a human heart love. Christ knew this. He has always known this. This is why He came. Only Christ (through the Holy Spirit) has the power to change our hearts in a way that fills us with His never-failing love. When we see Christ and are blessed with His Spirit, our hearts change in a profound way. We become new creations. We are born again.
When we see love, we see Christ. When we see Christ, we see love. 1 John 4:8 flashed in my mind: "God is love."
Christ is love.
Yes!!!
Coming to the end of my drive, I saw more Scripture from 1 John:
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out all fear. (1 John 4:18)
There is no fear in Christ, but Christ casts out all fear.
"The Spirit is the truth." (1 John 5:6)
Christ is the truth.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says:
"If I have not love, I am nothing."
If we substitute Christ for love, we have:
If I have not Christ (in my heart), I am nothing.
There, in a single line from Scripture, we can see the preeminence of Christ - Christ as all in all. We can see God's plan in full view. Christ as Life. Christ as the Alpha and the Omega - the beginning and the end.
Why do we continually go to the Cross? After all, you cannot travel the narrow path and follow the Lord without the Cross. It's impossible. The Cross is not something that is optional in our love walk. It's required.
We go to the Cross and endure the pain because that is how our hearts become ever-filled with His never-failing love. The Cross is the place where our hearts become filled with His love - a love that has no rival in the universe. The most powerful force in the universe.
It is His love that gives us ability to love our neighbors and our enemies. It is not something we do - it is something He does through us - through our hearts.
Put simply, the Cross is the place where He increases and we decrease.
And we know this:
He must increase, but we must decrease. (John 3:30)
In the end, there will be Love and only Love.
May you see Christ as Love.
Agape,
Steve
posted by Steve at
11:39 AM
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