Forgiveness

8/20/11

Greetings,

If you’ve never heard about a woman named Corrie Ten Boom then it’s time you did! She has an incredible story of forgiveness, which is the topic of discussion this week. The fact of the matter is that unity among the body of Christ requires forgiveness. We are all human, and even the most spiritual among us do things that can be offensive or hurt others. If we refuse to forgive offenses, we effectively refuse God’s ability to work forgiveness in our midst.

Corrie Ten Boom was a World War II Holocaust survivor. She was taken to a concentration camp for hiding Jews in her house during the Nazi occupation of Holland. I need not go into the details of all that she faced while she was there. Her whole family was imprisoned, but both she and her sister were sent to the notorious Ravensbrück concentration camp. Corrie survived while her sister did not.

She became a preacher after receiving a miraculous deliverance from the concentration camp. After some time had passed, her preaching took her back to war torn Germany. On one occasion she was speaking in Munich on the topic closest to her heart—forgiveness. After she finished, a man made his way to the front to talk with her. It was none other than one of the most abusive guards from Ravensbrück. This was a man she was forced to stand before naked, shamed, and starved. The flood of memories caused Corrie’s blood to stand still. Although he did not remember her, she remembered him. Nonetheless, he asked to hear it from her mouth that he was forgiven for the sins he had committed as a guard. She did.

Her testimony is so powerful because it shows the limitless power of forgiveness. Some of us have a hard time forgiving the driver that cuts us off in traffic. Yet the power of forgiveness is as infinite as God Himself. There is no offence that is beyond forgiveness, and Corrie Ten Boom is an incredible illustration of this fact. How can one forgive another human being that showed only abuse, torment, and utter disregard for their humanity? The answer is only through the power of Christ.

As Christians, we can never get away from the fact that Jesus came so that we could be forgiven. Sure He came to heal us, to set the captives free, to give sight to the blind, and so forth. However, all of these other works are meaningless apart from our forgiveness and reconciliation to God. Jesus even explained that he healed so that men would know that He had power on earth to forgive sins.

“And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”” (Mark 2:1-12 NKJV)

It is clear from this account that the purpose for healing the paralytic was to prove that Jesus had the power to forgive sins. He came to forgive us. How often do you go out of your way to forgive someone else for all the offenses they have committed against you? The ultimate call of Christians is to be lovers of God and men. However, this rests entirely upon our ability to forgive like God forgives. Quite frankly, it is impossible to allow the love of God to flow through us towards someone we refuse to forgive. The un-forgiveness not only blocks God’s love flowing out of us, it puts us in bondage as well. Furthermore, we have a clear warning in scripture.

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15)

Forgiveness isn’t an option for Christians. It is a requirement. It doesn’t matter what’s been done to us or how horrific the abuse has been. Corrie Ten Boom proves to us that nothing is beyond God’s ability. With His power at work in us, forgiveness is possible in any situation. With Christ you can forgive the friend that turned their back on you. You can forgive the employer who treated you unfairly and unjustly fired you. You can forgive the mother that didn’t protect you. You can forgive the partner who walked out on you, who abused you, who cheated on you, or who blamed you for every problem they have. You can forgive the person who molested, or even worse, who raped you. With Christ, all things are possible.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)

Forgiveness is required for unity in the body of Christ. When we forgive, walls come down and we find deliverance. We find a new ability to embrace God’s love towards others and we walk free of the oppression that un-forgiveness enforces. When we release forgiveness every relationship in our lives will see improvement because it allows old wounds to be healed. If you have been harboring un-forgiveness, today is your day to forgive!

Discussion

1.       Are there individuals that you made a point to decide you wouldn’t forgive today?

2.       Are there individuals that you know you have to forgive after reading this letter?

3.       What prevents you from forgiving both lists of individuals from questions one and two?

4.       How do you think God feels about your answer to question three?

5.       Are you ready to forgive both lists of individuals? If so use the following format speaking the prayer out loud.

Father, today I choose to forgive (name) for (list each individual offence they committed against you). Thank you that as You have forgiven me, I have forgiven them. I receive Your healing from every wound they have caused me. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Sin

8/13/11

Greetings,

In my letters I usually spend a lot of time talking about concepts that are new, revolutionary, and often challenging. However, sometimes it is necessary to hit on concepts that are not new or exciting. Sometimes we need to get down to the bread and butter—so to speak.

It is my conviction that one of the greatest barriers to true unity is personal sin. That’s right; we are going to spend this entire letter discussing sin. The fact of the matter is that when a believer who is on fire for the Lord tries to be around a person that is under guilt or condemnation because of un-dealt with sin, it often leads to problems. The guilty party, in an attempt to cover their issues, will often reject or even lash out at the man or woman of God.

So what constitutes sin? Sin in a theological sense means to miss the mark. Imagine a target board with a bull’s eye. Sin is like when a person shoots an arrow and the board and misses the target. The target is the standard spelled out in the Word of God. Anything that comes short of this is sin.

Sin is your enemy. It’s an enemy of God as well. God doesn’t hate people but He does hate sin. Consider what he says of the deeds of the Nicolaitanes in the book of Revelation.

“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.” (Revelation 2:6)

Who were the Nicolaitanes and what were the guilty of? They were a sect of Christians whose primary theological error was that they believed things done in the flesh had no effect upon the health of the soul or spirit. In other words, they believed that once a believer received the free gift of salvation by grace through faith they became free to sin in whatever capacity their heart desired. God hated their deeds. The following is an extraction from a Wikipedia article about them:

Hippolytus of Rome states that the deacon Nicolas was the author of the heresy and the sect. Several of the early church fathers, including Irenaeus, Epiphanius, and Theodoret mentioned this group. Irenaeus discusses them but adds nothing to the Apocalypse except that "they lead lives of unrestrained indulgence.” Victorinus of Pettau states that they ate things offered to idols. Bede states that Nicolas allowed other men to marry his wife and Thomas Aquinas believed that Nicholas supported either polygamy or the holding of wives in common. Eusebius said that the sect was short-lived.

There are many Christians today that come to the conclusion that sin is okay. They justify it, nurse it, and come up with religious excuses for it if necessary. However, when unity takes place according to God’s agenda, the removal of sin and the institution of unity will go hand-in-hand. Consider one of my favorite passages:

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13)

Is it possible to come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ while nursing an addiction to pornography? What about the Christian who is having sex with two or three people while they can’t conclude which one they love more: their spouse, their boss, or the children’s nanny? Give me a break. It is easier for a passionate Christian to watch gold dust manifest during a prayer meeting than to unite with a group of Christians that have major issues with sin. I say this literally.

The following passage gives us a list of sins that are defined as sin in the New Testament. Let’s take a look.

“Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency, Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21 AMP)

                I used the Amplified Bible in order to make this passage read as clearly as possible. For some reason when it comes to sin, Christians quickly begin to get confused. In order to bring a little further clarity let’s take a second look at verse 19 from the King James Bible:

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness” (Galatians 5:19)

I would like to do a word study on each and every one of these offenses to God but space simply does not permit me to do this. Here’s the point: Get the sin out of your life. This is my three-step plan for success.

1.       Admit that what you are doing is wrong and repent.

2.       Ask God for His grace to never want to do it again.

3.       Repeat steps one and two every time you sin until the sin stops.

It is wrong to get drunk. It is wrong to curse at others including your spouse. It is wrong to entertain perversity and this includes pornography. It is wrong to have sex outside of marriage because this is fornication. It is wrong to commit idolatry by putting your children, your job, or you car before God. It is wrong to practice witchcraft even if the activity is a “family tradition.” It is wrong to give into jealousy and lash out against another Christian because their anointing or relationship with God makes you “uncomfortable.” The sin must stop in order for true unity to enter in!

Discussion

1.       What is God convicting you of right now?

2.       What is the three-step plan for getting sin out of your life?

3.       Can true unity come without dealing with sin?

4.       Who were the Nicolaitanes?

5.       Does God hate the sinner or the sin?

Vision and Unity

8/6/11

Greetings,

                This week we are going to discuss the power of vision as it pertains to unity. There are three types of vision. One is the kind that we have because of our eyes. For many people this is the only type of vision they have. If they see a golden brick and you ask them what they see, they will tell you they see a golden brick. It they see a pile of cow dung and you ask them what they see; they will tell you a pile of cow dung.

                Although this is a type of vision, it is not the most important type of vision. The Bible talks about something called the eyes of our understanding.

“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18)

The eyes of our understanding allow us to have greater sight. They allow us to have vision of spiritual realities and potential. This kind of vision is far beyond the vision that our eyes will give us. When someone has true vision, they can sit in front of a golden brick and when asked what they see, they will tell you that they see a resource. When they sit in front of a pile of cow dung and you ask them what they see, they will tell you fertilizer.

This is the kind of vision that God wants us to have. When we don’t have it, it’s actually offensive to God. This is what God was referring to when He said:

“Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not” (Jeremiah 5:21)

How can a person have eyes and not see? It isn’t because their physical eyes don’t work; it’s because they have no vision. The eyes of their understanding are shut. However, once we get beyond the vision of our physical eyes there are really two additional types of vision. There is limited vision, and then there is God’s vision. Both of these are better than no vision, however only one requires God.

There have been many visionaries throughout history that have done great things without God. Conversely, there have been many Christians throughout history that have done nothing even though they had God. Do you see a problem with this picture?

Some people believe that Christianity consists of saying a prayer of conversion and becoming a faithful attendee of a church. Is attending a church regularly a vision from God, or a beneficial habit? The answer is that it is a beneficial habit. God never intended your faith to climax at a weekly church service. God has a vision for your life that you are responsible to pursue. In light of this, many people wonder why there are so many problems in the church. Consider the following passage:

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (Proverbs 29:18)

Visionless Christianity is a death wish.

Now that we have established the importance of vision in regard to our faith, we are going to consider it in light of unity. Whenever any great societal or cultural change came about, it required people. It may have started with a few visionaries, but ultimately many people wound up creating the change that the visionaries saw. It is impossible to execute vision without generating unity. I have a vision to bring about unity in the body of Christ. However, the purpose isn’t the unity in and of itself. There is a greater purpose and a greater vision.

Many people have no idea what this world is about to face. Continual increases in earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, and various other types of natural disasters including famine are coming (Matthew 24:6-8). In addition to this, the trans-humanist agenda is pushing the boundaries of “what it means to be human.” The development of enhanced humans having genetic enhancements, synthetic biological implants, robotic components, nanotechnology that impacts them on the cellular level, and artificial intelligence uplinks, are quickly becoming science fact. Of course, we will eventually see the rise of an antichrist figure who will seek to enforce satanic principles and agendas upon the world.

A change is coming to the world, and ultimately there is going to be a great divide between light and dark. Unity within the church will be required to successfully transition into the darkest age humanity will ever see. Part of this transition will involve the agenda of creating sheep nations—entire geographies where the kingdom of God reigns in the hearts of men. This is why my vision is to promote unity in the body of Christ worldwide and assist in the creation and development of sheep nations. I see what is coming, but I also see God’s solution.

In this hour God is giving larger and larger visions to those that will listen. These visions will ultimately produce God’s vision for the church. It is spelled out so clearly and so plainly that it is impossible to miss. However, it is so big we know it can only come from Him.

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13)

Discussion

1.           What kind of vision do you have: none, limited, or God’s vision?

2.           Why do you believe this is the type of vision that you have?

3.           What do you think you need to do in order to expand your vision?

4.           What is visionless Christianity?

5.           What is God’s vision for the church?

Love According to John part 3

7/30/11

Greetings,

                For the past two weeks we have been discussing 1 John and the shift in paradigm that his writings force upon us. While we are inclined to look at things from the natural first and then consider the spiritual, his writings look at the spiritual first and then consider the natural. We have also come to understand that in every case that he talks about the topic of love, he is speaking in reference to the love of God—agape. This is a love that can neither be generated nor counterfeited. It has its source in heaven and must enter into the earth through us.

                In order to make the concept of God’s love a little easier to understand, we are going to employ some examples. These examples will help us to conceptualize how we are to interact with and embrace the love of God. We need to understand what we are after and sometimes it is not enough just to hear something.

                Imagine a hamster. Consider its fluffy body, tiny feet and oversized belly. Admit it, despite the fact that it’s a rodent, it’s kind of cute. Of course, it lives in a cage. It takes its water from a bottle. It eats out of a dish. When it needs exercise, it runs in its wheel. The wheel spins and spins. The hamster never considers the implications of going nowhere or the fact that nothing gets produced. As long as it’s running and the wheel is spinning everything seems so right. As long as the wheel keeps spinning, who cares if the hamster actually gets nowhere?

                Some of us are like that hamster. Trying to love others without the love of God makes us no more effective than the hamster. The purpose is not to spin your wheels “trying” to live up to the Bible. We must stop thinking that Christianity needs to be generated by works of the flesh. This is purposeless and backwards. For the past two weeks we have been discussing that agape must be received from the dimension where it originates. Any other comprehension of loving others with the love of God is by definition carnal. This must not be so! Consider what Paul had to say to the carnally minded Corinthians:

                “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:1)

                We’re now going to look at an example that will help us lay down carnal thinking when it comes to the concept of agape. I am going to create a mental picture for how this works. Imagine a gardener. This gardener has a garden that needs to be watered. The garden represents the lives of the people in his sphere of influence. The water represents the love of God that needs to be poured out upon them.

                This gardener understands the basic principle of things. It’s his job to water the garden. If he waters the garden, he’ll bear much fruit! Like it is written

 “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:20)

Unfortunately this gardener is not the brightest crayon in the box. Let me explain. He has a water hose attached to his house. This hose represents his connection to the heavenly places, or the dimension where God’s love is generated (Ephesians 2:6, Ephesians 3:17-19). This hose receives water from a reservoir that for all intents and purposes is unlimited. Therefore, instead of going the most logical route, he walks several miles to his nearest grocery store, pays $1.29 and buys a can of Coke®. What is his goal? If you can believe it, he has purposed to water the garden with the coke that his self-effort produced. Why would he do something so ridiculous?

The Coke® represents a counterfeit to God’s love. This is backwards thinking. It is impossible to water an entire garden with this substance and expect it to work. In the same way, it is impossible to love others according to the way God has purposed us to love them if we go about it with the wrong paradigm. The wrong paradigm is self-effort. It’s not our job to develop strategies for generating a counterfeit. It is our job to reveal it from its source. This can only be done by allowing this love to flow through us, which is why we must seek to be continually filled with the Spirit.

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18)

Many Christians are like the gardener. They then turn around and try to love others as best they can. When the Coke® doesn’t work, they feel like failures. They ask: why does the Bible demand such an impossible standard? How foolish. Here’s the new paradigm: Turn on the hose of God’s love and douse yourself with it until your clothes, hair and shoes are literally dripping. Then turn around and blast the people in your life with the same hose. The love isn’t being generated by your self-effort, so don’t try to live like it is. Just let it flow from its source, and suddenly you’ll find that the proverbial garden is literally drowning from overexposure. It is possible! You can release the love of God upon others! Don’t be like the hamster spinning its wheels. When we get a grasp of this, unity in the body of Christ will become very natural.

               

Discussion

1.       Do you perceive life by looking first to the natural or first to the spiritual?

2.       Considering the example of the hamster, can you remember a time in your life where you felt like this example applied to your situation?

3.       Can you remember a time when you tried to love others out of a wrong paradigm?

4.       How many dimensions does the love of God occupy?

5.       Where does agape come from?

Love According to John part 2

7/23/11

Greetings,

                Last week we discussed the premise of John’s writings. When it came to the topic of love he only concerned himself with one type of love—the love of God. This is referred to as agape in the Greek language. As we discussed last week, this love has its origin in the heavenly dimension where God rules. It cannot be artificially generated but must literally be channeled through us. The degree to which we can love others with this love directly correlates to the amount of this love we are continually receiving. The moment we move away from our dependency on God, we shut off the flow.

                This is incredibly important to the topic of unity because unity in the body of Christ should be established in the love of God. However, if we don’t understand love and continue to try and generate it in the flesh we will never advance towards our corporate calling. Our corporate calling involves us coming to a place of unity and maturity. Without the love of God our attempts to advance ourselves towards this corporate calling will undoubtedly seem impossible and frustrating.

Have you ever been frustrated? We all get frustrated. It’s a part of life. Even if we do get to a place of spirituality where frustration is virtually conquered, the fact of the matter is that we weren’t born that way. People are frustrating and sometimes the frustration that others bring us can lead to negative feelings.

                Severe negative feelings can cause us to experience a terrible thing. It’s called hate. Have you ever hated a person? I remember that when I was growing up my mom would never allow me to tell anyone that I hated them. I always had to say “I really dislike them.” What my mom was doing was training me to think a certain way. As a Christian, I wasn’t supposed to give in to hate and go around hating people. Understanding the power of words, she helped me to avoid a negative lifestyle. Did a change in verbal expression really change anything? What if I really did hate the person?

“He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” (1 John 2:9-11)

God is light. Therefore, when John talks about being in the light He is referring to being found in Christ. This means that we have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He goes on and says that people who say they are in the light and hate their brother are actually in the darkness. John describes darkness as separation from God (1 John 1:5). Not only are they in the darkness, but he says that they have always been in the darkness.

How is it possible that if I hate my brother I am disqualified from being in the light? I have personally met many Christians that struggled with feelings of hate towards others. What about the boy who was raped by his step father and all of his step father’s friends at the age of eight? How is it that if he struggles with hate he is not in the light?

                This is undoubtedly a tough question. Is John saying that any hate that remains in us after our salvation experience disqualifies us from actually being saved, regardless of our past circumstances? Isn’t there grace to help us overcome these negative things from our past only after we receive Jesus Christ?

John is writing to us from “another level.”As we discussed last week, John is describing the human condition and the engaging of God from a spiritual angle. Our lives originate from our spirit, and when we receive Jesus Christ we become one spirit with the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). This places the image of God in our spirit. When we are talking about our true nature in spirit, the regeneration of the new birth actually makes it impossible for our true nature to hate. John is actually talking on this level.

                Just because our true nature cannot hate, it does not mean that our soul (mind, will and emotions) ceases to experience things according to the un-regenerated state. Although we might feel like we still hate people, the reality is that it is impossible of our true nature to hate. This is where the enemy trips us up because he will point at our experience of hate and lie to us. He will tell us that because our experience does not line up with our true nature we are hopeless and doomed. He will beat us up with condemnation until we are so deceived we can no longer see the light we are standing in. This happens all too often and is why Peter explains that the salvation of the soul is a process that continues to the end of our faith:

“Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:9)

                Just like there is a deeper revelation regarding hate, there is a deeper revelation regarding love. John says that “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.” This love is agape. This means that those who allow the love of God to flow from God’s dimension through them are abiding in the light. This is the right way to do things.

               

Discussion

1.       What type of love is the Apostle John concerned with addressing?

2.       How does God intend for us to access His love?

3.       Are there people in your life that you hate, and if so what are you going to do about it?

4.       Does our true nature allow us to hate?

5.       What does it mean to be in the light?

Love According to John part 1

7/16/11

Greetings,

                Unity is so important. It releases such spectacular potential that it boggles the imagination. At the same time, it is so hard. I am convinced that it is nearly impossible to truly unify with others that we refuse to care about. On a deeper level, the truest unity comes as a result of love. The apostle John, otherwise known as the apostle of love, gives us some of the deepest teachings on unity through his revelation of love. This week we are going to begin looking at what he had to say.

                When reading the book of 1 John (or any of his other epistles), a foundational understanding must be present; otherwise we’ll miss the whole thing. When John talks about love, he is not discussing human love. Throughout all of his writings the word “love” is translated from either agapao or agape. These are two tenses of the same word and specifically refer to the love of God. There are other Greek words available like eros or phileo that describe human love. This cannot be overstated. The entire collection of John’s writings contain revelation and instruction on the release and application of the most powerful force available from the kingdom of God—the love of God.

                To understand the implications of this statement we must understand that the kingdom of God is the dimension where God is king. It is not found out in space somewhere. The kingdom of God is a dimension that literally overlays the earth, and must be entered into through the heart. This is why Jesus tells us that the kingdom of God is within us.

“Nor will people say, Look! Here [it is]! or, See, [it is] there! For behold, the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you].” (Luke 17:21 AMP)

The heart serves as a gateway between the soul (mind, will and emotions) and the spirit (our contact point with God), and is a processor of both natural and spiritual things (Hebrews 4:12). The heart is synonymous with the human subconscious. In order to live a supernatural life our hearts must be programmed by the truth and realities of the kingdom of God. These are explained by the Bible as the exceedingly great promises that we have received (2 Peter 1:4).

Furthermore, to interact with the kingdom of God we must interact with the spirit realm. It is impossible to be Christian and reject spiritual things. The Bible says that God is spirit, and those that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). The dimension where God is King is in the spirit realm and the source of agape or agapao is in this dimension. Thus when we read about the love that John is talking about, we must understand that we are talking about a force that is being sourced from another dimension; a force which is impossible to artificially generate.

When I make a comment like “we need to love others with the love of God,” many Christians will identify with this statement. The reason why is because it sounds familiar to what they have read or heard. Unfortunately, I am presently convinced that a majority of Christians don’t really understand a statement like this. The immediate thought is: I need to be more patient or kinder or more generous. They have no understanding of what is actually being said because the foundation for understanding has never been presented to them.

In order to actually love others with the love of God we need to receive it from its location and allow it to flow through us. The love of God cannot be understood apart from the understanding that it requires an active interaction with His dimension. Any understanding apart from this will lead to inevitable failure because agape is impossible to artificially generate. Let’s look at one example of how John discusses the love of God.

“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.” (1 John 5:1-2)

                Let’s look at what this is really saying. It begins by explaining that when we believe in Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior we are born again. We immediately know that without Jesus, the entirety of everything else John is about to say becomes irrelevant. This is because only through Jesus Christ—who is the only door to the kingdom of God (John 10:9)—can we gain access to the rest of what John is about to say. In other words, it requires the power and works of God. It requires God’s dimension and resources being implemented through us.

                John continues and explains that everyone that loves the Father (Him that begat) loves everyone that has been begotten by Him. It is actually impossible to be Christian and not love other Christians. On this note, it is interesting that I have met plenty of Christians that hate other Christians. In my case, there are plenty of Christians that get as far away from me as possible because I make them “uncomfortable.” Not only have most Christians experienced a lack of caring from other Christians, but many have not come close to experiencing the true, unrestrained love of God through them. Why?

                The love of God is a force that finds its source and origin in heaven. The love itself cannot help but love other Christians, and it becomes a part of us once we receive Jesus. This love is in us because the kingdom of God is in us as a dimension overlapped upon us. Unfortunately, the heart condition of most Christians does not allow for this love to be activated in their lives. The condition of our heart can either be an open door or a filter to this love. In some cases it can even act like a brick wall. We must allow God to change our heart condition by granting us inner healing and changing us until our heart looks like His. Until God transforms our hearts this force loves from deep within, yearning to be loosed from behind the barriers and blockades in our hearts.

                Regardless of whether this love is flowing through us or not, if we are Christian it is present. According to John, it is “By this that we know that we love the children of God.” As we move towards unity we are actually moving towards the embracing of our true identity. Our identity is love, but the enemy deceives us into blocking the flow of this love and then convinces us that it isn’t there. Once we allow the love of God to flow as we engage His dimension, unity will be a natural manifestation of the truth within God’s kingdom. However, it will never be natural to those who refuse to mature in Christ, deal with their heart issues, and purposefully engage the kingdom of God.

Discussion

1.       The Apostle John is also known as the apostle of what?

2.       Where does agape come from?

3.       Can agape be artificially generated?

4.       What is the apostle John really explaining to us through all of his writing on love?

5.       What are some of the heart issues in your life that hinder the flow of the love of God through you?

The Bond of Peace

7/9/11

Greetings,

                It’s amazing to think that we are already more than halfway through the year. We have been discussing the topic of unity in the body of Christ and hitting it from many angles. This week, we are going to discuss unity in the body of Christ in light of peace. As it is written:

“Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3)

There are two types of unity among the people of God described by the Bible. One is the unity of the Spirit and the other is the unity of the faith. There is a difference. The unity of the spirit is automatically true. All Christians, regardless of age, race, nationality, or denomination have the unity of the Spirit. When we receive Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior we receive the Holy Spirit and become one with the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 6:17). Since all Christians are receiving the same Spirit, we have the unity of the Spirit. The unity of the faith will be when we come to a place of doctrinal unity in that we believe the same things that God believes.

Until we get to that final state, we are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The unity of the Spirit isn’t going anywhere. I could yell and scream at my Christian brothers and sisters until I am blue in the face. I could reject them, or chase them away from my house with dogs. It doesn’t matter. The unity of the Spirit remains present at all times and ultimately for all eternity.

                The unity of the Spirit is above our ability to sever. It is a bond that can’t be broken. This is a good thing. Unfortunately, some people don’t see the need to keep this bond in peace. They are cruel and do dastardly things.  What they don’t understand is that this type of activity is akin to punching themselves in the face. Have you ever punched yourself in the face? When this happens, the only one that gets hurt is you.

               

“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:4)

According to the very next verse in the book of Ephesians we learn why we should keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. It is because we comprise one body. There is only one body of Christ. The idea that there is a Lutheran body, a Baptist body, a Pentecostal body, and so forth is hogwash. Every person that is a partaker of the Holy Spirit becomes a component of this single body.

Imagine this. One day you are walking down the street and you see a man walking backwards. Moreover, he is only taking steps with one leg. The other leg is wrapped in bandages. You go over to him and you ask him some pointed questions. For starters, you ask why his leg is wrapped in bandages. He tells you that his leg has really angered him. He was so angry that he punched, kicked, and stabbed his leg until he had to put it in bandages. Then you ask him why he would do that to his own leg. Of course, he provides an illogical explanation. In his world, his leg isn’t actually a part of his body.

The body of Christ is one body. No matter what we do, we will not be able to destroy the unity of the Spirit. We are brothers and sisters in Christ no matter what. Since we cannot rid ourselves of the unity of the Spirit, it is in our best interest to endeavor to keep this bond in peace. Don’t be guilty of foolishness like the man in our example. It is not in our best interest to try and destroy others in the body of Christ that we don’t like.

Moreover, we have to understand that the peace that we’re supposed to keep isn’t a human or carnal peace. God gives us our peace. The peace that we can keep with others should ultimately come from Him and not from ourselves.

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

This verse explains to us that it is not our peace that keeps our hearts and minds. This is good because it means that “guru Sue” isn’t the solution to your problem with your Christian brothers and sisters. Jesus Christ is your solution. God gives us His peace so that we don’t have to come up with our own. What we are supposed to do is receive His. However, we only receive it through Jesus.

Receiving the peace to maintain unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ is most effectively done through the avenue of grace. Grace is what allows us to receive Jesus Christ in the first place. We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8). Grace is unmerited favor because it is actually God’s ability given to us. God gives us His ability to be saved because we cannot save ourselves. Furthermore, we can use grace to access anything that God has given us whether it is faith, joy, peace, or anything else.

 “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3)

This is how it works. God has already given us all things pertaining to life and godliness. Included among these things is the peace that we are supposed to endeavor to keep with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Since we already have these things, our focus needs to be on access as opposed to acquisition. What is the key that unlocks access? Grace. For this reason I am going to give you a simple prayer that will allow you to receive anything God has already given to you including peace. This is a wonderful tool that will work wonders in your life. All you have to do is fill in the blank.

“Father, I receive your grace to __________________________________. In Jesus name, Amen”

Discussion

1.       How are we supposed to keep the unity of the Spirit?

2.       How well do you do this in your own life?

3.       How many bodies of Christ are there?

4.       What is grace?

5.       What are you planning on using the grace prayer to receive?