GOD’S PLAN IN DETAIL – THE STUDY GUIDE
Love and God’s Family
Yeshua commands that we love and live within Him just as he loves and lives within the Father. We are all to be at one within God’s Family. John 15:9-15 NLTI have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love.
I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!
I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. And here is how to measure it - the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends.
You are my friends if you obey me. I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn't confide in his servants. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me., John 17:11,20-26 NLTNow I am departing the world; I am leaving them behind and coming to you. Holy Father, keep them and care for them - all those you have given me - so that they will be united just as we are...
I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony. My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father - that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.
I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are - I in them and you in me, all being perfected into one. Then the world will know that you sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love me.
Father, I want these whom you've given me to be with me, so they can see my glory. You gave me the glory because you loved me even before the world began!
O righteous Father, the world doesn't know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. And I have revealed you to them and will keep on revealing you. I will do this so that your love for me may be in them and I in them..
Christians are commanded to love one another as much as Yeshua loves us. We are to be recognised as Christians by how much we love. John 13:34-35 NLTSo now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.. This selfless love that generates the ‘fruits’ of the Holy Spirit is the one thing that Satan cannot counterfeit. Galatians 5:16-26 NIVSo I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
. In fact, this is the ultimate test of a true Christian. John 13:34-35 NLTSo now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples..
Family Life as Training for our Future
God created Adam in his own image and then created Eve from Adam and established the family relationship as the foundation for all our human relationships. This was so important that God regards any husband-wife team as one unit. He provided this as a way of teaching us through practical hands-on experience one of the most important lessons that we need to learn.
Paul taught that there is a specific structure in a family – husband wife and children, each with God-appointed roles. This is important, not only because it teaches us about how God’s Family functions, but it is also a very important training ground that God has provided for us to practise for our future roles in his Kingdom when Yeshua returns. Ephesians 5:22-33 NLTYou wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything.
And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's word.
He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.
In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife. No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ cares for his body, which is the church. And we are his body.
As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one." This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.
So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
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Today we get hung up about women being equal to men and taking on decision making roles. But God intends that each one of us gives our total commitment to learning and practising the family relationship. We are to learn how to become ‘one’ in our family as God the Father and Yeshua are ‘one’ in the God Family.
Husbands should learn to love and honour their wives as they would like God to love and honour them. Wives should learn to submit joyfully to their husbands as we must all learn to submit to Yeshua as part of his church, and as Yeshua submits to his Father. Both parents should learn to devote themselves to the developmental needs of their children as they would want God to be devoted to them. Children will learn from these examples what God is really like and, in their turn, learn how they should become as they grow and mature into independent adults.
This is not about one sex being inferior or superior. Our value to God does not depend on what role we have in this life. Galatians 3:26-29 NLTSo you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him.
There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians - you are one in Christ Jesus.
And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you.
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While God created men to take a leadership role in each family as well as in his church, it is well to remember that God’s attitude to leadership is very different from what we see in the world around us. Matthew 20:20-28 NLTThen the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor.
"What is your request?" he asked.
She replied, "In your Kingdom, will you let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one at your right and the other at your left?"
But Jesus told them, "You don't know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of sorrow I am about to drink?"
"Oh yes," they replied, "we are able!"
"You will indeed drink from it," he told them. "But I have no right to say who will sit on the thrones next to mine. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen."
When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. But Jesus called them together and said, "You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them. But among you it should be quite different.
Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must become your slave. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.", Matthew 23:11-12 NLTThe greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.. He also judges leaders more harshly if they neglect their responsibilities – a sobering thought for any Christian man who abuses the position that God has given him. Luke 12:42-48 NLTAnd the Lord replied, "I'm talking to any faithful, sensible servant to whom the master gives the responsibility of managing his household and feeding his family.
If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. I assure you, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. But if the servant thinks, `My master won't be back for a while,' and begins oppressing the other servants, partying, and getting drunk - well, the master will return unannounced and unexpected. He will tear the servant apart and banish him with the unfaithful. The servant will be severely punished, for though he knew his duty, he refused to do it.
"But people who are not aware that they are doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given."
, 1 Peter 3:7 CEVIf you are a husband, you should be thoughtful of your wife. Treat her with honor, because she isn't as strong as you are, and she shares with you in the gift of life. Then nothing will stand in the way of your prayers., James 3:1 CEVMy friends, we should not all try to become teachers. In fact, teachers will be judged more strictly than others..
While God has made men and women to be different and to complement each other during our present physical life, when Yeshua returns, and we receive our new bodies, there will no longer be male or female. A man’s wife may well be given a greater responsibility in God’s Kingdom than her earthly husband. Matthew 18:4 CEVBut if you are as humble as this child, you are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven., Matthew 23:11-12 NLTThe greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted..
This is a role model exercise – learning by doing, even when humanly speaking, it may be difficult and require some real effort and commitment. 1 Peter 3:1-9 NLTIn the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands, even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words. They will be won over by watching your pure, godly behavior.
Don't be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. That is the way the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands. For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, when she called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.
In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. If you don't treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard.
Finally, all of you should be of one mind, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds. Don't repay evil for evil. Don't retaliate when people say unkind things about you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God wants you to do, and he will bless you for it..
When both partners are called, each is commissioned to learn how to be totally and joyfully committed to fulfilling the other’s needs in the same way that Yeshua and the Father are, committed to each other.
Yeshua looks up to his Father as a wife should learn to look up to her husband. His Father responds by giving everything back to Yeshua, as husbands need to learn to do with their wives. We need to learn and practise these skills because, without them, we will not be fit to enter God’s Family.
And what a fantastic way to train for our future!
Even when only one partner in a marriage is a Christian, it is possible to learn and grow. The Christian partner is called to lead by example, demonstrating true Christian love for the other even if it is not returned in the same way. This is the only way to win a non-Christian partner over to God. You cannot force or persuade someone to become a Christian. 1 Peter 3:1-2 NLTIn the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands, even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words. They will be won over by watching your pure, godly behavior..
While it can be very difficult in this situation, and sometimes the marriage will fail, it should always be remembered that it is God who decides when each person is ready. God does not guarantee that a Christian’s non-Christian partner or children will be called in this age. 1 Corinthians 7:12-17 NLTNow, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a Christian man has a wife who is an unbeliever and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. And if a Christian woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him.
For the Christian wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the Christian husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not have a godly influence, but now they are set apart for him.
(But if the husband or wife who isn't a Christian insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the Christian husband or wife is not required to stay with them, for God wants his children to live in peace.)
You wives must remember that your husbands might be converted because of you. And you husbands must remember that your wives might be converted because of you.
You must accept whatever situation the Lord has put you in, and continue on as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches..
Qualifications for the Ministry
Paul instructed Timothy to only choose men for responsibilities in God’s church if they have first mastered the basics in their own family life. This is because leading and building up God’s church requires exactly the same skills and commitment as leading and building a family. 1 Timothy 3:1-5 NLTIt is a true saying that if someone wants to be an elder, he desires an honorable responsibility.
For an elder must be a man whose life cannot be spoken against. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exhibit self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home and must be able to teach. He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, peace loving, and not one who loves money.
He must manage his own family well, with children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church?.
In the same way it doesn’t matter whether you are a husband, wife, or child in God’s church. Neither does it matter what role God has given you to play in the organisation of his church. You can learn everything you need to prepare for your future in God’s Kingdom simply by being totally committed to living as a ‘family member’ within his church.
God Himself is Training Us
God is teaching and preparing each one of us. He knows all of our qualities and where he would like us to be in his Family. He has prepared a training program that is focussed on ensuring that we can be successful. It is a very personal training program which is tailored to develop in each one of us all the qualities that we will need in order to fill the future roles that he has planned for us.
An important part of our training is to learn how to support and care for each other. We are not intended to live in isolation, but to work together as a team.
How well we use the power of God’s Holy Spirit to develop these skills will determine how much responsibility we will be given to exercise these skills later as Spirit members of God’s Family when Yeshua finally returns. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 NLTBecause of God's special favor to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any other foundation than the one we already have - Jesus Christ.
Now anyone who builds on that foundation may use gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But there is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done. Everyone's work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value.
If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames.
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God takes great pleasure in us. We are his choice possession. James 1:18 NLTIn his goodness he chose to make us his own children by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his choice possession.. He is concerned about us, watching and guiding everything that happens in our lives. 1 Peter 5:7 CEVGod cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him., Romans 8:28 NIVAnd we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose..
However, that does not mean that we will spend our human lives enjoying comfort and wealth. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 NLTRemember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes, or powerful, or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful.
God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom.
As the Scriptures say, "The person who wishes to boast should boast only of what the Lord has done.". We should not measure our success by how much we appear to be blessed. Revelation 3:17 NLTYou say, `I am rich. I have everything I want. I don't need a thing!' And you don't realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked..
The Old Covenant promised physical blessings for the Israelite people if they would follow all the laws given to them through Moses. But there was no promise of eternal life as re-born children into God’s Family. The New Covenant does offer that promise and the whole focus of Christian life is to prepare us so that we will be ready to receive our full inheritance when Yeshua returns.
Christian life is a training ground – not meant to be easy, but possible through faith in Yeshua and the power that he gives us. 1 John 5:3-5 NLTLoving God means keeping his commandments, and really, that isn't difficult. For every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory. And the ones who win this battle against the world are the ones who believe that Jesus is the Son of God., James 1:2,9-16 NIVConsider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds...
The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Don't be deceived, my dear brothers., 1 Peter 1:4-7 NLTFor God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And God, in his mighty power, will protect you until you receive this salvation, because you are trusting him. It will be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while.
These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold - and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world., 1 Peter 4:12-19 NLTDear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad - because these trials will make you partners with Christ in his suffering, and afterward you will have the wonderful joy of sharing his glory when it is displayed to all the world.
Be happy if you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God will come upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people's affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his wonderful name!
For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin first among God's own children. And if even we Christians must be judged, what terrible fate awaits those who have never believed God's Good News?
And "If the righteous are barely saved, what chance will the godless and sinners have?"
So if you are suffering according to God's will, keep on doing what is right, and trust yourself to the God who made you, for he will never fail you.. Troubles and problems are all part of God’s plan for helping us to grow. 1 Thessalonians 3:1-4 CEVFinally, we couldn't stand it any longer. We decided to stay in Athens by ourselves and send our friend Timothy to you. He works with us as God's servant and preaches the good news about Christ. We wanted him to make you strong in your faith and to encourage you.
We didn't want any of you to be discouraged by all these troubles. You knew we would have to suffer, because when we were with you, we told you this would happen. And we did suffer, as you well know., Romans 5:1-5 NLTTherefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory.
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us - they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation.
And this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
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Some of us will suffer sickness and die, be cast into prison, and even killed for following Yeshua. Philippians 2:26-27 NLTNow I am sending him home again, for he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. And he surely was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him - and also on me, so that I would not have such unbearable sorrow.
, Revelation 13:9-10 NLTAnyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand. The people who are destined for prison will be arrested and taken away. Those who are destined for death will be killed. But do not be dismayed, for here is your opportunity to have endurance and faith..
God enjoys being generous and giving gifts to us, just as any parent enjoys giving good things to their children. However his real focus is on preparing us to achieve our full potential within his Family as the result of our training.
We have the all-powerful Spirit Ruler of the Universe as our Father! He loves us deeply, even as much as he loves his first-born son. John 17:20-23 CEVI am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.
I have honored my followers in the same way that you honored me, in order that they may be one with each other, just as we are one. I am one with them, and you are one with me, so that they may become completely one. Then this world's people will know that you sent me.
They will know that you love my followers as much as you love me. . He takes an active interest in our progress and will do anything we ask using Yeshua’ name. John 16:23-24 NIVIn that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.. We don’t have to be afraid of anything the world can throw at us if we first believe and obey his Son. Romans 8:14-39 NIVbecause those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us allhow will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord..
Learning to Live as God does
Matthew 25.31-46 ESVWhen the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'
Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
describes the practical application of love and how we should be actively taking care of each other. We are to love each other as much as Yeshua loves us. John 13:34-35 NLTSo now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.. Love and obedience go hand-in-hand. John 14:15 ESVIf you love me, you will keep my commandments., John 15:9-15 NLTI have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love.
I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!
I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. And here is how to measure it - the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends.
You are my friends if you obey me. I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn't confide in his servants. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.. We must love and obey Yeshua to receive the Holy Spirit. John 14:15-26 ESVIf you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.
These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
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Love is the glue that binds God's Family together. It is the result of the Holy Spirit working in our lives and should guide everything that we do. It is God’s alternative to a regimented legal system. It transcends the Law given through Moses and all human devised systems of regulating society.
Our real goal as Christians is to learn how to live by this ‘new Law’ – using the power of God’s Holy Spirit to apply it to everything we do. 1 John 4:7-21 ESVBeloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.. Of course it is not a new Law because it existed long before our present physical world was created.
Our faith in God, our hope in his promises, and the love we develop through exercising the power of his Holy Spirit, must become the focus of our lives so that we should be doing everything to please our Father and Yeshua. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 ESVIf I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love., 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 ESVFor the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
. This is the most complete preparation that we can make to enter God’s Kingdom.
Love is total commitment to working for the benefit of others – being willing to sacrifice our own lives in that service. John 13:3-17 ESVJesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand." Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you." For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "Not all of you are clean."
When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.. We should be aware of the needs of others and looking for ways to help. 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 ESVWe want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints - and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you - see that you excel in this act of grace also.
I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.
For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.
As it is written, "Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.", 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 ESVThe point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
As it is written, "He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for all your generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.
By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.
Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! Galatians 6:1-10 ESVBrothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.
One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith., Hebrews 10:24 ESVAnd let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
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This is the exact opposite of Satan’s way of ‘doing business’ by seeking to gain the maximum advantage from every transaction. Instead of competing to see who can get the most, we should be looking for opportunities to see how much we can give.
Being driven by wanting to please Yeshua is totally different from following rigid laws and doing only what we have to. As part of his church, we are being prepared as the future wife of Yeshua. 2 Corinthians 11:1-2 ESVI wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
, Revelation 19:6-9 CEVThen I heard what seemed to be a large crowd that sounded like a roaring flood and loud thunder all mixed together. They were saying,
"Praise the Lord! Our Lord God All-Powerful now rules as king. So we will be glad and happy and give him praise.
The wedding day of the Lamb is here, and his bride is ready.
She will be given a wedding dress made of pure and shining linen. This linen stands for the good things God's people have done."
Then the angel told me, "Put this in writing. God will bless everyone who is invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb." The angel also said, "These things that God has said are true." . While a human marriage is only an analogy, it indicates that the real thing will be a very close and love-filled relationship.
As Christians we can rejoice in the wonderful relationship we now have with God. Romans 5:11 NLTSo now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God - all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God.. In the process we become a whole new person. 2 Corinthians 5:17 CEVAnyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.
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After Yeshua died for our sins so that we could be reconciled with our Father, he returned to his Father and sent the Holy Spirit to live within those he had chosen. In this way, God has filled us up with his own nature. 2 Peter 1:3-4 CEVWe have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God's own power, when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness.
God made great and marvelous promises, so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world..
It is the power of God’s Holy Spirit working in us that provides everything that we need and produces the results in our lives that Yeshua and the Father are looking for. Galatians 5:16-26 NIVSo I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
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We are to become filled with God’s love – which is to become like God Himself. Ephesians 3:14-19 ESVFor this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.. This is the whole purpose of our life on earth – to finally become perfect as God is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48 NLTYou have heard that the law of Moses says, `Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too.
If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.
But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect..
This doesn’t mean that we will become perfect right away. As long as we are still human, we will make mistakes and sin. However, we can be confident that our Father will forgive us if we ask him, and if we keep using the power of his Holy Spirit to do better next time.
Our love for God should also include respect, awe, and even fear. Matthew 10:28 CEVDon't be afraid of people. They can kill you, but they cannot harm your soul. Instead, you should fear God who can destroy both your body and your soul in hell., Luke 12.4-5 CEVMy friends, don't be afraid of people. They can kill you, but after that, there is nothing else they can do.
God is the one you must fear. Not only can he take your life, but he can throw you into hell. God is certainly the one you should fear!, Acts 9:31 NLTThe church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it grew in strength and numbers. The believers were walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.. We should always remember that God is both wonderfully kind and terribly severe. Romans 11:22, 33-36 NLTNotice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe to those who disobeyed, but kind to you as you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.
Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor? And who could ever give him so much that he would have to pay it back?
For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and is intended for his glory. To him be glory evermore. Amen, Acts 5:1-11 ESVBut a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet.
But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."
When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much." And she said, "Yes, for so much."
But Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last.
When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
. There is no middle ground. Even Yeshua feared to disobey his Father. Hebrews 5:7 NLTWhile Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could deliver him out of death. And God heard his prayers because of his reverence for God..