Hi Everyone - here's the next part of the "Who I am in Jesus Christ" study, under the topic of "I am Loved and Accepted Completely in Christ".
Do share it as you are blessed!
Chris
Enduring, Eternal, Unchanging Love
This is what everlasting life is all about. It is about everlasting love. Outside of love, life isn't worth living for any period short or long.
We are all going to live forever anyway. What marks the difference is where we live it. I suspect the differentiation is not in the beauty of the place as much as the love there. The most beautiful place in the universe will decay outside of the love of God. Darkness will reign where there is no light.
God’s Love – Not a New Thing
Do you ever sometimes get that feeling from some Christian teaching/preaching that God’s infinite love for us is a new thing, something that really became apparent only in the New Testament? Well, it’s not true – His love for us was from the beginning and will have no end.
Psalm 103:17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, (NKJV)
The word “mercy” is the same word used for “kindness” and “lovingkindness” in the Old Testament.
Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. (NKJV)
It has been the same from the beginning. The fact that God loves us is not a new concept, a New Testament-only thing. The fact that we have Him with us now is. It is like a loving couple wanting to adopt a child from an orphanage – before the actual adoption takes place, this couple does love the child, but the child does not realize the love they have for him/her. Once the adoption has taken place, the child will begin to experience the love of this couple. The adoption for us took place when Jesus died and rose again, opening the way for God’s Holy Spirit to indwell us.
Only His Love Can Change Us
Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. (NKJV)
It is with this very love that He draws us, not with laws, rules or behaviour modification. Christianity at its very heart is a love relationship with God, made possible by the redemptive work of Jesus. It is this relationship, His love, that causes us to change our thinking (repent).
Romans 2:4b…the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (NKJV)
2 Corinthians 5:14a For the love of Christ compels us, (NKJV)
We see this over and over in scriptures, how we love because He first loved us, how we are to love as Christ loved us, how we love our wives as Christ loves the church.
This Love is Forever
Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (NIV)
Psalm 103:17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, (NKJV)
Again, note that "mercy" is translated as "love", "kindness", "loving kindness" in other translations of the Bible.
Romans 8:38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NKJV)
The key point in this verse is that Paul is persuaded. He is convinced beyond doubt that nothing can separate him from the love of God in Christ. Like him, we need to come to that same conclusion for ourselves, primarily from walking with God in His Word, taking Him at His promises and tasting to see that He is good (Ps 34:8). The verse preceding this tells us the result of this knowledge, that we would be more than conqueror in Christ who loved us.
Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (NKJV)
As we are persuaded, that is when we are more than conquerors, through Him, because of His love. We start to lead lives that are victorious and overcoming, reigning over circumstance, not being under them, giving glory to God.
Same Jesus, Same Love, Forever
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8).
Hebrews 13:20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (NKJV)
2 Thessalonians 2:16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. (NKJV)
As we dwell in this love, we will be complete and established in every good work, giving glory to God. This is who we are in Jesus Christ – loved enduringly, eternally, unchangingly.
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