- “You don’t honor fully what you don’t enjoy. God is not glorified fully by being known rightly. He is glorified by by being known and so enjoyed that our lives are transformed into the kind of lives that display his infinite work.”
- From Together for the Gospel Conference 2006
Archive for the Love Category
God is Love by John Piper
Posted in * Favorites, Discipleship, Love on January 30, 2011 by HarryGod is Love
Posted in * Favorites, Love, Sovereignty - God's, Trials and Suffering on September 1, 2009 by Harry
“God is love” is the complete truth about God so far as the Christian is concerned. To say “God is light” is to imply that God’s holiness finds expression in everything that he says and does. Similarly, the statement “God is love” means that his love finds expression in everything that he says and does.
The knowledge that this is so for us personally is the supreme comfort for Christians. As believers, we find in the cross of Christ assurance that we, as individuals, are beloved of God; “the Son of God … loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). Knowing this, we are able to apply to ourselves the promise that all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28). Not just some things, note, but all things! Every single thing that happens to us expresses God’s love to us, and comes to us for the furthering of God’s purpose for us.
Thus, so far as we are concerned, God is love to us—holy, omnipotent love—at every moment and in every event of every day’s life. Even when we cannot see the why and the wherefore of God’s dealings, we know that there is love in and behind them, and so we can rejoice always, even when, humanly speaking, things are going wrong. We know that the true story of our life, when known, will prove to be, as the hymn says, “mercy from first to last”—and we are content.
- J.I. Packer from Knowing God
ESV Study Bible Intro to Philippians
Posted in Faith, Love on May 7, 2009 by Harry- Paul explains what spiritual progress will look like.
- Christian maturity does not come through special mystical insights available to only a few, but rather through the patient practice of the familiar virtues of love and service to others.
- Paul presents himself as one model for such a lifestyle (1:12–18; 3:17; 4:9), and he commends Timothy and Epaphroditus in similar terms (2:19–30).
- But the supreme model for progress in faith is Jesus himself, and the centerpiece of Philippians is the magnificent “hymn of Christ” in 2:5–11.
- Jesus willingly let go of the privileges of divine glory to take up the form of a servant, and even embraced the ultimate humiliation of the cross, in order to liberate the world from sin.
- He is thus accorded the highest glory, receiving universal worship as God’s Messiah.
- Those who follow Christ’s example have the hope that God will also vindicate them on the day of Christ, and thus they can rejoice (1:18; 3:1; 4:4).
- They can also be confident that God will not leave them alone to make their way through the world as best they can.
- Spiritual progress involves effort: they are encouraged to “work out [their] own salvation with fear and trembling” (2:12).
- But they can do so knowing that “it is God who works in [them], both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (2:13).
TFL: “A Summary of Christian Duty, Part A” ****
Posted in Discipleship, Giving, Love, Old Testament, Sacrifices with tags Praise, Worship on January 18, 2008 by Harry- Our duty as a Christian is a privilege
- 3 type of duties:
- Spiritual duty with respect to God
- Moral duty with respect to men
- Ecclesiastical (of or associated with a church – especially a Christian Church) duty with respect to Christian leadership
Spiritual Duty:
- In OT structure, Sacrifices not simply for sin, ie propitiatory or expiatory
- Expiation and propitiations are terms used in Christian theology that directly correlate and define the nature and effect of the atonement in relation to God and believers
- The terms have somewhat different meanings and are sometimes placed in opposition to each other by theologians, though it is also possible to see them as complementary
- Expiation speaks of the process by which sins are nullified or covered
- Propitiation, taking a personal object, speaks of the appeasement of an offended party , specifically God from wrath or anger
- Stott (The Cross of Christ) pg 166
- But also for offering dedicatory sacrifices to express thanksgiving to God
- In the same way Christians must continually offer sacrifice, ie ourselves – Romans 12
- 1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
- What is our duty?
- To bring daily our lives as an an offering to God in the same way a Jew brought a sheep in thanksgiving for everything for which God has done
- By prayer, singing, reading, etc.
- This sacrifice is only offered through Jesus, not saints, the virgin Mary, or anyone else
- They did not suffer in our place, only Jesus did
- We are not to seek access to God through any of these other methods, except through Jesus
- We must worship God in a way that engages our minds, stirs our hearts, and flows from our lips
- Praising God at all times is our responsibility, not just when it feels good
Moral Duty:
- Do good to others
- God did not give us everything we have so we could store it up, kick our legs back and congratulate ourselves on a job well done
TFL: "Stilling Life’s Storms, Part B" *
Posted in Love with tags Fear on December 10, 2007 by Harry- 3. The disciples were really afraid
- True followers of Jesus still ask dumb questions
4. The storm was completely stilled
5. He rebuked the wind, waves but not the disciples- No teacher has as a slow class as the disciples
- There has never been a more forgiving teacher
- Let us not rebuke those who are slow at heart
- Jesus cares for the least and the greatest and He never deserts those in His care
6. Jesus: “why are you so afraid, have you no faith?”
- What Jesus did created fear and wonder
- This fear and wonder is missing in our horizontal world
- Fear brought the disciples closer to Jesus
LTW: "The Love of God, Part 1" not archived
Posted in Love on December 5, 2007 by Harry- God’s love is not dependent upon what we do
- God’s love is conditional on what Jesus did on the cross
- It is unconditional for us
TFL: “What Is This You Have Done, Part 2″ *****
Posted in * Favorites, Atonement, Love with tags Jesus, Messianic Secret on November 28, 2007 by Harry- Peter’s declaration in Mark is the last thing you would expect him to say
- Mark 8:27
- 27 Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am? 28 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.” 29 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.[b]” 30 But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
- b: Or the Christ. Messiah (a Hebrew term) and Christ (a Greek term) both mean “the anointed one.”
- Messianic secret
- Expectations of the people were for overthrow of the Roman empire, power, glory, and to the overall wonders of God’s Kingdom, but Jesus came to suffer and die
- He came instead to receive rejection, humiliation, and shame
- from an online resource:
- Because his being a Messiah is not according to what the apostles and the people know a Messiah should be.
- Yes, indeed he was the Messiah, but his being a Messiah involved suffering and great hardship.
- It was after Peter’s declaration, that Jesus started to preach about why he came and how it was all going to go down
- Peter says we cannot have you (Jesus) suffer and die and Jesus states that He came to undergo rejection, humiliation, and shame and if we are to be His disciples we should do the same
- Disciples had to wrestle with this question: If God in His love longs to forgive sinners and longs for reconciliation, yet at the same time in His justice he cannot ignore our rebellions and our sins and they have to be punished, how can He display His love and execute His justice?
- The Great Question has a Great Answer – at the cross of Jesus Christ.
- At the cross Jesus is an emblem of the Father’s wrath.
- If He (God) were simply to ignore sin, He would not be true to Himself in the perfection of His Holiness, therefore sin must be punished.
- But because of His infinite love, God executes His justice on His son so that those who deserve that judgement may find in His son their forgiveness and His love and their life.
1 Cor:13-14
Posted in Love on November 17, 2007 by Harry“Watch, stand fast in faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.”
