Love Fulfilled Ministry

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his lord's business. Instead, I call you friends, because everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you . (John 15:15) The word friend φίλος ( philos ) is translated as a beloved, dear friend. To those, he knows, he calls friends. He is revealing to us that from the Father as a friend. What a friend we have in Jesus.  Jesus was called a friend of sinners, and when asked why he said "wisdom renders justice by what she does."(Matthew 11:19) Jesus became for us wisdom from God and the wisdom of God was made known by the good pleasure of God's will to little children chosen by Him. Jesus rejoiced, in Spirit, as this was the will of God, that such wisdom was revealed to children, not the wise, and learned. (Matthew 11:25) Perhaps this is why Jesus said to the religious leaders of the day that tax collectors and sinners entered before them and that they must become like children to enter the ...

For it is the God who said, “Out of darkness light will shine,” who gives light to our hearts with the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Christ .(2 Corinthians 4:6) The glorious knowledge of God has come and it is in the face of Christ. The old covenant was veiled in glory, but now the full glory of God shines forth, illuminates, enlightens, in Christ. Christ has become wisdom from God.(1 Corinthians 1:30) "In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." ( Colossians 2:3) But to some, the gospel is veiled, "now, even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to the one perishing, in who the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so they can not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."(2 Corinthians 4:3-4) But to those in whom the glory is unveiled, Christ is the light of the glorious knowledge of God. Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his ro...

 and take the helmet...(Ephesians 6:10) In this verse, the word salvation is not seen in this Greek text. Paul writes elsewhere because we belong to the day, put on "the helmet of the hope of salvation , for God has not appointed us to wrath but to acquire salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so whether we are awake or asleep, we live together with him."(1 Thessalonians 5:8) The helmet of the hope of our salvation comes from the confidence that we live together with Christ if we are awake or asleep. Like Lazarus whom Jesus said was asleep, do we truly die if we believe? But we are of the day, the light, so whether asleep or awake we live with Christ. Paul writes, "according to my expectation and hope because I will not be at all ashamed, rather with all boldness now as always Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For me to live is Christ, to die is gain."(Philippians 1:20-21) regarding your former way of life, you wer...

these things I have spoken to you so that my joy exists in you and your joy is fulfilled .(John 15:11) The Greek word fulfilled is πληρόω ( plēroō ) meaning to fulfill, make full; (pass.) to be filled, full, complete. Jesus is speaking these things to the disciples so that his joy would be in them and their joy would be fulfilled. The word fulfilled is defined as providing happiness and satisfaction. * Joy is a source or cause of delight; the emotion evoked by well-being, or by the prospect of possessing what one desires; delight. The psalmist says, "d elight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."(Psalm 37:4) Here Jesus is telling us how to have happiness and satisfaction, the fulfillment of joy. Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts off and all bearing fruit he prunes so that it bears more fruit.( John 15:2)  What does Jesus mean he cuts off branches not bearing fruit? Paul writes of the grafting in of the Gentiles and the breaking o...