Love Fulfilled Ministry

"And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross" (Colossians 1:10-12, ESV). God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Christ so that all things are filled in him. It is an amazing thing that Paul writes, that in we are to be filled through Christ into the fullness of God. In Ephesians 1:20-23, Paul writes Christ was made head of the church to fill all in all. This was according to God's plan that Christ would be exalted above all, to fill all. And Paul writes in Ephesians 3:14-21 that through the Spirit and Christ being established in our hearts through faith and being rooted and grounded in love we may have the strength to lay hold of the love of Christ and be filled to the fullness of Him.  "H...

Now hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 1:5, my translation) How does hope not disappoint or shame? Because God deeply loves us, he pours this love out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. This love is deep, it takes root, it establishes us along with faith so that we endure. When Paul writes that no authority, power, suffering, affliction, persecution, hardship can separate us from Christ he writes, this strength to endure is established in love "who can separate us from the love of Christ" (Romans 8:35-39). Experientially knowing the deep love of God, will establish us so that we will not be separated from Him. In context, this verse speaks of enduring affliction, distress of mind, and Paul writes we can boast in our affliction because of the hope of the glory of God, knowing that affliction produces endurance and endurance produces hope and hope doesn't disa...

rather just as the one calling you is holy, also become you, come into existence in all your conduct, in as much as it is written 'be holy because I am holy' and if you call upon him as Father... (1 Peter 1:15-17) Do you call upon God as your heavenly Father? Has called you? To those He predestined, he also called and those he calls he justifies and those he justified glorifies (Roman 8:30). The predestining Paul mentions early "those he foreknew also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29). And those he chose he predestined for adoption as his own through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:5) And those he chose in Christ he chose "before creation of the world to be holy, blameless in his presence, in love" (Ephesians 1:4). If you are called you are chosen and you predestined by the Spirit for adoption, and you are chosen for the purpose of being holy, blameless before him, in love. just a she chose us in him before he created the world to...

 Offer prayer therefore like this our Father in heaven... (Matthew 6:9) The disciples had asked Jesus how to pray, therefore pray like this, and begins with "our Father in heaven..." The prayer continues "your name is regarded as holy" which I purposely left out not to diminish his holiness by no means but because we often focus on the reverence and holiness of God in prayer and miss that He is our Father. We offer a prayer or start praying to Him in this way. It is profound to think about God as our Father.  and if you greet only your brothers what aro, not even the Gentiles do the same? You however be perfect like your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:47-48) Respect and honor grow out of a loving relationship with our earthly fathers, it is not something that just comes naturally, but it is biblical training, train up a child in the way he should go and he will not depart from it. If we do not experience this loving relationship with an earthly father it is m...

... and boast in our suffering to the extent, the hope of the glory of God. Now, not alone rather also we boast in our sufferings knowing that suffering works out endurance and endurance proving, and proving hope. Now hope doesn't disappoint because the love of God is poured out into our hearts ... (Romans 5:1-5) How in the world can you rejoice in some of life's circumstances? The word boast is often translated as rejoice, because the reason we can boast is a cause to rejoice. There is a proving going on in suffering or affliction and if we have the work of endurance it produces hope and hope produces love. We can boast in that we are making sure of our calling, we are patiently enduring the suffering, placing our trust and hope in God. What is worked out in the suffering is hope and the love of God poured out into our hearts. Love is poured out as God predestined us to be conformed to the image of Christ and is working out all things for our good, this is the hope of the glor...