Love of God in Christ

The Love of God

15. “If you LOVE Me, KEEP My COMMANDMENTS.

16. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—17. “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.18. “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

John 14:15-18

The Love of God that is in Christ Jesus

The Love of God that is in Christ Jesus is "SPIRIT" and it transforms us into new creations who are sinless and perfect just like God.

Christians panic when one speaks of overcoming sin because we have all spent years in Adamic flesh trying to work up some Christian virtue by tithing, spiritual warfare, good intentions, sentimentalism, humanistic love or whatever. Some success in these "fake good works" with some vague sense of the Spirit makes it even worse because we struggle to discern between the flesh and the Spirit when we are still immature.

None of our fake good works saves us though, as they all fail to address the root issues.

Sincerity is not SPIRIT

Despite our sincerity, it is a downwards slide, simply because it is not by the Spirit. The Spirit of God works inside your spirit by FAITH.

17. But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

1 Corinthians 6:17

Continue in the Spirit

You cannot please God outside of Christ, even if you have experienced the regeneration.

1. O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?2. This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?3. Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?4. Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?5. Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—

Galatians 3:1-5

You must continue in the Spirit and unfortunately there are many things, mostly “good “ things what will seek to distract you.

41. And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.42. “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:41-42

God’s love is SPIRIT

The Love of God that is in Christ Jesus is not Adamic, humanistic or sentimental: IT IS SPIRIT!

Once the Spirit of God begins to shine His eternal light into our spirits, we slowly begin to see the light and walk into it. If the well meaning pastor tells us to tithe, sing songs, have quiet times, love the people around us or some other “good thing” then we often start falling out of Christ and out the Spirit and dwelling the flesh again.

All the good fruit that we are to bear in the New Testament are just that FRUIT!

Not one act of holiness is to be attempted without first “abiding in Christ”, “dwelling in the Spirit” and comprehending with all the saints, the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

It may sound like a good idea to fake some “fruit of the spirit” up front, as some sort of good intentions or “down payment” but in reality as soon as start pushing fake fruit we are in fact no longer in FAITH and we are simply drawing back into Adam by trying to keep Moses. This the definition of dead religion, and cannot transform and save us from our sin. Our best efforts at diligence, holiness and love, still cannot save us from the contaminated and condemned Adamic nature, despite wonderful church meetings.

The solution is FAITH into Christ Jesus and specifically into Christ Crucified. When we SEE this by the Spirit, then only will be begin to comprehend the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Then only will John 15 begin to make sense and bear real power in us. The fruit of the Spirit will spontaneously begin to pop up in unexpected places, then only will be begin to glorify God in our bodies, minds, lives and spirits. Amen Amen Amen!

The Love of God is transformational because it is SPIRIT

1. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.2. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.3. “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.4. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.5. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.6. “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.7. “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.8. “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

9. “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.10. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.11. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.12. “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

John 15:1-12

The Cross offends us

The cross of Christ offends us because it clearly shows how dead and useless and even disgusting we are to God, outside of Christ Jesus. It is natural for us to try and be loveable, beautiful or in some way acceptable to God, but the spiritual reality is that Adam and his descendants can never please God and needs to be put to death. That death to Adam and resurrection into Christ is what the cross is all about.

Women struggle more with the need to be lovable to begin with, because they have a greater desire to be beautiful, but women also submit more readily to God as the solution and the savior without trying to impress Him in our Adamic selves.