The most blessed way to live..
If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
(I John 4:12 NKJV)
It is in the abiding in us that His love becomes perfected. God’s love can’t be perfected without US! Even more powerful, is this thought: The Creator of the universe set it up like that on purpose because He loves us so much. His love for us is so profound that His greatest desire is to be in us and to have us in Him. He wants us to know the mind of Christ and live in the knowledge that He loves us beyond measure. We become complete through grace and we become perfected by His love in us.
“And He said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.'” (Luke 13:32 NASB)
This verse is referring to the time that the Pharisees came to Jesus, telling Him that Herod wanted to kill Him. This was Jesus’ response to them. Of course, we know that Jesus means that the goal on the third day is His resurrection. What is interesting is that the Greek word is the same in these two verses. In 1 John, His love is perfected. In Luke, He reaches His goal (or is perfected). It is the same word. The root word in the Greek is teleioó: to bring to an end, to complete, perfect.1 How amazing to think that these two verses are linked together by this same word. Even greater is that once we delve a little deeper into these verses, we see that they definitely are linked together!
Luke 13:32 is the first part of the fulfillment of God’s will for us in His New Covenant plan. As we see, there was a 3-part plan over three days:
I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.
The first two “days”, Jesus took care of the people’s earthly needs, He cast out demons on the first day and healed them on the second day. On the third day Jesus reached His goal. Another word that is used is perfected. On the third day, Jesus was perfected. This took care of all of our earthly needs.
In the second example, from 1 John 4, the New Covenant plan is to perfect our spiritual needs. This verse is in the very same format as in Luke 13. There is a 3-part plan, only this time it is to meet our spiritual needs.
“..If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.”
First, we love one another. That can’t be accomplished without the help of the Holy Spirit, which is definitely a spiritual component. Then God dwells in us. Then once those things happen, the love of Jesus is perfected in us. We are made complete and we have the Trinity at work in us spiritually.
When we live in love, allowing the Spirit to work through us, God is dwelling in us. Love is perfected and we are made complete. It is the most beautiful plan and the most blessed way to live!
~Anne Schickowski
the watchman’s call
1 5048. Strong’s Concordance
© Copyright Anne Schickowski, 2015
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