LOVE
Wednesday – May 17, 2017
Thank you Father for the gift of repentance through our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ! Another day to advance the Kingdom of God is upon us. Greetings from Patti and me at The Three Minute Word publications. God is so very good. Now let’s turn our attention to our Bible Study from the Book of Ephesians.
Ephesians 6:21-24 (KJV)
21 But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things:
22 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.
23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
The Apostle Paul is winding up his God inspired letter to the Church at Ephesus. When I say God inspired I might also say that he took dictation from the Throne of Heaven as relayed by the Holy Spirit.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV)
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
We have been focused upon the comfort that Tychicus was to bring to those at Ephesus and the Apostle Paul’s decreeing of peace, love, and faith “from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ”. We studied and thought about three different but similar types of comfort and comforting. There was the comfort that Tychicus was to bring which is of one coming near to console to some degree but much more importantly to bring comforting information and most importantly exhortation. The worry (concern) of the folks at Ephesus was to be replaced with the Truth, by faith in God, specifically by their knowledge and realities of the peace of God, love of God, and faith of God. Tychicus was there to help them move from emotion and exterior circumstances to the reality of who they are in Him and what their position is in Him.
We looked briefly at the “God of all comfort” from 2 Corinthians 1:3, a different Greek word but nonetheless we again find that God Himself will provide consoling but He will exhort us to good works in Christ Jesus. The exhortation to knowledge is at the core of comfort, the consoling has to do with reminding us of our spiritual (and physical) realities no matter what things look like. We also looked at the Holy Spirit who is also called and functions as The Comforter. Remember I pointed out that Jesus is written all over this Comforter and the comfort He brings. When Jesus was about to leave the earth He told His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit who would be of like kind unto Him. A great deal of the recorded interactions we see between Jesus and the disciples is Him exhorting them, educating them, and reminding them of who they really are with (in) Him. Prolonged grief and self-pity are part of the wiles of the devil and effectively sideline us from the work of the Kingdom of God, it is sin.
l will now move on to the love of God, our love which is from God. Know that I am talking about Bible love not the perverted love of the world which unfortunately is rife in the Church. As you recall love is one of the primary pillars of the Kingdom of God, it is a fruit of the spirit, and God is love. Many times in the Church what is referred to as love (Bible love) is really other manifestations of the fruits of the spirit like patience, gentleness, and kindness. Those of you who have followed The Three Minute Word for a period of time know that I frequently remind us all, myself included, and that Bible love (agape) is at its core obedience to the Word of God. This encompasses a selflessness, and a knowledge that we are bound by the terms of The Blood Covenant in Christ Jesus. There are at least two parties to any covenant and just as our expression of love for God has to do with obedience to His Word, His (God’s) expression of love toward us is the performance of His Word as it concerns us. God is certainly selfless, He did not need salvation, He did it all for us. And just as we entered and are expected to adhere to The Blood Covenant (initiated with Abram and ratified eternally by Christ Jesus) so the Father honors His equal corresponding part in this Covenant. Selah.
Just as the Apostle Paul reminded these saints of the realities of peace with and of God, so too is he reminding them of the realities of the love of God and God’s love in them. The peace of God is not primarily an emotional state but a reality of oneness with Almighty God, a sharing of His reality. The love of God is also not primarily an emotional state but the knowledge that God will perform His Word (as we exercise love and faith) toward us and that we are obligated to obey His Word in faith. I know there are times when the enemy will try to make us think that God is a million miles away and very unaware and uncaring concerning us but nothing could be further from the Truth.
The comfort that Tychicus is bringing to the folks at Ephesus is not just an update on the physical circumstances of the Apostle Paul but the spiritual realities that apply to Paul and to them. They apparently have gotten their eyes off God and onto a man, in this case the Apostle Paul. We may cry and commiserate with a brother or sister in various circumstances of this physical life but that is to be very brief and followed immediately with exhortation and prayers of intercession concerning our exceedingly superior spiritual reality in Christ Jesus.
Until our next publication I speak blessing into your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV)
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
Contact e-mail: pastordavidwood@gmail.com
Mailing Address: 3 Rosswood Green Lane, Unit Two
Oakland, Maine 04963
