Thursday, May 23, 2024
Proof of Life Love Actually
11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
Proof of Life.. LOVE ACTUALLY
We know we have passed from death to life. 3 times we know.
Morevolous Canged (besotted)
John 13: 34 ἐντολὴν καινὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους, καθὼς ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους. 35 ἐν τούτῳ γνώσονται πάντες ὅτι ἐμοὶ μαθηταί ἐστε, ἐὰν ἀγάπην ἔχητε ἐν ἀλλήλοις.
11 Ὅτι αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγγελία ἣν ἠκούσατε ἀπ' ἀρχῆς, ἵνα ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους·
16 ἐν τούτῳ ἐγνώκαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην, ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἔθηκεν
19 ἐν τούτῳ γνωσόμεθα ὅτι ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐσμέν,
Gnostic gnosis knowledge
John's Surpassing Knowledge. Knowledge of the love of Christ.
The big experience…. Used to be second baptism and tongues. Used to be believers baptism.. used to be
It doesn't matter… John has something that surpasses them all. Actually the Lord Jesus has something that surpasses them all.. LOVE. Spelt Agape
Agape was a word for love that had been forgotten. It had gone out of usage.
'AGAPE' IN I CORINTHIANS XIII ARTHUR G. VELLA, S.J.
The Greeks had four terms to indicate 'love' and 'friendship', namely
Philein Stergein eran agapai
Philein is the most generic term and it covers all types of love: love of things and of persons, love of God and love of men; it denotes a love born out of a sensible attraction.
Stergein expresses a love that is sensible, but not sensual, a love that is constant and natural; such is, for example, the love of parents towards their children and vice-versa.
eran indicates a love that is passionate and, at most, sensual.
agapai denotes the love of esteem and friendship.
Agapaw is found frequently in classics, but not agapai which term stands for the old word agapasis
According to Grimm the word Agape is a 'vox solum biblica et ecclesiastica', and Cremer holds that it is 'entirely foreign to profane Greek'; on the contrary,
We come across agape fourteen times in the Septuagint; it renders the Hebrew word' ahabah. It does not denote sensible love and it is found twice in opposition to misos (hatred). It occurs with a certain frequency in the Canticle of Canticles, for it lends itself easily to a spiritual interpretation - an indication of the special religious role it will play in the New Testament. For, as J .S. Banks says, from the Septuagint it 'became then current in the religious language of Jesus and Christians, and its history shows how a vulgar, unclassical word might become a central idea of the universal religion, surpassing the tongues of men and angels'. To the concept of God as Father, abundant in mercy, Spouse of Israel (especially in Hosea and in Canticles), corresp.onds the fundamental and first principle: 'Hear, 0 Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children .. .' (Deut. 6, 4ss)
With these words began the well-known Jewish prayer 'Shema' Israel', which was still recited in our Lord's time (Mc. 12,29) twice a day. This was the precept par excellence, as the Lord defined it when he recalled it in his teaching (Mt. 22,37ss; Lk. 10, 27s; Mc. 12,29s).
To love God is to make Him the complete gift of self; to be at His service in everything and for every.thing and to put at His disposal our intellect (in Hebrew 'heart'), our soul (the sensitive potencies), and our power (all physical qualities). But the Old Testament does not stop there! We find closely connected with this love for God a note of kindness and sympathy towards the afflicted, the orphans, widows, and the needy. In some of the Psalms and in the Prophets (I Sam. 15,22; Jer.7, 21ss; Hos. 6,6) this charitable attitude is placed even above the ceremonial rites themselves. Already in Deut. 10,12-19 we find love of neighbor (strangers) prescribed to the Jews:
'For the Lord your God, he is God of gods, and Lord of Lords, the great God, the mighty, and the terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward. He doth execute the judgement of the fatherless and the widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt' .
And in Lev. 19,16ss we read: 'Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale bearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbour, and not bear sin because of him. Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord'.
Vengeance and grudge, even in the heart, were not allowed among the Jews. Love should reign among the chosen people: that was the command of the Lord God!
Jesus Christ in his teaching has taken up the two precepts of love and, unifying them, he has fused them into one virtue which he exalted above all the others. But it is important to note that on the lips of the Redeemer the precept of love towards neighbour has taken quite a new aspect. In the Old Testament love for neighbour was prescribed to all the Jews; but who was 'the neighbour' for the Israelite of the Old Testament? The neighbour was called 'ab (brother), rea', companion (socius), qezrobb (a relative), 'amit, member of the same family or tribe, and all these terms denote exclusively the Israelites who through circumcision belonged to the same people, to the same collectivity. Sometimes the word 'neighbour' is referred to the gher (the foreigner who lived among the Jews and accepted the joke of all their law), Lev. 19,34; Deut. 10,19, and so, besides these, all the others are excluded. The comments of the Rabbinical Literature about the laws regarding the love of neighbour are in accordance with what we have just said; they point out that the love of the Hebrews did not go beyond Israel, it did not reach the 'Samaritan, the foreigner or the proselyte' (Mekilta, Ex. 21,14- 35).
'You have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy: but I say unto you, Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you; that ye may be sons of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the Gentiles the same? Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect'.
When Christ was asked who was the neighbour, he replied by the parable of the Samaritan. He gave to the word 'neighbour' its true value and its true meaning: the neighbour is every man, all men: The Samaritan, the Gentile as well as the Jew, the publican, the sinner, the sinful woman as well as the just, the enemy as well as the friend! Charity should be universal, it should embrace everybody, as God's mercy is showered on everybody!
We know that we have passed from death to life: A love for the people of God is a basic sign of being born again. If this love is not evident in our lives, our salvation can be questioned. If it is present, it gives us assurance.
We can know we have passed from death to life by our love for other Christians. The place of hatred, of jealousy, of bitterness you find yourself in is a place of death. You need to pass from death over to life.
This means knowing two things. First, we know that we were dead. Second, we know that we have passed to life from death. To pass from death to life is the reverse of the normal. We all expect to pass from life to death; but in Jesus, we can turn it around.
Whoever hates his brother is a murderer: To hate our brother is to murder him in our hearts. Though we may not carry out the action (through cowardice or fear of punishment), we wish that person dead. Or, by ignoring another person, we may treat them as if they were dead. Hatred can be shown passively or actively.
John seemed to have in mind the teaching of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount regarding the true fulfillment of the law. (Mat_5:21-22)
"In the heart there is no difference; to hate is to despise, to cut off from relationship, and murder is simply the fulfillment of that attitude." (Barker)
"Every man who hates another has the venom of murder in his veins. He may never actually take the deadly weapons into his hand and destroy life; but if he wishes that his brother were out of the way, if he would be glad if no such person existed, that feeling amounts to murder in the judgment of God." (Spurgeon)
You know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him: To live in the practice of murder - or to have a life style of the habitual hatred of our brethren - is a demonstration that we do not have eternal life abiding in us, that we are not born again.
23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him.
The Bottom Line And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ
Don't make a saviour out of your
Religious feelings
Religious practices
Repentances
Regeneration
Regenerated Love Actually
14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
I hear the words of love I gaze upon the blood I see the mighty sacrifice and I have peace with God.
Here is love, vast as the ocean,
Lovingkindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten,
Throughout Heav'n's eternal days.
Lovingkindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten,
Throughout Heav'n's eternal days.
On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God's mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And Heav'n's peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God's mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And Heav'n's peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.
Let me all Thy love accepting,
Love Thee, ever all my days;
Let me seek Thy kingdom only
And my life be to Thy praise;
Thou alone shalt be my glory,
Nothing in the world I see.
Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me,
Thou Thyself hast set me free.
Love Thee, ever all my days;
Let me seek Thy kingdom only
And my life be to Thy praise;
Thou alone shalt be my glory,
Nothing in the world I see.
Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me,
Thou Thyself hast set me free.
In Thy truth Thou dost direct me
By Thy Spirit through Thy Word;
And Thy grace my need is meeting,
As I trust in Thee, my Lord.
Of Thy fullness Thou art pouring
Thy great love and power on me,
Without measure, full and boundless,
Drawing out my heart to Thee.
By Thy Spirit through Thy Word;
And Thy grace my need is meeting,
As I trust in Thee, my Lord.
Of Thy fullness Thou art pouring
Thy great love and power on me,
Without measure, full and boundless,
Drawing out my heart to Thee.
Love Distinctively
11 For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another … 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
Love Sacrificially
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God's mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And Heav'n's peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God's mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And Heav'n's peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.
Love Practically
17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Love Confidently
By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.
Let me all Thy love accepting,
Love Thee, ever all my days;
Let me seek Thy kingdom only
And my life be to Thy praise;
Thou alone shalt be my glory,
Nothing in the world I see.
Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me,
Thou Thyself hast set me free.
Love Thee, ever all my days;
Let me seek Thy kingdom only
And my life be to Thy praise;
Thou alone shalt be my glory,
Nothing in the world I see.
Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me,
Thou Thyself hast set me free.
Love Prayerfully
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him.
In Thy truth Thou dost direct me
By Thy Spirit through Thy Word;And Thy grace my need is meeting,
As I trust in Thee, my Lord.
Of Thy fullness Thou art pouring
Thy great love and power on me,
Without measure, full and boundless,
Drawing out my heart to Thee.
# posted by Groseys messages @ 2:37 PM 
