Word for Life in Love— Scripture Meditations By Stephen Brown
The Garden of eden could be seen as created in the heart of mankind. We are the earth, dark and formless in the beginning. It is in the heart that the division of light and darkness takes place. Evil is a function of man and arises from the heart of man.
This is the earth from which the tree of the knowledge of good and evil takes root. This is the world we are to overcome through the separation of light and darkness.
This is the new earth that will be revealed in the image of God.
Psalms 139:14-16 ESV
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
This passage speaks of a child that was formed in his mother's womb and is born into the light of day.
It speaks equally, if not more so, of a child of the earth who was not born spiritually and whose substance is yet unformed. The creation begins with our earth without form and empty.
He brings His light into our darkness and begins to form us into the image of God. We become fearfully and wonderfully made. Our days were written when He spoke our creation into being, with Him choosing to take our image and with some of us choosing to take His image.
The final pages of the book of life lie before us. A page turns with the fullness of time.
And it is very good.
Genesis 2:21-23 ESV
So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”
Jesus takes on our flesh and we receive the form and formation of His Spirit. We and He are transformed and become one, and into the image of God. Those who enter the light are taken from the darkness of man, as were the Israelites taken out of Egypt. Come out of her my people and follow me.
This is what Satan opposes and seeks to deceive mankind by making a counterfeit image of the antiChrist n which seems alive and able to speak.
Though it speaks, it is the spoken Word that will prevail. Stay in His word and do not be deceived.
Christ hung from a cross and was done so by others.
Judas hung from a tree and did so himself.
Only one was hung for others.
Matthew 5:17
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Jesus fulfills the law, but what does this mean?
For those who Believe in him, the law has already been fulfilled for them in Christ. Those who believe in him are in the body of Christ which has overcome the world. We are each freed from the law, but obey His commandments out of faith. Now we fulfill His commandments from within as we begin the transformation into the life of God.
Colossians 3:9-10
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
We have chosen God, and in doing so we have cast off the chains of the flesh which kept us in bondage to death. We are still confined to these mortal bodies, but our destiny has changed from death to life. Our new self begins to take shape as our minds are renewed after the image of our creator. The reshaping begins on the inside and will end when we given our new bodies on the outside.
This takes place by our efforts in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Our efforts alone will change nothing. The Spirit must lead, guide, and direct us. If we do nothing, then nothing will change.
When we seek the Lord, He will be found. We will find He is with us.
John 6:52-54 ESV
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Jesus is the bread from heaven and the bread of presence in the tabernacle. Unless we participate in the body of Christ where we become one with Him in His death, we will not be raised by Him on the last day.
Our union with Him is on such an extremely intimate nature that He compares it to eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Our life is found in His blood. Our life is sustained by our daily bread.
Luke 1:39-45 ESV
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
From the womb, the spirit of John gave witness to the spirit of Jesus.
He would also give witness to the Spirit descending on the man Jesus and the birth of the ministry of Christ.
He would announce the coming of the Lord from the waters of the womb and from the waters of the Jordan river. In both cases Jesus would leave the waters and enter the wilderness.
We are in the darkness of the womb of the earth until we are reborn into the light which is the life of God. The heavens are opened and a new creature is revealed and begins to take shape.
We are reborn, then transformed into the image of God.
We behold the Spirit descend on us and the wilderness comes into view.
Mark 1:9-11
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Philippians 2:5-8
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
We are to do the same. We who would be made into the image of God, but being born in the likeness of men, should likewise humble ourselves on our own cross and take on His image.
Every bride is beautiful on her wedding day.
The Bride of Christ is beautiful everyday.
The Revelation of Scripture is done. The written word is before us, and as Jesus once said, "It is finished!"
Revelation itself has not ended. God inhabits His word and reveals something new to the one who seeks Him every day, for He is a living God who draws each of us into the living truth of His word.
Each day can be a revelation if we walk in His presence. This is a vital element in our transformation into His image.
John 6:3-6 ESV
Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.
Jesus went up the mountain like the Lord came down to the mountain in the desert long ago. The disciples take the place of Moses as they would receive instruction from the Lord.
The crowd came to Jesus. We must always go to Him. We must ask Him in.
This is a teaching moment for them and us. Relying on our own understanding places our hope and aspiration on the weakness of man. During the course of our walk with Him we will face many questions and situations that will test our faith. Jesus has the answers and the strength to guide us into truth.
We must learn obedience and strengthen our faith through our walk with Him. He is always there with us and there something to be learned in every moment.
Mark 7:20-23
And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
The source in the world of defilement for a person is that person. We are the world which must be overcome that we might be more than conquerors.
It is not another that will keep us from heaven, but the natural man within. With the help of Jesus, we can break out of this earthly clay and enter the realm of God. We can become another, a new creature formed in the image of God.
He has taken our image for Himself while transforming our image to His within.
Revelation 7:9-10 ESV
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
This great multitude without number comes out of the great tribulation. The nation of Israel has been numbered in the previous verses.
The Bride of Christ has been numbered in the twenty-four elders who do not go through the great tribulation. They are wearing the crown of life. There were twenty-four divisions of the priesthood and we in the body of Christ have been made a royal priesthood in the kingdom of heaven.
There will be a righteous people outside the gates of the New Jerusalem. They will make up the nations of the earth who will come to the city to worship
Revelation 21:22-27
And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Psalms 83:1-4 ESV
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against your treasured ones.
They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
This Psalm, though written long ago, could have been penned yesterday. The nature of man has not changed over time. Even as Cain rose up and killed his brother Able, the nations of Ishmael foam and froth with their hatred of their brother Israel.
That sea of rebellion will be put to rest as Jesus calms the storm and stills the waters with a word. He will not hold His peace, but bring it to the earth.
Revelation 18:20-21 ESV
Rejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has given judgment for you against her!”
Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence,
and will be found no more;
Jeremiah 51:61-64
And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, and say, ‘O Lord, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever.’ When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, and they shall become exhausted.’”
Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
Babylon signifies the great burden of the darkness of man. When she is destroyed, a great weight like a millstone will be lifted off of man and cast into the sea. She will sink into the deep and the sea will be no more.
Thus the unfolding events on earth reflect a spiritual reality.
And from heaven arises a joyful cry,
"Amen. Hallelujah!"
A mind that leaves room for God has the greatest chance of reaching the human potential which has no limit.
Colossians 3:4
When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
His life will fully become ours. The bringing together of body, soul, and spirit will reveal the glory of God in what He has done. We will truly be made in the image of the God.
His work of creation will be finished and we will join Him in His rest.
Inward transformation results in obedience without thinking.
Obedience results in love and is love.
Isaiah 11:8-9 ESV
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
One must become like a child to inherit the kingdom of heaven. This can be understood as the Holy mountain of the Lord.
The knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth. It will guard and protect against those who have opposed God and His children.
Where once the the waters of the deep darkened the earth, now the knowledge of the Lord brings light into the world.
Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Many are called, few are chosen.
The call goes out to everyone, but few will answer.
Once we answer the call, we begin our journey to the gate of life which is Christ. Through our obedience to Him, we walk the less traveled road that leads to life.
Revelation 21:1 ESV
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
Heaven and earth are no longer separated. They have been joined together in the newness of life. The creation is finished and God is at rest. And it is very good.
They are joined in the man Jesus Christ. In His body heaven and earth come together. We in the body of Christ are at the center of that process. He is the head of this body, heaven one might say, and we are of the earth transformed into His flesh and bone.
Ephesians 5:15-17 ESV
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Where do we find wisdom of God? In His word.
How can we understand the will of the Lord? By staying in His word.
We wouldn't want to miss the boat when the ark of the Lord sets sail. How tragic it will be to watch that ship disappear in the distance with our feet still on the earth.
1 Peter 2:24 ESV
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Sin brings disfigurement and death to the soul of man. Jesus was beaten and disfigured before He was hung on the cross to die.
We who were marred by sin and destined to die have been healed. Our wounds and disease are healed by His saving grace. Not given with just words of forgiveness, but by receiving the weight and fury of the punishment on behalf of those who did not know or love Him.
He has restored us to life by receiving our death. He chose us as worthy of redemption. We choose Him by receiving His grace because He is worthy.
Colossians 3:3 ESV
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Dying with Christ means we have forsaken our life for His. Our old life has followed Him into the grave and our new life in Christ, who sits at the right side of God on His throne in heaven. This is how our life is hidden in His and His life in God.
It is our new life which is unseen by the world.
It is only when we die to self that we are able to see God.
Just as the things of God become visible in His light and leave the darkness behind, to the darkness of the world those things that are of the light become invisible to those who remain in the darkness.
Darkness blinds the eye to the light.
The knowledge of good and evil allows us to see both, and therefore we can choose between the two. In choosing Jesus we become the bride of Christ and will be given access to the tree of life.
God now provides the one way back to the Garden, just as there was one way out.
Colossians 3:3 ESV
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Dying with Christ means we have forsaken our life for His. Our old life has followed Him into the grave and our new life in Christ, who sits at the right side of God on His throne in heaven. This is how our life is hidden in His and His life in God.
It is our new life which is unseen by the world.
It is only when we die to self that we are able to see God.
Just as the things of God become visible in His light and leave the darkness behind, to the darkness of the world those things that are of the light become invisible to those who remain in the darkness.
Darkness blinds the eye to the light.
The knowledge of good and evil allows us to see both, and therefore we can choose between the two. In choosing Jesus we become the bride of Christ and will be given access to the tree of life.
God now provides the one way back to the Garden, just as there was one way out.
Colossians 3:2 ESV
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
We are called to transform our minds. He has provided the model and the perfection of mind in His Son Jesus Christ. Doing so will eventually free our bodies from the earth. Our bodies will follow the mind wherever it goes. A mind set on the things of earth will return to its dust. A mind set on things above will soar into eternity.
The earth is separated from the waters of the deep
And rises above the surface to dry in the sun
Where it now can receive the gentle rain
That falls from heaven above
Colossians 3:1 ESV
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
When we are raised with Christ, we have access to things above, even as we wait here below. Our life is hidden in Him in heaven and on earth. We must seek those things above to acquire them.
Christ is with us, which means we are with Him. Christ brings us close to the things of God, for He is in God. Through our effort and His power, we make those things our own.
We will be seated with Him on his throne on earth when He comes down to assume His earthly kingdom.
Matthew 7:21-23 ESV
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
How do we know Christ in such a way that He knows us?
How is it that one may do great deeds in the name of Jesus, yet have Him say, "I never knew you"?
The difference is in the knowing. Knowing results from an ongoing seeking and time with Him. Both are inherent to knowing. They involve time and movement which are critical elements of life. Following Jesus, walking with him, is an action that requires effort on our part that reflects the life He has given us.
Doing things on our own may give the appearance of righteousness, but righteousness comes from God alone. Saying his name is not the same as taking his name. Saying His name may result from hearing, yet may not translate into receiving the word of God.
Receiving the word is taking it to heart. Taking it to heart will result in doing the word. If the doing comes from the heart, Jesus will know.
Psalms 77:16 ESV
When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
Psalms 77:19
Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
Jesus would walk on the water. His path is through the waters of man. The waters are afraid, the darkness of the deep fears the coming light.
His footprints are unseen by those who do not have the light. The Spirit moves like the wind leaving no tracks in its passing, yet He has come to rest in the hearts of man.
John 20:21-23 ESV
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
God breathed on the body of Adam the breath of life.
Jesus breathed on the disciples the breath of life, which would become the body of Christ.
God breathed the Holy Spirit on each occasion. Each account foreshadows something of the future. Adam would stumble and be removed from the presence of the Lord. Israel would likewise stumble and be scattered among the nations. The disciples will later receive the power of the Holy Spirit, which is the power that raised Jesus from the grave. Christ is the Spirit and he has the keys to life and death. He alone has the power to forgive and he alone can share the keys of the kingdom.
Matthew 16:18-20
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Revelation 2:22-23 ESV
Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.
Works performed by the hands of man will not earn salvation. Yet He judges the works of the mind and heart and will reward us accordingly. The work of the Lord and man to make man in the image of God takes place inside of us. This is the world we must overcome.
He has brought us to the place where we can determine our destiny. By saying yes to the Lord and continuing to say yes, we will have a bright future in the light of life.
Matthew 22:1-14
And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Jesus comes to us to seek a bride.
He came for the Jews first, and He was rejected, though they were were told to expect Him.
Now He has gone into the world for as many as He can find among the gentiles. The number is still growing of those who answer yes to His invitation. What a grand offer to everyone on the planet.
He will still face rejection, but the bride will be chosen and gathered.
