Word for Life in Love— Scripture Meditations By Stephen Brown
Galatians 3:29 (ESV Strong's)
And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.
Those in Christ will inherit the kingdom of heaven according to the promise.
Israel will inherit the promised land as God’s chosen people on earth.
Heaven and earth will be one when Jesus returns with the Bride of Christ as the new Jerusalem.
Galatians 2:19-20 (ESV Strong's)
19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Jesus fulfilled the law. The law brings death to man by exposing our sin to the light and life of God. Christ entered the darkness of our death that we might follow him into the light of life.
We remain in the same bodies of mortal flesh, but with spirits made alive in Christ. We do so by loving him through the giving of ourselves to him. In doing so, we become the generations of heaven and earth, for we are one.
Luke 14:27 (ESV Strong's)
Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Whoever believes in Jesus will be saved. But to be his disciple requires something more than believing he died for our sins, but our dying to our sins for him.
Discipleship is ascending our own cross to join him as a son of God.
John 3:16 (ESV Strong's)
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Isaiah 45:7 (ESV Strong's)
I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
Well-being and calamity serve the purpose of God. All things are from the Lord because all things exist by His word. They would not be a part of creation if it were not so.
All things work to the good of those that love the Lord.
1 John 5:6-8 (ESV Strong's)
6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.
Repentance is the water of our cleansing. We wash on the outside to meet with our Savior who washes us on the inside with his blood of mercy and redemption.
We receive the Spirit who testifies to this truth. He assures us with his presence and leads us through our transformation to the image of Christ.
Repentance begins the journey and keeps us on the right path.
Joshua 3:17 (ESV Strong's)
Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.
The water parted for the Israelites to leave Egypt and parted as they entered the promised land.
The water remains parted until all pass over. So it is for us.
Hebrews 11:1-2
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.
For by faith we shall receive salvation. The Holy Spirit provides the assurance for our conviction this is so.
Our faith is based on the reality of God.
2 Corinthians 11:3 (ESV Strong's)
But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
If we are what we think, then to have the mind of Christ we have to be in agreement with his word, which comes from his mind. His word comes from God, for they are one.
If we are led by the Spirit, we drink from the fountain of living waters which will lead us to his throne.
John 10:10 (ESV Strong's)
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Without Christ we live the life of the walking dead when compared to life lived walking with him. He is our companion and destination, the first and last. We leave the life of the created for the life of the Creator.
Truly being one is impossible without another. Where two or more are gathered in the unity of the Holy Spirit the oneness of the Lord is present. This is the body of Christ.
Becoming one with the Lord is the fruition of the potential of one. He is our Creator who is one, though three persons. We join him in the singularity of his being.
2 Corinthians 9:15 (ESV Strong's)
Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
The grace of God is beyond our words because He is the word of God. His ways are above our ways. Yet this grace can be ours.
Mark 14:22-25 (ESV Strong's)
22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Jesus shares with us in the fruit of the new covenant when we drink from the cup of communion. The kingdom of God is on earth in the body of Christ. This is our first cup of the wedding feast to come in which the bride of Christ will receive the full inheritance that is ours as His children.
He is with us in the communion of the new covenant in the kingdom in our hearts.
The last supper before the cross has become the feast of never ending life in Christ. His body has become ours and we bear the fruit of His Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:50 (ESV Strong's)
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
The life of a creature on earth is in the blood. The life of those who will inherit the kingdom of God is in the Spirit. Blood is perishable, while the Spirit is imperishable.
We trade one life for the other. The perishable and imperishable are housed in these bodies of flesh until the world of the flesh is overcome and we partake in the light of the morning star. It is a process of transformation that happens over time. Jesus waits for us there.
1 Corinthians 15:50 (ESV Strong's)
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
The life of a creature on earth is in the blood. The life of those who will inherit the kingdom of God is in the Spirit. Blood is perishable, while the Spirit is imperishable.
John 9:1-3 (ESV Strong's)
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
We are all born blind to the light of God when we enter the world. It is in the darkness of the earth that we can fully behold the light of heaven. It is here that we can know God in a unique and intimate way. If we had been born in the light, we would not understand its blessings. One who is forgiven much can love much. It is love that God seeks from us who join Him in the bride of Christ. Deep calls to deep and love seeks love. He calls our name.
Psalms 115:16 (ESV Strong's)
The heavens are the Lord's heavens,
but the earth he has given to the children of man.
The light of heaven has shown in the earth of man. Christ has taken the dust of the earth back into heaven when He ascended back to His Father. We will return with Him bringing heaven down to join with the earth of our resurrection.
He will ever be with us on His throne in Jerusalem.
2 Corinthians 4:6 (ESV Strong's)
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
The beginning of the the creation of man in the image of God starts when the word of God calls for His light to enter the darkness of man.
The word is spoken and comes into the world in the face of Jesus. Those who receive the light will see Him face to face.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (ESV Strong's)
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
If the Spirit of the Lord is within us, we behold the glory of the Lord. Beholding the glory of the Lord, we are being
transformed into the image of God, from one glory to another.
We are created in the image of God because He took our image as the flesh of the man Jesus.
We are transformed into His image as a son of God when we receive the Spirit, who is Christ.
It is a glorious thing.
Deuteronomy 19:15 (ESV Strong's)
“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.
God created the heavens and earth. He created light and darkness. He created man who could choose between the two: between God and man. This is our beginning and end, who is Christ. He is our judge and life.
Heaven and earth shall give witness to the lives of all mankind. There is one that accuses and one who saves. It is up to us to choose between life and death.
Seeing one another with our eyes can be distracting in the experience and of knowing each other. Who and what we are is way more than the way we look and the things we have or not. We are an amalgamation of mind, body, and spirit. To draw close to another, we must see them in this context.
Our life is the expression of all three. We know God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are made in His image. When we love Him with all our mind, body, and spirit, we love completely with our life. This is how we can be real with each other and the Lord.
Hebrews 11:3 (ESV Strong's)
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
The faith of one man believes that God created the heavens and earth. The faith of another says there is no God and there was no creation. It just is.
The first one believes in the Great I AM.
The second one says, “it is what it is.”
Where we place our faith determines our life.
Deuteronomy 14:2 (ESV Strong's)
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Israel was chosen out of all the peoples of the earth to be His treasured possession.
The body of Christ is born from above from every people on earth to be made in His image and become sons of God. God chooses us when we choose Him, not for a possession, but for a person to person relationship.
Deuteronomy 12:4-5 (NIV)
4 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way. 5 But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go;
Jesus created a new temple at His resurrection. This temple would truly be a house of prayer because true worship is done in Spirit. The house of the Lord is in the hearts of man and there is where He has placed His name.
4 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way. 5 But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go;
Jesus created a new temple at His resurrection. This temple would truly be a house of prayer because true worship is done in Spirit. The house of the Lord is in the hearts of man and there is where He has placed His name.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2 (NIV)
1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
To receive the Lord and take His name allows us to rise from the dead and stand with the living. It takes effort to remain standing. We must hold firmly to the word, to the one in whom we have believed.
It does no good to take His name in vain. In Revelation, the church at Ephesus is told to repent, for they have forsaken the love they had at first. God is love.
Our freedom in Christ is a double edged sword, for it can cut both ways. We can come and go in His house while we wander in the wilderness. Revelation tells that the one who overcomes the world will never leave His temple. That is because he who overcomes is part of the temple. Wherever the Lord dwells in creation is the temple made by the Lord. This is man made in His image who breathes with the life of Christ.
1 Corinthians 14:18-19 (ESV Strong's)
18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
To prophesy is to speak Spirit words in a tongue that is understood by those within hearing. This is the the language of Jesus as He spoke the word of God to worship the Jews.
This allows the full worship of God with mind, body, and spirit. The fruit of the Spirit can be received and shared, and the body of Christ can be strengthened, encouraged, and find comfort. This is the language of love.
Deuteronomy 10:1 (ESV Strong's)
“At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to me on the mountain and make an ark of wood.
The words of stone of stumbling will be rewritten on the flesh of each heart.
Anticipates the second covenant that will bring the word of God in the form of Jesus, on whose shoulders will rest the mercy seat of the Lord. The ark of the Son will bring us on the mountain of God.
Deuteronomy 8:1-2 (ESV Strong's)
1 “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
Israel was freed from the slavery of Egypt to enter the promised land. They could receive the promise by obeying the word of God.
We have been freed from the slavery of the world to receive the promised life of Christ. We will receive the inheritance of His promise by obeying the word of Christ, who is the word of God.
Our time of testing in the wilderness of the world is now. If we walk with Him and follow His lead, we will find the land of the living and eat from the tree of life.
1 Corinthians 14:1-3 (ESV Strong's)
1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
To speak under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is to prophesy. Everyone speaks in a tongue which is their own. Some can speak to God in a tongue no one understands. When God speaks to us, He does so in a tongue we can understand. Talking to God is good, but listening and understanding God is the better thing.
We all are prophets when we speak the word.
1 Corinthians 13:8-13 (ESV Strong's)
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
We are the children of perfection. We are perfect in Christ, but will not be perfected until we see Him face to face. We are a work of creation until we until we leave this old flesh behind.
Faith and hope are no longer necessary when we enter fully into the perfection of His love.
Psalms 40:3 (ESV Strong's)
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
This is the song of life sung by those reborn in the life of God. The lyrics harmonize in the joy, praise, and gratitude of those who place their trust in the Lord.
Many will have their eyes opened by His light and to His majesty and the power of His name.
There was only one place to sit in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and it was the Mercy Seat. It was for the Lord to meet with in this most Holy place once the veil was torn at the sacrifice of Christ.
Today the Holy of Holies is in the heart of man, and it is there the Lord can meet and abide with us.
The tent of meeting has become the body of Christ.
Deuteronomy 6:2-3 (ESV Strong's)
2 that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.
The Lord promised Israel long days in a land filled with milk and honey. The New Covenant would be based on the Son of promise. Many sons of promise would follow. One is a kingdom on earth and the other is the kingdom of heaven.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (ESV Strong's)
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Here we find three names which can signify the Triune God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father God has sent His Spirit and Son as the Word of creation. That Word finds expression in the body of Christ. First in the flesh of His Son Jesus, then in the flesh of those who believe and follow Him to become sons of God.
This is the ongoing work of God.
Matthew 18:20 (ESV Strong's)
For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
For this is the body of Christ.
Psalms 39:4 (ESV Strong's)
“O Lord, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
So that I may look to my beginning
To life that has no end
And with you is everlasting
Deuteronomy 1:39 (ESV Strong's)
And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.
Children who have no knowledge of good and evil are not accountable to the Lord for sin because they don’t and can’t know any better.
Adam and Eve were in the presence of the Lord until their eyes were opened after eating the forbidden fruit. They then saw they were naked. They became self conscious. This happens with every child of man.
We can’t choose between the two unless we have knowledge of both. Man has to choose to be made in the image of Christ. We do this by believing and following Him.
The maturation process begins with self and ends when we get beyond self and find God. That is our inheritance if we persevere and overcome the world. The blessings of heaven await.
John 14:12-14 (ESV Strong's)
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Jesus has raised the flesh of man into the presence of the Lord. He has taken our flesh for Himself. God clothed Adam and Eve in animal skins when they were expelled from the garden. He then followed them out of the garden to bring man back into fellowship with Him. He clothed Himself in our flesh where we are to bring us back to the garden of His presence.
When we receive the Holy Spirit, the garden manifests within our flesh because He abides in us. God reveals Himself in the two witnesses of the Son and Holy Spirit. We enter the fellowship of the Lord when we enter the body of Christ united and sealed with the Holy Spirit.
His name entails His power, authority, and the character of His being. It is this name we inherit. Because of His coming and going, we can go to Him, our Creator and become one with Him.
Deuteronomy 1:39 (ESV Strong's)
And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.
Children who have no knowledge of good and evil are not accountable to the Lord for sin because they don’t and can’t know any better.
Adam and Eve were in the presence of the Lord until their eyes were opened after eating the forbidden fruit. They then saw they were naked. They became self conscious. This happens with every child of man.
The maturation process begins with self and ends when we get beyond self and find God. That is our inheritance if we persevere and overcome the world. The blessings of heaven await.
Matthew 3:11-12 (ESV Strong's)
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
The waters of our baptism in Christ are the living waters of the Holy Spirit. He will lead us to the source of life which is the throne of God.
The Passover for the body of Christ is when we are washed in the blood of Jesus by our faith in him. Death is no longer our fate. The flesh will wither, but we will have everlasting life, for we have passed over death into the life of Christ.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV Strong's)
1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
Paul is speaking of people in a church fellowship who have the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Like a vase used to store water that is dry as a bone. The living waters of the Holy Spirit never filled the container in the first place, or it leaked out faster than it was replenished.
Avoid this personally and avoid such people. Drink from the fountain of life to live.
Psalms 38:4 (ESV Strong's)
For my iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
Matthew 11:29-30 (ESV Strong's)
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Without Christ, we are yoked to the darkness of mankind. The weight of that darkness is a struggle for a soul created to bear the light of God. Jesus is the light of the world.
To be other
To be reborn into another creature
A new creation
The separation between light and darkness
Takes place within
Where darkness meets the light
The fruit of the Spirit
Begins to grow
As we work in our garden
Our hands and hearts
Guided by His leading
If we would but follow
Revelation 3:12 (ESV Strong's)
The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.
He shall never go out of it because there is no boundaries in the temple of the Lord. God is everywhere and we are with Him.
Numbers 14:24 (ESV Strong's)
But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.
It’s possible that following fully is another way of saying he who overcomes the world. The one who follows Jesus and perseveres to the end will join Him on His throne as the Bride of Christ.
This could be the difference in attending the wedding feast and being the bride. Many are called but few are chosen.
1 Corinthians 8:5-6 (ESV Strong's)
5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
Through the spoken word, creation is formed. Through that word, man is reborn into a new creation. It is through Him all things exist. It is through His word that we are able to pass through that veil of existence into the life of Christ.
The mind feeds the spirit and the spirit feeds the mind. We walk straight and upright when the balance between the two grow together. We are less likely to stumble and fall. Jesus was transformed on that mountaintop long ago, but our transformation takes place here in the valley and day by day.
Genesis 2:24-25 (ESV Strong's)
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they were no longer one flesh and unashamed. They lost their relationship with God and each other, trading the perfection of life for something less.
We have been given the grace to return to the presence of the Lord and to walk with Him unashamed.
Numbers 28:1-2 (ESV Strong's)
1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel and say to them, ‘My offering, my food for my food offerings, my pleasing aroma, you shall be careful to offer to me at its appointed time.’
The people of Israel had “appointed” times to meet with the Lord and specified offerings to be done.
The body of Christ abides in Christ and He brings our daily bread.
1 Corinthians 6:15-17 (ESV Strong's)
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
Christ has become one with us in our flesh. We have become one with Him in Spirit. The day will come when we become like Him in flesh and Spirit.
