Word for Life in Love— Scripture Meditations By Stephen Brown
John 15:11 (ESV)
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
This joy of Jesus may be fullness of the Lord which comes to each believer who receives His Holy Spirit. He brings the joy of life in Him to everyone reborn into His life. The blessings of heaven become our inheritance. The Father and Son are with us as the Holy Spirit leads us into the bosom of His Triune fellowship.
1 Corinthians 2:16 (ESV)
“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
As we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, to will and work in the way of Christ, we will begin to transform by the renewing of our minds. As we continue down this path, we will increasingly comprehend the mind of Jesus. In doing so, we will become more intimate in our knowing Him, for we will have the mind of Jesus and be like Him.
He will welcome us to the wedding feast.
Matthew 4:1 (ESV)
The Temptation of Jesus
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
The man Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wind the same way those who are reborn from above suddenly find themselves in the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The world is revealed as the wilderness to all who have been transferred into the kingdom. With eyes opened and spirits made alive in the Lord, the kingdom of this world can be seen for what it is.
2 Timothy 3:1 (ESV)
Godlessness in the Last Days
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.
The Greek word translated as “difficulty” includes the nuance of violence and peril. We are in a time such as this.
We place our hope in the Godfullness based on the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He is ever with us and will deliver us in the ark of Christ as it floats above the waters of the world. The waters will recede when Christ returns at last. We will set foot in on the dry land of His kingdom on the earth.
Each day that passes brings us one day closer to the Lord. We will either go to Him or He will return for us. We shall live to see Him, or live and then see Him. Either way our eternal life has begun and is assured. There will be joy!
Acts 20:24 (ESV)
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
If you have received the life of Christ, then you have received an obligation to live that life; to let the Lord work in you to transform you into His image and testify to His gospel.
James 2:26 (ESV)
For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
The breath of life that is the Holy Spirit reveals Himself by the fruit of His Spirit. If there is no fruit, He is not present. We are to work out our own salvation with reverence, for it is His Spirit who causes us to will and work in the manner that pleases God.
Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV)
Lights in the World
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Genesis 1:1 (ESV)
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Jesus is the beginning, the word of light for the world. He is the firstfruits of the new creation and predestined end of man made in the image of God.
Hebrews 1:10-12 (ESV)
10 And,
“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
11 they will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment,
12 like a robe you will roll them up,
like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same,
and your years will have no end.”
Creation is as the garment of God. He who has no beginning or end has entered a place that has both. He who is timeless subjected Himself to the confines of time. He has done so in the being and life of His Son. Our Father is infinitely and endlessly beyond creation and our understanding, therefore He has given His Son that we might know Him.
Gentiles have been grafted into the tree of life through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. Israel has its roots in the promised land and is the stump from which the branch of the Lord emerges. Israel stands before the Lord as the chosen people of the earth. The body of Christ stands before the Lord individually grafted into the branch as a person in the kingdom of heaven. The Bride of Christ will emerge the body of believers who have persevered in a personal relationship with Jesus.
Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV)
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Working out your own salvation does not mean your salvation depends on your works. Your salvation rests on the completed work of Christ. Your work is actually the work of God in you “to will and to work for his good pleasure.” This is the path of the life of good works He predestined for those being made in His image.
Everyone’s reality is based on their experience and understanding of the world. This is the world the followers of Jesus must overcome by transforming their minds as led by the Holy Spirit. When we are no longer conformed by the world we are freed to be transformed by the fruit of the Spirit into His image. This becomes our reality based on our experience and understanding of the truth of Jesus. He is the way and to the abundant life of our Father.
John 17:4-5 (ESV)
4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
Jesus glorified the Father on earth by perfectly manifesting the image of God in creation. He was raised by the Holy Spirit into the presence of the Father with the glory of the new creation, which is God in the perfected image of man. The invitation to all mankind to join Him has been given. Now is the time to accept and reserve our place at the coming wedding feast of the Lord.
James 1:25 (ESV)
But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
The Law reveals the weakness of the flesh. Christ reveals the way to overcome the flesh. This is the law of liberty. The law of liberty is fulfilled by the one who acts. “He will be blessed in his doing.” We are to work out our own salvation. (Phil 2:12) We will be judged accordingly.
James 2:12 (ESV)
So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.
John 17:3 (ESV)
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
To know Jesus is to know God. This includes Him knowing you. When we seek Him we shall find Him and He will reveal Himself to the one who seeks. The more we seek Him, the more we will find and know of ourselves. Being in Christ is becoming more like Christ.
The one who is known by the Lord will dance with the Him at their wedding and forever.
Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV)
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Today the garden of Eden appears in the heart of every believer in Jesus. This happens when we are reborn in the Spirit of God. Like Adam, we receive the breath of life that allows us to choose between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Until we received the Holy Spirit we had no choice because we were bound in the chains of sin and death.
It is only in the presence of the Holy Spirit that we can choose to eat from the tree of life. The Holy Spirit will lead in the way we should go. Choose this day and every day whom you will trust and follow. If we persevere in our walk with Him, we will join Christ on His throne and eat from the tree of life.
James 1:14 (ESV)
But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
Temptation involves our reaction to our world. Sin can arise from within, for sin enters the world through man. The heart of man is exceedingly wicked.
God changes us. The Spirit leads us into the mind of Christ. He has overcome the world of flesh and enables us to do the same.
John 17:1-2 (ESV)
The High Priestly Prayer
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
Jesus was given the authority by the Father to judge all mankind and to save those who would come to Him. He is God who has taken our flesh for His own and is doing a new thing by lifting it into the realm of the divine through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit calls out and those who answer are given eternal life.
Psalms 139:13-14 (NIV)
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
Our inmost being are our spirits which are created for eternity with God. We are fearfully and wonderfully made to be transformed into His image. It is predestined for those who follow in the way of Jesus as led by His Spirit to receive the our inheritance of the fullness of the blessings of heaven. The fruit of the Spirit is the mind of Christ. It is ours for the asking.
It is the poverty of spirit, a contrite heart, that allows one to give their life to the Lord. Poverty of spirit has nothing to do with coins or wealth. It has everything to do with the emptying of self to allow room for the Holy Spirit into the heart.
The poverty of man opens the door to the riches of heaven.
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We are to build on the foundation of the life of Jesus. There will come a day when the work of each one of us will be judged before the throne of Christ. How closely did we transform and conform to the image of God.
God has given us new life. We are reborn as a new creation in Christ to the glory of God. We are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works “.
Romans 8:6 (ESV)
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
The flesh is the world that was overcome by Jesus. He defeated death which is the natural end of man. The life of Christ is ours by the supernatural divine act of a loving God. Those who would follow Him are predestined to the abundant life and peace of God which is beyond our understanding because the finite is unable to comprehend the infinite.
Setting our mind on the Spirit is the beginning of our transformation made possible by the renewing of our minds into the image of Christ. We have the mind of Christ because He is with us. We will have the mind of Christ because He is with us as we grow into His maturity and stature.
Romans 8:3-4 (ESV)
3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Jesus opened the door of our salvation for those who are willing to walk away from sin. This is only possible by following the leading of the Holy Spirit. We have been given the gift of His presence and strength in our lives to live in the abundant life of God.
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Given new life, we are to build on the foundation of that life who is Jesus. There will come a day when the work of each one of us will be judged before the throne of Christ. How closely did we transform and conform to the image of God.
God has given us new life. We are reborn as a new creation in Christ to the glory of God. We are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works “.
Colossians 1:11-14 (NIV)
11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
We are redeemed from the dominion of darkness by the forgiveness of sins and brought into the kingdom of heaven. It is there we are to have endurance and patience as we strive to be made in the image of Christ. The Holy Spirit is present to lead and guide us in that endeavor. Jesus has “qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light.” It is here we are to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Phil 2:12) We are saved by believing in Jesus and receiving the gift of His Holy Spirit. It is then with perseverance and patience we are to walk with Jesus in this new life to join Him on His throne.
Philippians 2:12 (ESV)
Lights in the World
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
Colossians 1:15 (ESV)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Creation is the womb for the invisible God to become visible. He enters in the image of man, born as the Son of Man. He raised our mortal flesh into the resurrected, transformed, and perfected firstborn of all creation. He has opened the way for us to follow and join Him.
The Lord has entered the darkness of mankind and provides the way for mankind to enter His light. Heaven and earth are united in the body of Christ. The purpose of creation is fulfilled.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
The new creation is the union of heaven and earth in Jesus Christ. He descended from heaven to inhabit our flesh, to redeem our flesh, and to raise and perfect man into that perfection of the fellowship of God. We will rest in the Sabbath rest of Almighty God.
Material is part of creation, but confined to earthly part. This is true of everything down here except the spirit of man. We can be awakened to the kingdom of heaven and be in the world, but no longer part of the world. We are in the darkness of the earth, yet we become children of the light.
We function in both the material and spirit planes of existence when we are reborn from above and receive the Holy Spirit. We become the body of Christ who is the first in all of creation to exist in both spheres. He has become the new creation and we follow in His footsteps. All of creation awaits the revealing of the sons of God who are made in His image at last. The new creation of earth is finished in the perfected flesh and spirit of man.
Exodus 33:18-22 (ESV)
18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
Moses could not see the face of God without dying. Those in Christ will die once and live to see Jesus face to face. Jesus is the face of God. We will see Him and be like Him. We stand on the rock of ages to witness His glory.
Isaiah 61:11 (ESV)
For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.
Jesus has planted the seed of His word into the earth of man. The garden within the hearts of man that receive it will bring forth sprouts which will grow and bear the fruit of the Spirit. The nations will behold the work of the Lord that brings righteousness and praise into the world.
It is said laughter is the best medicine and it is contagious. May it break out and become the next pandemic that infects all of mankind. Let the joy of the Lord reign in our fallen world.
Romans 8:29-30 (NIV)
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Those who heed His call and come to Him are predestined to conform with the “purpose of His will”. We are being transformed into the image of Christ to glory of God. This is the “plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.”
Ephesians 1:11-12 (NIV)
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according "to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
When we believe in the name of Jesus, we are believing in the one and true God. He is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He reveals Himself through the Son and the Holy Spirit. He reveals Himself in the body of Christ. If one does not believe in Jesus, then it is not possible to believe in God or the Holy Spirit, for they one.
It is the knowing of something beyond knowing. Of peace beyond understanding and faith that is the substance of things unseen.
Our spirit is made alive in the Holy Spirit and reborn into the life of God.
Galatians 5:16-17 (ESV)
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
By walking in and with the Spirit, we begin to leave the flesh behind. If we do not, the desire of the flesh will be all the more stronger while the power of the Spirit grows fainter as the distance increases. The fullness of the kingdom of heaven is reached by following His light.
Galatians 5:6 (ESV)
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
The work of faith is obedience to His word. It is through that obedience we love God if it comes from the desire and love of our hearts.
Ephesians 4:15 (ESV)
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
Truth in love will transform us into the image of Christ the more we seek and pursue Him. One day we will see Him and be like Him. Until then let us keep on keeping on in the Lord. See you there.
