In Love - Ephesians 5:1-2

Ephesians 5:1-2 ESV 

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Love is the operative word in these two verses. To follow God, to imitate love, means to receive the love by God in such a way that love becomes our way of life. We are beloved children. As we experience and understand our "beloved" reality, our walk of life will more and more imitate Christ our Lord. 

Love becomes our offering back to God. We give ourselves up for Him as He gave Himself up for us. The perfection, or completion, of love is achieved when that connection is made, like a electric circuit made whole and allows the flow of electricity, but flowing in both directions. 

The purpose of creation takes shape and form in this union and exchange. We enter His rest and true life. 

More Than Conquerors - Romans 8:37-39

Romans 8:37-39 ESV 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,

nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Those who conquer in this world give up everything when they die. Be it land, riches, or achievements, all things are relinquished when the grave receives the body which flowered for a short time. 

Those that conquer the world are more than conquerors. Instead of giving up everything when passing from this life, they gain everything. They are with the Lord. Their inheritance is realized in heaven. The mortal body which served them in this life will pass away, only to be replaced with a new and immortal body when He returns, when we return. Do you realize you will return with Him? We are the body of Christ. 

The love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord has joined us with eternal life. We have overcome the world, making us more than conquerors. We are sons of God. 

As Many As Came - Genesis 9:8-10

Genesis 9:8-10 ESV as many as came

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,

“Behold, I establish my covevant with you and your offspring after you,

and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.

God makes a new covenant, but this one is with man and every other creature that came out of the ark. "It is for every beast of the earth." He cursed the ground because of man. He cursed the living that were drowned by the flood. From now on man alone would bear the curse of disobedience. 

God would carry that out in a most unexpected way through the Son of Man that would come for as many as would enter the the ark of the body of Christ. He alone would bear the sins of the world. 

It is for as many who will come to Him. 

It is the final covenant. 

Be Fruitful And Multiply - Genesis 9:1-7

Genesis 9:1-7 ESV 

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.

Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

“Whoever sheds the blood of man,

by man shall his blood be shed,

for God made man in his own image.

And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.”

Echoes of the Garden are in these words spoken to Noah:  “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." Here is a new beginning with new ground rules. 

Why does God now give the flesh of every moving thing that lives in addition to the green plants as food for man? It is not explained here in these verses. The fear and dread of man would now characterize the world experienced by those animals. 

The life of a man resides in his blood. This is the case for all men after the fall. When the blood of Jesus is spilled His mortal life is given for all mankind. He makes it possible for us to trade the life contained in tainted blood for His life made available in the Spirit. He has given His flesh and blood as bread and drink from heaven. The man that eats and drinks from His body finds his life resides in God. That man becomes a truer image of God. 

She Did Not Return - Genesis 8:8-12

Genesis 8:8-12 ESV 

Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground.

But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him.

He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark.

And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.

Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.

Now a dove is released. Unlike the raven, it finds no resting place until the third time. The first time might correlate to the time before Israel when the dove finds no where to land. The waters provide no resting place. 

The second time it returns with a plucked olive leaf. The olive tree is symbolic of Israel. The Spirit of God chooses a people to bring the light into the world. 

The third time the dove is released and does not return. This might correspond to the giving of the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ and made available to rest of the world. 

To And Fro - Genesis 8:6-7

Genesis 8:6-7 ESV 

At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made

and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.

Forty days is a re-occurring number appearing frequently in Scripture that represents a time of trial, such as the time Moses spent on the mountain, the Israelites wandering in the desert, or the temptations of Jesus during His time in the wilderness. 

Noah opens the only window which lets in the light after the rain and sends forth a raven. The raven goes "to and fro" on the earth, as Satan did in Job. This is the first of two birds released in this new world. One may be reminded that the earth was dark and formless before the appearance of light. 

It is God Who releases the birds. 

Satan will have dominion over the earth until the waters are dried from the earth and the sea is no more. The beasts of Satan rise from the waters of humanity to oppose God, but the dominion of Satan will disappear.

Breath Of Life - Genesis 7:22-24

Genesis 7:22-24 ESV 

Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

The breath of life is different from the breath of God. All living creatures have the breath of life, but only those which receive the breath of God enter the life of God. There is life on earth, but true life is in heaven. 

We who believe have received the breath of God, the Holy Spirit Who seals us in the kingdom. We breathe the air of life beyond life. We have become one spiritually with the Lord. 

The kingdom of heaven has invaded the earth. One day heaven and earth will complete that union as the sons of God receive immortal bodies that match their immortal spirits. 

No longer will the waters prevail.