2021-09-03
Good Morning, Dear Ones,
The great apostle, Paul, was born as Saul of Tarsus (Troy). He was raised in a traditionally Jewish home and lived the culture of his faith. As a young man, Saul, worked for the Sanhedrin (Jewish Ruling Council). His job at the time was to persecute Jewish Christians (Jews who had accepted Christ). Saul, later known as Paul was given the mind of an ethical attorney by God, even though that was not his career. This is a mind which can come up with ideas and state them in a way which trumped his opposition. If you wonder how Saul’s name was changed to Paul, read AC 9: 1-6 (the story of his remarkable conversion to Christ). It was after that divine event that took place on the road to Damascus, Syria that he became known as Paul. Paul was inherently an intelligent man, although he didn’t have a wonderful speaking voice and was quite ordinary physically. He was short and bald, not exactly the physique of a charismatic figure. In RO 1: 1-3, Paul states, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the Gospel of Jesus Christ (God)—the Gospel He promised beforehand through His prophecies in the holy Scriptures, regarding His Son, as to His human nature was a Descendant of David.”
When speaking to the people, Paul didn’t use big words or put on airs. He spoke the truth of what Christ had taught in terms the people could understand. 1 COR 2: 1-3, “When I came to you, brothers, I didn’t come with eloquence or superior wisdom, as I proclaimed the testimony about God. For, I resolved to know nothing while I was with you, except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you with weakness and fear and with much trembling.” These were the words of truth, spoken with much humility. Certainly, in the beginning, the people were more interested in the words they understood, but still didn’t get the meaning of the deep content they expressed. The mysterious part to them is that Christ died on the cross for them to come to faith in His teaching and to do what is required to gain eternal life. COL 1: 26-27 bears repeating. “The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but now is disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Christ in us! This is Him opening the profound wisdom and knowledge God has for us to us. Now, it is easy to understand the admonishment we’ve all received, which is: “Turn to God in prayer FIRST!” All too many of us turn to other humans for the strength and knowledge only God has.
Paul’s words would have been meaningless, had he not turned in reverent prayer to God to help the people understand, to give himself the right words to say that would convince them to do the same. Doing this effectively means to listen for God’s answers, which don’t always come in the way one expects. While Paul was given supernatural ability to reach the people, he was by no means divine. In following God’s instructions in doing his job, he complained about how difficult it got at times. Read: 2 COR 11: 22-33 and 2 COR 12: 7-10. But, once converted to Christ, Paul served Him always remembering his inferior position to God in his relationship and noting that being obedient to Christ was in his own best eternal interests.
In his speaking to the people, Paul did what God led in defining Agape = Divine love. It is being kind and patient, as Christ was. It never belittles people, but instead helps them recognize that God never does anything without a believer’s best eternal interests in mind. Jealousy, conceit, and self-pride aren’t parts of agape love. It is always happy with the truth. It never is pleased with insipid preaching. Being ill-mannered and/or using foul language are absent from it. Selfishness and irritability are not parts of it either. It never keeps a record of wrongs to use as judgment against others. Patient faith in love that never fails is its characteristic. It is never exclusive, as Gnosticism was, nor is it always spoken in strange tongues, so the people can’t understand or experience it. I’ve been general in my writing here but will pick up next week with a more in- depth discussion of these characteristics of agape love.
PRAYER: O Lord, we have seen in today’s message that certain people are called for some really huge tasks. Paul, the greatest of all apostles, was charged by You with the task of causing Christianity to spread in its infancy. He did this because of his remarkable obedience to this calling despite great inconveniences and injuries. His use of simple language that the people could understand helped his cause greatly. Your underlying task of civilizing human beings over their history has been difficult and isn’t completely accomplished. However, you call believers to leave this world a better place, and with the help of technology and Your undying love for us, it is moving forward. We can feel the loving touch of Your hand in technological advances, some people’s lives bettered by coming to faith in You and Your teaching through Christ and spread by dedicated believer’s like Paul. You deserve our forever praise and thanks for Your intervention in our lives. Apape love is not just for some but is for all. We can not ask for more than that. In Christ’s name, we prayerfully dedicate our lives to living out the gifts of the Holy Spirit [GA 5: 22-23]. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: As mentioned above, I have been led to discuss these characteristics of agape love more in- depth next week. It is necessary to this premise that I cite Paul’s words, in RO 8: 38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation any powers, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Imagine, there is no jealousy in God’s love for us—only sincerity, integrity, and His willingness to be transparent. I’m aware of just how important to our well-being those things are. When young, a man entered into a real estate partnership with another young man. The first man wasn’t willing to stick to what was already agreed upon originally. Without informing his partner, he sold his partnership to another man to enrich himself. His partner discovered this had happened, which put him in business with a stranger whose ethics he didn’t like. A court case ensued between the two original partners, and the plaintiff in this case won. The defendant was ordered to pay the plaintiff his fair share of the cost of the partnership in addition to attorney fees and a penalty. One can imagine neither the defendant nor the unethical third man felt good about himself. I pray that each of us will strengthen his faith in Christ through study of God’s word and learning to rely on His teaching. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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