Captivated by love or the Spirit

When we are captivated by

God's ¹love we are also filled with or driven by the ²Spirit. This means what we say and do comes from and by the Spirit i.e. we are moved by love. The only question is if and when we are truly captivated. Is this even possible on this side of eternity? It is certainly something we should seek. 

To be moved by love is functionally the same thing as being moved by or filled with the Spirit, for God is Spirit and also love. Spirit, love, and being God are different aspects of the same being. 

To act from a heart filled with God and His love - i.e. in and by the Spirit - is to operate out of fullness not out of need and emptiness. God's infinite love frees us to focus outwardly instead of inwardly; on others and not ourselves. This is expressive versus deficit motivation. When we are captivated by God's love, we change from the inside out and go from being takers (or "getters") to givers.

When we are moved by love - i.e. the Spirit - we do not have to give much thought to our actions toward others or our response to challenging circumstances. As a rule, ³our response will be right because it is coming from the right place i.e. a place of fullness of love not a need for love. It will come from who we are as an infinitely cherished child of God bearing His image.

Right intent doesn't always guarantee right actions, but more often than not, results in them.

If you wish to operate in the Spirit, focus on and soak in God's love, not the right conduct. Right living is the fruit of being loved i.e. of operating in and by the Spirit.

How do we focus on his love? 

By faith.

But faith in what? 

Faith in the evidence of God's love demonstrated perfectly through sending his Son to restore us back to Himself. 

Christ stepped into our world of pain, suffering, and death to take upon himself our pain and death (caused by our rebellious unbelief). Why? So he might restore us to the Father and eventually free us from all pain, suffering, and death one day. He did this by removing the barrier between us and Himself so He could love us freely and fully ⁴again (allowing Him to freely be who He already is as love without any obstruction or reservation getting in the way, blocking His love). 

Now, because of Christ, nothing can separate us from God's love.

For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear let them see and hear... and believe!
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¹To say it more precisely, we are captivated by the God of love not by the blessings of God. 

Because our faith is weak and our hearts are so quickly led astray, we can easily lose sight of the Source of all things and become obsessed with the things themself (the "prosperity gospel" is the classic example and manifestation of this tendency). This is a constant battle we must be aware of and on guard for. We are reminded of this by Israel's regular wandering back and forth from the Lord (depending on the leadership of their various kings and whether they had a heart for God or not) and God blessing or not blessing them according to their arrogance or humility; their dependence on God or on creature comforts. When they got obsessed with the blessings of life, the blessings dried up and when they cried out to God in sincere humility, God opened His hand of blessings to them again. God loves to bless us but if the blessings pull us away from Him, He knows that isn't best for us, He is.

²The Spirit (literally breath) of God is the outward manifestation of the passionate love of God between the Father and the Son as they behold the glory (beauty) of the other. This love is so all-powerful it is the foundation of the very existence of God Himself and all that flows from Him. God is love and He is Spirit. And He is Spirit because He is love. 

For more on this click here.

When we are passionate about another, our excitement, heart rate, and breath - rate of breathing - go up as we behold the one we love. That very same kind of love is now directed and focused on us if we are in Christ.

What is it about us that God beholds, which creates this same passionate love for us? We are like God i.e. in his image. God is most passionate about himself as a being of relationship between the Father, Son, and Spirit. Therefore, He's also passionate about us because we are like him, designed for relationship. 

We are also his children; the very sons and daughters of God (Christ is the firstborn of all God's children and our "big brother").

³How do we know when we are not captivated by love? When we do not respond in love to challenges or opportunities to love others. 

⁴In Christ God no longer deals with (relates to) us based on (according to) our rebellious unbelief but based only on (according to) his infinite love perfectly secured for us by Christ.

Christ's central message?

Once Christ officially began his ministry what was His central message? 

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” - Matt 4:17 - i.e. it's right at your doorstep i.e. get ready, for the coming new kingdom - and its King - is about to be ¹established.

What time is "that time" being referred to above? The time right after his 40 days of testing in the wilderness. A testing that the Spirit ²led Him into right after the public announcement of his ministry at his baptism.

During his time in the wilderness, Jesus passed three tests by the deceiver (corresponding to the 3 failures of our first parents). This set the stage to announce His soon-coming kingdom and ⁸earn Him the right to be its king.

What is the kingdom of God (or heaven)? It is the rule and reign of the ³love of Jesus, the ⁴King of love, over His followers - His willing subjects.

Why does Jesus use the kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven interchangeably? Because they are one and the same. How?

It is a heavenly - blissful - kingdom because it is a kingdom that issues forth from love and is governed by and filled with ³love - for God is love. It is the ⁵arrival of heaven (love-God) on earth which was inaugurated at the birth and incarnation of the Son of God, secured and sealed by his death, burial, and resurrection (Death no longer has the last word, life does; life back from death) and will be fully manifested when Christ returns to earth to reign forever with those who have received His offer of life and love through the forgiveness he earned for them by his death and resurrection. 

Wherever God and His rule of love are present is a ⁶taste of heaven on earth (but only a taste for now...the full feast is later) i.e. a taste of joy and delight in the King's love which ultimately will lead to an uninterrupted, eternal, unobstructed, infinite feast of love and bliss i.e. heaven on earth.

How does this work? How is this different than the typical kind of kingly rule?

Typically a king reigns or rules by decree (law) under threat of punishment. If and when you violate the king's decree you suffer the consequences. Those consequences can be anything from fines to prison to execution. Fear of punishment is the primary motivation for compliance in this kind of kingdom.

A rule (kingdom) of (or by) love is completely different. Unlike a rule of law, which works by ⁷fear of punishment, rejection, and condemnation, a rule of love (or law of love) creates within its subjects the desire to obey its king's directions (commands). His subjects willingly (delightfully) obey because they want to, not because they have to...they obey out of love for and trust in their King not out of fear of punishment by their judge. Why? Because Christ bore the judgment for us for not properly honoring and loving Him as rightful King and our neighbor - fellow image bearers of the King - as we were designed to.

Even though there are still consequences for not loving Him (and others) as deserved under the rule of love, they are not the consequences of rejection, condemnation, and judgment. They are consequences of correction as His beloved child, designed to draw us closer to the king of love so we might experience His love more fully and freely and display it more perfectly for His glory.

In both a rule of law and a rule of love there are clear directions to follow and what is good and right conduct. The difference is the motivation that drives the behavior of its subjects. Under the rule of law, it is a fear of rejection, condemnation, punishment, and judgment. Under the rule of Christ, love, and trust is the driving force behind true - love-driven - obedience.

In light of all this God calls us to enter His kingdom through the love of its humble king.

Matt 11:28 

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 take my yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

What rest? The rest from constantly having to seek life and love (i.e. affirmation from others) because we now have it fully and perfectly in God through Christ. All that is left is for us to accept his offer. Do you accept it?

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. - 

Rev 22:17

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¹What would it take to establish this kingdom of love? The death and resurrection of Christ to remove the barrier between God and man - i.e. he removed the legal consequences of our rebellious distrust of Him - so that his love could flow freely to his subjects and Christ's rule of love could be firmly and permanently established.

²Which makes the prayer Jesus taught His disciples all the more interesting.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. - Matt 6:9‭-‬13 ESV

The Father's will being done - i.e. His rule and reign as King - on earth as it is in heaven - was most fully demonstrated in the very person of Christ during His incarnation and time on earth. That which is of heaven - i.e. God and His Son - was fully displayed and manifested on earth in and through Christ as a human... a creature i.e. the incarnation or fleshing out of God himself among us here on earth which leads to his complete and ultimate physical reign on earth (and also our reign in and through Him).

Since the resurrection of Christ and the coming of his Spirit (of love and life), we are now the "fleshing out" of God before a watching world until He returns.

³And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered with the Shama, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 

And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 

And when Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God” - i.e. You understand that the essence of the Kingdom of God is love. Now live by it.

"And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions." - Mark 12:28‭-‬34

The greatest and second commandment is the essence of the kingdom of God. And what is the essence of these commands? Love. The love of God and others.

⁴Christ earned his right to reign over His subjects by humbling himself as a servant and dying on behalf of the subjects He rules over. 

Christ our King cast himself into battle to fight and overcome evil to save his subjects and died as a result. He did this knowingly and willingly.

⁵The arrival of the Kingdom of God begins in the individual hearts of men and women when we place our trust in the King of love. But will be completed when God sets up His literal physical kingdom on earth at His return. 

⁶It isn't the full meal however until we sit at the feast with the King. Not just a one-time meal but heaven itself will be a perpetual eternal feast of love that will never be interrupted. At that time he will usher in and fully establish his perfect rule and kingdom on Earth, where there are no more tears, pain, or dying... only love, joy, and bliss. In fact, a (maybe the) primary cause of the joy we experience now under God's rule (kingdom) of love is knowing we will one day experience his love fully and perfectly face to face without limit or interruption.

It is also a kingdom of hope. It is a sure hope (expectation) that we will fully experience what we now only have a taste of.

For an excellent article on the "already... but not yet" aspect of the kingdom click here.

For additional thoughts on this click here.

The arrogant seek to control and rule over the resources of creation but in the end, the meek will inherit the Earth. Why? They are humbly submitted to Earth's Creator, Sustainer, and true King and will use creation to honor Him as such.

⁷We are to fear God as children, not as criminals. This is a fear of correction for not listening to our Father's wise and loving instructions, not of condemnation and rejection for violating the law. A "spanking" hurts but when done out of love it is designed to bring us life. 

⁸Unlike us, Christ earned everything he received. Everything we receive is a gift i.e. by grace - earned for us by Christ. We couldn't earn it and because He did and extends what is rightfully His to us, we don't have to.

But he earned it nevertheless. How? He fulfilled the rightful requirements of the law because we were unable to - and assigns his perfect record of perfect obedience to us as if it's ours - if we accept it. Do you accept his offer?

God's glory or our delight?

When all our focus and energy is on honoring God, you would think we would get lost in the process. However, it is just the opposite. It is when and where we find ourselves most, are most grounded, and experience our greatest fulfillment and joy.

What gets lost isn't ourselves but our trying to find that fulfillment on our own, apart from or outside of God.

Even though our greatest fulfillment is found in valuing (worshipping) another (i.e. God, who is most valuable), it is no less ¹our fulfillment we are experiencing. 

Our fulfillment is legitimate and important not just to us, but also to God. He created us to experience and enjoy Him and find our greatest joy and fulfillment in Him in doing so.

In turn, He experiences his own joy in bringing us joy. God is driven to bring the joy and delight in who He is - as Father, Son, and Spirit - to others in and through Himself - the true source of life, love, and all things. God is thrilled when we delight in Him. He finds great ²delight in it.

But all this is the result of honoring God, not the goal. To say it simply, ³our greatest joy (fulfillment) is bringing the highest honor ³to another, not in seeking joy itself i.e. for its own sake.  

Because we are in the image of God we are wired to focus on another and find greatest joy in doing so because this is exactly what happens between the Father and Son in, by, and through the Spirit.

And this is not just honoring anyone but the one Being that is most significant and honorable above all others and most worthy of all honor - the Creator and Giver of all things.

If we truly desire to find our life, we must lose our life first, i.e. lose our hopes and attempts to find life outside of or apart from God. Because He is life. True life is ultimately and only in Him.

Related topics:

Are our desires good or bad? 

Who are we?

Created for Glory II

Crowned with glory and honor

Giving and receiving glory

Why God calls us to glorify him

The importance and necessity of the Trinity 

The essence of God's life

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¹Our desire for fulfillment isn't in question. We are designed by God Himself to be filled by Him. It is a matter of how we best experience fulfillment - by seeking it directly, independent of God, or by seeking God and, in doing so, finding our greatest fulfillment. The Bible says it is only possible in and by the latter.

The most amazing part is this is also central to the very being of God himself. The Father finds the greatest joy in exalting another - i.e. his Son - and the Son in exalting his Father. This delight, love, and joy is the essence of who God is. This delight is so great it tangibly manifests as God's Spirit, the third person of our triune God. God is Spirit and He is Love. 

Because we are like God, we too find greatest fulfillment in this same way, i.e. by exalting another. God not only instructs us to this end and in this way but actually lives this Himself. This is who God is and who He calls us to be i.e. like Him...in His image.

²...Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us' ”? - James 4:5 ESV

yearns -

ἐπιποθεῖ (epipothei)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1971: From epi and potheo; to dote upon, i.e. intensely crave possession.

spirit -

πνεῦμα (pneuma)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4151: Wind, breath, spirit.

He caused to dwell - 

κατῴκισεν (katōkisen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2730: To dwell in, settle in, be established in (permanently), inhabit. From kata and oikeo; to house permanently, i.e. Reside.

According to the above passage, there is something about us - our breath-spirit-life-being - he put in us that he values, prizes, longs (yearns) for, and seeks to engage.

What is that something? Our being like God - in his image. He longs for Himself in us - i.e. that which is like Him - in us. Since he created us like himself - in his image - he also longs for us. He longs for and delights in us. God is all about giving because He already has all that he needs within himself as the community of Father and Son in, by, and through the Spirit.

³And so it also is with God. His greatest joy is bringing delight to another. First, the Son brings joy to the Father, then the Father to his Son, and then out through the Son to us, his adopted sons and daughters who are in his image, i.e. who are like God.

God's delight is like a parent who gives a legitimate gift to a child that the child wants. As parents, we delight in doing so when we know it's in their best interest - and when they appreciate the love conveyed by us through that gift and are not just enamored with the gift or drawn away from the giver by it.

God made the nations?

There is debate within the church of the validity of nations and/or borders. Does the Bible have anything to say about this? Let's see.

"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, (why?) that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him."- Acts 17:24‭-‬26 ESV

It appears from the above passage that the nation/state is a valid entity. The important question is why? 

Due to man's rebellion towards God, man seeks to unite in that rebellion whenever possible. This was the problem at the tower of Babel. Man determined to combine his resources in order to "climb to the heights of heaven" i.e. to achieve heaven on earth and bring in the kingdom of heaven (bliss) to earth without God-Christ, the rightful King. (This is the current goal of one world government - driven by corporations and those who back and control them. They seek to capture and control the economic resources of mankind, often in order to fleece them - Though some genuinely seeks to serve their fellow men and women). 

This is the result of mans rebellious attempt to exalt himself, and is directly contrary to God exalting man due to man humbling himself. Salvation is of the Lord only. Man cannot save himself...not permanently. As a result God had to divide them up by language i.e. into different people groups, which resulted in different ¹nations. Nations were instituted by God himself in response to man's rebellion. 

Man's greatest need is to be reunited with his Creator, not uniting together in their rebellion against Him in order to acquire unlimited power and control over all the resources of creation and other creatures. 

According to the above passage reconnecting with God best occurs when we are in our separate Nation/States i.e. so... "that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him."

It appears nations and the borders needed to distinguish them is not only legitimate but the necessary and best way for humanity to reach out and seek God again.

To see if God has anything to say about immigrants or immigration click here.

For a discussion on values culture and racism click here.

For a discussion on racism and the necessity of forgiveness click here

For a discussion on what divides us click here.

For a discussion of the harmful nature of identity politics click here.

What is the nature of racial privilege? Click here for a discussion.

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¹To have different nations is to have boundaries or borders. While some object to this idea no one objects to having a fense or wall around their property or doors on their home. Why do we do this? We live in a broken world and therefore to protect those we value and cherish.

Doorways are also entry ways through which we invite people we trust into the sacred dwelling place we call home so we might welcome, embrace and serve them.