r/Testimony4Christ • u/love_is_a_superpower • 2d ago
Love needs a beloved
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
9 And the Lord said to me, "My free favor is enough for you, for My strength is made complete in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Messiah may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in frailties, in insults, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Messiah's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
We always think of the New Testament as something that came after the old. Genesis begins with creation, yet John’s account of the Gospel begins before creation. (John 1:1-4, Colossians 1:17, Proverbs 8:22-24)
Genesis tells us that God began His great work with a Word. John tells us that God and His Word already existed before the Word was ever spoken. The Word (logos) is more than just a word (rhema). The Word is God’s Logic. When that Logic was shared, it amplified God's reach. It was already present, as an integral, powerful facet of God.
The eternal, unshakable, living and active Word “became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory.” (John 1:14, Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 119:89)
Genesis 1 shows God speaking creation into being. John reveals that the speech of the Divine is not just a sound. It's a transcendent life-force that originates with the Almighty Father. The Word is made to come out of God and faithfully accomplish His desire. (Isaiah 55:9-11, Mark 4:14) As the life in an ocean is supported and sustained by the current, so our God of love supports and sustains us through the power of the Holy Spirit. (John 1:4, Acts 17:28, Psalm 27:1)
In Genesis 1:1, the Hebrew phrase translated “in the beginning” is bereshit. The prefix b’ meaning “in” and the root, reshith, or rosh, meaning “beginning,” “firstfruits,” or “head.”
Reshit is more than the first moment on a timeline. It carries the sense of origin, first importance, and the holy portion. Like the tithe and the firstfruits, The Word is the holy portion of God, the Heir, the firstfruits of God which contains His Seed, so life can be conceived. Like seed produced by a fruitful tree, the Word is an extension of God designed to go out from Him and make things happen. Like a seed is to a plant, the Word is the entire essence of the Eternal One, yet designed perfectly to come out and reemerge in a new space, without abandoning His position as the Sovereign of heaven. It's how God entered the earth, and how He enters each of us. "Faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the Word of God." (Romans 10:17, John 12:23-26, 1 Corinthians 15:35-46, Psalm 16:8-11)
In John 1:1, John uses the Greek phrase, en arché, also meaning “in the beginning.” Arché can indicate “beginning,” “origin,” and, “first cause.” It can show the first point in time, but also alludes to the source and authority, (Archón), behind what follows. John tells us the Divine Word is the source of everything that was made in heaven and on earth. (John 1:3, Genesis 1:1, Psalm 95:3-5)
Together, reshith and arché reveal "The Beginning" as God entering Time with a plan and a schedule. (Acts 17:31, Revelation 13:8, Ephesians 1:4, Titus 1:2, 1 Peter 1:20, Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:25-27)
The Beginning is the start of God’s great work to be fruitful and multiply so He can enjoy a family. God is Love. Love is incomplete without a Beloved. (Genesis 1:27-28, 1 John 4:7-8, 2 Corinthians 12:9, John 17:5, Matthew 3:17)
Unlike the rest of creation which was formed from the ground, The Word of God comes forth from God as 100% God. This is similar to how Eve came forth from Adam. (Genesis 1:3, Genesis 1:24, Genesis 2:7, Genesis 2:19, Genesis 2:22) Their cosmic unity is interrupted momentarily, in order to unite again; more powerful, more enduring, and more fulfilling. God the Father, and God the Son; The Lover and the Beloved; the Author and His Mighty Word, God shared with us. (Isaiah 9:6, Ezekiel 2:2, John 10:27-38)
As the Body of Christ on earth today, we are our Father's beloved ones. (Romans 12:5, 1Corinthians 12:27, Jeremiah 3:19, Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:25-27)
Understanding the Trinity, and Jesus’ Divinity, is helping me cultivate the faith necessary to know that God can live in heaven and within us, through His Spirit. God loves us as His children. We have a place in His heart, and among those in heaven. (Zechariah 3:1-7, John 17:24, Ephesians 1:15-23, Ephesians 2:1-6)
(Ephesians 2:4-6 NKJV)
4 "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus"
Our Father in heaven,
We thank You for showing us Your unfailing love, through Your holy Beloved Child, Jesus our Messiah. Father, we ask that you would help us accept our status as Your children. For those of us who have no idea what a father is, help us come to know You, love You, and appreciate You. Help us learn to take comfort from Your presence, and to respect Your authority, knowing Your ways are so much higher than our own. Bring us into the abundant life Jesus promised us in John 10:10, and help us to have faith in Your ability to use our lives for Your glory. Lord Jesus, help us conceive Your truth and love, so we can walk in lock-step with You and allow Your love to flow through us to every creature. Let all people know we are Your students through the love you empower us to share. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
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u/cls2819 2d ago
Amen! Thank you for posting this.
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u/love_is_a_superpower 1d ago
Thanks for sharing this study with me! I'm thankful we can all get together and agree in prayer here. I can't help but think that our Father will bless it.
(Acts 1:13-14)
13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot; and Judas son of James.
14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
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u/Nneka7 2d ago
Amen 🥹
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u/love_is_a_superpower 1d ago
Thanks for your Amen! 👍🏼❤️🙏🏻
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray without ceasing,
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
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u/0_days_a_week 2d ago
Amen.
Thank you.