THE PROFOUNDNESS OF GOD’S LOVE (Part 1-2)

Eric Aboadwe
August 23, 2017 ·

THE PROFOUNDNESS OF GOD’S LOVE (Part 1)

Our Scripture reading for this blessed day is taken from Ephesians where it says:

“That He will grant you, according to the riches of His glory through His SPIRIT in the INNER MAN, that CHRIST may dwell in your HEARTS through FAITH; that you, being rooted and grounded in LOVE, may be able to comprehend with all the Saints what is the WIDTH and LENGTH and DEPTH and HEIGHT – to know the LOVE of CHRIST which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with the all the FULLNESS of God” (Ephesians 3:16-19).

There are some people who measure God’s “LOVE” according to their situation. They will say, “If God LOVES me, then why am I going through this? Why am I facing this problem?” But let us understand that God has ALWAYS been who He is before your problem emerged. It is not our situation which is going to determine or change who God is. Our situation is not a BAROMETER to measure Gods’ “LOVE” or the INTERPRETER of God’s “LOVE.”

Before God even created the entire universe, laid the foundation of the world, and before He created human beings, He was “LOVE,” and He is “LOVE,” and He will continue to be “LOVE.” He is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). We must understand that “LOVE” is God’s nature, it is not only something that He does, but He is “LOVE.” Our life situations cannot CHANGE who He is.

When the Apostle Paul spoke about “The WIDTH and LENGTH and DEPTH and HEIGHT” of God’s “LOVE,” he was drawing our attention to the fact that God’s “LOVE” cannot be measured. His “LOVE” is out of bounds, and it is out of calculation. Paul was saying that whether you look to the LEFT, RIGHT, UP and DOWN, you cannot find the vastness of God’s LOVE because it is limitless.

Therefore through the Holy Spirit, Paul was teaching us that when we realize the boundless of God’s “LOVE” and we are “rooted and grounded” in it, then we will be filled with “the FULLNESS of God” which refers to the TOTALITY or the COMPLETENESS of His Divine NATURE.

The Apostle Peter also spoke about this when he said, “By which have been given to us exceedingly GREAT and PRECIOUS promises, that through these you may be PARTAKERS of His DIVINE NATURE, having escaped the CORRUPTION that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). Some people may read passages of Scripture like this and get CONFUSED, especially where it says “having escaped the CORRUPTION that is in the world through LUST.”

I wish we could leap over this and move on, but the younger ones in FAITH whose mindset is weak may be shaky by this passage, and they may be tempted to think of it as some habitual weaknesses of their FLESH which they must fight by themselves. But when Peter says “having escaped the CORRUPTION that is in the world through LUST,” he is saying that the reason why this world is “CORRUPTED” is as a result of “LUST,” but we have “escaped” through JESUS CHRIST.

The Apostle John also explained this “LUST” in detail by grouping them into “the LUST of the FLESH, the LUST of the EYE, and the PRIDE of LIFE” (1 John 2:16). Those of you who have been following (The True Living Bread & Water) for a long time will remember that some time ago we learnt about these LUSTS under the topic THE THREE (3) CATEGORIES OF SIN where God taught us how these LUSTS were manifested right from the “Garden of Eden” through Satan.

Those who missed it can make a personal request and I will send it to them because time will not permit me at the moment to talk about it, else we will be carried away from our main topic under study. But Peter was actually saying is that it is JESUS CHRIST who made the way for us to “ESCAPE” from the “CORRUPTION” in the world brought by “LUST” through His “WATER and BLOOD.”

We don’t have to read the Bible with CARNAL minds else we will end up establishing our own RIGHTEOUSNESS and not being submissive to God’s RIGHTEOUSNESS (Romans 10:3). Not only this, but we will also “twist the Scriptures” to our own “destruction” as Peter himself told us in his epistle (2 Peter 3:16).

So let us understand that it is JESUS CHRIST who made us IMMUNITY to SIN through HIS profound “LOVE” and not by ourselves. He gave this IMMUNITY to our “spirit” and “soul” and not our “FLESH.” God has already condemned and sentenced our “FLESH” to death at once (Hebrews 9:27), and there is nothing you can do to CHANGE it.

However the reason why we do our best to abstain from certain acts and overt SINS is because we don’t want to “harm” others since the Scripture tells us that whether we SIN or whether we are RIGHTEOUS, we don’t “accomplish” anything “against” God, and neither do we do give Him anything. But it says that “Your wickedness AFFECTS a man such as you, and your RIGHTEOUSNESS a son of man” (Job 35:6-8).

And the Scripture also tells us that “For there is no RIGHTEOUS man on earth who does GOOD and does not SIN (Ecclesiastes 7:20). But because many religious Christians who do not understand God’s profound “LOVE” have become self-cantered about the activities of their “FLESH,” it prompted them to “sew” a new version of “Fig leaves” called “The Prayers of Repentance” as an ANTIDOTE to cover their SIN. This “Fig leaves” is not different from the one which Adam used to cover his nakedness of SIN (Genesis 3:7).

But God’s profound “LOVE” made “tunics of skin” and clothed Adam and Eve. Therefore it is written, “Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). This was “the SHADOW of the good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1), and therefore God allowed JESUS CHRIST to be killed on the Cross after taking our SINS in the Jordan River through His BAPTISM.

This is how JESUS became our “tunics of skin,” and God “clothed” us with His BODY. That’s why the Apostle Paul said that, “For as many of you were BAPTIZED into CHRIST have PUT ON CHRIST” (Galatians 3:27). This is the profoundness (DEPTH) of God’s “LOVE.”

So let us know that ANTIDOTES such as the “The Prayers of Repentance” and the “Gradual Sanctification” theory cannot give us IMMUNITY to SIN. It is only the “LOVE” of the water, the blood, and the resurrection of JESUS which gives us the ANTIDOTE to SIN. He is the One who said that our “warfare” against SIN has “ENDED,” and we have “received double for our SINS” (Isaiah 40:2).

This is God’s profound “LOVE” for humans. It is JESUS CHRIST who has VACCINATED (immunized) our “spirit” and “soul” against the spiritual disease of SIN. Even if Satan were to inject your “spirit” and “soul” with SIN, it will never work. WHY? This is because the “Holy Spirit” is covering (dwelling) in your “spirit” and “soul.” This is the POWER of God’s profound “LOVE” through His “Word” (JESUS CHRIST).

Our study continues.....

God’s profound “LOVE” has BLESSED you!








Eric Aboadwe
August 24, 2017 ·

THE PROFOUNDNESS OF GOD’S LOVE (Part 2)

Our Scripture reading is once again taken from Ephesians which says:

“That He will grant you, according to the riches of His glory through His SPIRIT in the INNER MAN, that CHRIST may dwell in your HEARTS through FAITH; that you, being rooted and grounded in LOVE, may be able to comprehend with all the Saints what is the WIDTH and LENGTH and DEPTH and HEIGHT – to know the LOVE of CHRIST which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with the all the FULLNESS of God” (Ephesians 3:16-19).

This passage in Ephesians is one of the many passages in the Holy Bible which when clearly understood, will enable the Saints of His water and the Spirit to praise God for all eternity, giving glory to JESUS CHRIST for His redemption power of “LOVE” which actually “surpass” every “knowledge” and which enables us to be filled with “the FULLNESS of God.”

Our reading tells us that the reason why God granted the Holy Spirit to dwell in our “INNER MAN” is because of His profound “LOVE” for us. In other words, the indwelling of the “HOLY SPIRIT” in our “INNER MAN” is due to the immeasurable “LOVE” of God. That’s why the Apostle Paul said that, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the LOVE of God has been poured out in our HEARTS through the HOLY SPIRIT who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).

It means that God’s profound “LOVE” cannot be “poured in our HEARTS” in the absence of the “HOLY SPIRIT.” It is the “Spirit” who makes us realize God’s “LOVE.” Therefore those who don’t have the “Spirit” of God have not yet received His “LOVE” into their spiritual “HEARTS.” This is because the Word makes it crystal clear that “The LOVE of God” has been poured in our Hearts “through the HOLY SPIRIT who was given to us.” We must understand this point very well.

However one may ask, “If that’s the case, then how can a person receive the HOLY SPIRIT in order for God’s “LOVE” to be poured in his HEART? For this to happen, the Scripture tells us what must be done. It says, “Repent, and let every one of you be BAPTIZED in the name of JESUS CHRIST for the REMISSION of SINS; and you shall receive the GIFT of the HOLY SPIRIT” (Acts 2:38).

This passage tells us that receiving the “REMISSION of SINS” is as a result of God’s “LOVE,” and this is what qualifies any SINNER irrespective of his flaws to receive “the GIFT of the HOLY SPIRIT.” This is the lovingkindness of God through His profound “LOVE” which beats our imagination.

Receiving the “REMISSION of SINS” and the gift of “HOLY SPIRIT” simultaneously in our “INNER MAN” is the greatest BLESSING which God has given to us. This is because it makes our names to be written in the “Book of Life” (Luke 10:20; Revelation 20:12-15), and it also gives us the “RIGHT” to be called “children of God” (John 1:12).

However in order to receive the “Spirit,” one must first “Repent” by accepting the fact that he is born as an inherent SINNER who will commit SIN until he dies. And he must BELIEVE that JESUS was baptized for His SINS, died for his SINS, and resurrected for his SINS. Believing in this is what enable us to understand God’s profound “LOVE.”

If you will remember, in our study about POWER, LOVE & SOUND MIND (Part 5), we learnt that JESUS was born by the Virgin to reveal God’s “LOVE,” and he received “BAPTISM” to accept our SINS upon Himself to reveal God’s “LOVE,” and He died on the Cross to reveal His “LOVE,” and He resurrected for this very same purpose.

Therefore when the Apostle Peter says “be BAPTIZED in the name of JESUS CHRIST for the REMISSION of SINS,” He is talking about having FAITH in the “LOVE” of God revealed by all the RIGHTEOUS works of JESUS. These works which were done by CHRIST are the works of God’s profound “LOVE” which grants the “REMISSION of SINS.”

Many Christians do not understand the profoundness of God’s “LOVE,” and they are trying their best to do so many things in “vain” to become “HOLY.” But the Word of God tells us clearly that we are made “HOLY” and “BLAMELESS” by His “LOVE.” The Apostle Paul explains this in his epistle to the Ephesians when he said, “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be HOLY and WITHOUT BLAME before Him in LOVE” (Ephesians 1:4).

As a Christian, just pause for a little while and read this Scripture passage with patience and discernment. When you do that, you will realize that you can never become “HOLY” or “BLAMELESS” by the “LAW” of Moses. It says clearly here that God made you “HOLY” and “WITHOUT BLAME” in His profound “LOVE” through JESUS CHRIST.

This “LOVE” does not allow those who BELIEVE in the sacrificial work of His Son to suffer eternal punishment. Therefore when JESUS says that, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My Word and BELIEVES in Him who sent Me has EVERLASTING LIFE, and shall not come into JUDGMENT, but has passed from DEATH into LIFE” (John 5:24), He was expressing the profoundness of His “LOVE” for us.

In other words, the “DEPTH” of God’s “LOVE” could not simply allow those who seek for His MERCY to “PERISH” (John 3:16). This extreme degree of “the LOVE of CHRIST” brought a transformational transfer from “DEATH into LIFE.” Therefore when JESUS say that you have “passed” from “DEATH into LIFE,” it means that you have been relocated from “DEATH into LIFE” all because of His “LOVE” for you.

Christians must understand God’s “LOVE.” When the Word of God says, “The wages of SIN is DEATH” (Romans 6:23), and JESUS also say you have “passed” from “DEATH into LIFE,” it means that your SIN problem which brought spiritual “DEATH” has been resolved by the profound “LOVE” of God. It is the “LOVE” of CHRIST which provided the SOLUTION to our SIN PROBLEM and the eternal punishment of spiritual “DEATH.”

That’s why in the same passage of Romans 6:23, the Apostle Paul said that, “But the GIFT of God is ETERNAL LIFE in CHRIST JESUS our Lord.” It means that it is the “GIFT” of God’s “LOVE” which gave “ETERNAL LIFE” to sinful mortals.

BLESSED are those who have received this GIFT of His profound “LOVE”