Apicontent

Today many Christians understand that a mix of grace and self-effort will never save us. Martin Luther clearly taught the truth that we are justified by faith alone. Eternal life is not earned by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus as the Son of God.

However, Luther did not teach Jesus’ New Covenant love. He did not emphasize that “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). He did not clearly portray the life-changing significance of Jesus’ New command, “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). Luther realized the importance of love in Scripture, but he seemed to see it as something to be earned under the Old Covenant—rather than as something to be received in the New. Therefore, even though he knew the law was impossible to obey, he treated love as a work to be accomplished under the law—by the independent soul. After trusting God for eternal life, Luther tried to live his life on earth by loving God and others with his own self-effort. He wrote, “Since you have found Christ by faith … begin now to work and do well. Love God and your neighbor.”¹

Many of us today have inherited that same wrong thinking. For living a life of love on earth we are trapped into relying on a mix of grace and works. We are caught in the bondage of the Old Covenant. Despite having a born-again spirit, we keep trying to do “good” things to live rightly on earth. We ask God to help us with our plans, rather than embracing His. Adam’s independent, sin nature has a deep-rooted strangle hold.

Before we are saved, Satan fights to keep us from Spirit-to-spirit relationship with God. However, once we have God’s Spirit in us, his tactic is to keep the Holy Spirit bottled up inside our spirit so God, who is love, cannot express Himself to the world. One of the ways he does this is to disguise evil by calling it “good.” He masquerades as an angel of light bombarding us with “good” things for the independent soul to do after receiving Christ by faith. He deceives us into thinking that after we are born again, we can somehow—by following a set of rules or good advice—love others and live on earth as God intends.

That is a lie.

In the New Testament, Paul confronted Peter for teaching similar falsehood. When Peter was teaching faith in Jesus and obedience to Jewish laws and traditions, Paul “withstood him to his face” (Galatians 2:11). Paul did not want Christians falling back into living under the bondage of the law. Jesus did not begin a good work and then leave it to Moses to finish. Any mix of faith and flesh—any combination of grace and law—is toxic and cannot produce life as God designed.

With strong words, Paul warned the believers in Galatia: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth…. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:1–3). The believers in Galatia had begun well; they were born of the Spirit. But now they were attempting to live their Christian lives in the flesh—by the strength of the independent soul.

Flesh is the combination of soul and body. Just as the heart refers to the spirit and soul together, the flesh refers to the soul and body together. The flesh is neither sinful nor righteous. It is made sinful or righteous depending on who leads it.

When the flesh controls itself—when the soul is master—it is sinful. Although it may look good on the outside, such as when it does good and avoids evil, the flesh, cut off from God, cannot produce life as He intends. At its best, flesh describes a Pharisee in the temple; at its worst, it describes an unrepentant murderer in prison. Paul says, “In me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find”(Romans 7:18).

However, when the Spirit is Master, the flesh radiates the nature of God—the glory of God. It is through the flesh of the Man, Jesus Christ, that we see spiritual God in a physical, earthly form we can understand. The Bible says, “And the Word [Jesus] became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory” (John 1:14). Paul goes on to tell us, that the life of Jesus is “manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:11). When God’s Spirit lives in our spirit and when the Spirit leads our soul, we function in the Spirit and radiate God to the world. When I surrender my I will to God’s will, God pours through my spirit-soul-body channel and waters the world with His love.

Paul also said to the Galatians. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”(Galatians 5:25). To live in the Spirit and to walk in the Spirit are two different things. The first begins at the moment of salvation. When we live in the Spirit, we are born of the Spirit and become children of God. Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

The second—walk in the Spirit—happens in a continual love-relationship with God as we walk out our life on earth. We walk in the Spirit by living our lives guided by God. Our soul gives up its own will and surrenders to the Spirit. We die to our will and desires and become one with Jesus. When we let God lead, we become mature sons and daughters of God. Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

But how does one become a son or daughter of God who is continually led by the Spirit? If choosing to walk in the Spirit is something I try to do, I put myself back under the law. If I make walking in the Spirit (or loving others) a rule, I put myself back under the impossibility of the Old Covenant. Even if I am born-again in my spirit, my independent soul won’t be able to consistently yield to the Spirit. The soul, with all its good rules and self-effort will fail. (I know. I have tried and failed miserably.)

Yet the Bible clearly tell us, “Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8). God has done it. Jesus accomplished for us everything we need for eternal life and for living lives of love on earth. We just need to believe in Jesus as He really is—full of love for us. God is the source of the love for which our soul so desperately longs. His love completely satisfies the soul and holds it in a position of surrender to the Spirit. The love of God draws us and cradles us in unity with Him 

Earlier in Galatians, Paul put it this way. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Paul is living life on earth, by faith in Jesus who he knew loved him. Obedience to both parts of the New Covenant—the faith command and the love command—brings life as God designed.

Paul longed for the believers in Galatia to live life as he experienced it. He addresses them, “My little children for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19). Paul had labored for their salvation. They were born again—children of God. But now he was laboring again—in order that Christ might be formed in them. Paul desired that they be remade in the image of Christ—and become sons/daughters of God.

But what does it look like to have Jesus formed in us? Is such a life really possible?

Reflection Questions:

• How is Paul’s warning to the Galatians relevant to you today?
• Give an example of an evil-looking behavior that is the result of living in the flesh. Give an example of a good-looking behavior that is the result of living in the flesh.
• How is it possible to be born-again, yet still live in the flesh?
• Share some good rules or traditions you might be using to guide your life. In what ways might these be beneficial or detrimental to your life?
• How is a Christian transformed from living life on earth in the flesh to living life on earth in the Spirit?

1.  Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017), 43.

Many Christians today understand that we are justified by Christ alone. A justified person knows that their sins are forgiven and eternal life is theirs. But, far too few of us really understand that we are also glorified by Christ alone.

In Romans 8:29-30, Paul tells us, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” God’s intent is to restore us to His original created design for humanity. “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him” (see Genesis 1:27). To conform us to the image of His Son, He predestined, He called, He justified and He glorified. Flesh has no part to play in the process. God does it all!

What does it mean to be glorified? The Greek word for “glory”—doxa—does not refer to an outward shining appearance that attracts attention to itself. Rather doxa refers to the innate character—the substance within. To give glory to something actually means to recognize the thing for what it is—for its true worth. When we give glory to God, we attribute to Him His true, innate value. When God gives glory to us, He attributes to us all the worth He created us to have in Him.

On Mount Sinai, Moses asked God, “Please, show me Your glory.” And God replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you”(see Exodus 33:18–19). God showed His glory—by letting Moses see His goodness. God’s glory, God’s goodness and God’s loving nature are one and the same.

God shares His glory with us by sharing His nature with us. Before He went to the cross, Jesus prayed to the Father for us, “And the glory which You gave Me I have given to them…. that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” (John17:22–23). We are glorified in relationship with God. A glorified person reflects the image of Christ. Jesus’ nature radiates out of us as we live our lives in one with Him—surrendered to His love. 

Something glorious is coming. What God longs to share with us today is much greater than the fading glory He shared with Moses (see 2 Corinthians 3:7–11). Paul spoke of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Christ in us is the hope of glory. But Christ in us is not the actual glory itself. The manifest glory comes when Christ in us pours out of us to the world—when we radiate God’s love.

When we accept Jesus into our heart, we are saved and God lives in our spirit. But He doesn’t just want to live in (and bring His life to) our spirit. He wants to have access to the whole of our heart (the spirit and soul together). God doesn’t want to stay locked up in our spirit, He wants to bring His life to our soul and body as well.

The world does not see what is inside our spirit; it sees what is inside our soul. When others see us, do they sense our love for them, our peace and joy? Or do they sense our displeasure toward them, our anxiety or depression? When God fills our soul, the world will see Jesus through us. God designed the whole of our earthly temples—spirit, soul and body—to be fully His so that we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

As partakers of His nature, God’s nature flows forth from our souls and we bear much fruit. Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing…. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love” (John 15:4–5, 9).

Working hard to clothe ourselves in “good” deeds (like loving others) doesn’t make us right with God. Even the gifts of the Spirit won’t make us complete, as God designed. We become right with God simply by abiding in love-relationship. Paul tells us, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22–23).

Fruit of the Spirit is a natural, outward manifestation of the life God intends. When abiding in Jesus’ love, we come to act right because we are right on the inside. In love-relationship with God, we actually become the people we have tried so hard and unsuccessfully to become. Fruit of the Spirit grows without effort on a branch grafted to Jesus, the Vine. Obedience comes naturally. Walking in the Spirit—with the soul surrendered to the will of God—comes naturally. 

In abiding relationship, our soul ceases its independent work and finds rest under the leading of the Spirit. Hebrews 4:10 tells us, “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.”We don’t do our own work—generated by the efforts of the independent soul. Rather, God accomplishes His loving work through us; we are His hands and feet. He leads us in the “good works [He] prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Our only work is to believe in Jesus and all that He accomplished on the cross. When the crowds came to Jesus with the question, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus replied, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent” (John 6:28–29).

A glorious time is dawning. The Old Testament speaks of three main feasts: Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles.¹ The church has seen the spiritual fulfillment of Passover and Pentecost. But we have not yet experienced the spiritual fulfillment of Tabernacles—the last and greatest of the three feasts.

In the Old Testament, the Feast of Tabernacles was known as the feast of glory, the feast of the fruit harvest and the feast of rest. It was on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles that Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37–38). In the complete spiritual fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles, rivers of living water will flow from our hearts. We will be spirit-soul-body channels through which His life-giving waters flow.

The writers of the New Testament knew that something surpassing the greatness of their time was coming. John wrote, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). At this time, God is revealing Himself to us as He really is—as the God of love! And we shall be like Him!

Paul said, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:18–19). Creation eagerly awaits. God’s glory—His goodness and nature of love—will be revealed through us as sons and daughters of God. We will radiate God’s love!

Now is the time for transformation. 

Reflection Questions:

• Which one or two ideas from this chapter stand out to you?
• Based on what you have read in this chapter, how does God share His glory with the world? How might you allow God to better share His glory with you?
• Reread Jesus’ prayer in John 17:22–23 (as quoted in this chapter). What do these verses mean to you personally?
• How do we bear fruit and become the people God created us to be?
• What does it mean to you to “abide in Christ”? How does abiding in Christ affect your relationship with others?

1. George Warnock, The Feast of Tabernacles: The Hope of the Church, www.georgewarnock.com/feast-main.html.

Up until that hot August day at Edna’s in 2004, I had stayed busy, living my version of a “good” Christian life by trying to love God and others. I’d lived this way because deep down in my soul, I thought I had to earn God’s love by doing “good” things and avoiding evil ones. I thought I didn’t really deserve God’s love and therefore needed to work for it. That lie went so deep that I interpreted all of Scripture through its distorted lens, so that even God’s Word, meant to bring freedom, held me in bondage.

That lie expressed itself in the life I lived; I raised our four children in bondage to it. Because I didn’t understand God’s love for me, I couldn’t share His love with them. They grew up going to church but not knowing the unconditional love from parents—which helps build a foundation for receiving God’s unconditional love.   

It has taken time, but now I am coming to better understand and accept Jesus’ incredible, unfailing love. As the trials and sins in my shattered life pushed me to Jesus, I began just spending time again with Him—like I had when I was 16. And He began healing me from the inside out.

Initially, when I felt Jesus saying, “Mary, I love you,” I would respond with something like, “But I messed up …” Then I would tell Him what I hadn’t done that I should have or what I should have done but hadn’t. “But,” “but,” “but …” In my mind, hundreds of things I had done wrong in the past, was doing wrong now or might do wrong in the future excluded me from His love. I wouldn’t accept His love because I didn’t feel deserving of it. Each “but” was like a brick in the wall that sealed me off from receiving Jesus’ love.

Jesus didn’t give up on me though. He continued dismantling the wall brick by brick. For every “but,” He had a response. “Mary, don’t listen to the lies.” “There is no condemnation for those who are in Me.” “I love you.”

Over time, as I grew to understand more of His love for me, I was able to come to Him with greater and greater boldness. Knowing His love for me freed me to open hidden places in my soul, which previously I had not even known existed. Psalm 139:23–24 became my daily prayer. “Search me, O God and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

And always His response brought life and healing. “Mary, it isn’t about ‘good’ and ‘evil’ as you see it. You can’t be ‘good enough’ to earn My love, and I’ll never withhold it from you because you are ‘bad.’ The battle isn’t between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ as you see them, it is between life and death as I see them. I want life for you—because I love you.

“Mary, My dear one. Stop struggling and trying to figure it out. Only believe. Breathe in My love as you breathe in the cool, crisp air. Don’t fight it. It’s all around you. Just rest … and breathe … and live.”

Today His love continues to wash my soul of hurts, anxieties and guilt by removing the wrong thinking to which they cling. The very framework of my life is coming into alignment with Him. My mind is being transformed—my soul renewed—as I let the love of God embrace me. This is so exciting! In life now, I am actually coming to love others with God’s love!

God loves you with an infinite, sacrificing love! Nothing, absolutely nothing, can stop Him from loving you! And you can love others with the same love He lavishes on you! Incredible promises await!

God doesn’t love us because we are good, He makes us good because He loves us. His love makes us good—as He created us to be. God made our hearts with holes that can only be filled with His love. In His design, like a pair of magnets, Spirit and soul are drawn and locked together in the life-giving love of God. Our souls long to understand the words, “I love you.” Knowing the truth of these words brings transformation. 

In Romans 12:2 Paul tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind [soul], that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” The word “transformed” is from the Greek word metamorphoo. Through the process of metamorphosis, an lowly, crawling caterpillar is transformed into a beautiful, flying butterfly. And so we also are meant to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (souls). Such transformation will allow us to manifest God’s perfect, loving will. 

Our soul—our mind, will and emotions—was designed to know and experience God’s love. God created us to be led by the Spirit—with our souls in willing surrender to the love of God.

When led by the Spirit, the soul rests from its works. In that rest of abiding love, we become our true selves. We become God’s channels to the world. We bear His image. We express His nature. We radiate His glory. We express God’s heavenly, spiritual love by loving others in earthly, physical ways—just as Jesus did. 

Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your willbe done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). God’s will comes to earth when we let it find a resting place in our mind, will and emotions—in our soul. We rule on earth, as Adam was created to, by letting God in our spirit be Master of our soul. God’s will—His glory and nature of love—comes to this world through us.   

And as He shares His loving nature with us, His glory will be over all the earth. Isaiah 60:1–3 encourages us. “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth. And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you. And His glory will be seen upon you.”

Satan opposes us in horrible ways to try and shake us from believing in and experiencing God’s complete love for us. We do not see the vastness of God’s love promises. We have not embraced the truth that “love [really] is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10). To step out of the box of our incomplete Christian belief system requires a foundational shift in how we think of God. It requires that veils be stripped from our eyes so that we see God as He really is. 

During the time of the Reformation 500 years ago, Martin Luther battled similar unbelief as he fought his way out of the mixed-up, partial belief system of the medieval Catholic Church. With resolute faith, he stood firm on God’s Word that everlasting life is a free gift to those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. That truth is clear to us today because those in Luther’s time blazed a trail.

Now is the time for transformation. At this time in history, God is raising up a people to make clear the way of love and right living on earth. We hold up God’s Word, stand firm in faith and live a life of loving others. We live in obedience to Jesus’ New Covenant command, “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). We become living proof of His transforming love. Multitudes will follow when we, as fishers of men, cast our nets on the other side (see John 21:6) and fish for souls in this new way.

In God’s love, victory is assured. “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us”(Romans 8:37).Nothing can hold us back because nothing can separate us from His love that makes it all possible. “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”(Romans 8:38–39).

Onward, forever loved!

Reflection Questions:

• Romans 12:2 encourages us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” What truths is God using to change the way you think and transform your life from the inside out?
• How does God plan for His will to be done on earth? How do you see yourself being used by God to accomplish His will on earth?
• Are there promises from God’s Word that you are having a particularly hard time accepting? If so, can you identify what is preventing you from embracing these truths?
• Get alone in a quiet place and reflect on God’s love for you. Let Jesus show you something of how much He loves you. Record your experience.
• Imagine the earth being filled with the glory of God as His glory radiates out of you. Imagine His will coming to earth and expressing itself out through you. Imagine loving others as Jesus first loved you. Record something significant from this time.

As mentioned in the prior chapter, the New Covenant includes two parts: “[1] believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and [2] love one another as He gave us commandment (1 John 3:23). Throughout the New Testament we are repeatedly reminded of faith and love.

Faith alone isn’t enough to life a full New Covenant life. Scripture tells us, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20), and “faith work[s] through love” (Galatians 5:6). But what are these loving works? How do they come about?

How does Jesus want us to love one another? It certainly isn’t by loving God and our neighbor as spelled out in the Old Covenant. Even with God in our spirit, the law is still impossible to obey. Just because we have a born-again spirit does not mean that our soul surrenders its independent ways.

On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus spoke of “the new covenant”(1 Corinthians 11:25). On that same night, He also gave His New Commandment: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). Later in the evening, Jesus repeated: “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you”(John 15:12).

I first heard the emphasis on this truth in 2007 when I listened to a message by Gaylord Enns.¹ When I realized that my love for others comes from Jesus’ love for me, I knew it was God’s deep solution to my problem of not loving. For me, this truth was the vital, missing piece of how God designed us to love—by sharing His love with others.

Yes! Now loving is possible because it doesn’t depend on the independent soul. We aren’t the source of the love. It is not about trying to love God “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5)as the law demands. It is about receiving the love Jesus has for us; it is about believing that He loves us.

The two greatest commands in the Old Covenant and Jesus’ New Command all have to do with love. But there are vast differences between the Old and New. Jesus commands a love that we don’t have to work for. God’s love for me is not conditional upon my performance, nor my obedience. I don’t earn God’s love by doing good things. He loves me because His nature is to love. He made me to receive his love, not as a human doing— but as a human being.

Under the Old Covenant, the independent soul is responsible for the impossible task of generating love for God and others. In the New Covenant we love with the love God first gave to us. John writes, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins”(1 John 4:10). “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

In the New Covenant, love starts with God. “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us”(Romans 5:5). God pours His love into our hearts (spirit and soul together) so that we can share it with the world. We are meant to be channels for His love. His love flows through us—through our spirit, soul and body.

The love the Holy Spirit pours into our soul from our Spirit-to-spirit relationship with God does not have a form the world can understand. But when it passes through our soul, and expresses itself out through our body, that love takes on a physical form. It becomes a servant. It washes dirty feet. It feeds the poor and visits the sick. It is a friend to the person who needs one. We understand the language of God’s love because that love died on a cross for us.

The soul was created to be loved and to pass that love along to others. When we come to know and believe in Jesus’ love for us, our soul surrenders to the Spirit’s leading and we come to live life on earth as God intends. Our souls are renewed as God’s nature floods our mind, will and emotions. In relationship with God—as His love flows through us—we come to be the people He created us to be. Spirit, soul and body are aligned with God.

After that day at Edna’s in 2004 and the understanding of John 13:34 in 2007, I began to see what Scripture was repeating over and over. Somehow, through the ongoing trials of life, I began to know and experience God’s love for me in deeper and deeper ways. And as this happened, I began to see His love-promises. The second step of the New Covenant comes with amazing promises—not for up in heaven, when we die—but for down here on earth, as we live.

In John 13:34–35 Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”Love marks us as disciples of Christ.

First John 4:16–17 tells us, “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Because as He is, so are we in this world.” When we believe and experience the love God has for us, we come to be like Him in this world.

In Ephesians 3:14–19 Paul prays, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ … that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might 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 all the fullness of God.” In coming to know the love of Christ, we will be filled with the essence of God.

The diagram below shows the state of one who believes in Jesus as the Son of God and who has come to know God’s love. The spirit is filled with God’s love, the soul knows His love, and the body expresses that love to the world. The framework of our nature is transformed.

The chart below shows the promises that come with the first and second commands of the New Covenant. Faith Promises come from believing in Jesus as the Son of God. Love Promises come from knowing and experiencing the depth of God’s love.

Working to gain God’s love or trying to love others as rules or traditions demand might help us to live “good” Christian lives, but they definitely will not aid us in experiencing the glorious life God promises. We were created to be filled with the nature of God so that His love flows through our spirit-soul-body channel to others. Jesus made a way for us to live as He did—in perfect, unbroken relationship—in oneness with our Father.

Reflection Questions:

• What ideas presented in this chapter are new to you?
• How does Jesus’ command in John 13:34 (to love one another as He first loved us) differ from the two greatest commands in the Old Covenant (to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself)?
• Ephesians 3:19 ends with the phrase, “that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Imagine and describe what living such a life on earth might look like.
• The 3-heart diagram illustrates how God’s love transforms our entire nature. In what ways is God’s love transforming you?
• In your Christian experience, have you been more aware of Faith Promises or Love Promises? Why are both important?

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1. Gaylord Enns, Love Revolution: Finding the Lost Command of Jesus, https://jesusonline.com/forever-loved/love-revolution/.

Contents

1. “Mary You Don’t Love”

2. In the Image of God

3. Adam and the Fall

4. Moses and the Law: “You Shall Love”

5. God’s Solution: “This is My Beloved Son”

6. New Covenant: Faith Promises

7. New Covenant: Love Promises

8. Paul’s Warning: “O Foolish Galatians!”

9. Glorified: Radiating God’s Love

10. Transformation Awaits!