Mending the Body of Christ Behind Prison Walls
Lesson Three
The Spirit Reveals God's Love
The Bible is God's revealed truth. God assures us that every human has a spirit (Job 32:8; Zechariah 12:1). This spirit, joined to our brain, is what forms our mind, giving us the power of intellect and personality. The Apostle Paul asks: "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?" The point is: "Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 2:11). Only the Holy Spirit can reveal God's love to us.
The wisdom of man can do amazing things, because of the human spirit within him. That is why we have such technological discoveries, but he can't solve relationship problems because they are spiritual in nature. It takes the Holy Spirit to reveal spiritual things, such as God's love for right relationships. A man can't comprehend this kind of love without the Spirit revealing it to his mind. This is why the Scripture says, "... But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). The Spiritual minded man knows the Iove of God.
My heart's desire is for everyone to experience God's love. Let us pray: "... to be strengthened with might through the Holy Spirit ... being rooted and grounded in love... to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God [love]" (Ephesians 3:16-18).
The Apostle Paul quotes Isaiah, saying: "Eye has not seen, nor ear beard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." Paul continues: "But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit... that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God" (1 Corinthians 2:9,10,12b). One thing that is freely give to us is God's love.
The Apostle John said it like this: "But you have an anointing from the Holy One [Jesus], and you know all things... the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true... " (1 John 2:20,27). The anointing of the Holy One teaches us the truth that God loved us before the foundation of the world.
We are powerless without experiencing God's love. The Apostle Paul stated: "For the kingdom of God [love] is not in word but in power" (1 Corinthians 4:20). We are empowered to share God's love with others, "...because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5 KJV).
This is the same power of love that Peter spoke about to Cornelius, saying: "how God[love] anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God [love] was with Him" (Acts 10:38). This is the same anointing Isaiah spoke of that destroys the yoke of bondage (10:27). And the same love that John says casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). We possess burden removing, yoke destroying love!
We are honored to live with those who Jesus came to love. Jesus fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy, proclaiming: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD" (Luke 4:18,19).
The Holy Spirit empowers us to be witnesses, causing us to be contagious with the love God has revealed to us. Jesus said, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
Those who do not know Christ must have their spirit regenerated by the Holy Spirit in order to know and believe the love of God. "By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit ... whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 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" (1 John 4:13,15,16).
The harvest field is ready and waiting. The more we experience God's love, the more effective we will be in reaching the lost. The more our hearts are mended by the anointing of God's love, the more His love can flow to those around us. The Lord has given gifts to the church, "...for the perfecting [mending] of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ ... according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love" (Ephesians 4:12,16 KJV).
The Body of Christ is a living organism. It must be a healthy body with every part doing its job effectively. Dr. James Richards says: "We are to be motivated by love, governed by the irrefutable principles of the Word of God and empowered by the Spirit of Grace for the pursuit of a specific purpose." 1 The Spirit of grace is God's ability working in us to do what we can not do in our flesh. This is only possible because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross.
Let the Apostle John be our example. We acquaint him as the Apostle of love, who referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved five times in his Gospel, starting at John 13:23. He knew that he was loved by God, and as a result, he was given the Revelation of Jesus Christ. The Spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ, Who reveals the love of our heavenly Father (Revelation 1:1-3; 19:10). 2 Do you realize that you are the disciple who Jesus loves as well?
1 Supernatural Ministry, James B. Richards, Impact International Publications, Huntsville, Alabama, 2 See the chart, The Revelation of Jesus Christ.