Topic: Zoe Life and Agape Love
Greetings:
In the previous message we talked about the two components of
Zoe life, the Word and the Spirit and the question is because the Spirit is
invisible how will someone know that you have the Spirit? Let’s answer that with the Scriptures:
Matthew 7:16: Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?
Galatians 5:22,23:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no
law.
So it is by the fruit of the Sprit that they will know that the
Spirit of God dwells within us. But I
want to take the first one the fruits because this is the one that really sets
all the others in motion. Love.
There are so many Scriptures on Love but I want to share a
couple to show how when we show God-like love, Agape love, Zoe life is
manifested.
1 John 4:7-13:
Beloved let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that
loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
He that loveth not knoweth not
God; for God is love. In this was
manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten
Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but
that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to
love one another. No man hath seen God
at any time. If we love one another, God
dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He
in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit.
Because God sending His Son was the ultimate show of love it
is no wonder Apostle Peter can say this:
1 Peter 4:8: And
above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover
shall cover a multitude of sins.
We need to not separate ourselves from the Body of Christ,
whether it be by individual or even by church.
This mentality is pride and the end result is destruction. We must always seek to be amongst the
household of God. If we all have one
Spirit and in one Body then we should be ale to fellowship with anyone of the
household of faith. What has divided us is doctrine. So many people have made their own doctrine
which is a portion of Scripture, some misinterpreted Scripture. Because someone does not hold our doctrine
then we find it hard to fellowship with them.
A divided house or family will not stand and the enemy can then pick off
the sheep because of the lack of unity.
The love of God is what unites us as a household of faith. Let us seek to be perfected in love in word
and in deed that the Zoe life that we have as a gift from God is manifested for
the world to see.
Peace and Grace
Calvin Calhoun Jr.
