Love

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing."  1 Cor. 13:1-3
Usually we only hear or read these verses and those that follow them from 1 Corinthians 13 at weddings. At this Passover/Resurrection season, I was drawn to think about these verses. The Apostle Paul was a no-nonsense taskmaster when it came to teaching true doctrine to his churches, yet he preached the above as the most important thing to seek in his spiritual life, and it had nothing to do with doctrines, holy behavior, do's and don'ts. Religious excellence and charitable behavior on their own have nothing to do with it, even though Paul was a most excellent candidate in all of these things: he had a death experience, and saw paradise, then returned to the living. He was given direct revelation from Christ. He was schooled in the Torah all of his life by the most expert teachers of his day. Of his Jewish background, and scriptural learning, he could out boast anyone. Of spiritual gifts and apostolic authority, there was no one greater. Instead of these claims to excellence, he talks instead about a more excellent gift. It is a gift so great that it makes all other spiritual gifts and knowledge nothing by comparison. Even Paul the Apostle, if he is without this greatest gift, becomes nothing. Without this great gift, even mountain-moving faith becomes nothing. This greatest spiritual gift that Paul is talking about is, of course, love, also called "charity" in some translations.
The Greek word used is agape, and it does indeed men "love". The meaning, however, is not really expressed completely to us by that one word, "love". Agape is not just an emotion of the heart, but an attitude of the head that dominates a life. In describing the word, the Concordance says it means "affection, good will, love, benevolence, brotherly love, love feasts, dear". The root word agapao means "love, beloved, to welcome, to entertain, to love dearly, to be well pleased, to be contented with a thing". This root word brings to mind the declaration of the Father regarding His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased (Mt. 3:17, Lk. 3:22, 2 Pet. 1:17). We then continue back to another root word, phileo, which means "to approve of, to like, sanction, treat affectionately or kindly, to show signs of love, to kiss as a mark of tenderness (therefore the irony in Jesus' question of "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" (Lk. 22:48), personal attachment. Back further, we find the root, philos, meaning "a frend, associate, wish one well, companion", and most interestingly, "friend of the bridegroom who asks on his friend's behalf the hand of the bride and renders him various services in closing the marriage and celebrating the nuptials".
The Concordance explains that it derives its connotation of the word "love" from that word's use in the Song of Songs, which describes love in several chapters and verses. We could say that the revelation from King Solomon and one importance of this poetic and mysterious Book in scripture is the unveiling of "Love". This verse from Song is among the several noted:
"He brought (go in, enter, come with, attain to) me to the banqueting (wine) house and his banner (large military standard, as was used over each of the twelve tribes of Israel, to look, behold, chiefest, to cover over, the idea of shining bright light, conspicuous, distinguished, furnished or arrayed) over me was love (love, desire, friend, lover)."  S/S 2:4
We might then be able to say that in our Communion (like the house of wine) with Jesus, He has set a standard over us as a thirteenth tribe, and that tribe is the tribe of Love.
The Song of Songs also associates the love shared between the lovers with fragrance in several verses. The spices and oils of this fragrance include myrrh, frankincense, henna blooms, fragrant powders, spikenard, saffron, cinnamon, lilies, Rose of Sharon, cedar and fir, and others. Of the Bridegroom it is exclaimed, "Your name is like perfume/ointment poured out. No wonder the young women love you. Draw me away!"  S/S 1:3-4
The priests of the tabernacle were anointed with a fragrant oil which set them apart, or sanctified them. It was the fragrance of their office. The fragrance of holiness was not found in their performance of the Law, but in the fragrance associated with Love, the fragrance of the Name that is poured out. When the alabaster box was broken in love and devotion to anoint Jesus, it sent forth a fragrance (Mt. 26:7-13). Like the alabaster box, when Jesus' body was broken, did it send forth a fragrance? If so, it was the fragrance of Love.
The Law and the prophets are not fulfilled with men's religious attempts at righteous acts, but in Love (Mt. 22:36-40, also see Deut. 6:5).
Man often defines "love" as the allowance or tolerance to do whatever we desire without fear of correction or censure, but this is a lie, a counterfeit. As we can see, Love, instead, is the womb, the primordial sea, that produces righteousness, holiness, and perfection rather than license and self-indulgence, that remedies sin, and does not produce the sin that harms ourselves and others. Authentic Love is patient, and kind; it does not envy, and does not parade itself in arrogance. It does not behave rudely, and is not selfishly pursuing its own interests. It cannot be provoked, and does not think evil. It does not rejoice in wickedness, but in truth. Love believes, hopes, endures, and never fails (1 Cor. 13:4-8). Love is indeed the greatest gift, as Paul said.
Jesus told us to abide in His words, and He gave us a new commandment. Our identity to the world as disciples of Christ is known in the Love we have one for another:
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love (agapao) 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."  Jn. 13:34-35
Peter was referring to Prov. 10:12 - "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins." - when he wrote: "And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." 1 Pet. 4:8
Therefore we can say that as the blood of Christ was poured out, Love was poured out to cover our sins. For God so loved the world that He gave (see above, the gift nature of Love) His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (Jn. 3:16). On this Love hangs all the Law and the prophets. On this Love hangs the purpose and will of God for us from before the beginning.

Our Father God IS Love (1 Jn. 4:7-8, 16).

Remembrance

As we enter the Passover and Resurrection season, it brings to my mind our experience in Communion, the Table of the Lord. Our Communion comes directly from the Passover Seder, which Jesus shared with His disciples the night He was arrested. He showed His disciples the presence of Himself as the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Deliverer, contained in the Passover of the LORD*.
The Passover commemorates the LORD's miraculous deliverance of His people, the children of Israel, from the bondage of Egypt (siege, entrenchment, enclosure, siege-works, rampart, to shut up, enclose, to show hostility to, be an adversary, treat as foe, assault, beset, besiege, bind (up), distress), and began their journey to the land of promise. The Passover is to be kept in all generations as a memorial or remembrance of this great deliverance.

Jesus, the Pesach Lamb of God who was crucified on the Passover, fulfills this same miraculous deliverance as His body and blood, His death, burial and resurrection, freed us from the bondage of darkness, sin, and death, and established a new covenant of everlasting life.

Jesus said that whenever we partake of Communion (intercourse, fellowship, intimacy), we do it in remembrance (to remember, to weigh well and consider) of Him (Lk. 22:19).
The Apostle Paul, who was not one of the original twelve disciples, was taught the Communion in a revelation he received from the Lord. The Lord used the same words in revealing the communion to Paul: "Do this in remembrance of Me...this do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." (1 Cor. 11:23-25). Paul explained to the Church:
"For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim (KJV-shew) the Lord's death till He comes." (v. 26).
As you can see, there is a proclamation attached to partaking of the Communion of remembrance. The Greek word used here means as a messenger, or angel coming down in place or time. The Hebrew word for "proclaim" is kara which means "call out, recite, cry out, proclaim, utter a loud sound, to summon, invite, call and commission, appoint, give name to: from the root word meaning to encounter, to meet".
As we partake in Communion, Paul warns that we are to do so in an attitude of self-examination. It is not done as a religious ritual, but as a powerful place of unity with the Lord. It has great importance to those in the Body of Christ. Our redemption from the bondage of sin and death came at a great price which was the body and blood of Christ, broken and poured out:
"For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."   1 Cor. 6:20
Part of our partaking in Communion involves "discerning the Lord's body" (1 Cor. 11:29). This involves, I'm sure, considering the Lord's physical body sacrificed in great pain for me, for us. The phrase "the Lord's body" also means to me, fellow members of the Body. We, collectively, are "the Body of Christ" with Christ as the Head of the Body:
"...so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another."    Rom. 12:5 (and also Eph. 4:15-16).
This concept of the Lord's body is what I would like to look at, and share with you. On a certain occasion, I had thought to bring and have Communion with a man of faith who was in the hospital. However, before I could arrange the visit, he was discharged, and I could not physically be with him. I was troubled that I had not been able to act upon this strong desire to share Communion him. I felt that I had missed carrying out what the Holy Spirit had been moving me to do. I then heard the question in my spirit, "Do we only do things in the natural?". I answered, "No, of course not." So I assembled the elements here in my home, and began to have Communion as a form of intercessory prayer for this person who needed miraculous healing. I also included others for whom I had been praying, but with whom I could not physically be present. "We" had communion together in the Spirit as co-members of the Body of Christ, remembering the death of Christ till He comes.
I believe through this special occasion of prayer and Communion, the Lord taught me something about "discerning the body". It is about discerning my connection to the Lord, and His sacrifice for me, but also about becoming aware of my spiritual connection to, and interdependence upon like members of the Body of Christ. What do you think? If you agree, perhaps you will consider this joining of intercessory prayer and Communion as part of "discerning the body" the next time you come to the Table of the Lord, whether in church, or in your private tabernacle. 

"Do this in remembrance of Me."

*Christ in the Passover, presentation of Jews for Jesus

Dwelling

It has been said in real estate sales, that when considering the purchase of a home, the three most important things to take into account are "location, location, location". The same can be said of our spiritual homes.
The world is not the place of our spiritual home. We who are in Christ were not born here, our dwelling is not here, and we will not be dwelling here in the future. We are aliens here, and need a special environment in which to live and thrive. What makes us aliens here?
Scripture describes us this way:
"But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave the right to become sons (children) of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."   Jn. 1:12-13
Jesus described us this way:
"...unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."  Jn. 3:5-6
Jesus said that like Him, we are not of the world (Jn. 17:9, 14, 16, Jn. 15:19).
The Apostle Paul tells us not to be conformed (to fashion one's self to another's pattern) to this world (Rom. 12:2). Our minds are to be transformed by this knowledge. In another place, Paul wrote:
"...seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden  with Christ in God...you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world..."
                                                                                                  Col. 3:1-3, 2:20
We often describe ourselves incorrectly as "born again", based upon an incomplete and insufficient translation of Jn. 3:3. The word "again" used in that verse principally means "from above, from a higher place, of things which come from heaven or God, from the very first". The root meaning of the word is "up, upwards, from above, on high, of the quarters of the heaven, of time formerly, of the heavenly Jerusalem". The Hebrew language uses the word "al", translated as "above" to describe this place. So we are more accurately described as being "born from above", rather than "born again". Do you see how this makes a big difference in our understanding?
So how do we aliens find a dwelling place here in this world? I think the best place to answer this is from the end of the story, which will point us back to where we need to be now:
"...the accuser (AKA the great dragon, that serpent of old, the devil, Satan who deceives the whole world) of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea... Rev. 12:10-12
There will be a difference between those who inhabit the earth, and those who dwell in the heavens. The words "heavens" and "dwell" that are used here are important. "Heavens" is the Greek word "uranos", which can mean the physical heavens, but also encompasses "the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings". Also "those blessed qualities associated with the Gospel".
The word "dwell" used above is the Greek word "skanoo", which including its roots means "to fix one's tabernacle, abide in a tabernacle or tent, to occupy (as a mansion) the tabernacle of old-a symbol of protection and communion, the earthly house of our tabernacle, tent made of green boughs, skins, or cloth*, vessel, chosen instrument, to cover, a shadow: image* cast by an object as light falls on the object and representing the form of that object." (I asterisked *cloth and *shadow/image, because they brought to my mind the Shroud of Turin. In a way, we could say that the Shroud, and the image of Christ cast upon it, also represents the place of our tabernacle, the covering of our dwelling. It seems to fit well here.)
At the time described in the verses from Revelation, a time of the devil's wrath, and great persecution of believers, where one "dwells" will make a big difference. Those who tabernacle in and with the heavens will be able to rejoice through this time.
God established the principle of tabernacle with His people Israel, and commanded a feast to teach it to all generations. His people are to build tabernacles of tree boughs, and dwell in them for seven days. It is a feast of rejoicing. These structures are called "sukkah":
"You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths (tabernacles, shelters made of boughs) for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt (upper and lower Egypt, lay siege, to bind, shut up, show hostility, be an adversary, distress, beset, assault): I am the LORD your God."   Lev. 23:41-43
This feast has other things to teach us, including a prophetic significance dealing with Christ, but for the subject we are dealing with here, I am looking at the actual "booths" themselves, and what they might mean to us.
Those who are Gentiles with a few exceptions, have not recognized nor understood the importance of the teaching of this feast. We have lost this knowledge, and perhaps it is time to rediscover it. Psalm 91, a beautiful Psalm, describes the supernatural protection found in a special dwelling place:
"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High (veil, covering, curtain) shall abide (lodge, dwell, rest, remain, endure) under the shadow of the Almighty."
Where we dwell spiritually will ultimately affect the future of the whole earth as well. In 2 Peter, the apostle tells us that where our hopes, our spirit, our hearts and minds look eagerly forward to, or dwell, will even hasten the return of Christ, the coming of the day of God, and the "new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Pet. 3:11-14). The hastening of the day and the return of Christ is not just for our benefit, but will preserve life on earth from total destruction. Jesus said:
"For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened (lopped, mutilated, abridge, curtail) the days."   Mk. 13:20
In another place, scripture says that all creation waits to be delivered from bondage into the place in the Spirit of our glorious liberty. It is accomplished by the groans of our own eager waiting within our tabernacles (ourselves) of our adoption (Rom. 8:18-22). Our tabernacle is constructed from this hope in Christ, and in the Holy Spirit (v. 24).
The Apostle Paul wanted to differentiate the spiritual dwelling place of new covenant believers:
"But you have come to Mt. Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel."   Heb. 12:22-24
If our dwelling place is not of this world, then why have we been placed here? We are here to be salt, for cleansing and preserving, and light, for illuminating the darkness with the truth of God's salvation and love in Christ.
Where is your dwelling place? Where we dwell makes all the difference in the world. It's all about location, location, location.

Our Father has commanded that we dwell in tabernacles in the heavens while we are still in the world.