God is Love & So Are You
Love is our substance of who we are in Christ Jesus
Now Abides Faith, Hope, & Love...But the Greatest is Love
1 Corinthians 13:13
Love is our substance of who we are in Christ Jesus
Because we are made in the image of God and we are one Spirit with Him.
Genesis 1:26-27 & 1 Corinthians 6:17.
Hebrews 11:1, 3 says “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen.” …continue on to verse 3 - “Through faith we understand that
the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were
not made of things which do appear.”
The worlds were made by faith, which is THE substance.
They were made by God’s substance because He spoke. His Words came from within His heart, within His Spirit, God’s Word, Who is Jesus, came from within the very heart and Spirit of God. It is “Who” He is. Add to this, the Spirit of God was hovering upon the
water waiting for God’s Word to be spoken so He could activate the Word of God
and bring it to pass - Genesis 1:2. Consider how the Holy Spirit also did that in the book of Acts with signs, miracles, and wonders when Paul, Peter and others preached - some scripture references: Acts 4:16, 5:12; 6:8, 8:6,14:3, 15:12; Romans 15:18-19; Hebrews 2:4.
The Word comes from within God Almighty, the Creator Himself. Just as you
speak and the words you speak come from within in you.
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks - what we say is who we are. As a man thinks in his heart so is he - Luke 6:45 & Proverbs 23:7. Same for God. What He speaks is Who He is and there’s a substance to it…and that substance is Him, and it is faith. And Faith comes from the Word. They are not separate…but whole.
You may need to read that again.
Here's another way to say it: Faith is the same word as "belief". So, what God speaks is Who He is. He believes that. He knows that. It is His substance...that substance is Him, And believe comes from what He says. They are linked.
Part 1: God is Love
Put Hebrews 11:1 in context with 1 John 4:8:
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…” &
“God is Love.”
You will notice the words highlighted in bold: (faith) is the substance and (God)
is (love). We will compare the two bold words and their definitions from Merriam-
Webster Dictionary:
Substance: 1. Essence; Essential Nature; b. A
fundamental; or Characteristic part or quality;
2. The ultimate reality that underlies all outward manifestation
and change.
Is - Present tense of the verb “(to) be.” (A state of being.)
“Substance”- is essential nature, essence. “Is” is a state of being. A constant. “Is and
Substance” are constant. Never change. They ARE = I AM. God’s essence, His
being is love. His elemental nature is love, His essence, and faith, or belief, is a part of His elemental nature. So is hope, like 1 Corinthians 13:13 states. These elements are a
constant within the very nature of God. They are your nature too.
Let’s put this another way: faith and love are the same. God is love…love is His
substance and as 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, faith, hope, and love abide but the
greatest is love, means they abide together.
Abide: the Greek word for “abide” is #3306 menó. Means to “remain, to stay.”
All three abide, they remain, they stay. These three are in God. He is in us and
we are in Him, and we know we dwell in Him because He has given us of His
Spirit - 1 John 4:13. When we don’t “feel” this way, it doesn’t matter. This is The
Truth. Just because someone wakes up and “feels” like they’re a cat doesn’t make
them a cat. When you don’t “feel” like you operate from faith, hope, and love, go to
these scriptures in your Bible and declare them over yourself. Speak them out loud
in your house. It will change you and your atmosphere. Faith, hope, and love - They
remain. They don’t change. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. They are
the substance of God. It’s not only love but all three. Love, with Faith and Hope -
this is His eternal nature and the root of everything in Him and in all of existence.
You can’t separate them from God’s essential nature. As love is the root of
everything in existence, it operates with faith and hope. They are not separate.
Love speaks. Those love words are faith filled and creates a vision (which is hope) of
what is “seen” in the God-given imagination, and will come to pass. “Hope” is
created by words. Because of “words” we then “see” in our imagination what was
spoken. We see this in Proverbs 4:20-21. All three are together but God separates
them for study in His Word.
Can people operate without love, of course. These three can work the exact
opposite of what God intended. That’s what happened when Lucifer fell. All of
what is the nature of God was twisted, perverted, and turned in the exact opposite
direction within the heavenly creatures (angels) when their rebellion occurred.
If it’s not love, it’s hate - or some lighter version of it like: disgust, vileness, deception,
doubt, worry, trepidation, stress, fear, and all the others. All are forms of fear and
fear is a compadre of hate. They are hooked up together. Just like love and faith. To
be specific: faith, hope & love in the exact opposite are fear, doubt, hate. And it all
comes from satan’s major temptation he uses with people: doubt.
Let me phrase it another way: "to consider".
In the Garden all the serpent had to do was tempt Eve to doubt or consider something other than what God said. But his initial reason as to “why” he did it - his own hate. Hate toward this new creature God had made: mankind.
Take a look at Psalm 8:4-8 “What is man, that You are mindful of him? And the Son of man, that You are mindful of him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and have crowned him with glory and honor. You have him to have dominion over the works of your hands; You have put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passes through the paths of the seas.” satan was disgusted that God had made a new creature and this creature was in the image of God and given dominion over the works of His hands.
***
Faith and doubt are opposites. When we doubt we cannot operate in faith which is
part of our essence. This goes against our essence and goes against God’s essence.
Conclusively, when we get caught up in fear, doubt and hate we are caught in sin -
“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” - Romans 14:23. Faith is what pleases God -
Hebrews 11:6 - we must believe that He is and that He is the rewarder of those
who diligently seek Him.
His essence, His state of love, faith, hope essence or state of being will never
change. It is our essence. He will never change. He is the same yesterday, today, and
forever, the Great I AM. It’s who He is. And faith is the “substance” of His essence
- all three Godly elements exist together: faith, hope, & love. But the greatest one of
them is love. It is how everything operates. It is how God operates, including in His
judgment and wrath.
Some Christians think that because God is love that He does not have justice. But you cannot have true justice without love. Cause and effect.
When people or created beings (angels) violate God’s law, there is an outcome.
People innately want justice when something wrong has occurred to them. God is
no different. We are made in His image. Doing things right, because it’s right, then
doing them right is part of God’s nature. His essential constant characteristic is in
everything He created. He is in everything: His Faith, His hope, and His love are in
everything. Love is the generator of everything. It is God’s substance, the
substance of faith, and it is your substance - John 14:20.
It’s like saying someone has brown hair, it’s a constant. Like us being born of
mankind. It is the type of living creature we are, it’s our essence. We were not born
as an animal or a bird, or a fish. We are born of the creature called: mankind, and
our substance is of God, it is love…faith, hope, and love. These are the essence of
who we are. Even those who are not born again have a sense of justice, morality, faith, hope and love. They can’t help it. It’s because we are made in the image of God’s.
Part 2: Christ’s Love Compels us
Now that we know love is the base of our elemental nature we can see how it
works within us.
2 Corinthians 5:14 NIV “Christ’s love compels us….”
KJV - “Christ’s love constrains us…”
"Constrains" is Strong’s Greek #315 anagkazó, to compel, doing so with
urgency, as a pressing necessity.
TPT - “Christ’s love fuels our passion and motivates us…”
TMT - “Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes…”
God’s essential nature within us behaves in this manner. It’s His Spirit doing this
within us. It - He - compels us. He does so with urgency regarding situations. He
fuels our passion and motivates us. He moves us to such extremes to carry out His
will. And He will only do this in combination with your own “will.” God will never
overpower your will. If He could have then He would have done that with Lucifer.
We have to yield to His leadings, compelling, motivations. When we do not yield to
Him we then grieve the Holy Spirit. And at the start you can sense it. When
someone continually ignores the promptings of the Holy Spirit, He will eventually
stop moving within you and let you have your way. Ephesians 4:30.
You are sealed with the Holy Spirit no matter what. You can’t change it by your actions. But He won’t be pleased, which means we are not operating by faith, but doubt, fear, and
sin.
It’s important to realize above all the virtues of God keep love in the forefront of
your thoughts. It binds everything together because it is God, who is the essence of
everything and all of His virtues or goodness is love. They come out of each other -
Colossians 3:14. God let His goodness pass before Moses. His goodness is in you!
***
Part 3: More Parts to His Love
Love is God’s essence, His being, His breath of life, and His essence is ours. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus - 2 Cor. 5:17.
Exodus 33:18-23 - Then Moses said, “Now show me Your glory.” And the
Lord said, “ I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will
proclaim My Name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom
I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
But, He said, “you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live.” Then the
Lord said, “There is a place near Me where you may stand on a rock. When My
glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with My hand
until I have passed by. Then I will remove My hand and you will see My back
parts: but My face must not be seen.”
In this passage God says His glory is equated to: His goodness, His Name being
proclaimed-spoken-in Moses’ presence, and His back parts. (It is my hunch there is
so much more to God’s glory then we have learned.) And God couldn’t let Moses
see His face because it would have killed Moses, as Habakuk 1:13 says, His eyes are
to pure to look on sin fallen man. Sin burns up in God’s presence.
Habakuk 1:13 - “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, you cannot tolerate
wrongdoing;”
God didn’t want Moses to be burned up with His goodness, His presence, His love,
His Name, His essence. That’s why God had to cover Moses’ face and why Moses
had to cover his own face with a veil when he went before the people.
This is what the physical form of God had to do in the Spiritual realm so that He could
save His created man. When sin fallen man is in the presence of God, He burns it
up. This may be why God had to kick out satan and the disobedient angels. God
didn’t want to destroy His creation even though they rebelled. It probably has something to do with a legal standpoint. God is the ultimate judge and He abides within His own law. Not saying this is the only reason. But it may be a part of it.
Job 34:14-15 - “If it were His intention and He withdrew His Spirit and
breath, all humanity would perish together and mankind would return to the
dust.”
If God were to withhold His breath all creation dies. His love is what keeps things
in existence everywhere.
His love, His power, and His faith are one unit. You can’t separate these things
from God and still have God. Yes, this is so big it’s difficult to wrap our earthly
heads around it. But bless God we can, by faith. And it’s His faith within us! He will
reveal it.
***
Let’s take a look at the Greek word for God’s love: agape. Using Vine’s Expository
Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words:
“Love can be known only from the actions it prompts - Like God’s
love in sending the gift of His Son to save mankind. It was an exercise
of the Divine will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause
save that which lies in the nature of God Himself. Love has its perfect
expression among men (mankind) in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christian
love is the fruit of His Spirit in the Christian. Christian love, whether
exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an
impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural
inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some
affinity is discovered. Christian love has God for its primary object,.
and expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to His
commandments (which is to love the Lord your God and love your
brother as you do yourself - 1 John 4:20-21). It expresses the deep and
constant love and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely
unworthy objects, a practical love towards those who are partakers of
the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver.”
This is love
God’s glory, His goodness, and His love exude from within Him! They exude from
within you. The more you follow His leadings, promptings, compelling, and
motivation by spending time in His Word with prayer, talking with Him about the
things that are on your heart and questions you have, and listening for His leadings,
promptings, compelling and motivation the more of His goodness will exude out of
you.
2 Corinthians 2:14 “Now thanks be unto God, who always causes us to triumph
in Christ, and makes manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every
place.”
The NIV says, “…uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Him
everywhere.
There’s a “smell” to us as we yield to Him.
***
Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” We have a
pure heart only by the Holy Spirit. Nothing to do within ourselves. As Romans
5:5 says, “…the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit
Who is given to us.” None of this can be done on our own. Our purity of heart is
only by the Holy Spirit. A new heart! WE have God’s heart. Praise God, it’s all
Him. He’s saved us, purified us, and has adopted us as His own, and saved us for
the day of redemption, and the Holy Spirit is the downpayment of the epitome
of our redemption which is our new immortal bodies and an eternity with Him (1
Corinthians 15). We are His and He is ours.
We are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise - 2 Corinthians 1:21-22. This seal
is a seal of ownership on us as NIV says, and His Spirit is put in our hearts
as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. And it is God Who makes us
stand firm. We don’t rely on our strength but on God’s within us! What a relief that
is. “‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord.” - Zechariah 4:6.
***
Part 4: The Holy Spirit is in Our Hearts
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name will
teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you”
John 14:26.
"Like wise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for
as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for
words" - Romans 8:26.
Being in flesh in this world is a weakness but the Holy Spirit will help us pray.
Sometimes in English, sometimes in tongues. Both are important. As Jude 1:20
says, “Building up yourself on your most holy faith praying in the Holy Spirit.”
Praying in tongues is the way to build up your faith on what you are standing on
from the Word until it manifests. This is necessary when we feel weak.
Isaiah 28:11-12 “For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to
this people, to whom He said, ‘This is the rest wherewith You may cause the weary
to rest and this is the refreshing…’”
When we feel weary from standing in faith for believing a promise of God, get into
praying in tongues and into praise. Both build you up and cause a breakthrough.
Look at Psalm 149, praise is our greatest weapon of war! In TPT - verse 6, “God’s
high and holy praises fill their mouths, for their shouted praises are their
weapon of war!” Go back to verse 5, “His Godly lovers triumph in the Glory of
God, and their joyful praises will rise even while others sleep.” Doing
these things will change your mental outlook, will change the atmosphere, and
bring about your answer to prayer.
As we simply trust Him and rest in Him and His nature within us we are easily led
by His Holy Spirit Who teaches us and reminds us of what He has said to us. What
He has revealed to us. We don’t have to struggle to “make it happen.” We simply
trust Him. And then do whatever He leads us to do. Our flesh may have a hissy-fit.
But we let the Holy Spirit through our own spirit have priority and lead us.
***
We have faith, hope, and love because of Jesus. And faith in Jesus can only
happen because of the Father, “No man can come to Me, except the Father which
has sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44. It is God
the Father Who brings us to Himself. He brings all those who are His, His seed, to
Himself. This entire world we live in is about the seed war - seed of the serpent;
seed of the woman - Genesis 3:15. God the Father will draw all who are His to
Himself. He will not loose one. No way. His will is for all flesh to be saved. 2 Peter
3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is
patient toward you, not wanting any to perish but for all to come to
repentance.” And God is not a man that He should lie; all of His promises He has
made to Himself…yes, they are ours as well…but He made them to Himself -
Numbers 23:19 and Hebrews 6:13-20. His Word comes from within Him. It is
“Who” He is, His promises are first to Himself and He will bring them to pass.
*
A sister in Christ told me something the Lord said to her in prayer. She had asked Him:
“What is Your truth? I want to know Your truth?”
God told her:
“I love you and I want to be with you.”
This is the Father’s heart toward us!
If you’ve been sensing out of sorts, not close to God although He is in you and will
never leave you or forsake you, we can approach His throne in prayer because of
Jesus’ Blood of which we always have, and ask the Lord to forgive us. To help us
keep on His track and reconcile us back to Him - Hebrews 4:16 & 2 Corinthians
5:18.
This is the Love of God in action.
This is God’s love toward us. He wants to be with us. He wants to be included in all
we do. We are already reconciled to Him. We don’t ever loose that. He has
reconciled us to Him through His Son Jesus. As 2 Corinthians 5:19 says God was
reconciling the world to Himself in Christ… He has already done this to all! All
we have to do is receive His great gift.
We love Him enough to come to Him and ask Him for help. But maybe we haven’t
been sensing Him; or haven’t been in the Word and prayer like we usually are,
these things affect our hearing from Him. Doesn’t mean He’s not there. Our
spiritual ears weren’t hearing. God is always talking to us, always leading us.
When there are times it may “feel” as if God is distant, there are one of three
reasons why:
1.) it is during the time of a test/trial;
2.) or there is disobedience (sin) - can be a simple as not doing what He told you to
do, or spending the time in His Word;
3) or getting to busy with life and not spending time with the Lord in the His Word
and in prayer.
If it’s a test/trial - 1.) it is like being in school and being given a test. The teacher
sits at their desk quietly until the test is over. Although they are quiet the entire
time, they never left. Same with God. He never leaves us! But He is quiet during
times of testing. These are times of learning for us. Standing in faith because we
know His promises, and all of His promises are “yes” and “amen.”
If there’s disobedience - 2.) all we have to do is ask for forgiveness and receive it - 1
John 1:9. Depending on the situation, we can also ask for the Lord to guide us in
how to handle it and if there is anything to do about it, then do it. 1 Timothy 2:4
TPT - “He longs for everyone to embrace His life and return to the full knowledge
of the truth.” God longs, yearns for us to embrace Him. His life. His love. His
truth. And return to the knowledge of the Truth when we mess up. And include
Him in all we do.
***
This is who you are! His love, faith, hope and His power work in unison at all times. You can’t have one without the other. His love, His power, His life. When something dies, the essence of it comes back to Him because its essence is love. When He exhibits His love He exhibits His power. You don’t have one without the other. All of His creation is the
essence of His love. His power. His life. He used His love through Jesus (the Word)
and the Holy Spirit to ignite all of creation.
We are made in the image of God.
“As He is, so are we in this world.” - 1 John 4:17
Receive this in all it’s vastness.
Once you can receive it you can reflect it to others.
GOD IS LOVE & SO ARE YOU