Daily Service: God’s love is everlasting and unconditional BUT

Updated for Volume 13

Now, why would I make such a statement that appears to limit or insult God?

John 3:16 (ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Matthew 16:24-26 (ESV) Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

John 14:15-17 (ESV) “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

These passages imply that if you do not do these things, you will not be saved.  Faith is an active growing thing that you need to feed with fellowship, praise, prayer, worship, and Bible Study.

Resurrected from the first volume of Daily Service

In the verses preceding my memorized text below Paul is talking about spiritual gifts and why they were given.  I got two things from this verse, one of which was confirmed in our Sunday morning lesson. 

There are two things I want you to get out of this:

1. You need to be in the Word yourself, developing your spiritual muscle so you will be able to discern when you are being misled
2. You need to be in a body of believers that helps you grow and in turn help others grow in the knowledge of our Lord.

Ephesians 4:14-16 NKJV that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head–Christ– from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Ver. 14. fulness of holy character; that we may be no longer infants, “childish” in respect of ignorance and the weakness of ignorance, borne on billows and drifted about by every wind of the teaching which would beguile us, in, in the sphere and influence of, the dice-play, the unscrupulous religious cozenage, of men, (these mere men, who have no Christ, no God, behind them;) in their cunning, with a view to, to reach the ends of, the scheming of their (τῆς) deceit. For alas, there are those around you who not only do lead you astray, but mean to do it, laying deliberate traps, and arranging well-drawn methods, on purpose to guide you away from the Christ whom they do not love. The purpose of the great Giver’s plan is the opposite to this; it is, as we have seen, that you should not be exposed helpless

Ephesian Studies: Expository Readings on the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians.

4:14-16. Here Paul expressed the ultimate purpose, or perhaps better, the result (hina) of gifted people equipping saints to serve the Lord and others. Negatively, believers should not be like immature infants who are easily swayed and confused, like waves being tossed back and forth (cf. Luke 8:24; James 1:6) and blown here and there (lit., “whirled around,” a violent swinging that makes one dizzy) by every gust of wind of teaching… by the cunning, better, “trickery” (kybeia, lit., “dice-playing”) of men in their deceitful scheming (panourgia, also used in Luke 20:23; 1 Cor. 3:19; 2 Cor. 4:2; 11:3), moving toward (pros indicates goal) a system of error. False teachers cause this kind of confusion regarding the truth in order to try to bring believers into their erroneous schemes. In contrast (de, Eph. 4:15) Paul stated positively that by speaking the truth in love (lit., “truthing in love,” which has the idea of maintaining truth in love in both speech and life) believers may grow up into Him with reference to all things. Christ, then, is the Source of a believer’s growth and also the Aim and Goal of his growth (cf. v. 13). From the Head (cf. 1:22; 5:23; Col. 1:18) the body derives its whole capacity for growth and activity (Eph. 4:16). Each member of the body is joined (2:21) by being carefully fitted together, and each member is held or brought together by means of every supporting ligament (cf. Col. 2:19) according to the standard (kata, with the accusative) of the measured working (metrō, from metron) of each individual. This causes the body of Christ to grow (cf. Eph. 4:15) and build itself up (cf. v. 12) in love. The phrase “in love” occurs three times (vv. 2, 15-16), thus pointing to the way unity is maintained. Significantly the word “measure” (metron) is also used three times in this context (vv. 7, 13, 16). Each believer is to function in Christ’s body by God’s enabling grace in accord with the measure of the gift Christ bestowed on him (v. 7). When each believer accomplishes that measure, then the church grows properly (v. 16), coming ultimately to the measure of Christlikeness (v. 13). Stunted growth comes when one does not allow his or others’ gifts to function.

The preservation of unity is the responsibility of God’s gifted people in the church (vv. 7-16). In this unity of structure is variety of function. Paul emphasized body growth, not self-growth. Each individual contributes to this unified growth as he allows his particular gift(s) to function.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.

Colossians 1:23 NKJV if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

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