Today’s New Covenant nugget is from 2 Timothy 1:7
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
The Greek word translated as ‘and of’ is ‘kahee’, literally meaning ‘in, or even’.
The Greek word translated as ‘a sound mind’ is ‘sōphronismós’, literally meaning ‘clarity of mind, or a calm, clear thinking mind’
In the light of the original Greek, 2 Timothy 1:7 can be translated, ‘God has not given us a spirit of fear, but instead miracle working power in love and clarity of mind’.
Divine love is powerful! There is power in divine, supernatural love!
THE GOD KIND OF ‘LOVE’, OR ‘DIVINE LOVE’ IS DIFFERENT FROM WORLDLY LOVE.
WORLDLY LOVE IS CONDITIONAL, IT IS BASED UPON FEELINGS, YOU CAN FALL IN AND OUT OF IT, IT HAS TO BE EARNED, IT HAS TO DEMONSTRATE ITS VALUE AND ITS PRIMARY ROLE IS TO FILL THE NEED OF ANOTHER.
The Greek word for love is ‘agápē’. The best word for word translation for ‘agápē’ is ‘charity’, or giving.
IN A WORD, DIVINE LOVE IS ‘GIVING’
DIVINE LOVE IS AN UNCONDITIONAL GIVING, GRACE-FILLED LOVE, IT CANNOT BE EARNED AND IT CANNOT BE LOST, YOU CANNOT FALL OUT OF IT AND IT IS NOT BASED UPON THE VALUE OF ANOTHER. ITS PRIMARY ROLE IS NOT RECEIVING, (ALTHOUGH YOU HAVE TO RECEIVE IT BEFORE YOU CAN GIVE IT) ITS PRIMARY ROLE IS GIVING AND BLESSING THE UNDESERVING, IN AN UNCONDITIONAL WAY,
BUT AGAPE’ IS FAR MORE THAN THAT…
TWO SCRIPTURES THAT DEFINE DIVINE AGAPE’ LOVE
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV) - Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…
Galatians 5:22-23 (TPT) - But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue (goodness),faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. (self-control)
Many believers are intimidated when they study what divine agápē is… messages have been preached saying, “as believers we ought to walk in love, you should NEVER be self-seeking, you should never keep a record of wrong doing, and you should always be in joy and peace, and in faith… how on earth can that ever be achieved? The answer is ‘never’… not in your own ability and strength! However, scripture does not say, “YOU must be all of those things, and that YOU must do all of those things”, scripture says, “Love is, and love does, and love does not”. In other words, when you have received agápē love, the agápē love IN YOU will be kind and patient and gentle and full of faith THROUGH YOU!”
AGAPE LOVE IS INFUSED WITH THE POWER TO PERFORM ALL OF ITS VARIED EXPRESSIONS AND ACTIONS!!
1 Timothy 1:14 (AMP) - The grace of our Lord [His amazing, unmerited favor and blessing] flowed out in superabundance [for me, together] with the faith and agápē love which are [realized] in Christ Jesus.
AGAPE’ LOVE FLOWS OUT OF GRACE, AND IS FULL OF MIRACLE WORKING POWER TO PERFORM THE ‘ZOE’ LIFE AND THE ‘DUNAMIS’ WORKS OF JESUS THROUGH YOU!
YOU ARE NOT TO ATTEMPT TO BE THE PERFORMER, LOVE IS THE PERFORMER… DIVINE LOVE PERFORMS THE WORKS OF JESUS THROUGH YOU.
DIVINE LOVE GENERATES ITS OWN PATIENCE, KINDNESS, FAITH, GENTLENESS, JOY, PEACE AND SUCH… LIKE A TREE THAT BEARS IT’S OWN FRUIT.
OUR JOB IS NOT TO PERFORM ALL OF THE ASPECTS OF LOVE…
OUR JOB IS TO RECEIVE AGAPE’ LOVE BY FAITH, AND THEN THAT ‘RECEIVED LOVE’ WILL PRODUCE ALL OF IT’S FRUITS IN OUR LIFE BY GRACE.
PLACE A DEMAND ON THE LOVE OF CHRIST IN YOU…
Say this with me, “Lord Jesus, by Your love in me, I forgive, by the power of Your love in me, I walk in joy and peace, by the power of Your love, I am not self-seeking, I am not easily angered, and I keep no record of wrongs, by the power of Your love in me, I let go of the things I cannot let go of in my strength, by the power of Your love, I embrace those who do not deserve it!”
HOW DO I RECEIVE AGAPE LOVE?
1 Timothy 1:14 (VOICE) - He poured His grace over me, and I was flooded in an abundance of the grace and faith and love that can only be found in Jesus the Anointed.
DIVINE LOVE IS FOUND IN JESUS AND IN HIS ANOINTING
DIVINE AGAPE’ LOVE IS RECEIVED BY GRACE, THROUGH FAITH
GET IN HIS PRESENCE, IN HIS ANOINTING, AND THEN RECEIVE BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH!
When we received Jesus as Lord and Savior, we all received the ‘PERSON’ of divine, agápē love… ‘Jesus’. As we seek more and more love, Jesus will flood us with an abundance of grace that is FILLED with faith and GRACE found only in Him! Now, place a demand on that powerful agápē on the inside of you! Let agápē do a work in you and through you, in Jesus Name!
Faith works by the power of love, every gift of the Spirit works by the power of agápē, the anointing is in agápē, miracles are in agápē, provision is in agápē… receive Jesus’ supernatural divine love and receive it’s power today, let it work in you and for you and through you today, in Jesus Name!
CONFESSION
“Jesus, by Your abundance of grace, I receive Your love right now!
I receive the power of Your love by Your anointing!
By the power of Your love, I am patient, I am kind and I do not envy,
By the power of Your love, I do not boast, I am not proud and I do not dishonor others.
By the power of Your love, I am not self-seeking, I am not easily angered, and I keep no record of wrongs.
By the power of Your love, I do not delight in evil but I rejoice with the truth.
Your love in me always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Your love in me never fails…”
In His amazing love, Nick
