U.R. affirmations

[GodIsLove]

1 John 4:8 God is love.

Love is the essence of God's character. Love permeates all God is and all God does. Love is not the way God is at certain moments and then not at other moments. Whatever God is doing is always rooted in God's essential character as love. Everything God does is loving, even though the love may not be readily apparent to each person.
That God is in essence love, and not a mixture of love and other things, I regard as the most important conclusion which can be reached about God. For if God is not pure love, but some mixture of love and other motivations, then we cannot ever be confident about the actions of our creator.
Fortunately, if we want to know what love is, we are provided a detailed definition in the following passage from 1st Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.

This passage defines the character of love, which bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and never ends. If God is love, and if this definition of love is accurate, then here we have a Biblical description of the love of God towards each and every soul. God loves each soul. God bears all for each soul. God believes all for each soul. God hopes all for each soul. God endures all for each soul. God never gives up on a soul. Each soul is tremendously valuable to God. God does not do this because God has to do it. God does it because it is God's nature. It's who God is.

Taking all of this into consideration, if there is ever a case in which God completely and utterly gives up on a soul, at that point we could still say many things about God, but we could no longer, I believe, say God is love.

Another characteristic of love is how love extends itself even towards enemies. This is the kind of love Jesus said characterized the love of God.

Matthew 5:43-45
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven;

Jesus here teaches his followers to love their enemies in order to be like their Father in heaven. Loving enemies is not something Jesus commanded only because it was the right thing to do in some abstract way. Loving enemies, in the eyes of Jesus, is the right thing to do because it is what the Father in heaven does.

We infer from this that God is an enemy lover. This further confirms how God loves us unconditionally, whether we are now in the state of being God's friend or enemy.

Conclusion: God, being in essence love, loves us unconditionally. Nothing we do makes God love us less. Nothing we do makes God love us more. God loves us not because of who we are, but because of who God is. Nothing will ever stop God from loving us, because God is love and love bears all, believes all, hopes all, endures all, and never ends.

:thumbsup:

[marie glen]

When Jesus told the pharisees "unless you repent, you will die in your sins" he didn't add "and you will be lost forever."


[Awesome posts! :thumbsup: ..and affirmations! I never noticed 1 Samuel 14:6c! and how that's so true about 2 Peter 2:1! :thumbsup: ]

[CST]

Thanks glad you liked it I'd started to wonder if I was misunderstanding it never having seen anyone else using it.

Also agrees with the 2 Peter 2:1 but it's hard to spot because the natural tendency is to see false teachers as not saved at all. I'm still not sure from the passage they're not in the saved later camp though. That's harder to tell.

[jugghead]

When Jesus told the pharisees "unless you repent, you will die in your sins" he didn't add "and you will be lost forever."


[Awesome posts! :thumbsup: ..and affirmations! I never noticed 1 Samuel 14:6c! and how that's so true about 2 Peter 2:1! :thumbsup: ]

EXCELLENT observation marie  :thumbsup:  :iagree:

[darryl]

When Jesus told the pharisees "unless you repent, you will die in your sins" he didn't add "and you will be lost forever."


[Awesome posts! :thumbsup: ..and affirmations! I never noticed 1 Samuel 14:6c! and how that's so true about 2 Peter 2:1! :thumbsup: ]

EXCELLENT observation marie  :thumbsup:  :iagree:

yes, and Jesus NEVER used the common Greek term for neverending punishment, 'aiodios timora'..He deliberately used 'aionios kolasis' (age - during correction'.

[eaglesway]

And the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlastin(aidos)g chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

I dont think aidos means unending or forever or everlasting either, because here, aidos only lasts until the day of judgment.

[jugghead]

Simply said:

It is not the DURATION that is everlasting

It is the RESULT that  is everlasting

[marie glen]

Amen I agree with that.. Like the smoke of destruction will rise up 'forever'/never forgotten. This lesson of learning what's good and what's not so good/evil, designed, I believe to never be forgotten but will be part of our DNA so to speak.. "written on the heart and mind" (Jeremiah 31?)
:smile:

[sheila]

there will be 3 days of darkness/plague..and it ends at the threshing floor.

[CST]

Amen I agree with that.. Like the smoke of destruction will rise up 'forever'/never forgotten. This lesson of learning what's good and what's not so good/evil, designed, I believe to never be forgotten but will be part of our DNA so to speak.. "written on the heart and mind" (Jeremiah 31?)
:smile:

Agrees though with certain qualifications not pertinent to the thread.

[marie glen]

Agrees though with certain qualifications not pertinent to the thread.

I forgot this is an affirmation thread! or that is, I forgot what thread I was in :laughing7:

[eaglesway]

Amen I agree with that.. Like the smoke of destruction will rise up 'forever'/never forgotten. This lesson of learning what's good and what's not so good/evil, designed, I believe to never be forgotten but will be part of our DNA so to speak.. "written on the heart and mind" (Jeremiah 31?)
:smile:

I see it as this smoke will rise up through the ages, but I agree with the interpretation of what it means. an imprint upon the collective consciousness as to the righteous judgment of God.

Another good example of this is where John the baptist says, "His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

People read this as the wicked are the chaff and the righteous are the wheat, but each and every seed has wheat and chaff, the chaff being the hard outer covering of each and every grain. That chaff must be "broken" before the wheat can be gathered for milling into grain, and that is what the threshing floor was for- the chaff was beaten off the wheat, then it was blown off with fans, then the wheat was gathered, then the chaff was burned. The chaff does not burn forever. it burns until it is gone. The fire is "unquenchable" in that it will not stop burning the chaff until it is gone.

Life is the threshing floor. Any grains that leave this age/world with the chaff still intact, will enter whatever process exists in the world to come for the breaking and burning of the chaff- and Jesus describes this as an unpleasant process. This should not surprise us, since Peter explains, "All discipline is for the moment unpleasant, but when it is finished yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness."

I believe Gehenna and the lake of fire are metaphors for the aionian chaff burning and separating light(wheat) from darkness(chaff), spirit(wheat) from carnality(chaff), life(wheat) from death(chaff).

[CST]

Agrees though with certain qualifications not pertinent to the thread.

I forgot this is an affirmation thread! or that is, I forgot what thread I was in :laughing7:

I think you can affirm your belief with whatever quotes you want if you can justify them if necessary which is what you appear to be doing here. I'm just saying that although I agree with your reading of that point of Revelation, it was one of the first observations I made, I have since added further observations that broaden my understanding of what is being both there and in the context of the book. It just wouldn't be useful to discuss them here, I feel.

Amen I agree with that.. Like the smoke of destruction will rise up 'forever'/never forgotten. This lesson of learning what's good and what's not so good/evil, designed, I believe to never be forgotten but will be part of our DNA so to speak.. "written on the heart and mind" (Jeremiah 31?)
:smile:

I see it as this smoke will rise up through the ages, but I agree with the interpretation of what it means. an imprint upon the collective consciousness as to the righteous judgment of God.

Another good example of this is where John the baptist says, "His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

People read this as the wicked are the chaff and the righteous are the wheat, but each and every seed has wheat and chaff, the chaff being the hard outer covering of each and every grain. That chaff must be "broken" before the wheat can be gathered for milling into grain, and that is what the threshing floor was for- the chaff was beaten off the wheat, then it was blown off with fans, then the wheat was gathered, then the chaff was burned. The chaff does not burn forever. it burns until it is gone. The fire is "unquenchable" in that it will not stop burning the chaff until it is gone.

Life is the threshing floor. Any grains that leave this age/world with the chaff still intact, will enter whatever process exists in the world to come for the breaking and burning of the chaff- and Jesus describes this as an unpleasant process. This should not surprise us, since Peter explains, "All discipline is for the moment unpleasant, but when it is finished yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness."

I believe Gehenna and the lake of fire are metaphors for the aionian chaff burning and separating light(wheat) from darkness(chaff), spirit(wheat) from carnality(chaff), life(wheat) from death(chaff).

Agrees, although I feel the term 'unquenchable' may have more to do the fact it refers to some quality in God that opposes and purges sin. Thus the fire would remain unquenchable even while there was no sin left to purge. I think this is just about a simple enough interpretation to be mentioned here without going off topic.

[marie glen]

I believe Gehenna and the lake of fire are metaphors for the aionian chaff burning and separating light(wheat) from darkness(chaff), spirit(wheat) from carnality(chaff), life(wheat) from death(chaff).

:iagree: :iagree:

Agrees, although I feel the term 'unquenchable' may have more to do the fact it refers to some quality in God that opposes and purges sin. Thus the fire would remain unquenchable even while there was no sin left to purge.

  :Chinscratch: ..that makes sense!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[marie glen]

Philippians 3:21

"who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working of his power, by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself."

gregoryfl posted a thread the other day on this verse.. and it stuck with me.. :smile:

http://tentmaker.org/forum/discussions-on-universal-salvation/philippians-321-how-yeshua-makes-all-subject-to-himself/msg196780/#msg196780

[CST]

Agrees, although I feel the term 'unquenchable' may have more to do the fact it refers to some quality in God that opposes and purges sin. Thus the fire would remain unquenchable even while there was no sin left to purge.

  :Chinscratch: ..that makes sense!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Yes, quite possibly the Word of God (Jesus' word which will not pass away), or the Spirit of God (John the Baptist talking, in the verse before this, about baptizing with water for repentance and being succeeded by Jesus, baptizing with the Holy Spirit and with fire) or, quite possibly, both.

[marie glen]

from Ephesian 1:9,10 - "He made known to us the mystery of his will.. to bring all things together in Christ, [both] things in the heavens and things on the earth."

I took out phrases in between..
Here's the whole verses:
9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring all things together in Christ, [both] things in the heavens and things on the earth.

YLT - 10 in regard to the dispensation of the fulness of the times, to bring into one the whole in the Christ, both the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth -- in him;

[rosered]

                :banana: :banana: :HeartThrob:    This is so awesome  especially  if you
can sure see this as   Greater is He that is in You  than in the world !!

  Our heavens and our earth  are ruled by JESUS CHRIST ..
  1John 4 Testing the Spirits
...3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

4You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

5They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them....

John 12:31
Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.

Romans 8:31
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

1 John 2:1
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.


   For me this is  how the Lord Jesus Christ would be  casting out   unclean and evil spirits in a  man , being the Father of spirits and the spirits  are subject to Him , these   are  the  powers and principalities   ruling over our  flesh and there can only be ONE     , One Faith One Hope One baptism  ONE LORD OF ALL AND THOUGH YOU ALL ...   

There must be  unity ,  wholeness ,  within us  first before we can ever ,  come together as     ONE   corporately in Christ  as God permits .

Unity in the Body
...4There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all....

1 Corinthians 8:6
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Ephesians 4:13
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

    Gods blessings of   grace

[jugghead]

Our heavens and our earth  are ruled by JESUS CHRIST ..

It is because of this way of thinking we can come to understand the difference between flesh and Spirit;

If heaven is the mind and earth is the heart, in Christ they rule together as husband and wife (male and female)[they rule "WITH" each other],

but in he who has not been joined together as one, the carnal mind rules over the heart, husband rules over the wife [one rules "OVER" another], therefore, if the carnal mind rules over the heart, the seed does not fall to the earth (the heart) where it is planted to grow and flourish. it is stolen by the fowls of the air.

Also seeing the flip side of the same coin, if the husband/male/mind does not step up to put to death the desires of wife/female/heart, they shall both eat and bring about death unto themselves, as we see in the garden.

my  :2c:

[rosered]

Our heavens and our earth  are ruled by JESUS CHRIST ..

It is because of this way of thinking we can come to understand the difference between flesh and Spirit;

If heaven is the mind and earth is the heart, in Christ they rule together as husband and wife (male and female)[they rule "WITH" each other],

but in he who has not been joined together as one, the carnal mind rules over the heart, husband rules over the wife [one rules "OVER" another], therefore, if the carnal mind rules over the heart, the seed does not fall to the earth (the heart) where it is planted to grow and flourish. it is stolen by the fowls of the air.

Also seeing the flip side of the same coin, if the husband/male/mind does not step up to put to death the desires of wife/female/heart, they shall both eat and bring about death unto themselves, as we see in the garden.

my  :2c:

I can see     that      the mind of Christ  is Spiritual   and a new heart 

   Ezek 36 A New Heart and Spirit
...25"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.

26"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;

and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

27"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances....

   The  covenant   agreement between  God and mankind   though Jesus Christ

[marie glen]

Ephesians 1:11
11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will

1 Timothy 2:4
4 who doth will all men to be saved, and to come to the full knowledge of the truth;

[and amen as Rose posted - "Greater is He" (much greater!!).. "than he that is in the world"..!]

[darryl]

 :iagree: :dsunny: :dsunny: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Ephesians 1:11
11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will

1 Timothy 2:4
4 who doth will all men to be saved, and to come to the full knowledge of the truth;

[and amen as Rose posted - "Greater is He" (much greater!!).. "than he that is in the world"..!]

[marie glen]

Ephesians 2:1-2
2 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

"Greater is He" (much greater!!).. "than he that is in the world"..!

(jus' sayin! :smile: )

[marie glen]

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.. But because of His great love..even when, we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.." - Ephesians 2:1-2,4-5

"greater is He (that is in you), than he that is in the world" - John 4:4b

"God is love" - 1 John 4:8 ("Love never fails.." - 1 Corinthians 13:8a)

[darryl]

Jesus prayed 'thy will be done'...2 Peter 3 9 tell us its God will  that all be saved....there we have it..Gods will will be done and all will be saved. :dsunny: :banana: