Dear Partner,
Grace and peace be yours from God our Father and from our LORD Jesus, the Christ, our MESSIAH. Let’s turn in our Bibles to the words of Jesus in Mark 12:28-31:
- And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
- And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The LORD our God is one LORD:
- And thou shalt love The LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
- And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Turn to Matthew 22:36-40
- Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
- Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love The LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
- This is the first and great commandment.
- And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Now turn to 1 John 4:8: “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is Love.” Our Father GOD doesn’t have Love. HE IS LOVE. (Think about this: There is nothing you or I can do to cause Him to love us any less, nor is there anything we can do to cause Him to love us more!)
Go with me now to Psalm 145:8-9, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition: “The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in mercy and loving-kindness. The LORD is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works [the entirety of things created].” The LORD is good to all! So Love is the curtain rod that holds up all the BLESSINGS of Abraham, who is the father of our faith. Let’s read it in Galatians 3:26-29, AMPC.
- For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. For as many [of you] as were baptized into Christ [into a spiritual union and communion with Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah] have put on (clothed yourselves with) Christ. There is [now no distinction] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ [are in Him Who is Abraham’s Seed], then you are Abraham’s offspring and [spiritual] heirs according to promise.
Now turn with me to Proverbs 18:10, AMPC. Remember now, these are BLOOD-BACKED covenant promises: “The name of The LORD is a strong tower; the [consistently] righteous man [upright and in right standing with God] runs into it and is safe, high [above evil] and strong.” And 2 Corinthians 5:7, AMPC, says: “For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance.” Verses 17-18 continue:
- Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him].
What passed away? The “OLD man”—our old, sinful nature. Now look at verse 21, the shouting verse!: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Now let’s look at the same verse in the AMPC: “For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].” He “who knew no sin” was MADE TO BE SIN so that you and I might be MADE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM! This is HUGE!
“Why, Brother Copeland?”
Look at verses 19-20, AMPC: “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor). So we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ’s personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God
Look at verse 19 again. “Not counting UP AND HOLDING AGAINST [US OUR] trespasses [but cancelling them].” The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:16: “And we have known and believed the Love that God hath to us. God is Love; and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” Now look at it in the AMPC: “And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the Love God cherishes for us. God is Love, and he who dwells and continues in Love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.”
Now turn to Romans 5:5: “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” And just as with the previous verse, let’s look at it in the AMPC: “Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s Love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.” The Greek word translated “know” or “known” is ginõskõ. Let’s look at the use of that word in Matthew 1:24-25. The moment we were born again, we had a very intimate personal relationship with the Almighty God and His Son Jesus of Nazareth. Let’s look in Acts 10:38, AMPC: “How God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the [Holy] Spirit and with strength and ability and power; how He went about doing good and, in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by [the power of] the devil, for God was with Him.” And in Hebrews 13:8, AMPC: “Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is [always] the same, yesterday, today, [yes] and forever (to the ages).”
Righteousness is not holiness. We were “MADE” the righteousness of God in Christ. He had the authority to do that. Let’s look, now, at 2 Corinthians 7:1 in the New King James Version: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” “Having these [BLOOD-BACKED] promises…perfecting holiness.” So, where in THE BOOK do we turn to find, and perfect, holiness? Let’s take a look at Galatians 5:22-23, AMPC: “But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is LOVE, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].”
In closing, let’s read together 1 Corinthians 12:1: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.” Now, skip down to verses 7-10:
- But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.
Then in verse 31, AMPC, Paul says: “But earnestly desire and zealously cultivate the greatest and best gifts and graces (the higher gifts and the choicest graces). And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one that is better by far and the highest of them all—LOVE].” And now, look at Chapter 13:4-8:
- Charity [LOVE] suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth.
LOVE NEVER FAILS or, as the AMPC says, “never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end.” In John 13:34-35, the night before Jesus was crucified, He said: “I give you a new commandment: that you should Love one another. Just as I have Loved you, so you too should Love one another. By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you Love one another [if you keep on showing Love among yourselves].” First Corinthians 13:13 says, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity [LOVE], these three; but the greatest of these is charity [LOVE, who is God].”
Now read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, in the AMPC, and place yourself everywhere you see the word “Love.” Gloria is the one who pointed this out from the AMPC. She can quote verses 4-13, as well as the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Starting with verse 4 say, “I endure long, and I am patient and kind,” and so on, through verse 8. Doing and practicing this daily will perfect holiness in your life the way it has for Gloria and me. We just celebrated our 62nd wedding anniversary—62 years without arguments and fusses. Teach these things to your children and grandchildren and, as in our case, great-grandchildren.
As you sow your BLESSING seed this month, stand with us that God’s perfect will be done in our nation.
Remember, we pray for you at every meal. The entire KCM staff prays for you every day. Be sure and watch Inside the Vision with Pastor George Pearsons.
God Loves you, we Love you, and Jesus is LORD!
Love,
