The Inseparable Love of God (1) [ Romans 8:38-39 ] Why can nothing separate us from the love of God? 1. Because God’s love is eternal. Romans 8:29a says: “For those whom He foreknew…” The word “foreknew” refers to before eternity began —before the creation of heaven and earth . The phrase “those whom He foreknew” does not simply mean knowing about someone intellectually, but rather loving them. In other words, it refers to “those whom God loved from eternity past.” Amos 3:2a says: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” If “known” merely meant intellectual knowledge, that would imply that God only knew Israel and did not know the other nations—which cannot be true, because the all-knowing God lacks knowledge of nothing. Therefore, “I have known you only” means “I have loved you only.” God loved Israel among all the nations of the earth. Hosea 13:5 says: “I knew you in the wilderness , in the land of great drought.” The “wilderness” was where the Israelite...
Don’t be mistaken.
“For he supposed his
brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but
they understood not" (Acts 7:25)
As I meditated on this Scripture, one word I said to
myself was 'James, do not be mistaken.' The
reason is that Moses, before he attended the church in the wilderness (Acts
7:38), during his 40 years of life in Egypt, remembered to consider his fellow
Israelites. When he saw an Israelite
being mistreated by an Egyptian, he struck down the Egyptian in defense (v. 24).
After this incident, Moses mistakenly
believed that God had used him to save the Israelite by his own hand (v. 25). To put it in modern terms, a pastor like me
could mistakenly believe that the church has grown because of my good
preaching, effective administration, good interpersonal relationships, and so
on.
Of course, it would have been natural for the
Israelites not to realize. The reason is
that Moses' human nature and his own abilities were displayed, rather than
God's salvation work and His power. In
other words, instead of God's divinity being revealed, it was Moses' humanity
that was revealed. How could the
Israelites think that God saved an Israelite who had been mistreated through
Moses killing an Egyptian? Does God's
salvation come from human bloodshed?
It seems that we humans are easily mistaken. The reason is that we do not know God well and
do not understand our own nature well. No
one is truly competent. What do we have
to offer God? We have no righteousness,
no ability to save anyone, and no worth if the Lord does not dwell within us. Therefore, if someone feels loved, comforted,
and uplifted through us, it is not our doing, but the work of the Lord who
dwells within us. That is why we have no
one to boast about except the Lord.
Although they may dwell in misconception, those who
know the truth believe they can find freedom even in misconception. I desire to
abide in the truth without being mistaken.
Even
if I dwell in misconception, I believe that the Lord will rescue me from that
misconception, so I remain,
James
Kim
(Embracing
freedom from misconception)
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