RayPrinzing
by Ray Prinzing
"-- by obeying the truth THROUGH THE SPIRIT..." In all of our progression into God's fulness we find that it is accomplished in us by the means of the Spirit working, guiding us into all truth. And thus as the Word is quickened to our heart it will bring us to the unfeigned love of the brethren.
LOVE OF THE BRETHREN-- Greek word is "philadelphia", meaning "fond affection for one's brethren." It comes from the root word "phileo" meaning "fond affection". As we obey the truth by the Spirit, the more we reach an affinity with one another, those of like precious faith who are also walking this way. But even so, we are forced to admit that there is far too much PUT ON love among God's people in these days. We need an unfeigned love, without hypocrisy, love that can bind us together in greater unity and harmony.
But "phileo" love is limited by the bounds of humanness, it is a human love, brotherly love. We find it easier to love certain types of people more than some others, because their make-up and personality appeal to us more. Others being a strong contrast in person to us, we find it more difficult to love them, and in some cases there is always an outward clash though we made by the church without ceasing until it brought a release from prison for Peter. Such prayer must have the undergirding of divine love if it is to go on and on unceasingly until the victory is obtained.
Then the other reference is in 1 Peter 4:8 "And above all things have FERVENT charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover the multitude of sins." Consider the scope of such love, till it extends to cover that multitude of sin which it comes up against. When our love is so perfected in God that it can begin to cover sin instead of exposing it, progression is made.
Right here Peter changes words for LOVE from "Phileo" to "agape", from fond affection to divine love. This Greek word "agape" signifies the LOVE OF GOD which is full and complete, far transcending all natural love.
Perhaps no one was better able to point out the great difference here than Peter himself after that experience on the lakeshore, as recorded in John 21:15-17, when Jesus asked Peter, "lovest thou Me...? and Jesus used the word for "God's love", but Peter always gave answer using the word meaning "fond affection". When Jesus asked the question for the third time, He dropped down to Peter's language and asked, "Peter, do you really have a fond affection for Me?" And Peter then was grieved because He asked the third time using the word signifying human, love, for he began to grasp the difference, and to see what the Master was trying to teach him, namely the need for Divine Love so that he would never again deny his Lord, but would have God's strong love to uphold him, no longer dependent only on the strength of human love-- so here he exhorts, "See that you love one another with a pure heart fervently."
God now desires to take us beyond all the limitations of human fondness to where we begin to move with that Divine Love which abides. "For this is the message that ye have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another." (1 John 3:11). "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love (agapao) the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." (1 John 3:14). "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." (1 John 4:7). Now we connect the two thoughts together like this: inasmuch as we are being (process) born again by the WORD, and little by little our natural minds are being brought into conformity to the anointed truth, when it fully accomplishes its work in us it will bring us into the full knowledge of our Lord, and into the love of God, which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who also quickens the truth unto us that we might obey it. And we can sum it up with the words of 1 John 5:2 "By this we know that we LOVE the children of God, when we LOVE GOD, AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS."
Fulfilling the Word, loving God, loving the brethren, this is all blended into one great work of the Spirit in us. The proof of how much we are progressing, yea, maturing in our spirit-life, is how much do we really love with God's kind of love? We have possessed very little of this divine love, but we have been far more as the Elder Brother when the Prodigal Son came home. Read (Luke 15:25-30) of the jealous and self-centered attitude of the elder brother against the younger one as he returned from his wayward path of riotous ways. So now, just mention to someone claiming to have some great burden for souls that God will ultimately bring back all creation and you get the same cold reaction, carnal minds never comprehending the LOVE OF GOD.
Excerpts From WHEN LOVE PROJECTS
LEAPING ON THE MOUNTAINSby Ray Prinzing
"The voice of my Beloved! Behold, He cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills" (Song of Solomon 2:8).
We would hear His voice! What is the message of the hour He is coming, and He is "leaping upon the mountains, He is skipping on the hills." Praise God, "the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God." (1 Peter 4:17).
"Every mountain and hill shall be brought low." (Luke 3:5). We prayed for a revival, we fasted, cried, pleaded with Him, Lord, come to us." He waits until we have reached that point of desperation, when we are ready to receive Him no matter how He comes. Than as we hear His voice we find it is a call to repentance, to holiness, to a deeper consecration, and He leaps on all our mountains. Mountains are symbolic of kingdoms. Man is prone to build his kingdoms, raising up a monument unto himself, to make a name for himself. But to see the establishment of HIS KINGDOM it is necessary that all "the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ." (Revelations 11:15). The great the kingdom of man, the harder He will leap upon it, until all is subdued before Him.
But there is mercy in all of His judgments, He does not leap upon the hills, He lightly skips upon them. But everything that has reared its lofty peak into the heights, projecting the will of man to its peak, there comes the heavy foot of God to bring it low again. We find ourselves leveled before Him.
Yet, it is not all a matter of crushing, subduing, for there follows the merciful restoration of our God, as "EVERY VALLEY SHALL BE FILLED, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL SHALL BE BROUGHT LOW; AND THE CROOKED SHALL BE MADE STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH WAYS SHALL BE MADE SMOOTH; AND ALL FLESH SHALL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD." (Luke 3:5-6). Then the glory of the Lord shall fill the earth, as the waters cover the sea. All shall be found to His praise, and He alone shall be exalted.