The Character of God

[janine]

If your posts seem long because you put so much generous space between lines/ideas, that's a good thing, don't worry about it.  Makes things much more readable.

A good exercise (for anyone, I guess, but especially for me) is to go to the "Love Chapter" in I Corinthians, as you did substituting "God" for "love", and put your name there.

Like,

* Janine suffers long and is kind; Janine does not envy; Janine does not parade [herself], Janine is not puffed up;
* Janine does not behave rudely, does not seek [her]own, is not provoked, Janine thinks no evil;
* Janine does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
*Janine bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things...
*Janine never fails...


Try it. Is it humbling, or what?

It's not depressing, though, to see how impossible that would be.  I have a sparkling, shining, burgeoning hope about the way God enables me to achieve some of it sometimes on this Earth, and the way I'll one day be able to be 'all that' at His feet. :)

[!--QuoteBegin--][/span][table border=\"0\" align=\"center\" width=\"95%\" cellpadding=\"3\" cellspacing=\"1\"][tr][td]Quote [/td][/tr][tr][td id=\"QUOTE\"][!--QuoteEBegin--]  Aren't the fruit of the Spirit the attributes of God, or the character of God? [Gal.5:22 love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith(fulness), meekness, temperance]. 2 Cor.3:17 says, "Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
[/quote]


YES !!!!!

;)

preach it "sista" as we say down here in the south....a cha cha cha cha....... in my best durandy voice....

[chloeshouse]

The Character of God found in I Cor. 13

The Bible tells us that God is Love......


I John 4:8.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.



But what does the Bible say Love is....lets look at the word Love  and replace the word Love,  with God and see the character of our Father...Because God and Love are inseparable, we can get a clue of Gods heart...


Ready ?


Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not GOD, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not GOD, I am nothing.
3.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not GOD, it profits me nothing.
4.  GOD suffers long and is kind; GOD does not envy; GOD does not parade HIMSELF, GOD is not puffed up;
5.  GOD does not behave rudely, does not seek HIS own, is not provoked, GOD thinks no evil;
6.  GOD does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7.  GOD bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8.  GOD never fails.


Now lets turn everything Jesus told us to do, and put it back on the Father so we can get a great view of His Heart ..

Here's one...

Luke 6:
27.  But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,


Jesus and the Father are not hypocrites......in other words God would not tell us to do something He would not do...So this must mean, God loves His enemies, and does good to those who hate Him.


28.  Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

God is blessing those that curse Him and use Him..


29.  And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.

 We can see this in Jesus when they killed Him..



30.  Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

 
God is giving to mankind, and they that steal from Him, He is not asking for it back..


31.  And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

This is  a good one....God is doing to mankind, what He wants us, to do to Him.....

What is it that God wants us to do with Him ?

`And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.

This must mean God loves us with  ALL HIS HEART, ALL HIS SOUL, ALL HIS MIND, ALL HIS STRENGTH.....YHEA !!!!



32.  For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

  Same with God...some people teach a lesser God than man...


33.  And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.


 Glory to God, can ya see it ?





34.  And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

Same with God


35.  But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.


  for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

 

Did ja catch that part ?


sorry about the loooooog post... :D

[Shumby]

Am I wrong here? Aren't the fruit of the Spirit the attributes of God, or the character of God? [Gal.5:22 love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith(fulness), meekness, temperance]. 2 Cor.3:17 says, "Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

These attributes are also in us, when the Holy Spirit comes within us to dwell, and they begin to manifest outward as we renew our minds and grow in grace and knowledge.

[janine]

That's the point.

The "freer" I get, the more His presence makes itself manifest in me, the clearer my "spiritual perception" becomes, and the more I feel grieved over any failure to give Him my all.

I don't feel condemned, nor even convicted, usually.  I'm not yet what He will make me, after all, so I expect error and willfulness to crop up sometimes.  Call it a sweet sadness, a goad to my desire to cling more closely to Him.

He deserves the best.  He considers me worth dying for, therefore I am the best.  When I don't live up to that, it upsets me and I resolve to do better, to be better, for love of the Lord.