The Profound Love of God for Us
and How Only Jesus Christ Satisfies Us
Philippians chapter 4, verse
1 reveals a profound truth about God’s love for us, which God put into the
heart of Paul for the church at Philippi.
Philippians
4:1 -- “[1]
Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so
stand fast in the Lord, my dearly
beloved.” [End quote]
In
Philippians 1:8, Paul wrote this:
Philippians
1:8 -- “[8] For God is my record, how greatly I
long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.” [End quote]
{Note: Paul longed after them
in the nature of the deep, compassionate, yearning love of Jesus Christ. (Bowels
refers to deep love, yearning, earnest desire, deep feelings). Jesus Christ
and God the Father have this deep, yearning love and compassion, and deep
feeling for the Church and for the whole world. See John 17:23.}
Paul, who was once called
Saul, was a former persecutor of Christians before he had a powerful vision
from Jesus, revealing His love and truth and that Jesus is the Messiah and Son
of God. Shortly that vision, Paul became
a born-again Christian and began preaching the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles. He
was transformed from a zealous Pharisee who sought to imprison and stop
Christians from spreading the Gospel to a godly man who preached the very
Gospel he once despised.
So, when Paul wrote to the Philippian
Christians calling them “… my brethren dearly
beloved and longed for, my joy and crown,…”, he was
speaking from the heart of Jesus, who gave Paul that love for the Church. It is
the same type of love that Jesus has for the Church, which is His Bride. We are
dearly loved by Abba Father God. He longs for us and He considers
us to be His joy and crown.
In Isaiah 62, God calls the
believers (Jews and Gentiles who believe on Jesus, the Messiah) His crown, His
delight, and His Bride who He rejoices over.
Isaiah 62:3-5 says: “[3] Thou
shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD,
and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. [4] Thou shalt no
more be termed Forsaken ; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate :
but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah : for the
LORD delighteth in thee,
and thy land shall be married. [5] For as a
young man marrieth a virgin, so shall
thy sons marry thee : and as the
bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall
thy God rejoice over thee.” [End quote]
[Hephzibah: ‘my delight is in her’.] [Beulah: ‘married’.]
Isaiah
62:11-12 says: “[11] Behold, the Lord
hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter
of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh ; behold, his reward
is with him, and his work before him. [12] And they
shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord
: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.” [End quote]
Again,
look at what the Holy Spirit had Paul write.
Philippians
4:1 -- “[1]
Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so
stand fast in the Lord, my dearly
beloved.” [End quote]
Imagine if Jesus said these
words. And, He really did. Jesus said the above message through Paul. And, not
only does Jesus and Abba God love us, but God also gives us fullness of joy
right now. All we need to do is just believe, and seek to know, and desire to
know God intimately as a Friend and Abba Father.
Having True Joy in Jesus
We give some verses, below,
about true joy, which found only in Jesus Christ. This joy is received
by simple faith and by desiring to know Jesus Christ.
Psalm
16:11 says: “Thou wilt show me the path of life
: in thy presence is
fulness of joy ; at thy right hand there
are pleasures for evermore.”
