Notes on Romans Six
Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart – Part 2
In part one, I talked about some of the bad beliefs I once held and how they impacted my relationship with Father. We saw that Father is not at all like I had imagined Him. We saw in a parable—a story with a teaching point—how He treated His son who had squandered His money and inheritance and then returned seeking to be his Father’s servant.
Now we will see that love is so much in Father’s nature that scripture tells us that He is love.
Abba is love.
1 John 4:8 (AV)
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
1 John 4:16 (AV)
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.
From scriptures like this we learn in literal terms that Father is love. This might cause us to ask, “what does love do?” We find a beautiful answer in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a where we read,
“4 Charity (love) suffereth long, and is kind; charity (love) envieth not; charity (love) vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; (The word rendered “thinketh” here is λογίζομαι [logizomai] <G3049>. It means, Account, Consider, Count, Esteem, Impute, Reckon, Reckoning, Think)
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity (love) never faileth…”
God is love and this is the way love behaves. Read the passage in your choice of translations and replace the word “love” with the word “Father.”
1 Corinthians 13:4–8 (Larry Eiss Version)
Father is patient, He is kind, and He is not jealous. Father does not brag, and He is not arrogant. He does not act in ways unbecoming of His perfection. Father does not seek His own. Neither is Father easily provoked. He does not keep a record of wrongs he has suffered. Father does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth. Father bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Father never fails.
This is a God who can be trusted fully. Father is not waiting to punish us, and He is not demanding that we suffer for Him.
In the next installment we will look at the practical ramifications of all these things.
Grace and peace to you.
Larry
