8th Day - New Beginning
May the God of heaven, the One who governs all things, bless your life today!
I have some deep truths to share with you today! What I share today may be beyond what you are normally comfortable receiving from God and that is ok. We are all on a journey of understanding. It is part of the wonder and majesty of Scripture that the moment you think you understand something fully, the Lord reveals that you have just scratched the surface, and there is more to be given.
We have come to the point in 1 Corinthians 13 where Paul gives us a simple listing of what love is, and what love isn’t. If you take only verses 4-7 you end up with a list of seven (7) things which Paul says love is, and eight (8) things which he identifies love is not. This struck me as strange! Paul is more precise than to use uneven listings. Then I realized that the first statement of verse 8 (love never ends) actually belongs as the ending of verse 7. This gives us two listings of eight (8) each. Please remember that the chapter verse divisions were not inspired by God, but were added much later in history as a way to make the reading of Scripture easier. Here is the text.
Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
Why is the listing given by Paul important? I do not believe anything we find in Scripture is present by accident. God is so much greater than each one of us, that if something is included in the Bible it is there by intention. God has given us two listing of eight things describing what love is and what love is not! Again, why is this important?
Paul’s readers, who were very attune to the Scriptures and how God was seeking to reveal deeper truths, they would have immediately seen the pattern I intend to lay out for you. First, there are two sets of eight given. The Old Testament is clear that every truth must be established by the testimony of two witnesses. Here the two listings of what love is and isn’t serve as the two witnesses to the truth of what Paul is revealing.
Secondly, and an even more profound truth is that Paul gives us two listings of eight (8). What does the number 8 have to do with anything? If we truly believe in the inspiration of the Bible by the Holy Spirit, then everything revealed in Scripture has a purpose. We can even see meanings I the numbers used in the Bible. Some numbers are easy! The number 12 for the tribes of Israel and then the 12 apostles. In Revelation there are 24 gathered before the throne of God! The number 3 for Trinity! The number 40 for a generation. The listing could go on almost indefinitely. The number 8 stands unique in that it is the most ignored. There are very few times that this number is identified in the Bible, but when it is there is significance. So here we go!
When God determined to destroy the world with a flood and begin anew, there were eight individuals who were selected for the new beginning. These eight (Noah, his 3 sons, and the 4 women) were the beginning of the new creation. When God determined to establish a covenant with Abraham a sign was given to mark that Abraham and his descendants were the chosen people of God. The sign given was circumcision! When exactly was a child to be circumcised? On the eighth day of his life! The eighth day marked a new relationship with God which was created by God Himself through grace. And again, Jesus was crucified during the week of Passover which was a seven day festival. Laid in the tomb on Friday evening, and resurrected on Sunday which was a unique day. The day following the Sabbath day of Passover was known as the Great and Final day of the Festival which actually made the entire festival eight days long. The Resurrection happened on the eighth day, and it marked a new relationship with God through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Even when we look at our weekly calendar, the eighth day is the first day of a new week, or the day of new beginning! This is the actual meaning of the 8th Day! It is the day of New Beginning!
When Paul gives us the understanding of love in 1 Corinthians 13, he is laying out a New Beginning! A new way of understanding, a new way of life which is ours in Christ Jesus. This new beginning is found in that the love we have received from God is a love which has its origin in eternity. It is a love which gives of self to bless the one upon whom the love is focused. What Paul describes is AGAPE love as it exists in the heart of our Father in heaven.
What does this love not do? Love does not Envy, Boast, is not Arrogant, Rude, Self-seeking, Irritable. This love keeps No Record Of Wrongs, and it has No Joy In Unrighteousness. Even without going any farther, does this not sound exactly like God? His love for us is not self-seeking but self-less and forgiving. It is a pure love which seeks only the good of others even to the detriment of self.
Again, what is love? Love is Patient and Kind, it Rejoices In The Truth, Bears All Things, Believes All Things, Hopes All Things, Endures All Things - Love Never Ends. A pure love such as Paul describes can only emanate from the heart of our pure and holy God.
So, what am I seeking to share with you today? Paul gives is a double witness to the truth of what is ours by the grace of God. In Christ we are given a new beginning (8th day imagery) whereby having experienced the love God has for us in Christ, we are enabled to truly love others as we have been loved. It is a new beginning, a new way of life. A love which can literally turn the world upside down! It is the love God has for us in Jesus by which He has saved us, redeeming us from sin and hell and gifting us with eternal life. It is this love which fills our hearts and enables us to engage the people of this world in such a way that we love them into the kingdom of God!
I pray that in the midst of deep truths we can all find a deeper joy and confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessings,
Pastor Russ
I have some deep truths to share with you today! What I share today may be beyond what you are normally comfortable receiving from God and that is ok. We are all on a journey of understanding. It is part of the wonder and majesty of Scripture that the moment you think you understand something fully, the Lord reveals that you have just scratched the surface, and there is more to be given.
We have come to the point in 1 Corinthians 13 where Paul gives us a simple listing of what love is, and what love isn’t. If you take only verses 4-7 you end up with a list of seven (7) things which Paul says love is, and eight (8) things which he identifies love is not. This struck me as strange! Paul is more precise than to use uneven listings. Then I realized that the first statement of verse 8 (love never ends) actually belongs as the ending of verse 7. This gives us two listings of eight (8) each. Please remember that the chapter verse divisions were not inspired by God, but were added much later in history as a way to make the reading of Scripture easier. Here is the text.
Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
Why is the listing given by Paul important? I do not believe anything we find in Scripture is present by accident. God is so much greater than each one of us, that if something is included in the Bible it is there by intention. God has given us two listing of eight things describing what love is and what love is not! Again, why is this important?
Paul’s readers, who were very attune to the Scriptures and how God was seeking to reveal deeper truths, they would have immediately seen the pattern I intend to lay out for you. First, there are two sets of eight given. The Old Testament is clear that every truth must be established by the testimony of two witnesses. Here the two listings of what love is and isn’t serve as the two witnesses to the truth of what Paul is revealing.
Secondly, and an even more profound truth is that Paul gives us two listings of eight (8). What does the number 8 have to do with anything? If we truly believe in the inspiration of the Bible by the Holy Spirit, then everything revealed in Scripture has a purpose. We can even see meanings I the numbers used in the Bible. Some numbers are easy! The number 12 for the tribes of Israel and then the 12 apostles. In Revelation there are 24 gathered before the throne of God! The number 3 for Trinity! The number 40 for a generation. The listing could go on almost indefinitely. The number 8 stands unique in that it is the most ignored. There are very few times that this number is identified in the Bible, but when it is there is significance. So here we go!
When God determined to destroy the world with a flood and begin anew, there were eight individuals who were selected for the new beginning. These eight (Noah, his 3 sons, and the 4 women) were the beginning of the new creation. When God determined to establish a covenant with Abraham a sign was given to mark that Abraham and his descendants were the chosen people of God. The sign given was circumcision! When exactly was a child to be circumcised? On the eighth day of his life! The eighth day marked a new relationship with God which was created by God Himself through grace. And again, Jesus was crucified during the week of Passover which was a seven day festival. Laid in the tomb on Friday evening, and resurrected on Sunday which was a unique day. The day following the Sabbath day of Passover was known as the Great and Final day of the Festival which actually made the entire festival eight days long. The Resurrection happened on the eighth day, and it marked a new relationship with God through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Even when we look at our weekly calendar, the eighth day is the first day of a new week, or the day of new beginning! This is the actual meaning of the 8th Day! It is the day of New Beginning!
When Paul gives us the understanding of love in 1 Corinthians 13, he is laying out a New Beginning! A new way of understanding, a new way of life which is ours in Christ Jesus. This new beginning is found in that the love we have received from God is a love which has its origin in eternity. It is a love which gives of self to bless the one upon whom the love is focused. What Paul describes is AGAPE love as it exists in the heart of our Father in heaven.
What does this love not do? Love does not Envy, Boast, is not Arrogant, Rude, Self-seeking, Irritable. This love keeps No Record Of Wrongs, and it has No Joy In Unrighteousness. Even without going any farther, does this not sound exactly like God? His love for us is not self-seeking but self-less and forgiving. It is a pure love which seeks only the good of others even to the detriment of self.
Again, what is love? Love is Patient and Kind, it Rejoices In The Truth, Bears All Things, Believes All Things, Hopes All Things, Endures All Things - Love Never Ends. A pure love such as Paul describes can only emanate from the heart of our pure and holy God.
So, what am I seeking to share with you today? Paul gives is a double witness to the truth of what is ours by the grace of God. In Christ we are given a new beginning (8th day imagery) whereby having experienced the love God has for us in Christ, we are enabled to truly love others as we have been loved. It is a new beginning, a new way of life. A love which can literally turn the world upside down! It is the love God has for us in Jesus by which He has saved us, redeeming us from sin and hell and gifting us with eternal life. It is this love which fills our hearts and enables us to engage the people of this world in such a way that we love them into the kingdom of God!
I pray that in the midst of deep truths we can all find a deeper joy and confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessings,
Pastor Russ
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