Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,438
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:18-23 NASB’95)
What do our eyes represent? They are the parts of our bodies which help us to physically see things. But “eye” is also a word used to mean judgment, insight, discernment, and perception. And our hearts are the core of who we are, representing the mind, soul, spirit, and emotion, i.e. the crux and the substance of who we are in character, which will be evident by our actions. So the eyes of our hearts being enlightened goes beyond just head knowledge, but it impacts who we become in character and in deed.
So if we are enlightened, and so now we see clearly the hope of his calling, what should we see? We should see Jesus crucified on that cross, taking upon himself our sins, putting our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him, we will now die with him to sin and walk with him in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living, by the grace of God, and in the power of God, and not of our own doing. And we are those given the hope of deliverance from sin and eternal life with God.
All this comes from God and is not of the flesh of humans. Not one of us can do anything in ourselves to be acceptable to and to be approved by God and to share in his righteousness. We can only come to faith in Jesus Christ if God draws us to faith in him, i.e. only if he persuades us as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of God’s requirement that we die with him to sin and walk now in obedience to his commands, in his power, by his grace, and so we now die to sin and obey his commands.
For to believe in Jesus is not just words that we repeat after someone else in a pre-planned prayer, and it is not just a verbal confession of Jesus as Lord and Savior, and it is not just an acknowledgment of what he did to save us from our sins. The Scriptures teach us that faith, which is of God, and is persuaded by God, will result in the sinner dying with Christ to his sin and being raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as a slave to sin, but as a servant of righteousness, in obedience to our Lord.
Nonetheless, this is not what is popularly being taught as the gospel of our salvation here in America, at large. Many are teaching a very diluted and altered gospel, and an altered character of God/Christ, and of his church, because they are trying to appeal to the ungodly of this world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. And so they make Jesus and his gospel message more socially acceptable and far less offensive to the world and to human flesh. And in that way they can draw more people to their gatherings.
And so they are teaching that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ will assure them forgiveness of all sins and heaven as their eternal destiny, but regardless of how they live. Some do still teach that we must repent of (die to) our sins and obey God, but they make it more optional, and not required of God for our faith to be genuine faith, of God, resulting in salvation from sin and eternal life with God. Others just state that we don’t have to repent, and we don’t have to obey God, for they call that “works salvation.”
Therefore, many people today professing faith in Jesus Christ are not of genuine God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in the Lord, for they have not put sin to death in their lives, by the Spirit, even if some of them may give a show of having done that, at times, but which never produces a change of heart, mind, or behavior. For they continue on in the same sinful patterns of behavior while claiming Jesus as Savior and heaven as their destiny, for they are convinced that God will not judge them for their sinful practices.
So we need to have the eyes of our hearts enlightened to the truth of the gospel which requires that, by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, we die with him to sin and we now walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to his commands, or we do not know God, we are not in fellowship with God, we are not born of God, and we will not inherit eternal life with God. For Jesus died that we might die to sin, and he lives that we might live in him in walks of obedience to his commands, in his power, strength, and wisdom.
For to truly know God, and to be born of God, and to be of genuine faith in Jesus Christ, which all comes from God, we must come under the authority of God, and he must now rule in our hearts and minds and behaviors. He must be the one in control over our lives, not self and not sin. And we must live in submission to his will and purpose for our lives. Same with all of us who together form his body, his church, of which he is to be the head, not human beings in their deceitful scheming with their false gospel messages.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
Caution: This link may contain ads
The Eyes of Our Hearts Enlightened
An Original Work / April 5, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
What do our eyes represent? They are the parts of our bodies which help us to physically see things. But “eye” is also a word used to mean judgment, insight, discernment, and perception. And our hearts are the core of who we are, representing the mind, soul, spirit, and emotion, i.e. the crux and the substance of who we are in character, which will be evident by our actions. So the eyes of our hearts being enlightened goes beyond just head knowledge, but it impacts who we become in character and in deed.
So if we are enlightened, and so now we see clearly the hope of his calling, what should we see? We should see Jesus crucified on that cross, taking upon himself our sins, putting our sins to death with him so that, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him, we will now die with him to sin and walk with him in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living, by the grace of God, and in the power of God, and not of our own doing. And we are those given the hope of deliverance from sin and eternal life with God.
All this comes from God and is not of the flesh of humans. Not one of us can do anything in ourselves to be acceptable to and to be approved by God and to share in his righteousness. We can only come to faith in Jesus Christ if God draws us to faith in him, i.e. only if he persuades us as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of God’s requirement that we die with him to sin and walk now in obedience to his commands, in his power, by his grace, and so we now die to sin and obey his commands.
For to believe in Jesus is not just words that we repeat after someone else in a pre-planned prayer, and it is not just a verbal confession of Jesus as Lord and Savior, and it is not just an acknowledgment of what he did to save us from our sins. The Scriptures teach us that faith, which is of God, and is persuaded by God, will result in the sinner dying with Christ to his sin and being raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as a slave to sin, but as a servant of righteousness, in obedience to our Lord.
Nonetheless, this is not what is popularly being taught as the gospel of our salvation here in America, at large. Many are teaching a very diluted and altered gospel, and an altered character of God/Christ, and of his church, because they are trying to appeal to the ungodly of this world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. And so they make Jesus and his gospel message more socially acceptable and far less offensive to the world and to human flesh. And in that way they can draw more people to their gatherings.
And so they are teaching that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ will assure them forgiveness of all sins and heaven as their eternal destiny, but regardless of how they live. Some do still teach that we must repent of (die to) our sins and obey God, but they make it more optional, and not required of God for our faith to be genuine faith, of God, resulting in salvation from sin and eternal life with God. Others just state that we don’t have to repent, and we don’t have to obey God, for they call that “works salvation.”
Therefore, many people today professing faith in Jesus Christ are not of genuine God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in the Lord, for they have not put sin to death in their lives, by the Spirit, even if some of them may give a show of having done that, at times, but which never produces a change of heart, mind, or behavior. For they continue on in the same sinful patterns of behavior while claiming Jesus as Savior and heaven as their destiny, for they are convinced that God will not judge them for their sinful practices.
So we need to have the eyes of our hearts enlightened to the truth of the gospel which requires that, by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, we die with him to sin and we now walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to his commands, or we do not know God, we are not in fellowship with God, we are not born of God, and we will not inherit eternal life with God. For Jesus died that we might die to sin, and he lives that we might live in him in walks of obedience to his commands, in his power, strength, and wisdom.
For to truly know God, and to be born of God, and to be of genuine faith in Jesus Christ, which all comes from God, we must come under the authority of God, and he must now rule in our hearts and minds and behaviors. He must be the one in control over our lives, not self and not sin. And we must live in submission to his will and purpose for our lives. Same with all of us who together form his body, his church, of which he is to be the head, not human beings in their deceitful scheming with their false gospel messages.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
Caution: This link may contain ads
The Eyes of Our Hearts Enlightened
An Original Work / April 5, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
