Love Fulfilled Ministry

Serving for the Faith, Growth, and Maturity of God’s People Paul opens Titus with a startling self‑designation: “Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.” This pairing—slave and apostle—captures the paradox at the heart of biblical leadership. In Scripture, to be God’s slave is not degrading but exalted. It is a title given to Moses, Joshua, and David—those entrusted with God’s purposes and accountable directly to Him. Yet Jesus warns His disciples that leadership must not imitate the nations who “lord it over” others. At first glance, these ideas of servicing and leadership seem contradictory. But when read together, they reveal the heart of biblical greatness:  Leaders are slaves to God so they can be servants to his people. The Old Testament Pattern: Slavery to God as the Foundation of Leadership The Old Testament consistently overturns human assumptions about leadership. God does not choose leaders based on charisma, eloquence, or physical stature. He chooses those...

The apostle John presents one of the most profound ethical and spiritual summons in the New Testament: “Walk in the light, as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7). This is not merely a moral exhortation but a theological invitation into the very life of God. To walk in the light is to participate in the character, truth, and fellowship of God Himself.  John later connects this walk with eschatological confidence: “By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment, because as He is, so also are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). The Christian life, therefore, is not simply about believing certain truths, or living to written code or principles but embodying the life of Christ in the present age. The believer’s assurance before God’s final judgment is grounded not in presumption but in conformation—living in the light just as Jesus lived,  living in the light is a part of being perfected or matured in Christ. 1. The Meaning of “Walking in th...

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). With this beatitude, Jesus identifies a defining mark of God’s true children: peace. But looking closely at scriptures we see peace is to those who participate in His work of reconciliation. To understand what it means to be a peacemaker, we must first understand the nature of the peace being offered.  The Nature of Biblical Peace Biblical peace— shalom in Hebrew and eirēnē in Greek—refers not merely to the absence of conflict but to wholeness, restoration, and right relationship with God. This peace is not self-generated; it is revealed and embodied in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace foretold by the prophet Isaiah: “For to us a child is born… and he will be called… Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). At His birth, the angels announced that this long-awaited peace had finally arrived: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14). This p...

Few verses capture the meaning of Christmas powerfully as Luke 2. In Luke 2:14, the angels proclaim: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.” This single sentence, sung over a field of startled shepherds, functions as heaven’s own interpretation of the birth of Christ. It is not merely a poetic flourish; it is the theological center of the nativity story. When we read Luke 2:14 alongside the surrounding prophecies—especially Luke 2:10–11 and Luke 2:30–32—the full picture becomes unmistakably clear. Everything Christmas celebrates — incarnation, salvation, divine initiative, agape love and hope — flows from the meaning compressed into these verses. 1. Heaven Interprets the Incarnation The Christmas narrative gives us human perspectives but Luke 2:14 also gives us heaven’s commentary. The angels begin with the upward focus: “Glory to God in the highest.” Before Christmas is about human blessing, it is about divine revelation. God is unv...

The phrase "truthing in love" is one literal rendering of the Greek text in Ephesians 4:15 . While many translations render this as "speaking the truth," the original language conveys a much broader and more dynamic concept that is essential to the identity and growth of the church. It is not merely a matter of verbal accuracy, but of maintaining and living out the reality of God's truth within the sphere of His love.

The Substance of Things Hoped For: Faith as Reality in Christ The Epistle to the Hebrews presents a systematic shift from shadows to light, to reveal the radiant substance of the New Covenant. By the time the text reaches Hebrews 11:1 , the foundation has been laid: Jesus is superior to angels, Moses, and the Levitical priesthood. Faith is defined not merely as intellectual assent or optimistic thinking, but as substance and evidence. "Now faith is the substance (hypostasis) of things hoped for, the evidence (elenchos) of things not seen." ( Hebrews 11:1 ) The Greek word hypostasis implies a setting under, a concrete essence, or reality. Faith is the possession of the reality of God now, even if the physical manifestation is future. From Shadow to Substance To understand the definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1 , one must look at the preceding chapters. Hebrews 10:1 declares that the law has "a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things....

The central failure of the Old Covenant was not merely that it was "weak," but that its offerings and sacrifices had become repulsive to God. When rituals are performed without a transformed heart, they are not just empty; they are offensive. God would rather us be cold or hot rather than lukewarm (to be clean on the outside and not inwardly). The Levitical system functioned as an external restraint—a system of "fleshly ordinances"—that could never remedy the internal corruption of man. Consequently, God rejected these external attempts at appeasement. In Malachi 2:3 , God speaks regarding the priests who offered sacrifices, declaring He would "spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your solemn feasts." The Hebrew word for "refuse" here is peresh ( dung ), signifying that the religious acts themselves had become waste in His sight. The propitiation (appealing his wrath and anger) offerings became an offense, instead of a sweet smelling aroma...