Love, Faith And Grace
First a reminder of the importance of the work of the Holy Spirit; it’s only through the work of Holy Spirit that believers can receive the grace, love, and gifts of God.
He alone is the ambassador for God. When the letter to the churches concludes, no mention of the Holy Spirit is made again working with the body of believers.
There are certain words that are used in Revelation with the seven churches, and directed at believers. These words are never used for, or to encourage, edify, or bless the unbelieving world. The three words I have in mind today are, Grace, love, and faith.
This type of study should add important information and supporting evidence to either support, or correct the thinking on the subject of pre. mid. or, post tribulation rapture.
The first word is Grace.
God grace flows to each of the seven churches through His Holy Spirit. So how is God’s grace put forward to the churches? The word is found only two times in the book of Revelation. We see it first in,
Rev.1:4, “To the seven churches which are in Asia: GRACE be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne.”
This is a common salutation used in the epistles of Paul, and John. The second time the word is used is in,
Rev.22:21, “The GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. A-men’.”
God’s grace is poured out Christians because of His love for us. Grace given by God summarizes our standing before Him. In the Greek, grace is the favor, and good-will of the Father, and Jesus Christ as exercised toward His own. This form of salutation includes the idea of favor, blessings, and good will. Examples follow.
Rom.1:7, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus.”
1 Cor.1:3, 2 Cor.1:2, Gal.1:3, “Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ” and so also in the introduction of most of the Epistles. Rom.16:20-24, 1 Cor.16:23.
2 Cor.13:14, Gal.6:18. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
This form of greeting and salutation in Revelation is only used when He speaks to His beloved children.
Let’s examine a second word, “Love.”
love and Charity in Revelation are the same Greek word, “agapi, or “agapen.” Like the word grace, love is used twice in Revelation, and only in the letter to the seven churches. When love is used, God uses it in regards to His people abusing it. For this type of abuse, there appears to be a form of correction involved.
Rev.2:4, is speaking to the church at Ephesus. The Almighty said, “I have somewhat against thee, because thou has LEFT thy FIRST LOVE.”
Here the word love may be used objectively, or passively. It is that love of which the Father and Christ are to be the object of. Some in the church had begun to give their love, and attention back to the people and things of the world. Thirty five years before, Paul was giving thanks to this same church at Ephesus for the love they had shown the saints. Only one generation having past, and that love for Jesus Christ had begun to dim.
Rev.3:19, speaks to the church at, Laodicea. “As many as I LOVE, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent.”
The love God has for His children are subjective and active. It signifies the love the Father, and Son exercise towards us. Christ rebukes this church because He loves them. And if they do not repent, this same love would bring His chastisement upon them.
When the letter to the churches is concluded, the word love is not found again. This is another clue that would reveal that the church, and the Holy Spirit after chapter 3, have been removed from the earth, and are now in heaven with the Lord. Without the church, and the Holy Spirit, what remain on earth are Satan, demons, and those who have, and continue to deny the only true God. Their love is for self.
The next word is, “Faith,”
The word faith is used twice in the letter to the seven churches. First in Rev.2:11, to the church at Pergamos, and then, ver.17, to the Church at Thyatira.
Rev.2:13, “I know thy works, and where thou dwellist, — and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my FAITH.”
Rev.2:19, “I know thy works, and charity, and service, and FAITH, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.”
Believers alone live and walk by faith: we are justified by faith; we are to have faith in the written word, and believe by faith that Jesus Christ is the “Son of the living God.”
The word faith is not seen again until Rev.13:10, “Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” Rev.14:12, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
Never is the word used in reference to the world, or its beliefs. Again, after the letter to the seven churches, there is no faith found in the world that remains. This also would imply that the church and the Holy Spirit have been removed.
Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com