The Spirit of Love, Truth and Power

Love (including joy, comfort and relational terms like dwell, abide, unity)

Truth

…Truth lived out

Power

Truth + Power

Truth +love

All Three

  For God has not given us a Spirit of fear,
power→ -but of power
love→ -and of love
truth→ -and of a sound mind.
  Now may the God of hope fill you with all
love→ joy and peace in believing,
truth→ that you may abound in hope
power→ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
  [v.4 clearly connects hope with the Scriptures “which were written
for our instruction”, so the hope is not empty, but hope in the truth]
  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of
truth→ wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, 18the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling,
love→ what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, [heirs because we are adopted into relationship with God v.5]
power→ 19and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power 20which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
  For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be
power→ strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
truth→ 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith
love→ that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God./ 20Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
  [in the context of v1,2 which contrast truth and power with love]
power→ So now faith, [the context of faith is v.1 where it is the supernatural power gift of faith that could move mountains]
truth→ hope, and [the content of hope is the knowledge God’s promises and understanding his mysteries (v,2,8,9)]
love→ love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Updated on 2009-09-03 (r.52) by Andrew Fountain