Kenneth Copeland Ministries: Pursuit Of His PresenceSample

Live in the Highest Measure

by Gloria Copeland

“Let our lives lovingly express truth.... Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him, Who is the Head, [even] Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).” Ephesians 4:15, The Amplified Bible

The Church, as a whole, is discontent with carnal ways and immaturity. We want to put childish things behind us and grow up spiritually. We want to be more like Jesus.

The Apostle Paul had that same desire. He prayed fervently for the day when we would all arrive “at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ’s own perfection) the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him” (Ephesians 4:13, The Amplified Bible).

Paul not only prayed about that kind of spiritual maturity, he exhorted us as believers to move actively toward it (Ephesians 4:15).

As I’ve studied the fruit of the spirit, I’ve come to realize more and more that love is the single, most important key to growing up in God. I’ve seen that if we don’t grow up in love...we won’t grow up at all.

We won’t enjoy the fullness of God we’ve been longing for until we start walking consistently in love. Our love life has everything to do with the manifestation of God’s presence and His power in our lives.

That might come as a surprise to some people. They think that love is so basic, something only beginners need to study. They might consider the gifts of the Spirit—things like tongues and interpretation, gifts of healings and miracles—as more relevant to the mature believer. But according to 1 Corinthians, the gifts are not marks of spiritual maturity. Paul referred to the Corinthian church as mere infants in Christ, still unspiritual, ruled by the flesh (1 Corinthians 3:1, 3).

As wonderful as the gifts are, it’s the fruit of the spirit that indicate a person is walking in the spirit and not in the flesh.

So, if you want to know whether you’re a spiritual person or not, don’t look to see what mighty gifts of the Spirit are flowing out of you, look at the fruit in your life. Specifically, look to see if you are walking in love. You simply can’t walk in the spirit or be a spiritual person without being ruled by love. The quality of our life depends on it. Living a life ruled by the love of God is what opens us up to walk in the spirit and live in the highest measure of blessing and power of God!

Speak the Word

“I grow up in every way and in all things into Him by walking in love.” —Ephesians 4:15, The Amplified Bible

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