Love and Strength Go Hand in Hand || Who I Am || Week 5

Welcome back to our “Who I Am” series. This series is about learning our identity in Christ. Last week, we looked at four titles we can claim in Christ that remind us to sin no more. We said: 

• I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony.
• I am healed by the stripes of Jesus.  
• I am redeemed from the curse of sin, sickness, and poverty.
• I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the blood.

This week we will look at four more titles about love and strength and how they can be interconnected. 

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The first title we’re discussing is: I am greatly loved by God. 

Romans 1:7 says this:

7 I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 

This verse is a part of Paul’s introduction to his Roman audience. He writes to those that are loved and chosen by God. Is he leaving out people? I thought God loved and chose all of us, so why would he leave someone out? These are questions you might have because these are questions that I had, but there’s a method to Paul’s madness. 

Some Romans worshiped many pagan gods, and others even worshiped the emperors of Rome as gods. Those who worshiped Christ worshiped only the one true God and lived according to his standards. Who were the pagan gods? We often read about how Christians should not participate in any pagan culture or rituals, but we never hear about who they were. So, let’s talk about them. 

According to historyhit.com (link to the article at the end of the blog), Graham Land talks about twelve of the major Gods and Goddesses of Pagan Rome. These gods and goddesses fulfilled different functions for different parts of life. The names of the gods in this list follow this structure: Roman Name (Greek Name), so you have some context of their background.

• There was Jupiter (Zeus). He was the supreme king of the gods, the Roman God of sky and thunder, and the patron god of Rome. 
• The was Juno (Hera). She was the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses, Zeus’s sister, and the patron goddess of Rome.
• There was Minerva (Athena). She was the Roman goddess of wisdom, arts, trade, and strategy. 
• There was Neptune (Poseidon). He was the Roman god of freshwater and the sea, along with earthquakes, hurricanes, and horses. 
• There was Venus (Aphrodite). She was the Roman goddess of love, beauty, fertility, sex, desire, and prosperity. She was also the goddess of victory, prostitution, and patron of wine. 
• There was Mars (Ares). He was the Roman god of war, the guardian of agriculture, and the embodiment of masculinity and aggression. 
• There was Apollo (Apollo). He was the Roman god of music, healing, light, and truth. 
• There was Diana (Artemis). She was the Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon, and birth. 
• There was Vulcan (Hephaestus). He was the Roman god of fire, volcanoes, metalwork, and the forge.
• There was Vesta (Hestia). She was the Roman goddess of hearth, home, and domestic life.
• There was Mercury (Hermes). He was the Roman god of profit, trade, eloquence, communication, travel, trickery, and thieves. 
• There was Ceres (Demeter). She was the Roman goddess of agriculture, grain, women, motherhood, and marriage. 

The Romans would be worshiping the various gods and goddesses I’ve mentioned, while Christians would be worshiping the Jewish God. Christianity was at odds with the Romans’ attitude and quick mindset to trust in the strength of their military. Romans were highly pragmatic, meaning they would use any means necessary to accomplish the tasks before them and consider it a positive. The means was often the aggressive, physical method. Christians must remember to trust God, for he provides the only true and reliable source of security and strength. 

This argument was consistent throughout Paul’s times and Paul’s different letters to the church. We must remember that God loves us always, and nothing in the world can replace his love. Paul talks about it more in this introduction paragraph in 1 Corinthians 1:2, which says: 

2 I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. 

Paul wrote a similar introduction to the Romans but explained it in more detail. To the Romans, he didn’t talk about how God made them holy. Yet, to the Corinth church, he did. Paul tells them it was through Jesus that they were made holy. They get to embrace this identity, as do all people who believe in him. 

What do we take away from that? God has personally invited us to be a member of his eternal kingdom. He chooses us specifically to join. Yet, we can enter through what Jesus did for us. Removing sin and the cleansing we received, which makes us holy, grants us access. We must accept God’s invitation to go in and believe that Jesus does what he does and that his sacrifice forgave our sins.  

There’s a second focal verse that reminds us how greatly loved we are by God. It’s Ephesians 2:4, and it says this: 

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much. 

God could leave us spiritually dead in our sins and allow us to live as the world teaches us. God loves us so much that he didn’t allow this to happen. He saved us because of our potential to further his kingdom, not just because we are who we are. We need to give thanks to God for this often. We also need to be patient and kind to others who haven’t recognized what God has done for them and encourage them when they feel unworthy and undeserving of love. We can share our testimony with them and show it indirectly through what we say and do. 

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The second title we’ll discuss is: I am called by God to obey the voice of His praise.

2 Timothy 1:9 says this: 

9 For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan before the beginning of time – to show us to his grace through Christ Jesus.

Paul is encouraging his protege Timothy, who will become the pastor of the Ephesus church, in this later. He’s reminding Timothy of his salvation and how we should live. We are almost hearing what Timothy should preach to the Ephesian audience. Grace was given to humanity not because we deserve it but because God gave it to us from the beginning. We get the example of how grace looks through the works and words of Jesus. 

Paul taught this mindset in Romans 8:28, which says: 

28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

God works in everything for our good. This statement doesn’t mean that everything we’ll go through in life is good, nor does this mean we must label the pain we deal with as good. God can turn every circumstance, good or bad, around for our benefit. Life is always going to be easy and cheerful. Life has ways to knock the wind out of us and pull the carpet out from under us all. While we can be upset and frustrated with life, God is in the background guiding everything for positive paths that will benefit us in the long term.

God works to fulfill the purpose he created us for. We love God and remember that he chose us to do the work he’s calling us to do for a reason. We can trust in God for our gifts and lean into them as we figure out our path in life. We need to take all that and have faith that God is doing good things in our lives, even when it does feel like it. We should not succumb to frustration, pain, depression, or anxiety because we have a God that walks with us through it all and helps us get to the other side. 

Ephesians 2:8-9 says: 

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 

9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 

God’s grace is a gift. Salvation is a gift. We can’t take the credit or ownership of these things because we didn’t create them or do anything to earn them. Because we are children of God and his chosen people to fulfill the missional work of the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, God grants us these gifts to help build our relationship with him and be able to share these topics with others. Our response to these gifts should be gratitude, thanks, and praise. God loves us so much that he prepared these gifts before birth. We had done nothing to earn them at that point and can do nothing to earn them now. All we have is a choice: “Do I accept these gifts?” To be a Christian, we must accept them because God calls us to obey his principles and listen to his still, sweet voice.

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The third title we’ll discuss today is: I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me. 

Romans 8:37 says this: 

37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 

As mentioned before, life can be rough. We will have many trials to face, hard decisions, and people we must love and let go of, and none of that is easy. Yet, we have the strength to do all these things through the power of the Holy Spirit found in Jesus.

John 16:33 builds on this by saying: 

33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

Jesus doesn’t leave us, especially during our times of struggle. Jesus overcame many battles during his time on Earth. Because he is always with us, we can overcome our battles. Jesus claimed the final victory with his death on the cross. If we have Jesus, we know victory is possible.

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The last title we’ll discuss today is: I am strengthened with all might according to His glorious power. 

Colossians 1:11 says this: 

11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy. 

For context, the first paragraph of Paul’s letters is typically his introduction to the audience he’s writing to. In this context, we know he’s still greeting the church in Colossae. Paul hopes that they have the strength of God to endure and be patient with anything they have to deal with. Plus, Paul wants them to have a positive attitude too. We have this as well. The strength of God is shown the most in our weaknesses. We can come to God and come joyously to ask for help whenever needed in whatever way needed. 

Paul says this in his letter to the church in Ephesus. It’s Ephesians 3:16, which says: 

16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 

Paul wants us to find the strength we need to get through life through the power of the Holy Spirit. The many resources accessible through the Spirit can help us through anything. It ties back in with the reminder that God can help us through anything. Paul knows better than anyone else, for this famous verse he wrote to the Philippians says it all. It’s Philippians 4:13, which says: 

13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 

Paul went through a literal hell in his missionary journeys. From being beaten almost to death on separate occasions, chased out of towns by friends and enemies, shipwrecked, drowned, and more, Paul suffered a lot. Paul also says that he can do it all through the works of Christ, for that’s where he finds strength. Paul boasts about his weaknesses consistently and always returns to stating how Christ is in the strength he can find to continue.

We receive everything we need in our relationship with Christ when we do what God tells us and face the challenges that come with it. It doesn’t make us superhuman, but often tires us out in many ways. We will encounter troubles, pressures, and trials as we wrestle with our faith journey. We must step out in faith nonetheless. We must trust God at all times and lean on God to gain the strength we need. 

Paul says this later on in Philippians 4:19: 

19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. 

God is always going to meet our needs. Our problem is that we often can’t tell the difference between our wants and needs. We may need food but want take-out even though we have a packed fridge. We may need clothes but want the latest trends we see on Instagram. God will meet our needs and provide as such, but we need to be thankful for what we get and not covet what we want. By trusting in Jesus, our minds and motivations can change from always wanting to be grateful. That takes strength in today’s culture, and we can only find that strength in Jesus.

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Let’s wrap up the fifth week of our new series. We examined four statements we can claim as a follower of Christ that remind us to sin no more. Here they are again: 

I am greatly loved by God.

I am called by God to obey the voice of His praise.  

I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me. 

I am strengthened with all might according to His glorious power.

I encourage you to go through this week and say one each during your prayer time or to yourself in the mirror and see how your mood and day change. If you do this, let me know how it went down in the comments below or message me on the Bible Study Vibes Facebook page. 

Next week, we’ll look at four more statements we can claim as a believer in Christ from understanding the heavenly side of what it means to follow Christ. Until then, stay blessed. 

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List of the 12 Roman gods and goddesses: https://www.historyhit.com/the-gods-and-goddesses-of-pagan-rome/