Embraced by Love: Power and Pursuit

With the memories of Christmas Day still fresh in our minds, we carry with us into the coming days and new year much emotion, a touch of exhaustion, and a most valuable truth – God loves us! For all the prophecies given by God about the Messiah’s coming, Jesus fulfills each and every one of them. This Mighty God and Prince of Peace was delivered into our dark and waiting world to become the Deliverer for all who will believe in His holy name because of God’s immense love for us (Romans 5:8). 

Immanuel dwelled among humanity then and, by His Spirit, remains in us even now. His birth drew the attention of angels, shepherds, and wisemen. His life ushered in God’s Kingdom – all because of love:  

“Jesus is eternally beloved by the Father. His every activity unfurls from his identity as the Beloved. He loved others, healed others, preached, taught, rebuked, and redeemed not in order to gain the Father’s approval, but out of his rooted certainty in the Father’s love.”¹ 

Jesus has always been loved, and while He walked the earth, we were given a glimpse of what it looks like to live from the love of God. His life, as documented in Scripture, shows us what love looks like:

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. ” 1

John 3:16a

So as we look back upon the Christmas scene, we recognize that Jesus’ quiet arrival has become our evidence of God’s love. And with that love-soaked reality comes another love-sourced promise: Jesus will return (John 14:28)!  Everything Jesus experienced while on earth is our assurance that He will be back as the long-awaited, mighty King of Kings, ready to make all things right for His world and His people. In the meantime, we can live assured that we are equipped to move through our lives with faith in the One who will come again by believing we are loved and by living from that love.

The Heart of Handel and Jennens

While many assume that The Messiah ends with the “Hallelujah Chorus,” the reality is this famous song concludes the second part, meaning there remains a third part and nine more movements. The oratorio as a whole moves through the entire life of Christ – His birth, His death and resurrection, and His return.

Handel and Jennens wrote this oratorio from a longing for people to believe that the God of creation cares, that He draws near – so much so that He sent His Son to us in the flesh. They didn’t set out merely to entertain but to offer a hope rooted in the truths of Jesus Christ, to move people toward faith in the only One who can truly save.

So as we conclude our journey through The Messiah, may we engage as full participants, not only in its music but in its message, its power to move us deeper in our faith toward an anticipation of all that is to come!

Movement 52: Worthy Is the Lamb That Was Slain

The actual concluding movement of The Messiah is a two-verse song of praise that concludes with a powerful “Amen” – one that comes straight from God’s throne room and its celestial choir:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
   to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
   and honor and glory and praise!”
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
    be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!’
The four living creatures said, ‘Amen,’ and the elders fell down and worshiped.”

Revelation 5:12–14

Handel and Jennens have handed us a picture of what’s to come. They’ve given us a reason to believe that there is more to this life, more than what this world offers. They’ve unveiled for us a reality that is just as true as the original promise of the Messiah’s arrival, and we can hang our hope on it. We can live for the promise that Jesus will return! 

It was not by chance that Jennens selected this passage to conclude the oratorio. He understood its power to encourage believers. He also understood how easy it is to focus on what sits right in front of us and, as a result, become discouraged. By leaving us with the images of this passage, of this moment of heavenly worship, Jennens encourages us to keep our eyes on the One who sits upon the throne.⁴

John, the writer of Revelation, has the same heart – that of encouraging the churches who struggle to hold onto true faith in the face of persecution, false teachers, and sin’s hold. John weaves multiple ‘throne room’ scenes throughout this final book of the Bible as a way to motivate us to keep seeking what is true about ourselves, as well as what is true about God.⁴ 

What is true? Jesus, the Lamb of God, is the only One worthy of our worship! He is deserving of seven-fold worship – “power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise;” in other words, He is worthy of all our worship (v.12). He is worthy of worship from everyone, everywhere – “in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea” (v.13). Not only that but Jesus shares the throne with God (see Revelation 4 and 5), which tells us that He is co-equal with God, that He is the One we put our hope in – not Caesar nor any other earthly king or leader or person.⁴ 

Jesus alone is Lord!  
Jesus alone is Truth.
Jesus alone is worthy of our worship. 

John knew the power of living tethered to Truth in order to remain rooted in God’s love. And he wants that for all believers. So may we live believing there’s no better way to remain in God’s love than by pure, holy, surrendered worship!

Our Response

If we’re to live tethered to Truth, we need to know what it is. Paul breaks down the tenets of what it is we believe when put our faith and hope in Jesus: 

“Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith:
Christ was revealed in a human body
    and vindicated by the Spirit.
He was seen by angels
    and announced to the nations.
He was believed in throughout the world
    and taken to heaven in glory.” 

1 Timothy 3:16 NLT, emphasis mine

The Greek word for “believed in”, pisteuó, is the most used word for ‘faith’ by the writers of the New Testament because it best captures what it looks like to believe in Jesus. Pisteuó denotes a faith that embraces Jesus as the Messiah with “a conviction that is full of joyful trust.”² 

Paul, one of those New Testament writers, helps us understand that when we live by the Spirit and from the love of God, we are better able to “place our faith in Christ” and to live in truth by expressing our faith in love (Galatians 5:5-7 NLT). This is pisteuó at work. We can have a joyful trust in our Savior because He first loved us (1 John 4:19) – because everything He has done since the moment He entered the world and will continue to do till He returns and rights every wrong is done out of love. 

Our role is to pursue our Father and to respond to His love. He created us for love and wants us to know we are loved – beyond anything we could think or ask or imagine – so that we can soak in that love, be healed by that love, find strength in that love, and respond with love.³ 

In other words, we’re meant to believe that God, “immense in mercy and with an incredible love,” embraces us; by taking our sin-dead lives, He makes us alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5 MSG). My friends, we are meant to embrace God’s love so that we can stop doubting His presence, His goodness, His faithfulness and start believing that He is for us and with us. Paul prays these truths over us: 

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Ephesians 3:16-19

The key to living filled by the fullness of God is to believe in the love He has for us. It’s immeasurable and constant. It’s unconditional and ours – to have forever if we’ll receive it. To respond with our own love.

Such a love-soaked life requires constant pursuit of God, continual rooting in God’s love. The nurturing we give our faith looks like time given to God – to know Him better, to love Him more. And such nurturing is needed on a daily basis, just as any relationship or growing thing requires consistent nourishment and attention. 

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”

2 Timothy 4:1-2 NIV, emphasis mine

Such preparedness roots and establishes us in the love of God and bears the fruit of holy power and Spirit-generated holiness that looks like love and joy and peace, patience and kindness and goodness, faithfulness and gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22). 

Such faith believes that we live perpetually loved by the One who sits upon the heavenly throne. God’s love is meant to source all we are and do in the here and now, which means we can release fear and doubt, shame and regret – and live from our Father’s love. As we pursue God alone, His love anchors our identity and purpose; it allows us to be shaped by that love and to share it with those around us. 

Such a life lives in full faith that we are, indeed, embraced by love.

Lord Jesus, our Messiah, we bow low before You, praising your holy name. Worthy are You, Lamb of God, who was slaughtered for us, for our sins. Who was raised to life by the Spirit. Who alone is worthy of all our worship – of power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing! We look to You as our only Lord. We put our hope in You for all You have done and will do. We trust that You will return in power. This promise we can trust because You came before – in quiet humility to usher in the kingdom of God. To demonstrate the love of God. In this moment and for every day going forward, we choose to believe that we are embraced by that love, that we can live from that love! May we be shaped and strengthened by your love and find hope in your presence. All praise and glory to You our King of Kings! Amen. And amen.
(inspired by Revelation 5:12-14 and Ephesians 2:-5)

Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.

• 1 – Tish Warren Harrison in Liturgy of the Ordinary,^ p.17 – emphasis mine. Also note the same themes and truths in John 15:9, John 17:20-26.
• 2 – There is more about pisteuó on this Bible Hub page. 
• 3 – This was completely inspired by an email that author Holley Gerth sent out to subscribers on 7/17/25.
• 4 – Jen Wilkin in her Revelation Bible study^
• Of course, you’ll want to listen to the final movement of The Messiah; and I pray that as you do, the words of “Worthy Is the Lamb” will move you to worship with abandon, with honesty, with a deep love for the One who is our truth and grace and love. It is the final song on our Embraced by Love playlist. I also encourage you to listen to the songs leading up to this final movement — like both of the songs entitled “The Kings Is Coming” and Chris Tomlin’s “Coming Soon.” Much like Handel’s music and John’s Revelation worship scene, these songs encourage our faith and embolden us to live with hope and faith that Jesus is coming again! Soon.
• Each Wednesday I upload a “Teacup” teaching video that carries on the topic here. You can find all the videos on my Facebook Author Page, Instagram, and YouTube.
• Many of you have found me on Substack. Thank you so much! And, if you’d like to listen to (rather than read) these weekly posts, you can do so on Substack, as well. It’s easy to see and use the audio bar across the top of each post. While you’re on Substack, check out the ministry I’m blessed to be part of, the Devoted Collective.
• My monthly newsletter, The Abiding Life, goes to email inboxes the first week of each month to those who have subscribed on my website. I also post them on Substack. My most recent edition can be found there, and you can subscribe for future newsletters on Substack, here.

Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike. We’ll follow Charles Jennens’ lead and take hold of a biblical passage that points us to Christ as Messiah each week as part of our Advent preparations.

• This week our passage is Ephesians 3:16-19. Paul’s prayer becomes our truth to live by — root ourselves in God’s love! Always and each day and forever, live from God’s love!
  
  “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” –Ephesians 3:16-19
• We’re all called to share the truths about the work of Jesus. One way you can do that is by sharing this site and telling others your own stories of faith experiences. Believe it or not, we worship God each time we share our stories of faith! We use our whole selves to tell about our holy God!!

Featured Photo by Anita Austvika on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” Photo by Matthias Cooper on Unsplash.
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