God is welding us together with love!

The Key

The Welder = God the Father(In John 15 He is the Gardener)

Welding instrument(welding tool) = Jesus( The True Vine in John 15)

Flux or Gas(that purifies the Weld) = the Holy Spirit

The weld(the bead(the metal from the tool that bonds the two metals together)) = the bond of peace and Love through the fruit of the Holy Spirit

Pieces of metal that are being joined together = Husband and Wife or members of the body of Christ to each other!

The welding Metaphor

Welding is a valuable tool in joining metals together, so why am I telling you this?  Jesus used many metaphors to help explain the Kingdom of God and His nature from carpentry, agriculture, fishing, and many other examples.

Today we are going to use welding to give us a greater understanding of the Kingdom of God. These explanations and metaphors of course are not the kingdom of God, but they give us a visual and simple explanation of His creation and how the Kingdom of God operates. 

The process of Welding can help us understand how God uses unity and His purity and love to mend the Kingdom of God together with a strong bond of love and peace!   In welding, you are joining two or more pieces of metal together!  God may be calling us to be joined together in marriage between a man and a woman, and He is calling us to be joined together as the Body of Christ to do the work of the ministry, by becoming mature in Christ and His nature!

The welding process starts first by choosing the metal.  The metal must be the right type and size to fit the job!  In the same manner, God chooses us and gives us gifts that help us complement each other for marriage,  or for the work of the ministry that God has called us to do, or start!  Either way, if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and are born of His spirit(born-again) you have been chosen and given a ministry or job to do here on earth for the Kingdom of God! 

After you have chosen the metal you usually prepare it to be joined together.  This usually means removing any barrier that would stop the welding tool from connecting well with the metal.  This may consist of paint, rust, or any other barrier that stops good connection.

In the same way, even though God sees His finished work in us, He does not leave us the way we were before we came to know Him!  He is patient with us as He slowly prepares us for our mission on earth, like a master craftsman, builder, or welder He removes any of our nature that is not of Him and would cause us not to be bonded first to Him and then to each other! Like the rust and paint on the metal,  our corrupt nature(hate, anger, jealousy, division) would stop us from strongly being bonded (attached) to God first and then to each other!  

Note: In John 15(the metaphor of the vine) Jesus tells us that He keeps the branches that are of Him and removes the branches that are not of Him.

In the first part of the scripture John 15:1-4, He is talking about our nature that is, or is not of God! The desirable branches that He keeps are the ones bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit that are of His character, and produce love, that binds us together!

God prunes away(removes) the undesirable branches(our corrupted fallen nature)that do not produce desirable fruit and push people away from Him.  This undesirable fruit hurts others and thus breaks the bond of love and peace)!  This character bears the fruit of the enemy the devil and is a result of the fall of man(At the fall of men, men’s Godly nature became corrupted with evil)!

In the second half of the metaphor John 15: 5-8  The good branches represent people who remain in His love and have sincere faith in Him through grace(God's power), God knows our hearts.  God keeps these branches that have His nature and He removes those who are not sincere to Him and do not abide in Him(Jesus, the true Vine) and His love(they bear undesirable fruit that hurts others purposely and they do not repent( turn from their evil ways).  These people continually practice evil without sincere care for others, their faith is false! These people push people away from God by their corrupt, evil, nature and character and by the evil they do to others.  Remember in John 15 it tells us we will know God’s true followers by their fruit(by the love they have for each other)!

We can meditate on Matthew 25: 31-46 the parable of the sheep and the goats to gain a greater understanding of this!  Remember as believers we bear the same Holy Spirit, so what we do to each other, we do to God the Father, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, each other, and ourselves!

Preparation starts at our spiritual birth, once we become born-again!

This process starts with us making Jesus our Lord and Savior, asking Him sincerely into our hearts, and being baptized with the Holy Spirit(the living water), becoming born-again which may coincide with physical water baptism!  

“ Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things[which are dishonorable-disobedient, sinful], he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified [set apart for a special purpose and], useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”

2 Timothy 2:21 AMP

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:25-28 New International Version (NIV)

Once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior He starts the process of preparing us to be good souls, spirits, and bodymates for our sisters and brothers in the Body of Christ, for our current spouse, or future one, and our ministries.  God also prepares us for Heaven, where there will be no spiritual darkness(sinful, fallen, corrupt nature), pain, or hurt, and where we will dwell with Him for eternity(forever)! 

As in welding where you want the best bond between metals to ensure integrity and strength in your product!  God knows that any nature or will, that is not of Him, will not ensure an everlasting bond! 

Note: there are Godly desires that line up with God’s will and ungodly desires that are not of God and His will!

By enjoining the Body of Christ with faith, hope, and the greatest of these love from the fruit of the Holy Spirit, God creates a body with integrity and strength(strong moral bonds) that hold the body together in love and peace!

Note: God’s word says when we abide in Him we can ask for anything that aligns with His will and it will be done for us.  Also, remember we all have different experiences and gifts but through the guidance, patience, and self-control the Holy Spirit gives us we can work together using our gifts through the Holy Spirit to complement each other and keep the bond of love and peace!

Some welding processes may use gas or flux cores to shield the weld from impurities like nitrogen and oxygen, just as the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and shields us and protects us when we put on the whole armor of God(when we put on God by abiding in His spirit, we receive His protection(Psalms 91))!

God uses Paul and Marriage to give us an example of what a good bond looks like!

Paul through the guidance of the Holy Spirit is not only teaching us about marriage, but He is also talking about the Body of Christ’ (the church) relationship with God and each other!  Out of having a loving relationship with God, we will have a loving relationship with each other! God’s word even tells us the Love we have for one another will let others know who His true followers are.

Ephesians 5:22-33 AMP

2Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as [a service] to the Lord. 23For the husband is head of the wife, as Christ is head of the church, Himself being the Savior of the body. 24But as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives should be subject to their husbands in everything [respecting both their position as protector and their responsibility to God as head of the house].

25Husbands, love your wives [seek the highest good for her and surround her with a caring, unselfish love], just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26so that He might sanctify the church, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word [of God], 27so that [in turn] He might present the church to Himself in glorious splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy [set apart for God] and blameless. 28Even so husbands should and are morally obligated to love their own wives as [being in a sense] their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. 29For no one ever hated his own body, but [instead] he nourishes and protects and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30because we are members (parts) of His body. 31For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall be joined [and be faithfully devoted] to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32This mystery [of two becoming one] is great; but I am speaking with reference to [the relationship of] Christ and the church. 33However, each man among you [without exception] is to love his wife as his very own self [with behavior worthy of respect and esteem, always seeking the best for her with an attitude of lovingkindness], and the wife [must see to it] that she respects and delights in her husband [that she notices him and prefers him and treats him with loving concern, treasuring him, honoring him, and holding him dea

 What a Godly and ungodly marriage and bond look like!

Let’s use marriage to give an example of what unity looks like and what it doesn’t look like. 

In this godly marriage, both husband and wife practice abiding in the Holy Spirit through grace, with both being submitted to God by practicing discernment(knowing God’s voice vs spirits that are not of God). And after we are clear what God wants through discernment, do it through grace(God’s power)!

By putting and following God first, we love each other as God has commanded us to do by practicing and living out His truth through the guidance of the Holy Spirit!

Using the metaphor of welding, love would be the bead of metal(the joining metal that is used to join the metal together that comes from the welder) that holds the pieces of metal together with integrity and strength, making them one piece!

In Ephesians 5:21 it tells all believers we should be submitted to each other out of great love and respect for God  and then it tells the wife to submit to her believing husband(who is submitted to God) as to the Lord in Ephesians 5:22!

We as the church(born-again believers)are to submit to Christ because we as the body of Christ are His bride.  So we as the church(each born-again believer) are a metaphoric wife who should be submitted to Christ.

The second marriage would be a marriage full of our fleshly behavior and desires which are a result  of us having and practicing living in our fallen, corrupt, nature.  It would be full of hate, anger, lust, sexual immorality and greed!  I think you would have to be blind(spirtually and physically and spiritually immature) not to see the character of our fallen nature would not make a good bond that seals a marriage,  ministry, or the Body of Christ together!  Unfaithfulness, hate, and greed are what tear a marriage apart and separates and divides the Body of Christ!

In our welding metaphor this weld would have cracks, spotty welds, where the weld would look and be weak and fragile!  Over time and use, this bond would likely fail and may hurt many!

The scriptures also tells the Husband to love his wife as Christ loves the church and to wash her with His word.  We know that Jesus loves us(His Body(the Body of Christ)), forgives us of our sins, shows us an abundance of His grace and mercy, and cleanses us with His word!

 In the same manner we as believers are to submitted to God first and out of being submitted to Him we love, forgive, and show mercy to each other. As we do this we become One in the Spirit(one body bonded in peace and love)! As in a Godly marriage, we become one flesh(Christ’ Body)!

The peace and love that are expressed through the fruit of the Holy Spirit is what God's love looks like when expressed it to each other through the Holy Spirit, and it is like the bead(the metal that is used by the welder that bonds the metal together) that God uses to Bond us together with each other through His love!

God’s nature lives within true believers because of the Holy Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature together with its passions and appetites.

Galatians 5:22‭-‬24 AMP

Our corrupt nature that causes us to have division with each other!

But I say, walk habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [seek Him and be responsive to His guidance], and then you will certainly not carry out the desire of the sinful nature [which responds impulsively without regard for God and His precepts]. For the sinful nature has its desire which is opposed to the Spirit, and the [desire of the] Spirit opposes the sinful nature; for these [two, the sinful nature and the Spirit] are in direct opposition to each other [continually in conflict], so that you [as believers] do not [always] do whatever [good things] you want to do. But if you are guided and led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the Law. Now the practices of the sinful nature are clearly evident: they are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality (total irresponsibility, lack of self-control), idolatry, sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies], envy, drunkenness, riotous behavior, and other things like these.   Galatians 5:16‭-‬20 AMP

Christ’s bond of peace and love is strong and will only fail if we practice living in our fallen nature that is not submitted to God and His direction. Being bonded and submitted to Christ first we will bond together in love and peace with each other! 

In our relationships with each other and our spouses, a healthy Godly relationship is filled with love, peace, hope, and all the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  An ungodly relationship is filled with strife from living and practicing the fruit of our sinful, fallen, corrupt nature!  In any relationship, if there is a break in the bond of love and peace we should seek God’s guidance to find the area of our life which is weakest and correct it!

 In welding every weld has to be done with integrity, if the weld is not done with integrity the entire project can fail.  As humans we are not perfect, however, we should continue to grow and mature through God’s grace and faith!

 A master welder does not start as a master he matures and grows in his skills as he practices over and over again, and in time he becomes a master.  In the same manner, we can practice and grow in our unity with a spouse and each other in the Body of Christ as we mature in Christ and the gifts he has given us!  The gifts of God are to be used to complement each other thus building up the Body of Christ while also building up the Kingdom of God! 

Let’s mature in Christ and become master builders becoming one in the spirit of love through God’s spirit and grace!

In every blog, I give a reminder of God’s grace and love, because Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it the world through Him!

God’s Grace

I want you to realize that you will make many mistakes in your walk with Christ, but I want you to also realize that God will use these mistakes to help mold you into a mature image of Himself through grace(God’s unmerited power and favor)!

So please don't let anyone or yourself feel guilty, or condemned for making mistakes, continue to practice through faith and grace growing into an image of Him(Christ)!

Jesus has poured out His love for you and in you and me. This unconditional love, unmerited favor, and power that lives within us as believers is his Grace through the Holy Spirit. So even though we are not perfect, we have Christ who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit who now lives within us, who is perfect!

However, Christ also loves those whom we may not love and who like us are not perfect( who occasionally walk in their corrupt nature(their flesh)). He knows that when we are not expressing His love through grace to others, we could be potentially pushing others away from Him and eternal life! So through His Spirit and grace that lives within us, He has given us a model(an example) of the love He wants us to show to others through His grace. When we show His grace to those who have hurt us this model(example) of unconditional love shown, without merit is called mercy! This unconditional love draws humanity to Christ!

Paul gives us discernment(a way to determine) what God’s love and abiding in the Holy Spirit look like in Galatians 5:22 and he also gives us a glimpse of what living in our Corrupt nature(our flesh) looks like in Galatians 5:19! Please practice His love through grace!

God’s Love

Love(abiding in the Spirit) = love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control!

Corrupt sinful nature

Corrupt Nature(flesh) = strife, jealousy, fits of anger, sexual immorality, divisions, envy, hate & other acts that are not of God!

The Metaphor Key!

The Welder = God the Father(the gardner in John 15)

Welding instrument(welding tool) = Jesus( The vine in John 15)

Flux or Gas(that purifies the Weld) = the Holy Spirit

The weld(the bead(the metal from the tool that bonds the two metals togethe)) = the bond of peace and Love through the fruit of the Holy Spirit

Pieces of metal= Husband and Wife or members of the body of Christ to each other!