Podcast Summary: Jesus the Healer w/ Nancy Dufresne

Episode 834 | In Christ I Can, Part 74
Date: September 11, 2025
Host/Teacher: Nancy Dufresne
Theme: Living and Loving “In Christ”—Choosing Divine Love Over Human Love

Episode Overview

In this episode, Nancy Dufresne continues her long-running series on what it means to live "In Christ." Focusing especially on Matthew 5:43–44, she unpacks the distinction between human love and divine love, urging listeners to choose the higher, spirit-based response provided by their union with Christ. Through biblical teaching, practical steps, and an extended illustration from Corrie ten Boom’s testimony, Nancy challenges believers to become skillful at drawing on God’s love, especially when facing enemies or those who have wronged them.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Power of God’s Presence for Healing and Living

Timestamps: 00:10 – 00:43

• Nancy opens by affirming that God’s healing power is present wherever the listener is, encouraging declarations of faith:

  "Say, I receive that power. I receive that power. I receive it right now." (00:32 – 00:41)

Feasting on the Word & The “In Christ” Series

Timestamps: 00:43 – 02:30

• Emphasizes the ongoing importance and depth of the “In Christ” revelation:

  "We just feel like we're just scratching the surface because there's so much to it..." (01:13)

• Encourages listeners to take notes and participate actively in study.

Living as One “In Christ” Versus Outside Christ

Timestamps: 02:31 – 05:15

• The core decision for believers: operate in Christ (where all things are possible) or in the flesh (where impossibilities prevail).
• Key principle:

  “I’m not going to look to my flesh to find my highest response. My highest response is not going to originate from my flesh…but it’s going to originate from my spirit, where the Godhead dwells.” (03:57 – 04:11)

• Don’t just seek the appealing privileges in Christ (provision, health, peace), but also embrace the demand to walk in love—even in difficult situations.

Human Love vs. Divine Love

Timestamps: 05:16 – 11:45

• Contrasts Matthew 5:43 (human love) with Matt 5:44 (Jesus’ command to divine love):
  • Human love only reciprocates good for good, bad for bad.
  • Divine love rises above, treating enemies with kindness regardless of their behavior.
• Notable quote:

  "Since his love has come in us, we're not any more authorized to draw on human love. Because human love is not of the new creature in Christ. Human love will fail in the face of adversity. But we have God's own faith in us. But we also have God's own love." (06:59 – 07:21)

• Divine faith operates only when fueled by divine love.

Three Practical Steps to Loving Enemies

Timestamps: 11:46 – 15:45
Nancy breaks down Jesus’ teaching into clear steps:

1. Speak good – "You bless them that curse you."
2. Do good – "Do good to them that hate you."
3. Pray good – "Pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you."

• Not just about “feeling,” but actions and decisions.
• Jesus modeled this on the cross:

  “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” (12:57 – 13:05)

Praying for Those Who Cause Harm

Timestamps: 15:46 – 18:56

• Why pray good for those who wrong you? Because we don’t want them to reap a destructive harvest for their actions—just as we’ve hoped for mercy for our own misdeeds.
• Notable reasoning:

  “You don’t want to receive a harvest on the bad things you’ve done in your life. And I know I don’t.” (16:54)

Case Study: Corrie ten Boom’s Divine Choice to Forgive

Timestamps: 18:57 – 25:45

• A moving, detailed account of Corrie ten Boom’s post-WWII ministry encounter with a former concentration camp guard responsible for her sister’s suffering and death.
• Corrie’s initial feelings:

  “…such hate rose up on the inside of her. Well, where did that come from? It came from her flesh. It came from her soul. It came from her memory. It did not come out of in Christ.” (21:51 – 22:06)

• Her internal prayer:

  "Oh God. She said, I cannot love him…but I choose to yield to you loving him through me." (22:19 – 22:30)

• The effect of this decision:

  "The moment I said that…there came such an overwhelming flow of love out of my spirit. And she said, it swallowed up all the hate that I felt in my own self. She said, so great was the love of God that I had for this man…" (23:15 – 23:41)

• Core lesson:

  "Divine love doesn’t have to be felt first. It has to be chosen first." (23:20)

Forgiveness Is a Choice, Not a Feeling

Timestamps: 25:46 – 27:12

• Correcting the language of “can’t forgive” to “won’t forgive”—if you are in Christ, you can by drawing on God’s love.
• “What people are waiting on, they're waiting to feel love. They're waiting to feel forgiveness before they choose it. That's backwards. You have to choose it, and then you'll feel it.” (25:56)

Living Free and Skillful “In Christ”

Timestamps: 27:13 – 27:32

• Jesus’ commands about loving enemies are a practical way God is training believers to draw on the greater One within and to rise out of the “low flow” of the flesh.

• "In Christ you can love, and in Christ you can forgive. So know this. It's all about choosing to let the greater one on the inside of you manifest through you." (26:47 – 26:58)

Memorable Quotes

• On the Source of Our Highest Response:

  “My highest response is not going to originate from my flesh…but it’s going to originate from my spirit, where the Godhead dwells.” (03:57 – 04:11)

• On Receiving God’s Love:

  “God's own love is on the inside of us in Christ. His love is ours. Not that he simply loves us…but he has given us his love so we can spend his love on others…” (06:31 – 06:46)

• On Choosing Love and Forgiveness:

  “Divine love doesn’t have to be felt first. It has to be chosen first. When you choose divine love, then you’ll feel it... Forgiveness is not a feeling. It’s a choice.” (23:20 – 23:56)

• On Letting Christ’s Love Operate Through Us:

  “The Father in me, he does the loving, he does the forgiving. And I allow him to love through me. I allow him to forgive through me.” (27:00 – 27:14)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:10 – Opening declaration of faith and God’s power
• 01:13 – “In Christ” series intro
• 03:57 – Highest response comes from spirit
• 06:31 – Human love vs. divine love defined
• 11:46 – Three steps to loving your enemy
• 12:57 – Jesus forgives on the cross
• 18:57 – Corrie ten Boom story begins
• 21:51 – Her internal struggle with hate and how she responds
• 23:15 – Experiencing God’s overwhelming love after choosing to forgive
• 25:56 – On choice vs. feeling in forgiveness
• 27:00 – Allowing the Father to love/forgive through us

Summary Takeaways

• Living “in Christ” means choosing to draw on God’s love and power, not our human limitations and feelings.
• True Christian love—divine love—takes practical shape in words, actions, and prayers of blessing, especially toward those who oppose or hurt us.
• Forgiveness is always possible for those “in Christ” because it comes from Him, not from our own strength.
• The transformation happens when we decide to act out of Christ’s nature within us, regardless of our emotions.
• Choosing to love and forgive not only frees others, it sets us free to enjoy the peace and freedom that is ours in Christ.

Closing encouragement:
Nancy wraps the episode by reminding listeners:

“As you love as one in Christ… you begin to live as one in Christ. Amen.” (27:22 – 27:27)

Listeners are invited to continue this journey in the next part of the series.

(End of summary. All times MM:SS are approximate based on provided transcript.)