Paul, writing to the church at Philippi, said in Philippians 2:1-2: “If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love [The word comfort comes from the Latin word fortress which means “strength.” God doesn’t give sympathy but strength. Every time we read the word comfort, we can replace it with the word strength.], if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind” God wants His people to have the same love for one another that He has, and if we’re the people of God, we do have the same love. Romans 5:5, tells us that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
In Ephesians 2:1-4 Paul wrote: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins…Among whom also we all had our conversation [or conduct] in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath [this was written to Gentiles], even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us.” From the eleventh verse on, Paul told us what a pitiful state people were in as Gentiles. We were without God, without a covenant (there was no covenant for the Gentiles), without promise, and without hope. There was nothing we could do about our condition, but God, who is rich in mercy, loved us with His great love.
One of the greatest attributes of God’s love is, it’s a love that will love without a reason. See, this is the kind of love that we must have! Before we were saved, you and I had to have a reason to love God. We love Him because He first loved us; however, God’s great love is a love that works without a reason. God had no reason to love us; we were unlovely. We did despite to the Spirit of God, worked against Him, took His name in vain, and broke His law. He didn’t have one reason to love us, but His love will love without a reason.
This love will help us to get victory over little things that happen in our life. People may wrong us, let us down about something, or talk about us, and any other kind of love won’t work, because we don’t have a reason to love. Human love must have a reason to love. This is why there are so many divorces and separations. Things happen that cause failures and disappointments, and people say their love has been destroyed.
When Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, John 13:1 says that Jesus, having love His own, loved them unto the end. What a group of people to love! Let’s try to understand how the love of God will work. When He washed their feet, He knew it would be only a matter of hours until every one of them would forsake Him. Jesus knew that Peter was going to deny Him, and He knew that Judas was going to betray Him; but He still washed their feet. Judas didn’t leave until after the feet washing. How would we like to have a congregation such as that?
In too many cases, the love of God is lacking. There doesn’t have to be too many things happen until some say, “You’ve killed all of my love.” Unless we have the love of God, we can’t truly be the Church, no matter how much we gather together and agree on certain points of doctrine. The thing that seals the Church and holds it together is God’s love.
This great love caused God to love us when we did despite to His name and worked against Him. Today when someone who claims to be a brother or a sister starts to work against us, and we know it, there’s one thing we need to have, that that’s this great love. We repeat, one of the greatest things about God’s love is that He loves the unlovely, the hateful, and those who do despite to Him. How can anyone separate a people when this great love is flowing from heart to heart?
Love Produces Action
Paul wanted us to have the same love and the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, and he went on to tell us what kind of mind that was. What kind of mind did Christ have? He had a mind that thought of others all the time. He never thought about Himself. Read the second chapter of Philippians. He made Himself of no reputation. He was in the form of God in Heaven, He had the angels at His control; and everything He could ever want, He could have; but because He loved others so much, He laid it all down, humbled Himself, and became a man. He became a servant of man; then He humbled Himself even more and went to the Cross. He loved us so much that He laid down His life.
After a terrible apostasy had begun to work on the morning church, John wrote the First, Second, and Third Epistles of John. He told them if Christ so loved them that He laid down His live, and if they had that great love in their hearts, they ought to lay down their lives for one another. There’s a way to have unity and have it so that the gates of hell cannot prevail against the church. It’s by having His great love, wherewith He loved us.
Another thing that makes the love of God so great is, just as it worked in God, it will work in us in just exactly the same way. Everything about the plan of salvation is great. Paul said in Hebrews 2:3, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation…” The Bible says that everyone who has Jesus has great joy, and we who are in the light were at one time in darkness, but a great light shone upon us. We can’t think for very long about how much God loved us without it getting hold of us.
John 3:16 says that God so loved the world that He gave. It’s impossible to have this love without taking action. When this same love is in us, we’ll take action. We can’t have this love and be silent. God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son; in other words, God gave the very best He had. He would rather have given anything else, and all of everything else, but “he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish [This love is great. We don’t have to perish.], but have everlasting [or eternal] life.”
As Paul was writing to the church, he was trying to keep them from falling into that terrible apostasy that was moving in on the church. If we fall into apostasy, a terrible deception will take hold of us, and we’ll end up as the Laodiceans did. They said they had need of nothing, but they didn’t know their true condition.
Paul said in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Paul wrote in Romans 12:9a, “Let love be without dissimulation.” How? By just letting love work. If we don’t do anything to hinder love, it’ll work.
When love is working, we’ll have faith. Paul said in Galatians, the fifth Chapter: that faith works by love. People who have the love of God really working in their hearts will not have a struggle when it comes to faith. In fact, when people come to their minister and desire help to have their faith inspired, either for healing or a problem they can’t overcome, one of the first things that need to be dealt with is the love in their hearts.
Have We Any Love Within Us?
Love is the first fruit of the Spirit, and all other attributes work from it. Paul taught us in 1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity [or love], these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” Faith, hope, and charity will abide; other gifts of the Spirit are transit. For example, in some periods, God gave the gift of tongues when it was needed, and then for many years, He never gave it once. It’s a transit gift. There may be periods when other gifts are not needed, but faith, hope and love will abide. We can’t be the church without faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love. This great love is greater then faith and hope.
There’s a song that says, “Have we any hope within us?” And we do, but the question is, Have we any love within us? We need to keep our love thermometer up where it ought to be. Where should it be? Boiling! When we keep our love thermometer up where it need to be we won’t have so much trouble reading the Word of God and praying. Prayer is our birthright. The things that we love to do are not hard to do. Somebody may say, “I have such a terrible time getting alone to study and pray.” If we do, we’d better check our love. What if our ministers would honestly confess, “Well, I still love my wife, but I have a terrible time spending any time with her, and it take just about all the grace I have to kiss her/” Or what if after about six weeks of never kissing our wife, we’d say, “Come her, honey, I think it’s my duty to give you a kiss.” This is the way some people testify: “I think it’s my duty to get up and testify.” Is that full of love?
How much did God love us? He reached way down where we were. Ephesians 4:8 says, “Wherefore he saith, when he [Christ] ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” If we read in Isaiah where Paul was quoting this from, it says that He gave gifts unto men, even the rebellious. Isn’t that wonderful! This is a great love! When you and I were living in rebellion against God and had a rebellious attitude, going our won way and bound to have our own self-pleasing way, God so loved us. Thank God, He has a gift for us even if we are rebellious. He so loved that He gave His Son to the whole world.
God has a gift for all who will repent, turn to Him, and quit their rebellion. This is God’s great love wherewith He loved us. He loved us enough to reach way down in the quagmire of sin and pick us up. Thank God, His arm is not too short to reach down to the lowest sinner. Moreover, His are is not short after He picks us up. He can lift us up just as high as we were low. He quickens us and raises us up to heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
God’s Rich Mercy
Christ’s resurrection was not complete without His ascension; by the same token, our resurrection is not complete without our ascension. Ephesians, the second chapter, lets us know that He resurrected us from a dead condition in trespasses and sins. After He resurrected us, He then raised us (or we ascended up) to sit together with Christ in heavenly places. Where are those heavenly places? They’re wherever God’s will is done on earth just as it is in Heaven. He lifts us up and quickens us together with Christ. His great love and mighty power has lifted us up to heavenly places. The Kingdom of God is also called the Kingdom of heaven, and it’s right here---on the earth! What is the kingdom? It’s made up of people who have gained an experience in which God’s will is done in them just as it’s done in Heaven.
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith he loved us.” (Ephesians 2:4). Why does God save those who will accept His offer of mercy? There’s only one reason: because of His great love. Why does God heal the sick? It’s because of His great love. Not one of us was ever worthy to be saved or healed. Healing grace is the same as saving grace. It’s because of God’s goodness, God’s rich mercy, and God’s great love.
In Luke, Chapter 7, the elders of the Jews wanted Jesus to heal a centurion’s servant. They felt that the centurion was worthy because he had built a synagogue for them. However, the centurion sent friends unto Jesus saying, “I am not worthy.” He didn’t feel worthy enough to have Jesus come under his roof. He told Jesus just to speak the word and his servant would be well. Jesus said in verse 9, “I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Matthew, Chapter 8, relates the same story, and verse 13 tells us, “And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”
Paul began the second chapter of Philippians saying, “If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love…” Second Corinthians, the first chapter, lets us know that no matter what tribulation we’re in, the love of God consoles us. Where tribulation abounds, God’s love abounds in a greater way. His love gives us consolation, strength, blessing, and help. When we begin to manifest the same love that God has for us, we become a city that’s set on a hill. This biblical expression is teaching that we can live in such a way that nothing can keep our light from shining.
Love Is the Light
First John 2:8 reads, “The true light now shineth.” When does the true light shine? When you and I love one another. John 13:35 states, “By this [not by this and something else] shall all men [everywhere] know that ye are my disciples, If ye have love one to another.” This is the true light, and in too many cases, it’s not shining.
What does the world see in too many cases? They see a group of church folks who merely talk about love and preach about love. However, we can talk about it and preach about it all we want, but the true light won’t shine until we have love---one to another. Why did He say, “By this shall all men know…? Isaiah said the way would be so plain that a wayfaring man, though a fool, wouldn’t err therein (Isaiah 35:8). Even a dog can tell whether or not you love him. There are some people who will never understand the deep things of God in God’s Word, but if we have love one to another, the most illiterate person can say, “I don’t understand their preaching. They go too deep for me, but I know they’re God’s people because they have love---one to another.”
We won’t convince the world as Jesus intends us to…until we have enough love to reach over barriers and different traditions and ideas. We ought to love and respect one another, even though we may not agree on every point of doctrine.
The Bible says to try the spirits, and if the Holy Spirit is there, the first fruit of the Spirit will be love. This is why the church is a city set on a hill that cannot be hid. The love of God can be so clearly manifested that a wayfaring man, though a fool, can see it.
The devil will fight us more on love than anything else. He’ll let us be strict in doctrine, dress modestly, and be strict in our church attendance as long as we don’t have love one to another. When we have love---one to another, there’s nothing the devil can do. All that he can do is stand back and tremble and watch the power of God reach out and get hold of the hearts of men and women. That’s the way God has fixed it, and I’m glad He did.
Some people will quickly tell you, “I love everybody.” However, when you begin to ask them, “Well, do you love So-and-So? They think you’re “getting clear off base”! It’s very easy to say, “I love everybody,” and at the same time “have ought” in our heart against someone. For example: we could “have ought”, against the minister or another brother and yet be very interested in the mission field. John knew people would be like this. We can read about it in 1 John, the fourth chapter.
It’s very easy to show our love everywhere else but right where we really are. If we don’t love our brother whom we have seen, how can you say you love God or other men whom you haven’t seen? Piety begins at home. Jesus told His disciples to be witnesses at Jerusalem. We’re in the New Jerusalem, and if the love of God doesn’t wok among us, there’s no need to try to work it anywhere else. Jesus let us know that it was by this---and this alone, that men will know that we’re His disciples.
Since we know that love is supreme above all other attributes, this should be what we work toward, work at, and work out. Jesus mad this very plain when He said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Many seem to have love for one another, but they need to manifest that love. [ The End ]