"And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." — I Thess. 3:12-13
It is really quite astonishing to notice the emphasis on love in the New Testament, and the character of love mandated. Here is one such reference, and it confronts us, in capsule form, with two great dimensions of love. There is first the command to love one another, that is, within the family of God; what may be called "intramural love." The second is an even larger and more challenging command to love "all men."
The New Testament order to love is rooted in the gospels and brought to full flower in the epistles. The ultimate demonstration of love is, as every believer must know, in the incarnation, and encapsulated in that most familiar, under-appreciated verse, John 3:16. There "unconditional love" is revealed from the heights of heaven, from the cradle to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Along with this supernal illustration is the instruction of the Savior Himself, in the course of His earthly ministry. At least three times in the gospels we are counseled to love our neighbor and taught that the neighbor we are to love is not someone who has treated us well, but anyone we come across who needs our care (Cf. Mt. 6:19; 22:35-40; Mk. 12:31). These references identify love as the essence of fulfillment of the second table of the law of Moses (the ten commandments) and linked to assurance of a place in the kingdom of God (cf. Mk. 12:28-34).
The Savior's instruction regarding love, however, goes further. In Mt. 5:44 and Luke 6:27, 35 we are commanded to love our enemies, and this is linked to eternal reward and relationship to God. Clearly love is NOT optional.
These exhortations were part of Jesus' general teaching, and directed toward all men. Subsequently He turned to the subject with specific reference to His disciples. The centerpiece of this doctrine is John 13:34-35; "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." It is that intramural love spoken of earlier; love of believer for believers in the church, which Jesus cites as the ultimate evidence of discipleship. He sharpened it further when He declared, "This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you [Jn. 15:12]," and made obedience to His command the key to friendship with Himself [ v.14]. This love of believer for believers (without qualification) is not offered as a suggestion or a recommendation, but as an order. Love within the body of Christ is NOT an option, but a command!
In our text for today the love of believers one for another is linked to holiness, a connection not many of us would make if it were not thus set before us, but here it is! To be sure, not many professing believers of today are passionate about holiness, but for those who are, this is sobering truth. I have not attained (nor approximated) holiness if I have not learned to love not only my friends, but the saints at large and the rest of the community of mankind, including my enemies.
It is this characteristic, after all, which supremely sets New Testament Christianity apart from all other faiths. It is the hallmark of true conversion, and were it more generally in evidence, the church would be strikingly different from the fraternities of this present evil world. Sadly, this kind of love is overshadowed by the grim results of pride, sectarian strife and self centeredness which characterize nominal Christianity today. Someone has wryly suggested that we are not likely to love our enemies, for we have not yet learned to love our friends!
The last word in our text for today is this: Jesus is coming again. Then will come our "final exam" with respect to love. How will your love life fare?
With HIS glory in mind,,
"Pastor" Frasier
It is really quite astonishing to notice the emphasis on love in the New Testament, and the character of love mandated. Here is one such reference, and it confronts us, in capsule form, with two great dimensions of love. There is first the command to love one another, that is, within the family of God; what may be called "intramural love." The second is an even larger and more challenging command to love "all men."
The New Testament order to love is rooted in the gospels and brought to full flower in the epistles. The ultimate demonstration of love is, as every believer must know, in the incarnation, and encapsulated in that most familiar, under-appreciated verse, John 3:16. There "unconditional love" is revealed from the heights of heaven, from the cradle to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Along with this supernal illustration is the instruction of the Savior Himself, in the course of His earthly ministry. At least three times in the gospels we are counseled to love our neighbor and taught that the neighbor we are to love is not someone who has treated us well, but anyone we come across who needs our care (Cf. Mt. 6:19; 22:35-40; Mk. 12:31). These references identify love as the essence of fulfillment of the second table of the law of Moses (the ten commandments) and linked to assurance of a place in the kingdom of God (cf. Mk. 12:28-34).
The Savior's instruction regarding love, however, goes further. In Mt. 5:44 and Luke 6:27, 35 we are commanded to love our enemies, and this is linked to eternal reward and relationship to God. Clearly love is NOT optional.
These exhortations were part of Jesus' general teaching, and directed toward all men. Subsequently He turned to the subject with specific reference to His disciples. The centerpiece of this doctrine is John 13:34-35; "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." It is that intramural love spoken of earlier; love of believer for believers in the church, which Jesus cites as the ultimate evidence of discipleship. He sharpened it further when He declared, "This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you [Jn. 15:12]," and made obedience to His command the key to friendship with Himself [ v.14]. This love of believer for believers (without qualification) is not offered as a suggestion or a recommendation, but as an order. Love within the body of Christ is NOT an option, but a command!
In our text for today the love of believers one for another is linked to holiness, a connection not many of us would make if it were not thus set before us, but here it is! To be sure, not many professing believers of today are passionate about holiness, but for those who are, this is sobering truth. I have not attained (nor approximated) holiness if I have not learned to love not only my friends, but the saints at large and the rest of the community of mankind, including my enemies.
It is this characteristic, after all, which supremely sets New Testament Christianity apart from all other faiths. It is the hallmark of true conversion, and were it more generally in evidence, the church would be strikingly different from the fraternities of this present evil world. Sadly, this kind of love is overshadowed by the grim results of pride, sectarian strife and self centeredness which characterize nominal Christianity today. Someone has wryly suggested that we are not likely to love our enemies, for we have not yet learned to love our friends!
The last word in our text for today is this: Jesus is coming again. Then will come our "final exam" with respect to love. How will your love life fare?
With HIS glory in mind,,
"Pastor" Frasier
No comments:
Post a Comment