The Love of the Gospel
April 25, 2008 I have been reflecting upon the Love of God as of late connecting God's Love to our expression and experience of this love of which 1 Corinthians speaks volumes. Verse 2 is such a weighty statement, "And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." In other words, if I know all things past, present and future, all faith with which to move mountains but I do not have love, I am utterly nothing.
We can have right theology, right actions, right thoughts, God-pleasing motivations, yet if we do not have love, we are but nothing. Yes, we can have right orthodoxy and right orthopraxy, yet if we do not possess love, we are nothing!
As a small example, how often have I stumbled upon online theological discussions in which the participants are anything but gracious in their interaction. You can tell they are not thinking about how to write their statements; they only think of what to write.
Who would I listen to first in these types of discussions? The one who expresses their theology in love, seasoning their writing with salt in grace.
Expressing ourselves in love is the indelible sign of the Gospel's work in our lives. God is love, and when we demonstrate love we are showing that we are His disciples (John 13:35) and that we are partakers of His nature (2 Peter 1:4).
Conversely, if we do not demonstrate love, it is questionable, at least in part, as to the genuineness of our salvation (1 John 3:11ff, 1 John 4:7ff). The gravity of this thought is immense. If we do not demonstrate love in what we think, feel and act, there are grounds to question our very salvation. But we are definitely not without hope.
Paul explains in Galatians 5:16, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." In other words, Paul is addressing Christians of the Galatian church; he is assuming they already possess the Holy Spirit. He then contrasts the works of the flesh and the work of the Spirit and leads off with love as the preeminent fruit the Spirit produces in our lives. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Are the Fruits of the Spirit goals? Yes. Paul commands us to walk in the Spirit. The Fruits of the Spirit are definitely things we can exhibit. But these goals can not be exhibited merely by our will power. These are fruits produced by the Spirit through His Word. God's Word is the Sword of the Spirit which penetrates our very being and by its very nature the fruits are then produced by the Spirit's work through His Word namely Jesus, Who is the final Word to man and is the power unto salvation- justification, sanctification and our future glorification.
This gives us great hope. When we immerse ourselves in God's Word and strive to understand it and to apply it, the Fruits of the Spirit will grow and increase in our lives. And love will dominate everything we do.
This is the love of the Gospel.
April 25, 2008 I have been reflecting upon the Love of God as of late connecting God's Love to our expression and experience of this love of which 1 Corinthians speaks volumes. Verse 2 is such a weighty statement, "And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." In other words, if I know all things past, present and future, all faith with which to move mountains but I do not have love, I am utterly nothing.
We can have right theology, right actions, right thoughts, God-pleasing motivations, yet if we do not have love, we are but nothing. Yes, we can have right orthodoxy and right orthopraxy, yet if we do not possess love, we are nothing!
As a small example, how often have I stumbled upon online theological discussions in which the participants are anything but gracious in their interaction. You can tell they are not thinking about how to write their statements; they only think of what to write.
Who would I listen to first in these types of discussions? The one who expresses their theology in love, seasoning their writing with salt in grace.
Expressing ourselves in love is the indelible sign of the Gospel's work in our lives. God is love, and when we demonstrate love we are showing that we are His disciples (John 13:35) and that we are partakers of His nature (2 Peter 1:4).
Conversely, if we do not demonstrate love, it is questionable, at least in part, as to the genuineness of our salvation (1 John 3:11ff, 1 John 4:7ff). The gravity of this thought is immense. If we do not demonstrate love in what we think, feel and act, there are grounds to question our very salvation. But we are definitely not without hope.
Paul explains in Galatians 5:16, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." In other words, Paul is addressing Christians of the Galatian church; he is assuming they already possess the Holy Spirit. He then contrasts the works of the flesh and the work of the Spirit and leads off with love as the preeminent fruit the Spirit produces in our lives. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Are the Fruits of the Spirit goals? Yes. Paul commands us to walk in the Spirit. The Fruits of the Spirit are definitely things we can exhibit. But these goals can not be exhibited merely by our will power. These are fruits produced by the Spirit through His Word. God's Word is the Sword of the Spirit which penetrates our very being and by its very nature the fruits are then produced by the Spirit's work through His Word namely Jesus, Who is the final Word to man and is the power unto salvation- justification, sanctification and our future glorification.
This gives us great hope. When we immerse ourselves in God's Word and strive to understand it and to apply it, the Fruits of the Spirit will grow and increase in our lives. And love will dominate everything we do.
This is the love of the Gospel.