When Jesus was walking physically on this earth, He
gave His followers a new commandment. He instructed
them to: “...love one another; as I have loved you” (Jn
13:34). We have touched briefly on this theme in a previous
chapter, but here we will discuss at length what this admonition
means.
While this may seem like a straightforward and fairly
simple commandment, in practice it is something which is
humanly impossible to do. It may be easy to love others
who are attractive, interesting or agreeable to us. It is possible
that we may be able to love others to some degree.
But to love all of our brothers and sisters in Christ as much
as Jesus loves them is far, far beyond our human capabilities.
Part of the problem is that God seems to select many
who don’t fit well with our ideas of who is lovable. At the
very minimum, everyone whom Jesus loves is a sinner.
Beyond this, many of them have serious problems and
deficiencies. Others have personalities and dispositions
which are disagreeable and/or offensive. Some have areas
of their lives which are not yet transformed and so they are
vulnerable to the work of God’s enemy.
When we wish to walk in love, we encounter these
and countless other challenges to the fulfillment of Jesus’
simple command to love one another. Anyone who has
actually tried to love others has undoubtedly come into
contact with other Christians who seem impossible to love.
Yet there is hope. Jesus not only gave us a new commandment.
He also gave us a new variety of love. This
new love is described in the New Testament with a special
word – AGAPE. This love is not something which natural
men have. It is not something that a mere human being can
express. It is a special kind of supernatural love that only
God has. This love is something which fills His heart. In
fact, He is so full of this AGAPE love that the Bible says
that “...God is [AGAPE] love”(I Jn 4:8). This word expresses
His essential nature.
So if and when we decide to obey Jesus’ commandment
and love others, we have to receive this love from
Him. Our natural, human love will never be able to reach
the goal. Only the love of God Himself can possibly
achieve this highest and noblest requirement.
In order to obtain this supernatural love, we must
walk in continual communion with our Savior. Since He is
its source, we need to keep plugged into Him in order to
receive it. While we maintain our spiritual connection with
Him, an endless supply of this love is available. Since He is
the eternal, unending source of this love, we have access to
all that we could ever want or need.
Receiving this love is not a one-time thing. Neither is
it something we get through a series of especially “spiritual”
experiences and then always have. For us mere human
beings to walk in love, we must also walk in daily intimacy
with the Source of this love which is God Himself.
This fact is so essential that the Word of God tells us
that if we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, this is
proof that we really know God. We read in I John 4:7,8,
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of [from] God;
and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God
[intimately]. He who does not love does not know God
[intimately], for God is love.”
I have added the word “intimately” to help the reader
understand what is being communicated here. The Greek
word for “know” here can be used to signify the most inti-
mate relationships including those between a man and a
woman (Mt 1:25; Lk 1:34). The supernatural love which we
need is something which flows from an intimate, personal,
constant communion with our Savior.
It is obvious that there are many believers, persons
who truly have been converted, that do not love others. It
is painfully apparent that a great many Christians are selfish,
self-centered, infantile, rude, abrupt, irritable and
many other things which demonstrate that they lack divine
love for their brethren. Unfortunately, this is the condition
of much of the church in the world today.
Although some would insist that these people cannot
really be “saved,” an honest, thoughtful analysis of the situation
leads us to believe that this is not really the root of
the problem. Many have met Jesus. They have truly been
born again. But sadly, they are not walking in intimacy
with Him. They do not walk daily in the Spirit. They don’t
understand how to commune with Him continually. They
fail to enjoy the availability of His constant presence. Due
to this failure, they do not often exhibit His supernatural
love for one another.
These believers are simply babies. They have not
grown up spiritually enough to have the continual supply
of love which they need. Young children are often self-centered.
They hardly ever think about others, but only about
themselves. It is almost impossible for an infant to exhibit
a caring love for others, since they have so many needs
themselves. Therefore they do not express this love.
The evidence of true spiritual maturity; the proof that
we know God intimately and are walking in communion
with Him is that we love. This exhibition of love is the one
sure sign, the one observable evidence, that we have a personal
relationship with Jesus.
This love is so powerful we can not only love believers
who are friendly or likable, but also those who are difficult
to like. Being full of God’s love, we can love those
who are not kind to us, those who take advantage of us,
those who abuse our efforts to help and to love them. We
can love those who don’t agree with us, those who oppose
us and those who sin against us in various ways. We can
love those who offend us, those who take from us and
never give back, those who disappoint us, those who reject
us and those who mistreat us. We can love the most unlovable
people with the love of God. This love whose source
is God is so powerful and superhuman that, being full of it,
we can even love our enemies (Mt 5:44).

LOVE IN THE CHURCH

Here in this book we have been speaking about the
experience of the one true church. The key to this experience
is walking in intimacy with God and being led by our
true Head, Jesus Christ. Since this communion with God is
the source of the real church, it is only logical to assume
that those who are succeeding in living in the true church
experience will also be full of love.
Here we find an important fact. Those who are truly
enjoying the reality of church will be men and woman who
are full of divine love. What we can conclude then is that
the manifestation of this love is the test of the genuiness of
our church experience. If and when we are full of love for
one another, then this demonstrates that we are succeeding
in enjoying the one true church. The evident expression of
the love of God is the testimony that what we are doing is
the work of God.
Any believers who are succeeding in walking together
in communion with God and one another will manifest
this love. This is a sure sign that they are enjoying the one
true church. This is a dependable indication that what they
are living out is genuine. This love is not something that
man can produce. Its origin is only divine. Therefore, when
it is in evidence, you can be confident that God is doing His
work among those who are manifesting this love.

NEW TESTAMENT VERSES

The New Testament is full of admonitions for us to
walk in love. It may be the most common exhortation of
the New Covenant. We have already stated Jesus’ command
for us to love one another. As we read along we
encounter many other such admonitions, exhortations and
examples.
We read: “Be kindly affectionate to one another with
brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another”
(Rm 12:10). “Owe no one anything except to love one
another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law”
(Rm 13:8). “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Rm
13:9). “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is
the fulfillment of the law( Rm 13:10). “Pursue love, and
desire spiritual gifts...” (I Cor 14:1).
We also learn: “Let all that you do be done with love”
(I Cor 16:14). “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty;
only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh,
but through love serve one another” (Gal 5:13); “...with all
lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing
with one another in love (Eph 4:2); “...causes growth of the
body for the edifying of itself in love (Eph 4:16). “And walk
in love, as Christ also has loved us... (Eph 5:2).
Also we are exhorted: “And this I pray, that your love
may abound still more and more” (Ph 1:9). “Fulfill my joy
by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one
accord, of one mind” (Ph 2:2). “That their hearts may be
encouraged, being knit together in love” (Col 2:2). “But
above all these things put on love, which is the bond of
perfection” (Col 3:14). “And may the Lord make you
increase and abound in love to one another and to all...” (I
Th 3:12).
Even more we are admonished: “But concerning
brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you,
for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another”
(I Th 4:9). “Now the purpose of the commandment is love
from a pure heart...” (I Tm 1:5). “And let us consider one
another in order to stir up love and good works...”
(Heb10:24). “Let brotherly love continue” (Heb 13:1).
“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth
through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one
another fervently with a pure heart...” (I Pet 1:22).
Summing things up we are taught: “Finally, all of you
be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love
as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous...” (IPet 3:8).
“And above all things have fervent love for one another...”
(I Pet 4:8). “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of
God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows
God” (I Jn 4:7).
The above paragraphs are by no means a complete list
of all the verses in the New Testament which encourage us
toward AGAPE love. Yet surely they are sufficient to show
that the manifestation of divine love is at the very center of
the gospel message. It is an expression of the very heart of
God.
We have studied in earlier chapters many of the different
ways and methods which men use to try to hold a
“church” together. There are innumerable artifices which
people employ in an attempt to get Christians to adhere to
one another or to their group. When any work to form a
group of believers is initiated by man, it is always necessary
for human means to be used to hold that group
together.
But, as we also have seen, the true glue which should
hold the body of Christ together is this supernatural love.
The true bond of Christianity is love (Col 3:14). It is the
love of God which fills our hearts and causes us to serve,
have fellowship with and meet with other believers.
It is when we are walking “in the light” that we have
genuine “fellowship with one another” (I Jn 1:7). This
implies having a constant, transparent intimacy with God.
This intimacy then produces the fruit of love in our lives.
The result of this love is the expression of the living church,
the habitation of the Most High God.

MANY CHALLENGES

When we decide to walk in love, we will encounter
many challenges. Our commitment to love will be tested
again and again, in many different ways over many years.
As we walk with the Lord, we will experience a variety of
circumstances. We will encounter a great many Christians
with all kinds of personalities, sins, weaknesses, failures
and problems. These dear brothers and sisters will impact
our lives in ways of which we perhaps have never even
dreamed.
Some Christians might take advantage of you financially.
They might cheat you out of some money. Some
might steal from you. They may borrow from you and
never pay you back. They might even ask for some money
“for the work of God” and then spend it on themselves.
Others might take advantage of you emotionally, perhaps
romantically capturing your heart, dating you and
then leaving you. Some may marry you and then cheat,
breaking their marriage covenant. You might experience a
divorce. You might be slandered, mistreated and have false
rumors spread about you.
While you are trying to serve God, you may have people
misunderstand you and your motives. You might be
criticized, ridiculed and even hated. Brothers and sisters
with whom you thought you had a good relationship may
turn against you. Then they might work to turn others
against you also. The very people whom you trusted and
to whom you opened your heart might betray you.
Christian leaders whom you respect may bring you
into bondage to their programs and works. They may even
beguile you into an illicit sexual relationship or urge you to
do something illegal to help them. The number of ways in
which Christians can and do sin against each other is endless.
These thoughts are only intended to give a small
example of what can and does occur when we are in relationships
with other people.
So how then can we continue to live in love? How can
we overcome the emotional trauma and pain which is
caused by these many believers with whom we interact in
our lives? What is God’s solution to the anguish, heartache,
distress and suffering which comes to us as we try to walk
in communion with others? How can we continue to live in
love. This is an essential question which every believer
needs to know how to answer.

THE MOST POWERFUL CURATIVE

In our struggle to overcome the hurt and disappointment
which we will inevitably encounter in our relationships
with other Christians, God has made available to us
a very powerful medicine. It is a kind of remedy which is
powerful enough to treat the worst kind of emotional pain.
It is a restorative that can heal our inner man in ways that
we might think impossible. This spiritual medicine is
called “forgiveness.”
When we are wounded by others, through whatever
ways or means, this frequently produces various emotional
reactions. First we feel pain. Next, we tend to become
angry. It is only natural to begin to want to strike back at
that person, physically, verbally or by trying to hurt them
in a roundabout way. One common technique is to want to
tell others about how that other person abused or hurt you,
intending to turn the others against the offender and thereby
gain some sense of retaliation or to extract some sympathy.
It is common for this hurt to continue working in our
hearts for a long time, even many years. This gives rise to
resentment, bitterness and often a desire for revenge. How
many times have Christians actually prayed to their heavenly
Father to judge, smite, wound or even kill another
Christian because of what they have done to them?
Obviously, this is not what is known as “walking in love.”
The solution for all these very human reactions is forgiveness.
That’s right, we need to forgive the offender. Our
forgiveness will heal our inner man. It will medicate our
emotions. Forgiveness will take away bitterness, anger and
strife. Our liberating forgiveness for the other person who
offended us will actually turn out to be the best help we
could ever get. It will do much more for us than we could
ever imagine. Forgiving someone else might seem like
doing something for them, but in reality, it will do much
more for us. It will bring us an emotional healing in a way
which nothing else can do.
Genuine forgiveness will set us free from bondage to
our self, our old nature, our precious feelings, our Godgiven
“rights,” and our natural disposition. It will renew
our love for God and that other person. It will bring a
supernatural balm which will treat our wounds so that we
do not notice them so much any more. It will liberate us
from our “self” which is really part of the old creation and
needs desperately to be denied – to die.
Forgiveness is one of the great secrets of successful
Christianity. Without it, we will never succeed in walking
in continual intimacy with Jesus. You see, God loves forgiveness.
It is part of His nature. He sent His only Son to
die in our place to forgive us and then to save us.
Therefore, in order to remain in sweet communion with
Him, we must become forgivers too.
Jesus teaches us: “And whenever you stand praying, if
you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your
Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses”
(Mk 11:25). The expression “whenever you stand praying”
indicates that we are attempting to enter into the presence
of God.
At that moment, we must not be holding a grudge or
unforgiveness against our brother. If we are, then this will
impede our relationship with our forgiving Savior. We will
find it difficult to enter into and stay in the presence of
Jesus. Since He died to forgive this person, then we too
must forgive them. Living in such forgiveness will help us
in our search to live in the one true church which is in the
presence of God.
We also learn that our forgiving others is a prerequisite
to receiving our own forgiveness. Jesus says: “But if
you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive
your trespasses” (Mk 11:26). If we continue to demand
“justice” by refusing to forgive others, then we too will
receive true justice. However, no one who has any understanding
of their own sin would really want such justice
for themselves. If we want others to get what they deserve,
then we also will get what we truly deserve. For your own
sake I urge you, don’t seek this.
Further, we are taught that if we do not forgive, this
will result in personal torment and being in a kind of emotional
or even physical prison. Perhaps it is worth the time
here to review a parable Jesus taught in response to a question
from Peter, which teaches us this truth.
“Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often
shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to
seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to
seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the
kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to
settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun
to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him
ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his
master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children
and all that he had, and that payment be made. The
servant therefore fell down before him, saying, “Master,
have patience with me, and I will pay you all.” ‘
“Then the master of that servant was moved with
compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. But
that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on
him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you
owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged
him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you
all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison
till he should pay the debt.”
“So when his fellow servants saw what had been
done, they were very grieved, and came and told their
master all that had been done. Then his master, after he
had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave
you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not
also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I
had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered
him to the torturers until he should pay all that was
due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if
each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his
trespasses” (Mt 18:21-35).
You see, unforgiveness will get us into trouble with
God. If we do not forgive, He promises to deliver us over
to the “torturers” who run the prison. This means that as
time goes on, we will find ourselves in spiritual bondage
and even intense emotional or bodily pain. Forgiving others
will release us not only from our emotional suffering,
but also from many other ailments, possibly even physical
ones, which are binding us. It will bring emotional and
physical healing. It will also save us from who we are and
transform us into the image of Christ. It will restore our
relationship with God.
It is interesting to note that it is not the offender who
is disciplined by God. Instead, it is the victim who refused
to forgive. Perhaps by our way of thinking the one who
gives offense is the one more deserving of castigation, but
in the heart of our Father, the refusal of forgiveness seems
to be even more worthy of judgment.
When we fail to forgive our brothers and sisters when
they sin against us, not only do we suffer individually, but
we cause a breach in the unity of the body. It is a great stain
on the garment of the bride of Christ. Our lack of forgiveness
destroys the communion inherent in the true church
experience. Such a failure can quickly spread to others if
we “share” our problems with others and try to get them
to take our side in any difficulty.

WHEN A BROTHER SINS AGAINST US

The biblical teaching is quite clear. When a brother or
sister sins against us we are to go to them ourselves and
confront them about their offense (Mt 18:15). This means
that we do not go to everyone else. We are not to share our
problems with all the others first. The offense must remain
between us. If the person refuses to hear our complaint,
then we are allowed to take along someone else to help us
explain the problem to the offender.
If they still refuse to listen then, and only then, are we
allowed to “tell it to the church” (Mt 18:17) so that the body
as a whole can lend a hand to resolve any conflict. It is only
if they reject the testimony of the entire church that we are
allowed to limit our contact with that person.
However, this does not mean that we should not forgive
them. Even if they are unwilling to acknowledge their
sin, we should never be bound by unforgiveness. Such failure
to forgive will poison our own souls and retard our
spiritual progress. Although we may not enjoy the same
spiritual communion with them which we had previously,
we must never allow unforgiveness to impede our relationship
with Jesus and our spiritual development.
You will know when you have genuinely forgiven
someone when you can talk about them to others without
expressing any anger or bitterness. You will know you are
free when you can lovingly converse about someone or
some past situation without a certain amount of bile creeping
into your tone and attitude. You can be sure that you
are free when you can love that other person with a pure
heart.
Forgiveness may not be something which comes easily
to you. You may not experience a huge wave of emotion
impelling you to forgive. Yet forgiveness is just based upon
a simple decision. We must decide to obey God and forgive.
Once we turn our will in this direction, the supernatural
supply of God will follow. His grace will assist us once
we have chosen His way.
It may be that we need to forgive someone over and
over again. It may be that it is only little by little that we
release our hold on our hurt feelings. It may be very difficult
for us to open our hearts and let go of our pain. But as
we make this decision, perhaps deeper and deeper each
time, the love of God will fill the void which was once only
emotional “hamburger.”
So often people cling to their hurts, using them to try
to strengthen a flimsy emotional barrier which they have
erected to attempt to protect themselves from future harm.
They hold onto their hurt feelings, hoping that the other
person will feel bad, that they can somehow punish them
this way, or that by staying shut up emotionally, they will
be safer.
All of this is simple human foolishness. Such emotional
gymnastics will in no way protect us or solve the prob-
lem. The only solution is in Jesus. We must forgive others
as He has forgiven us. This is His unique and wonderful
cure for all emotional pain, bitterness and anger. You will
be so happy when you obey Him.
One part of this picture which many seem to miss is
that God uses the things which happen to us for our own
good. He has allowed certain things to happen in our life.
Perhaps to us they seem terrible. But from His vantage
point, He sees areas of our soul which need transforming.
Perhaps it is our temper. Maybe it is our selfishness and
self-centeredness. Possibly we have areas of sin which we
think we are hiding from Him or from ourselves.
I cannot imagine all the different possibilities here. But
there is one thing which is abundantly true. God is using
all our circumstances for our good (Rm 8:28). If and when
we learn to obey Him in them, we will gain tremendously.
We will no longer be the same natural person we were
before. When you learn to forgive everything and anything
in the name of Jesus, someday you will worship Him for
the work which He has done in your life through these
events which at one time seemed like something from hell.
You will thank Him for being merciful enough to allow
you these experiences, seeing how much of His nature you
gained through them.

THE OTHER SIDE

There is also another side to the question of forgiveness.
What about those who have committed a sin or
offense? If and when we are walking in the light of God,
we should become ever more sensitive to when and how
we have offended others. If and when a word or deed of
ours is not done in love, we should have the conviction of
sin in our conscience. Due to our intimacy with Jesus, His
Spirit will trouble our conscience until we admit our guilt
and repent before God and to those whom we have
injured.
This willingness to respond to the sensation in our
consciences of wrongdoing is an essential element to a
truly spiritual walk. When we refuse to acknowledge our
error, when we resist the Holy Spirit speaking in our spirit,
when we harden our hearts against the need for repentance
then we begin to damage our relationship with our
Lord.
In order to admit sin, we must humble ourselves. To
repent to our brothers or sisters whom we have offended
requires revealing our weakness and errors. When we are
too proud or stubborn to do this, when we instead insist
upon our own rightness in any situation, then we begin to
lose our intimacy with God. When we only justify ourselves
and make excuses for our actions and words, this
reveals our lack of humility and meekness. These attitudes
of pride and self-justification work to exclude us from
God’s presence. He will withdraw Himself from people
who cling to and express such dispositions.
God resists the proud (Js 4:6). This means that when
we refuse to humble ourselves, He will resist our efforts to
enter His presence. It will become difficult to find Him and
His answers to our needs. His grace to endure many situations
will become scarce and our lives will become more
and more burdensome.
This loss of communion with Him means that we no
longer find it easy to walk in the spirit. Without such an
essential element, we then begin to lose the experience of
genuine church which is only found in the Holy Spirit. The
inevitable result of such hardening of our hearts is that we
begin to walk more in the soul, being motivated by the natural
man. Self-justification in any situation where another
has been wounded by us will only cause us to lose our joy
and communion.
In many situations both parties to any sin, quarrel or
misunderstanding may have erred. It may be that all
involved did not act completely in love. Consequently, all
need to repent and ask forgiveness from the others. The
fact that someone else may have sinned against you does
not relieve you from your guilt of having sinned against
them too. Perhaps you also have something for which to
ask forgiveness in any given situation. Far too many times,
people excuse themselves for their sins by pointing to the
errors of the others. Such excuses may serve to justify ourselves
in our own minds, but they do not work to justify us
with God.
It may be that in some situation or other someone has
sinned against you and you reacted by sinning against
them. Possibly, they refuse to admit their error. This does
not relieve you of your guilt. You are not allowed to wait
until they see their faults first. In order to maintain your
spiritual relationship with Christ, you must humble yourself
and repent before God and the other person, even if
they insist that they are right. Their sin against you will
never excuse your error against them. In addition, it is just
possible that your humbling of yourself will help them to
do the same.
These two things: the failure to forgive and the failure
to admit guilt and ask for forgiveness will impact your
enjoyment of and participation in the one true church. If
such sins go untreated they will disrupt your fellowship
with God and other believers. With the passage of time,
your failure to obey will relegate you to a position outside
the intimacy of the true church and to a life which is largely
governed by the soul instead of the Spirit.

SERVING OTHERS

When Jesus came to this earth He came for a specific
purpose. He came to serve others. His goal was not to
serve Himself or to be served, but to dedicate His life to
minister to the needs of others. His great love for mankind
impelled Him to this lifestyle. After Jesus began His ministry,
all His waking hours were involved in this service.
Where He went, to whom He spoke, the subject of His
prayers, whether He ate or slept, His whole life was committed
to meeting the needs of others.
Therefore, it is evident that if and when we are walking
in His love our entire life will also be dedicated to serving
others. This is a very important point. This is where
“the rubber meets the road” in our Christian life. If we are
walking in love then there will be some evidence of this in
our activities. It will be obvious to all those around us that
we are committed to serving Jesus by serving His body.
The service to Christ’s body may take very many
forms. Usually, it is related to the exercise of our spiritual
gifts. In fact, God has given all believers a gift or several
gifts for this very purpose: to serve one another. We are to
use the spiritual abilities which Jesus has given us to benefit
other Christians and even people who do not yet know
Him.
It may be that we spend much time in prayer for the
needs of others. It is possible that God has called us to
focus upon meeting physical necessities. Perhaps we are
anointed to teach, to counsel or to prophesy. Possibly we
have a gift of healing or miracles. It is conceivable that giving
financially is our primary focus. The variety of ways in
which God might call each one of us to serve is endless. It
is impossible to name them all.
But one thing is very clear. No one is called to do nothing.
No one member of the body of Christ is free to simply
serve themselves and their own family. Each and every one
is required by God to use his time and talents to serve others.
In the same way in which Jesus made the service of
others His focus, His goal and His life’s ambition, so we
too must dedicate ourselves to minister to others. This is
the true expression of divine, AGAPE love.

LOVE AND THE CROSS

Such a devotion to others is not natural. It is not something
in which the fallen soul delights. So when we begin
to speak about love and service, the cross of Jesus comes
into view. In order to live a life of service, we must deny
ourselves. We will need to die to our own desires, pleasures
and needs. This will necessitate the death of our old
life and nature so that Christ’s life and nature can predominate.
When Jesus walked on this earth, He had one final
destination – the cross. He came to serve us and His dedi-
cation to this service was so extreme that He was ready and
willing to die for us. This willingness to die was the ultimate
expression of His love. So, if and when we are disposed
to live His life and serve His body, this will become
our destination also.
In I John 3:16 we read: “By this we know love, because
He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay
down our lives for the brethren.” You see, in order to love
with Jesus’ love, we must also lay down our own lives. We
must die to ourselves. We must give up our rights to live
for and to serve ourselves. Instead, we must use our time,
energy, money, gifts and attention to minister Jesus Christ
to others. This is true Christianity. In fact, it is the only true
Christianity.
The denial of our self and abnegation of our “rights”
to a self-serving lifestyle, is a result of divine love. God’s
love within us will impel us to put aside our own interests
and pleasures and use our resources and energy for others
instead. His love will cause us to use all that He has freely
given us, not to please our carnal desires, but as tools to
serve others. Once again, we are not to use our liberty
which He has given us to serve ourselves but instead
“...through love serve one another” (Gal 5:13).
Those who are walking in love will be seeking every
opportunity to serve others. They will be attentive to the
Holy Spirit and to those around them, seeking how and
when Jesus would want them to be useful to others. Since
their life is dedicated to this, since it is their goal and focus,
they will be ever more sensitive to the impulses of the Holy
Spirit in being of service in His kingdom (I Jn 4:16).
We must be clear here that this service is something
which is led by our spiritual Head. This is not simply a
legal demand. As with all the other aspects of the body of
Christ, this part too must be spiritual. This means that our
service must be led by and accomplished through the Holy
Spirit. Simply trying harder to be some kind of servant will
not be enough. We must learn to live in and by the Spirit so
that our lives and service will be of eternal value. Of
course, service is not something which is expected of
babies. In fact, the lack of a dedication of service to others
reveals that a person is still in spiritual infancy. When and
if serving others is not our focus and delight, this shows
that we have not made much progress spiritually. As we
mature in Christ, our desires will increasingly reflect His.
Our heart will more and more express His own. So, any
lack of devotion to Christ’s body simply exposes that there
is also a great lack in our spiritual maturity.
Naturally, our “ministry” will grow along with our
spiritual man. The more we grow, the more effective our
service will be. When we mature, we sense more easily
how and when Jesus would like us to serve. Further, our
service becomes much more efficacious, since it is more
and more in tune with the will of the Heavenly Father.
It is worth noting here that our spiritual gifts were not
given to us so that we could impress others. They were not
bestowed upon us so that we could be seen and heard. We
did not receive gifts so that we could attract a following,
appear to be more spiritual or to rise up in the church in a
manner that begins to require that others serve us. Our
“ministries” were not given so we could use them as a
means to exalt ourselves.
A servant or slave in any household occupies a humble
position. His function is to make life easier and better
for the others. Any time someone is using what God has
given him to serve himself, this is a sure sign of spiritual
immaturity. It is a sure indication that that person is not
walking in intimacy with Jesus who came to be the servant
of all.

LOVE IS...

Love is God’s nature. Therefore, the genuine expression
of this love has certain characteristics which reflect
this divine nature. There is a certain “flavor” or “aroma”
about someone who is walking in supernatural love which
is perhaps hard to define yet very real. There is about them
a certain something which is an exhibition of Christ’s
divinity.
Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians details many
of these characteristics so that we can be able to identify
them. Not only can we recognize them in others but we can
use these details to weigh our own lives. From these verses,
we can examine our lives to see how much or how little
of the nature of God we are exhibiting. Each of these characteristics
defines an aspect of Christ’s nature which
should be in evidence in every one of us.
To begin, we read that “Love suffers long, and is kind”
(I Cor 13:4). In our walk with the Lord, we will encounter
many situations which cause us to suffer and sometimes
suffer severely. Many of these occasions are caused by
other people. It is very easy, when someone else is causing
us pain, to have an unkind reaction. This is especially true
when this suffering goes on for an extended time. Perhaps
this time is one year, or two years, or ten years or even thirty
years.
In such situations God’s love suffers patiently and
continues to be kind to the other person who is causing our
pain. Human love can never do this. It runs out and usually
runs out quickly. But the supernatural love of God continues
to love and be kind, even when faced with longstanding
suffering. His love is the only love which behaves
in this way.
It might be that your suffering is not caused by anyone
else. Perhaps you are sick or in pain. But the expression of
kindness still must be yours. If we become crabby, impatient
and difficult because of our pain, then this is evidence
that we need much more intimacy with the source of real
love, which is Jesus.
We are told that “Love does not envy” (I Cor 13:4).
Since Jesus is very humble, His nature in us is not to be
jealous when others have more then we do. Those filled
with His life don’t mind if someone else has more money
or worldly goods. They are not frustrated when others succeed
and they don’t. They are not striving to have as much
as or more than someone else. They are not troubled when
another person is more noticed, more used by God, more
praised and or more recognized. They do not become bit-
ter when others are benefitted and they are not. Their joy is
to see that someone else is being blessed because their
hearts are beating in harmony with their Creator.
We learn that “love does not parade itself” and that it
is “not puffed up” (I Cor 13:4). This means that those who
are walking in God’s love are not seeking recognition.
They are not proud of what they have in terms of material
things. They are not full of themselves because of their
intelligence, personal beauty or other human advantages.
They are not arrogant due to their spiritual gifts or about
the ways in which God is using them. These people are not
seeking opportunities to be seen and heard. They are not
looking to impress others in any way. Instead, the flavor of
true humility permeates their life and their ministry.
Love “does not behave rudely,” it “does not seek its
own” (I Cor 13:5). Godly love is not pushy. It is not
demanding its “rights” in any given situation. Those filled
with love are not offensive to others, insisting that their
ways and desires are right and need to be fulfilled. They
are not demanding that their ideas and opinions are the
only correct ones. They are not using others for their own
benefit. They are not seeking to satisfy themselves in any
situation, but rather to make sure that others are being
blessed.
Those who walk in love are “not [easily] provoked” (I
Cor 13:5). They are not easily offended. When they are
poorly treated, when they are ignored, when they are misunderstood,
when someone sins against them, they do not
instantly get irritated and angry. Since they are humble,
their pride is not quickly hurt. These loving people do not
react humanly to provocation. They do not try to retaliate
when others misuse them or hurt them. They don’t fight
back. Instead, with the eyes of the Spirit, these people see
beyond their outward situation and sense the loving heart
of God for these people who abuse them.
People filled with God’s love are very innocent and
even somewhat naive. They are living out a love which
“thinks no evil” (I Cor 13:5). They are not quick to impute
wrong motives to others. They don’t spend time judging
the thoughts and intentions of other believers. They don’t
waste time imagining that others think badly of them or
imputing various sins to everyone else. Truly there is a
pure attitude, a kind of “holy innocence” toward evil
which permeates the life of one who walks in love.
Obviously, love “does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices
in the truth” (I Cor 13:6). Loving people are not happy
when someone else falls and sins. When evil things happen
those who oppose them and have done things to hurt
them, this does not make them glad. They are not pleased
to see that that person is “finally getting what they
deserve.”
Instead, they pray for their enemies. Their love for
them does not permit them to enjoy the pain, difficulty and
failure of others who have misused and abused them. They
are glad when they see others growing spiritually. They
rejoice when others are enlightened and blessed. They are
joyful when the work of God goes forward and the darkness
is beaten back. Their joy is not when evil happens to
others, but when others are brought into more intimacy
with God.
Love “bears all things” (I Cor 13:7). Believers who are
full of God’s love will have a supernatural endurance.
They don’t give up on other people easily. One thing has
become quite clear to me over many years. That is that in
God’s sight people are not disposable. We are not free to
simply get rid of people we don’t like or who offend us. It
is inevitable that, in our walk with the Lord and our contact
with others in His body, many problems will occur.
People will sin. They will err. They might do and/or say
things which hurt us, possibly in very profound ways. Yet,
in spite of all this, we are not free to simply discard them.
Love “bears all things.”
It is very easy for us to lose faith concerning our own
situation and the condition of others. Yet Paul teaches us
that love “believes all things” (I Cor 13:7). We can be sure
that when God begins a project, He has the intention of finishing
it. When He enters a person’s life, He already knows
what He will do to complete His purposes. Therefore,
when we are walking in intimacy with God, we will sense
His eternal persistence. We will receive faith from Him to
continue to believe that His will shall be accomplished.
This faith which God gives generates within us a hope
(I Cor 13:7). This hope is that God’s glory will be reproduced
in us through all the difficulty and tribulation
through which we pass (Rm 5:2). Those walking in communion
with God have the hope that they are being transformed
into His glorious image. We know that some day,
this vessel of earth will break open and the glorious work
which God has been doing within us will shine forth as the
sun (Mt 13:43). Through our faith, we see into the future.
We glimpse what true glory is and we have been captured
by and are held by that vision. It is our intimacy with our
Creator which gives us this hope.
Love “endures all things” (I Cor 13:7). It is our confidence
in God’s love that causes us to persevere. We are
enabled by His love to endure any and all hardships and
trials. It is only through our communion with Him that we
can receive this endurance. Without such intimacy, our
human strength runs out. We feel that we can take no
more. But when we succeed in entering into His presence,
there we find the supply to continue to endure to the end
(Mt 10:22).
In God there is an endless supply of His love. It is
unlimited. It “never fails” (I Cor 13:8). There is actually no
way any human being can live in the ways described
above. Only the life and nature of God can fulfill this most
lofty goal. So, in order to live in this way, we must be continually
connected to the eternal Source. If we are to transmit
His nature, if we are to exude the sweet aroma of His
character, if we are to be an accurate demonstration of His
feelings and thoughts, we must cultivate and maintain an
intimate, loving, communion with Jesus Christ.
Those who are walking in love become living exhibitions
of the divine nature of Christ. They are filled with
kindness, gentleness, patience and sweetness. Others will
sense in them something very attractive which will cause
them also to desire a greater intimacy with their Savior.
This display of Christ is something which the Holy
Spirit of God does within us. It is not a result of human
dedication or effort. Simply deciding to try harder will fall
short. There is nothing in the natural man which can adequately
imitate this. Therefore, to show forth this wonderful
nature, we must walk in ever increasing intimacy with
God. We must abide in Him, continually receiving the flow
of Divine Life which will transform us into His image.

THE HOUSE OF GOD

If you were required to live in a house with a number
of other people, where would you choose to live? Would
you like to be with those who constantly argued and
fought amongst themselves? Would you enjoy an environment
where there was always an undercurrent of hatred,
tension, animosity or fear? Would an atmosphere of pride,
envy, contention and strife attract you? Of course not! You,
no doubt, would choose a place where people loved one
another. You would look for a home where there was peace
and harmony. You would seek a place where you would be
accepted and warmly welcomed.
This same thing is also true of God. Where will He be
pleased to dwell? Among whom will He be satisfied to
live? With which group of people will He establish His
eternal dwelling place? Without a doubt it will be among
those who love one another. This loving environment,
which reflects His own nature, will no doubt draw Him.
He will be attracted to people who live in love and unity.
This certainly is where He will live. This is His true house.
This is where He has planned to live forever. We will all do
well to occupy our time constructing just such a house for
Him.
Once again we read: “Behold, how good and how
pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is
like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the
beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his
garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon
the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the
blessing – life forevermore” (Ps 133). This atmosphere of
loving unity is “good and pleasant” for us and for God
Himself also.
We have tried to define here in this chapter, in some
small way, just what divine love is. Perhaps to many readers
this standard seems very high and unattainable. It may
be that they realize that they frequently fall short of this
high calling. Yet we must not become discouraged and
simply try to be content with what little we have.
So again, we must remember that God Himself is the
source of this love. It is not something which we can produce
ourselves. Our work is simply to abide in Him. We
must establish and maintain an intimacy with Jesus. We
must learn to enter into His rest. Then, we will find an
unlimited supply of love for one another.

A SERIOUS CONSIDERATION

Finally, we come to a very serious consideration. If we
do not walk in love, if the manifestation of the divine
nature is not seen in us, if we do not love our brother, then
this is an indication that our Christianity is bankrupt.
When we do not love, then this is proof that we have lost
our contact with God. If we do not exhibit love, we are
walking in darkness and have lost our spiritual way (I Jn
2:9). If we do not love our brother whom we can plainly
see, how can it be true that we love God who is invisible (I
Jn 4:20)?
Far too many believers today are not really walking in
intimacy with God. Their spiritual progress is stalled or
impeded by many factors. Perhaps they are not forgiving
their brothers and sisters their offenses. Possibly, they have
not repented for things they have done in the past. This
would include not only repenting before God, but also
repenting to anyone and everyone against whom they
might have sinned. It would also include restoring anything
stolen or wrongfully taken from anyone. A thorough
repentance to everyone and a restoration of everything is
an essential ingredient for spiritual progress.
It is possible that some are stuck spiritually because
they still love this world. Their heart is divided, not being
fully fixed upon Jesus. In this situation, they have difficulty
receiving anything from the Lord (Js 1:6,7). Their spiritual
life is frustrated due to the division of their affections
and attention.
The number of possible causes of a failed or stalled
spiritual life are innumerable. But the evidence which
exposes this condition is the same. Anyone who does not
love their brothers and sisters is in serious spiritual trouble.
They are far from God. They are not walking in intimacy
with Him. Their Christianity is really a farce. Any supposed
“walk with the Lord,” which does not manifest His
love, is only an empty show – a pretense. When we do not
love, then we have strayed far from God’s path.
We must not look at others around us and measure
ourselves by their standard. The fact that many others may
not be loving, that they might not be expressing God’s
nature, that they might be regular church attenders, but
still walking in the flesh, cannot be the model for our spiritual
life. The one touchstone which will expose whether or
not we are truly walking in God is whether or not we love
our brothers. The expression of this supernatural love is
the evidence of a right standing before God.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE NOT ENOUGH

We must never judge our spiritual condition by the
fact that we manifest spiritual gifts, have an anointing to
preach or teach or that we have a lot of revelation. All these
things, although they are gifts from God are not directly
related to our spiritual growth or right standing before
Him. Only the evidence of divine love is the true test of our
spiritual condition.
Many mistake the fact that they experience an anointing,
gift or revelation to be an indication, or even the indication,
that God is pleased with them. Instead of true,
godly love being the standard, they rely upon the fact that
they have and use spiritual gifts to prove that they are right
with God. Yet this is not the true test. It cannot be thought
of as evidence of God’s approval.
In I Corinthians 13 we are taught even if someone
might have tremendous gifts (for example, healing the
sick, raising the dead and even moving mountains), without
love this is empty. Further we read that some can
understand glorious things from the Bible thus allowing
them to preach in an extremely impressive manner.
Possibly many are awed by their ministry. But without
God’s love our all gifts and ministry is merely like the
sound of a musical instrument which is heard for a
moment, but then vanishes away like the wind.
There are many men and women of God today who
have strayed from an intimacy with Jesus and have even
fallen into sin. Some are even committing adultery. Yet,
their gift or ministry still “works.” Thus, they delude themselves
into thinking that God is still pleased with them.
Since some “anointing” is still there, they cannot be too far
wrong. Yet, the only true test of right standing before God
is that we manifest His love to all, unselfishly. This virtue
can only be obtained by a continual, intimate relationship
with Jesus.
Therefore, we must seek this with all our heart. We
must ask our Savior to expose anything within us which is
hindering this flow of divine love. We should pray and fast
if necessary so that God can cleanse our life of all impediments
which are hindering the flow of His love. As we
begin to walk in increased transparency and intimacy with
Jesus, His love will express itself through us to the church
and the world.