Love Wins
As Christians we often struggle with doing the number one duty of a Christian… loving God above all and loving our neighbor as ourselves. There are many different types of love. However, “agape” the Greek word for the the spiritual love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation, is a rare thing. The ability to love with the love of God requires that we are born again of God’s spirit. Many people in our popular culture emphasize the importance of brotherly love, or “philio” in Greek, which is a natural affection for our friends and loved-ones. Another type of love is “storge” the Greek word for “love of family.” This is also a natural type of love independent of God’s Holy Spirit. The highest form of love “agape” is “the spiritual divine unconditional love of God.” To love with God’s love, we must be born again of God’s spirit for our sinful nature of the flesh cannot love without the spirit of God in Christ in us.
According to 1 Corinthians 13, though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not the Love of God, I’m like a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And though I can prophesy through the spirit and operate the manifestations of word of knowledge and word of wisdom and have not the Love of God, it profiteth me nothing…
Love is patient, love is kind, it is never boastful or proud, it never demands its own way. It rejoices not in iniquity but rejoices in the truth. Love beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things…Love never fails. For now we see through a blurry mirror but then when Christ returns we shall see him face to face… then shall we know him even also as we are known by him. Now abide faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.
According to 1 Timothy 4:15, meditate upon these things, commit thyself wholly to them that thy profiting may appear unto all.
The context of this passage in 1 Corinthians was Paul’s teaching about the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the abuse of the manifestations of the spirit. The manifestations of the spirit are to be operated in love. The manifestation of tongues in the first century church was as decisive then as it is today. If “speaking in an unknown tongue” is not operated with the love of God in the renewed mind according to God’s orderly process, the result will be “confusion and every evil work.” The Corinthians had no problems with the “doctrines of the faith.” However, they had a problem with loving their brothers and sisters within the body of Christ especially if they were divided regarding the proper operation of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Believing action according to the Word of God must be motivated by love. If I gave everything to the poor and even if I gave myself to be martyred, without the love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation, it would profit me nothing. All my worldly accomplishments and praise of men are of no value if not accomplished through the love of God. All men need is to be loved. Would you rather be right or would you rather love and be loved? When someone forces you to go the second mile, do you think that your human rights are being violated or would you gladly serve in love? We must die to our “human rights” in order to live and love unconditionally with the love of God. The Apostle Paul encouraged the church to live and love with no regrets. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. Love thinks no evil…it is always eager to believe the best of others. The key to growing in Christ is to focus on living in and within the love of God.
When you love those who don’t love you, this is a manifestation of the love of God in the renewed mind. An act of love is to forgive and to set the prisoner free… only to find that the prisoner was me. Like the martyrs throughout the history of the Church, the Apostle Paul said, “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” The love of God is never offended when wronged by others. The key to overcoming evil with good is to love unconditionally. Although this type of love is rare in the world, this is normal according to the spirit of life in Christ. For I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life that I now live I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
Contrary to popular opinion, the abundant life is lived by washing feet. This is the example Jesus Christ himself gave to his disciples. He who approaches God’s throne of grace must do so with a humble and a contrite heart. The Abundant life is blessing them that persecute you, despitefully use you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for Christ’s sake. Jesus gave his disciples a new command, to love one another. He said all men shall know that ye are my disciples if you love one another.
From a heart of love, the mouth speaks…therefore, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable unto thee, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
May God richly bless you.
Your brother in Christ,
Michael